48 results found.
... . GE ELECTROMAGNETIC PHENOMENA IN THE ATMOSPHERE GEB RARE RAINBOWS AND ALLIED SPECTRAL PHENOMENA GEB1 Unusual Multiple Rainbows GEB2 Intersecting Rainbows GEB3 Lunar Rainbows with Offset White Arcs and Bows GEB4 Red Rainbows GEB5 Moving Rainbows... GEB6 Solar Rainbows with Offset White Arcs GEB7 Lunar Rainbows Transforming to Disks GEB8 Radial Streaks Crossing Rainbows GEB9 Rainbows Perturbed by Thunder and Lightning GEB10 Anomalous Fogbows... GEB11 Anomalous Dewbows, Cloud bows, Horizontal Rainbows GEB12 Sandbows GEB13 Rainbows Parallel to the Horizon GEB14 Purple Rainbows GEB15 Supernumerary Rainbows GEB16 Prismatic Pillars at the Foot of the Rainbow GEB17 The Dark Space between Primary and Secondary Rainbows GEB18 Grossly Distorted Rainbows GEB19 Rainbows Dividing Sky Colors GEB20 The Odor of the Rainbow Double White Rainbows Tertiary Rainbows Polarization of Rainbow Light Segments of Greyish Light in the Sky Unexplained Dark Lines in the Sky GEH UNUSUAL HALO DISPLAYS AND CORONAS GEH1 Offset Halos and Anomalous Arcs GEH2 Noncircular Halos GEH3 Extraordinary Mock-Sun and Mock-Moon Displays GEH4 Halos Dividing Sky Colors GEH5 Bishop's Ring... GEH6 Halos of Unusual Radii GEH7 Jumping and Moving Halos GEH8 Kaleidoscopic Suns GEH9 Skewed and Deformed Halo Displays GEH10 Bottlinger's Rings GEH11 Transient Lines Superimposed on Halo Displays GEH12 Optical Effects Where Halo Displays Touch the Horizon GEH13 Close, One-Sided Mock Suns GEH14 Halo Displays Formed by Terrestrial Ice Crystals Anomalous Lunar Coronas Circumzenithal Arc and Black Band GEI OBSERVER-CENTERED PHENOMENA GEI1 Puzzling Features of the Brocken Specter GEI2 Heligenschein GEI3 Rotating Spokes about the Shadow of One's Head Sylvanshine Snow Sparkles GEL LOW-SUN PHENOMENA GEL1 Puzzling Features of the Green Flash GEL2 Anomalous Diverging Rays at Sunset and Sunrise GEL3 Color ...
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... ACB5 Changing Cometary Periods ACB6 Jupiter's Family of Comets ACB7 Low-Eccentricity Cometary Orbits ACB8 The Scarcity of Hyperbolic Orbits ACB9 Cometary Groups ACB10 Orbits of New Comets Diverge from Common Point ACB11 Excess of Retrograde Long Period Comets ACB12 Uranus-Neptune Region Favored as Comet Source ACB13 Cometary Perturbations Suggestive of Planet X ACB14 Rapid Attrition of the Oort Cloud by Molecular Clouds ACB15 Dynamical Improbability of the Oort Cloud ACO OBSERVATIONAL ANOMALIES OF COMETS ACO1 Two-Dimensional Comet Tails ACO2 Cometary Activity Far from Solar Influence ACO3 Comets without Nuclei ACO4 Absence of Meteorites from Comet-Related Showers ACO5 Contraction of Cometary Comas as the Sun is Approached ACO6 Unexplained Abundance of Short-Period Comets ACO7 Persistence of Long-Period Comets Despite Attrition from Molecular Clouds ACO8 Seriality of Cometary Apparitions ACO9 Multiple Tails and Antitails ACO10 Ejection of Spherical Halos ACO11 Correlation of Terrestrial Auroras and the Phenomena of Distant Comets ACO12 Blinking Comets ACO13 The Anomalous Disappearance of Comets ACO14 Anomalous Brightening of Short-Period Comets ACO15 Comet Reflectivities Are Similar to Those of Asteroids ACO16 Some Cometary Light Curves Resemble Those of Asteroids ACO17 New Comets Exhibit Different Brightening Behavior Than Old Comets ACO18 Anomalous Splitting of Comets ACO19 Tail-Wagging Comets ACO20 Cometary Outbursts ACO21 Comet Attrition Rates Imply Youth ACO22 No Ices in Cometary Reflection Spectra ACO23 The Blackness of Cometary Nuclei ACX OCCULTATIONS BY COMETS ACX1 Cometary Tails: Anomalous Occultations of Radio Stars AE ENIGMATIC OBJECTS AEO BRIGHT ENIGMATIC OBJECTS AEO1 Bright Objects near the Sun AEO2 Starlike Objects with Anomalous Motions AEO3 Unexplained Nebulous Objects AEX UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS TRANSITING THE SUN, MOON, AND PLANETS AEX1 Objects Crossing the Face of the Sun AEX2 Objects Crossing the Moon' ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 126: Nov-Dec 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Towering Shafts Of Light Ice crystals in the atmosphere can dazzle us with bright haloes, sundogs, and similar optical phenomena -- as long as the sun or moon are shining. Sometimes, though, human light sources will create remarkable displays using the same ice crystals. The first of the two examples below is notable for its extreme height; the second provides the accepted explanation. August 24, 1998. South China Sea. Aboard the m.v . Oriental Bay , Hong Kong to Singapore. "Four shafts of narrow vertical light were observed reflected in the sky. Upon consulting the chart it was revealed that they were 'reflections' of the four flares of the Kakap Natuna oil terminal, which at this point was 75 n mile away. "As indicated in the sketch, the shafts of light were visible above a lower layer of stratocumulus cloud, and, when measured by sextant, their upper tips were calculated to be nearly 13 km high. The shafts appeared to be reflected in a thin layer of cirrostratus and, as the vessel approached to 60 n mile from the terminal, the glow from the flares was also visible on the horizon." (Peterson, J.L .; "Optical Phenomenon," Marine Observer, 69:110, 1999.) Tall light pillars rise over the South China Sea February 4, 1999. Toyama Bay, Japan. The caption quoted below is located beneath ...
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... a complete bow but seemed joined to the primary bow at its highest point, in a convergence area of deep blue, as indicated in the diagram. "The colours were very clear, with blues and purples visible in both parts. Both bows began to fade at about the same time as the moon once again passed behind another cloud." (Crofts, A.; "Lunar Rainbow," Marine Observer, 69:67, 1999.) Comments. Because moonlight is much weaker than sunlight, lunar rainbows are rather rare. Even so, they are not anomalous. It is the offset bow that is difficult-to-explain. Rainbow phenomena should be symmetrical around the line containing the light source (moon, here) and the bow itself. In GEB3 in Rare Halos, we note that no reasonable explanation exists for rainbows offset to one side. However, extra bows offset directly above the main bow can be explained as due to reflection of moonlight or sunlight off the surface of the water. From Science Frontiers #124, JUL-AUG 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The Stone Enigmas of New England Astronomy Sun-Earth-Moon System May Not Be Stable Changes in Solar Rotation Biology Hopeful Monsters Rather Than Gradual Evolution? Hedgehogs Use Toad Venom for Defense Blind Man Runs on Lunar Time Infections From Comets Geology Will Radiohalos in Coalified Wood Upset Geological Clocks? How Real Are Biological Extinctions in the Fossil Record? Geophysics Another Indian Ocean Light Wheel Ghostly White Disk and Light Beam in Sky Fast-moving Dark Bands Cross Halo The Morning Glory Giant Ball Lightning Psychology Does Man Survive Death? ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology How Ancient is Vermont? Early Man in Australia Even Earlier A 6,000-year-old Structure in Scotland Astronomy A Redshift Undermines the Dogma of An Expanding Universe Asteroids with Moons? Cometary Appearance of Venus Nine-tenths of the Universe is Unseen Petrol Channels on Mars? Biology Fish Creates Fish The Obscure Origin of Insects and Their Wings Sunspots and Flu Geology Halos and Unknown Natural Radioactivity Geophysics 70th Anniversary of the Tunguska Event Bioluminescent Patch Detected by Radar The So-called Green Fireballs of 1948-1949 Psychology Fire-walking: Anyone Can Do It ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 9: Winter 1979 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology A Stone Face From Ungava The Ancient Dispersal of Useful Plants Astronomy Cartwheels in Space Large, Unseen Mass is Pulling Earth Toward It Venus and Earth: Engaged Or Divorced? A Chilly Martian Night Biology The Hazards of Sewer Exploration Have Magnets, Will Travel Geology Moon-like Craters in the North Sea Floor An Ancient Planet Beneath A Youthful Veneer Tarnished Halos? Geophysics Purple Blobs in Texas Category X Bermuda Triangle in Orbit Transcendental Trivia? ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 70: Jul-Aug 1990 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology A RELUCTANT, LONG-OVERDUE PARADIGM SHIFT Astronomy "TAIL WAGS DOG" IN SOLAR SYSTEM Two anomalous types of stars Tilted planetary magnetic fields Biology Killer bamboos Killer whale dialects Wandering albatrosses really wander Crystal engineering Bird brain Artificial molecule shows 'sign of life' Geology Why aren't beach pebbles round? Antarctic ice sheets slipping? Natural gas explosion? Geophysics Double image of lunar crescent Elliptical halos Belgian flying triangle Lightning "attacks" vehicles Spinning ball of light inscribes crop circles General Successful predictions mean little in science ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 88: Jul-Aug 1993 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Egyptians in acadia? Voyages of the imagination Astronomy Un oggetto misterioso Blasted by a beam weapon on the edge of space Where's the big bang's "crater"? There never was a "crater"! Biology The star of the star-nosed mole Whale falls: stepping stones across the ocean abysses Ship falls: supplements to whale falls? Early life surprisingly diverse Geology Self-organized stone stripes Antipodal hotspot pairs Geophysics Seashore seiches The taos hum Another elliptical halo Psychology The effect of noncontact therapeutic touch on healing rate Computers can have near-death experiences! General Bruised apples "ALREADY, NOW, WE ARE FORGOTTEN ON THOSE STELLAR SHORES" * Mystery signals beam from space ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 94: Jul-Aug 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects An offset solar halo of 28 Anomalists should not perfunctorily dismiss unusual halo phenomena as trivial and/or boring. The laws of atmospheric optics have no room for the phenomenon described below. It is just as anomalous as ball lightning, although perhaps not as exciting! The 22 halo on the left is common and nonanomalous. However, optical theory has no room for the offset 28 halo on the right. June 22, 1993. North Cornwall, UK. "A 22 halo [the well-explained type] was very prominent, with the sector DCE being exceptionally bright and the colours quite strong. On the right-hand side of this, a larger but fainter halo could easily be seen, having a diameter of about 28 (see figure). It was white in colour. The sector CB was the brightest, sector BF not so bright but easily seen, but the sector AF could be seen only with difficulty. The halo was not seen to penetrate the 22 halo at either points A and C and so it could not be stated positively that the halo would have passed through the Sun, although it looked as though this would have been the case. The centre of the 28 halo had an altitude approximately the same as that of the Sun. The phenomenon lasted for about 20 minutes, although the 22 halo lasted for at least another hour." (Miles, Howard; "An Unusual Solar ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 96: Nov-Dec 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Unusual Lunar Halo July 29, 1993. North Pacific Ocean. From the m.v . BP Admiral . "At 1045 UTC a large, very well defined and complete halo was seen around the 10-day-old moon. Vertical angles were taken by sextant while horizonal angles were found by gyro repeater. ". .. the area inside the halo was inky black with the inner edge of the halo being very clear cut and well defined; a 'spiked' effect was seen on the outer edge." (Ronald, J.M .; "Halo," Marine Observer, 64:105, 1994.) Comment. The angular diameter of the halo is normal, but the inky black interior is very rare. The same dark effect is sometimes seen between primary and secondary rainbows and has an acceptable explanation. However, the radial spokes are not accounted for by halo theory. From Science Frontiers #96, NOV-DEC 1994 . 1994-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... of 150-300 kilometers, where pressures of 725,000-1 ,000,000 psi are believed to exist. After lengthy cooling periods, the crystalized diamonds were transported to the surface by fluid, lower-melting-point rocks, such as kimberlite. Many South African diamonds are mined from kimberlite pipes. Diamonds are never pure carbon; they always contain some nitrogen and boron. Occasionally, they harbor tiny radioactive impurities; usually alpha-particle emitters in the uranium-238 decay chain. Alphas emitted by these impurities have well-defined energies and penetrate the diamond matrix only so far. If one examines a diamond with a high-power microscope (say, at 100 x), one can see concentric rings surrounding the impurities. These dark radiohalos or "pleochroic" halos have specific radii and can be used to identify the radioisotopes that produced them. So far, so good; but: "The fact that fully formed, optically visible internal radiohalos in diamonds are now presented casts a considerable shadow over current theories of diamond genesis." Actually, the radiohalos pose three challenges to diamond-genesis theory. Problem 1. The half-lives of the halo-creating radioisotopes are measured in thousands of years rather than the billions prescribed for crystallization. In fact some of the half-lives are only minutes or days long. M.H . Armitage comments: "How could these halos become imprinted if the formative cooling processes involved require such lengthy intervals?" Problem 2. The radioactive impurities producing the radiohalos are very tiny -- about 2- ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 94: Jul-Aug 1994 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Earth's oldest paved road Music and theories of everything Astronomy First you don't see it; then you don't don't see it Beware the ides of june -- and the rest of the month, too! The shattering of 951 gaspra Biology LACRIMA MORTIS: THE TEAR OF DEATH Cancer: a precambrian legacy? Horse sense? Those strange antarctic fishes Our genes aren't us! Geology The incorruptibility of the ganges Geophysics Flat-plate hail Mystery radio bursts Plane weirdness made plain An offset solar halo of 28 ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 96: Nov-Dec 1994 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology That little "roman" head from precolumbian mexico The "kites" or "keyhole" structures of the middle east Astronomy On the sun, south is almost everywhere The moon: still partly molten? Lunar crater chains Biology Too identical! Why do flying fish have such colorful wings? "ADAPTIVE" MUTATION Electric snakes Geology Satellite spies strange stripes Two really deep oceans Geophysics The 536 ad dust-veil event Underwater thumps Remarkable straw fall Unusual lunar halo Psychology Psi phenomena and geomagnetism Physics Cold fission? Mathematics Lazzarini eats humble pi (posthumously) Unclassified A CURIOUS STRING OF COINCIDENCES Close encounters with unknown missiles ...
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... t the liquid radioactive material dispersed throughout the higher melting point diamond matrix long before the latter crystallized? The same question must be asked about the radiohalos themselves, because the application of heat quickly anneals and disperses them. Complicating the picture still further is the fact that some of the radiohalos arise from the decay of polonium-210, which has a half life of only 138 days. The hollow tubes, the lowmeltingpoint inclusions, and shorthalflife radiohalos combine complicate the explanation of diamond origin(s ) and geological history. (Armitage, Mark; "Internal Radiohalos in a Diamond," Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal, 9:93, 1995. This creationist journal is published in Australia. The article is based mainly on: Mendelssohn, M.J . et al; "Internal Radioactive Haloes in Diamonds," Diamond Research , 17:2 , 1979.) Comment. Explanations of the forgoing conundrums hypothesize the invasion of crystals by impurities after diamond solidification. *SF#92 = Science Frontiers #92. From Science Frontiers #101 Sep-Oct 1995 . 1995-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... magnetic storm began about 6 minutes after the explosion (If that is what it really was.) and lasted for more than 4 hours. These magnetic perturbations resembled those following nuclear atmospheric explosions. The Tunguska object left no smoky trail like many fireballs, but rather irridescent bands that looked like a rainbow. Following the "explosion," at least part of the object continued on in the same direction but veered upwards. [Meteors sometimes skip out of the atmosphere on trajectories like this.] Although the Tunguska event occurred on June 30, 1908, optical anomalies appeared all across northern Europe as early as June 23. These included mesospheric, silvery clouds, very bright nights, colorful twilight afterglows [something like those following the Krakatoa eruption], and remarkably intense and long-lasting solar halos. Some of these effects persisted until late July. Neither craters nor meteoric debris have been discovered so far, despite assiduous searches. The explosion created a shock wave that leveled 2150 km2 of taiga and a flash that singed about 200 km2. (Vasilyev, N.V .; "The Tunguska Meteorite: A Dead-Lock or the Start of a New Stage of Inquiry?" RIAP Bulletin, 1;3 , nos. 3-4 , July-December 1994, and 2:1 , no. 1, January-March 1995. RIAP = Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena, P.O . Box 4684, 310022 Kharkov-22, UKRAINE) From Science Frontiers #100, JUL-AUG 1995 . 1995-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 117: May-June 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Aliens, Mystery Races, Or Aborigines?Some of Australia's rock art -- the Wandjina paintings -- depicts humanoids in fulllength gowns with strange halos encircling their heads. Those favoring the "ancient astronaut" theory assure us that the Wandjina figures are those of alien visitors! The so-called Bradshaw paintings don't fit in the "alien" category but they are so interesting that we choose to reproduce one here. It raises three problems: (1 ) The slim, flowing human figures remind one more of the Tassili rock art found in Africa's Sahara rather than that of the Australian Aborigines; (2 ) The objects at the left are enigmatic and technical-looking; and (3 ) The symbols (? ) at the top are undeciphered. The article at hand from Antiquity does not attempt to interpret the Bradshaw art. Instead, it discusses the social factors that mold the interpretation of the Wandjina and Bradshaw paintings. When Europeans first saw these paintings they were certain that their "advanced style" was far beyond the capabilities of the Aborigines (colonial prejudice). They must, therefore, be the work of "preAborigines." Today's Aborigines will have none of this condescension. They were the original settlers of Australia, and as such they have bona fide land and title claims. Any recognition of "pre-Aborigines" would undercut these claims. (McNiven, Ian ...
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... the horizon, a blue 'horn' formed at each end of it, as shown in sketch (a ), and these then closed up to form a bright-blue arc, as shown in sketch (b ). " (Leslie, A.J .; "Blue Flash," Marine Observer, 66:115, 1996) Comment. The blue flash is a shorter-wavelength version of the green flash. The basic phenomenon is explained in terms of dispersion of the sun's spectrum by the atmosphere near the horizon. Even so, many enigmas remain about these low-sun phenomena. There have been observed: multiple flashes, flashes preceding sunset, complex flash structures, and the apparent psychological origin of some flashes. For details, see GEL1 in Rare Halos, Mirages. This book is described here . From Science Frontiers #108, NOV-DEC 1996 . 1996-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... sensitive receptors in the retina so that an intent observer becomes temporarily color blind to red. When this happens, the observer sees the yellow part of the dispersed solar spectrum as being green (yellow minus red = green). The true green flash may never have appeared at all. (Seife, Charles; "Don't Let Your Eyes Deceive You," New Scientist, p. 5, June 5, 1998.) Comments. You are right! Blue lies beyond green in the spectrum. Much rarer than green flashes are blue flashes. Jules Verne even wrote a novel involving this famous phenomenon: Le Rayon Vert . Reversing the sequence, red flashes are sometimes observed as the bottom edge of the sun dips below a sharply-defined cloud deck. (From: Rare Halos...) From Science Frontiers #119, SEP-OCT 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... psychical research literature offers a variety of unexplained luminous phenomena such as reports of glows seen around mag-nets, crystals and minerals, lights reportedly seen with mediums, and luminous apparitions, among others." The paper then goes directly into a review of specific observations. We shall have to be satisfied here with just one of the many examples: "D .D . Home was reported to produce many striking luminous phenomena. In one seance Dunraven observed that one of Home's hands 'became quite luminous,' and that two persons 'saw tongues or jets of flame proceeding from Home's head.' On another occasion: 'He was elongated slightly.. and raised in the air, his head became quite luminous at the top, giving the appearance of having a halo round it. When he was raised in the air, he waved his arms about, and in each hand there came a little globe of fire (to my eyes blue)...' (Alvarado, Carlos S.; "Observations of Luminous Phenomena around the Human Body: A Review," Society for Psychical Research Journal, 54:38, 1987.) This paper concludes with 5 pages of references, illustrating the great extent of the parapsychological literature. Comment. D.D . Home, to provide a bit of background, was a famous English medium. One of his favorite "stunts" was self-levitation. We have seen sketches of him floating high with his head nearly touching the ceiling. It is perhaps a bit snide to remark that if ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Fast-moving dark bands cross halo December 15, 1976. Chelmsford, Essex, England. At 1505 GMT, two groups of closely spaced grey bands were seen crossing the upper arc of contact of a 22 halo from left to right. The first group lasted 10 seconds, with a 15-second quiescent period before the second group. The second group lasted about 5 seconds. About 30 straight parallel, regularly spaced bands appeared during the first observation. Moving steadily, they took 2 seconds each to cross the arc of contact. The most likely cause of the phenomenon was thought to be changes in the orientation of the ice crystals that created the upper arc of contact. However, the author could suggest no physical mechanism for producing such unusual motion in the ice crystals. (Burton, B.J .; "Fast-Moving Dark Bands Crossing the Arc of Contact," Journal of Meteorology, (U .K .) , 2:233 1977.) From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Will radiohalos in coalified wood upset geological clocks?In some coalified wood, uranium-rich solutions have deposited radioactive particles that subsequently decay and create little rings (halos) that can be seen under high magnification. The ra-dii of the rings depend upon the energies of the particles emitted by the radioactive elements. Each type of radioactive decay has a specific half-life. Thus, the patterns of radiohalos help measure the age of coalified wood. A challenge to geology arises because the radiohalos in coalified wood from Jurassic and Triassic formations, supposedly millions of years old, suggest ages of only a few thousand years. (Connor, Steven J.; "Radiohalos in Coalified Wood: New Evidence for a Young Earth," Creation Research Society Quarterly, 14:101, 1977.) From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Halos And Unknown Natural Radioactivity R.V . Gentry is well known for his studies of giant halos in minerals, particularly micas from Madagascar. Recently, intense debate seems to have determined that these Madagascar giant halos are not due to naturally occurring superheavy elements. But what did cause them? In this article, Gentry, et al present data for giant halos in Swedish biotite. No conclusion is given as to their possible origin, but it is noted that some of these giant halos have bleached circles around their centers. These circles seem related to the enigmatic dwarf halos known and unexplained for more than 50 years. (Gentry, R.V ., et al; "Implications on Unknown Radioactivity of Giant and Dwarf Haloes in Scandanavian Rocks," Nature, 274:457, 1978.) Comment. The "halo" problem is not as trivial as it may seem because anomalous radioactivity, presumably with a very short half-life, should not be present in billion-year-old rocks such as the Madagascar micas. One implication: geological dating is all wrong! From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 9: Winter 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Tarnished halos?Pleochroic halos are dark rings of various radii seen in mica and other minerals. There is general agreement that alpha particles emitted by radioactive isotopes create the halos. The radii of the rings are proportional to the alpha particle energy, and can thus identify the isotopes in the mineral. Some halos, however, are apparently formed by very short-lived polonium isotopes without any trace of parent uranium isotopes. How can polonium isotopes with half-lives only seconds long get into geologically old mica sans parents? York argues the case for selective local chemical concentration of polonium from fluids in the surrounding rocks. The captured polonium atoms decay almost immediately while the fluid containing the parent atoms passes on. R.V . Gentry objects that mica is almost im permeable and that we must consider the possibility that our concepts of geological time are grotesquely wrong. York energetically defends established Geology using radioactive dating and paleontological arguments. His contempt of Gentry's position is scarcely veiled. This paper is an excellent review of the piechroic halo problem as well as a classic defense of the scientific status quo. (York, Derek; "Polonium Halos and Geochronology," EOS, 60:617, 1979.) Comment. York does not mention Gentry's years of careful work that led him to his heresy, nor are the many objections to radioactive dating discussed. It reminds one of the confident assertions of the permanency of the ocean basins ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 6: February 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Has the universe's missing mass been found?In the above item, an article from Mosaic was quoted to the effect that 90% of the universe is "unseen." In pursuit of this missing mass, a U.S . team of astronomers has now detected previously unseen halos around several spiral galaxies. The halo luminosities are comparable to the brighter imbedded disks when integrated over a large area surrounding the galaxies. The halo masses, however, as inferred from the galaxies' rotation curves far exceed the masses of the bright spiral cores. The big question is "What are the dim but massive halos composed of?" They might consist of small, faint stars or nonluminous matter of some sort. The researchers had to conclude, though, that the halos are galactic components of "totally unknown nature." (Anonymous; "Has the Universe's Missing Mass Been Found?" New Scientist, 80:174, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #6 , February 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Rims Of Galaxies Spin Too Fast According to the physical laws governing orbital motion in a central force field, like that of our sun, distant objects should rotate more slowly than those closer to the central mass. Thus, the outer planets of the solar system swing around the sun more slowly than the earth and the other inner planets. Astronomers always expected that the stars rotating around the massive hubs of the galaxies would obey these laws in a like manner. No such luck! Doppler measurements of galaxy rotations made by Vera C. Rubin and her colleagues, at the Carnegie Institution, indicate that most stars out near the galactic rims rotate just as fast or faster than those closer to the hub. Astronomers suppose that this anomalous rotation may be due to halos of undetected burntout stars and/or gas fringing the galaxies. Such halos would dis-tort the inverse-square-law field, permitting the observed anomalous rotation. (Anonymous; "Fast-Spinning Galaxies," Science Digest, 89:18, November 1981.) Comment. No one has yet discovered these hypothetical halos of mass. The universe seems to be full of "missing mass." An unpopular alternative would be the admission that Newton's Law of Gravitation does not hold on the galactic scale. From Science Frontiers #19, JAN-FEB 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 17: Fall 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Bioluminescent Cartwheels And Whirlpools In The Arabian Sea 6 March 1980. Arabian Sea. "At 1552 GMT bioluminescence in the form of diffused white light in 'whirlpool' and 'cartwheel' formations was observed; within 3 minutes it completely encircled the vessel and extended to the horizon. The 'cartwheel' formations were brightest at the centre with a halo effect surrounding the outer edges. As the vessel passed over 2 such formations the 'spokes' were estimated to be 2-2 metres in width and the entire concentration, which was more than the width of the vessel (approximately 27 metres), was observed on both sides of the bridgewing simultaneously. The 'whirlpool' formations, with a distinct central hub, varied from l to 2 metres in width and from 14 to 15 metres in length. The phenomenon was observed for 40 minutes." (Messinger, P.A .; "Bioluminescence," Marine Observer, 51:13, 1981.) Comment. This is the first report uncovered that described "whirlpool" formations. The variety of phosphorescent formations and their long durations cast doubt on the usual seismic explanation. Reference. The many strange types of marine biolouminescence are detailed in Section GLW in our catalog: Lightning, Auroras. Details here . From Science Frontiers #17, Fall 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Novaya Zemlya Effect Rarely, as the long polar night draws to a close, the sun will suddenly burst above the horizon weeks ahead of schedule. This is the Novaya Zemiya Effect, and it is basically a polar mirage. Even when the sun is still 5 below the horizon, its light can become trapped between thermoclines and be transmitted over the usual horizon. The atmospheric ducts act much like flat light pipes. In the Novalya Zemlya Effect the sun's image is grossly distorted, quite different from the high quality mirages sometimes seen over hundreds of miles in the polar latitudes. (Anonymous; "New Light on Novaya Zemlya Polar Mirage," Physics Today, 34: 21, January 1981.) Reference. Related atmospheric phenomena are collected in Section GEM in our Catalog: Rare Halos. More information on this book here . Triple Novaya Zemlya Effect. Three distorted images of a sun still well below the horizon. From Science Frontiers #15, Spring 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Star observed a vessel at a distance of 6 nautical miles. Its appearance was normal for that distance. At 12 n.m ., however, it was magnified four times over what it should have been for that distance. At 16 n.m ., the apparent magnification was eight. The interesting aspects of this phenomenon are: Increasing magnification with distance; and The magnified image was perfect in two dimensions and not distorted along the vertical axis as is usually the case in abnormal refraction. (White, A.H .; "Abnormal Refraction," Marine Observer, 52:80, 1982.) Comment. What kind of stable atmospheric lens can do this? Reference. Phenomena like that above are termed "telescopic mirages." These are cataloged at GEM2 in Rare Halos, Mirages. For a description of this book, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #23, SEP-OCT 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Cometary Appearance Of Venus The famed astronomer Johann Maedler first recorded strange brushes of light emanating from the bright limb of Venus. Two luminous fans opening sunward gave the planet the appearance of a multitailed comet. Maedler made this curious observation on April 7, 1833; and it has come to be known as the Maedler Phenomenon. If it were not for Maedler's fame as an honest, meticulous observer, the event would have been fogotten long ago. A similar observation was made by Gadbury in 1686. The only explanation for the phenomenon offered so far involves some sort of obscure type of halo or sun-pillar effect. (Baum, Richard; "The Maedler Phenomenon," Strolling Astronomer, 27:118, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... structure with ducts in which radio signals can get trapped. Delays of a second or so might be due to such trapping but the longer delays require some other explanation. Muldrew favors a rather complex interaction between signals from separate transmitters that (theoretically at least) can create a long-lived electrostatic wave that travels in the ionosphere -- a sort of natural memory device. The coded signals could then be read out much later when the proper natural conditions developed. Delays of up to 40 seconds might be possible with this "ionospheric memory." (Muldrew, D.B .; "Generation of Long Delay Echoes," Journal of Geophysical Research," 84:5199, 1979.) References. More information on these curius echoes is located at GER1 in our Catalog: Rare Halos, Mirages. For a description of this book, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #10, Spring 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Three "proofs" of a young earth Responding to letters published in the June 1982 issue of Physics Today that insisted (some, very emotionally) that no evidence exists for a very young earth, Robert V. Gentry summarized three kinds of evidence that certainly seem to undermine current dating schemes. Halos produced by the alpha particles emitted by Po218 are found in granite rocks in many areas. Yet, the half-life of Po218 is only 3 minutes. Since the Po218 has no identifiable pre-cursors in the rock, ". .. how did the surrounding rocks crystalize rapidly enough so that there were crystals available ready to be imprinted with radiohalos by alpha-particles from Po218 ? This would imply almost instantaneous cooling and crystallization of these granitic minerals -- and we know of no mechanism that will remove heat so rapidly; the rocks are supposed to have cooled over millennia, if not tens of millennia." In coalified wood dated as older than 200 million years, the ratio between U238 and Pb206 should be low. It is actually very high. "Thus ages of the entire stratigraphic column may contain epochs less than 0.001% the duration of those now accepted and found in the literature." Diffusion calculations insist that Pb in zircon crystals found in deep granite cores at 313 C should diffuse out of the crystals at the rate of 1% in 300,000 years. No loss of Pb can ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 49: Jan-Feb 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Mystery Plumes And Clouds Over Soviet Territory Following the famous mystery cloud of April 9, 1984 (SF#38), the authors of the original article in Science collected additional observations and now have this to say: "Our conclusion is that original estimated positions were in error. Additional data, primarily from Van den Berg, place the event between the Kuriles and Sakhalin. The altitude of the center of the halo at the maximum observed size is estimated to have been greater than 200 miles, and the diameter of the halo is estimated to have been at least 380 miles. It seems unlikely that a groundbased explosion could produce this kind of effect. It is surprising to us that no official data have been provided by government agencies and that such a significant observation from a region of demonstrated military sensitivity was, and still remains, a mystery." (McKenna, Daniel L., and Walker, Daniel A.; "Mystery Cloud: Additional Observations," Science, 234:412, 1986.) Evidently the mystery cloud mentioned above is only one in a long series: "Large icy clouds, similar to plumes of gas that rise over volcanoes, have appeared over islands along the coast of the Soviet Union during the past several years, baffling experts, who cannot explain what they are or what causes them. "The clouds dissipate in a few hours vanishing as mysteriously as they appear. "Among the ...
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... Frontiers ONLINE No. 58: Jul-Aug 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Gentry's tiny mystery-- unsupported by geology An article bearing the above title, by J. Richard Wakefield, appeared in the Winter 1987-1988 issue of Creation/Evolution . The title implies that Gentry's "Tiny Mystery" is soon to be demolished. It turns out in the end that a sweeping interpretation of this "Tiny Mystery" is called into question, but the mystery itself, like the smile on the Cheshire cat, remains. The "Tiny Mystery" is the existence of radiohalos from polonium-210, -214, and -218 in some biotites (micas), sans any detectable precursory uranium or halos thereof. Since the half-lives of the polonium isotopes are 138.4 days, 0.000164 second, and 3.04 minutes, respectively, it is certainly perplexing how the polonium halos got where they are! According to geological thinking, the igneous rocks containing the biotites must have been molten for a good deal longer than 138 days, thus destroying halos of short-lived isotopes. R.V . Gentry, a creationist, thinks that the polonium isotopes are primordial -- created by God some 6,000 years ago, in situ and without precursors. The rocks displaying the halos would, therefore, be among the oldest rocks on earth. What Wakefield does is exxamine the geology of some of the sites from which Gentry obtained his biotite samples. Basically, ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 57: May-Jun 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A NEARBY RING OF COMETS?Some 589 long-period comets are known. They ply orbits around the sun that may take millions of years to complete. Astronomers are generally agreed that these bodies originate in a very distant (100,000 A.U .* ) halo of cometary material surrounding the entire solar system. J. Oort proposed this cloud, and it is named after him. Of course, we anomalists become wary when scientists "generally agree" on a hypothetical entity that no one can see. The Oort Cloud of comets, like the unseeable black holes, are given substance only by the effects they have on other solar-system denizens and seeable cosmic objects. But there may be another cloud of comets that we can view directly. It is called the Kuiper Cloud (after G. Kui per). It is concentrated in the plane of the ecliptic just beyond the orbit of Neptune. Like the Oort Cloud, the Kuiper Cloud has not been seen yet, but we just might be able to with today's equipment! Its existence is hypothesized from the parameters of a different group of comets -- the so-called "short-period" comets, as exemplified by 76-year Halley's Comet. About 120 short-period comets have been discerned so far; and our computers now tell us that they cannot have originated in the Oort Cloud. Something closer and concentrated ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 62: Mar-Apr 1989 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The "residue fallacy" does not apply to all residues!While preparing our latst catalog in the field of geology, have been struck by how slavishly some mainstream scientists worship the Residue Fallacy. Briefly, this "fallacy" states that a single type of discrepant observation should not be considered viable if it contradicts a large body of well-established, internally consistent observations. In geology, the Residue Fallacy is employed to dismiss the precursorless polonium halos found by R.V . Gentry, as well as some other radiometric discordances. These scientists seem to have forgotten about the anomalous advance of Mercury's perihelion and a few other obvious residues that ultimately stirred up revolutions in our thinking. Anyway, it is now satisfying to find the Editor of Nature, mainstream science's preeminent journal, acknowledging the value of anomalies. The stimulus in this case is the morethan-a -decade-old inability of astronomers and physicists to explain the missing solar neutrinos. Two new, more sophisticated, neutrino detectors have come on line, in Japan and the U.S ., and they have confirmed the results obtained in the huge vat of cleaning fluid in the Homestead Mine, in South Dakota. For some reason, everyone measures only about one-third the number of solar neutrinos expected. Either something is wrong with our model of the sun's (and other star's ) energy-producing mechanism or our ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 56: Mar-Apr 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Cometary scars on the moon?More information has surfaced on the enigmatic lunar swirl markings (Category ALE5 in our catalog: The Moon and the Planets. These whitish blotches are not only visually incongruous, being obviously different from the debris spla shes around craters, but they also exhibit curious magnetic properties. J.F . Bell and B.R . Hawke, of the University of Hawaii, have acquired near-infrared spectra of the swirl designated Reiner Gamma. They report that the composition of the swirl material does not match the crater ejecta; and, also, that a previously undetected reddish halo surrounds the swirl. Best guess at present: The swirls are the scars of comets -- probably less than 100 million years old. (Anonymous; "Cometary Scars on the Moon," Sky and Telescope, 75:11, 1988.) Comment. Does nearby earth also bear cometary scars? Some think that the 1908 Tunguska Event was a cometary impact. (See ETC2 in our catalog: Caro lina Bays, Mima Mounds .) Also see the the item below under GEOLOGY about comets and the earth's oceans. Reference. Both catalog volumes mentioned above are described here . From Science Frontiers #56, MAR-APR 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... toward the Chianti Mountains. "' Suddenly a bright light came toward them rapidly, seemingly from a great distance. "It came straight at us til it got to the hood of the plane....It was engulfing us, larger than the plane.' It seemed as though they were inside the light. 'We couldn't see to fly. It scared us.' According to Halsell, as they tried to turn away from it, it moved in front of them. 'Always it moved around us, like it was observing us....We made right turns and left turns and it stayed right with us, like it was playing a game.' The light was very bright, but 'It was kind of fuzzy, like a halo or aura, a ball of light without an obvious center.' The light was white in color, was constant rather than pulsating or flickering. There was no unusual sound." (Brueske, Judith; "Encountering 'The Lights,'" The Desert Candle, 2:1 , July/August 1988.) Reference. The Marfa lights are classified as "nocturnal lights" at GLN1 in the catalog volume: Lightning, Auroras Ordering details here . From Science Frontiers #60, NOV-DEC 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 70: Jul-Aug 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Elliptical Halos Original drawing of the halo of Hissink, observed at Leiden. January 26, 1977. In the catalog Rare Halos, Mirages, Anomalous Rainbows, we list nine cases of elliptical halos. Such observations are anomalous becaouse the only wellexplained elliptical halo is formed when the lower and upper tangential arcs of a 22 halo join together. Possibly because of the absence of appropriate theory, R. White, in 1981, suggested that the observations recorded in GEH2 were only the consequences of observational error or inaccuracy in representation of the phenomenon. (This assertion is well-known to all anomalists!) Recently, however, several elliptical halos have graced the skies of Finland. We provide below a summary of these observations, as prepared by J. Hakuma ki and M. Pekkola. First, though, we express appreciation to Hakumaki and Pekkola for a paragraph headlined SOURCEBOOK PROJECT ANOMALIES, where in effect they vindicate the approach of the Project. We now quote from the summary of their article. "In December 1987 two Finnish amateur astronomers observed and photographed a peculiar vertically elliptical ring surrounding the moon. A literature study carried out soon after this first observation brought to light ten reported historical cases of this type of rare halo phenomenon. It was found out that the existence of these elliptical halos has been uncertain to date due to a lack of photographic evidence. One indication of this is that none of the major modern works on ...
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... reddish-orrange colour on the outside, merging into yellow, then to a bluish colour on the inside edge. See sketch. Unfortunately, measurement of the width of these bands was not possible as they were not clear enough. During this time, the outer secondary bow together with a third, inner bow remained faint and were white in colour; the inner secondary bow being nearly too faint to see." Comments from an expert in meteorological optics remarked that the radii of the primary and outer secondary bows were less than the theoretical values. He dismissed the inner secondary bow as a misinterpretation, since "theory predicts no such inner secondary bow." (Jackson, C.; "Rainbow," Marine Observer, 61:74, 1991.) Reference. Our catalog Rare Halos, Mirages covers the above anomaly plus many other unusual optical phenomena. To order, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #78, NOV-DEC 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... the length of the bands." Codona explains the shadow bands as basically a twinkling effect involving the thin solar crescent just before and after totality. The twinkling is created by turbulence only tens or hundreds of feet above the ground. The eclipse shadow bands, like so many other "well-explained" phenomena, display idiosyncracies that do not dovetail well with theory. Codona mentions two of these: (1 ) Bands of different colors, travelling at different speeds, are sometimes seen superimposed on each other; and (2 ) Bands of giant size have been observed. (Codona, Johana L.; "The Enigma of Shadow Bands," Sky and Telescope, 81: 482, 1991.) Comment. Still other shadow-band anomalies are cataloged in GES1, in Rare Halos, Mirages. This catalog is described here . From Science Frontiers #77, SEP-OCT 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 88: Jul-Aug 1993 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Another Elliptical Halo Measurements of an elliptical lunar halo obvsered in the Indian Ocean. June 6, 1992. Aboard the m.v . British Skill in the Indian Ocean. "Between 1300 and 1345 UTC, a complete halo phenomenon was observed round the moon, as shown in the sketch. The ring was complete although its appearance was elliptical. Its horizontal diameter was 40 with its vertical diameter being 53 . "The illuminated part of the moon was not in the centre of the halo, its altitude at the lower limb (phase, new waxing) being 38 54'. The altitude of the upper part of the halo was 59 whereas the lower edge was at 6 ." (Anderson, P.R .; "Elliptical Halo," Marine Observer, 63:65, 1993.) Comment. Once again we have another observation called "impossible" by geophysicists. Halos, they say, must be symmetrical about the sun or moon. Yet, photos and precise measurements, like those above, demonstrate the reality of the phenomenon. From Science Frontiers #88, JUL-AUG 1993 . 1993-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... what the astronomers expected, and the implications of this isotropy are staggering. Gamma-ray bursts emanate from highly localized unseen sources. They may last for a few milliseconds or stretch out for several minutes. The energy in the bursts ranges over 26 orders of magnitude. The rise-times of the bursts are so short that the sources can only be a few hundred kilometers across. Before the accompanying map appeared, most scientists thought that the bursters were nearby, probably in the disk of the galaxy, and were due to asteroids being digested by neutron stars or possibly neutron-star quakes. If such were so, the bursters would be concentrated in the plane of the galaxy (the Milky Way), which clearly they are not. Another theory places the bursters in a distant spherical halo about our galaxy. But, in this case, the bursters would have to be much more energetic than astronomers care to contemplate. In fact, if they exist in a galactic halo, we should also be able to detect the bursters in our neighboring galaxies -- but we do not! A more exciting suggestion is that gamma-ray bursters are really very close! This would be consistent with the failure to find cosmological redshifts in the burster spectra. Could they be really close, just a few hundred light away? Perhaps arranged in a spherical halo about our solar system in the vicinity of the postulated Oort Cloud of comets? If this were so, they would not have to be nearly as powerful as they would in the neutronstar model. If the gamma-ray bursters ...
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... These might be dark, Jupiter-sized objects, black holes, and/or some exotic forms of matter. We must choose between the reality of dark matter or admit that something is awry with our laws of gravitation and motion when they are applied on a cosmological scale Now, let us examine those four darkmatter items from the recent literature: D. Lin, a University of California astronomer, has shown that the Large Magellanic Cloud that orbits around our own galaxy (the Milky Way) is being torn apart (" cannibalized") by the powerful gravitational pull of a dense cloud of dark matter surrounding the Milky Way. This dismemberment of the Large Magellanic Cloud cannot be explained by the gravitational forces exerted by the stars in our galaxy that we can see. Lin calculates that our halo of dark matter is equivalent to 600-800 billion solar masses, compared to the only 100 billion solar masses of visible matter. (Flam, Faye; "Spinning in the Dark," Science, 260:1593, 1993. Also: Anonymous; "' Dark Matter' Is Observed 'Cannibalizing' a Galaxy," Baltimore Sun, p. 8A, June 8, 1993.) The dark matter surrounding a galaxy will, according to the Theory of Relativity, act as a gravitational lens that will deflect light rays passing near it. This dark matter, acting like a telescope, should increase the number of quasars counted in the sky near galactic clusters. Such larger quasar counts are indeed observed, but these increases are much larger than expected. The implication is that ...
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... pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects An Electrical Virtuoso August 12, 1992. Conwy, Wales. Here is carefully observed case of ball lightning with rather spectacular side effects. Mrs. P. Stafford was looking through her front window: ". .. when she saw what she first thought was a 'ball of white fire', larger than a football, about 20 to 30 feet from her, travelling horizontally at a constant height up her drive. There was very heavy rainfall, perhaps with some hail, but no lightning or thunder. The ball was seen against the background of other houses and her view of it was not interrupted. It was round, opaque and predominantly white with some yellow, and surrounded by a blue, irridescent halo. She said it was reminiscent of a meteor or comet and the light from it was like that from a fluorescent tube. It was bright enough to be clearly visible in daylight and appeared to be spinning or rotating. It hit the oak tree, perhaps 12 or 13 feet away, in Mrs. Wignall's front garden, with a terrific crack and explosion. "The ball was in sight for about 10 to 15 seconds, and its appearance did not change until it struck the tree, whereupon it became smaller. It hit the trunk about half way up and split the bark and trunk, showering splinters of wood over a distance of about 50 yards. As it did so, it rolled down the tree and dispersed in flashes -- she said that there seemed ...
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... in 1900 by A.E . Douglass, at the Lowell Observaory. The popular press quickly announced that the Martians were signalling us. Actually, this assumption was quite understandable because in those days the newly discovered Martian "canals" were in everyone's thoughts. Most scientists, however, rejected the signal notion preferring to attibute the flare to the specular reflection of sunlight from snowy peaks on Mars. But they were wrong, too. Close-up inspection by modern spacecraft has revealed no snowy peaks or large bodies of water on Mars that might mirror the sun. But another possibility has now come to the fore. The Martian flares could be reflections of sunlight from flat, hexagonal crystals of water ice in the thin Martian clouds; the same crystals that create some of the solar halos and sun dogs seen on earth. That this sort of specular reflection does occur was demonstrated on June 7, 2001, when a flare was actually photographed in the area of Edom Promontorium. The photography was possible because scientists had been watching this spot intently -- with cameras at the ready -- because a well-observed flare had occurred at this location in 1954, and calculations showed that conditions would be just right for the sun to be again reflected by clouds at this spot on June 7, 2001. It was a prediction that came true. Sunlight reflected from Martian clouds cannot be the total answer, though. An area called Tithonius Lacus, for example, is the source of many flares, but it is too cold in this part of Mars for clouds of water ...
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... tall buildings to view a splendid mirage of the Canadian shore located 65 miles north of the city. The weather was very clear, and the mirage rested high in the northern sky. The colors were a deep blue and near-black, the uneven shoreline being distinctly depicted against the cloudless sky. An occasional forest appeared darker than the regular line of the mirage and indicated that the shore line displayed was several hundred miles in extent. The mirage disappeared about 4 PM. (Anonymous; "Rochester Sees A Remarkable Mirage of Canadian Shore, 65 Miles Away," New York Times, May 17, 1921. Cr. M. Piechota.) Comment. This mirage is notable for its clarity and distance. An even more remarkable mirage of the same type appears in our catalog Rare Halos, Mirages. In this instance, a mirage of the Snaefells Jokull, an Icelandic peak, was seen from a schooner 335-350 miles distant. Details in GEM2. From Science Frontiers #133, JAN-FEB 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... : Archeological Anomalies: Small Artifacts 2003: Scientific Anomalies and other Provocative Phenomena 2001: Remarkable Luminous Phenomena in Nature 2001: Ancient Structures (Archeology) 1999: Ancient Infrastructure (Archeology) 1998: Biological Anomalies: Birds 1996: Biological Anomalies: Mammals II: 1995: Biological Anomalies: Mammals I 1994: Science Frontiers, The Book 1994: Biological Anomalies: Humans III 1993: Biological Anomalies: Humans II 1992: Biological Anomalies: Humans I 1991: Inner Earth: A Search for Anomalies (Geological) 1990: Neglected Geological Anomalies 1989: Anomalies in Geology: Physical, Chemical, Biological 1988: Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds, Submarine Canyons (Geological) 1987: Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos 1986: The Sun and Solar System Debris 1985: The Moon and the Planets 1984: Rare Halos, Mirages, Anomalous Rainbows (Geophysics) 1983: Earthquakes, Tides, Unidentified Sounds (Geophysics) 1983: Tornados, Dark days, Anomalous Precipitation (Geophysics) 1982: Lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal Lights (Geophysics) 1982: Unfathomed Mind 1981: Incredible life (Biology) 1980: Unknown Earth (Geological) 1979: Mysterious Universe (Astronomy) 1978: Ancient Man (Archeology) 1977: Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenonema Sourcebook Series 1978: Strange Planet E2 1977: Strange Universe A1 1976: Strange Artifact M2 1976: Strange Minds P1 1976: Strange Life B1 1975: Strange Planet E1 1975: Strange Universe A1 1974: Strange Artifact M1 1974: Strange Phenomena G2 1974: Strange Phenomena G1 Home Page The Sourcebook Project (Catalog of Anomalies)Oct 2021 Sorry, all publications ...
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