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Mars - The Telescopic
Evidence
by Daniel Ross
When the spaceships appeared in the late 1940s, and sightings
reports began to number in the thousands, scientific specialists
advising government and military authorities believed that Venus and
Mars were the origin of the spacecraft. They were more certain after
recovering a few ships that had crashed near our atomic test sites.
Then an almost impenetrable security lid came down, to censor any
evidence from official sources that life existed beyond the earth.
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A Silence Group, working for those in entrenched
worldly positions, infiltrated secret departments and intelligence
agencies to insure that confirmation would never come from official
sources or government. Public or private institutions, being
generally conservative in matters of science, were unlikely to
speculate on the UFO evidence, but in any event, those institutions
would not have the means to confirm the origin of the visiting
spaceships.
Complete, uncontestable confirmation was strictly the domain of a
government space agency, and the official results of any
achievements in space exploration were under the sole control of the
National Security Agency. Public disclosures regarding planetary
environments were care-fully slanted to coincide with long-held
orthodox views, and with theories that had become rigid and dogmatic
with the scientific establishment.
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That Venus and Mars have not been shown as having
earthlike environments, is not due to a lack of technology in our
space probe exploration, but due to secretive censoring by
intelligence agencies directing operations from behind the scenes.
So many false ideas on space have been promoted through official
channels, and then become solidified in scientific journalism, that
one may reasonably wonder if in today's world it can ever be
straightened out.
There is no grand conspiracy by science writers to deceive, nor by
scientific spokesmen with their speculations on space conditions.
They actually believe what they write or say, because these are
widely-shared and firmly held perceptions which have been taught for
a long time. Their ideas have also been reinforced by the false
disclosures publicized through the media by those in control of past
space ventures.
Likewise, this article is not in direct opposition to general
astronomy. In fact, a lot of information in this present work is
based on the observations and lifetime work of expert astronomers.
But in establishing the truth about our solar system, it will be
noted that there is little agreement with orthodox thinking in the
astronomical field. And if one were to restrict himself to one
field�any field�one would have very limited knowledge.
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Determining
the reality behind UFOs requires a complete study involving the
whole scope of space sciences.
The problem with all planetary research and common speculation to
date, must be defined here at the beginning. It is this: Official
presentations regarding planetary space conditions have been made to
coincide with (complement) the long standing suppression, and
censorship, of the real UFO evidence by our government. This is why
the truth about Mars has never been known, publicized, or accepted,
up to the present.
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Yet it is an important correlation, that eighteen
years of UFO sightings, with reports numbering into the thousands,
predated the first U.S. space probe to reach Mars on a flyby in
July, 1965. Of course, it was never officially admitted that UFOs
were a major stimulus for us to investigate the planet. Now, in
this present work, it will be established that the Martian
environment is very similar to earthly conditions, by a review of
the early telescopic record, and then through a logical analysis of
the more recent space probe developments.
The early history of telescopic observation of Mars has been
recounted in numerous books. It began in 1877, when Giovanni Schiaparelli observed through his 8.75 inch reflecting telescope, a
number of long lines on the Martian surface that connected up to
larger dark areas. He described the lines as "canali," which in his
native language meant channels. But the translation quickly became
"canals," and his discovery of them led to the idea that intelligent
beings on Mars must have constructed artificial waterways.
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While Schiaparelli didn't publicly suggest that
conclusion himself, he didn't really discourage others who were
promoting the idea, because he had found 113 different canali that
were long, straight, and neatly defined. He intricately mapped the
planet from years of observation. His maps were the standard for
many years, and he gave ancient names from Biblical and classical
mythology, along with names from the old geography of the Middle
East, to the large surface areas and distinct markings of the
planet. The names he gave to the surface features are still existent
on maps today.
A distinguished American astronomer, Percival Lowell, decided to
dedicate his life to studying Mars.
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In 1894, he built the Flagstaff
Observatory in Arizona, which housed a 24-inch refracting telescope.
By 1915, he and his staff had charted nearly 700 canals�a precise
network of large-scale construction on Mars that channeled water
from the polar ice caps. They were straight, narrow, sometimes
parallel, and at numerous locations the canals intersected
geometrically. These latter areas were noted to become seasonally
dark, and Lowell named them oases, indicating that vegetation and
crop growing were abundant. He naturally concluded that there would
be attendant cities for the Martian people at these oases.
Lowell understood that the actual waterways could not be seen from
Earth, if it were not for the broad areas of seasonal growth lining
both sides. It was the combination of both factors that made it
possible to see the network of geometric lines on Mars' surface with
clarity. Some of the channels were approximately 3000 miles long,
and from 15 to 25 miles wide.1
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In 1915 Lowell stated to the scientific world,
"Mars is inhabited, and we have absolute proof."
He proclaimed that the Martian civilization had an
intricate and highly advanced irrigation system that could be seen
and photographed through Earth-based telescopes. A few pictures had
been taken as early as 1907. Lowell's position was so revolutionary
to the orthodox views of the scientific establishment, that it
received harsh con-tempt from many, and went virtually ignored by
others.
Once every twenty-six months, Earth and Mars are at their closest
distance from each other in their orbits around the sun, and in
astronomy this is called being in opposition. But because the orbits
are elliptical, the most favorable opposition occurs only once every
fifteen to seventeen years, and at this time the two planets are at
their closest, about 35 million miles distant. To view the extensive
canals and markings, an astronomer had to have unlimited patience
and determination, and more importantly, an open mind.
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Like the establishment scientists today, Lowell's
contemporaries often lacked such traits. Studying the distant
features on Mars through the telescope was difficult and tricky, and
could only be done at the large observatories when the local
atmospheric conditions and other visibility factors were
exceptionally coordinated. But even during the brief periods of
favorable opposition, the disk-like image showed a blurring of
detail almost continuously, due to the ever-present atmospheric
turbulence around both the Earth and Mars.
Our atmosphere is constantly in molecular motion due to thermal
activity. To the naked eye, the sky might seem so clear and calm,
that a person would assume there is perfect seeing conditions. For
looking at stars and nebulae, that would be true, but it's not the
same when we view our neigh-boring planets with a large telescope.
Through the high power magnification of a telescope, the barely
perceptible dynamics of heat (wind) movement in the atmosphere
causes a slight shimmering effect, and while the broad features of a
planetary image may be easily recognizable, any fine detail is lost
in an almost continual slight blurring. Ever so momentarily, our
atmospheric unsteadiness will cease for a second or two.
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At that precise moment an astute telescopic observer
will have a perfect seeing condition, and be able to see in fine
detail the planetary image 35 million miles away. Yet these views
last but a few seconds, making it extremely difficult to obtain a
distinct photograph. Furthermore, the only way that the photographic
evidence of the canals can be obtained is when the plan-et is viewed
directly overhead. These observations must be made from the best
suitable locations in our southern hemisphere.
Lowell made a special expedition to Chile in 1907 and obtained the
first photographic evidence of the canals. His successor, Dr. E. C. Slipher, had better success in later years with observations from
South Africa, when camera equipment had improved considerably. The
Martian canals are seen on plates VI and XLVII in the book, The
Photographic Story of Mars, by E. C. Slipher. The edition I obtained
was published by Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1962.
The quality of photographs can always be debated by the
establishment scientist who denies everything he has not seen for
himself. In reality, the eye is superior in viewing telescopic
images in detail, compared to the photographic results when taking
telescopic pictures of a planet 35 million miles distant.
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Dr. Slipher stated in 1962,
"The history of the canal problem shows that
every skilled observer who goes to the best available site for
his observations has had no great difficulty of seeing and
convincing himself of the reality of the canals. I am not aware
of a single exception to this."
A fellow astronomer, Dr. Pettit, confirmed this
visual documentation, by reporting in 1953 that,
"there are moments when the whole canal pattern
can be seen on Mars."
Today's literature never fails to mention that the
early Mariner probes during the 1960's proved that the canals are
non-existent, and that the controversy over the Schiaparelli and
Lowell evidence has been laid to rest. It is true that no actual
evidence of canals was released by NASA, but it should be realized,
that if the picture-taking cameras on those early probes did
photograph certain areas showing canals with sufficient clarity, the
evidence would not have been released anyway.
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The fact is, that until Mariner 9, only a very small
and unrepresentative fraction of the Martian surface was
photographed, and most of that, very poorly. Mariners 4, 6, and 7
never even found the huge 2300-mile-long Valles Marineus canyon on
Mars, which is a natural formation. The fuzzy black and white photos
that were released to the public lacked any clarity whatsoever.
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We
can get
better telescopic photographs of the Moon 240,000 miles away, than
those camera pictures taken only a few thousand miles from Mars. An
important point to realize is that the probes carried cameras, not
telescopes. Even NASA admitted that the cameras aboard the Mariners
could not have provided evidence of a Martian civilization from
their photographic distance. However, the publicly-released photos
were quickly interpreted as disproving the canal controversy.
What are space photographs in reality?
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The "picture" is relayed back
to Earth in the form of numerous dots, contained within a radio
signal. The picture has to be reconstructed from this electronic
message, by computer imaging each dot into a shade of gray. The
first image processing is considered the raw picture, and is
basically a washed-out, blurry gradation of gray. Then the imaging
team can reassign the gray levels by computer, in order to better
distinguish any identifiable spots or features on the raw picture. A
slightly improved image is given to the public.
American astronauts have said that the only visible man-made
construction on Earth that they could see from their high orbit
around our planet was the Great Wall of China. If there were a Great
Wall on Mars and it turned up on one of the photographs, the space
agency could still release the picture, but without the slightest
trace of a wall. With computer imaging, it is easy to fade out
features and erase contrast, to the point of an unidentifiable gray
blotch.
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By starting with the original raw, washed-out
picture, it is only a matter of re-assigning the gray levels so that
the wall never appears during processing. On the other hand, if
another photograph shows a natural landmark or feature, that picture
can be electronically sharpened and focused to show great detail. We
have reached a new state of the art: we can increase or decrease
picture quality by subtle electronic brushing.
Now to clarify the situation regarding the canal evidence first
discovered by Schiaparelli and Lowell through their telescopic
studies. It was only "laid to rest" because authorities withheld
official confirmation. Mariner 4 did photograph some straight-line
canals, and this was finally admitted some time later by Dr. William
Pickering, the head of Jet Propulsion Laboratory.2 (JPL conducts all
the planetary projects for NASA.)
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Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, the scientist who discovered
Pluto, also confirmed that the canals were photographed by the 1965
probe. But officially, this type of evidence has never been
released. The public was shown computer-enhanced photographs, but
the detailed originals were in the hands of the authorities. And if
the canals were filmed by that first probe, it is a certainty that
they were filmed by later Mariner and Viking probes, yet that
information has always been withheld. We'll discuss the censoring
aspect relative to the later space missions thoroughly, but first
let's continue with the telescopic record.
Early in this century, expert astronomers recorded several anomalies
during their observations of Mars. On one occasion, a long series of
blinking lights lasting seventy minutes was observed, leading one
observatory director to describe the incident as "absolutely
inexplicable."3
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In 1937 and again in 1949, Japanese experts witnessed
a brilliant glow on the surface of Mars, that was as bright as a 6th
magnitude star. To be visible from the Earth, these "flares" had to
be tremendous. Any type of volcanic activity couldn't possibly be
seen from our distance, and so the cause of the brightness remained
a mystery. Other strange lights were seen on different occasions.
There was a cloud-like object observed and photographed in 1954,
that was in the perfect shape of a W, or an M if we consider that a
telescope inverts an image. It was 1100 miles across and remained in
a fixed position above the planet for more than a month. (Natural
atmospheric clouds will change shape and dissipate within a few
days.) At the three intersections of the W, were intense bright
spots, or "knobs." Speculation was running high, even at the
Carnegie Institution at Washington. It was such a rigid and unusual
shape, that there was a strong suggestion of artificial origin.
Throughout the 1920s and 30s, recurring radio signals were picked up
coming from the direction of Mars. The spacing and pattern of the
radio waves ruled out the possibility that these cryptic signals
were random radio noise or electrical disturbances in space, because
there was an intelligent coding system to these radio waves. That
much was certain, even though they remained indecipherable on our
end. Even the famous scientist Marconi, the man who invented the
"wireless," picked up these inter-planetary radio waves with his
advanced experimental equipment in 1921, and later stated that he
believed he had intercepted messages from Mars. He emphasized that
the transmission wavelength of the coded signals was 150 kilometers,
whereas the maximum wavelength used by our transmit-ting stations at
the time was about 14 kilometers.4
Many others had come to the same conclusion over the next few years
when intercepting these signals, especially when Mars was in orbital
proximity to Earth. And speaking to the British Association for the
Advancement of Science in 1931, the late Bishop Barnes stated his
belief that many other inhabited worlds exist, and that many must
certainly be able to prop-agate interplanetary radio communication.
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It was such messages that were being picked up now,
he said. And when these interplanetary signals were recognized and
acknowledged by our Earth, it would be the dawn of a new era of
humanity.
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But at this beginning, he added, there would be opposition
between those who welcome the new knowledge and those who deem it
dangerous for that information to be known and accepted. And is this
not what happened two decades later, when UFOs demonstrated the very
existence of life on other worlds? Was it not the beginning of an
era of
opposition between those who were open and accepting of the new
knowledge about space, and those who worked to prevent the truth
from coming out?
Along with the later observations of mysterious clouds and lights,
the cryptic radio signals led some independent astronomers to
conclude that we were being given rudimentary signals from Mars to
challenge our thinking about life beyond the Earth. Regarding
habitability, there was even more scientific certainty in other
telescopic studies.
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As early as 1926, photographs were taken in
ultraviolet light that clearly showed a substantial atmosphere on
Mars. Compared with infrared photographs taken at the same time, the
pictures proved that there is a dense atmosphere, possibly 40 miles
in depth. There are undoubtedly more rarefied layers above this
altitude, much like the upper, tenuous atmosphere around the Earth,
that would be too thin to be recorded by photography. It has been
suggested that the top of the Martian atmosphere might reach 400
miles, by the British scientist-writer Earl Nelson, author of
There
Is Life on Mars (1956).
The early photographs showing the Martian atmosphere were taken by
G. E. Hale of the Mount Palomar Observatory [Southern California]
and are reproduced in Nelson's book. There are two immediate and
important conclusions that can be drawn from these observations. The
surface gravity on Mars must be substantially higher than has been
taught, for a low gravity would not be sufficient to retain such a
sizable atmosphere. Secondly, with such a dense atmosphere, the
sun's energy would interact much differently than orthodox theories
suggested, and the temperatures on Mars would be considerably
warmer, more moderate, and more Earth-like.
Although the length of the Martian year is nearly double our 365-day
year, the seasons on Mars vary and alternate just like on Earth.
When the northern hemisphere is in its summer cycle, the southern
hemisphere has its winter. The length of the Martian day is 24 hours
and 37 minutes, and the inclination of its axis is 25 degrees, which
is very close to Earth's 23 degrees.
Both the northern and southern polar caps extend nearly half way to
the Martian equator during their respective winters. With the onset
of spring in either hemisphere, its ice cap recedes and a wave of
darkening over broad areas spreads slowly towards the equator. This
cyclic surface darkening was widely considered to be seasonal
vegetation growth as water was liberated from the polar caps. Each
polar cap will shrink considerably during its respective summer
cycle. Sometimes the southern polar cap melts completely.
The broad areas near the equator, such as Mare Serpentis, Mare
Sirenium, and Syrtis Major, change from their winter shade of brown,
to light green and then to dark green. This latter stage has often
been described as a dark blue-green. Astronomers also noted that as
the seasons changed to autumn, the colors would gradually turn to
yellow and gold, finally returning to brown in winter. (The surface
color of Mars is not dark red, as I will prove later.)
The parade of colorful seasons was interpreted by open-minded
astronomers as the seasonal growth and ripening of vegetation.
Cyclic growth coincided regularly with the natural climatic changes
on the plan-et, just as we have here on Earth. I am not discussing
the canals and their irrigation for crop growing, at the moment.
These seasonal changes showing cyclic plant life would be taking
place even if man were not there on Mars.
The presence of vegetation on Mars was held to be a certainty in
some quarters, but hotly debated by others. But the way to end all
argument was to prove the existence of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and
the water in the Martian environment, which would indicate that
photosynthesis (the life process) of plants was in fact taking
place. Carbon dioxide was there in abundance�even conservative
scientists agreed on that, for it was commonly speculated that the
atmosphere's chief constituent was carbon dioxide.
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Oxygen seemed likely, though it could not be detected
in the atmosphere from earth-based studies. The evidence for oxygen
was indicated by some regional soil colors, which indicated that
certain areas contained a large amount of ferrous oxide, or
limonite. We have some tropical regions on Earth where the soil is
reddish-brown limonite, and two things are necessary for its
formation: abundant oxygen and extreme humidity in the air.
Apparently, oxygen was in the atmosphere of Mars, as the natural
product of plant photosynthesis.
To briefly explain photosynthesis, it is the biological process by
which green plants containing chlorophyll use the energy of sunlight
to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water. Six
molecules of water and six molecules of carbon dioxide are
transformed with the aid of solar energy into one molecule of
glucose and six molecules of oxygen.
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The oxygen is then liberated into the atmosphere. We
breathe in the oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, which in turn the
green plants use in photo-synthesis, and oxygen is returned to the
atmosphere. This is Nature's perfect cycle. If all the green plants
were suddenly removed from the Earth, all human and animal life
would die, because the oxygen we breathe would not be replenished.
The last thing that needed to be confirmed in order to prove the
seasonal vegetation on Mars, was the
existence of water.
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For this
evidence it is easiest to jump ahead for a moment to the U.S. Viking
project of 1976. The Viking I orbiter photographed extensive ground
fog, mists, and cloud rover in the northern hemisphere, and from
readings taken by sensitive instruments on the orbiting probe, it
was proven once and for all, that the polar caps were frozen water.5
If the polar caps were completely melted, it was estimated that the
water produced would cover the entire planet to a depth of about 20
feet.
Along with the early ultraviolet photographs showing a substantial
atmosphere, it has been shown that the environmental constituents
for life exists on Mars. The three basic parameters are carbon
dioxide, water, and oxygen�the ferrous oxide soil being the indirect
evidence for oxygen. It is necessary to point to the indirect
evidence for oxygen, since NASA refuses to confirm the presence of
oxygen in the Martian atmosphere. That is the single remaining ace
in their hand.
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And they keep it, because they know that only the
process of photosynthesis by living plants can account for the
presence of oxygen in any planet's atmosphere. During the Viking
mission, NASA admitted finding nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and
water vapor, although they kept the relative percentages and overall
density out of proportion to the true conditions. But NASA is
holding out on the oxygen and will not admit finding it with the
Viking probes, because atmospheric oxygen would be recognized by
scientists as positive proof that life exists on Mars. But the
remaining evidence to be discussed will prove the case.
Before the space agency came into existence on October 1, 1958,
scientific astronomers at the large observatories were still the
experts and authorities on the planets. It seems as though it was
preordained in the heavens that the independent thinkers would have
one last chance to probe the mystery of our neighboring planet, as
Mars swung by in favorable opposition in 1954 and 1956. In its first
approach, Mars came within a distance of 39,800,000 miles. The
second time, in 1956, the planet was only 35,120,000 miles away. It
would not be that close again until 1971, when planetary exploration
and pronouncements were in the hands of NASA.
But in 1954 the excitement ran high in astronomical circles, because
an international Mars Committee had been formed, to plan an around
the world "Mars patrol." Prominent scientists from seventeen
countries would be coordinating telescopic studies from the world's
largest observatories, as Mars made its closest approach in July.
Some of the countries involved included the United States, France,
Italy, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Java, Egypt,
and Argentina.6
The international team of scientists was headed by the world's
greatest Mars expert, Dr. E. C. Slipher, then the Director of the
Lowell Observatory [Flagstaff, Arizona]. He and most of the
committee members were well aware of all the previous astronomical
records�the mysterious clouds, flares, markings, radio signals, and
the evidence for canals and vegetation.
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Some privately believed that there was an intelligent
civilization on Mars, for in 1938, it had been announced that the
Lowell Observatory found evidence of changes in the canal system,
and the changes appeared to have been altered by design. This 1954
Mars "expedition" was primarily planned to settle the question. It
is quite possible that some members linked the numerous flying
saucer sightings that had been widely reported since 1947, to the
renewed and intense interest in Mars.
Because the government was heavily guarding the UFO evidence, the
National Security Agency made it a top priority to use its influence
to keep check on the developments of the Mars patrol study. It was
imperative that planetary speculations and press statements be kept
in a totally ambiguous light. The censors were especially concerned
about the Mars patrol because of the caliber of open-minded men who
were involved with the project. They included Dr. Seymour Hess, a
meteorology expert who was on record as having sighted a UFO; Dr. Harold C. Urey, a prominent astrophysicist who was genuinely curious
about life on other planets; and Dr. Slipher, who was following in
the footsteps of the pioneer Percival Lowell.
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Dr. Slipher assigned himself to make observations
from the best location possible�the Lamont Hussey Observatory in
South Africa. It had the largest refracting telescope in the
southern hemisphere, and Mars would be passing directly overhead
each night during opposition. And before the project got underway,
Slipher publicly stated that if he found proof of life on Mars, he
would announce it to the world.
The Mars Expedition took 20,000 photographs and confirmed the
presence of both the canals and vegetation. The canals did not
meander at all like a river would; they followed great-circle
courses, which are the shortest distance between two points on a
globe. Many planetary astronomers had speculated previously, that if
photographs showed that the canals were along great circle paths, it
could be concluded that they were the work of intelligent beings.
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The scientists were getting exceptional pictures
also, because the Lowell Observatory was using a new electronic
camera that could amplify faint markings, and photograph in
one-tenth of a second to prevent atmospheric turbulence from
blurring the details. One canal was found to run straight as an
arrow for 1,500 miles, something that no natural water channel could
do.
Dr. Slipher brought enough photographs back from South Africa to
prove that the canals were real, and man-made. While providing
abundant vegetation growth alongside their straight-line courses,
the canals also proved to be the common link between the green
oases. An intricate pumping system seemed to be the only explanation
when considering the distances involved. More than 40 canals and 15
oases were photographed in the first week.7 But the Mars Committee
reports never became public, and they were therefore unknown outside
a very limited part of the astronomy community. The new findings
were privately logged at the observatories, and sparing details were
barely covered in only a few astronomical journals. But everything
was kept out of the newspapers.
The government's intelligence agency had succeeded in blocking the
Committee's early plans for public reports and press conferences.
Then they firmly executed their plans for a blackout of real
information about Mars. The government keeps itself in control by
keeping a world-wide opinion in control, especially with regard to
sensitive and dramatic issues. Allowing an announcement by an
international team of scientists suggesting that Mars was inhabited,
would be tantamount to the government confirming that UFOs are
visiting our planet. So the censors knew what they had to do.
Pressure was put on those who headed the project to furnish no
reports to the public press. Though the astronomers studied Mars for
five months, only one little statement was given to the public at
the beginning. Dr. Slipher had announced that some new and
interesting changes were observed on Mars with their photographic
study. Following that report, there was only silence.
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All plans for further publicity were blocked, and no
worthy Mars Patrol bulletins were ever released.8 The excuses given
out were in the category of,
"difficulties in communication and coordination,
disagreement as to what had been seen and photographed, months
of studies and review were necessary to properly analyze, and so
on."
How can any silencing agency of the government
achieve such suppression of this, or any other, kind of dramatic
information? It is difficult to determine for each case just what
methods are employed, but their forceful persuasion does escalate
until the cooperation is achieved. Presumably, they start out with
the position that such information is related to the national
security, and that the government is the entrusted agency to best
handle the social implications of confirmed announcements.
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They imply that the public isn't quite ready for this
information, that the world isn't ready for this information. That
the economy isn't prepared for this type of information. They fear
that there would be an upheaval in thinking (although I am certain
that it would be an "upliftment" in thinking, and this is the real
problem that threatens the censors).
They will say that the public might panic, or they could offer the
excuse that there might be an attack from Mars. The possibilities
for persuasive argument are endless, but the only end requirement is
that planetary evidence be shown as inconclusive, vague, and
debatable. It has always been maintained officially, that known life
does not exist beyond the Earth, unless possibly it is light years
away from us in another part of the galaxy. In which case, the
distance is so great that our civilizations will never meet.
After being persuaded to withhold the significant findings,
including the discovery of the great-circle paths of the canals, the
Mars Committee only issued a simple press release. Dr. Slipher made
a statement to the effect that Mars is alive. That certainly
satisfied the censors' insistence in keeping things nebulous.
(Alive�how? Geologically with volcanoes, dust storms, and polar cap
shrinkage? Or alive in the sense of intelligent constructions?)
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He noted that there were color changes in the Martian
geography that were more interesting than in his previous
observations over the years. But the tiny report was essentially
meaningless, and obviously did not affect public or scientific
opinion. The question of Mars might have still been left open, but
the orthodox theories of inability were not threatened in the least.
It was not until eight years afterwards that notable documentation
of the 1954 Mars observations was published, in a book titled The
Photographic Story of Mars. Recently, I obtained a copy of this
book, and it appears that the publication had a relatively small
printing, and was mainly published to be a reference type of book
for science libraries.
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Certainly, few in the public would have been inclined
to buy such a costly book, and take it on their own to study an
involved scientific text. Yet the answers are there if one wishes to
read through complex analyses and carefully worded discussions. The
book was written by Dr. Slipher in 1962, and the full text is based
on fifty years of telescopic studies, and thousands of photographic
images taken at the world's largest observatories. The conclusions
also referenced the last major finding by astronomy regarding the
Martian environment.
During the November 1958 opposition, Dr. William Sinton conducted
studies at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The
scientist-astronomer performed careful infrared scans of the bright
desert areas and the dark green oases, and found that the sun's
energy was absorbed in certain wavelengths over the dark areas, but
not over the desert regions.
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The absorption wavelengths were at 3.43, 3.56, and
3.67 microns*, and these are exactly
the same wavelengths absorbed by hydrocarbon compounds. His study
proved that there is green plant life on the broad oases of Mars,
and that it is organically composed of carbon-hydrogen compounds,
the same as our own terrestrial vegetation. In other words, his
scientific evidence showed that Martian plant life is based on the
same carbon cycle as we find on Earth.
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* A
micron is equivalent to one millionth of a meter.
But new experimental evidence is never accepted that quickly. It is
al-ways challenged, and subject to much debate, because old
established theories are very hard to change. The old theories had
predicted that there was no appreciable water or atmosphere on Mars,
and that the surface tempera-lures were too extreme for vegetation
life. (The canal evidence also, carried too many implications to be
considered acceptable, and was rejected outright as incompatible
with respected establishment theories.)
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Dr. Sinton's experiments with infrared scans were
viewed as inconclusive, and any such results would have to be
confirmed over and over before conservative science would budge. The
scientific community much rather preferred to wait until future
space probes settled the questions about Mars. The scientific
arguments lingered in limbo, until the government formed a space age
bureaucracy, called NASA, that could preempt all discussions on
matters of space. The days of independent astronomy speculating on
planetary conditions were soon over. While representing the
government in its authoritative role, NASA's position was
unassailable�almost.
�
Initially, NASA had three functions:
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To launch artificial satellites into
orbit around the Earth.
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To put men into space.
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To explore the other planetary members of
our solar system, including the Moon, with remotely
controlled space probes.
The first two they did admirably well, and mankind
was on the threshold of becoming a space civilization. But with the
third, NASA did not advance our knowledge towards an age of
enlightenment. In fact, there is a bitter irony to our space age
developments, in that our authorities led thinking back to the Dark
Ages, through distortion and suppression of actual space findings.
Long ago, Earth was isolated from the rest of the system, through
its ignorance and superstitious thinking. By the twentieth century,
man's intelligence had progressed to where he could rationally
understand and accept that advanced civilizations do travel space
and have home planets similar to our Earth. Space visitors traveling
in ships which we have termed UFOs were making their existence known
at the same time we were reaching technological crossroads in
science.
�
But the men of war and all their institutions denied
it, and the censors would not allow the confirmation of life beyond
the Earth, whether in spaceships or on planets. The doors were kept
shut by the silence group and vested interests opposed to the truth,
and NASA then turned out the lights. NASA made out space to be an
uninteresting wasteland, devoid of life or recognizable purpose. The
end result was that mankind on Earth reverted back to an extreme
thinking of self-importance, alone in his own egotistical sphere of
a world.
Had our authorities left a few questions open for balanced
speculations, it would be easier to be less critical. But instead,
they determinedly set out to present a completely negative picture
of the planet. A living environment was totally negated without
qualification, in order to complement the suppression of UFO
evidence. It was apparent that our planetary probing was not
conducted with any objectivity, right from the start.
�
Being a government bureaucracy, NASA had no choice
but to serve the hands of the most powerful economic interests of
our present-day world. NASA censors cooperated with the corporate
interests that demanded the continual cover-up and suppression
regarding UFOs and their origins, and there-fore publicly presented
an unrealistic picture of the planets.
The first official flyby of Mars was achieved by Mariner 4 in July
1965. The probe radioed back twenty-two pictures of the Martian
surface, and NASA initially claimed that there were no canals.
Lifetimes of telescopic studies were casually obliterated with that
one statement. A radar occupation reading provided a basis for NASA
to declare that the atmosphere density on Mars was less than one
percent of Earth's, and another type of signal allowed experts to
suggest that the planet had no magnetosphere. At its closest
distance, Mariner 4 was 6,000 miles from the planet, yet NASA
spokesmen claimed readings showing that the average surface
temperature on Mars was 170�F.
The censors may have had a tough time back in the Mars Patrol days
curbing speculation, but this was a brand new ballgame. NASA was the
perfect vehicle to paint a lifeless picture beyond the Earth. Who
could possibly challenge statements coming from the U.S. space
program? Telescopes or not. UFOs or not. Anybody who still wanted to
claim intelligent life existed on Mars would be considered a
lunatic.
The Mariner 4 flyby did not have the capability to realistically
confirm habitability. That much can be conceded. But likewise, the
space probe could not realistically confirm those alleged planetary
conditions that were put out as flat statements by the authorities,
either. With future planetary probes, it became apparent how the
censorship was orchestrated, and by whom.
The real problem, however, is not with NASA specifically. The space
agency had practically no choice but to follow the dictates of the
powerful economic interests that control governments and their
subordinate agencies. It is these international cartels that have
been behind all censorship regarding planetary space.
�
NASA has only
been the publicly-identifiable distorter, regarding space
pronouncements.
So NASA can be partly excused for not being in a position to
objectively conduct space probe explorations. But false values can
never be changed by anything but the truth. And we are at the
critical crossroad of time.
�
Either we become a space civilization, or we will be
a nuclear extinction.
�
REFERENCES
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1. Max Miller. Flying Saucers�Fact or
Fiction? (Trend Books, 1957), p. 54.
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Donald Keyhoe, Aliens From Space (New York:
Doubleday, 1973), p. 171.
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Maz Miller, Flying Saucers�Fact or Fiction?
(Trend Books, 1957), p. 54.
-
Ibid. p. 43.
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David Chandler, Life on Mars (New York:
Dutton, 1979), p. 61.
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Donald Keyhoe, The Flying Saucer Conspiracy
(New York: Holt, 1955), p. 122.
-
Ibid. p. 209.
-
Ibid. pp. 209-211.
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