Page 29 - 20090506 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - May / June 2009

29 Ending The Planet X Saga 29 Ending The Planet X Saga The Planet X Saga: The The Planet X Saga: The Scientific Arguments in a Scientific Arguments in a Nutshell Nutshell Continued from Page 28 Continued from Page 28 Brown dwarfs are not at all the way Planet X people describe. A brown dwarf is an object that is something bigger than a planet, but smaller than a star. An object with more than about 0.077 times the Sun's mass (about 80 times Jupiter's mass) will ignite nuclear fusion in the core, making it a full-blown star. The lower mass limit is somewhat less clear, but we can safely say that Jupiter is below it. Even if we call Jupiter a brown dwarf, it is still far larger than what Nancy Lieder and Mark Hazlewood say is the mass and diameter of Planet X. Nancy says it's 4 times the radius of Earth (Jupiter is 11 times Earth's radius) and about 20 times as massive (Jupiter is 310 times as massive as the Earth). Hazlewood's claims are similar. Neither of them describe anything even close to a brown public observatories makes no sense. this one, which is so easy to reproduce in photo- dwarf. Moreover, the only way to keep this manipulation software like Photoshop that Also, even an old, dim brown dwarf puts out quiet would be to close all telescopes with people have actually gone out and done it. In light. A typical dim brown dwarf would still be public access. Every single one. Yet there are fact, the person who made the fake linked above a very bright object if it were anywhere near the hundreds of observatories still open. I recently has admitted it, and has even shown how he did inner solar system, or even located way out used some 'scopes at the Buehler Observatory in it! beyond Pluto. I even show my math! Remember Fort Lauderdale, for example, when it was open Some are such simple misinterpretations too that a brown dwarf will still reflect sunlight for public night. Chabot Space and Science that it's hard to believe people don't understand (like Jupiter and the other planets do), making it Center in Oakland, California, has several what they are seeing. There are several even brighter. So if Planet X were a brown telescopes the public can use. The list goes on examples of what have been called "second dwarf, it would have been obvious in the sky for hundreds of observatories that are not only suns", which supposedly show Planet X as a years ago. open, but actively showing the skies to the reddish disk near the Sun. Here's a good one Using the term to describe Planet X is public. from Ms. Lieder's site. But it's clearly an simply wrong. I suspect they might use the term I expect PXPs will then claim that the internal reflection; the sunlight bouncing off the to sound more scientific, but again, as always, observatories remaining open simply won't lenses inside the camera. The giveaway is how they wind up making themselves look foolish. show Planet X to the public. Then why close it moves from picture to picture as the camera Conclusion: Nancy Lieder and Mark any at all? Again, it makes no sense. Either all itself is moved and rotated. A regular Hazlewood do not understand brown dwarfs at observatories get closed, or none does. They contributor to the Bad Astronomy Bulletin all, and saying Planet X is a brown dwarf is might claim that only observatories with big Board who goes by the name "Deepspacegirl" actually further evidence that they don't know enough 'scopes were shut down, but that's not has a website which shows a similar picture what they are talking about, and that Planet X true. Plenty of observatories with pretty big taken in 2002! Obviously, it's not Planet X. doesn't exist. 'scopes remain open. Some of Ms. Lieder's acolytes have Conclusion: Observatories are indeed gone out and taken digital images of the night Observatories are not being closed closing, but only for renovation. Plenty of sky through telescopes, and claimed to have suspiciously. observatories with public access and large found Planet X. They are wrong. Digital images telescopes remain open. Therefore there is no are not as simply processed as a roll of film, and government conspiracy to close telescopes in fact takes weeks of training to understand the Many of the PXPs (notably Mr. down to prevent people from seeing Planet X. details. I studied digital cameras for years Hazlewood) have been claiming that working on Hubble data, and have a pretty good observatories around the world are being closed The pictures that have been posted insight into this. The basic problem with Ms. "suspiciously" (ever noticed how nothing can Lieder's images is in how the calibration data just happen in a conspiracy theory?). They are either outright fakes or being were processed. Unlike a point-and-shoot claim to have a long list of them, though I have misinterpreted. camera, an astronomical detector needs lots of yet to see them actually post such a list. They do pictures taken under controlled circumstances mention such observatories as Griffith in Los Nancy Lieder has several pictures on her so that you can understand what is real in the Angeles. Why are they closing? Because, claim website which claim to be of Planet X. She is image and what isn't. I bet you can see where the PXPs, they don't want the public to see wrong. Many of her pictures are clear fakes, like this is going. Planet X through these observatories. If the When charged particles hit an electronic public demands to see this planet through the detector, they leave a bright spot in the image. powerful telescopes, then the jig, as they say, is These kinds of particles are produced by the up. So the government is closing them down. Sun, and can hit the detector in the camera. But this makes no sense whatsoever. First, as I have shown, Planet X, if it existed, would be a Continued on Page 30 pretty bright object. If we believe Nancy Lieder, then it should be so bright it would be visible DARE TO BELIEVE AND DARE TO BE even if you wear sunglasses. Mark Hazlewood HEARD claims it's still far away, but even if it were years MONDAY - FRIDAY 10 PM - 2 AM EDT away, it would be easily spotted in a telescope IN of very modest size; certainly in the range of THE ‘X’ ZONE thousands of amateur instruments. So closing WWW.XZONERADIO.COM