Adventure Ausrama Blog

It seems some scientists fall into the trap of believing they are "all knowing" and they know the truth about things. Professor emeritus William Romoser says he has photographic proof that creatures like bees and reptiles exist on Mars. His areas of specialty are viruses in arthropods, and entomology. He suggests that he can see fossilized remains and living things on the Mars' surface. Just how he can differentiate a fossil from "skeletal' remains in less that perfect low resolution photos is a mystery. His prize "fact' is in a photo of the Mars lander's track. He sees something like an insect. To most people it looks like a stone. Human beings have evolved to put order into what is seen. That is why the ancients saw animals in the stars of the night sky. The propensity to make sense of patterns is called pareidolia. It could be said that it is when scientists take their work home with them. Examining the same animal in the laboratory...

It seems that the eavesdropping of telescopes into outer space has paid off. Something interesting has been heard. Don't get too excited though. The signals originated way outside the Milky Way. If an intelligent civilization made them, the little green guys are long gone. The mystery sound is a series of radio bursts. Most curious is a double signal followed by four single bursts. This takes the count to 11 unidentified "displays" from out yonder. Unfortunately, the first 10 didn't last. The "Wow signal" was the most famous. An observer only had time to write down the word "wow" and it was never heard again. Let's hope the latest sound will hang around. Anyway, a double burst is something new. It appears that there is a mundane explanation for the signal. The source must be extremely powerful, too strong to be controlled by even intelligent creatures. Or, it could be very local indeed, like the leakage from microwave over doors i...