Jing-reed's Musings from Thailand

The Center of All Things

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. . .  and a more lyrical view of the same concept by that poet/astronomer Carl Sagan:

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New Photo of Stars in Milky Way

New Milky Way Photo Captures 1 Billion Stars

"More than a billion stars blaze bright in a new photo of our Milky Way galaxy snapped by an international team of astronomers.

The new picture, which was released today (March 28), combines infrared images of the Milky Way taken during sky surveys by two different instruments, the UK Infrared Telescope in Hawaii and the VISTA telescope in Chile. The photo is part of a 10-year project that is gathering mountains of data to help guide future research, scientists said.

"This incredible image gives us a new perspective of our galaxy, and illustrates the far-reaching discoveries we can make from large sky surveys," Nick Cross, of the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement. "Having data processed, archived and published by dedicated teams leaves other scientists free to concentrate on using the data, and is a very cost-effective way to do astronomy."



Related video on the Gaia global space astrometry mission.

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Interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Neil de Grasse Tyson is one of the most celebrated science communicators and popularizers alive today. He is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium and hosts NOVA ScienceNOW on PBS. He has also written several popular texts about astronomy, including his most recent book, Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.

Cara Santa Maria interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson: 'We Don't Know What's Driving 96% Of The Universe'

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Maria Hinojosa with Neil Degrasse Tyson

 

Maria Hinojosa: One On One with Neil Degrasse Tyson [PBS]

"Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet and host of the WGBH-produced TV series Nova ScienceNow talks about his passion for science, his efforts to make astronomy accessible, and why he doesn't think the sky is the limit."

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2012 Doomsday — AGAIN

And not even the cartoonists can get it right.  That is an AZTEC sun stone, and has nothing to do with the Mayans.  The Mayans and Aztecs may have both lived in Mesoamerica, but historically were very different civilizations.

2012 Doomsday is a 'Marketing Fallacy' [Discovery News]

"Ever since I wrote my very first "No Doomsday in 2012" article for Universe Today in 2008, I've been repeating the same message over and over again: The Mayans never predicted doomsday in 2012. And I'll say it once more, this time with even more expert endorsement: The Mayans never, EVER predicted doomsday in 2012.

Sadly, science and history has been bent and twisted to suit supporters of this doomsday hoax, and when scientists or archaeologists go on the record to debunk the nonsense, the blame falls on some kind of convenient global conspiracy.

But where did this Mayan doomsday idea come from anyway? . . . .


...The National Institute of Anthropological History in Mexico, no doubt getting fed-up of their inboxes getting filled with panicked emails about fake doomsday theories, issued a statement too: "The West's messianic thinking has distorted the world view of ancient civilizations like the Mayans."


That last sentence needs to be repeated and in large type:
"The West's messianic thinking has distorted the world view of ancient civilizations like the Mayans."

So, the doomsayers are projecting their Christian Book of Revelation and 'end times' nonsense on to a different culture, and the result is as strange as they are. 

“…when a calendar comes to the end of a cycle, it just rolls over into the next cycle. In our Western society, every year 31 December is followed, not by the End of the World, but by 1 January. " 

Doomsday 2012 and National Geographic

National Geographic Asia begins their "2012 Doomsday" programming tomorrow, Dec. 4 with 'Alien Invasion', a repeat of the program they aired about six months ago.  To be immediately followed by "Space Mysteries: Comets: Target Earth" and then "Space Mysteries: Alien Safari". 
   
Every weekend in December National Geographic will air a different aspect of  the '2012 Doomsday" scenario. 
2012 Doomsday???  No doubt based on the 'end of time-Mayan Calendar' date.  I have explained this Mayan Calendar business before, "2012" - A Few Facts . 

Alien Invasion:

"In the sci-fi thriller "War of the Worlds," Earthlings fight for survival against alien invaders. But is an obliterating attack from advanced, space faring armada just fantasy, or could it be a scenario based on hard science? In Alien Invasion, some of Americas top scientific experts come together to explore the effect on mankind that contact with an advanced alien race could have. Learn how astrophysicists, weapon designers, military strategists, biologists and anthropologists are gearing for a real alien invasion and the plan for mankind to fight back."

Plot : What if an extra-terrestrial force attacked Earth? What might that look like and how will the people of Earth respond? Consulting a cast of world-renowned scientists, survival experts and defense experts, this two-hour special, Alien Invasion explores this frightening scenario. Experts reveal what could motivate alien invaders to attack Earth, and speculate on how the attack might play out -- the strategy alien invaders might use and the most effective ways for humans to respond. Well turn to science and history to figure out what works. Well show how humanity can survive this ultimate test.

Personal comment:
The "military-might mindset" of Americans is given free reign in this television atrocity by National Geographic. Weapon designers, military strategists and selected 'experts' reveal why it's crucial they prepare for an alien attack. No doubt the Pentagon's 'War on Terror' has been upgraded to include Aliens.

What happened to the factual, objective programming of the National Geographic of my adolescence?  Now they seem to have joined the sensationalist reporting of, dare I say it, faux news. 

Related and worth reading:

“National Geographic “Alien Invasion” Propaganda Show”

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Mars-Bound Curiosity Rover

Scary Landing Awaits Mars-Bound Rover

Mars Science Laboratory will use a new landing system called a sky crane to touch down on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012.

For the final mile of its 354 million-mile journey, the rover will fly beneath a rocket-powered platform that will gently lower it on tethers to the floor of a crater.

The goal of the two-year mission is to determine if Mars could have, or possibly still has, habitats for life.

Entering the Martian atmosphere is not for the faint of heart. The envelope of gases surrounding the planet is thick enough to slow down a spacecraft from its interplanetary speed of about 3.5 miles per second, but too thin for safe landing by parachutes alone.

NASA previously used airbags or thruster rockets on its Mars rovers and landers to cushion the impact, but Mars Science Lab, which weighs nearly a ton, needs a beefier system.

Enter the sky crane -- the final piece of a complicated landing system that will cap the rover's nearly nine-month, 354 million-mile journey to Mars.

The spacecraft, nicknamed Curiosity, is folded up inside a protective shell that includes a large heat shield, which will melt and evaporate away from friction as it falls through the atmosphere.

At about 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, above the surface, a 51-foot diameter parachute deploys to further slow Curiosity's descent and the heat shield is jettisoned.



   Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity Rover - Mission Animation

 

UFOs - A Touchy Subject

Having spent a decade in Mexico and having seen numerous inexplicable lights in the nightime sky, performing scientifically impossible manuvers, I have that "I know what I have seen, even if if can't explain it"  attitude. [During the 1990s when I lived there, Mexico was a hot spot of unidentified flying objects activity.]

And having spent a number of years working for a secret U.S. government military organization, I personally know how adept the American government is at withholding information from the general public.

I am also aware that there are a large number of guillible people who will believe anything even it is has no scientific validity.  Many will believe absolute gibberish and nonsense as if it were a divine revelation.

What most people are not aware of is that the US government has long been engaged in a program of well designed lies and deceit in regards to UFOs. Who else on the planet would have a secret research facility [Area 51], which is well known to everyone, and yet the government still refuses to admit that it exists.


   UFOs the Secret History

"Scrupulously accurate, intelligently conceived, "UFOs: The Secret History" is the thinking viewer's guide to the puzzles and paradoxes of an extraordinary phenomenon that continues to haunt our times and trouble our dreams. It is also gorgeously filmed - a feast to eye and mind, a thrilling experience on every level." - Jerome Clark.

[This film is a 65 minute abridged version.]

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Disclosure

The X-Conference: The State of UFO Disclosure - Press Conference - Washington, DC   2009

This Press Conference to members of Congress and the Media is a mile stone in the Disclosure Movement and will remain as one of the most historically significant events in UFO activism. The X-Conference, held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, is produced by X-PPAC (Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee) and The Paradigm Research Group, who's mission is to educate Congress, the Press and the Public about the Government imposed "Truth Embargo" and to bring about formal acknowledgment by the U. S. Government of an Extraterrestrial presence engaging the Human Race - Full Disclosure. With Dr. Edgar Mitchell, Nick Pope, Richard Dolan, Stephen Bassett, Milton Torres, Alfred Weber, and Dr. Roger Leir. Originally recorded in 2009.

"The Disclosure Project is a nonprofit research project working to fully disclose the facts about UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and classified advanced energy and propulsion systems. We have over 500 government, military, and intelligence community witnesses testifying to their direct, personal, first hand experience with UFOs, ETs, ET technology, and the cover-up that keeps this information secret."

UFO spotters slam 'US cover-up'  BBC

 

 

 

Currently the United States is one of the only countries in the world that does NOT endorse full disclosure.  WHY? 

 

"God" and "gods"

One item that many place implicit faith in is the "Big Bang Theory," which tells us that the universe began 15-20 billion years ago from a single point. Who can prove to us the reality of a phenomena that took place tens of billions of years ago? There's no instant replay when we're dealing with life and time. We can't be shown what happened that far in the past. There may be some evidence and reason to believe that this is how it happened, but at the end of the day we can't know for sure and that's where 'faith' comes in

In an article, in the U.S. News and World Report, physicist Roger Penrose theorized that the Big Bang might be one in a cycle of such events, suggesting that the universe has had multiple existences. This is common knowledge to one familiar with Vedic philosophy and cosmology, which very clearly indicates that the universe has had many births and deaths.

The centuries-old wisdom of the Vedic texts doesn't stop there. They claim that our universe is just one of many universes, a concept entertained by modern science and referred to as "the multiverse theory." The description given is that our universe is one mustard seed in a bag full of a practically uncountable number of mustard seeds.

"Hinduism is the only relgion whose timescales corespond, no doubt by accident, to those of modern scientific cosmology. A night of Brahama is 8.64 billion years long - about one half of the time since the Big Bang."  It is said that men may not be the dreams of the gods, but rathere that the gods are the dreams of men."

Carl Sagan talks about "the gods." This clip is from Carl Sagan's Cosmos, episode 10, "The Edge of Forever."

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