Lebanese Light Show (Part II)

This is an updated and corrected version of an article that was written within a few hours of the weird sightings on the 7th of June 2012, more data was uncovered and the picture got clearer, so here's what really happened.


       Dear Diary...

     Two nights ago, a mysterious light was seen all over the Middle East, that floating pinwheel of light ignited fear, wonder and perplexity among its observers. Photos and speculations went viral (my personal explanation can be found here), but only one explanation really uncovers the truth: Russia was testing an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile). Cold War much?

Russia fires ICBM

     The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the missile test was launched from the Kapustin Yar firing range in the Astrakhan region in central Russia. An RS-12M traveled across roughly 16,000 Km (1,000 miles) to a range in Kazakhstan with projected accuracy, the test was confirmed as successful by a Russian ministry of defense spokesman. It was spotted in several other countries along the way because it reached a high altitude of almost 300 Km (186 miles). Some people in Astrakhan believed it was a dry thunder or something of the sort.

The sky in Astrakhan

Lebanese Light Show (Part I)

The following article was written within a few hours of the weird sightings on the 7th of June 2012, an updated and corrected version can be found here. The post hereafter is merely a desperate attempt at trying to solve a mystery scientifically, when no science was involved at all. While the media and a number of scientists were convinced that a meteor shower was involved, this explanation didn't seem so accurate to me, which is why I went in a different direction.    

      Dear Diary...

     So what's the fuss all about? Weird light shows have been observed around random areas of the Middle East: Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Jordan, etc. Lebanese people explained these sightings with army-related business or a UFO's visit. An American soldier in Afghanistan thought it was a Russian aircraft. Nevertheless, let's discuss the science behind the light show.

We can rule out that it's a meteor, because of many reasons:

1. The moon is at its waning gibbous phase, and when it's that bright (89% full), meteors are almost impossible to detect
2. The next meteor shower is the Lyrids meteor shower, that peaks next week on the 15th of June 2012. It's also very weak, you could see up to 10 meteors per hour in perfect conditions (which is a mediocre show, astronomically speaking)
3. The shows observed have been described as 'a dancing light' and 'something that travelled at a large speed and then came to a sudden stop', I also heard some people say 'a ball of fire divided into many trajectories of light', this is not how a meteor puts a show on

Marfa Lights over Texas

The International Playground

             Dear Diary...
  

            In this article, I’m discussing my country: Lebanon. Ask around, Lebanese citizens will say they invented the alphabet and revolutionized culture, cartographers would say “that little thing?”, economists would tell you that its geographical location is bliss, living on the land that connects the three ancient continents does wonders to your economical status, travel agents praise these lands, this weather, this nightlife… I could go on and on about how amazing this country genuinely is.

Lebanon, can you see it?

            Jean-Paul Sartre once said “we’ve never been so free as we were under the German occupation”, and that Frenchman was right, an interesting form of freedom can be found in the darkest corners of domination and oppression. Lebanon has been ruled by so many civilizations, most recently by the Turks who stuck around for nearly 400 years, and then it lived under the French mandate that ended in 1926 followed. But Lebanon is a archeological dig of fossilized nations left over from ancient conquests, still clinging to their distinct identities, this country has always been reputed for the mosaic of people it gathers: different religions, different political points of view, different lifestyles, different languages, different everything! However, the Lebanese flag soared the highest when this country was subjugated, Lebanese people put aside their differentiations to smuggle food behind Turkish soldiers’ backs, but sadly, it’s been a while since Mosques and Churches prayed together.

The Lebanese Flag

Vacationing Around The Earth

            What an interesting time to be alive on the Blue Planet. Humans have always had a need to move forward in science and technology, whether this initiative is fueled by fiction books (like Jules Verne’s To The Moon And Back, and The War Of The Worlds by George Wells or even Hergé’s Tintin et Milou who visit the moon) or by mere scientific competition. Let’s take a look at the recent space events this last century, and most noticeably, the space race:

The International Space Station

• ·      1924: The Soviet Union founds the Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel
• ·      1926: Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket
• ·      1927: Germany forms the Society for Space Travel
• ·    1928: A collaboration between Austria and Hungary launches The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor to research space travel and discuss the uses of potential experiments in space
• ·      1929: Von Braun launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
• ·      1942: Nazi Germany succeeds in sending the first vehicle to reach an altitude of 100Km  (62 miles)
• ·      1946: The US sends a rocket that reaches 80Km, and the first pictures of Earth are taken
• ·     1957: The launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1, the USSR succeeds inputting the first man-made vehicle in Earth’s orbit
• ·     1957: And a month later, Laika is carried by Sputnik 2, and the first dog in space stays in orbit till 1958
• ·     1958: NASA launches Explorer 1 which discovers Earth’s radiation belt
• ·   1959: The USSR launches Luna 1, the first human-made satellite to orbit the moon, and Luna 3 succeeds in photographing 70% of the Moon’s far side
• ·    1961: Yuri Gargarin, first man in space, sent by the USSR, safely orbits the Earth once aboard Vostok 1
• ·     1964: US’ Ranger 7 takes the first close-range illustrations of the Moon.
• ·    1965: The first space walk takes place, cosmonaut Leonov leaves Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes.
• ·    1966: Luna 9 safely lands on the Moon.
• ·    1967: Soyuz 1 crashes one day after launch, fatally killing Vladimir Komarov
• ·    1963: Vostok 6 carries the first woman in space, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (try memorizing that name for fun)
• ·    1968: NASA’s Apollo 8 safely orbits the moon
• ·    1969: NASA makes history with first man on the Moon
• ·    1979: NASA’s Mariner 9 orbits Mars
• ·    1975: The US and the USSR join forces, and this last Apollo-Soyuz mission marked the end of their space race that began in 1957
• ·     1975: ESA (European Space Agency) was formed, with Franc’s CNES and Germany’s DLR being its biggest contributors, owning almost 40% of the company together.

First (and only) dog to have visited Space

All kinds of satellites (communication, military, intercontinental ballistic missiles, Earth-observation, telescopes, etc) didn’t take long to populate our skies. NASA has also sent satellites all around the Solar System, but to keep up with this article’s human-space exploration theme, we’ll leave that for an other time.

Armstrong enjoying his stride on the Moon

Is there anything more exhilarating than a space adventure? Imagine that you’ve been given a chance to be an astronaut, without having to be a genius in high school! Imagine that you could leave planet Earth for a while, stay at a space hotel, shop in a space mall, and have your meals almost 200 miles above the Blue Planet… who needs Hawaii?

Let’s talk about the facts: few companies can turn you into a space tourist. The RSA (Russian Space Agency) used its Soyuz spacecraft for human transportation from Earth to the ISS (International Space Station) and back. This voyage was offered between 2001 and 2009, it lasted for 8 to 15 days, with prices ranging from 20 to 35 million dollars.

Soyuz Spacecraft