Andy Lloyd's Dark Star Blog
Blog 12 (March 2014)
WISE Fails to Find Dark Star
A significant sweep of the sky in the infra-red spectrum by WISE has so far failed to detect a massive Planet X object in the outer solar system.
Image Credit: Penn State University
The detection range of WISE means that scientists are able to constrain the possibilities of such a world existing out there:
"This recent study, which involved an examination of WISE data covering the entire sky in infrared light, found no object the size of Saturn or larger exists out to a distance of 10,000 astronomical units (au), and no object larger than Jupiter exists out to 26,000 au. One astronomical unit equals 93 million miles. Earth is 1 au, and Pluto about 40 au, from the sun." (1)
A Daily Mail article today sets out the disappointment among several astronomers hoping to find a massive Planet X body using WISE, the infra-red sky search conducted a couple of years ago. It seems that they've now ruled out the chance of finding such an object, with this one caveat:
"Both of the WISE searches were able to find objects the other missed, suggesting many other celestial bodies likely await discovery in the WISE data. 'We think there are even more stars out there left to find with WISE. 'We don't know our own sun's backyard as well as you might think,' said Wright." (2)
I'll admit that this is not the news I had hoped for from WISE. Is it possible that WISE could miss a Dark Star not once, but twice? Even given the very short time periods when WISE was scanning the star-fields, the statistical likelihood of a double miss seems, on the face of it, low. Unless, of course, the data somewhere along the line has been suppressed. There are precedents in modern times when returning raw data was filtered through contractors first, e.g. Malin Space Science Systems, before being crunched by scientists.
Given how reliant modern astronomy is on advanced computers, there is also scope for significant government intrusion - in exactly the same way that possibly all electronic communication is now routinely monitored by intelligence agencies like GCHQ and NSA. And these organisations employ very smart technically-minded people, who are certainly capable of delving through cutting-edge astrophysical data. One can take nothing for granted in our modern hyper-connected era. I've explored these possibilities in my fictional work, but it would be a very tough thing to prove in reality.
Despite these, and other caveats, many scientists will naturally conclude that, even if such an object shaped the formation of the solar system in the past, it is no longer out there now. Despite this, brown dwarf hunter Kevin Luhman thinks that the search is definitely still on - that the vastness of the solar system may yet provide us with the elusive companion object (3). But his mood music is still rather downbeat:
""The outer solar system probably does not contain a large gas giant planet, or a small, companion star," said Kevin Luhman of the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds at Penn State University, University Park, Pa., author of a paper in the Astrophysical Journal describing the results." (1)
Written by Andy Lloyd, 13th March 2014 (updated 31 March 2014)
*
Since this was written, a major new development has
taken place pointing towards a 10-Earth-mass Planet
X object located at about 250 AU. I discuss
this at length in my
April blog.
References:
1) NASA "NASA's WISE Survey Finds Thousands of New Stars, But No 'Planet X'" 7 March 2014
nasa.gov/jpl/wise/planet-x-20140307
2) Daily Mail "The hunt for Planet X: Nasa fails to find mysterious giant body believed to have caused mass extinctions on Earth (and they now say it may not exist at all)" 10 March 2014, with thanks to Mart
3) Nola Taylor Redd "Could Planet X Still be Lurking Out There?" 28 March 2014 (article no longer available online)
Heliopauses in Collision
Scientists working on the forces shaping the edge of the solar system (at the boundary known as the Heliosphere) have concluded that there is indeed a tangible 'ribbon' of interaction between the solar boundary and external, interstellar magnetic field.
This mysterious "ribbon" of energy and particles at the edge of our solar system appears to be a roadmap across the Heliopause boundary indicating the direction of the local interstellar magnetic field.
But there remain some strange factors at play, not least of which is the apparent changes in the local field over time, as measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer survey as opposed to direct data from Voyager 1:
"Interestingly, when scientists compared the IBEX and cosmic ray data with Voyager 1's measurements, the Voyager 1 data provide a different direction for the magnetic fields just outside our heliosphere." (1)
These fluctuations in what one would otherwise imagine would be a uniform field effect, have led NASA to dream up the concept of 'interstellar fluff'. I have wondered in the past whether these local effects might be the fingerprints of something more substantial - a distant object interacting with our Heliosheath through its own intense magnetic field. Given the disparity between the data from IBEX and Voyager, I remain open to that possibility.
Written by Andy Lloyd, 12th March 2014
Reference:
1) Daily Galaxy "Gigantic Galactic Magnetic Field Extends Far Beyond Our Solar System" 14 February 2014, with thanks to Lee (article no longer online)
Siberian Super Megaliths
Following discussion of ancient stone structures in Russia in last month's blog, the Internet has been buzzing about a new, rather sensational archaeological find in southern Siberia near the mountains of Gornaya Shoria (1). Two names associated with the find, researcher Valery Uvarov and the expedition leader Georgy Sidorov, are both heavily involved in the alternative knowledge field and I, for one, have previously encountered material promulgated by Mr Uvarov which I have found rather too wild for my tastes. But, that is not to say that there may not be any truth to this story. The images that originate from Valery Uvarov's site seem genuine enough, showing as they do walls seemingly constructed by truly enormous megalithic stones - perhaps weighing as much as 4000 tonnes each (2).
Some commentators have opined that these might turn out to be natural formations, however much they seem to resemble other, smaller scale (!) megalithic sites around the world - although the conditions that might have caused these kinds of geological formations (common earthquake events, for instance) are not prevalent in this region (3).
Valery Uvarov indicates on his website that he plans a further expedition to the region in 2014, and speculates that the structure might have succumbed in the past to a "colossal power explosion" (2). Let's hope he takes a professional surveyor and a qualified geologist along with him this time.
Written by Andy Lloyd, 12th March 2014
References:
1) John Jenson, "Super Megaliths" 22 February 2014, with thanks to Barry
earthepochs.blogspot.co.uk article
2) Valery Uvarov "Megalithic structures in Gornaya Shoria (Russia, Siberia)" (article no longer available online) but see:
3) Martin Clemens "Super-megalithic Site Found in Russia: Natural or Man-made?" 28 February 2014
mysteriousuniverse.org article
Meteors, Planes and Flying Objects
It looks like this was some kind of hijacking, but I'll keep this blog piece up because I think that the points made are worth a thought or two on a more general level (15/2/14):
A plane that disappears in this day and age of constant global communication presents a great mystery. Given the lack of a 'May Day' communication from the plane (and today they're saying the plane confirmed everything was all right just minutes before it disappeared), it would appear that there are two possibilities. Firstly, that the plane was instantaneously destroyed - to such an extent that the wreckage is too small and dispersed to have been recoverable. Secondly, that control of the aircraft was taken over, preventing all communications (e.g. a very well planned and executed hijacking).
Since no groups have claimed responsibility for a terrorist act - or some kind of hijacking which subsequently led to disaster once the plane had been substantially diverted from its scheduled path - then the instant destruction possibility needs to come from either a natural catastrophic event, or something 'out of left field'.
A natural event would be a statistically almost impossibly unlikely collision with a meteor. There are hints from the scant evidence emerging that an unidentified object was picked up on military radar to the west of Malaysia, and that a fiery object was seen in the sky by an observer. But an impactor from space must be a very remote possibility.
The 'out of left field' zone might include an accidentally launched missile from a warship undergoing manoeuvres (which no country or military in their right mind would admit to). Controversially, question marks still remain as to whether the TWA 800 flight was brought down by a ground-to-air missile.
Or could there have been a collision with something else in the sky that simply shouldn't be there? Like that unidentified object to the west? One of the things that many Ufologists have pointed out down the years is how many times unidentified physical objects have had dangerous near-misses with airliners which, at the time, scare the hell out of the pilots, but are then covered up with the usual harrumphing and ridicule. Perhaps the Malaysian airliner was not fortunate enough to get to that stage in the UFO-encounter process, ending in a collision with foreign technology that was truly catastrophic.
Just my speculative thoughts, with the greatest of respect to the relatives of those lost who are desperately seeking the truth. With a rapidly changing story such as this, we might all know the truth soon enough. But, as things stand, the Malaysian authorities seem absolutely clueless.
Written by Andy Lloyd, 12th May 2014
Sumerology Rechallenged
Author Erich von Däniken's new book provides many new photos of megalithic monuments, some obscure and others more celebrated. During his discussion he makes a short but, to my eyes, important diversion into a controversial translation of the Sumerian "Temple Hymns of Enheduanna", written about 2300BCE. He discusses translations by Dr Hermann Burgard, who "studied Sumerology for decades, who can read cuneiform writing in the original and who knows the ancient texts and their interpreters..." (1).
The author notes how Dr Burgard's translations of the Temple Hymns openly discuss "ramps for flying machines, production of fuel, storage rooms for fuel, terrible explosions in which hundreds of people died, flying machines rising into the heavens, spaceships in orbit, radio traffic, refinement of scrap metals and metal alloys for flying machines." (1)
This work clearly has a lot in common with that of the late Zecharia Sitchin, whose writings von Däniken's camp has consistently considered heretical. Perhaps this explains the author's very next comment "This is not some amateur spinning a yarn." (1)
