Posted on 02/28/2011 1:51:53 PM PST by the rifleman
OK FReepers, I hope someone can debunk this whole thing I'm about to throw out there. I recently was on another web site doing some reading when someone posted a link to a YouTube video about the newly discovered comet Elenin. Well, it was kind of a conspiracy video with a woman talking about her visions of catostrophic earth changes associated with the arrival of this comet. The more I dig the less there seems to be available conserning this comet. There is some very interesting conspiracy videos on YouTube though suggesting a coverup. When I do a google news search on Comet Elenin I get nothing. That in itself raises suspicion to me. You be the judge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKn_2neBSyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMLGWjxXr4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdbfYOqK0lU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMLGWjxXr4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdbfYOqK0lU
A plain vanilla Google search on “Comet” “Elenin” yields about 25,700 results (0.53 seconds)
How long until we find her in Nike shoes with a blue sheet over her body?
Here are some “debunkers” for you:
http://www.examiner.com/astronomy-in-aurora-co/comet-elenin-boom-to-bust
http://mara-gamiel.blogspot.com/2011/02/coming-of-comet-elenin.html
Well, it’s all complete garbage, of course. It’s fostered by the usual apocalyptikook nonsense.
Basically it’s the responsibility of the people spouting the nonsense to prove it, not anyone else’s responsibility to disprove it.
Actual astronomers have a lot better things to do than combat the latest kook fad; one problem is if you Google Comet Elanin, almost all you GET are worthless apocalyptikook sites.
There is an actual comet Elenin, but it’s not going to hit the earth, or affect us at all. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a good naked-eye show out of it.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/112431829.html
There’s a long history of pseudo-scientific nonsense surrounding comets, from that cult that committed suicide because of Hale-Bopp, to people claiming the whole earth would be poisoned by the tail of Halley’s Comet in 1910-1911.
Hmmm... It was a little bit bright last year, this year it will be brighter (closer). Next year around Dec 21st, I expect it to have a big impact. ;^)
Yeah but not a news search.
Those are interesting sites, but not always "Fountains of Truth".
Just consider this: How often have these prophesies of gloom turned out to be correct? Answer: never.
Some of the stuff on those sites turns out to be true, even when reported months in advance of any other news source. There is "high wierdness" about our planet; but, almost never is there any accuracy to predictions. Who knows, maybe there is some truth to the tales of approching celestial troublemakers. I'm looking forward to something coming along and saving us from Washington DC.
Source: Ask An Astrobiologist
Question:
I've recently heard about the discovery of comet Elenin, which is scheduled to come close to earth around October-November 2011 – Is it possible it will be an extinction level event? AND Comet Elenin: How close to earth will it get? And can we expect it to cause any damage? AND I have read that Russian scientists are now predicting that asteroid Apophis will impact the Earth April 13 2036 causing terrible damage. I understand that the Russians are planning a mission to stop the asteroid.
Answer:
Both Comet Elenin and Asteroid Apophis are real, but these concerns about collisions are without foundation. Unfortunately there are a few popular websites that are known for suggesting multiple catastrophes, including popularizing the 2012 hoax. Two that show up in any search for “Comet Elenin” are godlikeproductions and abovetopsecret, both of which predict either a very close pass by Earth or a collision.
If instead you consult dependable websites like wikipedia and skyandtelescope you will find that Comet Elenin will come nowhere near the Earth. At its closest (on 10 September 2011) it will be more than 25 million km from our planet. There is no mystery about the comet’s path, and it is irresponsible to suggest that it is a threat.
In the past few days another silly rumor has appeared on godlikeproductions. They claim that the comet's discoverer, Russian amateur astronomer Leonid Elenin, does not exist, and the name is a code based on ELE = Extinction Level Event. This is not only wrong but crazy. Do they think that if anyone really wanted to keep this comet secret they would use an obvious code like this to tell us that it was likely to hit Earth? Truly weird! Concerning asteroid Apophis, the report of Russian scientist predictions of an impact is false.
Apparently it is a reworking of issues that scientists were discussing 2-3 years ago, when for a time it was thought that there was a very small chance of a collision with Apophis in 2036, but recent improvements in our knowledge of the orbit now exclude the possibility. This story about a Russian prediction has been repeated so often that NASA actually made a public correction in an interview with JPL scientist Don Yeomans, who leads the NASA Near Earth Object Program Office. The lesson here is to know your sources of information. Wikipedia is almost always accurate, and so are the government NASA and NOAA and Geologic Survey websites.
In contrast, there are many conspiracy theory websites that are usually misleading or wrong. Please try to learn the difference so you won’t get upset or worried over nothing.
February 17, 2011
I checked that site out earlier. It doesn’t show up in the news search because it’s a blog and just another opinion. Though they do have some awesome armature telescopes, here’s hoping they keep us abreast of any new discoveries.
I agree re: Wikipedia. I almost laughed when I saw them make that reference as reliable.
sounds like some of these people took “Lucifer’s Hammer” too seriously.
There is a tiny but none zero chance that it could collide with the Earth. It is classified as a PHO (potentially hazardous object.)
There is no other way to take Lucifer’s Hammer but seriously. A catastrophe could be as temporal as Katrina,
but learning how your fellow man acts in such times is as serious as taxes.
I was going to comment that you do not use Wikijoke-ia as a reference but you did post a rebuttal. Don’t use Snoopes as well..it’s run by a Dem liberal couple here in West Hollywood.
Could be. Though the one video the guy claims to be a amateur astronomer and says he sees a brown dwarf where the comet is suppose to be. The other video the guy clearly shows where the panel of stars is cut out where the comet is suppose to be on google sky. What the heck is up with that? More questions than answers if you ask me, though I am a skeptic.
We may or may not pass through the debris tail of the comet. Plasma cosmologists and electrical engineers simply note that due to electrical differentials between space object and space debris and the earth itself - electrical discharges could occur when such debris enters our atmosphere.
For example, at the time of the Chicago fire, we passed through the debris field of a broken up comet. The Chicago fire is the only one you read about in the history books - there were actually dozens of “spontaneous” fires that occurred all over the region at the time of the Chicago fire...
Elinin is projected to pass as close as .15 AU...which is still hundreds of thousands of miles away - way past the moon’s orbit.
So who knows, bottom line is - we’ll find out in October.
=8-)
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