COMETS CAUSE MASS SUICIDE: DEMAND A PLAN. ASK GOVERNMENT TO BAN COMETS PANSTARRS and ISON?
Two
possible 'Great Comets' coming in 2013
Hale-Bopp comet 1997 |
15 years ago: A cult, a comet, a mass suicide
The Heaven's Gate cult stunned Rancho Santa Fe and the world in 1997
March 26: In 1997 the bodies of 39 dead members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found in a Rancho Santa Fe mansion. The mass suicide made global headlines for days and haunted first responders for years. The bodies were found covered in purple shrouds, wearing black Nike sneakers. The cult members killed themselves thinking the act would allow them to board a spaceship they believed was trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.
Two possible 'Great Comets' coming in 2013
Few
sights in our sky are more impressive than that of a "Great
Comet." Often appearing as bright (or brighter) than the
brightest stars, and with bright tails that may span a considerable
distance across the nighttime sky, such objects can be truly
spectacular and awe-inspiring.
It
is easy to see how ancient peoples, who didn't understand their
physical nature, often considered them as being supernatural
phenomena, usually signs of divine displeasure.
Comets
are relatively common phenomena, with several usually being
accessible to larger backyard telescopes at any given time. Perhaps
once a year or so, on the average, a comet will come along that is
bright enough to view with the unaided eye, if a sky-watcher is
located at a dark site and knows where to look. A "Great Comet,"
however, is fairly rare, with such objects appearing perhaps only
once a decade on the average.
For
those of us in the northern hemisphere, it's been a while. Our most
recent "Great Comets" were the pair that appeared in the
mid-1990s -- Hyakutake in 1996 and Hale-Bopp a year later. While
there have been several comets that have reached naked-eye visibility
since then, none of these could really be considered to have reached
"Great Comet" status.
Our
friends south of the equator, however, have been more fortunate.
Comet McNaught put on a spectacular show in early 2007 after briefly
being bright enough to be visible during broad daylight. Late last
year, Comet Lovejoy put on another great
As
fate would have it, neither of these two comets were visible from the
northern hemisphere when they were anywhere near the best, which has
been rather frustrating for those of us skywatchers who live north of
the equator. That frustration may be coming to an end, however, as
not one, but two, inbound comets have the potential to become "Great
Comets" as seen from the northern hemisphere in 2013.
The
first of these two comets was discovered in June 2011 by the
Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System project, a
comprehensive survey program based at Mount Haleakala, Hawaii, that
became operational a little over two years ago. While Comet PANSTARRS
was a very dim and distant object at the time of its discovery, it
has brightened steadily since then. For the past several months it
has been detectable with larger backyard telescopes as it slowly
tracks across the constellations of Scorpius and Libra.
Comet
PANSTARRS will be visible only from the southern hemisphere for the
first two months of 2013, but by the beginning of March it begins to
swing northward. At around the middle of that month it becomes
visible from the northern hemisphere, quite possibly as a very bright
object low in the west during evening twilight.
At
that time it is also near its closest approaches to the sun (28
million miles) and Earth (102 million miles). Over subsequent weeks
it continues tracking northward and becomes more easily visible,
although it should also fade as it moves away from the sun and Earth.
By
the latter part of May it will be high in the northern sky near
Polaris, although by that time it will probably no longer be
detectable with the unaided eye.
Meanwhile,
just within the past week has come the discovery of another comet
that has the potential to become even brighter. It was discovered
Sept. 21 by two amateur astronomers, Vitali Nevski of Belarus and
Artyom Novichonok of Russia, using a telescope owned by the
International Scientific Optical Network based in Russia. The comet,
currently quite dim and distant, and located near the bright star
Pollux in the constellation Gemini, has been given the name "ISON."
Comet
ISON will be closest to the sun, less than 750,000 miles above the
sun's "surface," near the end of November 2013, and will be
closest to Earth (40 million miles) a month later. Potentially, it
could be bright enough to be visible in broad daylight around the
time it is nearest the sun.
Since
it is very well placed for viewing from the northern hemisphere
during the weeks afterward, it could become one of the best and
brightest comets of the past several centuries.
In
early 2014 it, like its predecessor was a few months earlier, will be
located in far northern skies near Polaris and may still be visible
to the unaided eye at that time.
There
is a distinct similarity between the orbit of Comet ISON and that of
the Great Comet of 1680, a very brilliant object that was undoubtedly
one of the brightest comets of the past millennium. While Comet ISON
is not identical to that earlier comet, it is conceivable that the
two are related. Perhaps they were once part of the same comet
sometime during the distant past. We may be able to tell for sure one
way or the other over the next few months as we gather more data
about Comet ISON's orbit.
Of
course, comets are notoriously unpredictable when it comes to their
brightnesses, and it is distinctly possible that Comet PANSTARRS
and/or Comet ISON could "fizzle" and fade away as they
approach the sun. But it is also distinctly possible that either, or
both, of them could become "Great Comets" that will rank
among the brightest comets that will appear during our lifetimes.
We
will just have to wait and see.
"We Demand A Plan to End Gun Violence – NOW!
"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them we must change." -Barack Obama in Newtown, CT
The school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a tragedy beyond comprehension. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones and the community that has been shattered by this horrific act of violence.
President Obama gave a moving speech and promised to take action to prevent future tragedies. But the harsh truth is that we’ve heard this promise before. After Aurora. After Tucson. After Virginia Tech. After Columbine.
Promises are not enough. We need action."
OVERVIEW: CULTS TODAY
Janja Lalich, a sociology professor at California State University Chico and an expert on cults, said the appeal of cults is still strong.
“I think there are plenty of groups still around,” Lalich said. “This is just a part of life.”
Many people are looking for answers in a fast-paced world, Lalich said. Some get what they need in mainstream religions, while others find the framework they are seeking in an alternative religious movement.
“At some level, it helps people to latch on to something,” she said. “People are looking for a quick fix. A lot of groups will offer that panacea.”
The growth of the Internet has expanded people's capacity to find groups they otherwise might not have been aware of, Lalich said. The Internet also has enabled detractors to better provide warnings about cults.
Lalich said it is good to have more information available to those thinking of joining.
“If only people put as much thought into joining a cult as they did in buying a car,” she said.– ANNE KRUEGER
Hell with the mass suicides, they're nuts anyways. Will have my telescope and camera ready!
ReplyDeleteWish people would stop with the dark ages mentality. Comets have always been associated as harbingers of doom and calamity. It's amazing how much balls of ice, rock, and dust can stir up the nut cases in the world. If a comet or asteroid hits earth well, it's happened before, as Shoemaker-Levy 9 pointed out when it broke apart and slammed into Jupiter back in the early 90s. Just a part of the "physical" universe, nothing else.
ReplyDelete"We Demand A Plan to End Comets – NOW!" (Zoooooooooooom)
Delete"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them we must change." -Barack Obama in Newtown, CT "Promises are not enough. We need action."
It's a joke, son. ~Foghorn Leghorn (or a parody on Gun Control)???
http://www.demandaplan.org/Newtown-sc/ckg-srch?gclid=CM287ve0xbQCFS-RPAodV0YAhg
I want the reset button! Where is the damn reset button?!
Delete