04/02/2010 by admin.

A strange object has been seen whizzing through space. Nasa have called it P/2010 A2. It was spotted between Mars and Jupiter in the Asteroidial Main belt by the Hubble telescope just last week. The object - presumably a comet or meteor or asteriod collision - has a bizarre X- shaped tail, unlike anything ever seen in space before. Fortunately, the object is over 90 million miles away, so no cause for alarm.

Scientists are calling the debate about the object ‘The Curious Case of Comet Linear’ It’s another example linked to our poser in the early part of our novel (see sample) ‘Does humanity have the X factor?’ Perhaps this is a poignant reminder to act to preserve our natural world?

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q14 Do you believe your stars? | No Comments »

20/12/2009 by admin.

The icy spell across Europe has brought travel misery to thousands of passengers using the Eurostar between London and Paris. A number of trains have broken down due to the difference in temperature outside the tunnel and within. Many have endured extremely long and uncomfortable journeys and we feel for their plight.

So, what does this have to do with our Watch we hear you ask? Simple really - maybe its Mother Nature’s way of drawing everyone’s attention to the role of the star in revealing the hidden message in ‘The Haymakers Survey’.  In our story, the star is at the centre of the unveiling of the key message - see page 198. What’s to follow we wonder?

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life? | No Comments »

12/12/2009 by admin.

We may have just witnessed the most startling event linked to The Haymakers Survey on our 3 year Whittenbury Watch! Our readers will be able to vouch for this.

On 9 December near Tromso, Norway on the edge of the Arctic Circle a strange giant helical spiral of light span in the sky for some 12 minutes. It was accompanied by twisted beams of blue light from the centre of the spiral to the ground resembling MayPole ribbon.  After the sprial stopped spinning it went into itself and a black aperture appeared - like a black hole.  The diplay could be seen all over Northern Norway so it must have been very high up in the sky. Here’s one the videos that captured the event…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hrWjkn_DHs

A popular explanation given is that it was a Russian missile fired from a submarine in the White Sea that went spiralling out of control.  However, there’s very many people who doubt this on the internet including some scientists. 

We have our own version of events and this is where things get really interesting. In our novel Charles Lamb’s journal features helical spirals. Pages 401- 403 tells how a spiral of light appears in Royston Cave, Herfordshire after the Samoyed messenger, Malachi, forces his way into the cave.  Here’s the extract,

“Then Gaia it happened exactly as I describe. A miracle emerged from the chaos! The stones clustered at the centre of the cave and began to speed in a dynamic spiral - a helical twist. The stones gave out a luminous glow as they span…. How long did they spin? It was hard to tell. The stones were hypnotic, seeming to suspend time and space. It was a moment when the ideal and the practical collided. A fushion of time and space.

Stukley [the cave guide] broke our collective silence. “What are those things?” “I brought then home… in search of meaning… of truth, ” was all Reverend North could muster.  “It reminds me of a whirlpool,” claimed Mary [Shelley].  The Reverend’s eyes widened, “As water washes away stones and torrents wash away the soul, so you destory man’s hope” [Christian Bible Job 14-19], he said, prophetically as the stones settled at the cave’s core.  Mary Shelley was the first gather up a stone. “De profundis clamavi”, [Out of the depths i have cried unto the] [Psalms 130].  Stukely says.. “What force is this to defy the laws of gravity… ” … Captain Lwein says, “… that was a force for sure… the Force of nature - a warning to mankind to mend our ways.”

Pages 408-409 also tell of a spiral - this time in water in which Lucy Ebbs [Mother Nature] allows her blue ribbon to fall into it when, with Malachi beside her, she reveals to Charles Lamb an insight into the magic of creation [see October 8 posting] “I shared the truth with you as I’m afraid for the future. I am in grave danger.  There are so many demands on me. I’ve only so much to offer.”

So, we have two examples of active sprials in our novel - one that glows and another with a blue trailer within it; just like the spiral in Norway.  Strange too that this phenomena should take place in Norway - given the significance of Yggdrasil and Nordic legend in our project and novel.  Tromso has been inhabited since the end of the ice-age and the Sami-culture - from which the Samoyed dog is linked - is the first known culture of the region.

A higher force is at work - we have faith.

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Star Question - what happened to the blue ribbon?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

25/08/2009 by admin.

Exactly 400 years ago today the Italian astronomer and philosopher, Galileo Galilei, showed Ventian merchants his new invention - a telescope. When he pointed it skyward the instrument led him to a series of ground-breaking conclusions that was to land him in a whole lot of trouble with conventional thinkers.  The telescope resembled a slim brown stick and was primitive by today’s standards, but it confirmed the idea of the sun as the centre of our planetary system not the Earth. 

In celebration of this and the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, 2009 is also the International Year of Astronomy. So we have two significant anniversaries linked to the Haymakers Survey - one which led to a change in thinking on our place in the Universe… interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH_pOaOVhgk&feature=related

Posted in Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

06/08/2009 by admin.

From time to time we speculate on possible explanations for the curious coincidences between our project and events on our Watch. In one of his crazy outbursts the ever sceptical Bill Darvill joked that, “Maybe its aliens trying to warn us. Hell look at the strange things happening in space - on Venus, Mars and Jupiter - could they have done it? Do they know how much we’re at risk?”  He spoke in jest of course but look at this from ‘Look North’ (to the Polar region perhaps?).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8186289.stm

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

29/07/2009 by admin.

Venus, a planet synonomous with love, has caught the heart of star-gazers. A strange spot has emerged on the planet and astronomers are at a loss as to know what caused it. 

An amateur skywatcher spotted the new feature on the same day that another first witnessed the scar on Jupiter.  The bright spot appears in the southern hemisphere of the planet.  A leading scientist said, “It’s fair to say that something unusual happened on Venus. Unfortunately we don’t yet know what it is!” Early suggestions for the activity on our ’sister’ planet include a powerful volcanic eruption, charged sun particles or waves on the surface. 

All the same, the mysterious event is all the stranger since it took place almost simultaneously with the Jupiter hit and the longest solar eclipse this century, and Mars has also been featured on our Watch.   We politely remind you that each of these celestial bodies feature in our novel! Venus also suffers from a runaway greenhouse effect.  As explained in this interesting video, astronomy can help us see our place in the Universe….. hmmm….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqIkKxhjW4U&feature=fvsr

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q14 Do you believe your stars? | No Comments »

22/07/2009 by admin.

Some 2 billion people across Asia have experienced the longest total eclipse of the sun in the 21st century. 

(Source: Lutfar Rahman Nirjhar - www.nirjhar.com )

The eclipse lasted 6.6 minutes and took place at 3.00am Greenwich meantime.  The exceptional duration was because the moon was just 3 hours away from its closest point to Earth in its orbit.  The length of the eclipse will not be surpassed until 30 years into the next century.  The clipse was the second of three to take place in a one month peiod. It was an amazing awe inspiring spectacle falling as it does within our 3 year Watch and taking place so close to the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo Lunar landing.  The moon is subject to much mythology and superstition in cultures the world over.  A full moon features prominiently in our tale at several key moments; at points of discovery and understanding.

The eclipse has also given scientists an opportunity to learn more about the sun.  For example, solar scientist Lucie Green, from University College London was aboard an Amercian cruise ship heading for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima to examine the waves in the corona. Well done Lucie! 

Jupiter also receives a mention in the novel - so its rather odd that almost to the day an amateur astronomer reported the discovery of a mysterious scar the size of the Earth near the pole of the gas giant. It has caught NASA scientists by surprise with an early conclusion that the planet was hit by a comet or asteroid. Such an event last took place 15 years ago when Shoemaker 59 crashed into the orb.  News of the impact has stunned the astronmy world. Jupiter also has its share of mythology with the Roman God Jupiter being in charge of cosmic justice. In Rome, in the courts of law people used to swear ‘By Jove’ to witness the oath. 

Posted in Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q14 Do you believe your stars?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

20/07/2009 by admin.

Another anniversary! Forty years ago today Apollo 11 made history.  

On this day Neil Armstrong spoke the immortal words, ‘One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind’ as he became the first human to leave a footprint on another celestial body (as far as we know).  The mission fulfilled the vision of President John F. Kennedy made in 1961 to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the Earth before the decade was out.  The ghostly black and white images - viewed at the time by some 600m people - are now ingrained in human conscious, although some conspiracy theorists doubt whether the whole affair was a monumental elaborate hoax!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

In our novel we refer to the remarkable vison, focus and determination demonstrated at that time as an example of what human endeavour can achieve, so the anniversary is a timely reminder in the run up to Copenhagen - when world leaders will come together to agree action on managing carbon emissions.   

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

12/06/2009 by admin.

Gerrit Blank a teenager from Essen in Germany has been hit by a meteorite yet lived to tell the tale.  He was on his way to school when he saw a fireball heading towards him from the sky.  The missile from space hit the boy’s hand then bounced off to leave a foot long crater in the tarmac.  Gerrit was left with a 3 inch scar in his hand.  It came to him like a bolt out of the blue. It knocked him flying with a sound like thunder that left a ringing in his ears for hours.  The pea-sized meteorite had sped along at 30,000 mph.  There is only one other case of a human  surviving after being hit by a meteorite.  It was a one in a million chance - perhaps a reminder of the reference in our novel of the remarkable speed at which the Earth is moving through space.

Posted in Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q41 Do you like surprises? | No Comments »

03/03/2009 by admin.

Today’s the 3rd of the 3rd so we anticipated some magic from Mother Nature. She hasn’t disappointed sending shockwaves, another albino creature and a close encounter with an asteroid.

Let’s begin by recalling how the 2007 Watch examples in our Novel record an earthquake near Folkstone in Kent and reports of an offshore dolphin which behaved in a way that suggested he was conscious of the impending tremor. How curious then that a second earthquake has hit the coastal town. The tremor was around a 3.0 magnitude and occured some 3 miles beneath Folkstone.

The sense of deja vu has been endorsed by news of the amazing appearance of the world’s only pink bottlenose dolphin in a lake in Louisiana, USA.  Charterboat Captain Erik Rue photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, amongst a pod of dolphins. He described it as “quite beautiful and absolutely stunning”.  The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and surprisingly unaffected by its environment or sunlight given its condition.  Was this a demonstration of the majestic of creation? Here’s the amazing albino:

As if to impress home the risks we are taking with our planet an asteroid about the size of one that hit Siberia a cenutry ago just buzzed the Earth.   The asteroid named 2009 DD45 was a mere 48,000 miles away - less than one fifth of the distance to the moon.  It was a close call as the 1907 asteriod levelled 800 square miles of forest with the force of a thousand atomic bombs.

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »