Earthquakes and UFOs
Posted by Greg at 23:07, 05 Jan 2005In my news briefs for the 21st of December, one of the items reads:
What's up with the UFO invasion of Australasia? Should I build a bunker?
My comment came in relation to a story discussing a number of sightings of UFOs over Asia and Australia, including one seen over Jakarta (and explained away as a possible meteorite).
Could it be though that these UFO sightings were 'earth lights', or some sort of phenomenon due to massive changes within the Earth? Three days after this posting, the biggest earthquake in 4 years occurred off the coast of Tasmania, Australia - measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale. Then, two days later came the big one - a devastating 9.0 quake in the coastal waters of Indonesia which triggered the catastrophic tsunami.
I'm not picking theories out of my hat here: there is some very detailed research into a possible correlation, most famously by Michael Persinger of Laurentian University in Canada:
Anomalous lights that display unusual colors and movements have been observed for centuries. Every culture and historical period have employed different labels to describe and to explain their origins. These labels have ranged from demons to "UFOs"; explanations for their origins have ranged from dragons to extraterrestrial crafts. Charles Fort was the first to associate these "space-time transients" with earthquakes. About 30 years ago John Derr and I realized these phenomena were natural geophysical processes, similar to earthquake lights, that are associated with strain within the earth's crust. We anticipated that quantitative mapping of their places and times of occurrence might help forecast earthquakes.
Persinger's theory of 'UFO sightings' as a predictor of coming earthquakes is known as the Tectonic Stress Theory, or 'TST' (although Persinger's website is perhaps more correct in calling it an hypothesis). Persinger and his associates have found what they see as strong correlations between major UFO waves and subsequent seismic activity. Persinger actually refers to the UFO phenomenon as 'Anomalous Luminous Phenomena' (ALP). There are also a number of researchers working on related topics.
It should be noted that there are also a number of criticisms of the TST (or TSH), one of the most well-known being a paper by Chris Rutkowski (although two decades old, it does provide some excellent detail of the possibilities). Perhaps this recent correlation though should reignite the debate as to whether UFO waves might predict earthquakes.
If the TST does indeed provide a predictive model, then I am a little nervous for the Iranian people at this time.
Update: Whitley Strieber seems to be onto something similar: see this posting for his take on recent UFO events, with a similar concern for the U.S. as mine for Iran.
Bookmark/Search this post with
- Greg's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Comments
5 May 2004
7 years 13 weeks
For any theory to be useful, it needs not only to predict, but to provide explanatory mechanisms. If earthquakes predict UFO sightings, then why?
1. Persinger appears to accept Paul Devereux's Earthlights theory. But then what of people who see structured objects and not just luminous balls of energy? Persinger, like some others, seems to think those are EM-triggered hallucinations.
2. Perhaps it may be the case, as some suggest, that earthquakes are related to peaks in geomagnetic activity (perhaps triggered by planetary alignments, as some Indian researchers have been claiming), and so too are paranormal phenomena, in which case what we are looking at is correlation, not causation. Is the increased geomagnetism triggering TLE-based visionary fugues? Or is it opening "window zones" or "flap portals" to other dimensions?
If this correlation is as strong as Persinger suggests, BTW, the Ring of Fire is one of the most geologically active parts of the world, so we would expect more UFO sightings in the Pacific than anywhere else... which is just a thought.
I do think the geomagnetism factor is worth looking at, though.
Steven Mizrach
Academic, Pop Culture Junkie, Grail Recycler
30 April 2004
1 hour 23 min
Hi Steve,
> For any theory to be useful, it needs not only to predict, but
> to provide explanatory mechanisms.
I disagree. A theory that reliably predicts something, but is unexplained, is still a 'useful' theory.
This need for an explanatory mechanism is a favourite bulwark of the pseudo-skeptical community - the growing evidence for psi events is now regularly 'refuted with either:
a) Psi researchers have not provided any sort of explanatory mechanism.
b) The effects are too small to warrant any importance.
Please note, I'm not saying that explanatory mechanisms aren't a helpful or worthy part of research. Nor am I saying that Persinger's theory reliably predicts at this stage.
> Persinger appears to accept Paul Devereux's Earthlights theory.
> But then what of people who see structured objects and not
> just luminous balls of energy? Persinger, like some others,
> seems to think those are EM-triggered hallucinations.
Here I think is the great weakness in Persinger's claims (or as best I've read them at least). I don't see any need to try and explain *all* UFOs by the TST, and it seems a reach to fall back on the 'well, perhaps it was the magnetism acting on your brain' explanation when stuck for an explanation.
Having said that, there are some very interesting correlations between power lines, UFOS, magnetism and EM radiation - and I think it's great to see a scientist (like Persinger) throwing these ideas out there.
> Perhaps it may be the case, as some suggest, that earthquakes
> are related to peaks in geomagnetic activity (perhaps triggered
> by planetary alignments, as some Indian researchers have been
> claiming), and so too are paranormal phenomena, in which case
> what we are looking at is correlation, not causation.
This is an extremely important point. The trouble with some of these phenomena is that, while they seem to be candidates for Persinger's theory, they also seem to exhibit 'purposeful' or intelligent behaviour. So I think the idea of 'portals' is not as whacky as some might think.
> If this correlation is as strong as Persinger suggests, BTW,
> the Ring of Fire is one of the most geologically active parts
> of the world, so we would expect more UFO sightings in the
> Pacific than anywhere else...
Without being too anal, I think it is important to note that there are more variables in the equation for the sightings element - e.g. population densities and their proximity to any possible source for the phenomenon.
Thanks for your thoughts Steve.
Peace and Respect
Greg
-------------------------------------------
You monkeys only think you're running things
1 May 2004
11 weeks 5 days
Hi Greg & Steve.
The UFOs I photographed and wrote about in my Atlantis Rising #49 article, "Incident at North Berwick: The Skies Are Buzzing over Bonnie Scotland," were photographed in the daytime. They were not lights, and I did not see them with the naked eye (they were moving too fast at Mach 6.6). I only saw them when I reviewed my photos and films at a later date, so that discounts the possibility that I was suffering from a triggered hallucination (I cannot speak for my camera).
Interestingly, however, the islands I photographed the UFOs over are thought to be long-extinct volcanic plugs in an area of the world with little current seismic activity, although a town nearby suffered an earthquake a few years ago that is now chalked up to the collapse of a coalmine.
Of paramount importance, tho', is the fact that one the two QuickTime movies I shot show the UFOs rising out of the sea. Is it possible, as some believe, that there are one or two extraterrestrial races that have lived, since very ancient times, WITHIN the Earth?
Is it possible that there are areas of the Earth where there are "doorways" or "portals" to the upper world, and that these areas are the perennial "UFO Hotspots" from whence they come and go?
Is it also therefore possible that when the Earth is about to experience a major seismic event, that "they" may know it before we do, and quite understandably might feel the need to "get out" for a while, causing a rash of "sightings?"
Anyway, something to think about.
Atlantis Rising #49 will be on the newsstands until mid- to late-February, after which I will post the article on my website at http://www.mythomorph.com . The entire issue is also available as a freely downloadable PDF file from the magazine's website at http://www.atlantisrising.com .
All Best!
Jeff