2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries/2,000 Greater and Lesser Mysteries.iso/altscien/mys00072.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-06-10 | 20.2 KB

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From: [e-mail] (John Stepkowski)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.paranet.ufo,sci.skeptic
Subject: The Photon Belt - Unbuckled.
Date: 28 Mar 1994 04:26:27 +1000
Organization: werple public-access unix, Melbourne
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Summary: The Photon Belt; a notch below the rest...

It's said that 'what goes around, comes around,' but for the life of me I
can't understand what we've done to deserve yet another unappetizing
serving of the 'The Photon Belt'.

Planet Earth was supposed to be involved in a collision with this 'Photon
Belt' way back in July of 1992, at least that was what we were told by
those lucky folks who 'channel' information from various 'cosmic
intelligences' and/or the Pleiadeans.

In 1992, well-known Pleiadean 'channeler' Barbara Marciniak came to
Australia and alerted her audiences to the coming vicissitudes that
encountering the 'Photon Belt' would bring.  A local tv current affairs
program visited a group of Believers in the last remaining hours before
this profound event was to occur and found them well-prepared; copious
amounts of bottled water and canned and freeze-dried foodstuffs filled
the kitchen and hallway.  Plastic bags were also stockpiled as normal
sanitation facilities would no longer work after the Earth's encounter
with the 'Belt'.

Why?

Well, 'Photon Belts' are not to be trifled with.  According to the
channelers, they are preceded by an 'Electro-Magnetic Null Zone'.  This
'Null Zone' is supposedly an 'energy vacuum' which causes all
electrically powered devices to stop working.  So if you're unlucky
enough to encounter this 'Null Zone', it will suck up all your power and
your water pumps will stop working.  End result: when you press to flush,
nothing will happen.  So I guess way back in July of 1992, with the
Photon Belt and the Null Zone closing in fast, a large supply of plastic
bags was somehow comforting.

Of course Ms Marciniak and her fellow cosmic correspondents in the
service of the Celestial Oracles had other advice as well; don't look out
the windows!  Photon Belts are apparently tricky things.  According to
the channelers, the Belt would, A: immediately envelope the Earth in many
days of total darkness, or, B: light up the sky with an intensity that
could damage eyesight!  Either way, the 'Photon Belt' was supposed to
mean The End of Civilization As We Know It!

The final date Ms Marciniak and some other US Channelers gave for this
incredible encounter was the same as the opening day of the 1992 Olympic
Games in Barcelona, Spain.  Many believers in the 'Photon Belt' viewed
this coincidence as portentous in the extreme.  With the entire World
tuned in, awaiting the lighting of the Olympic flame, suddenly the lights
would go out (or on, depending on how the 'Belt' was feeling that
particular day), and the mighty power of the 'Belt' and it's 'Null Zone'
companion would be revealed to all!

For those of you who might have missed the opening ceremony at the
Barcelona Olympics, you missed a treat.  It was spectacular, grand,
and colourful.  Dignitaries from around the world gathered to watch it,
with over 700 million television viewers joining in.  The only problem
was that we shouldn't have been able to view all this sporting splendour
if the Photon Belt had arrived as predicted.  So what happened?

Nothing.

Which is about what you'd expect to happen from the non-arrival of
something that didn't exist in the first place.

The 'Photon Belt' story was originally published in 1981 in an issue of
the 'A.I.U.F.O.F.S.R' journal, a small Australian UFO magazine.  It was
co-written by a young university student, and a lady who the editor of the
UFO magazine admitted wrote "sensational articles".  The 'Belt' story was
a naive fable, a tale of light waves raising spiritual consciousness and
transforming human kind.  No date was given for this grand event.  For
the authors it was sufficient to believe that it might happen one day.

Ten years later, Duncan Roads, editor of 'Nexus', a magazine devoted to
New Age life-styles, Free Energy and above all, 'Conspiracies', reprinted
the article from the 'A.I.U.F.O.F.S.R.' journal.  Roads reproduced the
story in its entirety but refused to speculate when, if ever, this 'Belt'
would arrive.

Within a few months, international Paranormal and UFO BBSs were abuzz
with news from American channelers that a great change was about to take
place; something called the 'Photon Belt' was on its way and it would
arrive in July of 1992!  Despite the channelers claiming their source of
information was their interplanetary friends/cosmic intelligences, the
details of the Photon Belt were as written in the Australian UFO magazine
ten years earlier.  Even Duncan Roads recognized that the channelers had
got it all wrong.  He posted several messages on a number of newsgroups
and BBS echoes pointing out the origin of the 'Belt' story, but the
Believers knew better.  They _knew_ the 'Photon Belt' was coming, Barbara
and her Pleiadean friends had told them.  So they stockpiled their food,
gathered their plastic bags, and waited...

Nearly two years later it seems that some people are still waiting.
Despite one already massive failure in predicting the arrival of
something that never existed anyway, it appears that someone is again
trying to promote the idea of the Photon Belt.  Why?  Is it to sell
books, tapes, or tickets to lectures on how to 'Survive the Photon Belt'?
Have the 'cosmic intelligences' behind the channelers run out of ideas so
they're now promoting a sequel, 'Beyond Photon Belt: The Photon
Suspenders'?

I'll post two text files in the next messages that originally appeared on
the MUFON 'Contact' echo back in 1992 at the height of the original
'Photon Belt' craze.  For those of you who doubt my account, there's an
address listed for the 'A.I.U.F.O.F.S.R.' journal in the file. Please
feel free to write to the editor and discover the true origins of the
Photon Belt for yourselves.

One thing is abundantly clear; those who put their faith in non-existant
'Photon Belts' shouldn't be surprised when they're caught with their
pants down...

Thanks,
        John


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From: [e-mail] (John Stepkowski)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.paranet.ufo,sci.skeptic
Subject: Taking a Notch Out Of the Photon Belt 1/2
Date: 28 Mar 1994 04:28:38 +1000
Organization: werple public-access unix, Melbourne
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 * Originally from:  Contact
 * Originally By:    Bob Laidlaw
 * Originally To:    All
 * Originally Dated: 07-15-92 19:52
 * Originally Re:    Photon Belt

The following message, in two parts, concerns the February 1991
Australian Nexus magazine article "The Photon Belt Story", and
channelled predictions of dates of July 23, 1992, or July 26, 1992,
of Planet Earth's entry into the Photon Belt.

I received this message from a source that stated that he/she wished
to be anonymous, and further that the writer also wished to be
anonymous. I was asked to upload this information, and I am providing
it, without further comment, for your interest.

Bob Laidlaw

--------

THE PLEIADES IN FACT AND FICTION.


EXPLODING THE MYTH OF THE PHOTON BELT:


Avid readers of Nexus magazine may well recall an article entitled
"The Photon Belt Story", which appeared in the February 1991 issue.

I read the article with amusement and laughed it off as a joke,
however, I have recently become aware that many people took this
article seriously and that it has been the cause of some concern.

I am sorry to say that this story, as romantic as it may be, has
absolutely no basis in fact. It appears to have become part of a
modern mythology which has sprung up around the Pleiades, an open
star cluster in the constellation of Taurus the Bull, contrary to
current scientific knowledge. This mythology seems to be based on a
heady mixture of pseudoscience, channelled messages from alleged
space entities, biblical prophesy, ignorance and a liberal dose of
naivete. It is fuelled by a general mistrust of our scientific
community and misinterpretation of modern scientific thinking.

It is a sad reflection of the scientific education of our society
that so many people can be taken in by a story that probably started
life as a university student's prank.

For the benefit of those readers who have not read the article, the
story, in brief, goes as follows:

In 1961 satellite borne instruments discovered a PHOTON BAND in outer
space. This PHOTON BELT or MANASIC RING, which scientists have not
been able to reproduce in the laboratory, encircles the Pleiades
and extends the 400 light years to our solar system. Quoting someone
called Jose Comas Sola, our sun and several other stars were said to
be part of the Pleiades System and all these stars were said to have
planets. Our Sun was said to orbit this system in 24,000 years, during
which time we spend alternatively 10,000 years in the dark and 2,000
years in the light of the PHOTON BELT. We were said to be about to
enter the light of the PHOTON BELT, whereupon, we would all be
transformed "in the twinkling of an eye" into Atmosphereans and night
would cease to exist, amongst other things.

A diagram accompanied the article showing 6 of the Pleiadian stars,
Merope, Atlas, Teygeta, Electra, Coeleno and our own Sun in
orbit around Alcyone, also a member of the Pleiades, encircled by the
PHOTON BELT.

Having been contacted by several members of the public with queries
about this story, I determined to sort the fact from fiction and track
the story to its' origin.

The article had been reprinted with permission from Australian UFO
Flying Saucer Research Magazine. A phone number had been given. The
phone number proved to be that of a prominent South Australian UFO
researcher, who told me that the story had originally been written
by a university student who had been a member of his group at the
time. This student is now apparently, a physicist at a well known
nuclear facility. The UFO researcher, however, was not clear on
where the student had obtained the information and had attempted to
verify aspects of it with an astronomer at Mount Stromlo Observatory.
I was unable to ascertain which aspects had actually been verified.

Fortunately, the astronomer concerned was known to me, so I paid him
a visit. He vaguely recalled talking to the researcher but could not
remember the exact details of the conversation. He assured me that he
would never have verified the existance of the PHOTON BELT but may
have given him some information on the Pleiades themselves. He told
me that Mount Stromlo had also received queries about the PHOTON BELT
and, like me, had considered the whole thing a cruel joke.

So, what is fact and what fiction? Well, for a start, I was unable
to find any evidence for a satellite in 1961 carrying the instruments
required to detect a PHOTON BAND as described. Satellites of the era
were crude by today's standards and were more concerned with telecomm-
unications, operating principally in the radio wavelengths.

Subsequent satellites and probes, with their sophisticated instrument-
ation, would certainly be capable of detecting the PHOTON BAND, however,
no such thing has ever been reported. This is not a case of scientists
keeping secrets, it is simply because it has never been detected.

According to other information I have received, this PHOTON BELT is
supposed to be preceded by an ELECTROMAGNETIC NULL ZONE. This zone
is said to be an energy vacuum, completely lacking in electromagnetic
fields. If it existed, this NULL ZONE would certainly have shown up
in the many sky surveys done over recent years on the Cosmic Microwave
Background. This background radiation is remarkable because it is so
evenly distributed over the entire sky. There are no gaps in its'
distribution. The ELECTROMAGNETIC NULL ZONE does not exist!

>>>CONT'D NEXT<<<


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From: [e-mail] (John Stepkowski)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.paranet.ufo,sci.skeptic
Subject: Taking a Notch Out of The Photon Belt 2/2
Date: 28 Mar 1994 04:37:12 +1000
Organization: werple public-access unix, Melbourne
Lines: 138
Message-ID: <2n4joo$[e-mail]>
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>>>CONT'D FROM PREVIOUS<<<

The PHOTON BELT was also described as a MANASIC RING, a "phenomena
which scientists have not been able to reproduce with laboratory
experiments". I have been unable to determine the meaning of the word
"manasic". I can only surmise that it is derived from the word MANA.
It is hardly surprising that this has not been recreated in a laboratory
as no-one really seems to know what MANA is, beyond its' dictionary
definition as a mysterious power.

And so to the Pleiades themselves. Jose Comas Sola, whoever he may be,
was either quite wrong or misquoted. Our Sun is not part of the Pleiades
system, neither does it orbit the Pleiades every 24,000 years.


The Pleiades are approximately 125 parsecs or 407.5 light years from our
solar system. A quick calculation shows that if our Sun were in this
orbit, then its' orbital velocity would be 0.107C or a little over one
tenth the speed of light. This equates to approximately 32,000 Km/sec.
This velocity would be apparent, not only to astronomers, but to every
one, as the constellations would change quite dramatically in the course
of a single lifetime if this were true.

The Pleiades is a loose cluster of approximately 100 stars with an
average age estimated at 78 million years. These are very young stars,
much younger than our own Sun, estimated at 5 billion years old, much
younger even that our own planet, Earth.

These are very hot, bright stars of spectral type B, much hotter and
about 10 times more massive than our Sun, spectral type G. They have not
yet moved away from the interstellar gas cloud, or nebula, from which
they formed. Remmants of this nebula can readily be seen in photographs
of the group. It has been suggested that this misty nebulosity, shining
with the light of the stars within, is what has given rise to the myth
of the PHOTON BELT.

Studies of the proper motions of these stars, or their movement through
space, have shown that they are in the process of dispersion. There is
no evidence that these stars orbit Alcyone as depicted in the diagram.
It must also be said that there is no evidence of planets around any of
these stars. It may well be that planetary systems may evolve around
some of these stars, however, it must be remembered that these are very
young stars and planetary formation may well take a lot longer than
stellar formation. It seems unlikely that habitable planets have had
enough time to evolve there. 78 million years is a very short period on
the cosmological or geological time scale.

It is very pleasing to think of our planet coming out of the darkness
and into the light, although I do not think our nocturnal fauna would
agree. It is much better for each of us to seek emnlightenment within
ourselves. This enlightenment cannot be imposed by external forces. A
deluge of photons from the Pleiades will not save the planet, nor will
it transform its inhabitants into enlightened Atmosphereans. We will
have to solve our problems ourselves.


                ===================================

              (A supplemental post to the above - JS)

                ===================================

 * Originally from:Contact
 * Originally Dt:  07-27-92
 * Originally By:  Bob Laidlaw
 * Originally To:  Bob Fletcher
 * Originally Re:  Photon Belt


  In a previous message to Bob Fletcher in the Contactee/Abductee echo,
  I said:

  > I think there should be no difficulty in taking this message apart and
  > checking each point for accuracy, using existing scientific sources.
  > And I would encourage people to do that.  Also, I doubt it would be
  > difficult to follow up on the writer's source in Adelaide by following
  > the same line of enquiry.

  This message quoted Agepal.txt, a file giving the scientific references
  in astronomical texts for the age, distance, and star type of the various
  Pleiades stars. This provides you with the opportunity to confirm this
  aspect of the Photon Belt Parts 1 and 2 material which I posted recently.

  I decided to check the remainder of this material by telephoning the
  number given at the end of the Nexus article "The Photon Belt Story",
  Feb/Mar 1991 issue, page 6. I made this call yesterday evening, July 26.

  Colin Norris answered, and said he was head of the Australian
  International UFO Research Society, mailing address GPO Box 2004,
  ADELAIDE, SA, 5001, AUSTRALIA.  The telephone number is [phone].

  I explained the situation. Colin said that he was extremely embarrassed
  by this matter. He has had to apologise to numerous people who rang from
  overseas with great anxiety. He has received hundreds of letters.

  The original article was published in his Society's magazine in 1981,
  about nine years before Duncan Roads asked permission to reprint it
  in Nexus magazine. Apparently it was co-authored by a lady, who tended
  to write sensational articles, and a young university student who is
  now employed as a physicist. He does not want to embarrass these people,
  or jeopardise their employment by revealing their names.

  He said he did discuss the article with professional astronomers from
  the Mount Stromlo observatory, and they advised him not to worry about
  it.  Again, these astronomers did not want their names mentioned
  because of professional commitments.

  I then spoke to the Society's Secretary, Steve Lamont, who confirmed
  these details.

  Colin and Steve gave permission to post this message. They said that
  the current "flap" appears to be caused by the predictions of exact
  dates, such as July 23 and 27, 1992.  While these dates are now past,
  and as usual nothing has happened, it is possible that later dates
  have been predicted by channels in the USA, causing people further
  anxiety. I agreed to pass on any information that you may be able to
  provide, and it is hoped that you will please do so. If you prefer,
  you can contact Colin Norris using the phone number or mailing address
  given at the start of this message.

  Rgs,
      Bob

   * Origin: "I Come In Peace, Take Me To Your Modem." (9:1030/0)

---
*E-O-F*


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