the blue mountains ufo research club newsletter - june 2012

7/31/2019 The Blue Mountains UFO Research Club Newsletter - June 2012

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Vol. 3 Issue No 06

JUNE,2012.

INSIDE:

FORBIDDEN FIRETRAILS.

UFOREPORTS GLEANED FROM THE INTERNET.[THETRANSIT OFVENUS].


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Newsletter of The Blue Mountains UFO Research ClubJune, 2012.

22

Blue Mountains UFO Research Club News. Our meetings are held on the thirdSaturday of the month, at the Gilroy residence, 12 Kamillaroi Road, South Katoomba,from 2pm onwards.

We are situated on the corner of Kamillaroi Road and Ficus Street, and as we always say,park in Ficus Street where there is safer parking.PLEASE NO SMOKING ON THE PREMISES.

ALSO, NO LARGE BAGS IN THE CINEMA OR THE HOUSE.PLEASE NOTE. Please contact us prior to bringing along any new friends interested inUFOlogy and the mysteries generally. Anyone with any personal experiences involvingUFOs or the unexplained are invited to share them with us all.

Contact Information: Phone: 02 4782 3441, Email: [email protected] [or catch our website onrexgilroy.com or mysteriousaustralia.com].A plate of food to share for afternoon tea is appreciated.

PROGRAM FOR17THJUNE Gather in the house for refreshments in the house and UFO chit-chat.

The meeting begins in cinema with any UFO reports or other UFO-related news from members.

Report on recent Skywatches at Katoomba and Leura.

DVD presentation on UFO subject.

Break for tea and cakes and more UFO chit-chat.

Return to the cinema for more DVD UFO documentaries.

Other surprises.

If the weather behaves itself there will be a Skywatch on the nearby Narrow Neck Plateau at theusual location once it gets dark. [Dont forget -warm clothing is a necessity [the weather latelyhas been veryCOLD at night] and bring a torch and binoculars.

If any members have ideas for other likely Skywatch locations for our Club we would like to hearabout them.

If anyone has material or an article to place in either MysteriousAustralia or The Blue Mountains UFO Research Club newslettersplease feel free to forward it to us by the second Saturday of the month.

If any members have ideas for other likely Skywatch locations forour Club we would like to hear about them.

If any member has material or an article to place in either MysteriousAustralia or The Blue Mountains UFO Research Club newsletters please feel free to forward it to us bythe second Saturday of the month.

To assist with the costs involved in producing these newsletters a gold coin donation is requested.

Rex and Hea th e r Gi l r oy , Aus t ra l i a s t op UFOand Unexp la ined Mys t e r i e s Re s ea r c h t eam.

Pho to c op y r i gh t Rex Gi l r oy 2012.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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FORBIDDEN FIRE TRAILS.Rex Gilroy.

Copyright Rex Gilroy.

As the publication of the Gilroys latest UFO book, The Energy Beings UFO Abductions from BeyondTime draws near it is coming at the same time as an increasing number of UFO sightings across the Blue

Mountains and District heralds another UFO flap. Sightings by campers at night around the Grose,Megalong, Burragorang and Wollondilly Valleys over the past month or so have been on the rise.North of the Grose Valley lies the vast Wollemi National Park, long steeped in UFO incidents and

once again the scene of increased sightings.On the night of Friday 25th May together with Dave Thomas and Ian Gilchrist I held a Skywatch out

on Narrow Neck Plateau. Nothing stirred from the underground base across the Burragorang and MegalongValleys. Then about 10pm as we were about to leave due to increasing cold, a bright, gold-glowing craftsuddenly appeared, moving at great speed across the sky from north to south on an horizontal course, todisappear over the ranges to the south.

The following night, after our UFO Club meeting we three braved the elements in the form of aheavy gale, to go out in Daves 4-wheel drive to Mt Hay north of Leura along the rough fire trail to the car

park just south of Grose Valley. A beautiful view of the light of Sydney and its western suburbs was to behad, our Skywatch made impossible by a horrific gale as already said, which at one point very nearly blew meoff my feet. In any case I was blown across the car park, my beanie disappearing off my head into bushes

where it was soon retrieved! We held out with hot coffee and snacks as long as we could before we left, butthis is a good place for a Skywatch, if the powers that be do not block the area off to the general public whichnow brings me to the subject of this article

Back on the evening of Saturday 17 th September 2011 following our monthly UFO Club meeting ourusual Skywatch was held out on the knoll at Narrow Neck Plateau, which gives a good view of Megalong

Valley to the immediate west and the Jamieson/Burragorang Valleys to the south.The time was 6.50pm on a clear night when in the presence of Dave Thomas, Ian Gilchrist and

others, I drew everyones attention to a bright glow that suddenly manifested itself from the Cedar Creek

gully on the western side of the Ruined Castle rock formation. The glow remained for only a couple ofminutes before fading away. The interesting thing about this incident was that I knew there is a flight openingto a section of the Burragorang underground Space Base thereabouts, from where craft have been seen toemerge at night!

That same week other people saw mystery glowing objects rising up out of widely-scattered areas ofBurragorang Valley beyond the backwaters of Lake Burragorang, and also flying over Warragamba Dam tothe east late at night.

Following these sightings it is strange that many fire trails east of Wentworth Falls leading to, orcoming close to the dam and backwaters into Lake Burragorang, including Kings Tableland Road about thehalfway point before it reaches the lookouts were shut down to public vehicles and hiker/camper groups, forup to a few days!

Towards the western end of the Grose Valley in the Mt Victoria end, UFOs have been seen to fly intoand out of a particular region for many years, particularly at night. Fire trails have been long establishedaround the fringes of this particular region of the Grose Valley and a large saucer nest impression still exists

after many years in the scrub between Blackheath and MtVictoria to show that Unidentified Flying Objects incidentshereabouts are by no means new.

The saucer nest out along a Blackheath fire trail.Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.


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Yet lately either the National Parks andWildlife Service, Water Board or Blue MountainsCity Council have been systematically shuttingdown these trails, either to public vehicles andeven hikers on various pretexts such as the ruiningof the trails by excessive 4-wheel drive vehicles[true], or because of bushfire danger when it isobvious that there is none!

Other fire trails leading to isolatedbushland areas not necessarily on the fringes of the Grose or Burragorang Valleys, until recently open to

vehicle access, have suddenly been closed to the publicwith locked gates, as if to make hikes to favouritelocations much longer for hikers and campers andcamping is banned.

Heather and I have been in the habit of driving toBlackheath, where at a fire trail that passes the old closeddown garbage tip, I have enjoyed walking our dog Andysome distance to the National Park gate and back. Thistrail continues beyond the locked gate out to the HangingRock formation overlooking Grose Valley [and an areaknown for UFO disappearances]. Now, within the lastcouple of weeks of writing this article, a locked gateopposite the old garbage tip prevents us driving a shortdistance further to a favourite parking spot. The sudden

appearance of this gate parallels other such blockages across the Blue Mountains.

Indeed for some time now the Green Partycontrolled City Council/National Parksenvironmentalists have had a law that only hiking/camping groups no larger than six people are allowed intothe Grose Valley. Various bush trials leading into remote valley bushlands in areas throughout the BlueMountains once well-worn and popular, are either being closed for safety reasons, or the public discouragedone way or another from using them, while others have long become overgrown through disuse. It is

interesting that all these tracks lead into areas where either UFO activity is onoccasions frequent, or strange sounds are to be heard coming from beneaththe forest soil in remote regions!

The fact is that the Blue Mountains are beingshut down with peopleeither outright forbidden to enter some areas or else discouraged from doingso.

Why the necessity for hidden security cameras along bush tracks andfire trails into certain areas; and this includes the Mt Hay Road as Dave

Thomas has lately pointed out?

A locked gate to the Blue Mountains National Park atBlackheath complete with surveillance camera.

Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

Typical type of damage caused to fire trails by theactivities of numerous 4-wheel drive vehicles.


nal


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South of the Burragorang lies the equally vast Wollondilly Valley accessed on its eastern side fromBowral.

For some years now there has been a farmingcommunity in that valley at its southern end, accessed by apermanently locked gate. As darkness falls no house lights

appear and day or night thereare no signs of human

activity. Occasionally avehicle will enter the valleyand an observer withbinoculars from the popularlookout may see a man getout at the entrances to eachhouse as if to check on them,

then drive off along the winding dirt road to disappear into the far northern side of the valley, presumably toan underground entrance, or sometimes, up the mountainside to the

gate, which he also checks, and sometimes drives off in the directionof Wombeyan Caves.

That the village is a front for underground activities goingon in that valley is obvious. Many mystery craft have been seen toemerge from the valley depths day and night or land in far off gulliessituated in inaccessible regions.

The increasing restrictions to public movement in variousparts of the Blue Mountains, if pinpointed on a map, will show thatthese areas lie in UFO-active areas. Few people are lately able toenter

localities strangely being left off updated maps. Could it have anything

to do with underground base entrances in those regions?******

The American-Australian top secret underground space travel technology centres and city-size livingareas, which parallel surface city and suburb construction have vastly expanded since the years following theend of the Second World War, and the original purpose for these centres as nuclear weapon developmentbases. Some form of contact with an extra-terrestrial civilisation is seen as the reason for the development ofa super-advanced space travel technology there which is far in advance of any current officially knownsurface space travel developments on the surface.

It has been known for a long time that secret American FBI, CIA and Australian ASIO agentsconnected with Base security are stationed across the Blue Mountains posing as ordinary citizens and that

other agents also live around Sydney. Their jobs concern various security purposes and also to keep anymention of the existence of these vast complexes out of the media.

There are also agents who regularly leave small doorway entrances in valley or gully locations beyondtowns such as Blackheath, Katoomba and lower Blue Mountains sites to visit shopping centres, hotels, clubsand other popular community meeting places, gathering intelligence and no doubt carrying out investigationson various people ofinterest. They obviously visit local secret agents here and in Sydney. These men, andalso women represent an entirely separate [underground] world to which we know on the surface. It is a

world whose original purposes have long since been supplanted by a vast, worldwide science-controlledunderground new order free of the dangers of surface life, and aimed at the colonisation of other Earth-likeplanets far beyond our own.

Nosey people have been known to vanish in the wilderness areas wherein Base entrances are located,

and the locking out of the general public, the Bases inhabitants and their surface agents believe, will helpensure their continued top-secret activities. The mystery deepens!

-0-

The isolated farming community in the Wollondilly Valley.Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The winding dirt road in the WollondillyValley.



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EVERYTHING you needed to know about the Transit of Venus.

ANCIENTAND MEDIEVAL HISTORY"Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa",a cuneiform clay tablet of astrological forecasts from the Neo-

Assyrian period. Library of Ashurbanipal.Ancient Indian, Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, Mayan, and Chineseobservers knew of Venus and recorded the planet's motions. The earlyGreek astronomers called Venus by two namesHesperusthe eveningstar and Phosphorusthe morning star.Pythagoras is credited with realizing they were the same planet. There isno evidence that any of these cultures knew of the transits. Venus wasimportant to ancient American civilizations, in particular for the Maya,

who called itNoh Ek, "the Great Star" orXux Ek, "the Wasp Star"; theyembodied Venus in the form of the god Kukulkn (also known as orrelated to Gukumatz and Quetzalcoatl in other parts of Mexico). In theDresden Codex, the Maya charted Venus' full cycle, but despite theirprecise knowledge of its course, there is no mention of a transit.

Aside from its rarity, the original scientific interest in observing a transitof Venus was that it could be used to determine the distance from theEarth to the Sun and from this the size of the Solar System, byemploying the parallax method and Kepler's third law. The techniqueinvolved making precise observations of the different durations of thetransit when viewed from widely separated points on the Earth's surface.

The distance between the points on the Earth was then used as abaseline to calculate the distance to Venus and the Sun via triangulation.

SOME UFO REPORTS GLEANEDFROM THE INTERNET.

NB. These reports are presented for your perusal and enjoyment and whilst all

care is taken with their presentation no responsibility for their authenticity istaken by the editor. Please exercise your own judgement.
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Venus_tablet_of_Ammisaduqahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Venus_tablet_of_Ammisaduqahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Neo-Assyrianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Neo-Assyrianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Library_of_Ashurbanipalhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Indianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Greekhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Babyloniahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Maya_civilizationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Chinahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Pythagorashttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/List_of_pre-Columbian_civilizationshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Maya_civilizationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Kukulk%C3%A1nhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Gukumatzhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Quetzalcoatlhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Dresden_Codexhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Solar_Systemhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Parallaxhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motionhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Triangulationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Triangulationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motionhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Parallaxhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Solar_Systemhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Dresden_Codexhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Quetzalcoatlhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Gukumatzhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Kukulk%C3%A1nhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Maya_civilizationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/List_of_pre-Columbian_civilizationshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Pythagorashttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Chinahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Maya_civilizationhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Babyloniahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Greekhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Ancient_Indianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Library_of_Ashurbanipalhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Neo-Assyrianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Neo-Assyrianhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Venus_tablet_of_Ammisaduqa


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Although by the 17th century astronomers could calculate each planet's relative distance from the Sun interms of the distance of the Earth from the Sun (an astronomical unit), an accurate absolute value of thisdistance had not been determined. In 1627, Johannes Kepler became the first person to predict a transit of

Venus, by predicting the 1631 event. His methods were not sufficiently accurate to predict that the transitwould not be visible in most of Europe, and as a consequence, nobody was able to use his prediction toobserve the phenomenon.

1639First scientific observation

Jeremiah Horrocks makes the first observation of the transit of Venus in 1639, as imagined by the artist J. W.Lavender in 1903.

The first recorded observation of a transit of Venus was made byJeremiah Horrocks from his home at CarrHouse in Much Hoole, near Preston in England, on 4 December 1639 (24 November under the Juliancalendar then in use in England). His friend, William Crabtree, also observed this transit from Broughton,near Manchester.Kepler had predicted transits in 1631 and 1761 and a near miss in 1639. Horrocks corrected Kepler'scalculation for the orbit of Venus, realized that transits of Venus would occur in pairs 8 years apart, and sopredicted the transit in 1639.

Although he was uncertain of the exact time, he calculated that the transit was to begin at approximately 3:00

pm. Horrocks focused the image of the Sun through a simple telescope onto a piece of paper, where theimage could be safely observed. After observing for most of the day, he was lucky to see the transit as cloudsobscuring the Sun cleared at about 3:15 pm, just half an hour before sunset. Horrocks' observations allowedhim to make a well-informed guess as to the size of Venus, as well as to make an estimate of the distancebetween the Earth and the Sun. He estimated that distance to be 59.4 million miles (95.6 Gm, 0.639 AU)about two thirds of the actual distance of 93 million miles (149.6 million km), but a more accurate figure thanany suggested up to that time. The observations were not published until 1661, well after Horrocks' death.

1761 and 1769

In 1663 Scottish mathematician James Gregoryhad suggested in his Optica Promotathat observations of atransit of the planet Mercury, at widely spaced points on the surface of the Earth, could be used to calculate

the solar parallax and hence the astronomical unit. Aware of this, a youngEdmond Halleymade observationsof such a transit in 1676 from Saint Helena, but was disappointed to find that there had been only one otherobservation of the event and was not satisfied that the resulting calculation of the solar parallax at 45" wasaccurate. In a paper published in 1691, and a more refined one in 1716, he proposed that more accuratecalculations could be made using measurements of a transit of Venus, although the next such event was notdue until 1761.Halley died in 1742, but in 1761 numerous expeditions were made to various parts of the world so thatprecise observations of the transit could be made in order to make the calculations as described by Halleyan early example of international scientific collaboration. In an attempt to observe the first transit of the pair,scientists and explorers from Britain, Austria and France travelled to destinations around the world, includingSiberia, Norway, Newfoundland and Madagascar.

Most managed to observe at least part of the transit, but successful observations were made in particular byJeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason at the Cape of Good Hope.

On the basis of his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 from the Saint PetersburgObservatory,Mikhail Lomonosovpredicted the existence of an atmosphere on Venus. Lomonosov detected the refractionof solar rays while observing the transit and inferred that only refraction through an atmosphere couldexplain the appearance of a light ring around the part of Venus that had not yet come into contact with theSun's disk during the initial phase of transit.For the 1769 transit, scientists traveled to Hudson Bay(Canada), San Jos del Cabo (Baja California, thenunder Spanish control), Tahiti,[23] and Norway. The Czech astronomer Christian Mayerwas invited byCatherine the Great to observe the transit in Saint Petersburgwith Anders Johan Lexell, while other membersofRussian Academy of Scienceswent to eight other locations in the Russian Empire.

In Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Societyerected three temporary observatories and appointed acommittee, of which David Rittenhousewas the head. The results of these observations were printed in thefirst volume of the Society's Transactions, published in 1771.Observations were also made from Tahiti at a location still known as "Point Venus".

This occurred on the first voyage of James Cook, after which Cook explored New Zealand and Australia.
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unithttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Johannes_Keplerhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Jeremiah_Horrockshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Carr_Househttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Carr_Househttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Much_Hoolehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Preston,_Lancashirehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Englandhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Julian_calendarhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Julian_calendarhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/William_Crabtreehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Broughton,_Greater_Manchesterhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Manchesterhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Johannes_Keplerhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Telescopehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Gigametrehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unithttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/James_Gregory_(mathematician)http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Transit_of_Mercuryhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unithttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Edmond_Halleyhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Helenahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Jeremiah_Dixonhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Charles_Masonhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Cape_of_Good_Hopehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Petersburghttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Mikhail_Lomonosovhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venushttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Hudson_Bayhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/San_Jos%C3%A9_del_Cabohttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Baja_Californiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Tahitihttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Christian_Mayer_(astronomer)http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Catherine_the_Greathttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Petersburghttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Anders_Johan_Lexellhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Scienceshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Russian_Empirehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Philadelphiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/American_Philosophical_Societyhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/David_Rittenhousehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/1769_Transit_of_Venus_observed_from_Tahitihttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/First_voyage_of_James_Cookhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/New_Zealandhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Australiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Australiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/New_Zealandhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/First_voyage_of_James_Cookhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/1769_Transit_of_Venus_observed_from_Tahitihttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/David_Rittenhousehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/American_Philosophical_Societyhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Philadelphiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Russian_Empirehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Scienceshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Anders_Johan_Lexellhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Petersburghttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Catherine_the_Greathttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Christian_Mayer_(astronomer)http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Tahitihttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Baja_Californiahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/San_Jos%C3%A9_del_Cabohttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Hudson_Bayhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venushttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Mikhail_Lomonosovhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Petersburghttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Cape_of_Good_Hopehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Charles_Masonhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Jeremiah_Dixonhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Saint_Helenahttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Edmond_Halleyhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unithttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Transit_of_Mercuryhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/James_Gregory_(mathematician)http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unithttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Gigametrehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Telescopehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Johannes_Keplerhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Manchesterhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Broughton,_Greater_Manchesterhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/William_Crabtreehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Julian_calendarhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Julian_calendarhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Englandhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Preston,_Lancashirehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Much_Hoolehttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Carr_Househttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Carr_Househttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Jeremiah_Horrockshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Johannes_Keplerhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_7/wiki/Astronomical_unit


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The "black drop effect" as recorded during the 1769 transitof Venus from Degania A, Israel, 2004

The unfortunate Guillaume Le Gentil spent eight years travelling in an attempt to observe either of thetransits. His unsuccessful journey led to him losing his wife and possessions and being declared dead (hisefforts became the basis of the playTransit of VenusbyMaureen Hunter).Unfortunately, it was impossible to time the exact moment of the start and end of the transit because of thephenomenon known as the "black drop effect". This effect was long thought to be due to Venus' thick

atmosphere, and initially it was held to be the first real evidence that Venus had an atmosphere. However,recent studies demonstrate that it is an optical effect caused by the smearing of the image of Venus byturbulence in the Earth's atmosphere or imperfections in the viewing apparatus.In 1771, using the combined 1761 and 1769 transit data, the French astronomer Jrme Lalande calculatedthe astronomical unit to have a value of 153 million kilometers (1 million km). The precision was less thanhad been hoped for because of the black drop effect, but still a considerable improvement on Horrocks'calculations.

1874 and 1882

Transit observations in 1874 and 1882 allowed this value to be refined further. Several expeditions were sentto the Kerguelen Archipelago for the 1874 observations. The American astronomer Simon Newcomb

combined the data from the last four transits, and he arrived at a value of about 149.59 million kilometers(0.31 million kilometers). Modern techniques, such as the use of radio telemetryfrom space probes, and ofradar measurements of the distances to planets and asteroids in the Solar System, have allowed a reasonablyaccurate value for the astronomical unit (AU) to be calculated to a precision of about 30 meters. As a result,the need for parallax calculations has been superseded.

2004 and 2012

A number of scientific organizations headed by the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO) organized a network of amateurastronomers and students to measure Earth's distance from the Sunduring the transit.[30] The participants' observations allowed a

calculation of the astronomical unit (AU) of 149 608 708 km 11835 km which had only a 0.007% difference to the accepted value.

There was a good deal of interest in the 2004 transit as scientistsattempted to measure the pattern of light dimming as Venusblocked out some of the Sun's light, in order to refine techniquesthat they hope to use in searching for extra-solar planets.Current methods of looking for planets orbiting other stars only

work for a few cases: planets that are very large (Jupiter-like, not Earth-like), whose gravityis strong enoughto wobble the star sufficiently for us to detect changes in proper motion or Doppler shift changes in radial

velocity; Jupiter or Neptune sized planetsvery close to their parent star whose transit causes changes in theluminosity of the star; or planets which pass in front of background stars with the planet-parent star

separation comparable to the Einstein ringand cause gravitational microlensing.Measuring light intensity during the course of a transit, as the planet blocks out some of the light, ispotentially much more sensitive, and might be used to find smaller planets. However, extremely precisemeasurement is needed: for example, the transit of Venus causes the Sun's light to drop by a mere 0.001magnitude, and the dimming produced by small extra-solar planets will be similarly tiny.

The 2012 transit provided scientists numerous research opportunities as well, in particular in regard to thestudy ofexoplanets. Research of the 2012 Venus transit includes:

Measuring dips in a star's brightness caused by a known planet transiting the Sun will helpastronomers find exoplanets. Unlike the 2004 Venus transit, the 2012 transit occurred during anactive phase of the 11-year activity cycle of the Sun, and it is likely to give astronomers practice inpicking up a planet's signal around a "spotty" variable star.

Measurements made of the apparent diameter of Venus during the transit, and comparison with itsknown diameter, will give scientists an idea of how to estimate exoplanet sizes.

Observation made of the atmosphere of Venus simultaneously from Earth-based telescopes and fromthe Venus Express gives scientists a better opportunity to understand the intermediate level of Venus'
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atmosphere than is possible from either viewpoint alone. This will provide new information about theclimate of the planet.

Spectrographic data taken of the well-known atmosphere of Venus will be compared to studies ofexoplanets whose atmospheres are thus far unknown.

The Hubble Space Telescope used the Moon as a mirror to study the light that bounces off Venus todetermine the makeup of its atmosphere. This technique could also be used to study exoplanets.

Past and future transitsCurrently, transits occur only in June or December and the occurrence of these events slowly drifts becominglater in the year by about two days every 243-year cycle. Transits usually occur in pairs, on nearly the samedate eight years apart. This is because the length of eight Earth years is almost the same as 13 years on Venus,so every eight years the planets are in roughly the same relative positions. This approximate conjunctionusually results in a pair of transits, but it is not precise enough to produce a triplet, since Venus arrives 22hours earlier each time.

The last transit not to be part of a pair was in 1396. The next will be in 3089; in 2854 (the second of the2846/2854 pair), although Venus will just miss the Sun as seen from the Earth's equator, a partial transit willbe visible from some parts of the southern hemisphere.

On Tuesday/Wednesday June 5/6, Earth will have the best seatthe onlyseatfor a great show: theTransit of Venus across the face of the Sun. This is a relatively rare event, and the next one wont happenuntil December 10, 2117, so Im guessing this will be the last time youll be able to see it.

What Is the Transit?http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_184.html

A transit is when one object in the sky passes in front of another. In this case, well see Venus move acrossthe Suns face. Think of it as a mini-eclipse.

Venus orbits the Sun closer in than we do, taking about 225 days to circle it once. We dont see a transit everytime, though, because its orbit is tilted slightly (by about 3) to the Earths, so most of the time it passes nearthe Sun, but misses it*. Only when the planets align just right do we see an actual transit.

The geometry works out in a funny way. Transits come in pairs 8 years between events, but each pair isseparated from the next two by more than a century. The last pairwas 1874/1882. The next transit after that

was in 2004. Now we have the second of our current pair, and then the next two wont be until 2117/2125!Historically, the transit was used to measure the size of the solar system. In the 1600s, the distances to theplanets were only known in units of the Earths orbit. So Venus was 0.7 times as far from the Sun as Earth,and Jupiter was 5 times as far. But the actual sizeof Earths orbit wasnt known! Before we had space probesand radar (which we can use to bounce signals off planets and measure their distance directly) it was hopedthe transit of Venus would allow it to be measured. It worked, but the details are pretty cool and well worth aread.Even in modern times, transits are useful. We look for planets orbiting other stars using a similar method,

watching for a dip in the light as the planet blocks the star. To help refine this method, astronomers will use

Hubble (!) to look at the Moon (!)since the Moon is lit by the Sun, the tiny drop in sunlight during thetransit should dim the Moon a bit. Theyre actually hoping to see if they can detect Venuss atmosphere too, sincethat will affect how the light gets to the Moon from the Sun. Amazing.Interestingly, as seen from Saturn in December 2012, Venus will transit the Sun as well, and astronomers arehoping to use Cassini to see if they can detect it. Also, in 2014, Earth will transit the Sun as seen from Jupiter!Hubble may be used to observe Jupiter at that time to see if it can be detected as well*[Actually, because the Earth is moving around the Sun as well, after one complete orbit Venus still has to "catch up" to the

Earth to line up with the Sun again. That's calledthe synodic period, and it takes about 584 days. Still, the tilt of Venus'sorbit means it doesn't always cross the Sun directly every synodic orbit.]

The Sun is 115 times wider than Venus, but Venus is much closer to us than the Sun is (about 42 million kmversus 150 million25 versus 93 million miles). Because of that, Venus will look to be about 1/30th the

Suns diameter, just big enough to see as a tiny disk by eyeThe Sun probably will have sunspots visible during the transit, but Venus will be darker and rounder thanthey are.

Again though the image may not be sharp enough to let you see Venus.After Venusthere will also be a transit of Mercury in 2016.
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Earth will have the best seatthe only seatfor a great show: the Transit of Venus across the face of theSun.Surely there are transits visible on other planets, if anyone were there to see them. Wouldnt Transitsof Earth (and Venus) occur on Mars (obviously at different times).

In non-news, an Earth-mass planet, tentatively named Sol c, will be discovered transiting the nearby starof Sol at a distance between 0.5 and 1.0AU. Analysis of absorption spectra will indicate carbon dioxide andnitrogen in the atmosphere. As the planet lies within the Goldilocks zone, the presence of atmospheric

organic compounds and the Earth-like mass raise exciting possibilities for life on this planet.Venusthe two are virtually twin planets and Venus probably started out very much like Earth with oceansand maybe even primitive life before the rising solar luminosity created a runaway greenhouse effect.So put Earth where Venus is and it would ultimately end up almost exactly like Venuswhich has a surfacetemperature of 480 degrees Celsius or 860 Fahrenheit*and wherere eventually heading in that direction asour Sun slowly brightens over hundreds of millions of years. Before our Sun quite becomes a red giant or, Ithink, even a yellow sub-giant, Earth will no longer be habitable and will closely resemble our hellish sisterplanet.Mind you, when Earth becomes like Venus I hate to think what Venus itself will be like!

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Strange New UFO Found on Google SkyMay 07, 2012 04:01 PM EDT

An intrepid UFO hunter, with his eyes peeled on Google Sky, has spotted a strange, gigantic, disc-shapedobject which defies conventional explanation. What is it?

The object, spotted by YouTuber planetkrejci, is circular and a mottled greenish-hue. Looking more likesomething out of a Hollywood movie than any known spacecraft, this and other anomalies found on thepopular software app have yet to be explained convincingly.Can it be just a glitch? Why are these objects so strangely shaped and colored? Is someone hoaxing Google?Is that technically possible?No matter the explanation, it's one of the most interesting mysteries to hit the paranormal community in a

while. Is it possible that thee are real spacecraft built by another civilization?If so, it would be the greatest story of all time. Hopefully, some imaging experts will start investigating theseUFO sightings and come up with a theory that makes sense.

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UFO Sighting on30 May, 2012Is it a UFO? Flying objects spotted hovering over Tom Ugly's Bridge Marina Sydney's reputation for being a

great place to visit has clearly spread to the stars, with four unidentifiedflying objects spotted hovering over the city's suburbs on Mondayafternoon. A photograph capturing the four UFO's - which witnesses said

hovered in the same spot for more than 10 minutes before simplydisappearing - was snapped from Tom Ugly's Bridge Marina just before5pm.Photographer Ivan Mikkelsen, from nearby Sylvania Waters, said he firstnoticed the objects through a window on his boat before stepping outsideto confirm the unusual objects weren't simply a reflection or a trick of thelight."We just looked up and they were there. They were just sort ofhovering there,'' Mr Mikkelsen said."They were quite high in the air, which is why I thought they might beaeroplanes at first, but they weren't, they didn't move.''He said about five people at the marina paused to watch the stationary

objects as they glowed over the city's west before they simply disappeared as quickly as they came.

"They just blinked and disappeared, whooshka, they were gone,'' Mr Mikkelsen said."I'm a bit sceptical, but it wasn't a reflection, it wasn't laser beams, it wasn't anything else.''
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A spokesman for Airservices Australia, which managed aviation traffic, said they had not had any reports ofunusual objects on Monday afternoon."We have had no reports of any unidentified flying object activity over the greater Sydney areaon Monday evening,'' he said."However, at just before 5pm on Monday, there were a number of commercial aircraftoperating.''

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Please Note:

Our next meeting will be our NEXT will beheld on SATURDAY21STJULY,2012same time, sameplace12 Kamillaroi Road, Katoomba.

Our previous meeting was a huge success and we look forward to seeing you at our next one.There should be some good Skywatches ahead of us up here at Katoomba weather permitting.

Meanwhile, there is a lot happening up there at present so-Until our next meeting

Watch the Skies!Rex and HeatherP

the blue mountains ufo research club newsletter - june 2012

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