Black Knight satellite conspiracy theory: Difference between revisions
| [pending revision] | [pending revision] |
Content deleted Content added
LuckyLouie (talk | contribs) Undo removal of sourced material |
resume |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
The '''Black Knight satellite''' is claimed by some [[conspiracy theorists]] to be an object approximately 13,000 years old of [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] origin orbiting Earth in near-[[polar orbit]]. Some critics and mainstream academics have called it a conspiracy theory and "one rambling and inconsistent dollop of myth".<ref name=Redpath>{{cite web|publisher=[[Armagh Planetarium]]|url=http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/the-truth-about-the-black-knight-satellite-mystery.html|author=Redpath, Martina |title=The Truth About the Black Knight Satellite Mystery |accessdate=10 March 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Flockstra>{{cite web|last1=Flockstra|first1=Hilbert|title=ASH Online – Conspiracy Theories 101: The Black Knight Satellite|url=http://svepu.nl/ash-online-conspiracy-theories-101-the-black-knight-satellite/|website=EPU - American Studies Program|publisher=[[University of Groningen]]|accessdate=21 May 2015}}</ref> |
The '''Black Knight satellite''' is claimed by some [[conspiracy theorists]] to be an object approximately 13,000 years old of [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] origin orbiting Earth in near-[[polar orbit]]. Some critics and mainstream academics have called it a conspiracy theory and "one rambling and inconsistent dollop of myth".<ref name=Redpath>{{cite web|publisher=[[Armagh Planetarium]]|url=http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/the-truth-about-the-black-knight-satellite-mystery.html|author=Redpath, Martina |title=The Truth About the Black Knight Satellite Mystery |accessdate=10 March 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Flockstra>{{cite web|last1=Flockstra|first1=Hilbert|title=ASH Online – Conspiracy Theories 101: The Black Knight Satellite|url=http://svepu.nl/ash-online-conspiracy-theories-101-the-black-knight-satellite/|website=EPU - American Studies Program|publisher=[[University of Groningen]]|accessdate=21 May 2015}}</ref> |
||
== |
== Alleged UFOs == |
||
The story has its origins in 1954 when newspapers including the ''St. Louis Post Dispatch'' and the ''San Francisco Examiner'' ran stories attributed to retired naval aviation major and [[UFO]] researcher [[Donald Keyhoe]] saying that the US Air Force had reported that two satellites orbiting Earth had been detected. At this time no one had the technology to launch a satellite.<ref name=skep>{{cite web|url=http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4365|title=The Black Knight Satellite|website=[[Skeptoid]] Podcast |publisher=Skeptoid Media Inc.|date=4 June 2013 |author=Dunning, B.|accessdate=10 March 2014}}</ref> |
The story has its origins in 1954 when newspapers including the ''St. Louis Post Dispatch'' and the ''San Francisco Examiner'' ran stories attributed to retired naval aviation major and [[UFO]] researcher [[Donald Keyhoe]] saying that the US Air Force had reported that two satellites orbiting Earth had been detected. At this time no one had the technology to launch a satellite.<ref name=skep>{{cite web|url=http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4365|title=The Black Knight Satellite|website=[[Skeptoid]] Podcast |publisher=Skeptoid Media Inc.|date=4 June 2013 |author=Dunning, B.|accessdate=10 March 2014}}</ref> |
||
In February 1960 there was a further claim by ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'' that the US Navy had detected a dark object thought to be a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spy satellite in an orbit inclined at 79° from the equator with an [[orbital period]] of 104.5 minutes. Its orbit was also highly eccentric with an [[apogee]] of {{convert|1728| km|mi|abbr=on}} and a [[perigee]] of only {{convert|216| km|mi|abbr=on}}. At the time the Navy was tracking a fragment of casing from the [[Corona (satellite)#Discoverer|Discoverer VIII]] satellite launch which has the same orbit, and it is believed to be a derelict US satellite that had gone astray.<ref name=skep/><ref>{{cite news|last=Editors|title=Science: Space Watch's First Catch|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894745-1,00.html|accessdate=9 April 2014|newspaper=TIME Magazine|date=7 March 1960}}</ref> |
In February 1960 there was a further claim by ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'' that the US Navy had detected a dark object thought to be a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spy satellite in an orbit inclined at 79° from the equator with an [[orbital period]] of 104.5 minutes. Its orbit was also highly eccentric with an [[apogee]] of {{convert|1728| km|mi|abbr=on}} and a [[perigee]] of only {{convert|216| km|mi|abbr=on}}. At the time the Navy was tracking a fragment of casing from the [[Corona (satellite)#Discoverer|Discoverer VIII]] satellite launch which has the same orbit, and it is believed to be a derelict US satellite that had gone astray.<ref name=skep/><ref>{{cite news|last=Editors|title=Science: Space Watch's First Catch|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894745-1,00.html|accessdate=9 April 2014|newspaper=TIME Magazine|date=7 March 1960}}</ref> |
||
An object photographed in 1998 during the [[STS-88]] mission has been widely claimed to be this "alien artifact". According to Martina Redpath of [[Armagh Planetarium]] and [[James Oberg]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oberg|first1=James|title=STS-88 and the Black Knight|url=http://www.jamesoberg.com/sts88_and-black-knight.pdf|accessdate=27 July 2015}}</ref> it is more probable that the photographs are of a thermal blanket that was confirmed as lost during an [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]].<ref name=Redpath /> Redpath wrote: |
|||
<blockquote>Black Knight is a jumble of completely unrelated stories; reports of unusual science observations, authors promoting fringe ideas, classified spy satellites and people over-interpreting photos. These ingredients have chopped up, stirred together and stewed on the internet to one rambling and inconsistent dollop of myth.<ref name=Redpath /></blockquote> |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 22:13, 21 November 2015
The Black Knight satellite is claimed by some conspiracy theorists to be an object approximately 13,000 years old of extraterrestrial origin orbiting Earth in near-polar orbit. Some critics and mainstream academics have called it a conspiracy theory and "one rambling and inconsistent dollop of myth".[1][2]
Alleged UFOs
The story has its origins in 1954 when newspapers including the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the San Francisco Examiner ran stories attributed to retired naval aviation major and UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe saying that the US Air Force had reported that two satellites orbiting Earth had been detected. At this time no one had the technology to launch a satellite.[3]
In February 1960 there was a further claim by TIME that the US Navy had detected a dark object thought to be a Soviet spy satellite in an orbit inclined at 79° from the equator with an orbital period of 104.5 minutes. Its orbit was also highly eccentric with an apogee of 1,728 km (1,074 mi) and a perigee of only 216 km (134 mi). At the time the Navy was tracking a fragment of casing from the Discoverer VIII satellite launch which has the same orbit, and it is believed to be a derelict US satellite that had gone astray.[3][4]
References
- ^ Redpath, Martina. "The Truth About the Black Knight Satellite Mystery". Armagh Planetarium. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Flockstra, Hilbert. "ASH Online – Conspiracy Theories 101: The Black Knight Satellite". EPU - American Studies Program. University of Groningen. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ a b Dunning, B. (4 June 2013). "The Black Knight Satellite". Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media Inc. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Editors (7 March 1960). "Science: Space Watch's First Catch". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help)