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Imag'N, Hyannis, MA (2026)

03/11/2026

The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per second per second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ideas in physics for the lay-person – myself included (oh, how many times this little bu**er has stung me!)

This, seems to be, mainly, because people confuse acceleration with speed, and, speed, with velocity, and because they’re not taking atmospheric drag into account…oh, and one more thing; they do what I do – they over-think it! The idea here, applies to objects in free fall in a vacuum**, i.e., the vacuum of space. This, actually, intrinsically simple problem, has gotten the best of me more times than I care to admit. (And, this might be one of those times!)

Nevertheless – it will help to remember, that:
Velocity, is the rate at which an object changes its position in space. It is a vector quantity (it has two components: speed and direction). Here, we will be concerned only with speed. Well then, here goes…
We can determine the distance that an accelerating object – say, a brick, dropped from a bridge – has fallen, after a time given in seconds.

But, due to the acceleration of gravity, which accelerates at a rate of 32.2ft per second, per second (known as the acceleration due to gravity, or, 32.2ft/sec2) – this is a continuously accelerating brick; it is constantly gaining speed, at that rate, with the passage of time. It is important to note, here, that the speeds mentioned are instantaneous, and not average speeds.

So, we have a falling brick that is speeding up as it goes along under our prescribed conditions, and so, after two seconds, it has fallen 64.4ft; after 3 seconds, it has fallen 80.5ft., after 4 seconds, 112.7ft., and so on. All objects, regardless of mass, fall at this same rate (in a vacuum) as demonstrated in Galileo Galilei’s famous experiment where he dropped two iron balls of different weights (atmospheric drag is negligible here because of the ball’s small size – and, because the difference would hardly be noticeable, anyway).

Galileo’s demonstration was done, purportedly, from the top of the 186-ft, now, leaning tower, in the city of Pisa, Italy, in about the year 1590. Whether he actually performed the experiment is moot (however, it is noted by Williams’s, “A History of Science”, to have taken place); it has been tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – ever since.

So, you can determine an object’s speed, in miles per hour, for the end of any, given, interval, (in seconds), during its fall, at: 32.2 feet per second, per second. Just multiply 32.2 times the number of seconds you want to calculate for, say, “4” seconds: 32.2 x 4 seconds = 128.8 feet per second. Next, multiply that figure (128.8) by 3,600 seconds, and you’ll get 463,680 ft. per hour. Divide, that, by 5,280 ft. (number of feet in a mile), and you’ll get, In this case, 87.1 MPH.

I think….I hope. (Whew!…sometimes I wish, Galileo, had kept his balls, at home, that day!)
(**Intergalactic Space is a near-perfect vacuum; the average cubic-inch of space contains only around 10 hydrogen atoms and a stray photon or two).

The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per second per second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ide…

03/11/2026

The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per, second, per, second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ideas in physics for the lay-person – myself included (oh, how many times this little bu**er has stung me!)

This, seems to be, mainly, because people confuse acceleration with speed, and, speed, with velocity, and because they’re not taking atmospheric drag into account…oh, and one more thing; they do what I do – they over-think it! The idea here, applies to objects in free fall in a vacuum**, i.e., the vacuum of space. This, actually, intrinsically simple problem, has gotten the best of me more times than I care to admit. (And, this might be one of those times!)

Nevertheless – it will help to remember, that:
Velocity, is the rate at which an object changes its position in space. It is a vector quantity (it has two components: speed and direction). Here, we will be concerned only with speed. Well then, here goes…

We can determine the distance that an accelerating object – say, a brick, dropped from a bridge – has fallen, after a time given in seconds. But, due to the acceleration of gravity, which accelerates at a rate of 32.2ft per second, per second (known as the acceleration due to gravity, or, 32.2ft/sec2) – this is a continuously accelerating brick; it is constantly gaining speed, at that rate, with the passage of time. It is important to note, here, that the speeds mentioned are instantaneous, and not average speeds.

So, we have a falling brick that is speeding up as it goes along under our prescribed conditions, and so, after two seconds, it has fallen 64.4ft; after 3 seconds, it has fallen 80.5ft., after 4 seconds, 112.7ft., and so on. All objects, regardless of mass, fall at this same rate (in a vacuum) as demonstrated in Galileo Galilei’s famous experiment where he dropped two iron balls of different weights (atmospheric drag is negligible here because of the ball’s small size – and, because the difference would hardly be noticeable, anyway).

Galileo’s demonstration was done, purportedly, from the top of the 186-ft, now, leaning tower, in the city of Pisa, Italy, in about the year 1590. Whether he actually performed the experiment is moot (however, it is noted by Williams’s, “A History of Science”, to have taken place); it has been tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – ever since.

So, you can determine an object’s speed, in miles per hour, for the end, of any, given interval, in seconds, during its fall, at: 32.2 feet per second, per second. Just multiply 32.2 times the number of seconds you want to calculate for, say, “4” seconds: 32.2 x 4 seconds = 128.8 feet per second. Next, multiply that figure (128.8) by 3,600 seconds, and you’ll get 463,680 ft. per hour.. Divide, that, by 5,280 ft. (number of feet in a mile), and you’ll get, In this case, 87.1 MPH.

I think….I hope. (Whew!…sometimes I wish, Galileo, had kept his BALLS home, that day!)
(** Space is a near-perfect vacuum; the average cubic-inch of space contains only around 10 hydrogen atoms and a stray photon or two).

I’ll include here some screenshots from AI for your perusal…..

The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per second per second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ide…

03/11/2026

“May we win – something – that correlates to an ‘Oscar’, here on Earth!…”

Whilst (I’ve always wanted to use that word for something), sipping at my favorite cup of coffee, this morning (New England Coffee’s® Breakfast Blend™) – I decided, I’d get in some of my, “morning newspaper”, reading before starting work (yes, it’s true — Writer’s – do, ACTUAL, work!)

And then, that funny feeling that I get once in a while, came over me….again…
It has occurred to me, more than once, that, “people” – i.e., human beings; Homo sapiens sapiens – must be the absolute, insanest creatures, in this Universe! If we aren’t — I would HATE to meet the ones that ARE!!

Difficult as it is, for me to believe: there are people walking around today, conscious (seemingly) who, actually, SEEM to believe in these “fairy-tales”! I say “seemingly”, because I believe that, on a deeper level, they really don’t; and, they KNOW this; they’re being self-contradictory, using a form of schizophrenic thinking — because that kind of thinking has been socially accepted in our society. That is: It’s okay to believe two, polar opposites, at the same time!! Or, rather – it’s OKAY, to appear to believe, two, polar opposites, at the same time – in the presence of others, out of, fear, of a looming possibility of rejection, and isolation.

I’ve recently heard, through the “grapevine”, that – we – have attained sit-com status, with some of our neighbors, out there, on other planets, in orbit around other stars! Bravo for us!! May we win, something, that correlates to an ‘Emmy’, here on Earth….
I wish that I could say–
“YOU GUYS MAKE ME LAUGH!”
But I can’t.

This is a sad, and grave situation for the future of humanity. We are, actually, teaching our little kids, this stuff. And we want it to be taught in our schools!!! These, example situations, brought up in this article – are, in reality, reciprocating; they are a reflection of ourselves.

“May we win – something – that correlates to an ‘Oscar’, here on Earth!…” Whilst (I’ve always wanted to use that word for something), sipping at my favorit…

03/11/2026

(Once Upon a Time, back in 2011)….

I’ve never considered myself as being much interested in politics, let alone being anything of a politician. But, I recently had the opportunity to represent our Clubhouse (and in fact, Clubhouses everywhere in the US) in attending the U.S. Clubhouse Coalition convention in Washington, D.C. (specifically, Arlington, VA ,which is a part of the District of Columbia), held in the Rosslyn Ballroom at the Arlington Holiday Inn.

The first official meeting was held on Sunday evening, with meetings and workshops being held from 8:30am to 6:00pm for the next three days. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t talk a whole heck of a lot—unless I really feel a point needs to be made—and only very rarely at meetings. Well, it seems I discovered a situation in Washington, in which anyone would have been hard-pressed to shut me up!… Words come pretty easy when one is defending their Clubhouse!

Well, most of us are aware that there are two Clubhouse organizations that directly affect Baybridge Clubhouse; the MCC, or Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition and the ICCD, the International Center for Clubhouse Development. It is the intention of the Clubhouses of several states in the US to fill a current gap in the system by spearheading a coalition of Clubhouses on a national level; one that focuses on a standards-based policy and ICCD accreditation—the previously mentioned United States Clubhouse Coalition. A formal mission statement has yet to be agreed upon for now, but the emphasis is on the cohesiveness of Clubhouse philosophy as seen in the eyes of the ICCD, and the importance of ICCD accreditation.

I spoke at length with Congressman Bill Keating in his office at the House of Representatives, Canon House about the situation. Jen and I will be filling you in, in deeper detail at an upcoming Club Training.

(Once Upon a Time, back in 2011)…. I’ve never considered myself as being much interested in politics, let alone being anything of a politician. But, I recently had the opportunity to represen…

03/11/2026

Once upon a time, I was an aspiring applicant for the first mission to Mars. Here’s how it went….

I’m asking for the help of anyone out there with a solid background in the sciences: please visit the online Facebook group, “MarsOne – Aspiring Martians”, and help those poor guys (and gals) out. This is supposed to be a group of ‘first-rounders’ – a total of just over 1,000 candidates, establishing an astronaut selection pool for the final, four-member primary crew (and four-member back-up crew), which the MarsOne Project of the Netherlands, in cooperation with NASA, Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman and the ESA (European Space Agency) has chosen for the first attempt at human-colonization of Mars.

The mission calls for a one-way, seven-month-long trip to the Red Planet, with a permanent, ‘no-return’ crew, and has set a launch for 23Apr2024.
An applicant, while not required to possess a degree in science, is expected to be well-versed in the sciences associated with the mission, including having done research or practical work in at least one field. Each applicant had to acquire, complete, and submit, by e-mail, a fifteen-page application and a 70-second (head-and-shoulders format) video, detailing his or her (it’s a co-ed mission!) personal interest in the mission, why they would make a good candidate, and why they are willing to spend the remainder of their natural lives, on another world. (I did apply for this mission myself but failed to get my video in, before the deadline of midnight, on Aug 31, 2013 – I missed it by just three hours)

The application process will re-open this summer, at which time, I will re-apply for round-two applicants for the second mission, slated for launch in the spring of 2026; but – some pretty disturbing things are happening in the “MarsOne – Aspiring Martians” group. Among many, many other concerns there are arguments in progress within the group as to whether the base camp, at Mars (probably to be situated at the edge of the Martian south polar ice cap (SPC), should even be a permanent settlement – in other words, some of the candidates are angry about not being able to come back! I tried to stress to one young CANDIDATE, that, he did NOT apply for a ‘sight-seeing tour’ but, rather, a pioneering mission (did he not know this when he applied?!!!) – and, he didn’t want to hear it. One man’s twelve-year-old daughter is currently in therapy, after being told of her father’s candidacy for the no-return mission.

Not surprisingly, many of these candidates, exposure to the sciences, is introductory, at best – some of them seem to expect, that, the physics of the rest of the universe, works like it does in the old Looney Tunes cartoons! And some, are blatant, conspiracy theorists accusing NASA and the ESA of having interest in their presence on Mars, only as guinea pigs in radiation experiments, etc., etc……. surely, some of these people have been watching too many Looney Tunes, cartoons themselves! .

Bewildered, and frustrated to near-exhaustion, I concluded my on-line chat with three members of the group by suggesting they keep a watchful eye out for potentially villainous characters lurking around the halls of MarsOne – like Snidely Whiplash… or, maybe, Simon Bar-Sinister – and I promised that I’d return with some help for them…then I went to bed.

[Candidate application videos are available for review, by the public, at the MarsOne Project website at MarsOne.org.]

I’m looking forward to seeing a few of them myself!…

Once upon a time, I was an aspiring applicant for the first mission to Mars. Here’s how it went…. I’m asking for the help of anyone out there with a solid background in the sciences: pl…

03/11/2026

We often hear that Earth is ‘overdue’ for a major asteroid impact, in fact, one of mass-extinction producing proportions. That’s not just an alarmist point of view. Here we’ll see why…

Geologists break up the timescale of the Earth, since its formation, into manageable segments of geologic time – eons, eras, periods, etc. There have been four eons and three eras. Covering a 4.5 billion-year span and working forwards from the first, the eons are: the Phanerozoic, the Proterozoic, the Archean and the Hadean. The first two eons are broken into periods; the second eon we can disregard here. The eras of the first eon, the Phanerozoic and covering a span of 542 million years, again working forwards are: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic and the current era, the Cenozoic. These eras are then broken up into 11 periods, the periods we are concerned with here, again starting with the first: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and the current period, the Neogene. Each of these periods is further broken into epochs and those even further into ages but we needn’t concern ourselves with those two subdivisions at the moment.

There was a time before the Cambrian period known as the Pre-Cambrian, when only single-celled (unicellular) forms of life existed. The eras, along with their periods, begin with multicellular life and start 542 million years ago (million is abbreviated ‘Ma’ for mega and billion abbreviated ‘Ga’ for giga). Since we’ll be dealing with only this latter set of periods from here on, I will present them in list form, working backwards from the present, in order to illustrate what I am about to:

Neogene (also called the ‘Anthropocene’)
Paleogene
Cretaceous [Mass Extinction (K-T Boundary)]
Jurassic
Triassic [Triassic Mass-Extinction]
Permian [Permian Mass-Extinction]
Carboniferous
Devonian [Devonian Mass-Extinction]
Silurian
Ordovician [Cambrian-Ordovician Mass-Extinction]
Cambrian [Cambrian Explosion (post mass-extinction?)]
[Pre-Cambrian]

To the right of the entries I have included all the known corresponding mass-extinction events, and in the case of the Cambrian, a highly prolific life-producing event known as the Cambrian Explosion. Mass extinctions involve the annihilation of organisms on a global scale and at a high percentage. In the case of the Permian extinction, 75% of terrestrial life and 96% of marine life, was wiped out. A pattern can be seen in the regularity of mass-extinctions which occur approximately every 50-100 Ma, or every 1-2 periods of geological time. All of the extinctions listed can be attributed to large asteroid impacts – asteroids on the order of 5 or more miles across.

Just prior to the Cambrian Explosion, life on Earth consisted mainly of unicellular organisms so there were no mass-extinctions of large animal life. The Cambrian Explosion began to produce larger and larger organisms and itself was most likely brought on by an extinction event. The extinction of the dinosaurs by the end of the Cretaceous period (the well-known Cretaceous-Tertiary or ‘K-T’ boundary – a K is used to denote Cretaceous here so as not to be confused with the other two periods beginning with the letter C) was due to the impact of a 6-mile wide asteroid at Chixulub on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The K-T boundary is now called the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (Tertiary has been dropped as a period).

The primary cause of death in impact events is not so much the impact itself, but the residual clouds of dust and debris that scatter across the globe afterwards, causing global cooling from diminished sunlight and thus loss of plant life as a food source and, in the case of the dinosaurs, the cooling of the atmosphere as well as their cold-blooded, sunlight/heat-dependent bodies; these conditions can and did last for years. Geologists know that an asteroid impact occurred at the time of the Chixulub event because of the presence of a layer of the element iridium several inches thick at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the strata, which was evenly deposited globally. Iridium does not occur freely in layers on Earth. It is only available in appreciable amounts through asteroid impacts, as asteroids contain high quantities of the element.

It is clear that, statistically, we are due – if not overdue – for a major impact event, followed by a mass-extinction event. We modern humans don’t normally concern ourselves with this probability because, having been around only just over ten thousand years (late in the Neogene) we have not had to experience such an event (modern society has never even experienced an ice age, though they occur every ten-twenty thousand years).

We must prepare for these events – and none too soon. In anticipation of the coming asteroid impact, media like the History Channel regularly air documentaries about impending impact events. It is not a question of if – it is a question of when. NASA is actually calling on anyone willing, to help them track NEO’s (Near-Earth Objects) on their computers. NEO’s are asteroids whose orbits bring them perilously close to Earth. Every few months, an asteroid just grazes the Earth, unknown to NASA or to major observatories because not enough astronomers are able to track them; they’re busy with their own projects at the major observatories – which they had to apply for telescope time for (15 minutes, one night a year!) 12 months in advance. We usually hear about these near-collisions in the news a couple of days later. The meteor that was caught on video which entered the atmosphere over Russia a few months back was one such asteroid, though a very small one. There are about 2,000 known Near-Earth asteroids. All of them are over two football fields in length – we cannot detect anything smaller with the equipment we have available, currently.

There are ways to divert asteroids that are on a collision course with the Earth and threaten to impact – if we know soon enough in advance. The possibility exists that humankind will not survive as a species after one of these impacts. No species has ever survived longer than about 250 Ma and most not longer than 50-100 Ma due, as has been seen, to mass-extinction-producing impact events. As a genus, Homo has only been around for about 3 Ma years; this includes Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis and a few others.

If we superimpose 3.5 billion years on a yardstick of 36 inches in length, that 36 inches representing time from the first appearance of life on the Earth, our species, Homo sapiens, (anatomically modern humans, starting with Cro-Magnon man) has only been around 12,000 or so years. This corresponds to a line segment on that yardstick only a few microns in width, which is much thinner than a human hair. It’s entirely possible that man’s life span on this planet will end nearly as soon as it began, relatively speaking. We have nuclear war as a more imminent threat to our extinction, which may take us much sooner than the coming impactor.

I’m hoping that knowledge of our situation, if considered by the general public, will instill a sense of urgency in monitoring both the war and the asteroid situation. I also hope it will instill a sense of our uniqueness, our importance to each other and a willingness to cooperate with fellow human beings… at least one of these catastrophic events is going to be realized at some time during the existence of our species.

Since this essay was written, NASA has invited members of the advanced amateur astronomy community to help in gathering data from NEO’s. Instructions and other info can be found online at NASA’s website, NASA.gov.

We often hear that Earth is ‘overdue’ for a major asteroid impact, in fact, one of mass-extinction producing proportions. That’s not just an alarmist point of view. Here we’…

03/11/2026

I’ve just calculated something out, and the result is, well – depressing, to say the very, least …

Here is a photo of a portion of the Milky Way galaxy. Each dot in the photo is a star. Our galaxy contains about 300,000,000,000 stars. More than 60% of all stars have planetary systems, much like our Solar Planetary System. The nearest star to Earth, is Proxima Centauri, one, of three, in the Alpha Centauri system. Proxima is only 4.2 light-years away. Proxima also hosts at least one planet in its Habitable Zone!

So far, this sounds like a great setup for some interplanetary–or, even, interstellar socializing; there’s bound to be someone else out there to talk to!

Problem:
There are 5.8 trillion miles in one light-year, or, 5.8 thousand billion, if you prefer, but terminology doesn’t make that number any smaller; it still looks like this:5,800,000,000,000. So, as close as 4.2 light-years sounds, Proxima Centauri, is about 25 trillion (25 thousand million) miles away. How awful!…But how come?

OK, let’s say that we’ve decided to attempt to send an astronaut, round-trip, to Proxima Centauri–in the fastest rocket that has ever been built–the Saturn-V, three-stage, rocket-booster configuration used in the Apollo program. This configuration had a top speed of 26,000 mph.
Now, 26,000 miles per hour, we’d all agree, is very fast–15 times as fast as an average bullet. But, it’s only 0.000037% of the speed of light, which travels at 186,282.3976 miles per second, in a vacuum.

Yes–that’s all relatively fast, when compared to the speeds that we’re used to dealing with, and thinking about. But, a round-trip, to Proxima Centauri? It would take our astronaut—one-hundred-and-sixteen-thousand years—just to get there! He would be, long, mummified, by the time he arrived. Time dilation, in this case, is inconsequential; we don’t need to factor it in at such negligable velocities.

The second, nearest, star to our solar system, with a known planetary system, is, Fomalhaut: about 15 light-years distant. Suppose we decided, that, instead of sending an astronaut, anywhere, we would send a message by radio, who’s waves, travel through space at light speed. The message would, chug along, at the speed of light—for 15 years—before anyone on a planet of the Fomalhaut system picks it up. If they do, and if they can decipher the message, and decide to reply to us, we would have to wait—another 15 years—to receive that reply.

There IS NO WAY around this problem – not even theoretically. The speed of a moving photon (light) is a fixed, universal constant; nothing can go faster, than 186,282.3976 miles per second. NOTHING. No material object can even hope to attain that speed, or even close to that speed (see, and review, Special Theory of Relativity, by A. Einstein). Time=Space. If you could remove the space between points A and B, then you have also removed the time it would have taken to travel from point A to point B. Remove the time, then you have also removed the space separating them.

But that isn’t the saddest part…
The distances, and times I have mentioned here, are prohibitive and are one of the reasons astronomers do not believe in UFO’s, or, that we’re being visited by extraterrestrials.
Yes!–WE DO believe they exist–
but, not that we’re being visited by them, daily, or on any regular basis. There are only two stars–with only one planet, each, within a 15 light-year (that’s 88,119,025,050,000 miles) of Earth. Being visited, by either of two potential populations of aliens, given those limitations and assuming they exist at all–and are capable of spaceflight–is grasping at straws, at best. Our chances of meeting up with anyone else out there, is about nil.

We may be surrounded, perhaps, by countless populations of, ‘The Celestial Peoples of the Milky Way Galaxy’–and yet–still, be truly, and indefinitely, alone….

I’ve just calculated something out, and the result is, well – depressing, to say the very, least … Here is a photo of a portion of the Milky Way galaxy. Each dot in the photo is a star.…

02/11/2026

On this day, in 1989, in the very, early – ungodly – freezing, hours before dawn, Mike Petrasko and I had set up our telescopes, at a dark-sky, location in North Falmouth, for a night of examining galaxies, as part of our itinerary in a visual search for, possible, ‘extra-galactic’, super-nova candidates; i.e., ‘exploding’ stars, in galaxies, beyond the Milky Way galaxy.

While examining a trio of spiral galaxies in the constellation, Leo, Mike had asked me to take a look through my telescope at the same trio, and give him my opinion on one of the galaxies of the trio he was observing, a spiral galaxy, 30 million light-years away, in that constellation, named, “M66” (a designation, referring, to the “Messier Catalog”.) Mike thought he could see a tiny, spherical, ‘knot, in one the galaxy’s, ‘spiral ams’.

Through a telescope, most spiral galaxies appear as dim, oval-shaped, ‘smudges’ of light, barely standing out from the deep, black, background of intergalactic space.

Hoping, to confirm, what Mike had suspected, I swung my telescope into position, located the group, and turned my focuser’s, draw-tube k**b, to sharpen the view as much as possible. In my field of view, sat, three, equally-sized, ‘quahog’-shaped*, smudges of dimness. I isolated M66, and increased the magnification of my scope to zoom in on it. There, I saw the tell-tale sign of a possible, stellar explosion
– a tiny, bright, knot of light within the smudge, approximately, mid-way, between the core of the galaxy and its outer rim.

These three, gravitationally-bound, galaxies, like, other spiral galaxies, are composed of several, hundred, billions of stars. In a supernova ‘event’, one of those stars, being, exceptionally massive, begins to, gravitationally, collapse, in on itself – unable to continue on with its sensitive, hydrostatic, equilibrium, between, mass, and electrostatic repulsion.

Having burned through its fuel supply of H and He nucleosynthesis, gravity wins – and the star, quickly, collapses, and explodes – leaving its ‘shrapnel’, behind, in its place, to outshine the entire galaxy it sits in!

Through, my scope, I saw the same view Mike had seen. Mike (and, myself), had, independently, discovered, what would forever be known, as, “SN1989b”**. (Supernova 1989 b). It had been first discovered, 9 days, earlier, by Robert Evans, of New South Wales.)

At the time of discovery, approximately, 2:15 AM – the air temperature in that, early, morning, darkness, was — 4 degrees, Fahrenheit! On this day, yearly, we celebrate the occasion – but we stay, warm, instead!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Mike!

* To me – small, spiral, galaxies, seen, through a telescope, have always reminded me of quahogs!
** That designation has been changed, by the IAU (International Astronomical Union), to a restructuring in their catalog regime).

On this day, in 1989, in the very, early – ungodly – freezing, hours before dawn, Mike Petrasko and I had set up our telescopes, at a dark-sky, location in North Falmouth, for a night …

02/04/2026

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Of Comets and Aliens

SCAM ALERT: “SCIENCE DAWN” FACEBOOK PAGE

Supernovae and Life on Earth

“Please – Accept My Apologies For the State of the Universe”…

The Beak of the Finch

Experiment ‘Proves’ Existence of Human Soul?

“Tough, Competent – and Psychotic”?

Supernovae and Life on Earth

The Majestic 12

My Grandson – the “Martian”

General Astronomy (and, Other Things) – for the, Generally, Very Curious

Supernovae and Life on Earth

‘God’. The ‘Big Bang’: Could They, Both, Be Right?

The Earth’s, ‘Rotation’ – Almost Burned My House Down!

Why Can’t We See, Beyond, A Certain Point In Space and Time?

Exoplanets 101 Tutorial

THE (NEARLY) COMPLETE MILKY WAY GALAXY (infographic)

The Stars: In 3-Dimensional Space

General Astronomy (and, Other Things) – for the, Generally, Very Curious

Exoplanets and the Search For Extraterrestrial Life

“Retrograde” – and Other Motions

Northern Hemisphere Forecast For April and May: Showers – With a Chance of Bolides!

The Beauty In Science

The O-Team: A Thousand and One Nights

“Home – Is Where the Converged, Galactic, Core Is”

The Plight of the ‘Amateur’ Astronomer

The (My) Very First Thought Experiment

The Drake Equation

The Glory of the Globulars

Rockets, Don’t, “Fly”

Where Are You? – REALLY!!?

“Brought to you, by…”

Our Universe: A “Life-building Machine”?

“Where IS Everybody?!”

Now, That’s, “Relativity”!

“Stay tuned”, America!

HANDY SCIENTIFIC MNEMONICS!

“Hey, Rocky – Watch Me Pull An Asteroid Out Of My Hat!”

PROTOCOLS FOR AN ETI SIGNAL DETECTION

Experiment ‘Proves’ Existence of Human Soul?

Earth – A ‘Bull’ In A ‘China Shop’

Exoplanets 101 Tutorial

The ‘Great Fireball’ (and, Other Things) of ’66

Air, Sucks!

“Dogs – Are the Biggest, Liars!”

Exoplanets 101 Tutorial

Earth, ‘Un’-flattened

The Solar System, In a “Night”-shell

In Defense Of the Floyd Rose, Floating, Double-locking String System

Difficulties/Lessons In the Physics of Guitar ‘Set-up’

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THOUGHTS ON SCIENCE

CLARITY IN SCIENCE FOR A SOCIETY WHICH DESPERATELY NEEDS IT

Written by Dale Alan BryantAugust 18, 2018

PROTOCOLS FOR AN ETI SIGNAL DETECTION

Ambassadorship – is everything when it comes to first impressions…

The SETI Institute, in conjunction, with the Breakthrough Initiative and other, top scientists in the field, globally, have come up with what may very well be the most carefully thought out, legationary contingency ever conceived – to deal with the prospect of the discovery that we, indeed, are not, alone, in this universe.
This is not an area that we want, in hindsight, to discover we’ve made some, galactic-scale faux pas, somewhere along the way.

PROTOCOLS FOR AN ETI SIGNAL DETECTION

Support SETI Research

Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence

We, the institutions and individuals participating in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence,
Recognizing that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is an integral part of space exploration and is being undertaken for peaceful purposes and for the common interest of all mankind,

Inspired by the profound significance for mankind of detecting evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, even though the probability of detection may be low,

Recalling the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which commits States Parties to that Treaty “to inform the Secretary General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results” of their space exploration activities (Article XI),

Recognizing that any initial detection may be incomplete or ambiguous and thus require careful examination, as well as confirmation, and that it is essential to maintain the highest standards of scientific responsibility and credibility,

Agree to observe the following principles for disseminating information about the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence:

Any individual, public or private research institution, or governmental agency that believes it has detected a signal from, or other evidence of, extraterrestrial intelligence (the discoverer) should seek to verify that the most plausible explanation for the evidence is the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, rather than some, other, natural phenomenon, or anthropogenic phenomenon, before making any public announcement. If the evidence cannot be confirmed as indicating the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer may disseminate the information as appropriate to the discovery of any unknown phenomenon.

Prior to making a public announcement that evidence of extraterrestrial intelligencehas been detected, the discoverer should promptly inform all other observers or research organizations that are parties to this declaration, so that those other parties may seek to confirm the discovery by independent observations, at other sites, and, so that a network can be established to enable continuous monitoring of the signal or phenomenon. Parties to this declaration should not make any public announcement of this information, until it is determined whether this information is, or is not, credible evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. The discoverer should inform his/her, or its relevant national authorities.

After concluding that the discovery appears to be credible evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, and after informing other parties to this declaration, the discoverer should inform observers throughout the world through the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams of the International Astronomical Union,and should inform the Secretary General of the United Nations in accordance with Article XI of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Bodies. Because of their demonstrated interest in and expertise concerning the question of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer should simultaneously inform the following international institutions of the discovery and should provide them with all pertinent data and recorded information concerning the evidence: the International Telecommunication Union, the Committee on Space Research, of the International Council of Scientific Unions, the International Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law, Commission 51 of the International Astronomical Union, and Commission J of the International Radio Science Union.

A confirmed detection of extraterrestrial intelligence should be disseminated promptly, openly, and widely, through scientific channels and public media, observing the procedures in this declaration. The discoverer should have the privilege of making the first public announcement.

All data necessary for confirmation of detection should be made available to the international scientific community through publications, meetings, conferences, and other appropriate means.

The discovery should be confirmed and monitored and any data bearing on the evidence of extraterrestrial intelligenceshould be recorded and stored permanently, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, in a form that will make it available for further analysis and interpretation. These recordings should be made available to the international institutions listed above and to members of the scientific community for further objective analysis and interpretation.

If the evidence of detection is in the form of electromagnetic signals, the parties to this declaration should seek international agreement to protect the appropriate frequencies by exercising procedures available through the International Telecommunication Union. Immediate notice should be sent to the Secretary General of the ITU in Geneva, who may include a request to minimize transmissions on the relevant frequencies in the Weekly Circular. The Secretariat, in conjunction with advice of the Union’s Administrative Council, should explore the feasibility and utility of convening an Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conferenceto deal with the matter, subject to the opinions of the member Administrations of the ITU.

No response to a signal – or other evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence – should be sent, until appropriate international consultations have taken place. The procedures for such consultations will be the subject of a separate agreement, declaration or arrangement.

The SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics,in coordination with Commission 51 of the International Astronomical Union, will conduct a continuing review of procedures for the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence and the subsequent handling of the data. Should credible evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence be discovered, an international committee of scientists and other experts should be established to serve as a focal point for continuing analysis of all Any controversy – still existing, over, the “Big Bang” principle exists, almost, entirely, within the general population ( i.e., the ‘lay’-person, novice, non-specialist, masses, etc.)
News-Flash: Radio Astronomers had discovered the evidence for this event (now, considered to be the very, best, possible, ‘proof’), way back in 1966 – 58 years ago!
And, this is why astronomers are ecstatic about the new imagery of the CMB, gleaned from the data sent from the COBE spacecraft.
As far, as the discovery, itself, goes: In the same way, as if, you were to wake up one morning – and discover muddy footprints in the shape of a shoe, trailing, across your living room carpet, and – your laptop, and television, were missing – you could conclude that an ‘intruder’, had been present at some time during your hours of sleep (and walked away with your laptop, and, your TV.)
Moreover – you know, intuitively, that an intruder had been there. You know this anomaly didn’t occur, on its own, for no reason (unless, you’re a believer in the paranormal – I suppose).You didn’t have to be present, at the time of the theft, to know that it occured. This is the very, same, kind of scenario, faced by Forensic teams, during an investigation.

Evidence collected in the aftermath of the discovery, and also to provide advice on the release of information to the public. This committee should be constituted from representatives of each of the international institutions listed above and such other members as the committee may deem necessary. To facilitate the convocation of such a committee at some unknown time in the future, the SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics should initiate and maintain a current list of willing representatives from each of the international institutions listed above, as well as other individuals with relevant skills, and should make that list continuously available through the Secretariat of the International Academy of Astronautics. The International Academy of Astronautics will act as the Depository for this declaration and will annually provide a current list of parties to all the parties to this declaration.

Posted in astronomy, CATEGORIZED, Science, Uncategorized.Tagged alien protocol, et, ETI protocol, extraterrestrial life, Extraterrestrials, SETI, SETI protocol.

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