203 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
203 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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This file was prepared at:
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The Wrong Number BBS
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201-451-3063 300/1200/2400 24 hrs.
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The article was originally published
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in FATE Magazine, March 1991
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CAN MOON ILLUSIONS MOVE?
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By Felix A. Bach
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What could be more galling than spotting still further changes in
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the monstrous moon objects I've been viewing and telling folks about
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lately, especially after all the effort our vaunted "space experts"
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keep expending to convince us that _nothing_ is up there?
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Despite their sneering claims that moon objects can only be
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"illusions," new ones continue to make surprise appearances, put on
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spectacular displays of activity, and then just blithely disappear! A
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good example was the original "See Through Bags" object at Crater
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Rost, a sketch of which was published in FATE (July 1986). In all the
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sightings prior to that sketch, it showed seven puffy, gossamer bags
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draped from the hooked end of a very shiny, jet-black (a significant
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feature of many major objects) mast about 20 _miles tall!_ Sometime
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between mid-August and September of 1986, though, the mast was rotated
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halfway around, and the "bags" were strung out on a line stretching
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some 35 miles over to Crater Schiller, reminiscent of laundry hanging
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on a clothesline.
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After a dozen or so sightings of this object I naturally assumed
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it was a permanent fixture that would stay there forever, just
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changing appearance every now and then to do whatever job it does. I
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described and sketched the new changes in a later article for the July
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1987 issue of _The Gate._ Even before that article reached its
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readers, astounding changes had already taken place. Sometime before
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May 1987, the mast had acquired a new crossbar near its hooked end.
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There was also a new fabric-like skirt running down most of the shaft
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to the surface (making that part look like a very tall "tepee").
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_WEATHER PROTECTION?_
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A new ribbon of shiny material several miles wide was also draped
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from the crossbar swooping down to the surface like a waterfall.
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Where it landed, it transformed into a long, tubelike form a mile or
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so wide, which subsequently ran across the same 35 miles of surface
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over to Crater Schiller that was covered by its former aerial route.
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(The whole scene was reminiscent of the familiar plastic sheets we see
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draped around our earthly construction sites nowadays for weather
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protection.) There is very little chance of error about this since I
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studied the condition at length and under optimal conditions for three
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nights in a row, beginning the 10th night after the Full Moon (May 8,
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9, and 10) at high resolution powers up to 500x, (which according to
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my "Celestron" manufacturer allows viewing of lunar details as small
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across as a football stadium.)
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Upon looking just one month later I was very surprised to find
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that everything described here was _gone._ Apparently, whatever
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purpose this contraption served was completed and it was quickly
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dismantled and removed (or maybe just retracted?).
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_THE BEADED ARCH_
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Another of my original sightings published in that same 1986
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sketch in FATE was the "Spectacular Beaded Arch," parts of which were
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first seen with my old 60mm starter telescope as early as 1983. As
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shown here again in the sketch accompanying this article, it runs
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south roughly 175 miles from near Mt. Hadley toward Mt. Bradley.
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Regardless that viewing conditions were good back then it didn't
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matter much because I was still to naive at the time to grasp the
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enormity of what I was viewing, anyway (and would not have believed it
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possible).
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Then I got a view of more aspects of this arch the next summer
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while looking through an 8-inch Meade (S/C) telescope of a neighbor on
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the eighth night. He was set for 600x. There were excellent viewing
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conditions at the time, which yielded better than twice the
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magnification at better clarity than I had ever experienced before.
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Even so, I was still unable to connect the various parts seen
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into a recognizable whole object yet. I did note that a mysterious
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bright bead seemed to be sitting atop Mr. Hadley though, unexplainably
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moved from its prior-year location seen somewhere to the east.
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_I SEE IT ALL_
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It all came together when the arch became gloriously visible once
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again in 1985 on the seventh night (November 19th), while I was
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viewing with my own new SPC 8-inch telescope. Because of a different
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_libration_ (viewing angle), I was able to see the whole arch from end
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to end at a single whack! When I saw that jet black shaft vaulting
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about 50 miles above the surface with five bright "beads" spaced along
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its length (all verified by great shadows, incidentally), I finally
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realized that I was looking at a stupendous object. I had no idea
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that still more arches were concealed in the terminator darkness
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heading southwest, so I sketched as much as I had seen up to that time
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for the first publication.
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When the moon got in another favorable libration again in July
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1986, a second beaded arch became visible -- a virtual twin sister of
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the earlier one, running another 175 miles southward from near Mr.
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Bradley almost to Crater Eratosthenes.
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As though this second arch wasn't mind-boggling enough, still a
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third little brother arch, about 50 miles long, became visible
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snuggled under the twin sister just two months later (in September
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1986). At that time, all three arches were visible together similar
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to the condition as shown in the sketch on the next page.
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_U.S. AND SOVIET INVESTIGATIONS?_
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Please note the relative position of the Apollo 15 landing site
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shown at the announced coordinates of 24N, 2E. If you can see the
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fortuitous location as roughly central between the ends of the two
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larger arches, then you may suspect that some other very knowledgeable
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people know a whole lot about these arches, too.
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Incidentally, the Soviets also showed great interest in them
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earlier, when their Luna 2 space probe landed just 80 miles away at
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31N, 1E, (they say) a bit off the mark but still a very respectable
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position for reconnaissance.
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_WHERE DID THEY GO?_
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Once again, all arches shown in the sketch were gone by the time
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I viewed the area just one month later (in October 1986). Untimely
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bad weather has hindered follow-up viewing ever since, so I can't say
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if they have been visible lately or not. You can see parts of them
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pictured in a legitimate 1956 Mt. Wilson photo on plate 7-1 in
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Dinsmore Alter's _Pictorial Guide to the Moon_, (3rd Revised Edition
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1973), as well as on page 9 of _The Questar Moon_ (published since
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1981).
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Since we have these various sightings, plus independent
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photographic evidence of their sporadic reappearances, viewers should
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keep watching for these arches because it is most likely they will be
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visible again as soon as conditions warrant. Some special mention is
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deserved by the crane boom shown above Crater Eratosthenes.
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Unfortunately, it may show up only faintly at times, no doubt
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depending on where it was "parked" after its last use.
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When position, lighting, libration, and perigee (i.e. lunar
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nearness) are favorable, it is a joy to see. Due to its 12 or so mile
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height, it gets lit several hours before the surface below, so it
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gleams with a metallic brilliance that makes it look like a tiny bar
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of light floating magically above that whole sea of darkness. Several
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hours later, though, viewings will show its distinctive shadows
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running across the crater floor and curling around its western rim.
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The object shows up with sparkling clarity (with shadow) in at
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least a half dozen places in _The Questar Moon_, and a bit less clear
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but in more places in _Pictorial Guide to the Moon_. Artists disguise
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it as a rock or rill in most of the "official" published photos (as
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well as those that appear in many textbooks and encyclopedia sets).
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_CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF_
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Several hundred known objects are now visible on the Moon, with
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surprising new ones still popping up on occasion. That is not an
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exaggerated number, for on a good, clear night (especially around the
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5th to 9th), a hundred or more objects can be seen in one evening
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alone. Many of these are nondescript "post" and "pole" type things
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that proliferate in certain areas though, and are not especially
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photogenic (or even sketchable). It is not necessary to view them all
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to realize something is dreadfully wrong with the "official" lunar
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photos and explanations foisted off on us.
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Just _one good sighting_ should convince you that these things
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are not the illusions that our space gurus and their many cronies
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piously claim and urgently insist that we believe without question.
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Check these images out with your own eyes by viewing them on a
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systematic basis right in your own backyard. You must use a minimum
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60mm telescope though, yielding a mid-range power of 140x or more.
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Dark sites on remote mountaintops are not needed for this
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activity (regardless of popular myths invented to discourage the
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public from wholesale viewing). The Moon is so big and bright that
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even city lights can hardly hinder your effort. Viewing is relatively
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inexpensive, great fun, and a constant source of wild and awesome
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excitement!
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_DISINFORMATION_
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After your first unmistakable sighting, you will know that a lot
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of very prominent people have conspired to disinform us. That
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realization may disappoint you, make you angry about the concerted
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dishonesty involved, and cause a deep concern over this abuse of our
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trust, rights, and privileges. On the bright side, you will be immune
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from further hero worship, skeptical about much of the cunning
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propaganda still piled on us, and saved from much of the futility
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forced into our lives.
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Best of all, knowing the truth dispels myths and bridges many of
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the gaps that were so painstakingly programmed into our thinking,
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allowing us to share the knowledge gained from firsthand viewing.
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