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Rethinking relativity: Is time out of joint? EVER since Arthur Eddington travelled to the island of Príncipe off Africa to measure starlight bending around the sun during a 1919 eclipse, evidence for Einstein’s theory of general relativity has only become stronger. Could it now be that starlight from distant galaxies is illuminating cracks in the theory’s foundation? .... Yet it is still not clear how well general relativity holds up over cosmic scales, at distances much larger than the span of single galaxies. Now the first, tentative hint of a deviation from general relativity has been found. While the evidence...

The Bible tells us that God made mankind—male and female—“in His image” (Genesis 1:26, 27). This gives us humans a special significance in the cosmos. However, modern secular (godless) thinking minimizes this significance. As Voyager 1 reached the edge of our solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan asked NASA to instruct Voyager to turn around and take a picture looking back towards Earth. The grainy image showed our home as a tiny pale blue dot. In a book written soon after, atheist Sagan wrote, “our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are...

Many people make a distinction between the origin of life and the evolution of life. In this view, biological evolution refers to the gradual development of the diversity of living things from a common ancestor, while the ultimate origin of life is a separate question. This is a legitimate point, but evolution is about much more than just biology. The evolutionary worldview is that all of physical existence, both living and non-living, arose through purely natural processes. With this broad definition of evolution, abiogenesis--the spontaneous appearance of life from non-living matter--is a necessity. If life did arise on earth by...

Was our oldest ancestor a proton-powered rock? --snip-- The picture painted by Russell and Martin is striking indeed. The last common ancestor of all life was not a free-living cell at all, but a porous rock riddled with bubbly iron-sulphur membranes that catalysed primordial biochemical reactions...

Oct 19, 2009 — Science news outlets have put out some bizarre headlines recently.  Readers can judge whether they should be blessed with the label “science” or belong instead at supermarket checkouts. Women are evolving fatter:  New Scientist and PhysOrg said that natural selection is making women shorter, plumper and more fertile.  “The take-home message is that humans are currently evolving,” said Stephen Stearns of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina.  “Natural selection is still operating.” Killer algae heading north:  Science Daily said that toxic algae was a key player in mass extinctions in the past, and...

News to Note, October 17, 2009: A weekly feature examining news from the biblical viewpoint (fascinating STEM CELL piece in story #5!)...

Oct 7, 2009 — Saturn has a newly-discovered ring to add to its decor – the largest of all. It’s so big, it makes Saturn look like a speck in the middle of it. The ring, located at the orbit of the small outer moon Phoebe, is inclined 27 degrees and revolves backwards around Saturn. This was announced today by...

Weekend Roundup --snip-- Picture Highlight: the new Herschel Space Telescope, is seeing first light and creating dramatic images of gas clouds in the Milky Way...

Outer Limits Not Lively Sept 29, 2009 — One of the “cosmic coincidences” cited in the intelligent-design treatise The Privileged Planet1 is the “galactic habitable zone” – a fairly narrow region of the galaxy where planets can form and exist safely.  The outer regions of the galaxy were described as lacking the heavy elements necessary for planet formation. Score one for the authors.  New Scientist reported on a planet search by astronomers at the University of Tokyo who failed to find planets in the outer reaches of the galaxy.  “Astronomers have long doubted that life could exist there,” the article...

Sept 23, 2009 — Imagine never having to wash your windows again. That would be a huge boon not only for window washers on skyscrapers, but for astronauts on the space shuttle or space station. It may become a reality, thanks to the lotus plant...

The Wide Area Search for Planets (WASP) project has discovered a planet that orbits backward, against the rotational direction of its star. Methodological naturalists think collisions or near-collisions are the causes of unusual cosmic phenomena like this. But this reverse-orbit observation adds to a growing list of astronomical features that should not exist if collisions and other random physical processes are all that could have caused them.[1]...

The amino acid glycine is one of twenty chemical building blocks of the proteins that provide most of the structures and functions in living cells. Scientists recently detected “microscopic traces of glycine” in materials retrieved from the tail of a comet. Some interpret this as evidence that life can exist elsewhere in the universe, and maybe even that life on earth began with chemicals from space. But for a host of reasons, this discovery fails to live up to its billing as being a key to the evolution of life from just chemicals...

~~~snip~~~ Electromagnetic waves are far too slow to be the only means of signalling in an immense universe. Gravity requires the near-instantaneous character of the electric force to form stable systems like our solar system and spiral galaxies. Gravitationally, the Earth ‘sees’ the Sun where it is this instant, not where it was more than 8 minutes ago. Newton’s famous law of gravity does not refer to time. We must have a workable concept of the structure of matter that satisfies the observation that the inertial and gravitational masses of an object are equivalent. When we accelerate electrons or protons...

String theory “philosophy” challenged --snip-- The big bang is fundamental to cosmic evolution or the idea that somehow the universe made itself. The article majored on the varying ideas that emanate from big bang philosophy, such as dark energy and dark matter etc. that are used to solve some of the “science” problems of the big bang. It then went on to say that string theory is just another one of these ideas with no basis in experimental science...

June 9, 2009 — In the artwork, it looks so simple: dust clumps into planets that grow into nice, orbiting solar systems – like ours. It’s not so simple when you try to nail down the real physics. Planet-building models have to contend with a host of variables and barriers to growth (accretion). Another barrier was discussed in Astrophysical Journal this month: the electric barrier...

Gravity: A Theory in Crisis May 5, 2009 — Note: This is **not** a joke. How could gravity be a theory in crisis? Isn’t gravity one of the best-understood facts of nature? Don’t we all avoid jumping off cliffs because of the law of gravity? Gravity is doing just fine, thank you. It’s our theory of gravity, and the cosmology built on it, that is in crisis – according to a report on PhysOrg today: “Study plunges standard Theory of Cosmology into Crisis.”...

A stellar explosion has smashed the record for most distant object in the known universe. The gamma-ray burst came from about 13 billion light-years away, and represents a relic from when the universe was just 630 million years old. "It easily surpassed the most distant galaxies and quasars," said Edo Berger, an astrophysicist at Harvard University and a leading member of the team that first demonstrated the burst's origin. "In fact, it showed that we can use these spectacular events to pinpoint the first generation of stars and galaxies." "The burst most likely arose from the explosion of a massive...

Science Still in the Dark about Dark Energy by Brian Thomas, M.S.* Evolutionary astronomers have a problem. The universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, but if general relativity is an accurate cosmological model, and if the universe is made up of the kinds of matter and energy that are directly detectable (like atoms and light), then its expansion should be slowing. Astronomers “fixed” this problem by theorizing that “75% of the energy density of the universe exists…as dark energy.”[1] This non-detectable dark energy allows the man-made model to match astronomical observations. However, scientists are aware that dark energy itself...

Even Dorothy would struggle to survive a "space tornado." Whirling at more than a million miles per hour, these invisible, funnel-shaped solar windstorms carry electrical currents of more than a hundred thousand amps—roughly ten times that of an average lightning strike—scientists announced Thursday. And they're huge: up to 44,000 miles (70,000 kilometers) long and wide enough to envelop Earth. Led by the University of California astrophysicist Andreas Keiling, scientists have made the most detailed measurements yet of the space tornadoes, also known as substorm current wedges. Their results shed light on how space tornadoes help spark auroras, also known as...

DIFFERENT CULTURES have attributed their spectacular light show to fire-breathing dragons, dancing gods and ghostly clans at war. New research, however, has found that the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are powered by giant electrical tornadoes spinning at more than a million miles an hour and stretching thousands of miles into space. Scientists used a set of five satellites designed to measure the Earth’s magnetic field to generate the first images of the whirling vortices. They show how vast quantities of charged particles emitted by the sun first pile up in huge clouds about 40,000 miles above the night side...

David Talbott opens the door to discussion of the "Saturn Theory" with this first 10-minute segment of a video overview. Expect two more segments in March. Comments are invited on the present rough cut, and your suggestions may indeed affect the look of the "final" edit (first hour) in May. You Tube of Symbols of an Alien Sky. www.thunderbolts.info

The ion tail of Venus. Credit: Jeff Hecht, New Scientist Magazine May 31, 1997.   Feb 20, 2008Venus' Tail of the UnexpectedAncient peoples report that the planet Venus once had visible "ropes" stretching out to the Earth. Could a plasma glow discharge have been the cause?The "induced magnetotail" that points away from Venus in the direction of the earth is a teardrop-shaped plasma structure filled with “a lot of little stringy things” that was first detected by NASA’s Pioneer Venus Orbiter in the late 1970s. In 1997, Europe’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Satellite showed that the tail stretched some...

Recent European Space Agency images of the escarpment of Olympus Mons reveal branching ridge patterns that continue to baffle planetary scientists. But the “Lichtenberg” form of these ridges points directly to an electrical interpretation. LEFT: Finely carved branching ridges on the western flank of the Martian mountain Olympus Mons pose unsolved riddles for planetary scientists. (Note: to avoid seeing ridges as depressions, keep in mind that the light is coming from the left. The tree-like branching of the ridges is running down the escarpment.) Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum) RIGHT: A Lichtenberg figure created by electric discharge in an acrylic...

NASA scientists call them “sand dunes.” But in the electrical interpretation, the extraordinary complex of ridges and valleys at the center of Victoria Crater on Mars points back to the same event that produced the crater itself. Victoria Crater at Meridiana Planum near the equator of Mars. CREDIT: NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona In a previous picture of the day, we noted that the sharply sculpted “cookie-cutter” form of Victoria crater defies explanation as an impact depression. Victoria Crater at Meridiana Planum near the equator of Mars, reveals a cleanly cut “cookie cutter” profile—another challenge to the impact hypothesis. CREDIT: NASA/JPL/Univ. of...

A team of scientists led by University of Maryland physics professor James Drake appear to have solved a key remaining mystery about how the interaction of magnetic fields produce the explosive releases of energy seen in solar flares, storms in the Earth’s magnetosphere and many other powerful cosmic events. In recent years, researchers have answered many questions about this process, but one thing they have been unable to explain is data from solar observing satellites indicating that up to half of the energy released during solar flares is in the form of energetic electrons. Large numbers of these low-mass particles...

Though NASA officials have said nothing on the subject, astronomy today is on the edge of a critical shift in perception—a revolution that could redefine our view of the heavens. Above, the “Great Comet” of 1996, Hyakutake. The stunning discovery of X-ray emissions from the visitor was a milestone in comet science, as was the discovery that the comet's coherent and filamentary ion tail spanned more than 350 million miles. - Credit: NASA Proponents of the “Electric Universe” say that a revolution in the sciences is inescapable, and they believe the failure of modern comet theory could be the tipping...

August 15, 2006: On July 31st, a tiny sunspot was born. It popped up from the sun's interior, floated around a bit, and vanished again in a few hours. On the sun this sort of thing happens all the time and, ordinarily, it wouldn't be worth mentioning. But this sunspot was special: It was backward. see caption"We've been waiting for this," says David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight in Huntsville, Alabama. "A backward sunspot is a sign that the next solar cycle is beginning."...

Apr 10, 2006NASA on Martian Dust Devils - "They're Electrified!" "When humans visit Mars, they'll have to watch out for towering electrified dust devils".With these words, a NASA news release, dated July 14, 2005, gave official sanction to an idea that has percolated up from separately funded research projects in recent years. The new research involved chasing dust devils in the Arizona desert where investigators were surprised to find that these vortices are electrically charged. The obvious inference is that Martian dust devils might be charged too. Meanwhile, in 1999 the leading theorist of the Electric Universe had written, based...

Jan 16, 2006"Festoons" Add to Martian Mysteries Swirling and layered Martian ?sediments? have inspired planetary scientists to see deposition from shallow water. But the electrical theorists point to a more powerful force active in the Martian past. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell The image above comes from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, taken on January 2, 2006).  NASA scientists describe this as the best example yet of the Meridiani Planum outcrop rocks on the margins of "Erebus Crater". The image shows well-preserved, fine-scale layering and what geologists call "cross-lamination". Of particular interest to planetary scientists are the nested...

Top 10 TPOD Series (10) Jan 13, 2006Deep Impact - The Smoking Guns?Credit: NASA/JPL--Caltech/UMD We'll hold off on a celebration for now, but the pictures above appear to exhibit some of the "smoking guns" that the electric theorists have predicted.The single most dramatic prediction of the electric comet model is this: on close inspection an active comet nucleus will reveal the electrical arcs that progressively etch away the surface and accelerate material into space. From the electrical vantage point, Tempel 1 is a "low voltage comet", but the etching process appears to be sufficiently active to make our case.The white...

Credit: NASA/JPL--Caltech/UMD The power of the paradigm tells you what you see. The prevailing comet theories see this image of Tempel 1 as an insubstantial "dirty snowball" or "fluffy dustball", and the Electric Universe theory sees this image as a substantial, cratered rock.Today we feature excerpts from four newspaper articles that are reporting what they are told by their scientist interviewees.A Sept.07, 2005 article in the Guardian reports "Deep Impact space collision reveals comets to be fluffy balls of powder". This is the latest adjustment of a theory of comets that has seen them first as "dirty snowballs", then as...

THUNDERBOLTS PICTURE OF THE DAYExploring the electric universe From ancient mythology to cosmic plasma discharge Credit: NASA/JPL. Image manipulation: Carl SmithThis is a sequence of images from the hi-res Deep Impact flyby camera. They show jets emanating from two centers. The color substitution images on the right show more clearly the relative brilliance distribution in the grey-scale images. They show the presence of two bright centers. The presence of more than one crater was predicted by the electrical model of comets. homethe book quotes picture of the day picture archive subject index the film(video clips) products Contact usElectric Universe:...

THUNDERBOLTS PICTURE OF THE DAYExploring the electric universe From ancient mythology to cosmic plasma discharge Credit: Mars rover Spirit. homethe book quotes picture of the day picture archive subject index the film(video clips) products Contact usElectric Universe: Holoscience Electric Cosmos The Universe Dragon Science Plasma Cosmology Society for Interdisciplinary Studies     Jul 21, 2005NASA on Martian Dust Devils? "They're Electrified" "When humans visit Mars, they'll have to watch out for towering electrified dust devils".With these words, a NASA news release, dated July 14, 2005, gave official sanction to an idea that has percolated up from separately funded research...

THUNDERBOLTS PICTURE OF THE DAYExploring the electric universe From ancient mythology to cosmic plasma discharge   homethe book quotes picture of the day picture archive subject index the film(video clips) products Contact usElectric Universe: Holoscience Electric Cosmos The Universe Dragon Science Plasma Cosmology Society for Interdisciplinary Studies     Jul 05, 2005Deep Impact?First ImpressionsThe Deep Impact was an amazing show, and there will be much more information to come.In advance of the event we set forth our expectations as explicitly as possible. Therefore, we urge readers of this page to refer to our previous Picture of the Day.We also...

THUNDERBOLTS PICTURE OF THE DAYExploring the electric universe From ancient mythology to cosmic plasma discharge Credit: NASA/JPL/UMD Artwork by Pat Rawlings the book quotes picture of the day picture archive subject index the film(video clips) products Contact usElectric Universe: Holoscience Electric Cosmos The Universe Dragon Science Plasma Cosmology Society for Interdisciplinary Studies     Jul 04, 2005Predictions on "Deep Impact"With the imminent arrival of the "Deep Impact" spacecraft at the comet Tempel 1, it is time to test competing theories on the nature of comets. The predictions and lines of reasoning offered here will set the stage for future...

Another surprise from space: Massive dust storms on Mars have meteorologists  scrambling for explanations. Is it solar heating, or electricity, that powers these storms in the near vacuum of the Martian atmosphere? CREDIT: LEFT,Calvin J. Hamilton.                        National Optical Astronomy Observatory/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy/National Science Foundation;                        RIGHT, NASA/JPL The spacecraft Mariner 9 was the first probe to orbit the planet Mars. As it arrived at the Red Planet in 1971, NASA scientists were shocked by the view—the most horrific dust storm they had ever seen. The entire planet was engulfed in a deep haze, with only...

Plasma physicist uses electric arcs to replicate the mysterious spherules on the Red Planet. On January 25, 2004, the Mars Rover “Opportunity” landed in a small crater on the Martian plain called Meridiani Planum. A few days later, Opportunity photographed a sight that could alter our ideas about the recent history of the solar system: Scattered around the walls of the crater were BB-sized spherules. Their blue-gray color set them apart from the reddish hue of the iron-rich Martian soil and suggested a name for them—blueberries.  Left Image Source: NASA ---- Right Image Source: CJ Ransom, of Vemasat Laboratories The...

If you’ve been following our Picture of the Day, you’ve seen the electric arc on the upper left more than once on these pages. It comes to us from the website, “Sparks and Arcs,” sponsored by John Dyer-- http://www.johndyer.com/sparxarcs.html We also include above a photograph of the comet Hale-Bopp, enhanced to emphasize the rich filamentation of the comet tail. Electric Universe theorists identify comets as plasma discharge phenomena—negatively charged objects moving rapidly through the electric field of the Sun. Some advocates of the Electric Universe have devoted decades to investigating the human past, concluding that Earth’s environment was once bursting...

    How do you make a crater? Scientists have been asking that question ever since Galileo turned his telescope on the moon in 1610. The discussion was between those who thought craters were made by volcanoes and those who thought craters were made by impacts. In the late 20th century, geologists on Earth and astronauts on the moon showed that they weren't volcanic. The impact hypothesis won by default. Photo Credit: Mel Acheson, C.J.Ransom     But there is a third possibility, one that has now been explored in detail by advocates of the "electric universe." The craters in the photo above...

STARS ESCAPE FROM ASTRONOMICAL ZOODon Scott The Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) site has run several discussions of the "variable star" V838 Monocerotis. Today they have another one. Astronomy Picture of the Day - V838 Monocerotis but also see Astronomy Picture of the Day - V838 Light Echo: The Movie They include comments like, "V838 Mon may be a totally new addition to the astronomical zoo." I object to this "new" characterization. This zoo animal disproves standard fusion models. In fact this star (together with several others) simply demonstrates stellar evolution wholly NOT in keeping with thermonuclear stellar theory....

09 April 2003SETI – The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence“Next we come to a question that everyone, scientist and non-scientist alike, must have asked at some time. What is man’s place in the Universe?” The Nature of the Universe, Fred Hoyle. In March this year 13,000 people from across the U.S converged on Philadelphia for the largest meeting of science educators in the world. Many teachers there remarked that their students are always asking about SETI and astronomy. Kids have a keen interest in astronomy and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. What's out there? Are we alone? The first question we...