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 really don't have a date I feel strongly enough about to defend.

How about 2348 BC? I've got a Companion Bible by EW Bullinger and he lays out a detailed timeline in Appendix 50. Luckily, some folks have posted these online, you can find one here, under Table 7.

His date for the Exodus is 1491 BC in Table 11.

I remember reading in National Geographic about this region, it was supposedly an inland sea for over 2,000 years until about the time of Christ. If you look at this region from space, it really does look like a large body of water used to be there. I really wish I saved this one, I am guessing it was over 15 years go that I read it.

A bonus mention for the mummies that are being found there, it is possible that this is where the post-Adamic peoples lived until the time of Noah.

>How about 2348 BC?... His date for the Exodus is 1491 BC in Table 11.

Hey, those are fine with me --- close enough for government work. {ggg}. But I'm sure they may not be close enough for those who are really interested in pinning those dates down as close as possible.

My primary interest here is in The Lost Tribes of Israel, the old Northern Kingdom of Israel. These people have been grossly understudied IMHO, and I try to give them my concentration. So your dates are close enough to have no effect at all on my interest.

To see more about the Lost Tribes and Ancient Israelite history, click on my LostTribe Profile below and take 3 minutes to read the 3-MINUTE HISTORY.

"I remember reading in National Geographic about this region, it was supposedly an inland sea for over 2,000 years until about the time of Christ. If you look at this region from space, it really does look like a large body of water used to be there."

Some of those mummies there are 4,000 years old and there are human artifacts there that are 1,000 years older than that. There was likely a salt water sea there at one time due to all the salt deposits there today but, I think we're talking tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousand of years in the past.

My studies of the area lead me to think that the Uygars (European end) and the Hakka Chinese (Asian end) are the human remnants of the east/west meeting thousands of years ago in that basin. (Later, the Hakka Chinese migrated to southern China where they are known today as 'the friendly guests.')

BTW, the Uygars have adopted one of the mummies found there 'The Beauty Of Loulan' as the mother of their country.

Some of those mummies there are 4,000 years old and there are human artifacts there that are 1,000 years older than that.

That places them from 3000 to 2000 BC. Not bad.

Interesting. Weren't some of the mummies found with tartan-style clothing? That would be a shocker to the status quo.

Hey, those are fine with me --- close enough for government work. {ggg}. But I'm sure they may not be close enough for those who are really interested in pinning those dates down as close as possible.

What do you want, the day and month? :) (in case you do, I think he has April 2348 BC as the start of the flood...further examination might yield the exact day so you can plug in to find out if it was a Thursday or whatnot). The charts are extremely detailed so anyone can compare to their own timelines and see where they differ.

read the 3-MINUTE HISTORY

Thanks, but I contributed to that history if you recall. :)

"Interesting. Weren't some of the mummies found with tartan-style clothing? That would be a shocker to the status quo."

The clothing has everyone stumped. They are just like the ones (using the exact same production method) found at the Celtic sites at Hallstadt. It's baffling because there isn't any trace of this clothing or techniques anywhere in between these two areas.

For a good read on the fabrics see, The Mummies Of Urumchi by Elizabeth Barber. For the people, The Tarim Mummies, by Victor Mair.

...and if you ever figure out who were the Tocharians, please let me know.

"I think he has April 2348 BC as the start of the flood...

Tree ring data indicates that there was a worldwide catastrophe at 2354BC. (Trees all over the world recorded the event, this is also the date Ussher claims for Noah's flood))

>Thanks, but I contributed to that history if you recall. :)

I sure do! But not everyone else has read it yet. I'm sure Blam is VERY interested in those dates since he is very interested in pinning down Noah.

It's always interested me that God picked the greatest part of Israel to wander around and get lost, losing their very identity. I tend to think there are no unintended consequences around God. When they lost their identities, they lost their Israelite traditions. If that's not an unintended consequence, it must be for a purpose.

Possibly, that purpose was to clear the programing so that a new doctrine, that of Jesus', delived by his disciples could be loaded. Those who learned from the teachings and preaching of Jesus also learned the old doctrine as well, with its wise counsel on human relationships, behavior and the commandments of God.

I'd expect that God, while He was talking to Abraham, knew exactly how it would work out in what we call the future, hence the prophesies. We are here, now, and it could be said that it's playing out that way.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just step behind you here, just in case there's a bolt of lightening headed my way.

This topic fascinates me. I bet it is there.

Gen.8:4

[4] And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Imagine the problems this would cause other religions who state otherwise. I believe the Muslims would have a problem with this if proven. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

>Feel free to illuminate the alternative version for our amusement.

It's all at my FR LostTribe Profile site. Try reading the 3-MINUTE HISTORY, then, in direct response to it, making a substantative contribution to the discussion. Throwing rocks like a spoiled child doesn't count.

Yeah, whatever. Tell us what denominations, if any, throughout the nearly two millennia of church history have supported your claims? Can you name for me one creed that says anything about your view of the "lost tribes"? Is it in Schaff? Just give me a source. If your view is supported by scholars, and isn't the hobbyhorse of a fringe group with an agenda, then you will be able to provide scholarly citations. Surely you have some impressive works to cite for that 3 minute history.

My case is normative history

You mean that all humankind descended from a common ancestor in Africa? Psshaw, you had me falling off my chair and spitting soda on my keyboard at the same time...good one! The liberal PC colleges can't keep a straight story when it comes to what happened yesterday but we're supposed to believe what these commies have to say what happened 3000 years ago...hehe, stop it yer killing me, hehehe.

If the revisionism of the last 50 years doesn't send off warning bells to you, then no amount of hard evidence is going to help you now, but if you can name any 2 countries that fit Manasseh and Ephraim more than the USA and England, I'll eat my hat. Oh, that's right, they, along with their brethern just 'disappeared' into the landscape, almost a quarter of the population of the area at the time...yeah, right.

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