Welcome to the 2019 Summer Edition of Scifihorizons! In this issue Scifihorizons returns to its roots with three new Video Scans! (Sorry, no Text Scans. Haven’t had the chance to get out and do any interviews.) There is also a significant change to The Universe Today. The new title for this SFH feature has been changed to The Universe Tomorrow! (That way nobody gets this site and that other guy’s site confused.)
Lots to talk about in this issue, so let’s get started!
Enjoy!
Video Scan
What: Project Blue Book
When: Currently between seasons
Where: The History Channel
I was quite surprised to see the History Channel debut with such a bold move. This subject is, of course, legitimate history (insomuch as Project Bluebook was formed and did investigate numerous cases), but, even in the twenty-first century this subject matter is still considered controversial. Previously, there has only been one attempt to tackle PBB, and that was by Jack Webb in the seventies. Webb tried to stay true to eyewitness reports, and gave Bluebooks conclusions, although most of the episodes shown fell under the “Unsolved” category. Despite Webb’s best efforts, the series only lasted one season. Now the History Channel is using the same records, but creating an entirely different show. And somehow, they have still managed to present this material in a way befitting the History Channel.
The first thing you need to understand about this production is that the stories you’re being shown are not the actual incidents which were reported. These episodes are, rather, suggestive of, or in the spirit of, what witnesses say happened. (Sometimes what the viewer is shown bears little or no resemblance to the original reports, at all.)
But don’t get mad-there’s a reason the producers are taking this sort of approach. And it’s actually a very good reason.
True to form, these productions are designed to give the viewer a feeling for the history of the post war period. Paranoia created by the advent of the nuclear age, fears of a repeat of the famous Orson Welles scare on a national level, a new awareness of science and technology and all this might portend, these were but a few of the fears that simmered and rippled throughout the post war United States. Things that we’d laugh about now were taken quite seriously then. Not that people of the forties, fifties, or sixties were stupid (most of them were given a broader education than their modern counterparts) but, with all the miracles that science was achieving, they simply didn’t know what was really possible, and so they could never be certain what to believe. And the show reflects that by attempting to give the viewer a feeling for the vibe of the period. In this regard PBB scores high. As to actual history-not so much.
Look, don’t get me wrong, I really do like the series! It has a little bit of everything: remote places, strange lights in the sky, government cover-ups, secret military experiments, Soviet spies, and, of course, men in black. But there’s more! Sex, betrayal, murder-yes, PBB gets checks in all of these boxes. Paranoia and suspicion abound, and no one is who they seem to be. This is no dry documentary, it’s a show!
There is a story to tell here, and the producers do this very well. Not only does the viewer know (like the witnesses), that Bluebook isn’t always giving them a rock solid, real world explanation of what was seen, but, the viewer also knows why. They know the situation and realizes what is at stake. To avoid a panic, the citizens must be given a rational explanation or else that panic will spread. One of the main themes that runs throughout the first full season of this show is that PBB is essentially a fire brigade, jumping from point to point as they douse the flames of panic before they can take hold. The show also hints that one of the functions of Bluebook may be that it is occasionally used as cover for some of the military’s more private ventures. (There are even suggestions made in the show that the military might have some undefined involvement with an otherworldly contact.) Besides that, (in both the show and the real world) Bluebook also came in handy when providing explanations for things that couldn’t be readily explained. The verdict of their investigation was often considered the final word on the subject by the vast majority of the populace, and so the incident was promptly forgotten. Once again, this falls into line with what is considered to be the accepted history of the time.
PBB, the real PBB, had a very important role to play, and, with a little help, they played their role well. By the late sixties, when Bluebook was finally shut down, the thought of flying saucers and little green men was considered laughable, and anyone who saw strange lights in the skies learned to keep their mouths shut. To speak of such things publicly would lead to a loss of friends, reputation, and often, their employment. (Mr. Spielberg covers this quite well in his first movie on the subject.) While Bluebook may have lasted only a score of years, the effects of the program were profound, and they still reverberate today.
Project Bluebook, the television show, provides mystery and intrigue on multiple levels. PBB uses the evolving storyline format, and sprinkles the plotline with seemingly normal and obviously nefarious characters, whose paths constantly crisscross and intertwine. The story that the show tells about the lives of the investigators, their families and friends, is involving enough, and the effects are good, and there are the (inevitable) mysteries that are hinted at, lying just beyond the reach of the viewer. You know what I mean, ‘always to be briefly glimpsed, yet never fully comprehended.’ (Part of what keeps the viewer coming back.) In all, a very good show that gives the viewer a glimpse of a simpler, and much more dark and deadly time in America.
Something else worth mentioning. This show also has many scenes which may not be suitable for the very young, so view this one after you put the little ones to bed.
Even if you have no interest in the subject matter, you should still find PBB entertaining. (Try to catch it from the beginning, if you can.) The surprising twists and turns in the plotline, the paranoia, the very nature of the phenomena, all of these elements combine to make Project Bluebook a very watchable show. (On the History Channel!)
Give it a look and see if you agree.
Video Scan
What: The Orville
When: Currently between seasons
Where: Fox Television
A little over a half century ago, the imaginations of a considerable portion of the human race were fired by an idea…a dream…
When I first heard of the Orville, I was disgusted by the thought of it. A show that would lampoon a treasured icon of the boomer generation, and of later generations? Unthinkable.
So, I determined to sit down, watch the show, hate it, and never watch it again.
At least, that’s how it all started.
The opening scenes were coarse, and as soon as I saw the ship, with its “Jagger” drive, a wide open laughing mouth with the tongue sticking out at me, I was sure. I almost changed channels then, but decided I’d watch a little bit more.
There was lampooning (as expected), and even a genuine ‘Hope and Crosby’ moment between the two leads, but there was also more. Much more. There was some ‘boldly going’ stuff, and there was drama, excitement, interesting and complex relationships, even (what are currently considered to be) ‘moral issues’ that most shows either ignore or have difficulty addressing; all of which made for some really good science fiction.
And (you guessed it!) I soon found myself watching each succeeding episode, and looking forward to the next one.
Humor abounds here. It is rare that I can watch the show without smiling once or twice, or even laughing out loud. Classic bits (such as the Hope and Crosby thing) are often used in this new context, and they play just as well or better. When contrasted against the more dramatic scenes they balance out the presentation and give it depth.
The effects on this show can be dazzling. Well thought out and well rendered, they are a definite plus for the viewer. But it’s the stories that caught my interest. Sometimes funny, sometimes scary, and even (occasionally) sometimes very, very serious, they give the viewer something to chew on. And, they also perform the truest function which science fiction is capable of in our current environment-taking today’s most troubling and toxic issues, and placing them in a context in which the viewer will be comfortable enough to watch and consider them. In the modern world, this is the purest form of science fiction. (And has been, almost since the advent of the genre.)
The production also performs the secondary function of science fiction quite well; to fire the minds of the young and the young at heart, so that they will stop and look up at the stars occasionally, rather than just always stare down at the ground.
Give this show a try, and I think you’ll get a kick out of it. If nothing else, you’ll get a smile or two, and maybe even a laugh out loud moment.
See what you think!
…that dream, still lives…
Video Scan
What: Day 5
When: Currently between seasons
Where: El Rey
(Before we go any further, it should be noted that Day 5 is actually the definition of what is known as an Adult program. So, I guess, is this review. Little ones should not see either of them.)
If you’ve ever found yourself on a dark, empty road, just after midnight, and the needle is pegging E, but you still have the pedal to the floor because, at that very moment, you happen to be on a drug fueled ride to hell, then Day 5 may seem familiar to you. If you’ve never experienced such a horrific interlude, then prepare yourself! Because Day 5 is probably the most radically adult program to yet be aired on ‘regular’ cable television, and El Rey chooses to hold nothing back. There is full nudity (not pixelated), there is rampant drug use (not pixelated), there is death both savage and serene (none of which is pixelated), plus, the show features most of the popular curse words, and they are often used in some of the most interesting combinations. And not even one syllable of it is bleeped (not sure about the pixilation). This is a truly adult show, and it tells an adult story.
It’s also one program that you need to watch from the beginning to get the full effect. Day 5 is worth the ride.
At first Day 5 seems bizarre, and yet, at the same time, dreamlike. But, as the series progresses, the dreamlike quality quickly fades, and is immediately replaced by a more nightmarish aspect. The premise of the show revolves around the various characters desperate struggles just to stay awake. To stay alive. In Day 5, sleep means death.
The world that they stumble through is one of the most uniquely realized post-apocalyptic worlds to yet be described. It’s hard to put into words exactly what the Day 5 world is like. This is because there are simply too many facets to this jewel, and all of them must be blended together before your mind’s eye can form a truly coherent view of that upside down landscape. Telling you about any one of portion of it couldn’t even begin to give you the whole picture. You simply have to see this view for yourself. Then you may understand.
Day 5 has a (prerequisite) mystery that drives the story, and a seemingly unreachable goal, but that isn’t really what this show is about. Day 5 is about the characters. They provide the meat (sometimes literally) in this production. To call them an odd assortment would be a gross understatement. These characters come from every walk of life, and the only thing most of them share in common is a burning desire to stay awake. During the run of the show the viewer will find themselves cheering for some of the most unlikely people, even as they wonder if that character really is who they seem to be. And what is that character’s real agenda? (This conundrum is what drives the show, of course.) The characters are constantly trying to figure out who is who, which side their companions are on, and how could one or more of them participate in such a monstrous undertaking as trying to kill the whole world? And most important of all, can the bad people be stopped before the characters becomes so physically exhausted they simply collapse and die?
Day 5 is a compelling story, and it is well told.
When it comes to production values, it’s hard to say enough about the cast and crew of Day 5. The writing and the acting are always on the mark. Special effects scores as well, and even the makeup and prop crew deserve recognition for their efforts. They make the freakish world of Day 5 appear seamless.
How seamless? To answer that let’s close with an actual comment that was made by a viewer after seeing the first episode of Day 5.
“Well, at least somebody finally made a show about real people.”
See if you agree!
That’s it for this portion of Scifihorizons! The Universe Tomorrow is up next!
The Universe Tomorrow
Welcome to the 2019 Summer edition of The Universe Tomorrow! (Yes, the name has been changed, but not the content!) As to the new name, I was unaware when I started this page that someone already had the name as a website. So, to avoid confusion, I thought I’d try something different. Besides, as those of you playing along on the home version know, most of what you are reading here today will be considered science fact tomorrow. Hence, the name.
In this issue, we are going to walk to the very edge of the abyss, and peer out into it (and the abyss will gaze back at us), and then, we’re going to jump!
Don’t worry, though-I promise you a soft landing.
See you on the other side!
Mars or Boom!
The fiftieth anniversary of the first Moon landing has seemed to reinvigorate not only the space program, but the people’s interest in exploration in general. The return to the Moon not only allows us to test new systems that will be used in a Mars landing, but will also help immensely in scouting for potential sites for colonization on the Moon itself. We need these landings so that we can take and build upon what we‘ve learned, perfect and refine it, so that when it comes time for the actual first humans to step out onto Mars, they’ll be ready. It’s been fifty years since we last walked the Moon and those original systems that were used then are seriously outdated now, and it is very difficult (and sometimes impossible) to recreate them. So we need new systems, new vehicles, a totally new approach.
NASA’s original plan for getting men to the Moon and back safely was done in stages, each component was tested and proved in real world (Earth orbit) circumstances. Even when the point was finally reached where men were actually sent to the Moon, the first missions were only flybys and practice missions to see if all that careful planning was really going to work. In the last mission to the Moon, before the landings began, Apollo 10 flew low over the Moon and the Command Module and the Lunar Excursion Module detached, and the LEM’s flight capabilities were evaluated. Then, the two vehicles were reattached, and returned to Earth. Imagine being so close to the surface of the Moon, flying in the equipment that you knew could do the job, and then just having to pack up and leave. Apollo 11 gets all the glory, but it was Apollo 1 thru 10 that proved the systems would work.
Obviously, we will not be able to perform such extensive tests before landing on Mars. The distance to Mars is simply too great. Which is why NASA has to bank everything on one all or nothing throw. And if NASA succeeds, and makes it all the way to Mars, then they have to land. (And take off again.) With only one shot, they have to send everything but the kitchen sink, and try to do as much science as possible in the time allotted. And that’s if nothing goes wrong. If problems arise, there is no backup. The astronauts will be totally on their own.
Which seems a bit risky, especially if NASA is using systems that are only being given their real world test for the first time when they land on Mars. That is some very high stakes poker, because if NASA casts the dice and loses, then and entire crew could die. At least when NASA was working in the space between the Earth and the Moon, if everything went south then they could always abort the mission and come home. But this is not the case with Mars. The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to a trip to Mars is this: once those intrepid astronauts leave Earth orbit and go to max burn to start their trip to the red planet, their chances of an emergency abort and early return start to diminish rapidly. Long before they reach Mars, long before they even reach the halfway point, they will have already gone far beyond the point of no return. So, if something goes wrong then (or later), too bad, because they’re in it for the duration.
This is why everything has to be perfect the first time. There is no room for mistakes. A trip to Mars that ended tragically would be disastrous to NASA. A major blow from which the program might not recover. This is why, if they do it, they have to succeed. Because, if they fail, they might not get another chance.
That’s why I’m pushing so hard for the return to the Moon first. We need the practice. And there are also some nearby asteroids we can investigate while we’re at it. The reason for this is that missions to any object beyond the Earth/Moon system will allow us to test our manned deep space capabilities, while missions to the Moon will help us test new ‘lander’ vehicles, and help refine the investigative tools and machines we’ll be using on Mars. And what we learn from those missions will help to shape not only the type of ship we build, but will also determine what we’re going to take along for the ride.
Look, I’m not saying to put the trip to Mars off, just to be ready when we go. While we’re exploring the Moon and the local asteroids, we can actually build a full sized, unmanned ship, and send it to Mars to see if the vehicle works as expected. (And we should do this before we send the first humans to Mars.) We can test the ship’s spaceworthiness, and even launch a lander from it. (AI will probably be of great assistance in this situation.) It is possible that NASA might even be able to guide the lander to a safe touchdown, have it scoop up a few samples, then takeoff again and return to the unmanned ship. And then bring it back to Earth, of course. At which point we know the systems work, and we can then move ahead with manned flights.
So, if NASA can do all that, then why send humans at all, you may ask? The answer is simple. At this moment in history human beings are still more intuitively aware of their surroundings than their AI counterparts (though it is doubtful that this will last for long). A machine turns to the direction it was programmed to turn, and takes the picture it was programmed to take. A human in a spacesuit would look around, glance down and see something interesting, and pick it up to examine it, and immediately recognize a fossil. The machine’s only hope is that the light was right and some scientist going over the photo minutely will discover said fossil. And the machine didn’t even know the fossil was there-it just took the picture it was programmed to take. (As previously noted, all this will change very soon. So, sentient readers of the future, no offense. This is just the way things are now. Remember, Sents are people, too!) Ultimately, the reason for manned flight is that some questions can only be answered by putting spacesuits on the ground.
As you can see, I support a manned flight to Mars for a multitude of reasons, only a few of which have been listed in this article. I just want to see it done the right way. In fact, my only complaint is, “Are we there, yet?”
Since We’re Going Anyway
So we’re off to Mars! Sounds great! Just one or two things before we leave, okay?
Physical fitness comes to mind. Because no matter how hard our astronauts exercise on the journey, we have already seen real world proof of the condition they will be in when they reach Mars. A NASA astronaut spent a year in space, roughly the amount of time it would take to travel from here to Mars, and when the Russian capsule landed and the hatch was opened, the astronaut had to be helped out of the capsule. This will not be an option on Mars.
Argue all you want about how Martian gravity is only one third our own and I’ll simply point out that the astronaut in question, one of the most highly trained and physically fit men in the world, couldn’t even lift himself up. If this were the Moon we were talking about, I might agree. With only one sixth of our gravity, astronauts might be able to function on the Moon after a year or more in zero G, although at first it will tax them a bit. But this is Mars, and everything has to work right the first time because there is no backup. Landing successfully on Mars, only to have the astronauts so weak that they’re unable move, is not a win/win scenario.
Maybe it’s time to try something else.
As I have noted before in these articles, and invention by a brilliant Japanese scientist may be of some assistance with our little problem.
A quick recap so we’re all on the same page. This scientist was aware that our skin goes through certain preparations in anticipation of our muscles moving. This is a purely autonomic response over which we have no conscious control. So, this truly brilliant may built a metal framework that could be clamped on to his subjects, all of whom were paraplegics. Running along the outside of the body from the shoulders to the feet, this framework was equipped with sensors that could feel and interpret those skin changes, and move the framework, just as the muscles would have moved. And, suddenly, the paraplegics could walk! Even more amazing, after a few weeks using the framework, they could take it off and still walk. Their movements were mechanical, even without the framework, but they were walking.
(I’m sure most of you already know where this is going.)
NASA should consider building such technology into our latest generation of spacesuits. But they need to build a comprehensive system that will allow for full body movement. Even (and most especially) the hands and fingers. I mean, even if all you have to do to open the airlock is press a button, if your finger is too weak to depress the button, then you’re back to square one. Our astronauts will need some sort of physical support like this if they plan to perform even the simplest tasks immediately after touchdown. Remember, they won’t have anyone there to help them out of the capsule. They will be totally on their own and the astronauts have to be able to do everything they’re supposed to do.
A spacesuit like the aforementioned might serve other functions, as well. Like creating a little negative feedback in the suits while in space. Negative feedback as in each time the astronaut moves in zero G, the framework offers some resistance. A small amount of negative feedback whenever the astronauts moved should create some additional tension on the muscles they are moving. While a poor substitute for gravity, this suit would allow the astronaut to ‘work out’ 24/7. Of course this function could easily be turned off for EVA’s and other such endeavors. The framework in this configuration would be a passive system that would assist in maintaining muscle tone, but it might get in the way of the more important jobs the astronauts will be required to perform in zero G. That’s why there would be three settings. Passive, Off, and Positive. One for zero G. One for doing the important stuff. And one that allows the astronauts to sit up, push buttons, turn knobs, and even go outside and take a walk.
As to those of you who are pointing to all those rotating cylinders, let me say this one more time. I for real know one of the folks at NASA that programmed the simulations. You can build a classic cylinder in space and start it rotating peacefully, and there will be gravity. And everything will be fine until anything that is inside the cylinder moves. Even barely moves. As soon as this happens, the cylinder begins to bob and sway, and within a few minutes the whole ship tears itself apart (Kubrick, and the rest of us, missed it on this one.) So, if NASA wants to put our astronauts into hibernation and load them onto a cylinder and then rotate it, and if nothing shifts or falls over during the entire flight, and NASA stops the rotation completely before awakening the astronauts, then it might work. But first, of course, we have to work out that hibernation thing.
(By the way, in case anyone is interested, I spent hours arguing about this nasty little fact myself. I tried proposing all sorts of scenarios and all sorts of ships that might help overcome this barrier. But there was simply no way to get around the laws of physics. Once you start moving around in an object that is being rotated to simulate gravity, your movement, no matter how slight, throws the whole system out of whack and the spaceship destroys itself. So even I was forced to face the facts on this issue. While the concept sounds great in theory, and all those ships with the rotating and counter-rotating stuff really do look neat in the flashy videos, sadly, the model just doesn’t play out in the real world. So we have to find another solution.)
According to current NASA planning, the astronaut’s bowel movements will be placed in plastic bags and then taped to the interior surfaces of the capsule as anti-radiation shielding. I’m sure the reaction you’re having right now was similar to the one I had when I first heard this tidbit of space news. Why NASA would want to be responsible for the first serial killer in space, I’m not really sure, but I do know the aforementioned is certainly a recipe for one. Either that or a mass suicide. I’m not joking. Despite efforts by NASA and the worldwide space community in general to go really low profile on this story, we know that one of the astronauts aboard the ISS apparently tried to tunnel out. As to why they did this and where they thought they were going to go, your guess is as good as mine. And that was after only a few months in space. A trip to Mars and back would take a minimum of a couple of years. And that’s a lot of time to work on a tunnel. There simply has to be a better way to deal with this waste than the one which NASA proposes. One possible option would be to include a series of compartments in the outer hull in which human (and any other) waste can be injected. Then it would be out of sight, out of mind, and still do its job. We already know the waste will attempt to clump together (as objects tend to do in zero G), and so we’ll have to account for that, among many other things, but at least this option presents a much more workable solution than the one NASA has in mind.
When it comes to the hard radiation that NASA is worried about, I still say we need to build a bunker in the interior of the ship, and then create a magnetic field around that bunker to help keep out the bad stuff. Up until this moment, that would have been an outrageous suggestion. The only reason that we can contemplate such an option now is because the ship that flies to Mars probably won’t be blasting off from a launch pad. At least, not all at once. The ship that goes to Mars will have to be built in stages in Earth orbit. And it will have to be tested there, also. NASA will eventually come to the realization that they’re going to need a spaceship for the voyage to Mars, since a capsule launched from Earth simply cannot contain enough fuel, supplies, air, or a lander, (and living room, for that matter) to be a viable candidate for the trip. They’ll have no choice but to build a workable spacecraft. (A reusable one if they have the slightest bit of sense. WAKEUP NASA!) And this is how and why we include an anti-radiation bunker on our ship. Sure it’s heavy, but we can ship it up in pieces if we have too and then assemble it in space, just like we did the ISS. That’s the same thing we’ll have to do with the rest of the ship, anyway, right? With all the new technology currently at our disposal, it seems mandatory that the astronauts have such a space, even if (worst case scenario) the effect was only psychological in nature (although with a heavy metal bunker to retreat to, odds are that you would have a better chance of surviving than you would in a feces lined command module. And you’d probably feel better about it, too.)
I’d say more (and usually do), but we’ll leave things here for now. As previously noted, since NASA is going (and I fully support that) then let’s go! Just make sure the astronauts pack right for the occasion.
Big is Small Again
One of my favorite snowballs I like to throw at the astrophysical community is that they have yet to come up with a sufficient way to express the unbelievably large numbers that are being used to express distance in astronomical terms. The everyday person on the street hears numbers like thirty-two to the twenty-eighth power and their eyes just kind of glaze over. That number is so large it’s hard for them to comprehend. So their mind slides right over it and back to more mundane thoughts. And the kids lose the game right at the beginning, before they get a chance to teach anything. Unfortunately, this state of affairs still exists, right up until this very day. So, I got tired of complaining, of waiting, and invented my own system.
In this system, there are three sets of values, and they use three different sets of measurement. They are, in ascending order, plans, stels, and ints. (Notice that each is pronounced in such a way that it would be difficult to confuse that word with one of the others.)
Plans are the easiest, so we’ll start with them first. All distances on planets or moons will be measured in kilometers, and generally all planetary measurements of any sort would be done using the metric system. While precise, and more than adequate to describe distances here on Earth, the metric system fails miserably when it attempts to depict the truly vast gulfs of space that surround us. The numbers are simply too large. But, here on Earth, and the Moon, and even Mars, or an asteroid, they should work just fine. So, we go with kilometers to measure distances on planets, moons, and asteroids.
Stels are almost as easy as Plans. Right now, our most basic measurement of large distances within our solar system is the A.U., or astronomical unit, which is roughly ninety-three or four million miles. This is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. Very nice, I guess-I like the concept-but that’s and arbitrary number. Instead, why not just round that number up to one hundred million. And then we can add four hundred million more to it. Enough to equal one stel. A stel is five hundred million miles (hey, is that Jupiter I see up ahead!). Two stels would be one thousand million miles. Ten stels is five thousand million miles. Easier to picture in your mind, easier to say, and easier to understand what you’re talking about. (Very large distances can be expressed with just a few stels.) And, when it comes to exploring our home system, where all nine planets are located, the part that I refer to as the Inner Solar System, keep in mind that region, as immense as it seems right now, is only a very small part of our entire solar system. In fact, the eight (or nine) planets are just the beginning. We need a way to express those stellar distances in a way people can comprehend as soon as they hear it.
Ints are another story, because the distances involved here are so great that astrophysics has trouble describing them. We need another type of yardstick for interstellar space. We have to start big. Some of the latest estimates as to the size of our solar system say that it extends outwards some two point three light years in every direction (like I said earlier, the Outer Solar System is really big). Now, we could go with this as our number, but once again it’s arbitrary and requires additional cogitation. So we’ll round that up to two point five light years. But we aren’t there yet. That is only one quarter of an Int. An int is ten light years. Which means ten ints is one hundred light years, and one hundred ints equals one thousand light years. The Centauri system, our closest neighbor, is less than half an int away. Here again, incredibly large numbers can be expressed without a need to go to the nth power, and these numbers can be understood, not by just a rarefied few, but by everyone. When it comes to measuring distance in interstellar terms, stating these larger numbers as ints simplifies things considerably.
To recap: The metric system for measurements on anything resembling hard ground. And miles for measuring distances within the confines of our (or any other) solar system. Light years for travel out into the stars. We need to establish these as the basic sets we use for all three venues. And once we adopt this set of measurements, we stick to it. Why? Well, then we won’t have probes plowing into planets and moons because somebody got feet and meters confused. (It has happened more than once.) So far these minor mistakes have cost a few countries some very expensive machines, but that’s all, and no one wants to see any further, more serious losses. That is why the scientific community needs to come to an agreement on this issue. So, feet and miles in space, and meters and kilometers once the vehicle touches down. This way, the next time a probe smashes into an object, we’ll all know it was on purpose.
If we adopt ints, stels, and plans, we can make the infinite abyss that surrounds us seem a little less distant, and maybe even more familiar and comfortable, as well. So that when scientists start to discuss those mind numbing gulfs of interstellar space, then everyone will comprehend what they are saying. Since, the Arabic numeral system has run into the same dead end that the Roman numeral system stumbled into: the numbers we deal with now are too large for the Arabic numeral system to express, it is imperative that we find a way to foreshorten the numbers we are now encountering. While ints, stels, and plans don’t pretend to be the answer to this dilemma, they do offer a partial solution, a way to help the system limp a little farther. A way maybe, to keep those really big numbers just small enough so that everyone will be in the conversation.
Kid’s Stuff
Many people around the world have seen the toddler’s ring toy. A simple device, it consists of a conical set of rings that fit around a post. The rings, in descending order, are colored red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. The red ring is the smallest in circumference, and each ring gets progressively larger as they descend, so as to form a multicolored cone. Babies, and toddlers up to two or three years old, can play with this toy for hours, and often do. But maybe this kid’s toy can be of some use to us, too.
To start with, take the post and base thingie and toss it. We won’t be needing it.
Now, take the red ring and lay it flat on the table. Take the orange ring, the next largest one in the series, and hollow it out until it fits neatly around the red ring. This is not as easy as it sounds because you have to be sure that the tube that forms the orange ring is exactly the same size as the one that forms the red ring. The orange ring will simply be longer than the red ring because it has further to go to make a full circle. Once we’ve done this with the red and orange rings, we’ll do the same with the yellow, green, and blue rings. (If you’re still not sure how this works take a garden hose, cut off both ends, take a length of hose, make circle with it, cut it off and glue it together, paint it red, and you have the first ring. Wrap another length of garden hose around the red ring, cut it off, glue the ends together, and paint it orange. And so on. Note that the size of the hose never changes, just its length.)
Wow, pretty! Look at all the colors, right? But our re-imagined toy is more than just eye-catching, it serves a double purpose, because what we also have built is a model of our own primordial solar system. The very center of the hole in the middle of the red ring is the location of the Sun. The red ring represents the ring in which Mercury formed. We can see why Mercury is so small, since it only had so much material to work with. The orange ring is where Venus formed. Which makes sense, because Venus is a much larger world Mercury. More gas and dust, equals bigger planet. The third ring, the yellow one, that’s us! So, we get a planet slightly larger than Venus, plus a Moon. Everything according to schedule, so far.
And then we get to Mars, and the whole analogy comes crashing down. And it can’t, since our latest images show early solar systems where a star is blazing (the kids get that one) and there are distinct rings around the star (I get that one), each one bulging with dust and gas, just enough to build ONE planet in each ring (as I first proposed in 2010-no inner system bowling alley). Each circumference of each ring, the tube of dust and gases, is the same size as the ring inside of it, in so much as the clouds of gas and dust have the same width and depth, but each successive ring needs to be progressively longer to fully encompass the ring inside of it. This is where all the extra material comes from and why planets grow progressively larger the further away from the Sun that they form. By all rights there should be a much larger planet, with one or more moons, in the ring Mars occupies. And there isn’t. Also, there should be an even larger planet, and moons, in what we now call the asteroid belt, and there isn’t one there, either. Something is wrong. Two of our planets are missing.
Trust me on this one, folks, or look at the model we’ve just built and trust your own eyes. There should be two progressively larger planets, each with one or more moons, occupying the fourth and fifth rings, where Mars and the Asteroid Belt are located, but they aren’t there. Where are they?
The truth is, I don’t know. And that scares the hell out of me.
Either they got completely knocked out of the solar system for some unknown reason, or they were pushed onto some really long orbits that may bring them sunward only once every few hundred million years. (Which reminds me of all those references to an additional planet or planets in ancient writings. As modern scientists are finding out, our ancestors weren’t idiots but were actually very keen observers when it came to astronomical events. If they say they saw something in the heavens, they probably did.) If that’s true, consider the consequences. An unexpected visit from a planet a third larger than the Earth could play havoc with the inner solar system.
Right now some of you are pointing to Mars, and saying there is a planet in that orbit. To which I say, well-yes and no. Mars can in no way begin to account for all the gas and dust that was originally found in the ring it now occupies. It is, after all, only one third the size of the Earth. Which doesn’t add up. Mars should be much bigger. Much bigger. The reason I say we have two planets missing is that I think Mars got promoted. Whatever event or series of events that removed planets four and five from the inner solar system left the fourth planet’s moon behind. A moon we now call the planet Mars.
And if anything like the moon to planet ratio we have in the Earth/Moon system was in force there, then that means Mars would have been roughly one tenth the size of its parent planet. If Mars is one third the size of Earth, then its parent world, planet four, would have been much larger than our own. Exactly like the colored rings demonstrate it should be.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, planet five was even bigger, and had moons, too. (Cere and Vespa are the mostly likely candidates in this category.) Even so, with the amount of material left over in what we call the asteroid belt, planet five, while larger than the Earth, had not completed the building process. Which makes sense because, according to astro-geologists, Mars formed very early in the process. That means that its parent planet had already formed, too, but also allows for planet five to still be accumulating mass at the same time. The picture I saw showed a couple of empty rings in the midst of those billowing ‘ring’ clouds of dust and gas. Planets had already formed, leaving these gaps, indicating that planets form at different rates in a developing solar system and not all at once, as was previously assumed and has been modelled often in visual representations. (Score another one for yours truly. Astrophysicists acknowledged this year that Jupiter was probably the first planet to form in our solar system, something I was writing, and providing an intellectual model for, in 2010. Like I said from the beginning, read it here first.)
So where could these two planets have gone, and why? Models made by expectant astrophysicists show that two masses of that size colliding would have lost a certain amount of material, and then they would have proceeded to make a new, larger planet that was a conglomeration of the two previous worlds. The resulting mega-planet (by their models) would have had one or more moons. But that is not what we see. There is no evidence for anything like that scenario. No massive planet with accompanying moons. No evidence of where all that extra material may have gone. Even the ‘great bombardment’ scenario stuff, the Hadean Period, can’t begin to account for that much mass, some of which still would be roaming around the inner solar system. Yet, we don’t see anything remotely resembling that state of affairs. Which means that planets four and five must have simply left. As impossible as it sounds, at some stage early in the development of our solar system, both planets somehow managed to exit the inner solar system, possibly (and hopefully) never to return. And that brings us back to the original question-where did they go, and why?
I wish I had the answer for this one, but it’s a total mystery to me, too. I’ve gone through models in my head, accounting for the fact that the Earth/Moon system and Venus are still forming, Mars and its parent planet are formed, planet five is almost full grown, and Jupiter is fully formed and is building or has built moons, plus, of course, the big ball of gas at the center of our solar system that is responsible for it all. I even went so far as to include Saturn and the outer planets, and whatever errant comet, asteroid, or planetoid might have shown up, and I still can’t find the answer. At the moment, I’m unable to construct a model that would just scoop two planets up and throw them out of our solar system (without wreaking havoc on the rest of the solar system). In fact, the only thing I can tell you with any certainty is that planets four and five were there, and now they aren’t. And somehow we got Mars in the bargain.
The Big Splash
I shudder at the thought of what I’m about to tell you. I suspect the temperature in Hades just took a precipitous drop. That said…
A new theory states that Mars may have been struck by a large object, and evidence has been provided to demonstrate that such a strike did occur. Current estimates place that strike in the Borealis basin. Funny thing is, they’re kind of right this time, and they’re still wrong.
If you look at their model, the first thing you see is a huge, well defined crater near the pole, and the splash pattern radiating out from it equally in all directions. But this crater is not located in the Borealis region, but is now one of the poles of Mars. Since this crater is at the center of the splash pattern, this is where the strike happened. Which means a strike really did occur, just not where they thought it did. (I know, I can’t believe I’m writing this, either.) This massive object that struck Mars near the pole really did do what their models suggested. And didn’t. It hurled into the planet with such force it may have penetrated all the way to the core. Yet there is no evidence that Mars incorporated that world into its mass, and Mars does not have a moon large enough to accommodate all that additional mass. So there models are wrong. Still, when this collision took place, what a sight that must have been.
The object, possibly a companion moon or perhaps a planetoid that was just passing through, struck with such force that a portion of that hemisphere around the pole was compressed down and inward. As this was happening, the Martian equator, with all that weight pressing down on it, bulged outward. Mars, unlike the Earth, didn’t have a moon large enough to create tides, so whatever wave action may have occurred on Mars, was driven by wind and weather. Which means that the Martian crust was much thicker than the Earth’s and therefore not as flexible. When the equator bulged outwards from the strike, a massive lateral seam in the crust, running from east to west, was ripped open. We know this feature today as the Valles Marineris. (Always knew it was a geological feature, and not something created by wind and rain.)
Whatever more complex lifeforms which may have existed on Mars were probably wiped out, since such a catastrophe definitely qualifies as an extinction level event. And yet we keep getting methane readings from Mars, which is important to scientists because on Earth methane exists primarily as a waste gas emitted by decaying flora and both living and decaying fauna. And yet, after the magnitude event that was just described, that still doesn’t sound very promising, and NASA goes to great pains to point out that there may be other sources for the amount of methane the planet is producing. Which seems right, because, after that kind of strike, if any life is left on or near the surface of Mars, it would most likely be single celled organisms. (Which can, by the way, emit their fair share of methane gases.) And that is where things have stood, until now.
Since this strike did occur, it presents a tantalizing possibility. While Mars had no raft of crustal plates, (then, or now) it may have still had oceans, or seas. The topography that wasn’t covered by the big splash seems to show continents and seas, even rivers and lakes, a world somewhat like our own. But, without crustal plates, voluminous amounts of Martian seawater could not have been trapped deep below the surface, as so often happens on Earth in subduction zones. However, with a strike of this magnitude, it is possible that during all the flexing that was going on (enough to create the Valles Marineris) that some of this water may have been sub-ducted during the event; taking whatever surviving oceanic lifeforms that may have been present there with it. Which means that some of the more complex Martian lifeforms may still exist far beneath the surface, in near or total darkness, drawing both warmth and sustenance from the core of the planet. So, while we may not find little green men on Mars, we may find some little green fish.
As hard as it is for me to admit, the kids are (partially) right on this one. Mars was struck by another object that may have been at least a tenth the size of the planet. (I know, my fingers are bursting into flame as I type this.) The evidence is pretty solid on this one, and it does finally give me a chance to provide you with a rational explanation for the formation of the Valles Marineris, and one that actually fits the facts. (I’ve been working on models to explain its formation for some time now, but hadn’t yet published. Guess I can throw all that stuff away.) However, one thing to take note of is that despite their models, the object that struck Mars did not knock stuff off destroy one entire portion of the planet. Instead, it splashed out over the planet like a bucket of water being thrown at something. So much for that model. The only support to that model is the presence of the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, one or both of which could have been spawned by this event.
This also goes a long way in explaining why we keep losing probes between here and the red planet.
You can chalk up a certain number of those incidents to programming errors, undetected faults in the equipment, and even intervention by foreign powers, and there are still a lot of missing Mars bound probes to account for. Maybe there is still a cloud of material thrown up from this strike that travels with the planet, either in front and/or behind Mars, or perhaps even surrounds the planet at some distance. If the material is small enough, or dark enough, it might be difficult to detect, except for the old fashion way.
There’s still one thing that’s bothering me. I can model that strike coming in from the side, but I have a really hard time modelling it coming in from directly overhead. While such an angle is not impossible, it is very improbable. Instead, it seems that Mars was struck in either its eastern or western hemisphere, and the hit was so hard that it knocked that hemisphere upright and reoriented the planets spin. This would help to explain the planets extreme wobbles, and why the magnetic poles seem to have shifted to so many different points on Mars. Which shouldn’t have happened. Magnetic reversals yes, but the poles shifting to other points on the planet? No. Remember, Mars has no moon one tenth the size of the planet to control the Martian tides, and without tides to create constantly changing pressure on the surface, no shifting continental plates. And that should mean no shifting magnetic poles. The location of the poles should have pretty much always remained the same, but they haven’t.
Finally, we must ask ourselves, did this strike occur in association with the disappearance of planets four and five? I suspect the answer is yes. The Martian ELE probably took place either during, or shortly after, these two planets exited the scene. Either way it was probably a direct consequence of this event.
Go Fever
In the early days of the space race, there was a phenomenon known as ‘Go fever.’ Everybody at NASA was working so hard then, putting in sixteen to seventeen hours a day, often for six or seven days a week, and nothing was going to slow them down. Like the famed military “maximum effort” NASA personnel and other private firms associated with the program gave it their all. But, this mindset could also lead to impatience, a desire to make it happen already, a ‘we have to go’ type of attitude. And this opened the door to error. The Challenger accident is probably one of the best examples of this attitude being carried to the extreme.
But it wasn’t just NASA itself, it was the astronauts. During Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, the rocket would be hauled out to the pad, fueled, the astronauts loaded on board, the countdown begun, and then there would be a hold. Some gauge would be giving an incorrect reading, and nobody was sure if it was a real problem or just a faulty gauge. Hours would be spent tracking down the problem, fixing it, and then the countdown would begin again. And would just as likely be stopped again for another problem. The astronauts would sit on the pad all this time and, after all the months of training and prep, they’d start to become restless. They knew if they didn’t go soon, NASA would scrub the launch and then they’d have to wait until another day, and still face similar delays. It was not surprising that the astronauts would occasionally shout things like “let’s light this candle!” or “c’mon guys, let’s go!”
And now, NASA has go fever again. I just hope this time it’s not too late.
A visitor passed by our Sun only a short time ago. Called O’muamua, this asteroid, comet, or whatever the current explanation is for the object, zoomed in from behind the Sun, did a neat speed increasing slingshot move, then raced out past us headed into the outer solar system. It got a boost to its speed as it looped around the Sun, the same way we do with our probes (except we loop probes around planets and moons). This is a maneuver that takes a certain amount of planning and calculation to work right. Most objects either plunge into the Sun, or end up in orbit somewhere around it. But this was different. An object from interstellar space sailed into our solar system, did a slingshot move that boosted its speed considerably, then flew past us and back out towards interstellar space. The object’s behavior caused a prominent astronomer to speculate that O’muamua might be intelligently controlled, that it could even possibly be either a ship, or a probe. Eventually, after taking some spectroscopic readings on the object, scientists determined that it must be a really weirdly shaped comet, and there was nothing about it that indicated signs of intelligence.
You won’t be surprised to see that I disagree with that statement.
Let’s go over the facts.
The object approached from interstellar space, executed a perfect slingshot move around the Sun, and then flew past us, and is currently heading back into interstellar space. And it was already going faster than any natural object we know of when it entered the solar system. And with the boost it got from the loop around the Sun, the object is now flying faster than any man-made probes we have thus far created. To me, at least, that denotes some level of intelligence behind this object. The loop was just a little bit too perfect, the speed a little bit too amazing. Astrophysicists have tried to come up with scenarios that will explain why the object was travelling at such an incredible rate, but they’re just shooting in the dark, and they know it.
For roughly one hundred years now, we have been pumping ever stronger radio (and later television) signals into the cosmos. Without fear, I might add, since we are so certain that we are alone. Blithely, we have announced our presence to the universe. Even if whomever, or whatever, is out there doesn’t use radio (which would be a time consuming process since, with good old fashioned radio) other intelligences still would probably notice that our solar system is pumping out more energy than it should be. And they would probably know what that means.
So, what do you do, when you’re sure a new race has arisen on some previously inactive system? You don’t come and land on the Whitehouse lawn, because you’re not sure about what kind of welcome you’re going to receive. (If they’ve seen any of our video, they probably consider us a very violent race that acts on impulse, and that makes us potentially dangerous.) The best thing to do in this situation is to send in a probe disguised as a natural object. That way it can get in close, do a quick survey, and slide right out again. It also allows our curious neighbors to assess out space capabilities. We did not send a probe or ship out to investigate O’muamua, which shows that we aren’t very far along on the space thing. That is something we didn’t want any outside agencies to know.
Don’t get me wrong. I acknowledge that the passage of this object may have just been an amazing, once in a million coincidence. In a universe this big anything is possible. Plus, there is another, non-hostile, alternative to consider. O’muamua could also have been an otherworldly version of some space delivery system. If your life span is over a million years, sending a special delivery to another solar system this way might just be some alien’s version of snail mail. The best way to determine this is to calculate O’muamua’s trajectory, and then, by extrapolating its new course, see if it is going to intercept any nearby stars in the next ten thousand to one hundred thousand, or even the next few million years. If that is the case, then we can breathe a sigh of relief, because the fact that it passed by here first would just be a coincidence. Our star was simply the most conveniently positioned to loop O’muamua in the right direction, and give it a speed boost.
Go fever got us to the moon, but then after that, we didn’t go anywhere else except for low Earth orbit. There were plans to build a space station, and the shuttle was designed for that purpose. Yet it took thirty years before work began on the ISS. We were going to build colonies on the Moon, and then we were going to Mars. None of that happened. Instead, the people were told that too much was being spent on space, and that we should be feeding the poor. That was in the seventies. In the eighties there were more homeless people on the streets than during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and military spending skyrocketed. So, I guess we found out who the poor really were.
If we had followed the original formula as outlined by NASA in the sixties, we would have had a probe, or ship (something) which could have intercepted that object. Probe, spaceship, or interstellar comet, at least then we would have known what O’muamua really was. Imagine what it would be like to collect material from an object from another solar system, an object that has passed through interstellar space. How much could we have learned?
O’muamua is racing towards the depths of the outer solar system right now. And from there on out into the great dark seas of interstellar space. It is a mystery to us, and will forever remain one. If this was a test of our capabilities, we failed miserably, and now our potential opponents know that while we make a lot of noise, we’re not so far along in our space program. And that was something we didn’t want them to know. So every human being on this planet hopes that O’muamua was/is exactly what the astrophysicists thought. Otherwise…
Well, that’s it for this issue. There should be another issue out this year in early Fall 2019, which will focus on exploration and exploitation of the Asteroid Belt, as well as the potential for conflict in space; who will be doing the fighting, and how, since conventional weapons won’t work there. I’ve even come up with a new method to deliver material from orbit to Earth without losing any mass along the way!
Until then!
