Page 40 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - November 2013 Edition

Contrails or Chemtrails? Contrails: Why they Comet ISON: What’s The first scenario, which could happen linger longer more on next? at any time, is that ISON spontaneously disintegrates. A small fraction (less than 1%) of some days than others comets have disintegrated for no apparent reason. Recent examples include Comet NASA LINEAR (C/1999 S4) in 2000 and Comet rtv6 ABC Elenin (C/2010 X1) in 2011. ISON is now reaching the region of space, within ~0.8 AU of INDIANAPOLIS - Dozens of leftover contrails the Sun where comets like these have were visible above Indianapolis on Monday disintegrated. morning, leading some to question why they Comet ISON is being observed by a were there. tremendous variety of telescopes on Earth and RTV6 has received several questions on beyond. If ISON does disintegrate, it would be Facebook, through email and in calls to the the best-observed case of cometary disruption in newsroom about the phenomenon. history and would likely contribute vast new Conspiracy theorists have claimed that information about how comets die. the trails left behind by jet aircraft have a more sinister purpose, referring to them as #2 Death by sunburn around Thanksgiving "chemtrails," claiming that they are spreading Day chemicals into the atmosphere. Assuming ISON survives the next few But there is a logical scientific and weeks intact, it faces an even more daunting meteorological explanation of what is challenge: making it around the sun. At closest happening in the atmosphere when a jet plane approach to the sun, the comet’s equilibrium flies by. Comet ISON is a first-time visitor from the temperature will approach 5000 degrees "Contrail" is short for condensation trail. Oort Cloud surrounding our solar system. Fahrenheit, hot enough to cause much of the In short, a jet airplane emits exhaust and the trail Will it survive its November 28 brush with dust and rock on ISON’s surface to vaporize. behind it forms when hot, humid air mixes low the sun and emerge as a bright comet? While it may seem incredible that temperature and low vapor pressure. anything can survive this inferno, the rate at Contrails typically dissipate after a short Many media are reporting today that Comet which ISON will likely lose mass is relatively period of time, but when certain atmospheric ISON has had an outburst. small compared to the actual size of the comet’s conditions exist, they can linger for hours, Comet ISON is now inside the orbit of nucleus. ISON needs to be 200 m wide to scientists say. Earth as it plunges headlong toward the sun for survive; current estimates are in the range 500 The National Weather Service said a fiery close encounter on Nov. 28th. Although m to 2 km. It helps that the comet is moving contrails linger when the upper atmosphere is the comet is not yet as bright as many very fast so it will not remain long at such moist, and they expand if there is an active jet forecasters predicted, the comet is putting on a extreme temperatures. stream overhead. good show for observatories around the solar nfortunately for ISON, it faces a double Those factors, in combination with the system. NASA spacecraft and amateur whammy from its proximity to the Sun: even if amount of air traffic over Indianapolis, explain astronomers alike are snapping crisp pictures of it survives the rapid vaporization of its exterior, why they are so prevalent over central Indiana the comet’s gossamer green atmosphere and it gets so close to the sun that the suns gravity when the right atmospheric conditions come filamentary double-tail. might actually pull it apart. Destroyed comets can still be together, as they did Monday. [] Because ISON has never passed through spectacular, though. Sungrazing Comet the inner solar system before (it is a first-time Lovejoy, for instance, passed within 100,000 Mystery fibres drop from visitor from the distant Oort cloud), experts miles of the sun’s surface in December 2011. It sky aren’t sure what will happen next. Can the disintegrated, forming a long tail of dust that comet survive its Thanksgiving Day brush with the sun? Will it emerge as a bright naked-eye wowed observers on Earth. The Connexion object? #3 Survival Lowell Observatory astronomer The final case is the most Matthew Knight, a member of NASA’s Comet MYSTERIOUS stringy filaments seen falling ISON Observing Campaign, lays out some of straightforward: ISON survives its brush with from the sky have mystified residents and the possibilities. the sun and emerges with enough nuclear authorities in the Drôme and Ardèche. “I’ve grouped the possible outcomes material to continue as an active comet. If ISON Reports of the fibres were first raised on survives in tact, it would likely lose enough dust Thursday, but no one has yet been able to into three scenarios, discussed in chronological near the Sun to produce a nice tail. In a realistic identify what they are – giving rise to theories order,” says Knight. “It is important to note that best-case scenario, the tail would stretch for no matter what happens, now that ISON has that they are the by-product of plane exhausts. made it inside Earth’s orbit, any or all of these tens of degrees and light up the early morning Some website are already speculating sky like Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) did in that the fibres are proof behind a conspiracy scenarios are scientifically exciting. We’re 2007. going to learn a lot no matter what.” theory that “chemtrail”, contrails from planes The best of all possible worlds would be that take a long time to disperse, are deliberately #1 Spontaneous disintegration before if ISON broke up just a bit, say, into a few large injecting chemicals into the atmosphere to Thanksgiving pieces. This would throw out enough extra spread disease and kill the sick and infirm. material to make the comet really bright from Others have offered suggestions from the ground, while giving astronomers pieces of spiders’ webs to ‘Angel hair’, believed by The ‘X’ Chronicles Newspaper a comet to study for months to come. followers of Raëlism to be made by UFOs “I’m clearly rooting for #3,” says passing through the atmosphere. ‘X’ Zone Books Knight. The prefecture for the Drôme said it did ‘X’ Zone Music CD’s “Regardless of what happens, we’re not know what the fibres were but said it was ‘X’ Zone Interviews going to be thrilled,” he predicts. “Astronomers not worried and would not be sending them for are getting the chance to study a unique comet analysis. Are NOW Available traveling straight from 4.5 billion years of deep The Commission de Recherche et at freeze into a near miss with the solar furnace d’Information Indépendantes sur la www.Amazon.com using the largest array of telescopes in history.” Radioactivité has said there is no concern about “Hang on,” he says, “because this ride is just radioactivity from the fibres. getting started.” []