The Darkest Side Of The Moon
Exploring the more sinister side of scientific exploration on the moon and beyond.
Jason Cousineau and Eric Renderking Fisk | February 17th, 2021
Dedicated to Superfan Deanna C Eiting - What began as a conversation about NASA planning an expedition to the Lunar South Pole became a conversation between Jason Cousineau and Eric Renderking Fisk about what evidence might be hidden on the moon's surface. For example, are there artifacts that prove there may have been a more advanced civilization here on Earth before our own? Or did visitors from beyond our solar system leave something besides a calling card?
Links and Sources
Live Science: "Pareidolia: Seeing Faces in Unusual Places," By Kim Ann Zimmermann | December 11, 2012
To some observers, it looked like an ordinary grilled cheese sandwich. But to the Miami woman who put it up for sale on eBay, and to some people who viewed it, there was an image of the Virgin Mary seared on this seemingly run-of-the-mill snack. The psychological phenomenon that causes some people to see or hear a vague or random image or sound as something significant is known as pareidolia (par-i-DOH-lee-a).
Journal of Space Exploration: "Image Analysis of Unusual Structures on the Far Side of the Moon in the Crater Paracelsus C," Mark J Carlotto*, Francis L Ridge and Ananda L Sirisena The Lunascan Project and Society for Planetary SETI Research, Tennessee, USA | July 26th, 2016
The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) began in the 1960s with radio-telescopes and has, to date, produced no positive evidence of its existence. During these early years of SETI, Sagan [1] spoke about the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation, “It is not out of the question that artifacts of these visits still exist, or even that some kind of base is maintained (possibly automatically) within the solar system to provide continuity for successive expeditions. Because of weathering and the possibility of detection and interference by the inhabitants of the Earth, it would be preferable not to erect such a base on the Earth’s surface. The Moon seems one reasonable alternative. Forthcoming high resolution photographic reconnaissance of the Moon from space vehicles – particularly of the back side – might bear these possibilities in mind”.
Foster [2] estimated frequencies of visitations by extraterrestrials or their messenger probes and suggested the possibility that past encounters may have left behind artifacts or indirect evidence (e.g., deranged planetary terrain). Seeking a broader alternative to radio SETI, a search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA) was proposed in the 1980s [3]. The search for alien artifacts on the moon [4,5] is an outgrowth of this more inclusive search strategy.
Davies [6] called for a citizen science approach to SETI stating “rather than leaving SETI to a small and heroic band of radio astronomers, we should mobilize the entire scientific community to ‘keep their eyes open’ for telltale signs of alien technological activity.” One suggestion is to look for evidence of mining or quarrying activities. Where on the Earth the evidence may be buried beneath overlaying strata, Davies [6] believes “Quarrying or construction on the moon or asteroids would persist conspicuously for much longer, and scrutiny of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data would be a useful exercise”.
This paper provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that certain features in the crater Paracelsus C on the far side of the moon may be artificial in origin. “Background” summarizes the discovery of these features – a case study in citizen science. Many times, objects that appear unusual in older lower resolution photographs turn out to be unremarkable in higher resolution digital images. Analysis of LRO images in “Preliminary Image Analysis” including coregistered and ‘fused’ images at different sun angles reveals this is not the case. The question of artificiality in the context of the surrounding terrain is considered in “Lunar Context” section. “Three-Dimensional Analysis” section presents 3-D visualizations of the features and the surrounding area to assist in their interpretation. Areas for future work are discussed in “Discussion” section.
The Metaphysical Connection: "Episode 48: The Three Faces of Carl Sagan," Eric Renderking Fisk | Feb. 4th, 2017
On this week’s episode, Walt Schnabel, Jim Loretta and Eric Renderking Fisk start the show by talking about strange artifacts found on the moon, NASA losing dozens of rolls of film from the Apollo missions, and strange footage of “something” refueling itself by tapping into the sun.
Then Walt and Eric talk about the book "The Sagan Conspiracy" by Donald L. Zygutis and it's implications. What does this book change the way we see Carl Sagan and his public persona What of his beliefs in the possibility of earth being visited ages ago? We also talk about his relationship with SETI, Frank Drake, and that alleged face on the MARS!
Space.com "Alien hunters should search for artifacts on the moon, study suggests - Artifacts last longer than signals and may be cheaper for alien civilizations to send out." By Charles Q. Choi | April 14th, 2021
The famous equation used to search for alien civilizations has now inspired a new formula to hunt for alien artifacts within our solar system. The quest for these alien artifacts could start with the moon and other cosmic bodies near Earth, a new study finds. The Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of civilizations in the Milky Way one can detect via their broadcast signals — or, more simply put, the odds of finding intelligent life in our galaxy. First proposed by radio astronomer Frank Drake in 1961, the equation calculates the number of communicating civilizations by analyzing several variables, such as the rate of formation of stars suitable for the development of intelligent life and the number of planets, per stellar system, with an environment suitable for life.
Medium: "ANCIENT ALIENS Carl Sagan Was the First Ancient Alien Theorist," John Ege | June 26th, 2021
Carl Sagan was funded by NASA to research and write a scholarly article, and the same was published in Planetary and Space Science. The paper was titled, “Direct Contact Among Galactic Civilizations by Relativistic Interstellar Spaceflight.” You have likely never heard of this. In fact, if you know anything about Sagan, it was likely the fact he was a skeptic and fought hard to maintain a scientific rigor appropriate for any dignified academic standard. If you’re a UFO enthusiast, you might not be surprised that NASA and the Pentagon had their hands in suppressing this paper."
If there is any chance Joe Rogan or Lex Fridman is reading this, I request you interview Donald L Zygutis. He is a scholar, graduated from Corban University with 40 years of analyzing the life’s work of Carl Sagan. If any of you reading this know Joe, or Lex, or any of the Coast to Coast hosts, Donald needs to be a guest. [We've tried to reach him, so far... no luck. Eric.]
Space.com: "Moon 'mystery hut' is just a rabbit-shaped rock, Chinese rover finds - Three years into its mission, Yutu 2 is still finding mysteries on the moon." By Andrew Jones |January 11th, 2022
China's Yutu 2 rover has reached the so-called "mystery hut" on the far side of the moon that attracted widespread attention last month — but don't get too excited.
After driving for nearly two lunar days (each lasting around two weeks on Earth and separated by a two-week night), the solar-powered Yutu 2 got close enough to get clear images of the object.
The new images, published by Ourspace, a Chinese language science outreach channel affiliated with the China National Space Administration (CNSA,) reveal a small rock near the rim of a crater, with Yutu 2's drive team describing it as a "jade rabbit" (玉兔/yutu) for its resemblance to a rabbit about to eat. Jade Rabbit is a figure from Chinese mythology that lives on the moon with Chang-e, the goddess of the moon. China's moon exploration missions are named for Chang'e and its two lunar rovers for Jade Rabbit.
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