Satellite Search Underway For Noah's Ark

A puzzling mountain-side object in Turkey is the target of a hide-and-seek game of biblical proportions.

The high-flying and super-powerful commercial QuickBird satellite has begun snapping imagery of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey - in a quest to spot the possible remains of what is believed to be Noah's Ark.

Aircraft pictures taken in the late 1940s, as well as more recent secret spy satellite shots of the area do show something odd - a bit of strangeness that has earned the title of the "Ararat Anomaly".

QuickBird 2 satellite will use its super-powerful camera system to image Mt. Ararat in search for remains of Noah's ark. credit: EarthWatch Inc.

DigitalGlobe's powerful QuickBird satellite is cranking out ultra close-up imagery of Earth targets. As example, this picture shows the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France -- taken March 27, 2002-- and demonstrates the quality of pictures churned out by the high-flying satellite. Credit: DigitalGlobe

Perhaps it's little more than a natural, albeit eye catching, geological formation. On the other hand, that anomaly could have a classic tale to tell, one that reaches back into biblical times.

Most Biblical scholars and Near Eastern archeologists and historians regard the Biblical accounting of Noah's Ark and a world-devastating flood as a story handed down by oral tradition.

As told in the Bible, Noah constructed a large boat to house his family and sets of animals, saving them from flood waters due to 40 days and 40 nights of deluge. Once this Great Flood retreated, as depicted in the Book of Genesis, the ark settled down on the mountains of Ararat.

On the lookout trail for the real deal is Porcher Taylor, a senior associate (nonresident) at the prominent think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He is an expert on satellite intelligence gathering and diplomacy.

Taylor has worked for years to compel the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to declassify satellite images and other information related to the unidentified feature perched on Mt. Ararat in Turkey.

Indeed, the secrecy wraps have come off a partial set of aerial images taken over that location in June 1949. They do show something at the 15,500-foot level on the mountain's Northwestern Plateau.

In later years, Taylor contends, two high-powered intelligence-gathering satellites -- the Keyhole-9 in 1973 and the Keyhole-11 in 1976 -- aimed their cameras at the mountain. What those photo shoots purportedly show created a stir amongst photo interpreters.

The anomaly is more than 600-feet long (183 meters), Taylor said, at least the section visible in aerial and satellite imagery. Photo interpretation specialists, he said, do think they perceive actual boat structure in the pictures.

Yet those images remain classified at the moment. Remaining unclassified, however, is Taylor's passion.

"I want to solve the enduring mystery of the Ararat Anomaly, no matter what it may be," he told SPACE.com

Thanks to the advent of commercial remote sensing satellites, taking a peek at the object on Mt. Ararat for a fee is feasible.

In October 1999 into the summer of 2000, images of the mountain and the object in question were snapped by the IKONOS spacecraft, owned and operated by Space Imaging, based in Thornton, Colorado. Those pictures didn't resolve the issue, one way or the other, however.

Now the lenses of another commercial satellite, QuickBird, operated by DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colorado is on the prowl. "QuickBird is capable of shedding more light on what the anomaly may or may not be," Taylor said.

QuickBird was lofted in October 2001 and is billed as the world's highest resolution commercial imaging satellite. It can see things 2-feet (61-centimeters) across.

"We have acquired four images of Mt. Ararat and all have been cloud covered to date," said Chuck Herring, Director of Marketing Communications for DigitalGlobe. "We continue to task this event and will get Porcher Taylor an image as soon as we get a good image," he told SPACE.com.

"Because of constant cloud cover it's tough. Where this thing is, whatever it is…it's basically a glacier, a permanent ice cap at 15,000 feet up on the mountain. It is a unique and unexplored site on Mt. Ararat. You're going to have to have ideal weather conditions and a lot of luck when you're flying over to see it," Taylor said.

Meanwhile, Taylor anticipates that when QuickBird does produce the imagery goods, he'll have more leverage to convince U.S. President Bush and his administration to declassify those earlier Keyhole satellite shots.

Next month, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency unveils a load of vintage Keyhole-7 and Keyhole-9 pictures, declassifying the images and making them available for public scrutiny. He hopes Mt. Ararat photos are among those being released.

Taylor has at the ready a "world class" imagery team, ready to huddle over any new QuickBird images or older Keyhole photos.

A leader in that team is Farouk El-Baz, research professor and founding director of Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing.

El-Baz first gained world attention for his work on the Apollo program. He served as secretary of the lunar landing site selection committee, chairman of the astronaut training group, and principal investigator for visual observations and photography.

A native of Egypt, El-Baz later served as a science advisor to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and to King Hussein of Jordan.

He has been a pioneer in developing the field of remote sensing and is offering his expertise to what's truly resident on Mt. Ararat.

"There is absolutely enough hearsay…enough discussion about the topic to warrant looking into this, to see whether there is something tangible or not," El-Baz told SPACE.com.

El-Baz recounted his conversations with former Apollo 15 moonwalker James Irwin. The astronaut, now deceased, mounted six expeditions to Mt. Ararat in a search for the ark. Those treks were done through his High Flight Foundation, a non-profit evangelical organization based in Colorado Springs.

"Irwin told me he saw something. He felt it was an imprint on the land of the boat that was turned upside down…perhaps with some soil on top. So there was something there in his mind," El-Baz said.

El-Baz himself remains true to his training, waiting for scientific data to become available and help unveil the true nature of the Ararat object.

"There is absolutely nothing in all the pictures that we have seen up to now that is questionable in my mind. I can explain each and everything as a natural snow bank…a shadow. There is nothing," El-Baz said. But given the interest and the historical nature of such a find, the search is worth conducting, he added.

"From all the points of view, there is definitely enough in this to warrant spending time to resolve the issue, one way or the other. So I don't consider it a waste of time," El-Baz said.

I wonder how many have actually read, let alone understood, what the bible really says......

Ephraim and Manasseh were given the birthright blessings. There really has been no other nations that reflect those blessings other than Britain(B'rith-ish: Covenant Man) and the United States.

Genesis 48:1
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
48:2
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
48:3
And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
48:4
And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
48:5
And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
48:6
And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
48:7
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
48:8
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
48:9
And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
48:10
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
48:11
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
48:12
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
48:13
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
48:14
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
48:15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
48:16
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
48:17
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased * him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
48:18
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
48:19
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
48:20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
48:21
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
48:22
Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

49:1
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
49:2
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
49:3
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
49:4
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
49:5
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
49:6
O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
49:8
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
49:9
Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up ?
49:10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
49:11
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
49:12
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
49:13
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
49:14
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
49:15
And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
49:16
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
49:18
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
49:19
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
49:20
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
49:21
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
49:22
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
49:23
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
49:24
But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
49:25
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
49:26
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
49:27
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
49:28
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

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