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As we concluded in part two, according to a news article that appeared on The Planetary Society website in 2004, a team of astronomers claim to have physically observed an extrasolar planet. Since that time, this object has been provisionally designated as "2M1207b". Please don't assume that I am just slamming the author, because I most certainly am not. To the contrary, I will give him credit. While he is a member of The Planetary Society, and thus could have been tempted to try to embellish the story, he hasn't done that. As far as we know, he has presented an honest, factual story. However, where the problem lies, is in what the insatiable mass media, as well as the general public, will do with a story such as this. The mass media has the propensity for hyping up such stories into even more amazing accounts, because it raises circulation or viewership, thus generating more profits. As sad as it may be, that is just the way of the materialistic, money-minded world in which we live.

For its part, the general public will pass the story from mouth to mouth, ignoring what the author is actually saying; so that in the long run, some people may have the impression that an extrasolar planet has really been visually observed, even though such has not been the case. In fact, if we really want to get preposterous, if left to itself, the story could even acquire a life of its own, and reach a point where some people will begin to believe that not only has an extrasolar planet been visually observed, but that it is also populated with intelligent beings similar to ourselves. That is just how the public rumor mill works; and the Internet is clear proof of this. Within a matter of a few hours, a hot story can stream across the Internet like wildfire, regardless of whether or not there is any truth to it.

But concerning 2M1207b, which is believed by some astronomers to revolve around its host star, 2M1207, a brown dwarf star that is located in the constellation Hydra, some two hundred light years from the Earth, as I continued my research for this current series, I discovered that 2M1207b actually has been photographed; by both the Hubble Space Telescope, and also by the VLT, or Very Large Telescope, which is a part of the Paranal Observatory that's located in northern Chile. The Very Large Telescope is a project that was organized by the European Southern Observatory. It actually consists of four telescopes that are arranged in an array, and which work in conjunction with each other. It was in fact astronomer Gael Chauvin and his team, who are a part of the European Southern Observatory, who actually discovered 2M1207b, and observed it by infrared imaging. If you are visiting our graphic website, you can see an image of 2M1207b and its companion star right below this paragraph. The alleged "extrasolar planet" is the red body located in the lower left corner of the image.

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According to online sources, 2M1207b is what is known amongst astronomers as a gas giant, similar to the planet Jupiter. It is believed to have a mass between five to eight times that of Jupiter, and is calculated to be about forty-one to fifty-five Astronomical Units from its host star, 2M1207. This is about the same distance from our own Sun to the Dwarf Planet Pluto. 2M1207b's surface temperature is estimated to be about 976°C, or 1790° Fahrenheit. While its infrared spectrum suggests the presence of water molecules in its atmosphere, the consensus is that 2M1207b is not a likely candidate for supporting any form of life, either on its surface or on any satellites, if it has any. As I noted earlier, this appears to be the story with most of the alleged extrasolar planets that have been discovered to date. They are mostly very large, on the order of Saturn, Jupiter or considerably larger, hot and lifeless.

So the question now becomes, not whether or not 2M1207b has ever been photographed, but rather what are we really seeing in this photograph? Is it a bona fide "extrasolar planet", or is it something else, such as a companion star which is part of a binary system, or even a star which is in the foreground or background of the image of 2M1207? As I noted before, this is exactly the debate that has raged since its discovery. The view of the highly-regarded International Astronomical Union, is that 2M1207b may possibly be a planet. In short, the same caution that was exercised when 2M1207b was first discovered and reported in 2004, still exists three years later. As much as they may desire to do so, the IAU is not yet prepared to definitively state that 2M1207b is a real planet. Following are some excerpts from the Wikipedia website:

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"Although widely hailed as the first direct image of an extrasolar planet . . . some question whether 2M1207b is actually a planet. Some astronomers doubt that the body formed in the same way as the planets in our solar system (formation in a planetary disk). Such objectors say the body likely formed in the same way stars are formed, from gravitational collapse of a gaseous nebula. If this interpretation is correct, the object would not be a planet, but would be another brown dwarf, and the system would then be a binary system consisting of two brown dwarfs."

"As of May 2005, the International Astronomical Union officially described 2M1207b as "a possible planetary-mass companion to a brown dwarf."

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While these conclusions may dampen our expectation of finding evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life, or any kind of life at all for that matter, allow me to remind you again that just because we have not yet been presented with conclusive photographic evidence that extrasolar planets exist, doesn't mean that they are not out there. To the contrary, there are many people, both scientists and layman alike, who believe that as our astronomical technology continues to advance, the day will eventually arrive when we will be able to photograph real extrasolar planets; perhaps even a few that do possess potential for hosting intelligent life.

The general attitude appears to be not if we will find them, but rather when we will find them. Let us not forget that in our own Solar System, Earth is the only planet out of eight which has been blessed with intelligent life, as far as we know; so it is logical to assume that we may have to observe a lot of planets before we discover one that harbors life similar to our own. And, as I stated earlier, we should not be too hasty to close our minds to what God may have done in other parts of our Galaxy, or in other areas of this great Universe.

The danger, as we have already discussed, is when we take questionable data, distort it, and blow it completely out of proportion, and fiction is suddenly and magically transformed into fact. Once the information hits the general public, such as via the Internet, there is no telling what it may lead to. Human emotions, expectations and imagination, are extremely powerful forces to deal with.

I am reminded of the October 30, 1938 radio drama presented by the "Mercury Theater of the Air", which was directed by Orson Welles. That particular Sunday evening, they aired a dramatization of H. G. Wells' 1898 interplanetary science fiction novel called "The War Of The Worlds"; which, as many of you will already know, was eventually made into a movie in 1953. In 2005, noted movie director Steven Spielberg made a hi-tech version of the popular tale of alien invasion with even more amazing special effects. It starred Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, and was clearly the best version of the movie in my view.

The original 1938 radio version of "War Of The Worlds" was presented to the listening public as an emergency radio news bulletin; and different actors played the parts of reporters who were submitting live reports from the field in Grovers Mill, New Jersey, which was the alleged site of the alien invasion from the planet Mars. Perhaps some of you reading this are old enough to remember the startling words of the announcer who suddenly broke into the program and stated "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make. Incredible as it may seem, strange beings who landed in New Jersey tonight are the vanguard of an invading army from Mars". Thus began the drama.

Because some people had tuned into the program after it had already started, and were not aware of the fact that it was just a fictional radio drama, they thought that Planet Earth was actually being invaded by evil beings from Outer Space. Not surprisingly, CBS, as well as many newspaper publishers, were flooded with phone calls. From what I have read, the New York Times alone received some 832 telephone calls. To prove a point I made earlier regarding the media doing anything for profit, the very next day, on October 31, 1938, which just so happened to be Halloween day, the very same newspaper's front page headline shouted "Fake War On Radio Spreads Panic Over U.S.". With no regard for the truth, the paper irresponsibly reported "waves of mass hysteria", which, according to their story, had supposedly resulted in the mass evacuation of Americans from various places.

Not to be outdone, the Associated Press wire service took the bogus story even further, and declared "Tidal Wave Of Terror Sweeps Nation". By this time, the fictional story had indeed acquired a life of its own, and sadly, some newspapers were reporting attempted suicides, traffic collisions and heart attacks, as mass exoduses supposedly occurred all across the United States. The defunct "Life" magazine even went as far as publishing an image of a farmer bravely holding his rifle as he readied himself for battle against the evil "Martian invaders". So much for responsible journalism!

While some of you reading this series may shake your heads in utter amazement, and wonder how people could have been so gullible so as to have believed such a concocted story, if nothing else, what I have just shared with you demonstrates the power of the mass media, and of mass suggestion. It also reveals how facts can quickly become distorted, and perhaps even invented out of thin air, if certain parties put their minds to it. Given the technological advances which we have witnessed in the audio and video recording industry during the past seventy years, not to mention the current state of computer technology, laser technology, satellite technology and other fields, one can only wonder what a government, or perhaps a group of governments, might do, if it suited their purposes. If you would like to know, please consider reading my in-depth series "Nature of the Alien: ET's, Demons Or a Government Plot?".

Even now, there are many tales circulating on the Internet, the great promoter of rumors and conspiracy theories. It may surprise some of you to know that there are some individuals who still remain convinced that man never landed on the Moon. I have read a few commentaries where critics mention the fact that in some of the photographs which were taken, the shadows appear to be at the wrong angles on certain objects; the idea being that artificial lights, such as stage lights, were used at the time of the filming. Others claim that numbers can be seen on certain of the stage props which were used during the filming of the alleged bogus Moon landing; and there are some other anomalies as well, according to the critics.

Other more scientific reasons are offered as well, to try to prove that the Apollo astronauts never went to the Moon. One argument in particular, is that no matter how shielded they may have been, the astronauts simply could not have traveled safely through the Van Allen Radiation Belt without suffering some adverse effects. In similar fashion, modern electronic equipment, such as that which is commonly incorporated into space vehicles and satellites, is also prone to malfunction due to the same electromagnetic radiation.

In rebuttal, scientists, including Professor James Van Allen himself, say that it is for this very reason that electronic equipment that is used in Outer Space is "hardened", so that there is less chance of it malfunctioning. Sometimes, certain equipment, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, will even be turned off when it is passing through an area of particularly high radiation. These same NASA scientists also insist that the Apollo launches were meticulously timed, and the lunar orbits carefully calculated, so that the Apollo astronauts spent a minimal amount of time in or near the Van Allen Belt; thus greatly reducing their chances of getting cancer, and other radiation related maladies during their lifetimes.

Some of you may likewise be familiar with the 1978 conspiracy movie "Capricorn One", in which the U.S. Government covers up a failed manned mission to Mars, by creating a fake one with props and television cameras, just as we described with the alleged bogus Apollo Moon landings. Of course, to add to the suspenseful story line of the "Capricorn One" movie, the U.S. Government decides that the astronauts who participated in the mission, have to be eliminated, lest they tell the world the awful truth regarding the fact that they never actually went to Mars.

Some people have proposed that the "Capricorn One" movie may have been the American Government's way of finally telling the people the truth regarding the Apollo missions, but in an indirect way. In other words, as I explain in the "Nature Of The Alien" series, they will reveal a particular truth, but they will present it in a fictitious manner, so that there is still room for deniability. They will tell people the truth, but then laugh at them, and ridicule them, for believing it.

Other conspiracy theorists, and they are many, point to the controversial High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, commonly known as the "HAARP Project". Located not far from Gakona, Alaska, just to the west of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, the HAARP Project is what is referred to as an ionospheric heater. The key components of the project consist of an Ionospheric Research Instrument, plus an array of about one hundred and eighty dipole antennas. Together, they create a high frequency transmitter system which projects either a continuous signal or short pulses into the ionosphere, which is the uppermost region of the Earth's atmosphere. The stated purpose of the HAARP Project is "to understand, simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of communication and surveillance systems".

While the HAARP Project facility is open on some days to the general public, and is openly involved with quite a number of universities, nevertheless, due to its association with DARPA, (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - an agency of the United States Department of Defense), over the years, rumors have persisted that it is being used for nefarious purposes. Some people, including certain American scientists, accused the US Government of possibly trying to use the HAARP Project as a weapon to destroy or disable incoming enemy missiles, or to knock out enemy satellite communications. In fact, in 2002 the Russian Parliament presented a critical report, signed by ninety deputies of the Duma, to President Vladimir Putin, in which they aired some of these same concerns.

A few years earlier, in September 1995, former teacher turned author, Nick Begich Jr., published a very controversial book entitled "Angels Don't Play This HAARP: Advances In Tesla Technology", in which he suggested that HAARP's ionospheric heater could potentially be used in conducting "geophysical warfare".

Other concerns have been expressed as well, whether they are real or fiction. Some people worry that regardless of whether it is intentional or accidental, the HAARP Project may create a permanent hole in the Earth's atmosphere, which could have negative effects for the Earth, being as it would result in a steady stream of ultraviolet rays striking our planet. This fear results from the fact that when the ionospheric heater is in use, short powerful energy bursts temporarily heat up and distort or expand the ionosphere. Scientists attempt to allay this concern, by explaining that within a short period after each experiment is conducted, the upper regions of the atmosphere naturally return to their normal state.

According to some of the wilder rumors that have persisted on the Internet for decades now, the HAARP Project is also supposedly used to control weather patterns -- for example, such as causing droughts in specific areas of the world -- as well as to induce earthquakes. Some conspiracy theorists also claim that HAARP can utilize ELF -- that is, Extremely Low Frequency -- waves to alter how people are feeling, as well as to control their thoughts. In other words, mind control. As I noted earlier, the scientists associated with the HAARP Project insist that such accusations are entirely baseless. Personally, I honestly don't know what to believe regarding the HAARP Project;. However, I don't trust the US government to tell us the truth regarding its real purpose. It just seems that the American government finds secondary military applications for a lot of its so-called "scientific projects".

Now if you find HAARP rumors difficult to accept -- and I can certainly understand why you might -- directly related to the HAARP Project, is another alleged secret government project referred to as "Project Blue Beam". According to information found on the Internet, "Project Blue Beam" will supposedly be used some day to technologically create the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, by projecting huge holographic images into the upper regions of Earth's atmosphere. In other words, Earth's atmosphere will be used as a sort of projection screen. Using this very same technology, it is claimed that people will be able to hear the "voice of God" in their heads, while all of these fantastic images are appearing in the sky. Even people who are blind will supposedly be able to see these holograms, and the "voice" will not be an audible one, but will only be heard within one's own head. I find this rather alarming.

I will be the first to admit that the entire "Project Blue Beam" story sounds quite wild; yet some people are convinced that it may very well be this type of technology which will be used to herald the arrival of the false messiah mentioned in Paul's second Epistle to the Thessalonians. I'm really not sure what to think about this.

As I mention in the "Nature of the Alien" series, taking into consideration the rather high level of doubt and skepticism which characterizes our modern society, which is due in part to the prominent role that science has achieved in our lives, not to mention the many charlatans who have discredited our faith due to their own selfish fame-seeking or money-making schemes, I do wonder how the Son of Perdition, or Antichrist, is going to convince people that he is "God" once he arrives. This deception is obviously going to require an Earth-shaking "feat of magic", which will either be the result of satanic power, or else some form of advanced technology. I just don't see how our skeptical society will be fooled into accepting this demon-filled leader otherwise.

There are many other such crazy rumors and theories which literally abound on the Internet; such as those concerning the supposed identities of the Beast, the False Prophet and the Antichrist; world domination theories which involve the Freemasons, the Illuminati and other secret societies; and much more. While I sometimes lightly broach a few of these topics in my articles, as I've just done here, for the most part, I do try to maintain a safe distance from them; due to the simple fact that a lot of this information simply cannot be soundly proven or verified. Unlike God's Word, it is just not trustworthy. Not only that, but it can lead to a lot of needless confusion for those who may be young in the faith, who may not yet possess a firm foundation in God's Word, and who may have very little Spiritual Discernment. My primary job here is to feed God's sheep with the truth of His Word, and to not delve too deeply into these other questionable areas.

So the point is, some people can be easily fooled; and they are gullible enough to believe anything, regardless of how insane it may appear to the rest of us. But, lest we delve too deeply into conspiracy theory here, let us return to the main topic at hand; that is, extrasolar planets. Allow me to clarify again that I'm not saying that extrasolar planets do not exist, because I honestly don't know that to be true. In fact, if the Universe is as big as astronomers claim that it is; and if there are as many galaxies as scientists say that there are; and if those distant galaxies are populated by as many suns as modern science teaches us, then I would have to concur with many others in stating that from a logical and scientific point of view, there probably are many other host stars and planetary systems out there. If this is true, then the big questions to ask are: Are any of those distant worlds habitable; and if they are habitable, do any of them really possess intelligent life?

This is the scientific perspective; but as a Christian, the bottom line for me still remains that I don't know the Mind of God. I don't know what God may have done, or what He may not have done. It's His Business. If it turns out that we do eventually verify the existence of extrasolar planets through conclusive visual observation and photographic imaging, and if enough time remains for our race so that someday we might even make contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial race, great! Such a development wouldn't negatively affect my faith in any way; because as I pointed out earlier in this series, unlike certain other Christians, I haven't closed my mind to this possibility; and neither am I absolutely certain that the Bible completely closes the door on this possibility either.

What I have been doing throughout this series, is presenting a few arguments in order to expose the double standard which is used by some people who place a lot of faith in science, yet who reject the Word of God as being true. These people, such as some astronomers who are involved in the search for extrasolar planets, for example, squabble over the status of something which they have seen, that is to say, the planet Pluto, and yet, they turn around and expect us Christians to just blindly accept something which, to date, they have not yet physically or visually observed; in other words, these so-called two hundred and forty-two "extrasolar planets". There's something wrong with that kind of logic in my view.

It just really bothers me that nobody can show us any regular photographic images of these alleged extrasolar planets; not one single one of them. As we saw earlier, yes, they do have an image of 2M1207b, which is really an infrared image of the alleged planet's heat signature, and not a true photograph as most people expect to see; but since it was discovered a few years ago, 2M1207b has been surrounded by controversy. Is it really a planet, or just another brown dwarf star, or perhaps something else? Even the astronomers themselves aren't sure; yet the mass media is awash with the excitement of extrasolar planets, as if they are popping up everywhere.

Doesn't the controversy surrounding the 2M1207b image raise your suspicion just a little, as it does mine? Aren't these astronomers really asking us to stretch our scientific faith quite a bit? Science is supposed to operate more along the lines of the old proverb "seeing is believing", but in this case, it seems that they have taken a clear one hundred and eighty degree turn, and are preaching to us "Believe now, and see later"; and they are asking us to do it two hundred and forty-two times, so far. How many times will it be in a year from now?

Allow me to ask you something: Based upon the obvious absence of indisputable, concrete, visual evidence, doesn't it appear that what these astronomers are proposing, goes a bit beyond the bounds of normal science? Doesn't it even border on being pseudo-science? I think that it does. Of course, in one sense perhaps we should be thankful that some of them have arrived at the point where they are at least willing to believe in something which they haven't seen with their own eyes yet. It is, after all, what true faith is about. I mean, if they are willing to believe in extrasolar planets based upon secondary evidence alone, would it require much more of a leap of faith in order for them to believe in God and His Word as well?

Okay; I confess; there is a bit of sarcasm in my words. From my experiences on the SETI@home messageboard a few years ago, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that some of these atheists and scientists have absolutely no intentions of accepting that God is real, ever. They are religiously anti-religious, you might say.

Some of you atheists who may possibly be reading this series, will probably argue that my challenge to provide visual proof in order to verify the existence of these extrasolar planets, is not fair. You may even try to justify the lack of visual evidence, simply by pointing to the fact that the technology which is required in order to photograph these faint objects does not exist yet. Be that as it may, the bottom line still remains that these astronomers expect people to accept their word by blind faith alone, you might say, while quite a few of them refuse to demonstrate that same kind of faith in God and His Word. Allow me to reiterate one more time, that it is not fair for non-believers to apply such a strict standard to us Christians, while you hypocritically apply a less rigorous standard to yourselves, and to scientific methodology; and in the case of extrasolar planets, you are guilty of doing this very thing. You are practicing a double standard.

Allow me to share with you another clear example of how the mass media purposely hypes up the truth, and manipulates the public, concerning these alleged "discoveries" of extrasolar planets, for the sake of presenting a good story. I was just reading another one of these "discovery" stories on the CNN website. Please note that altered versions of this very same story, as well as related stories concerning the discoveries of other so-called "extrasolar planets", can be found on many other sites as well. I cannot guarantee that the link below will still be active whenever you read this series, but if it is, you can access this particular story at the following URL:

https://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/08/26/new.planet/

Dated August 26th of 2004, this particular article appears to have actually been written by someone associated with the SPACE.com website. This amazing story tells of the alleged "discovery" of an extrasolar planet which is said to revolve around the star "mu Arae". This star is believed to be quite similar to our own Sun, and is calculated to be about fifty light-years away from us in the southern constellation called Ara, meaning "the altar". To help you to more easily grasp the tremendous distances which are being discussed here, let me inform you that a light-year is the distance that light travels during the course of one year. In other words, we're talking about six trillion miles per light-year; which means that mu Arae is approximately three hundred trillion miles away from us; assuming of course, that what astronomers tell us is true. Clearly, such vast distances utterly boggle the human mind, and are really beyond our finite comprehension.

What makes the mu Arae "discovery" exciting to astronomers, is the fact that most of the extrasolar planets which have been "discovered" to date, are located at least hundreds, if not thousands, of light-years away from us; so the mu Arae "discovery" is an oddity, whether it is real or not. Another article I read, also states that this is actually the third alleged "planet" which has been discovered to be in orbit around mu Arae. The other two bodies are claimed to be two Jupiter-sized planets which likewise cannot support life as we know it.

The story is obviously written in such a way, so as to excite the reader, and capture his or her imagination. In fact, the alleged "planet" is described as theoretically possessing a rocky core, which makes it similar to our own inner planets. It's mass, surface conditions, atmospheric conditions, etc., are also described. In fact, the news article is accompanied by an artist's impression of what the planet may look like as it revolves around its host star, mu Arae; and the planet is even referred to as a "super-Earth" in the article. Just so you the reader understand, this term "super-Earth" is a hot buzz word in the astronomy field right now, particularly as it relates to this issue of extrasolar planets. Everyone is now hot on the trail, and hoping to find smaller extrasolar planets, which will more closely match the size of our own Earth; the theory being that the closer the match that can be made, the more likelihood there will be that the planet may support some form of life as we understand it.

At any rate, it is rather obvious to me, that the author of the article in question, as well as the artist who provided the accompanying drawing, have gone to considerable lengths in order to make this "discovery" appear as realistic as possible; even comparing the "planet" to the Earth in some ways; although they do note significant differences between the two as well. When you arrive at the web page, the image captures your attention right away; and I believe that this is precisely what it is supposed to do. It plants a thought in your brain, even before you have read the contents of the story itself. It subtly raises your level of anticipation, excitement, and curiosity, and it prepares you for what the article says. It increases your level of believability.

Now, I would like to ask you to stop and think for a moment, and seriously ponder how the casual reader is probably going to react to this article. If they are not even familiar with the concept of extrasolar planets, and much less understand how they are determined to even exist, in their mind, they are obviously going to believe that what is being described here, is a real, physical planet, which has actually been visually observed. The fact that the article is accompanied by an artist's impression of what the planet may look like, will further leave the reader with the impression that this is a genuine, visually-observed planet.

In other words, the image serves to augment the deception in a powerful way; because we're all greatly affected by images; perhaps even more than we realize. It is precisely for this same reason, that commercial advertising is so successful. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Images appeal directly to our senses, as well as to our imaginations and to our inner lusts. In fact, as I have shared a number of times before, these are the same tactics which are used by Satan himself, who the Scriptures plainly tell us is the false god of this world, and the king of sin and lust. When it comes to appealing to, and enticing, our physical senses, the Devil is a professional advertiser, because he has had a long time to perfect his skills; in fact, ever since the Garden of Eden. Please consider these verses:

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."


"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."


"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


Please go to part four for the continuation of this series.

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