Crop Circles: Artworks or Alien Signs?

Information received via channel mediums tells us that crop circles are the result of photon energy patterns hitting Earth's surface causing the crops within the fields to become horizontal. The reason that they cause the crops to lie down is that photon energy is magnetic in nature. As the strands of wheat, barley, canola, etc. are hit by the photon energy, they become magnetic and then are attracted to one another. As multiple strands unite or are magnetized together, the weight of their union no longer allows them to stand straight in the air, and they "lie down" against the ground.

The formations are universal symbols that have been used by various peoples [beings] throughout time. These will continue and increase until you realise that you are not alone, that you are loved and part of a plan more beautiful and wondrous than you could have ever imagined.

Some estimated ten thousand crop circle formations have appeared all over the world in recent years. For those who believe that logic and science constitute the sum of reality, the formations provoke feelings of annoyance, disbelief, fear and a deeply rooted sense of frustration at the lack of a ready, rational explanation. For those whose belief systems extend beyond the boundaries, crop circles take on mystical meanings and offer a sense of communication with an intelligence or consciousness beyond three-dimensional reality.

Crop circles intrigue; they en-trance with their intricacies; they manifest intelligence. The circles are appearing with increasing frequency mainly in England, but also in places like America, Japan, Canada, Russia, China, Australia and many more locations. These beautiful sculpted shapes appear mostly in crops of wheat, corn or barley. From simple circular designs, the formations have grown in complexity over the years to include precise geometrical designs that puzzle and excite man's logical mind set. Probably one of the most famous is the Mandelbrot Set, a formation which surfaced in 1991.

Each year, the Salisbury Plain in England literally bursts with new circles in new shapes. (picture above). The crop circles have so far defied scientific explanation. They have continually re-invented themselves in order, it seems, to provoke scientific inquiry. Some unseen intelligence appears to have a need to communicate with human beings, to express itself in strange and spectacular ways, and it has become more talkative, carving ever more incredible signs in the fields of the world.

Within the formations, the crops appear to be pushed down by some invisible gentle force which has the capacity to create complex patterns of bent vegetation. In authentic circles, this bent vegetation is not broken or damaged and in many instances continues to grow.

How should we interpret these messages from the universe? What significance do they hold for humanity? Crop circles are like treasure chests - each holding unique and important information for humanity. The journey is one of discovery. Just as with sacred geometry and other esoteric principles, crop circles challenge the current world view of "reality" simply because science is at odds to explain them.

Many huge, complex and beautiful patterns are being found swirled into crop fields around the world every year. Despite attempts to dismiss them as the work of humans, some believe the evidence points to a more exciting explanation. Whatever their source, these spectacular designs often display very clear symbolism, scientific, esoteric and astronomical, and demonstrate some extraordinary unexplained effects.

How many appear?

Around 250 crop designs around the world appear each year on average. Several thousand have been documented since records began.

Where do they appear?

Crop circles are a global phenomenon, but predominantly appear in the Northern Hemisphere with Southern England as the main centre of activity, particularly Wiltshire.

When do they arrive?

Off-season formations have occurred, but most appear during the three main summer months of any given country.

What crops do they appear in?

Any crop can be a potential target for the phenomenon: wheat, barley and oilseed rape (canola), as the main crops grown, are the most common in England, at least, but they have also been reported in rye, oats, flax, peas, potatoes, sweet corn maize and many other mediums, including rice paddy fields in Japan. Formations have also been found in wild grass and undergrowth.

A Brief History of Crop Circles

When two retired English pranksters, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, claimed in 1991 to have invented the crop circle phenomenon as a joke a decade or so earlier, they couldn't have been aware that almost 300 documented formations predated their alleged exploits.

Swirled into growing crops, these circular indentations of carefully flattened stems looked at first like the result of freak whirlwinds. Some were a few feet across, but others were the size of tennis courts. It wasn't long before the appearance of symmetrical patterns and other unusual variations began to throw the weather theories into doubt.

By the late 80's, rapidly increasing numbers and seemingly evolving designs, still based largely on circles, had begun to capture the public imagination. Intrigued by reports of glowing lights and other bizarre phenomena associated with the circles, everyone from UFO buffs to eminent scientists was trying to unravel the mystery.

In 1990, the arrival of 'pictograms', long symbolic chains of circles, rectangles and rings gave the crop circles their place in history. Newspapers and television channels eagerly reported these astonishing patterns. But the claims of Doug and Dave and other supposed hoaxers soon left the media disillusioned.

Despite this, crop formations continue to be discovered in designs of growing sophistication and size which leave many convinced that there is an unexplained force at work.

Theories and Evidence

There has been intense debate over the circles' origins. Some believe they are communications from Extra-Terrestrials, pointing to the many sightings and videos of aerial phenomena seen in connection with formations. Others feel the lights may be the properties of an unknown natural energy which produces complex ground patterns. Others still have cited everything from Mother Earth to nature spirits being responsible.

Most other popular explanations for the crop circles have revolved around human activity, either involving satellite technology or, more usually, the simple actions of pranksters and landscape artists. However, in demonstrations, human teams have struggled to reproduce designs as geometrically complex as many seen in the fields or have taken many hours to produce anything approaching them. Certain formations have been shown to have appeared within very short periods of time and the geometrical calculation and construction required for some simply could not be carried out in one night.

Some of the patterns have shown breathtaking symbolic qualities. In 1994, several galaxy-shaped glyphs displayed a conjunction of planets over the star constellation Cetus as it would be in April 2000, and in 1995 an accurate diagram of the Earth's inner solar system was discovered. Some shapes appear to denote dates and astronomical conjunctions, but others remain obscure and are open to interpretation, seeming to reflect multi-cultural symbolism.

Phenomena associated with crop circles

Work by laboratories on circle-affected crop has shown biological changes taking place at a cellular level, suggesting the involvement of microwave energy. Other physical tests have shown anomalies not yet replicated by man-made experiments. Crop circles have the capacity to alter the local electromagnetic field so that compasses cannot locate north, cameras, cellular phones and batteries fail to operate, and aircraft equipment fails whilst flying over formations.

Circular Stories, Facts and Figures

There are around two dozen eye-witness accounts of crop circles forming. All describe similar events; an invisible force coming out of nowhere in otherwise calm conditions and spinning the crops down within seconds, usually with surprising violence - yet little damage is found in the laid crop. Tornado-like funnels, light phenomena and high-pitched whistling sounds have also been reported.

One Sunday afternoon in July 1996, a 915 foot spiral of 151 circles appeared opposite England's ancient Stonehenge monument, Wiltshire, within a 45 minute period. (Below) A pilot, gamekeeper and security guard confirmed it had not been there before 5.30pm - yet shortly after 6.00pm, the massive formation was spotted. Much smaller man-made designs have taken several hours to complete.

Biological Change

Crop circle formations often appear in canola (oil seed rape) fields. This plant has a consistency like celery. If the stalk is bent more than 45-degrees, it snaps apart. Yet, in a "genuine" crop circle formation the stalks are often bent flat at 90-degrees. No botanist or other scientist has been able to explain this, nor has it ever been duplicated by a human being.

Work by Dr W. C. Levengood, a respected Michigan-based biophysicist, has shown notable biological changes taking place inside circle-laid stalks, which could be attributable to some kind of microwave energy. No man-made test formation has ever produced these results, yet 90% of the hundreds of crop circles sampled have proved positive in this regard.

A Channelled Explanation

"The circles and other shapes imprinted upon this planet in the grain fields are a frequency, not a process or action. There is a story or language that is being implanted on the surface of earth with language symbols. These symbols come to establish a certain frequency, and they are going to increase. Light is being orchestrated to once again come onto the planet, and it is increasing daily. In order for energy to work its way through your consciousness, it must house itself on the planet. Intelligence penetrates in the form of waves making geometric shapes on the Earth.

Intelligence is beyond the spoken word and beyond the written word, for it is a frequency that sometimes comes in geometric shapes. Geometry is an evolved intelligence, a collection of experience that can communicate huge amounts of information. Crop circles all over the planet are put there by sounds above human frequency. In the beginning, these shapes are circles. They will evolve into triangles, lines, and many other things. [As they have done so].

These geometric shapes are like hieroglyphs. The hieroglyphs and pictographs carved in stone on this planet are a similar generation of intelligence. The circles and shapes being put on Earth are all connected to one another, and if they were written out simultaneously on some farmer's field, something would happen to them immediately.

These shapes hold intelligence and are being set up to eventually connect and make an intelligent gridwork around the planet. This gridwork will have a frequency that humanity can use to evolve. The whole language is not on the planet at this time. The glyphs come to Earth as a result of a certain evolvement of consciousness. They come into your reality to show you that the reasoning mind cannot control all of the data, much as it would like to.

Whenever reality cannot be explained, a certain niche is opened within consciousness. The crop circles are completely beyond the logical mind. Therefore, they force the consensus view of reality to expand, since reality, as formerly designed, cannot house these events as a possibility. They are a trigger. They force reality to move beyond its own limitations. Basically, they exist to force reality to move, to get you feeling rather than thinking. Most who explore these circles think their way through the circles rather than feel their way through them.

Because this phenomenon has no logic to it, it is forcing a logically orientated society to recognise something that makes no sense, and it is being done in a very playful and obvious way without creating a threat to anyone's view of reality. When corn lies down in concentric circles and doesn't even break or die, no one really gets too upset. It is necessary to do certain things so that you figure it out without having your circuits overloaded."

What is it that makes crop circles such a fascinating phenomenon? Even when people don't know a single thing about the crop formations, the symbols seem to stir up something within nevertheless. There's something about the patterns that has some kind of hypnotising effect on people.

All the discussions about whether or not the crop circles are a hoax could come to an end if people would first investigate before they make any judgments. A lot of research is done on the circles and many reports can be found on the Internet. Do some research and collate your own data base of 'crop circle facts'. It's well worth the effort.

Sacred Geometry

It has been estimated that over the past 25 years more than 10,000 of these mysterious images have been etched into meadows all over our planet in such diverse places as Japan, Germany, USA, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Brazil, Romania, Hungary, and many other countries. It seems as though "something" is trying to get our attention in a very repetitive way because each year they faithfully return like migrating birds to warmer climates.

Also intriguing is that archeologists, mystics and academics who study ancient civilisations recognise a form of sacred geometry and symbolism in these designs. Adding support to their findings is the fact that many of the mysterious glyphs that have been found in England magically appear (and frequently reappear) near ancient, sacred sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury, and the earth mound of Silbury Hill. These places are known for their high energy vortexes.

What is also compelling about crop circles is that they are real... even though hoaxers have made a small percentage of them. Unlike UFOs, which have often been linked to them, circle formations can be visited, photographed, walked on, measured, and scientifically analysed. They are concrete reminders of what appears to be the handiwork of an off-Earth intelligence and, for anyone who has researched this area, it is difficult to deny their existence. Sadly, as with other types of paranormal phenomena, crop circles have been the victims of massive disinformation programs.

Microwave Radiation?

Dr. W. C. Levengood of the Pinelandia Biophysical Laboratory in Grass Lake, Michigan has studied crop formations for years. His scientific data leads him to believe that very uniform and ordered forces are involved in their formation. His efforts have focused on the possibility that residual effects may be left behind in the crop formations that can be measured. Based upon his recent findings, Dr. Levengood suggests that the affected plants show distinct signs of having been exposed to transient high temperatures, possibly caused by microwave radiation.

The etched symbols in the crop fields, are prodding humanity into a greater cosmic awareness and an acceptance of intelligent life within the universe. There is no doubt that our collective consciousness is being raised and crop circles are an important part of the overall process.

Two very significant crop circle formations appeared at Barbury Castle in May 1997. They seemed to reveal extremely important information. One of the formations was the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The Tree of Life, of course, is mentioned many times in the Bible, from the beginning of the Book of Genesis to last part of the Book of Revelation. One who eats from this Tree, according to the Bible, is given "eternal life." The above diagram of the Tree of Life is part of an ancient tradition called "Kabala." Other spellings of the word include, kabbala, cabala, cabbala, quabala, and qabbalah. This is generally known as a special Hebrew tradition, the occult philosophy of certain Jewish rabbis, especially in the Middle Ages, based on a mystical interpretation of the Scriptures. Many scholars believe that the tradition is much older; that it traces back to the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians.

Connections to Ancient Sumeria

Over one hundred years ago, clay tablets were found in present day Iraq. They were artifacts with Cuneiform writings and pictographic carvings, left by the ancient people of that region. The Assyrian and Babylonian empires were located in that area long ago, but an even more ancient one preceded them, called Sumer, which in the Bible is called "Land of Shine'ar."

Then there was the "Double-Helix" crop formation that arrived on June 17, 1996 in Tim Carson's East Field at Alton Barnes, England. This crop circle, some 600 feet long, clearly resembles DNA.

This tells us that these and other circles are being sent to us from those we are going to meet, and they know all about our biology. "They" are not the "Grays" nor those related to the "Grays" who have been causing problems on planet Earth with abductions and the like. Rather, the circles are from those who represent the actual seeds of our DNA, those who look like us and the ones who purposely planted the DNA/Biology in our primitive ancestors ages ago. These beings, who seeded us on planet Earth, are from another place in the universe, and they are returning. (View link)

You will not find crop circles in the nightly news nor in the local newspapers. Nor will leading scientists discuss it out of fear for their project funding and jobs. But you will continue to see some TV programs that dismiss their existence as a hoax. And there will be "crazy hoaxer" stories.....This sells "news".....

Milk Hill, Wiltshire, England August 13, 2001

The crop circle noticed on Milk Hill in Wiltshire (Southern England) on August 13, 2001 is being hailed as the most awesome ever made. It is composed of 409 individual circles in a spiral pattern. Appropriately, it was found in the heart of crop circle country in the United Kingdom.

The sheer size and complexity of this formation is staggering. It has been estimated that hoaxers would have had to make one circle every 30 seconds during the night time hours in order to create this design!

Furthermore, the field in which the design was created is not flat, but consists of small, undulating hills, making it virtually impossible for hoaxers to lay out and create an accurate design.

Chilbolton England August 13-/14 2000

Sometime on 13/14 August, 2000, a spectacular crop circle was placed in the wheat field right in front of the government-owned Chilbolton Radio Telescope Observatory. It was one of the largest and most intricate made during the year 2000, measuring some 200 feet in length and 85 feet in width.

However, it's real significance could not be appreciated until exactly a year later when two other extraordinary crop formations appeared in the same field... and all three appear to be linked together.

During 1974, a coded (binary) message was sent from a radio telescope in Arecibo, Mexico to a star cluster in our Milky Way galaxy called M13. As of today, it has travelled approximately 160 trillion miles into deep space and will arrive at its intended destination some 22,000 years from now. In August of 2001, a response was received from that 1974 broadcast a lot sooner than anyone had expected, implying that a nearby off-Earth intelligence intercepted it. On Tuesday August 14, 2001, exactly one year after the last crop circle had been made next to the Chilbolton Observatory, a haunting, human-like face was placed in this very same wheat field.

Even as a stand alone formation this glyph was spectacular for several reasons. To create this image, standing clumps were made out of wheat stalks, with each clump individually swirled and stitched together as a "pixel" while adjoining wheat plants were flattened around the pixels to create the overall image effect. This is a radical departure from traditional circle design. The dark areas represent wheat that has been flattened while the light coloured dots represent standing clumps of wheat.

On the following Sunday, August 19, 2001, another incredible design was reported in the same wheat field, and this is the one that has really impressed the experts and skeptics alike. As mentioned above, we sent out a coded message in 1974 to the M13 star cluster. That coded human message has been put into graphic form. The design placed in the Chilbolton wheat field on August 19, is almost a mirror image of the one we sent into deep space.

Returned Arecibo Message Received At Chilbolton

The first notable difference is that the DNA strand shape just above the human figure in the 1974 message versus the DNA strand above the humanoid figure made in 2001 is not the same. Specifically, the respective DNA strands on the right hand side of both pictures is quite different. In the August 19 message, the DNA strand has 6 circles (6 nucleotide base pairs) per turn of the DNA while the 1974 message has 10 per turn, which is what we have in the DNA found on planet Earth.

The pictogram made in this very same wheat field a year earlier is a blown-up version of their communication device and is a replica of that seen in the lower part of their returned message to us!. Hoaxers aren't this clever or imaginative.

A number of insights can be drawn from these recent crop developments that are worth noting:

Techniques - Three different techniques have now been used to make the crop pictures. First there is the traditional swirled crop design, the second is the "retarded" growth method and the third is the pixel technique, which swirls some plants into standing pixels while adjoining plants are flattened and lie on the ground.

Timing - The 13/14 August 2000 crop circle at Chilbolton was made exactly one year before the face and in the same wheat field.
Invisibility - With security cameras guarding the Observatory complex, some of which are apparently pointed into the adjacent wheat field, no one has stepped forward and said, "Here are videotapes of the hoaxers making these crop designs." Making a pixel by pixel design in a field of plants would be an extremely difficult thing for hoaxers to accomplish. It could only be done with aerial help such as a night-flying helicopter with a two way communication system. Can you imagine all this being done in front of a government complex without attracting any attention?

Dish symbols - The difference in the Arecibo Radio Astronomy device and the one sent back in the August 19 message is quite convincing... especially since one year earlier that very same ET communication device was created as a crop design in the same Chilbolton wheat field. The linkage is striking.

Orientation - The orientation of the August 19 message in the wheat fields points directly at the dish antenna located at the Chilbolton Observatory as if to say, "We're pointing this message directly at you."

Hoaxers - No hoaxers have come forth and claimed they made these crop formations.

Source: Phils.com.au

Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved?

For decades arguments have raged about the disappearance of the famous Flight 19 in what became known as The Bermuda Triangle. Is it an area where the normal laws of physics simply don't apply? Could, under the sea, lie the ancient and mythical city of Atlantis? Are alien forces at work? Might it just be all one giant watery hoax or is a government cover-up in operation? Limbo of the Lost. The Twilight Zone. The Hoodoo Sea. The Devil's Triangle. The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The vast three sided segment of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale, Florida has had many names and didn't acquire its most famous nickname until 1964, two decades after the famed disappearance of Flight 19. Robert Todd Carroll's Brief History of the Devil's Triangle notes that legend of the Bermuda Triangle truly begins with the flight's disappearance. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished while on an apparently routine training mission vas did a rescue plane sent to search for them; six aircraft and 27 men, gone without a trace. Or that's what we're led to believe...

The Vanishing

The Bermuda Triangle has long been full of mysteries. More than 100 ships and planes have vanished there since 1945 and lost with them have been more than 1,000 lives. But the mysteries most certainly didn't start there - we've been aware of them for at least two centuries. At least six ships vanished in the 1800s without leaving any trace at all; four were American warships and one was a British training ship with 290 men aboard. But it was with increasing sea transportation and the development of the airplane that saw disappearances dramatically increase - more than 40 ships were swallowed up between 1900 and 1945. Some were sailing ships, others were steamers and at least three aircraft disappeared before Flight 19 set off.

The tale of Flight 19 starts 50 years ago on December 5, 1947. Five Avenger torpedo bombers lifted into the air from the Naval Air Station at Ft Lauderdale, Florida at just after 2PM. It was a routine flight, nothing more, a practice mission with the flight's crew comprised of students except for the commander, Lt. Charles Taylor. The mission called for Taylor and his group of 13 men to fly due east 56 miles to Hens and Chicken Shoals to conduct practice bombing runs. When they had completed this, the flight plan stated that they were to fly a further 67 miles east, then turn north for 73 miles and finally fly back to base - a distance of 120 miles. This course would take them on a triangular path over the Atlantic Ocean.

After about an hour and a half after the flight had set off, Lt. Robert Cox picked up a radio transmission from Flight 19. Lt. Taylor indicated that the compasses were not working correctly but believed himself to be flying somewhere over the long chain of islands that make up the Florida Keys. Cox urged the crew to head northwards towards Miami so Taylor would have confirmation of his position. In that transmission were the first inklings that something was going desperately wrong with the flight. Today's military and commercial planes are fitted with plenty of equipment that ensures it's almost impossible to become lost if a crew uses the technology correctly. For example, by coordinating oneself by attuning to a set of Global Position Satellites that orbit the Earth, a flight can know its exact position. 50 years ago, however, planes flying over sea had to know their starting point, how long and how fast they had flown and in what direction. If a pilot made a mistake with any of these figures, he was lost.

Although no one would deny that Taylor was an experienced pilot, there appeared to be some confusion which has led investigators to believe that he was flying further away from the base. It is strange, however, that communications between the base and Flight 19 were intermittent at best. What was influencing the plane's transmissions? But at almost 6:00 PM, almost four hours after the flight had taken off, a fix on the weakening signals was managed but it was too late to save Flight 19. Communications had deteriorated so badly that the information could not be passed on. The last transmission from Flight 19 was received at 7:04PM. Planes searched the night but to no avail. Flight 19 had disappeared. The Navy's original investigation concluded that the accident had been caused by Lt. Taylor's confusion. The lieutenant's mother, however, refused to accept that her experienced pilot son had caused the accident and finally had the Navy change the report to read that the disaster was for 'causes or reason unknown'. This may have spared the mother's feelings, but it may have blurred the facts of the case.

So where is Flight 19? In 1991 five Avengers were found off the coast of Florida by the salvage ship Deep Sea. Further examination, however, showed that they were not Flight 19. The resting place of the planes and their crew - if there is one - is still a secret only known to the Bermuda Triangle.

Triangle Fever

The saga of Flight 19 is the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle - but it's far from the only one. During the past 100 years, more than 20 planes and 50 ships have met their demise in the Bermuda Triangle. The term Bermuda Triangle was coined in 1964 by Vincent H. Gaddis in the magazine Argosy. Although 'Triangle Fever' peaked in the mid-1970s, there have been many 'practical' explanations of the area's so-called paranormal influence. The matter of the amount of disappearances is not in doubt - the cause always is. Skeptics attempt to disprove the mystery by claiming that the strong currents in the region, that it is the Gulf Stream forcing a large portion of the Bermuda Triangle's tides to flow directly north which would throw many ships off course and further out into sea.

Also pointed out is the large discrepancy between Magnetic North and the North Pole in the region - something that Christopher Columbus on his historic journey noted in his journals. But this explanation simply is not enough for some people. Surely there are many places in the world with dangerous currents and directional difficulties? Why is the Bermuda Triangle host to so many accidents? Among the theories is the belief that aliens are a possible reason and that alien technology is influencing the paths of ships and aircraft as many of the early reports of the Triangle believed. There is also the often repeated notion that there is an undersea Earth base for aliens who use their technology to confuse vessels that stray too close to their home. There are also theories concerning 'vile vortices' that are passages into the fourth dimension where airplanes 'fall up' and UFOs appear.

The Atlantis Theory

Others believe that the Bermuda Triangle is caused by the lost great city of Atlantis, sunk thousands of feet below the water's surface. The belief in the advanced state of Atlantean technology (often ascribed to the building of South American temples, the Egyptian pyramids and ascribed influences on early human civilizations) leads to the perspective that whatever is left of Atlantis is some- how causing these mysterious disappearances with long- abandoned machinery. There are those people that see the Bermuda Triangle as another infamous government cover-up and/or a secret base area. They argue that wouldn't the US government - considering the debate on the existence of Area 51 - also have other bases, probably dotted around the world? Some Triangle watchers argue that at some time or another the US government came across alien technology which enabled them to go deep underwater - to at least 20,000 feet - in a very cheap and easy way. The ships and planes that have disappeared may be due to them disturbing or even seeing the government base who had to eliminate all those who witnessed its existence.

Yet it is with such sensational hypotheses that the Bermuda Triangle mystery is treated as something as a joke, leading many to the conclusion that sensationalizing authors and the media coverage of the late 1960s and 1970s that did not include skeptical investigation are responsible for the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. Skepticism is fine, but at the truth we want to seek out the truth with an attitude of openness. We are ready to believe but we'd also like proof.

Case Closed?

'The US Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not maintain an official file on the area' states the pompous Internet message board of the US Coast Guard HQ and the Naval Historical Center. Seems a little too close to 'Deny Every- thing' for this writer. This government representative argues that in the past that extensive yet futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search-and-rescue cases such as Flight 19 or the trace- less sinking of the Marine Sulphur Queen in the Florida Straits have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the Bermuda Triangle. Paranormal phenomena are dismissed and 'practical' solutions to the mysteries are those that focus on environmental conditions and those that cite human error. The Bermuda Triangle is one of the few places on Earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally, it should point towards magnetic north. The amount of variation changes - and sometimes as much as 20 degrees as a ship or aircraft circumnavigates around the globe. Without compensating, a navigator could find himself far off course and in serious trouble.

The Bermuda Triangle has at least two counterparts in other areas of the world. An area called 'The Devil's Sea' by Japanese and Filipino seamen, which is located off the east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics and is also known for its mysterious disappearances. Also, in China in 1995, some 50 scientists surveyed southwest Sichuan Province's notorious high-elevation Black Bamboo Ravine, or Heizugou, where people and livestock have vanished. The Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported that scientists believe rotting plants found in the cold, humid region give off a poisonous gas, "suffocating people and making them fall into the abyss". The experts also explained that the magnetic field at Heizhugou "is so strong that it is likely to disable com- passes and cause plane crashes". Sound familiar? Except for the magnetic field part, the Black Bamboo Ravine is similar geologically with Yellowstone's Death Gulch and Java's Poisoned Valley.

Breaking Wind

Oceanic flatulence. You read that right. Oceanic flatulence is believed to be the true cause of the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. We're not joking. Forget ETs, UFOs, time travel, Atlantis, even plain old boring magnetic forces. The sea bed 'breaking wind' is the latest scientific 'truth'. One suddenly doesn't know what to believe... are reports of the mysterious disappearances just a load of old gas? While studying gas hydrates back in 1984, the late Dr. Donald Davidson, a Canadian scientist, proposed the above theory which has gained much ground over the years. Bit of a science lesson now: at enormous pressures and low temperatures (as at the bottom of the ocean), water and gas molecules form gas hydrates. The compounds, it is argued, resemble ice but the water molecules form cages around gas molecules - such as methane. These solid hydrates retain their stability until conditions such as higher temperatures or lower pressures cause them to decompose. When they do decompose, they release enormous amounts of trapped gas. Disappearances of ships and aircraft passing over these 'blowouts' can then be explained. The sea could turn very violent very suddenly, into a mass of froth that could sink any ship in the area. As the methane rises, an airplane flying through the gas would experience engine failure - or worse: a spark from the engine could turn the aircraft into a flying fireball.

No one took much notice of these theories until new information concerning blowouts of naturally occurring gas hydrates emerged in 1990. Solving the tantalizing mystery has come no closer - for 'traditional' scientists - than the work done by marine geologists from the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1996. They believed that the results from drilling the ocean floor in the Bermuda region held the answer to the enduring mystery. Following Dr. Davidson's theories, they have found evidence of the frozen methane gas.

The Bottom Line

So are the paranormal theories just a load of old gas? The Bermuda Triangle has generated thousands of debates between psychic phenomena experts and 'traditional' science ever since Flight 19 disappeared. For over 50 years the public's imagination has run riot, sometimes through lack of understanding, sometimes through media hype, trying to explain the disappearance of dozens of ships, yachts and planes off the coast of Florida. Yet the scientific community's protestations have been very loud and paranormal theories concerning the Bermuda Triangle have been sneered at and derided. Going over the evidence, it could seem that orthodox scientists have been determined to prove that the Bermuda Triangle holds no paranormal influence at all. Yet, overall, it is their theories that seem to be the most logical solutions, not those concerning the paranormal. It is well known that human error is nearly always the answer when dealing with equipment failure.

The Bermuda Triangle has many violent, unpredictable and sudden weather changes that could surprise many an unwary navigator. The idea of trapped methane gas being released from 20,000 feet below sea-level may seem far-fetched but the theories of Dr. Davidson have been physically studied, not merely hypothesized. But the truth knows that life isn't always logical and straight-forward. There may have been a media hype about the disappearances but that will never mean orthodox scientists will know all the truth. They know only one truth - so far. Don't forget: no one has explained the reason why at least three areas of the planet Earth have mysterious magnetic forces at work. Why is that...?

Source : The Truth - Bermuda Triangle

Phoenix Mars Lander : Exploring the Arctic Plain of Mars

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander touched down safely near the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude, beginning its three-month investigation into the history of water on the fourth planet from the sun.

Phoenix is the sixth successful landing on Mars, out of twelve total international attempts (the sixth successful landing of seven American attempts). It is the third successful static lander since Viking 2, and as of 2008 the most recent spacecraft to land successfully on Mars.

Images from the Lander

Overview

Mars is a cold desert planet with no liquid water on its surface. But in the Martian arctic, water ice lurks just below ground level. Discoveries made by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002 show large amounts of subsurface water ice in the northern arctic plain. The Phoenix lander targets this circumpolar region using a robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to the water ice below and ultimately, to bring both soil and water ice to the lander platform for sophisticated scientific analysis.

Mars north pole map

This map centered on the north pole of Mars is based on gamma rays from the element hydrogen -- mainly in the form of water ice. Regions of high ice content are shown in violet and blue and those low in ice content are shown in red. The very ice-rich region at the north pole is due to a permanent polar cap of water ice on the surface. Elsewhere in this region, the ice is buried under several to a few tens of centimeters of dry soil.

The complement of the Phoenix spacecraft and its scientific instruments are ideally suited to uncover clues to the geologic history and biological potential of the Martian arctic. Phoenix will be the first mission to return data from either polar region providing an important contribution to the overall Mars science strategy "Follow the Water" and will be instrumental in achieving the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program:

• Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars
• Characterize the Climate of Mars
• Characterize the Geology of Mars
• Prepare for Human Exploration

The Phoenix Mission has two bold objectives to support these goals, which are to (1) study the history of water in the Martian arctic and (2) search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary.

Objectives

Objective 1: Study the History of Water in All its Phases

Currently, water on Mars' surface and atmosphere exists in two states: gas and solid. At the poles, the interaction between the solid water ice at and just below the surface and the gaseous water vapor in the atmosphere is believed to be critical to the weather and climate of Mars. Phoenix will be the first mission to collect meteorological data in the Martian arctic needed by scientists to accurately model Mars' past climate and predict future weather processes.

Liquid water does not currently exist on the surface of Mars, but evidence from Mars Global Surveyor, Odyssey and Exploration Rover missions suggest that water once flowed in canyons and persisted in shallow lakes billions of years ago. However, Phoenix will probe the history of liquid water that may have existed in the arctic as recently as 100,000 years ago. Scientists will better understand the history of the Martian arctic after analyzing the chemistry and mineralogy of the soil and ice using robust instruments.


Objective 2: Search for Evidence of Habitable Zone and Assess the Biological Potential of the Ice-Soil Boundary

Recent discoveries have shown that life can exist in the most extreme conditions. Indeed, it is possible that bacterial spores can lie dormant in bitterly cold, dry, and airless conditions for millions of years and become activated once conditions become favorable. Such dormant microbial colonies may exist in the Martian arctic, where due to the periodic wobbling of the planet, liquid water may exist for brief periods about every 100,000 years making the soil environment habitable.

Phoenix will assess the habitability of the Martian northern environment by using sophisticated chemical experiments to assess the soil's composition of life-giving elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and hydrogen. Identified by chemical analysis, Phoenix will also look at reduction-oxidation (redox) molecular pairs that may determine whether the potential chemical energy of the soil can sustain life, as well as other soil properties critical to determine habitability such as pH and saltiness.

Despite having the proper ingredients to sustain life, the Martian soil may also contain hazards that prevent biological growth, such as powerful oxidants that break apart organic molecules. Powerful oxidants that can break apart organic molecules are expected in dry environments bathed in UV light, such as the surface of Mars. But a few inches below the surface, the soil could protect organisms from the harmful solar radiation. Phoenix will dig deep enough into the soil to analyze the soil environment potentially protected from UV looking for organic signatures and potential habitability.

Source : NASA

Orderly Universe: Evidence of God?

By John Allen Paulos

Not Really, ABC News Columnist Says; It's Not Unusual for Order to Occur Naturally

Since writing my book "Irreligion" and some of my recent Who's Counting columns, I've received a large number of e-mails from subscribers to creation science (who have recently christened themselves intelligent design theorists). Some of the notes have been polite, some vituperative, but almost all question "how order and complexity can arise out of nothing."

Since they can imagine no way for this to happen, they conclude there must be an intelligent designer, a God. (They leave aside the prior question of how He arose.)

My canned answer to them about biological order talks a bit about evolution, but they often dismiss that source of order for religious reasons or because of a misunderstanding of the second law of thermodynamics.

(See Complexity and Intelligent Design for my Who's Counting discussion of biological and economic order and complexity arising out of very simple programs.)

Because the seemingly inexplicable arising of order seems to be so critical to so many, however, I've decided to list here a few other sources for naturally occurring order in physics, math, and biology. Of course, order, complexity, entropy, randomness and related notions are clearly and utterly impossible to describe and disentangle in a column like this, but the examples below from "Irreligion" hint at some of the abstract ideas relevant to the arising of what has been called "order for free."

Necessarily Some Order

Let me begin by noting that even about the seemingly completely disordered, we can always say something. No universe could be completely random at all levels of analysis.

In physics, this idea is illustrated by the kinetic theory of gases. There an assumption of disorder on one formal level of analysis, the random movement of gas molecules, leads to a kind of order on a higher level, the relations among variables such as temperature, pressure and volume known as the gas laws. The law-like relations follow from the lower-level randomness and a few other minimal assumptions. (This bit of physics does not mean that life has evolved simply by chance, a common mischaracterization of evolution.)

In addition to the various laws of large numbers studied in statistics, a notion that manifests a different aspect of this idea is statistician Persi Diaconis' remark that if you look at a big enough population long enough, then "almost any damn thing will happen."

Ramsey Order

A more profound version of this line of thought can be traced back to British mathematician Frank Ramsey, who proved a strange theorem. It stated that if you have a sufficiently large set of geometric points and every pair of them is connected by either a red line or a green line (but not by both), then no matter how you color the lines, there will always be a large subset of the original set with a special property. Either every pair of the subset's members will be connected by a red line or every pair of the subset's members will be connected by a green line.

If, for example, you want to be certain of having at least three points all connected by red lines or at least three points all connected by green lines, you will need at least six points. (The answer is not as obvious as it may seem, but the proof isn't difficult.)

For you to be certain that you will have four points, every pair of which is connected by a red line, or four points, every pair of which is connected by a green line, you will need 18 points, and for you to be certain that there will be five points with this property, you will need -- it's not known exactly - between 43 and 55. With enough points, you will inevitably find unicolored islands of order as big as you want, no matter how you color the lines.

A whole mathematical subdiscipline has grown up devoted to proving theorems of this same general form: How big does a set have to be so that there will always be some subset of a given size that it will constitute an island of order of some sort?

Ramsey-type theorems may even be part of the explanation (along, of course, with Diaconis' dictum) for some of the equidistant letter sequences that constitute the bible codes. Any sufficiently long sequence of symbols, especially one written in the restricted vocabulary of ancient Hebrew, is going to contain subsequences that appear meaningful.

Self-Organization and Order

Finally, of more direct relevance to evolution and the origin of living complexity is the work of Stuart Kauffman. In his book, "At Home in the Universe," he discusses what he has termed the aforementioned notion of "order for free."

Motivated by the idea of hundreds of genes in a genome turning on and off other genes and the order and pattern that nevertheless exist, Kauffman asks us to consider a large collection of 10,000 light bulbs, each bulb having inputs from two other bulbs in the collection.

Assume that you connect these bulbs at random, that a clock ticks off one-second intervals, and that at each tick each bulb either goes on or off according to some arbitrarily selected rule. For some bulbs, the rule might be to go off at any instant unless both inputs are on the previous instant. For others it might be to go on at any instant if at least one of the inputs is off the previous instant. Given the random connections and random assignment of rules, it would be natural to expect the collection of bulbs to flicker chaotically with no apparent pattern.

What happens, however, is that very soon one observes order for free, more or less stable cycles of light configurations, different ones for different initial conditions. Kauffman proposes that some phenomenon of this sort supplements or accentuates the effects of natural selection.

Although there is certainly no need for yet another argument against the seemingly ineradicable silliness of "creation science," these light bulb experiments and the unexpected order that occurs so naturally in them do seem to provide one.

In any case, order for free and apparent complexity greater than we might naively expect are no basis for believing in God as traditionally defined. Of course, we can always redefine God to be an inevitable island of order or some sort of emergent mathematical entity. If we do that, the above considerations can be taken as indicating that such a pattern will necessarily exist, but that's hardly what people mean by God.

About the Author

John Allen Paulos, a professor of mathematics at Temple University, is the author of the best-sellers "Innumeracy" and "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper," as well as of the just-released "Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why The Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up " His "Who's Counting?" column on ABCNEWS.com appears the first weekend of every month.

Source : ABC News

The Size Of Our World - Stars And Planets In Scale

So how big is our planet Earth? The video below illustrates the size of planets and stars compared to each other. See how our planet and Sun become dwarfs and disappear in the scale.

• W Cephei; VV Cephei: 3,676,200,000 km (ie, 288194 x Earth)
  
• My Cephei: 3,481,250,000 kim
  
• Antares: 1,108,430,000 km
  
• Beteigeuze: 905,125,000 km
  
• Rigel: 86,335,000 km
  
• Arcturus: 4,177,500 km
  
• Pollux: 6,962,500 km
  
• Sirius: 2,506,500 km
  
• Sun: 1,392,500 km
  
• Jupiter: 142,984 km
  
• Saturn: 108,728 km
  
• Neptune: 49,532 km
  
• Earth: 12,756 km
  
• Venus: 12,104 k
  
• Mars: 6,794 km
  
• Mercury: 4880 km