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[AstronomyStudentCaius]

Thank you Centaur, your quick and concise answer is much appreciated. Blessings to you and yours.

[phanex]

hello everyone well for the past week I've also noticed about 5 of the stars that are changing colors in a pattern, I've been using the naked eye and binoculars
trying to find a telescope as well
times ranging from 10 pm to about 3am Eastern Standard Time
but the main star in question\ is about 40 degrees south west
another is nw at about 45 degrees and another that i saw a bit ago is north east at about 65 degrees they all are in different altitudes and directions. i look at the stars daily and I've never seen the color shifts especially in a pattern like they are, the main reason i looked this week is because i noticed venus and jupiter and wanted to make sure that's what they were. day to day they appear to be in the same position in reference to orion. I've seen a lot of people making posts about these exact lights all over the world and i find it odd how all of a sudden they just showed up

[Centaur]

Mar 22, 2012 1:33:45 GMT -6 @phanex said:

hello everyone well for the past week I've also noticed about 5 of the stars that are changing colors in a pattern, I've been using the naked eye and binoculars
trying to find a telescope as well
times ranging from 10 pm to about 3am Eastern Standard Time
but the main star in question\ is about 40 degrees south west
another is nw at about 45 degrees and another that i saw a bit ago is north east at about 65 degrees they all are in different altitudes and directions. i look at the stars daily and I've never seen the color shifts especially in a pattern like they are, the main reason i looked this week is because i noticed venus and jupiter and wanted to make sure that's what they were. day to day they appear to be in the same position in reference to orion. I've seen a lot of people making posts about these exact lights all over the world and i find it odd how all of a sudden they just showed up

Welcome to the discussion group, phanex.

It’s good of you to have provided the azimuth (direction) and altitude of each star, but the five-hour time range is far too wide (the Earth has made nearly a quarter of a rotation). We need to know exactly what time you made each observation. We also need to know exactly where you are located.

Among the brightest stars there are many candidates. The twinkling and color shifts are due to atmospheric scintillation and prismatic dispersion, as described earlier in this thread. The effect has not “all of a sudden” shown up. It’s always been there, especially during nights in which there are sharp temperature variations in a turbulent atmosphere. What “all of a sudden” shows up is the viral effect on internet message boards, especially when the weather has suddenly become warm and people resume looking at the stars.

[gabe]

ive been seeing a flashing star in the SW i live in Miami so i dont see alot of stars unless they are seriously bright and i know as a fact its not a plane because i watching it for 30 min and it never moved i see it at 10-10:30pm and i dont know the angle but id say from the horizon its around 20 to 35 degrees and it has 2 other flashing stars by it that form a triangle the one in question is in the lower left and is flashing red blue white and occasionally a few green in sequence it seems too orchestrated to be natural but i dont know enough to say the other two also flash the one to the right of it flashes red and white and the top star flickers with green i dont know if its unusual but itll help find the stars im talking about.

and on an unrelated note who could i contact to get a face to face answer for this because im the type of person who likes to learn as much as i can

[Centaur]

Apr 15, 2012 20:56:59 GMT -6 gabe said:

ive been seeing a flashing star in the SW i live in Miami so i dont see alot of stars unless they are seriously bright and i know as a fact its not a plane because i watching it for 30 min and it never moved i see it at 10-10:30pm and i dont know the angle but id say from the horizon its around 20 to 35 degrees and it has 2 other flashing stars by it that form a triangle the one in question is in the lower left and is flashing red blue white and occasionally a few green in sequence it seems too orchestrated to be natural but i dont know enough to say the other two also flash the one to the right of it flashes red and white and the top star flickers with green i dont know if its unusual but itll help find the stars im talking about.

and on an unrelated note who could i contact to get a face to face answer for this because im the type of person who likes to learn as much as i can

Welcome to the discussion group, Gabe. Thank you for a fairly precise description of your observation.

The first star you describe appears to be Sirius, the brightest fixed star, i.e. not a planet. The other two are likely Betelgeuse and Rigel, bright stars in the famous constellation Orion. Another possibility is the bright star Procyon above Sirius and about halfway between the horizon and the zenith.

Here in the spring these particular stars are lower and further toward the west than in winter evenings, and their light travels through more atmosphere to reach your eyes. Hence you are observing the effects of atmospheric scintillation (twinkling) and prismatic dispersion (color shifting) that has been described previously in this thread.

I'll add that the extremely bright star-like object to the right of those you appear to have described is the planet Venus.

If you want to discuss this face-to-face with someone, you will need to find someone in Miami rather than one of us Chicagoans. I suggest contacting a knowledgeable official at the Miami Planetarium: www.miamisci.org/www/eventsplan.html

Below is a graphic I created with my homemade software to demonstrate the view of the western sky from Miami on 2012 APR 15 at 22:15 EDT.

[MArk in Brisbane]

Have been googling this topic, and stumbled across this thread, and wanted to ask my bit too.

We've been watching these 3 bright lights on and off for a year or so. They flash (brilliantly) red white green all the time. As someone else said, they form a flat obtuse triangle.

I've been star watching for 40+ years, both in the northern and southern hemispheres, and never seen anything like them. All the other stars in sky, and more importantly, close to these, dont flash clear and bright colours like these 3. Ive seen 'twinkling' stars due to atmospheric fluctuations many many times, and this isnt twinkling.

They rotate overhead exactly in synch with the other stars. (Is there a technical name for that ?)

Im in Brisbane Australia (lots of long clear nights here), and tonight theyre there. At around 18:30 local time, they were about 30-40 deg above the western horizon, rotating down towards the western horizon over the following couple of hours, as they do every night. Its winter here now, but during the summer they were visible much more of the night.

Through binoculars or night vision, they are the same, just massively brighter.

What could they be ?

[Centaur]

Jun 17, 2012 4:07:04 GMT -6 @MArk in Brisbane said:

Have been googling this topic, and stumbled across this thread, and wanted to ask my bit too.

We've been watching these 3 bright lights on and off for a year or so. They flash (brilliantly) red white green all the time. As someone else said, they form a flat obtuse triangle.

I've been star watching for 40+ years, both in the northern and southern hemispheres, and never seen anything like them. All the other stars in sky, and more importantly, close to these, dont flash clear and bright colours like these 3. Ive seen 'twinkling' stars due to atmospheric fluctuations many many times, and this isnt twinkling.

They rotate overhead exactly in synch with the other stars. (Is there a technical name for that ?)

Im in Brisbane Australia (lots of long clear nights here), and tonight theyre there. At around 18:30 local time, they were about 30-40 deg above the western horizon, rotating down towards the western horizon over the following couple of hours, as they do every night. Its winter here now, but during the summer they were visible much more of the night.

Through binoculars or night vision, they are the same, just massively brighter.

What could they be ?

Welcome to the message board, Mark.

Thank you for your detailed description. The bright stars in the region you describe appear to be Sirius (brightest fixed star), Procyon, and Regulus. Mars would have been in the vicinity. At 18:30 (UT+10) from Brisbane last night, Mercury would have been on the west-northwestern horizon with Pollux nearby. The bright stars Rigel, Betelgeuse and Castor would have set in the west a little earlier.

When you say they rotate overhead, or course you know that it is actually the Earth rotating and you are carried along with its surface. We might say that the stars appear to traverse the sky.

The reasons for the twinkling (scintillation) and color shifts (prismatic dispersion) are given in earlier posts in this thread. As noted, these effects occur most often when the stars appear fairly low and their light must pass through much thick and possibly dirty and turbulent atmosphere to reach your eyes.

Below is a graphic I created for Brisbane at 18:30 last night.

[Mark]

Thanks for your reply Curt.

These lights are really bright. Im talking about the luminosity of an aircrafts strobe lights, only with changing colours. And they are the same when directly overhead.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to get out an map exactly where they are in relation to the stars you mentioned, and re-post. A process of elimination, if I cant otherwise find the stars you mentioned, then its probably them.

I've been using Heavens-Above.com (http://www.heavens-above.com/skychart.aspx?SL=1&SN=1&lat=-27.5&lng=153.0167&loc=Brisbane&alt=24&tz=UCTm10) to map. Is the software you used to map available online ?

Mark

btw: Ive studied maths and physics and realise its actually the earth thats spinning ! lol

[Centaur]

Jun 18, 2012 5:20:34 GMT -6 @Mark said:

Thanks for your reply Curt.

These lights are really bright. Im talking about the luminosity of an aircrafts strobe lights, only with changing colours. And they are the same when directly overhead.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to get out an map exactly where they are in relation to the stars you mentioned, and re-post. A process of elimination, if I cant otherwise find the stars you mentioned, then its probably them.

I've been using Heavens-Above.com (http://www.heavens-above.com/skychart.aspx?SL=1&SN=1&lat=-27.5&lng=153.0167&loc=Brisbane&alt=24&tz=UCTm10) to map. Is the software you used to map available online ?

Mark

btw: Ive studied maths and physics and realise its actually the earth thats spinning ! lol

You’re welcome, Mark. I created my software myself through the PowerBASIC programming language. My graphical results are available online only when I post them. For much more of my astronomical previews, go to: www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

I assumed you understood the physics of rotation but were grasping for nomenclature.

The closest astronomical equivalent to aircraft lights aimed at you would be the planet Venus. It recent months it was shining brilliantly in the western sky after sunset with bright Jupiter nearby. Now they have both moved into the predawn eastern sky.

The region of bright stars to which you alluded is by far the richest in the heavens. During December through March the aggregation shines brightly at a higher altitude in the evening sky.

[-=CROMAN=-]

I would love to see that. Can you get some pics or video of the horizon so we can see exactly what you are talking about?

[mark]

Ok, I had a look at about 18:45. Definitely not Regulus. I found Regulus and Procyon, and their luminosity was pale in comparison.

Sirius, could be. One of these flashing lights due WSW, was about where Sirius should be in Constellation Canis Major.

Another one to the SW could be Canopus in Constellation Carina.

Not sure on the third, couldnt find it tonight, but its usually more due West (that could be Procyon, except it sets after the other 2 which rules out Canis Minor and is way too pale).

The one, if its Sirius was close to disapearing over the horizon around 19:00. The other 2 are not far behind it, forming a very flat triangle.

Heres the exact map of what was in sight for me at that time from here...

www.heavens-above.com/skychart.aspx?SL=1&SN=1&lat=-27.5&lng=153.0167&loc=Brisbane&alt=24&tz=UCTm10

I noticed they're setting earlier every night, and I hardly get time to look at the moment after getting home from work. When they come back overhead and are easier to study I'll revisit this. Was just hoping to shed some light on this, and for others asking. Im still not totally convinced they're stars. Thanks for your help and time. Appreciated.

-=CROMAN=- just go to YouTube and do a search on something like "red white green flashing stars" (or blue instead of green). Theres plenty of people asking about this. (Just be careful to avoid some of the rubbish on there)

Mark

p.s. yeah, I've been getting up at 05:00 to watch the Euro 2012 football, and can see Venus rise just before dawn, closely followed by Jupiter. Awesome.

[mark]

that link i posted seems to be defaulting to current time. It should be set to: 19 Jun 2012 18:45.

[erikruud]

Jun 19, 2012 5:34:04 GMT -6 @mark said:

I noticed they're setting earlier every night, and I hardly get time to look at the moment after getting home from work.

That is completely normal behavior for stars. Because of the combination of the time it takes the earth to rotate 360 degrees (23h56m04s) and it's motion along it's orbit around the sun, all the stars appear to rise and set a about 4 minutes earlier each day.

[-=CROMAN=-]

It would be cool to have a GOTO mount there and have it begin its alignment procedure. This is a sure way to verify what star its pointing at. Actually you can do it manually as well with a push-to alt/az system, no scope required.

[Centaur]

Indeed, Mark, Canopus is a candidate usually not considered by those of us north of the tropics. If your objects appear to move in sync with the rest of the stars during a particular night, they are stars or planets. Aircraft and artificial satellites appear to move independently of the celestial sphere. No knowledgeable observers have corroborated your report of something unusual.

Jupiter is currently leading Venus into the eastern predawn sky. Aldebaran appears nearer to Venus.

[Mark in Brisbane]

Guys, just stumbled across some news reports, which appear to be about the same lights we were discussing. Theres film of them as well, and apparently a lot of people seeing them.

Heres a link that shows kctv's report... www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_bfrc5tPNI

[Centaur]

Aug 3, 2012 18:43:36 GMT -6 @Mark in Brisbane said:

Guys, just stumbled across some news reports, which appear to be about the same lights we were discussing. Theres film of them as well, and apparently a lot of people seeing them.

Heres a link that shows kctv's report... www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_bfrc5tPNI

Mark, my career was in television news. That was truly irresponsible reporting from KCTV during the May ratings sweep regarding a supposed UFO over Blue Springs, Missouri. But they know that there are credulous people in their audience who eat this stuff up.

Some folks regularly misunderstand what they see in the sky and love to jump to irrational conclusions. Those people being interviewed did not appear to be the highly educated citizens of the community and certainly not professional or amateur astronomers. That is almost always the case in such reports. The packaged report displays ignorant posts from woo-woo message boards - the blind leading the blind. Yet no attempt was made by the TV producer to provide rational explanations. Experts grow weary of this nonsense, so they may have not jumped at the opportunity to be interviewed once again.

Apparently the ratings hungry news producer was pandering to an audience that “wants” to believe that any misunderstood sighting in the sky is by default due to flying saucers piloted by extraterrestrials. As Julius Caesar wrote, “People believe what they want to believe”. True scientists seek solid evidence.

The reporter did not provide the precise time of night or the direction in which people were looking. So there is nothing concrete that I can add. It simply appears to me that they were observing stars or planets through a turbulent atmosphere. The medieval Occam’s Razor has become a tenet of modern science that advises first considering simple explanations before assuming the bizarre.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

That was an poor news report.

Says nothing about the time it was, how high, direction etc...

Looks like a star/planet to me...flicking with atmospheric disturbance.

No telescopes slewing to it...anywhere?

[Centaur]

The KCTV “news” package indicates the objects were first reported during their newscast on May 24th. Yet six days later they had a follow-up. Unfortunately that’s typical sensationalistic “reporting” during ratings sweep month. Undoubtedly they were promoting their UFO reports during programming breaks before their newscasts. One would think they would have at least consulted a high school science teacher, if not someone even more astronomically literate. But no – that would have been a show spoiler.

Below is a diagram produced with my self-made software. It shows the western sky from Blue Springs, Missouri 45 minutes after sunset on 2012 MAY 24. The reporter referred to objects being seen in the evening, and some of the scenes appeared to be shot during late twilight. My diagram shows a rogues gallery of typical UFO candidates, led by the usual prime suspect: Venus.

[blackcat725]

I found this thread searching for some clues to what I saw tonight, every description here is exactly what I saw tonight. It was around 10:30 pm EST in Northeast Ohio. The object was in the Western sky just above the tree line. I watched it for over 20 minutes and it was NOT an aircraft. It eventually dipped below the treeline and I couldn't see it anymore. I found some other threads online that talk about the same thing, but no definite conclusions to what it is. Here's one other thread: www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread371552/pg1
There are some, well, "nutty" comments too, but basically the same sighting.
I guess this is my new quest!

[RobbW]

Well, at 10:30pm EST tonight from NE Ohio, the bright star Arcturus is getting very low on the western horizon. Any star that bright is going to seem to flicker and dance a little due to atmospheric instability. When looking at night sky objects low in the sky, you're having to look through a lot more atmospheric muck than if the object was straight up above you.

What I would suggest would be to download and install a free planetarium software such as Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). Anytime you are wondering what an object in the sky could be, you can start up the planetarium software and look at everything in that part of the sky to see if anything matches what you saw.

[Centaur]

Aug 23, 2012 21:32:59 GMT -6 blackcat725 said:

I found this thread searching for some clues to what I saw tonight, every description here is exactly what I saw tonight. It was around 10:30 pm EST in Northeast Ohio. The object was in the Western sky just above the tree line. I watched it for over 20 minutes and it was NOT an aircraft. It eventually dipped below the treeline and I couldn't see it anymore. I found some other threads online that talk about the same thing, but no definite conclusions to what it is. Here's one other thread: www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread371552/pg1
There are some, well, "nutty" comments too, but basically the same sighting.
I guess this is my new quest!

Welcome to the discussion group, blackcat725.

Ditto to Rob’s response. Saturn and Mars would have been setting for Cleveland observers at 22:30 EDT. Brilliant Arcturus would have been in your western sky about a quarter of the way up from the horizon toward the zenith. It's the brightest fixed star north of the celestial equator. As the Earth rotates, a star in the west appears to slowly descend toward the horizon. Rob explained the twinkling and color shifts, just as many others have in this thread.

[Paulie pchris00]

Aug 23, 2012 21:32:59 GMT -6 blackcat725 said:

I found this thread searching for some clues to what I saw tonight, every description here is exactly what I saw tonight. It was around 10:30 pm EST in Northeast Ohio. The object was in the Western sky just above the tree line. I watched it for over 20 minutes and it was NOT an aircraft. It eventually dipped below the treeline and I couldn't see it anymore. I found some other threads online that talk about the same thing, but no definite conclusions to what it is. Here's one other thread: www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread371552/pg1
There are some, well, "nutty" comments too, but basically the same sighting.
I guess this is my new quest!

I read the first page of the ATS thread you linked to. It seems like many of them were seeing Arcturus, which is what I think you saw. Being the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, when it gets lower to the horizon, it's twinkle stands out much more than other stars.

I know it seems incredible that it was only a star, but it's true. In 2008, the first summer I had a telescope, I noticed Arcturus twinkling like crazy, just as you did. I knew Arcturus was a red giant, and a possible supernova candidate, so I thought maybe this was a sign it was about to explode. I even thought about contacting the observatory at Valparaiso University, but school had started yet (it was August 5, 10:11 PM CDST). I was so sure that this was something unusual that I took a picture with my cell phone camera to document it. Now, as a seasoned observer, I know better.

About Above Top Secret. Maybe there are some knowledgeable people posting over there. I'm sure there are a few who are there to debunk the silliness with science, but by and large, it looks to be populated by credulous and ill-informed seeking confirmation from the same ilk. We live in the so-called information age, yet I doubt any of the people posting about this mysterious object could tell the stars Vega from Antares, or Arcturus from Vega. There's nothing wrong with that, but they then have zero credibility when posting about strange things in the sky. Science oriented astronomy websites are full of amateur and professional images of all kinds of celestial objects. If a serious astronomer- professional or amateur- found evidence of an incredible discovery, that evidence would immediately be posted on a website such as this, asking for others to confirm. Without such confirmation, the evidence is worthless. Astronomers aren't hiding some incredible knowledge in a vast conspiracy. Please don't take very seriously the things found on websites such as ATS.

And I love how most of the responses I saw over on ATS assumed they were all seeing the same thing, even though none of them seem to know exactly what it was...

Attachments:

[Centaur]

Well stated, Paulie. Many of the newcomer posters in this thread appear to have visited woo woo message boards first. Boards catering to the credulous multitude by presenting nonsense have far more disciples than those discussing rational science. Notice how the lurkers viewing this thread have pushed its popularity far above that of any of our other discussions. Sad indeed. Yet credit must be given to those like blackcat725 who may have first consulted a woo site, but then had the presence of mind to a visit a more scientific site and actually present their questions. I hope blackcat725 appreciates our answers and feels she has learned something.

[cindyc]

Seeing the star for the first time here in southern Oregon. My husband says it's at about 300degrees and about 22degree inclination at about 10pm Pacific time. Would like to know which star this could be. Thanks

[Centaur]

Sept 10, 2012 23:55:01 GMT -6 cindyc said:

Seeing the star for the first time here in southern Oregon. My husband says it's at about 300degrees and about 22degree inclination at about 10pm Pacific time. Would like to know which star this could be. Thanks

Welcome to the discussion group, Cindy.

Thank you for providing the directions toward the star, the time and your approximate location. I’ll assume it must have been a bright star. The second brightest fixed star ever visible from your location is Arcturus. As viewed from Medford, Oregon at 22:00 PDT this evening it was low in the western sky at azimuth 283.6° and altitude 13.7°. That’s not exactly the position you described, but I suspect it is what you saw. There was nothing else nearby that was nearly as bright. During evenings at this time of year people often notice its twinkling and color shifts while being observed through a length of atmosphere.

[Doc]

I also am a smoker and am reasonably well acquainted with the night sky and it's various lights. I'm also especially familiar with Nibiru and associated speculations both ancient and modern. However, Nibiru, if in fact real, can NOT be seen from any other place presently except the extreme southern regions of Earth (which is coincidentally where a significant portion of the major countries of this world have set up scientific outposts for whatever reason).

All that said, I believe the star in question (in the eastern sky at least for me 12/13/12 @7pm roughly due east about 15-20 degrees above the horizon twinkling red, white, and blue is in fact the star Betelgeuse--a red, white, and blue gas supergiant. The star that I'm seeing is in the Orion constellation, and has always been there. As a smoker I've seen this star and its multicolored twinkles for years. Sure, the twinkles are enhanced by the well-known scintillation effect, and it's possible that the colors red, white, and blue wouldn't be seen by the naked eye at this distance, but it does in fact twinkle red, white, and blue, with occasional brief flashes of green as well.

My apologies for posting in a 2yo thread.

[Centaur]

Dec 13, 2012 19:17:43 GMT -6 @Doc said:

I also am a smoker and am reasonably well acquainted with the night sky and it's various lights. I'm also especially familiar with Nibiru and associated speculations both ancient and modern. However, Nibiru, if in fact real, can NOT be seen from any other place presently except the extreme southern regions of Earth (which is coincidentally where a significant portion of the major countries of this world have set up scientific outposts for whatever reason).

All that said, I believe the star in question (in the eastern sky at least for me 12/13/12 @7pm roughly due east about 15-20 degrees above the horizon twinkling red, white, and blue is in fact the star Betelgeuse--a red, white, and blue gas supergiant. The star that I'm seeing is in the Orion constellation, and has always been there. As a smoker I've seen this star and its multicolored twinkles for years. Sure, the twinkles are enhanced by the well-known scintillation effect, and it's possible that the colors red, white, and blue wouldn't be seen by the naked eye at this distance, but it does in fact twinkle red, white, and blue, with occasional brief flashes of green as well.

My apologies for posting in a 2yo thread.

Welcome to the discussion group, Doc. No need to apologize. We regulars have come to terms with the unusual outside interest in this particular thread. Most who come have no clue regarding astronomy. Perhaps you are different. We're glad to enlighten newcomers as to the reality of what they are seeing as opposed to some crazed explanations they've imagined or been given by others.

Forget the Nibiru nonsense. Any celestial object that can be seen from the South Pole can be seen from anywhere south of the equator. Conspiracy theorists either don’t know that or hope that their followers don’t. Many institutions and countless scientists work with the South Pole Telescope. That many scientists could not be involved in a leak-proof conspiracy and have no reason to be. Yet it’s a good location for woos to select for their silly conspiracy theories. It makes it easier to sell books and commercial air time on woo radio stations. With zero proof, somebody made up the notion that an imagined Niburu is coming from the south. How convenient. Yet the credulous “want” to believe so they believe. Such nonsense never ends.

Thanks for the fine description of your observation. However, you did not provide your location. We identified several different stars in the earlier posts due to variance in geographic location, time of year, time of night, azimuth and angular altitude. Indeed, your candidate could be Betelgeuse. If you are indeed familiar with Orion, scintillation and prismatic dispersion, then that settles it. Of course there are several other bright stars in the vicinity and the planet Jupiter.

Are you really suggesting some relevance regarding your being a smoker, or is that some effect of the censorship software on this website?

[Paulie pchris00]

I think being a smoker is a reference to the fact that the only places where it is somewhat legal to smoke is outside, under the stars.

Around 8:00 PM Thursday, just after reading Doc's comment and checking the weather updates, I walked out of the observatory and found a stranger walking up. Any hyped astronomical events- like the Geminid meteor shower- brings people out to the observatory, although most are content to look up from the visitor's parking lot. Since this was not a public event I was not much in the mood to deal with any uninvited visitors to begin with.

Now, once I'm in a conversation, and a person brings up a subject like Nibiru, I'm willing to entertain it. First thing out of this guy's mouth was, "So have you seen Nibiru yet?"

I might have broken my jaw on a warm night, but my hood was tied, and kept it from hitting the concrete. I was going to end this conversation, and fast.

"I haven't seen Nibiru for the same reason I haven't seen god. Neither one exists."

Think I broke his jaw with that one. Win. But didn't end the conversation. Fail.

"You don't believe it's real?"

"Nobody's ever seen it."

"But what about videos of it on Youtube? You haven't seen them?"

"Okay, nobody with any credibility has seen Nibiru." And before he could speak again, I added, "Nobody credible in the Southern Hemisphere has seen it either."

I turned around and pointed at the brightest object in the sky. "That's Jupiter. If Nibiru was real it should have been that bright a few years ago. It's not real."

"So why do people say they've seen it?"

"They either don't know what they're talking about, or they're making money off those who don't know what they're talking about."

"So then why does anybody believe it?"

Because they love a good lie is what I thought. "Because they love a good story."

"So nothing's going to happen? We don't need any catastrophes right now."

"No."

"Well, I pray that you're right."

You go waste your time on that. Just quit wasting mine.

I didn't even feel bad for being so rude to him. He came out uninvited. I was actually rather proud of myself for being so condescending. It's a gift I have, used on certain people. I don't like to use it when I'm representing an organization, but I wasn't in the mood, and he asked for it.

[Centaur]

Dec 15, 2012 12:03:55 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I think being a smoker is a reference to the fact that the only places where it is somewhat legal to smoke is outside, under the stars.

Around 8:00 PM Thursday, just after reading Doc's comment and checking the weather updates, I walked out of the observatory and found a stranger walking up...

Of course, Paulie. Not being a smoker, it didn’t click.

Thanks for the anecdote. Unfortunately people like that are allowed to vote. I’m wondering if the December 21st doomsday nonsense inspired recent shooting incidents. My brother has told me it’s too bad we are both scrupulous. Otherwise we would have become rich as televangelists or authors of books inventing silly things like Nibiru that the credulous masses readily believe.