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The Cause of the Cloud: Difference between revisions
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<div style="border-bottom:2px #B87333 solid; text-align:lrft; padding:1px; margin:1px;"><font color='#800000' size='+1'>'''The Cloud (Part 2) - What Caused The Cloud?'''.</font> </div> | <div style="border-bottom:2px #B87333 solid; text-align:lrft; padding:1px; margin:1px;"><font color='#800000' size='+1'>'''The Cloud (Part 2) - What Caused The Cloud?'''.</font> </div> | ||
<youtube>http://youtu.be/ne_eJ9osvnc</youtube> | |||
[[Image:Cloud-Large.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Page 112 of the May 1963 edition of Life Magazine]] | |||
{{Template:Cloud}} | |||
At around sunset on February 28, 1963, a cloud (referred to in this article as the "Cloud") appeared in the vicinity of Flagstaff, AZ and remained sunlit for 28 minutes after sunset. It was highlighted in the [[Life Magazine May1963 (Page 112)|May 1963 edition of Life Magazine]]. In addition to Life Magazine, various articles written appeared in Science Magazine (April 19, 1963), an independent report issued May 31, 1963], and in Weatherwise Magazine (June 1963)]. | |||
At around sunset on February 28, 1963, a cloud (referred to in this article as the "Cloud") appeared in the vicinity of Flagstaff, AZ and remained sunlit for 28 minutes after sunset. It was highlighted in the [[Life Magazine May1963 (Page 112)|May 1963 edition of Life Magazine]]. In addition to Life Magazine, various articles written appeared in | |||
The cloud was very unusual and puzzled scientists at the time, who could not find a conclusive explanation for the cloud. The height of the cloud was initially estimated by James E. McDonald from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona, Tucson, as being approximately 35 kilometers but was later revised by him to be at approximately 43 kilometers (141,000 feet). | The cloud was very unusual and puzzled scientists at the time, who could not find a conclusive explanation for the cloud. The height of the cloud was initially estimated by James E. McDonald from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona, Tucson, as being approximately 35 kilometers but was later revised by him to be at approximately 43 kilometers (141,000 feet). | ||
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==The Scientific Explanation== | ==The Scientific Explanation== | ||
On February 28, 1963, a thrust assisted Thor rocket was launched from pad 75-3-5 at Vandenburg Air Force | On February 28, 1963, a thrust assisted Thor rocket was launched from pad 75-3-5 at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California carrying a Keyhole 4 military surveillance satellite.<ref>http://www.astronautix.com/thisday/febary28.htm</ref> The rocket started to veer off course and was intentionally destroyed<ref>http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/mwade/lvs/tatgenad.htm</ref> at an altitude of 44 kilometers (144,000 feet) at 1:52pm.<ref>McDonald, Dr. James E, Cloud-Ring in the Upper Stratosphere, ''Weatherwise'', June 1963, Page 100</ref> | ||
[[Image:NasaMakesACloud.jpg|thumb|370px|In March 2012 NASA made some clouds in the morning sky with a shape and height similar to the February 1963 cloud.]] | |||
The cloud was investigated by Dr. James F. MacDonald in a number of published scientific reports. Dr. MacDonald is famous for his investigations of UFO's, yet | The cloud was investigated by Dr. James F. MacDonald in a number of published scientific reports. Dr. MacDonald is famous for his investigations of UFO's, yet was senior physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and professor in the Department of Meteorology, University of Arizona, Tucson. | ||
Dr. MacDonald never published a final report on the cloud. Why? It is likely that he lost interest in the cloud as he arrived at a likely explanation of the cloud that was not particularly interesting, i.e. the explosion of the rocket. As an individual who criticized the scientific community for ignoring phenomena that defied interpretation by conventional science, it is extremely unlikely that he would have failed to publish a final report on the cloud simply because he could not explain it. | Dr. MacDonald never published a final report on the cloud. Why? It is likely that he lost interest in the cloud as he arrived at a likely explanation of the cloud that was not particularly interesting, i.e. the explosion of the rocket. As an individual who criticized the scientific community for ignoring phenomena that defied interpretation by conventional science, it is extremely unlikely that he would have failed to publish a final report on the cloud simply because he could not explain it. | ||
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#The explosion of the rocket was on the same day as the cloud appeared. | #The explosion of the rocket was on the same day as the cloud appeared. | ||
#The explosion of the rocket was at the same height as the height of the cloud (the height of the explosion was exact while the height of the cloud was estimated). | #The explosion of the rocket was at the same height as the height of the cloud (the height of the explosion was exact while the height of the cloud was estimated). | ||
# | #No one recorded the wind speed on the day of the Thor explosion Vandenburg but the wind speed recorded by scientists at other times, according to Dr. Macdonald, "tantalizingly close" to the required wind speed. | ||
#Windspeeds can vary with distance and therefore, the rocket explanation is the most plausible. | #Windspeeds can vary with distance and therefore, the rocket explanation is the most plausible. | ||
#When the launch records were later declassified, the United States Air Force released a memo explaining that the cloud was the result of a military operation.<ref>Jackson, Jeff G., 30th Space Wing History, Department of the Air Force, January 26, 1995, Vandenburg AFB, California</ref> | |||
Dr. McDonald reports that the cloud appeared in the Mesosphere, but that clouds cannot form at this height. <ref> http://www.spokenwordchurch.com/themessageresourcelibrary/Articles/Cloud%20Article%20-%20Dr%20McDonalds%20Cloud%20Investigation%20Supplement%201963.pdf </ref> However, '''Dr. McDonald has subsequently been proven wrong''' - visible exhaust clouds can reach into the Mesosphere. <ref>http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/rktr1j.htm </ref> More recently, NASA has been testing wind currents at high altitudes by creating extremely high clouds with chemicals. Some of these appear shapes similar to the February 28, 1963 photograph published in Life Magazine and exist without an “exhaust trail” back to the launch site. <ref>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/pictures/120327-nasa-rockets-clouds-wallops-jet-stream-edge-space-science/#/nasa-rocket-launch-strange-clouds-blue_50490_600x450.jpg</ref> | Dr. McDonald reports that the cloud appeared in the Mesosphere, but that clouds cannot form at this height. <ref> http://www.spokenwordchurch.com/themessageresourcelibrary/Articles/Cloud%20Article%20-%20Dr%20McDonalds%20Cloud%20Investigation%20Supplement%201963.pdf </ref> However, '''Dr. McDonald has subsequently been proven wrong''' - visible exhaust clouds can reach into the Mesosphere. <ref>http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/rktr1j.htm </ref> More recently, NASA has been testing wind currents at high altitudes by creating extremely high clouds with chemicals. Some of these artificial clouds appear in shapes remarkably similar to the February 28, 1963 photograph published in Life Magazine and exist without an “exhaust trail” back to the launch site. <ref>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/pictures/120327-nasa-rockets-clouds-wallops-jet-stream-edge-space-science/#/nasa-rocket-launch-strange-clouds-blue_50490_600x450.jpg</ref> | ||
Unlike the 1960s, anyone can now see rocket launches from the Vandenburg Air Force Base in California on Youtube.<ref> http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=SGBuQL-FvGI </ref> Depending on conditions, these launches can be seen from Tucson and beyond, and can leave clouds stretching into the mesosphere that remain illuminated long after sunset. <ref> http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/cosmic/launch.html and http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/rktr1j.htm </ref> | Unlike the 1960s, anyone can now see rocket launches from the Vandenburg Air Force Base in California on Youtube.<ref> http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=SGBuQL-FvGI </ref> Depending on conditions, these launches can be seen from Tucson and beyond, and can leave clouds stretching into the mesosphere that remain illuminated long after sunset. <ref> http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/cosmic/launch.html and http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/rktr1j.htm </ref> | ||
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The fact that rocket launches were seen as the cause of similar clouds appearing shortly after the Cloud appeared was also confirmed by scientists. For example: | The fact that rocket launches were seen as the cause of similar clouds appearing shortly after the Cloud appeared was also confirmed by scientists. For example: | ||
:'''Abstract''' - A bright noctilucent cloud was observed and photographed | :'''Abstract''' - A bright noctilucent cloud was observed and photographed northwest of Tucson on 15 June 1963. Results of computations indicate that the cloud was at a height of 71 kilometers. The cloud appears to have resulted from the launching of a Scout space vehicle. <ref> [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/141/3586/1176.abstract Science Magazine, September 1963: Vol. 141, no. 3586, pp. 1176-1178, DOI: 10.1126/science.141.3586.1176, ''Low-Latitude Noctilucent Cloud of 15 June 1963'', Aden B. Meinel1, Barbara Middlehurst, Ewen Whitaker]</ref> | ||
:'''Abstract''' - Measurement of the filamentary noctilucent cloud of 2 November 1963 yields a height of 56 km. Study of the motion and orientation of the cloud confirms the hypothesis that these unusual clouds appearing in the southwestern states are produced by the launching of rocket vehicles from the Pacific Missile Range.<ref>[http://www.sciencemag.org/content/143/3601/38.abstract Science Magazine, January 1964: Vol. 143, no. 3601, pp. 38-39, DOI:0.1126/science.143.3601.38, Low-Latitude Noctilucent Cloud of 2 November 1963, Aden B. Meinel, Carolyn P. Meinel]</ref> | :'''Abstract''' - Measurement of the filamentary noctilucent cloud of 2 November 1963 yields a height of 56 km. Study of the motion and orientation of the cloud confirms the hypothesis that these unusual clouds appearing in the southwestern states are produced by the launching of rocket vehicles from the Pacific Missile Range.<ref>[http://www.sciencemag.org/content/143/3601/38.abstract Science Magazine, January 1964: Vol. 143, no. 3601, pp. 38-39, DOI:0.1126/science.143.3601.38, Low-Latitude Noctilucent Cloud of 2 November 1963, Aden B. Meinel, Carolyn P. Meinel]</ref> | ||
Questions have also been raised as to why was the cloud not seen prior to appearing over Flagstaff. | ===Why was the cloud not seen before sunset?=== | ||
Questions have also been raised as to why was the cloud not seen prior to appearing over Flagstaff. | |||
To explain this, one has to understand a natural phenomenon - the noctilucent cloud. Noctilucent clouds (or night clouds) are tenuous cloud-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere. '''They are only visible in a deep twilight.''' They are made of ice crystals. Noctilucent roughly means night shining in Latin. They are most commonly observed in the summer months at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator. These clouds can be observed only during local summer months and when the Sun is below the horizon for the observer, but while the clouds are still in sunlight. | |||
They are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere, located in the mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 kilometres (47 to 53 mi). They are too faint to be seen during daylight and are visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon while the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the Earth's shadow. Noctilucent clouds are not fully understood and are a recently discovered meteorological phenomenon | |||
Given that the cloud was similar to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud noctilucent cloud], it would not be visible until the sky began to darken at sunset. Dr. MacDonald made no mention of the noctilucent cloud phenomena in his report. | |||
In March 2012, NASA launched five rockets off the east coast of the USA to create some of these clouds. These clouds formed rings that look like the May 1963 Life magazine photo. <ref>http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-tracer-rockets-form-ringed-clouds-at-the-edge-of-space/21972/pictures#12</ref> | In March 2012, NASA launched five rockets off the east coast of the USA to create some of these clouds. These clouds formed rings that look like the May 1963 Life magazine photo. <ref>http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-tracer-rockets-form-ringed-clouds-at-the-edge-of-space/21972/pictures#12</ref> | ||
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However, our examination of the cloud is not over. We will next look at whether the cloud could be in any way related to the events which occurred at Rattlesnake Mesa. | However, our examination of the cloud is not over. We will next look at whether the cloud could be in any way related to the events which occurred at Rattlesnake Mesa. | ||
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