There has always been the debate between scientists/astronomers and ufologists as to the existence of sentient extra-terrestrial life. The scientists and astronomers would agree that it most likely exists, but we would be lucky to find anything indicating its existence in distant (or even local) star systems. The Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) studies have been operating for years. But to date, all they have produced are lists of nearby star systems having the possibility of containing planets which may be capable of hosting sentient life. Ufologists, on the other hand, claim we have already been visited by aliens, and frequently at that! Multiple species seem to have visited us from a number of unspecified star systems.
This article offers the opinion that dowsers and amateur astronomical groups can effectively resolve this issue without resorting to high cost SETI studies. Dowsing, regarded as "unscientific", is still used by farmers and landowners more frequently than scientific geological studies when determining where to drill a well. Map dowsing is an accomplished art and the authors pose the question - since there are maps of the celestial sphere available, could they be used for map dowsing? Could a dowser, told precisely what kind of alien to look for, be able to find its location on the celestial sphere? The ufologist could provide the precise descriptions of several alleged space mobile alien species needed for accurate dowsing.
There have been studies undertaken to determine the location of star systems thought to be the origin of alien interstellar space flights. Combining the dowsed location of these reported alien life forms with the related analysis of ufologists offers a unique method by which star systems hosting this sentient life may be inferred. The results of one such effort is contained herein.
These results are not certain proof that we are being "visited" by aliens. Moreover, the Earth's active radio environment combined with our proximity to the Sun (another powerful radio source) suggests that SETI attempts to detect alien radio signals will likely be futile. But, if alien spaceships are already visiting Earth, acquisition of signals from their approaching craft may be more possible, and even easy to accomplish. Detecting signals from their intra-atmospheric exploratory craft may be somewhat more difficult (but not impossible) due to our radio environment, atmospheric clouds/haze and the curvature of the Earth.
Still another obstacle remains. Should alien/human contact have already occurred, secret organizations may interfere. Ufologists already suspect such and rumors of agents of disinformation are carried in hushed circles. Even small countries (e.g. Granada), serving as havens for UFO analysts and official agitators for UN action1 on UFOs, apparently have been silenced. Could new, but conflicting, dowsed locations be expected after this publications a direct result of this disinformation effort? Our earliest results may be our best!
Dowsing is an ancient art and it is not our goal to explain how it functions here. However, when the father of one of the authors passed away, the location of an existing will in the parent's house could not be found. With pressures of work calling, and after a week of fruitless searching, a friend suggested using a professional dowser. The author, like countless others before him, turned to one of the most practical ways ever determined to find a lost object - dowsing. Given a skeetch of the house, the dowser (and co-author) located the will, among other valuables, to within inches2 of where they were actually found.
The father may have left his son (an avid ufologist) a gift more valuable than mere material possessions. Could the dowser locate crashed UFO (e.g. saucer) parts? Could he find the optical wavelengths or radio frequencies associated with UFOs or incoming spaceships? What about the location of the aliens home star system? The readers of this article likeely know the answers to these questions better than two of the authors.
The analysis contained herein will be confined to the last two questions, especially the latter (the answer to which may prove verifiable). However, when seeking the location of alien's home star system, a dowser needs more information than just merely "where are they from?". When dowsing for a location, or for merely a yes/no answer, the statement of the problem itself must be clear and unambiguous.3 The "they" must be clearly defined, just as a dowser must know whether water, gold or a lost will is being sought.
The dowser was presented with data relevant to reported contact with several distinct sentient alien species. While human/alien contact is far from being scientifically recognized, the majority of our population seem to believe that UFOs exist and are possibly associated with aliens. Some of those aliens, known as "Greys", are among the best known and most frequently reported. This was the first alien species submitted to the dowser.
There appear to be two groups of these humanoids, one around four feet tall and the other around 5 feet tall (see Figure 1). Table 1 provides alleged autopsy and other related data relevant to the smaller Greys.4 The larger Greys may be alien/human "half breeds" and thus may possess some more human like characteristics (e.g. body hair). Human looking aliens are dismissed as illusions or attempts at disinformation.
The dowser was presented with two 3' by 3' maps representing the northern and southern celestial sphere (see Figure 2). The projection of the maps was such that a certain amount of overlap was present, and this provided some initial confusion. The dowser used his special set of instruments5 while the maps of the celestial sphere were manually slid on a table undeer his dowsing rod. When therod began to rotate, the center of rotation was observed. Further back and forth displacement of the map under the "locked-on" L-rod, pivoting about a specific point on the map, sharpened the location on the celestial sphere.
Figure 1. The Greys. Paintings By David Baker Courtesy Of Mrs Betty Hill, 04/12/92.
A total of six spots on the southern celestial sphere were dowsed as possible locations of the Greys' home star system. The first four were rejected by the dowser's "yes/no" check. The fifth provided the strongest response and enthusiastically passed the yes/no test. A sixth point was noted 12 hours (180o) in right ascension removed from the fifth and provided a weak response. A "yes/no" check was not made. Data for the 5th and 6th points are listed below. The star's distance, in this attempt, was estimated just as a dowser estimates the depth at which water may be found when drilling except the unit of range was "light years".
| Dowsed Point | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Fifth Point | Sixth Point |
| Star Name | Achernar | Not noticeable |
| Declination* (degree:minutes) | -57:34 | -53: 53 |
| Right Ascension (hour:minutes) | 01:37 | 13:37 |
| Day Of equivalent Sun's location | 18 April | Not Dowsed |
| Range (light years) | 4.9 | Not Dowsed |
It is one thing to dowse a spot on a map, and another to interpret the results. First and foremost, it must be remembered that map dowsers are almost always dowsing a spot on the ground, such as where water or gold can be found. But in this case, our dowser was looking at a map on the table reflecting the stars above him.
Upon inspecting the dowser's results, it becomes immediately clear that the declination and range of the star system offer a vital clue. It should be noticed at this point that the ufologist, working with the dowser, tried to lead him away from the actual range he dowsed. It was suggested that he try to find if the home star system was less than 5, 50 or 500 light years away respectfully (Achernar is actually 69 light years distant). The dowser stubbornly refused, and started with one light year and worked up in increments of one light year. Excluding the Sun, there are no known stars within 4 light years of Earth. The closest is the Alpha Centauri trinary star system 4.3 light years distant. The next closest is Barnard's star, a single star system 6.0 light years away (see Table 3).
The dowsed range and declination offer a close fit to the parameters associated with the Alpha Centauri star system. The dowsed parameters were different from these parameters by 0.6 light years in range, 3.3o in declination and 13:03 in right ascension. However, if a symmetry error of 12:00 was introduced because the dowser was looking downward onto a table instead of upward toward the sky, the error in dowsed right ascension is only 01:03.
The question remains as to whether it is a reasonable that the Alpha Centauri star system could support intelligent life. Astronomers generally agree that this is possible. Alpha Centauri is the first (and closest) star system contained on the SETI list of star systems to possibly host life. The three stars contained in this system are a close binary pair (Alpha Centauri A and B) made of a G2 and K1 class stars respectively along with a distant dwarf dM5.5 class star (Proxima Centauri).
| Name | Range (light yr.) | Right
Ascension (Hour:Minute) | Declination (Degrees) | Type & Color |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Centauri (triple star) | 4.3 | 14:40 | - 61 | G2-yellow, K1-orange/yellow M5-red |
| Barnard's | 6.0 | 17:58 | +04 | M4 -red |
| Wolf 359 | 7.7 | 10:56 | +07 | M6- red |
| Lanande 21185 | 8.2 | 11:03 | +36 | M2-red |
| Luyten 726-8 | 8.4 | 1:39 | - 18 | M6-red |
| Sirius (double star) | 8.6 | 06:45 | 17 | A1-white White Dwarf |
| UV Ceti (double star) | 9.0 | 01:36 | - 18 | M5.5-red M5.0-red |
| Ross 154 | 9.4 | 18:50 | -24 | M4- red |
| Ross 248 | 10.4 | 23:42 | +44 | M5-red |
| Epsilon Eridani | 10.8 | 03:33 | - 09 | K2-orange/red |
| Ross 128 | 10.9 | 11:48 | +01 | M4-red |
| 61 Cygni (double star) | 11.1 | 21;07 | +39 | K5-
orange/red K3-orange/red |
| Luyten 789-6 | 11.2 | 22:39 | - 15 | M6-red |
| Epsilon Indi | 11.2 | 22:03 | - 57 | K3-orange/red |
| BD+43o44 | 11.2 | 00:18 | +44 | M1 -red |
| Procyon (double star) | 11.4 | 07:39 | +05 | F5-
yellow/white White Dwarf |
| Sigma 2398 (double star) | 11.6 | 18:43 | +60 | M4-red M5- red |
| Lacaille 9352 | 11.7 | 23:06 | - 36 | M1-red |
| Grb. 34 (double star) | 11.7 | 00:15 | +43 | M2-red M4- red |
| Tau Ceti | 11.8 | 01:44 | - 16 | G8-yellow |
| BD+5o1668 | 12.3 | 07:26 | +05 | M 4-red |
| L725-32 | 12.5 | 01:12 | -17 | M5- red |
| Lacaille 8760 | 12.5 | 21.17 | - 39 | K5-orange/red |
| Kapteyn's | 12.7 | 05:12 | - 45 | M0-red |
| Kruger 60 (double star) | 12.9 | 22:28 | +58 | M3-red M4- red |
Astronomers have noticed the similarity between Alpha Centauri A and our own Sun, both G2 class stars. Croswell6 has even suggested the possibility that the solar system associated with Alpha Centauri A may be similar to our own (i.e. with a Bode law geometric progression causing ever increasing separation between the planets). However, he presents no evidence that such is true, or even that planets exist about Alpha Centauri A. Should they exist in a Bode law like geometric progression, a planet may occur in Alpha Centauri A's liquid water zone (0.95 to 1.50 times the distance the Earth's distance from the Sun). Biological life could exist there.7
Popular wisdom among ufologists is that Zeta Reticuli is the Grey's home star system. Fish's analysis of the famous Betty Hill star map (drawn from the first recorded abduction case) concludes that Zeta Reticuli, some 53 light years distant, is their home star system.8 Another analysis by Scheaffer and Atterberg indicates that Epsilon Eridani and Epsilon Indi, 11 light years distant, is their home star system.9 Vallee claims that the Hill star map leads nowhere10 and produces someone else's interpretation of her map to illustrate his point.11
Danjo claims that the Grey's home star system is Alpha Centauri.12 His analysis predicts a Bode law like planetary spacing for all solar systems13, no matter what stars they are formed about. He contends that the Hill star map is drawn on a logarithmic scale and that this scale's magnitude can be calculated. The relative range of the Sun and other stars found in this way attest both to the validity of Hill's map and his analysis of it. Moreover, the implications of the double, triangular and multiple lines found on the original Hill map can be explained. The proximity of the Alpha Centauri star system to our own solar system would ease the tremendous impact of interstellar travel restrictions imposed by the astronomical distances involved if other, more distant, stars were involved (assuming near sub-light speed were possible). Danjo's solar system formation theories predict both planet and satellite size and orbit, given information on the stellar system involved. Thus, he is able to calculate the structure of the Alpha Centauri solar systems and concludes that the Grey's are residents of the third or fourth satellite orbiting a jovian size planet 17% further from Alpha Centauri A than the Earth is from the Sun.
Upon concatenating Danjo's results with those of the dowser, and combining them with the related opinions held by both SETI and professional astronomers, there is a reasonable possibility that the Alpha Centauri star system hosts a space mobile sentient species (the Greys) which have been (and may still be) visiting Earth. Based on the data contained herein ,it seems that Alpha Centauri, and Alpha Centauri alone, unambiguously represents the true location of the Greys home star system. However, this conclusion is inconsistent with that put forward in the popular press, and the conventional wisdom held by most ufologists, few of whom are professional astronomers or scientists.
Compared with the Greys, the Iargans are a most talkative species. While there are few references to them (one being an U.S. Air force officer's training manual14) there is a contact report which provides detailed descriptions of them, their culture and their home planet.15 Among some of the most useful information is that their large home planet is completely covered by clouds and mostly covered by water. The land mass is in the formed of many islands whose combined area is about the size of Australia. It is located a little more than ten light years away from Earth. It has an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere seven times thicker than ours (7 bar). Figure 3 is a sketch of an Iargan. These beings are about a meter and a half tall, covered with fur (being descendants of a sea otter like creature which evolved on their home planet) and accomplished swimmers. They are rather strong because they are used to three times our surface gravity on their home world.
The dowser was asked to locate the star system these beings inhabit. He authenticated the validity of this case based on the dowser's "yes/no" answer test. He dowsed the 1st point before authentication (based only on Figure 3) and the 2nd point afterwards (see Table 4). The 2nd dowsed point involved only a number search for range and right ascension.
A search of Table 2 produces about 14 stars between 9.4 and 12.5 light years. However, none of these stars is close to the primary dowsed right ascension. As in the case with the Greys from Alpha Centauri, reflexes in the angular measurements may be common, so 12 hours of right ascension was added. One star, Lacaille 9352, is close to the reflexed value of this right ascension. This right ascension is also marginally comparable with that of 61 Cygni and Lacaille 8760. Unfortunately, the declination of 61 Cygni places it in the northern hemisphere. The closest star to the dowsed declination is Lacaille 8760 at - 39o but Lacaille 9352 is also promising. Reflexing the dowsed declination (e.g. reflecting the declination about a mirror plane containing the celestial equator) would yield results consistent with the 61 Cygni star system (at +39o).
Considering the viability of reflexing, the dowsed range and declination offer a fit to the parameters associated with both the 61 Cygni and Lacaille 9352 star systems. Assuming the reflexes valid, the error residuals from these stellar parameters are listed below in Table 5.
Considering the previous analysis for the Greys as a baseline, an error in right ascension (01:03 - hours:minutes) and range (0.6 light years) is reasonable. The right ascension of all three star systems is commensurate with this error, but only the 61 Cygni system meets this error in range. However, Lacaille 9352 cones close to the 2nd dowsed value. The 3.3o error is found for the declination of the Grey's system, and the 3.8o error found for both 61 Cygni and Lacaille 8760 seem commensurate. However, the 61 Cygni value is positive, and there is no readily apparent justification for this reflex.
| Parameter | 1st Dowsed Pt. | 2nd Dowsed Pt.** | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declination (degree:minutes) | -42:48* | Not Dowsed | +42:48 |
| Day Of equivalent Sun's location | 8 September | Not Dowsed | Not Applicable |
| Right Ascension (hour:minutes) | 11:04* | 22.05* | (11:04 +
12:00) (22:03 + 12:00) |
| Range (trillion miles) | 59.23* | 64* | Not Applicable |
| Range (light years) | 10.2 | 11.03 | Not Applicable |
Figure 3. An Iargan.
| Star Name |
Declination (degrees) (First Pt.) error |
Right Ascension (hour:minutes) (First Pt.) ((Second Pt.)) error |
Range (light yr.) (First Pt.) ((Second Pt.)) error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dowsed Values |
-42.8 +42.8R |
11:04 or 22:03 23:04R or 10:03R | 10.2 or 11.03 |
| 61 Cygni | +39 (3.8) |
21:07 (01:57) ((00:59)) |
11.1 (0.9) ((0.07)) |
| Lacaille 9352 |
-36 (6.8) |
23:06 (00:02) ((01:03)) |
11.7 (1.5) ((0.7)) |
| Lacaille 8760 |
-39 (3.8) |
21:17 (01:47) ((00:46)) |
12.5 (2.3) ((1.47)) |
Danjo16 pinpoints 61 Cygni as the home star system of these aliens based on his analysis of the reported color of their star, plus his proposed planetary formation theory. His theory permits calculation of the mass of their home planet, and that mass is consistent with it having three times the surface gravity of Earth. Moreover, the 61 Cygni double star system is on the Hill star map developed from her contact with the Greys (the relative range of this star system is comparable with the range of seven others which match measured values on this map). The stellar color analysis applies equally well to both Lacaille 8760 and 61 Cygni, for both are K5 class orange/red stars. This tends to exclude Lacaille 9352 because it would be quite red in color. Nevertheless, the color analysis only considers an artist's drawing of the contactee's account. Both 61 Cygni and Lacaille 8760 are on the SETI master list as possible habitable star systems, but the SETI list automatically excludes most of these small M class stars. While all three stars are candidates, 61 Cygni is clearly favored.
Additional information reported by the dowser indicates that they spent 11 years, 8 months in-route in their journey to Earth travelling at about 70% of the speed of light. Their last visit to Earth occurred 9 years, 8 months before 16 June, 1995 on 16 October 1985, and their previous visit occurred six months earlier, on 19 April 1985.
Palmer17 reports that many UFOs can be associated to a Clam like device or creature, one of which underwent a forced landing on top of a flat mesa near Battle Mountain, Nevada in 1925. Little is known about these beings, except that they glow when they fly, emit a foul smell and have four retractable tentacles. When wounded, they "bleed" a froth like material (resembling aluminum wire) which decomposes shortly after being exposed to direct sun light. They have been observed flying in multiple pairs with some form of "electric arcing" between them. Then, a chaff like material (known as "angle hair") rained down and decomposed shortly thereafter.18 Palmer's analysis associates them with cylindrical "rocket like" ships. Figure 4 illustrates these beings in flight. These beings are also designated as "Birds" since groups sometimes fly about in "chevron" formations. They seem to be quite playful - often outmaneuvering jet fighters.
The dowser was asked to locate these beings. As with the Iargans, he authenticated the validity of these UFO cases with the "yes/no" answer test. He dowsed the 1st point before authentication (based on the photographs in Figure 4) and the 2nd point afterwards (see Table 6): As before, the 2 nd dowsed point involved only a number search.
| Parameter | 1st Dowsed Pt. | 2nd Dowsed Pt.** | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declination* (degrees) | -47* | Not Dowsed | +47 |
| Day Of equivalent Sun's location | 12 August | Not Dowsed | Not Applicable |
| Right Ascension (hour:minutes) | 09:15* | 13.38* | (09:15 + 12:00) (13:23 + 12:00) |
| Range (trillion miles) | 25.8* | 56* | Not Applicable |
| Range (light years) | 4.3 | 9.6 | Not Applicable |
The dowsing of the location of this system is confusing due to the disparity of the two values of right ascension and range. Could there be multiple answers? Table 7 lists the error residuals for four likely star systems. The 2 nd dowsed point supports the most viable candidate, UV Ceti. Both the range and the right ascension almost precisely matches UV Ceti's values. UV Ceti's associated right ascension and range error residuals found are commensurate with those found for the Greys and the Iargans. Based on the 1 st dowsed point and using distance alone, the Alpha Centauri star system is also suggested. However, the associated right ascension is either 81o or 99o off (implying a 90o reflex which is hard to justify). Lanande 21185 (once thought to have a dark star companion) and 61 Cygni are other possible candidates. UV Ceti and Alpha Centauri are the two most likely star systems.
The above photograph was taken 30 August 1951 as these strange UFOs passed over Texas. The same type formation shadowed a C-118 cargo aircraft.
The above flight of UFOs was seen in Lubbock, Texas on 25 August 1951. Investigators were unable to convince six college professors that they had seen no UFOs, only "Duck Bellies". Even in denial, the Air Force has revealed a vital clue to the nature of these UFOs.
Figure 4. The Clams/Birds. The Dowser Claims That Only Two Objects In Each "Chevron" Is Real. See The Triangular Arrows.
Danjo19 claims that these beings are resident to Alpha Centauri B. However, his analysis also concludes that both UV Ceti and 61 Cygni (along with six other star systems intersected by the Grey's lines of communication) are on the Hill star map. UV Ceti is the closer of the two and designated (on Hill's map by line type) as a star system frequently visited by the Greys. It seems possible that both the Greys and the Clam/Birds could be involved in the objects shown in Figure 4. By contrast, the Greys mount only infrequent expeditions to the 61 Cygni system. Thus, it seems reasonable that the dowser was picking up the home star system of two involved sentient species and mixing them. Both Alpha Centauri and 61 Cygni are on the SETI master list as possible habitable star systems, but this list automatically excludes small M class stars such as Lanande 21185 and UV Ceti.
| Star Name |
Declination (degrees) (First Pt.) error |
Right Ascension (hour:minutes) (First Pt.) ((Second Pt.)) error |
Range (light yr.) (First Pt.) ((Second Pt.)) error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dowsed Values |
-47 +47R |
09:15 or 13:23 21:15R or 01:23R | 4.3 or 9.6 |
| Alpha Centauri |
-61 (14) |
14:40 (05:25) ((01:17)) |
4.3 (0.0) ((5.3)) |
| Lanande 21185 |
+36 (11) |
21:07 (00:08) ((04:16)) |
8.2 (3.9) ((1.5)) |
| UV Ceti 21185 |
-18 (19) |
01:36 (04:21) ((00:13)) |
9.0 (4.7) ((0.6)) |
| 61 Cygni |
+39 (6) |
21:07 (00:08) ((04:16)) |
11.1 (6.8) ((1.5)) |
| Dowsed Values |
-57.7 +57.7R |
01:37 13:37R | 4.9 |
| Alpha Centauri |
-61 (3.3) |
14:40 (01:03) |
4.3 (0.6) |
Also dowsed was the following information through a series of yes/no questions. The clam shell like mechanism is only a vehicle, and not a part of their original biological structure. It opens and closes permitting observations. They cannot breath our atmosphere, and the accompanying foul smell is part of their metabolism, possibly relating to excrement. The odor is a partial failure of a recycling process. They are animal like, and there may be more than one being per clam shell. However, this may be due to are productive condition such as pregnancy. Their normal life span is about 180 years. They physically rejoin (perhaps in their cylindrical or rocket shaped space ships. They do fight with one another, and have done so over France (presumably bleeding "angel hair"). This bleeding does not necessarily prove fatal (e.g. they heal).
Just as a dowser's information can be verified by drilling a well, the validity of this material should be verifiable by tangible evidence that the alleged alien visitations are actually taking place. Knowledge of resident home star systems of these space mobile aliens may be used to indirectly verify their existence on planets orbiting these stars and the predict the times of their impending to visit Earth. Yet again, the dowser's skill can aid us in these verification efforts.
Empty space isn't completely empty. Our own Earth is being constantly bombarded by meteors or meteorites. While the density of this matter is expected to diminish between stars, there is no evidence that it entirely vanishes. If fact gaseous nebulae and interstellar dust often diminish the intensity of light from known stars. Space ships traveling between stars must, by necessity, contend with this debris. What's more, to travel between even the nearby stars within normal human lifetimes, these space ships must travel at speeds which are a large fraction of the speed of light. Danjo20 estimates the arrival intervals of the Greys to be between 2.2 and 2.8 years. If so, a space ship shuttle, leaving every 2.3 years and traveling at 0.5 c would spend 9.2 years in transit. See Appendix A, calculation C-1.
Collisions between near stationary interstellar debris of even pebble size can prove disastrous to a space ship moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light. Thus, these vessels must monitor the space directly in their path and undertake either evasive maneuvers to avoid debris, or take measures to destroy it. These activities form the basis of a means for Earth based observers to detect the presence of these vessels as well as determine the origin of their journey. More importantly, the means utilized by these alien space ships to negate potentially hazardous collisions with interstellar debris provides a means to verify their existence as suggested previously.
Assume an alien space ship is traveling at five tenths the speed of light. Also assume this vessel collided with a spherical silica pebble 6.2 millimeters in diameter (whose weight would be about 0.4 grams). This collision could yield an explosion from the resulting release of kinetic energy equivalent to that of a one kiloton nuclear detonation. See Appendix A, calculation C-2. To avoid impacts which would release energy equivalent to detonations the size of a one ton bomb, a detection mechanism would have to be able to detect particles less than 620 microns in diameter. Even particles smaller than these would leave permanent scars on a heavily armored space ship. Clusters of smaller particles could also pose a threat.
A millimeter band radar operating above 150 Ghz or a LIDAR (a radar operating at optical wavelengths) seems the most likely choice for such a detection system. Particles in the sub millimeter range lend themselves to detection by optical means rather than millimeter waves. Consequently, laser radiation may be expected to scan the space immediately in front of these interstellar space ships. Since the interstellar debris cannot be expected to be at rest relative to the incoming space ship, a small angular volume of frontal space must be scanned for these particles.
Once an impending collision is detected, the space ship would have three options. First, turn to avoid the debris; second, destroy the debris; or third, sustain the collision. Calculations indicate that at speeds of half that of light, a spaceship would be given only milliseconds of warning of an impending collision even if detection of the debris particle extended outward one thousand kilometers. See Appendix A, calculation C-3.
Interstellar space is expected to be relatively free of debris, so the only interference for LIDAR returns would be from stars (including our Sun) whose positions would be fixed relative to the space ship. Any obscured debris would have to maintain a constant bearing towards the space ship for only milliseconds for an undetected collision to occur. However, the few millisecond reaction time (based on a thousand kilometer detection range as found in Appendix A, calculation C-3) may be too short to permit adequate space ship reaction. Interestingly, the dowser dowsed the detection range to be 66,000 miles, which would permit a warning time of half a second.
Should only nearby (within five hundred miles) debris be of interest, distant returns could be filtered out by range-gate techniques applied to the reflected signal. The trajectory of threatening debris would have to be established (presumably by computer means) and corrective action promptly taken. This implies that a relatively precise track of the debris particles must be generated, and this in turn requires a laser with fairly narrow, yet high power, pulse. A space ship moving at one fifth the speed of light will move at about 100 miles a millisecond. The LIDAR would have to acquire about 20 pulses on a debris particle at 500 miles and display the resultant data on some sort of photo active surface (like a charged coupled array) so range, velocity and bearing angle could be determined. A burst of 20 - 100 pulse-Doppler like pulses with a frame rate of a few milliseconds (270 milli-seconds for a 66,000 mile detection range) may be one possible waveform. Both the pulse Doppler requirement and the band of narrow band optical filters would require a very stable laser, one that would not drift in wavelength with temperature or age during the space flight.
Since the space ship is assumed to be heading towards our solar system, the Earth will likely be in the angular region monitored by these LIDARs. Earth based, airborne or orbiting telescopes, should they be monitoring the specific direction from which the space ship is coming, may be able to detect either the LIDAR's pulsed radiation a half light year (or more) out (See Appendix A, Calculation C-4), the destruction of a debris particle, or the collision with a small debris particle with the space ship. Such actions are expected to continue as the interstellar space ship closes on our solar system. While the approaching speed of the space ship may diminish, the occurrence and size of this debris, along with LIDAR signatures or debris destructions, will increase with proximity to our solar system.
Alien LIDAR laser wavelengths are of immediate importance. While alien
technology remains generally unknown to us, lazing materials are expected to
remain somewhat the same throughout the galaxy. Table 8 lists candidate pulsed
lasers which may be employed by the aliens. Solid rather than gaseous lasers
are likely the most robust (a factor of significant importance on an
interstellar journey) while gas lasers are the most powerful.
| Atom or Molecule | Material g = gas, s = solid | Pulse
Width Nanosecond | Energy (Millijoules) | Pulse Rep
Freq. (pps) | Comments | |
| 0.157 | F2 | g | 6 | 10 | 50 | 105 to 106 pulses/gas fill. |
| 0.193 | ArF | g | 14 | 200 | 50 | IBID above.. |
| 0.222 | KrCl | g | 9 | 30 | 50 | IBID above.. |
| 0.249 | KrF | g | 16 | 250 | 50 | IBID above.. |
| 0.282 | XeBr | g | 8 | 17 | 50 | IBID above.. |
| 0.308 | XeCl | g | 6 | 150 | 50 | IBID above. |
| 0.351 | XeF | g | 14 | 400 | 50 | IBID above. |
| 0.266 | Nd:YAG | s | 4 | 50 | 0.02 | 4 th harmonic of Nd.. |
| 0.266 | Nd:Glass | s | 4 | 50 | 20 | Ibid above. |
| 0.337 | N2 | g | 6 | 16 | 100 | |
| 0.347 | Cr:Al2O3 | s | 25 | 100 | 0.1 | 2 nd harmonic of ruby.. |
| 0.355 | Nd:YAG | s | 5 | 100 | 0.1-20 | 3 rd harmonic of Nd. |
| 0.502 | HgBr | g | 50 | 100 | 5-100 | > 150 deg. C required. |
| 0.532 | Nd:YAG | s | 7 | 200 | 20 | 2 nd harmonic of Nd. |
| 0.511 | Cu | g | 30 | 2.3 | 6 kHz | High temperature required. |
| 0.578 | Cu | g | 30 | 2.3 | 6 kHz | IBID above. |
| 0.694 | Cr:Al2O3 | s | 20 | 104 | 0.02 | Q switched ruby laser. |
| 0.850 | GaAs | s | 100 | 0.01 | 1 kHz | Semiconductor diode array. |
| 1.06 | Nd:YAG | s | 15 | 103 | 10 | Other possible? |
| 1.06 | Nd:Glass | s | 15 | 2 x 104 | 0.03 | IBID above. |
| 2.64-3.01 | HF | g | 500 | 300 | 2 | Discrete (~50) line spectra. |
| 5-6 | CO | g | 100 | 8 X 103 | 5 | IBID above. |
| 9.4 | CO2 | g | 100 | 105 | 100 | IBID above. |
| 10.6 | CO2 | g | 100 | 105 | 100 | IBID above. |
| 12-13 | NH3 | g | 100 | 100 | 10 | Pumped with CO2. |
| 385 | D2O | g | 100 | 100 | 10 | IBID above. |
| 496 | D2O | g | 100 | 10 | 10 | IBID above. |
The wavelength variable lasers are of the least interest because a stable line is required for the interference filters to reject interfering stellar radiation. Short wavelength lasers (such as fluorine or rare gas lasers with halide donors) are usually limited to about a million pulses per gas re-fill, and the need for continuous gas recharge would reduce reliability on long space journeys. The dowser examined the entire known spectrum and came up with wavelengths of 0.260, 0.578 and 0.965 microns (relative to who?). If the dowser is observing these values at their source, they are close to the first, second and fourth harmonics of the Nd:Glass laser. The copper (Cu) laser is another potential candidate, but it suffers from low power.
As an alien space ship travels between their home star and our solar system, our Sun will eventually come within the region where its radiation could mask the presence of threatening debris. This is especially true in the last half light year of its journey as it nears our solar system and the velocity of debris particles becomes a significant fraction of its velocity. Figure 5 indicates that as a function of wavelength, solar radiation falls off slowly in the long optical wavelength region, but quickly at short wavelengths. However, these values will be strongly shifted towards the violet (viewed from both the space ship and Earth) due to Doppler shifts from closure velocities. Atmospheric ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) may intermittently attenuate terrestrial observations.
The most powerful and most promising is the CO2 laser, but its multiple line structure offers some difficulty. There is every reason to believe its power could be boosted even further. Then, there is the ruby (Cr:Al2O3) and the Nd/Glass laser, offering both the stability and durability needed on a long space mission. Whereas both the Sun's and debris particle's Doppler shift will be different, Relativity will limit these competing effects. The rube laser's is just above the peak in the solar spectra and the Doppler effect may not take it out of the Sun's peak radiation range. The best bet may be the fourth harmonic of the Nd/Glass laser if high levels of power could be generated. Otherwise, the CO2 laser may offer the best solution. Either, or both, may be a good choices for an alien debris detector LIDAR.
Telescopes of substantial aperture (24 to 36 inches) are becoming available at modest costs. Several automated telescopes employing a bank of automatically interchangeable narrow band optical interference filters and flash detectors could monitor the night skies in the region of dowsed stars. Monitoring Alpha Centauri offers the greatest promise due to the "Greys" apparent frequent re- visitation of our system. The Birds/Clams may come along with them. Detection of LIDAR or debris destruction when the space ship is well over half its journey from its home stellar system is desired because both high signal intensity and significant angular separation of the space ship from its home star is anticipated.
Multi-source data seems to indicate that we are being visited by at least three extra-terrestrial intelligent species. Visitations by sentient species other than these may have already happened, but insufficient information is available to locate their home star system. While unique solutions have not been obtained in all cases, the following are their likely home star systems (or candidate systems):
Additional evidence not discussed here indicates that the Greys and the Clam/Birds have a close association when it comes to exploring Earth. The cross culture experiences and relationships resulting from these associations may offer each enormous potential for intellectual (and spiritual?) enrichment. The immense payoff likely contributes to the reason both are here.
Dowsing the stars for sentient life seems to offer the opportunity for reflexes in both the right ascension and declination. This seems to be valid whether point dowsing on a map or number dowsing is employed. The declination seems to be more of a reflection about the celestial equator whereas the right ascension seems to require a 180o shift. The range is the most unambiguous parameter and seems relatively unaffected. When "pure (single species" cases are involved, the errors seem to run a little less than 4o in declination, 13 to 63 minutes in right ascension and 0.0 to 0.6 light years in range. When considering dowsing (of the celestial bodies), error residuals based on "absolute values" rather than "percents" seem more relevant.
The above results may be verified by examining intercepted optical data from alien LIDAR (lasers) used (by them) to prevent collisions with debris during their interstellar journeys. Amateur astronomy clubs or educational institutions could undertake this task with a reasonable degree of success (considering the payoff). Interference or disinformation from organizations benefiting from related efforts may be anticipated.
C-1. Compute the time T it takes to reach a fraction of the speed of light
(c), neglecting relativistic effects, assuming that a space ship is undergoing
an acceleration of n X g where g is the normal acceleration due to gravity at
the Earth's surface.
T = c/ng = 3.0 X 108 (meters per second)/ n X 9.8 (meters per
second2)
Given that one year contains 31,557,600 seconds and assume n = 1 for the normal
acceleration of gravity at the Earth's surface, it would take 15,300,000
seconds, about half a year but a distance of a tenth light year, for the space
ship to approach 0.5 c.
The distance from Alpha Centauri to our solar system is 4.3 light years. The space ship will move 2 X 0.12 = 0.24 light years to accelerate to (and decelerate from) half the speed of light. This process will take a total of about one year. The remaining 4.1 light years will require 8.2 years of travel time. Thus, such a journey from Alpha Centauri to our solar system will require about 9.2 years one way travel time. If four space ship shuttles are launched at equal intervals during this time, they will arrive at 2.3-year intervals. Operational problems will likely cause delays in their departures, so arrival intervals varying from 2.2 to 2.8 years would certainly seem reasonable.
C-2. Calculate the amount of kinetic energy turned into thermal (blast)
energy should a space ship traveling at v (v = 0.5 X c) meters per second
collide with a debris particle of mass m (m = 0.4 gram = 0.0004 kilograms):
E = 1/2 m v2 = 0.5 X 4 X 10-4 X (1.5 X
108)2 = 4.5 X 1012 Joules.
The standard energy release by one metric ton of chemical high explosives is
calculated at 1000 calories per gram, or 4.18 X 109 Joules. Thus,
the energy explosion equivalence of the collision of a space ship moving at a
tenth the speed of light with a 100 gram particle of material is:
E = 4.5 X 1012/4.18 X 109 = 1.076 Kilotons of TNT
C-3. Calculate the round trip warning time (tw) it takes for a laser pulse to travel a distance R from a space ship to a debris particle and be reflected back to the space ship if the space ship is traveling at velocity f X c (the speed of light).
The net time tw equals the travel time of the laser photons to the
debris particle and back to the space ship which also equals the identical time
in which the space ship moves a distance delta. Equating these two times yields
the
following equations:
tw = [ time for the photon to travel to the debris + time to travel
back to the space ship]
tw = [R/c + (R + delta)/c] X f X c = delta,
2 X R X f = delta X (1 + f),
delta = 2 X R/(1 + f),
tw = R/c X (1/f - 2f/(1+f))
If the space ship's (0.5c) warning time is given by tw = R/c X (1/f -
2f/(1+f)) is:
tw = 106/(3 X 108) X (1/0.5 - 2 X
0.5/(1+0.5)) = (1.333/3) X 10-2 sec.
tw = 4.44 milliseconds (for R = 1000 kilometers)
tw = 543 milliseconds (for R = 66,000 miles)
C-4 Compute the range that radiation can be detected Rd if it is
designed to detect a particle of radius (a) microns a distance R from the space
ship. Assume the spaceship is traveling f X c where f is a fraction of the
speed of light and the space ship must be warned in time tw where
tw = Rd/c X (1/f - 2f/(1+f)). See Appendix A, calculation
C-3. Given the general Rd distant detection equation from Wehner21:
Rd = R2 X (4 pi/sigma X L/Ld X Gd/G
X S/Sd)1/2
Here, sigma is the cross section of the object being detected, L is the two
way propagation loss of the space ships detection system, Ld is the one way
propagation loss of the detection system, G is the gain of the space ship
collection aperture, Gd is the gain of the remote sensing system's
collection aperture, S is the sensitivity of the space ship's receiver and
Sd is the sensitivity of the distant collectors receiver. Assuming
that the gain, loss and sensitivity ratios are about equal for the receiver on
the space ship and a distant intercept receiver, the equation above simplifies
to:
Rd = R2 X (4 pi/sigma)1/2
Notice that for this curve and for a sphere with a radius of 310 microns
and assuming optical radiation at about 1 micron, the quantity 2 pi a/lamda =
6.28 X 310/1 = 1946, well above the quantity 1 on the abscissa of Figure A-
1.2 Thus, the radar cross section sigma = pi a2. This is
a good approximation for even the longest laser wavelengths (that of
CH3F which is 496.1 microns) which would correspond to particles
about 80 microns in radius, or about 2 % the mass of the 310 micron radius
particles.
Bounding the problem, assume the spaceship would like to detect these
particles at either 1,000 kilometer or 66,000 mile range, thus permitting a few
milliseconds to either destroy the particle (e.g. with a laser beam) or absorb
the impact. The maximum detection range of this laser radiation searching
for the particles would be:
Detection range in kilometers given by Rd = R2 X (4
pi/sigma)1/2 is (for Rd =1000
kilometers) is:
Rd = 1012 X (4/(3.1 X 10-
4)2)1/2 = 0.65 X 1016 meters = half a
light year.
Rd = 0.5 light years (tw = 4.44 milliseconds, R = 1000
kilometers)
Rd = 7,500 light years (tw = 543 milliseconds, R = 66,000 miles)