1 00:00:16,119 --> 00:00:00,550 thank you 2 00:00:16,380 --> 00:00:16,129 [Music] 3 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:16,390 [Applause] 4 00:00:30,550 --> 00:00:24,130 [Music] 5 00:00:35,930 --> 00:00:33,229 welcome back to the UFO Rabbit Hole 6 00:00:38,450 --> 00:00:35,940 podcast I'm your host Kelly Chase 7 00:00:40,610 --> 00:00:38,460 today we turn our attention to our 8 00:00:42,530 --> 00:00:40,620 nearest neighbor and the anchor for some 9 00:00:45,590 --> 00:00:42,540 of the most compelling and mysterious 10 00:00:48,170 --> 00:00:45,600 stories in the UFO lore the Moon 11 00:00:50,270 --> 00:00:48,180 hanging serenely in the night sky its 12 00:00:53,150 --> 00:00:50,280 face unchanging aside from the precise 13 00:00:55,910 --> 00:00:53,160 pendulum swing of the lunar cycle the 14 00:00:57,830 --> 00:00:55,920 Moon is our constant companion it's the 15 00:01:00,110 --> 00:00:57,840 one Heavenly Body that we can easily 16 00:01:02,869 --> 00:01:00,120 observe with the naked eye and as such 17 00:01:04,490 --> 00:01:02,879 it feels deeply familiar to us 18 00:01:07,250 --> 00:01:04,500 but what if there's more to the Moon 19 00:01:09,050 --> 00:01:07,260 than we ever realized it's an unnerving 20 00:01:11,090 --> 00:01:09,060 thought to consider that the moon as we 21 00:01:13,670 --> 00:01:11,100 know it might not be what we think it is 22 00:01:16,789 --> 00:01:13,680 at all but that's exactly what the Deep 23 00:01:19,910 --> 00:01:16,799 UFO lore surrounding the moon suggests 24 00:01:22,190 --> 00:01:19,920 so could it be true in this episode 25 00:01:24,830 --> 00:01:22,200 we'll examine everything that's just 26 00:01:26,270 --> 00:01:24,840 straight up weird about the moon and try 27 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:26,280 to get to the bottom of the many 28 00:01:31,370 --> 00:01:29,100 Mysteries that present themselves 29 00:01:33,350 --> 00:01:31,380 but first if we're going to talk about 30 00:01:35,690 --> 00:01:33,360 the Mysteries and lore surrounding the 31 00:01:37,370 --> 00:01:35,700 moon landing it feels inevitable that 32 00:01:39,590 --> 00:01:37,380 we'll come across the question of 33 00:01:41,990 --> 00:01:39,600 whether or not we did in fact land on 34 00:01:44,690 --> 00:01:42,000 the moon so let's just get that out of 35 00:01:46,190 --> 00:01:44,700 the way now if you've spent any time at 36 00:01:48,289 --> 00:01:46,200 all on the weird side of the internet 37 00:01:50,749 --> 00:01:48,299 you've probably come across this popular 38 00:01:52,609 --> 00:01:50,759 conspiracy theory before if you're 39 00:01:53,330 --> 00:01:52,619 unfamiliar the story goes something like 40 00:01:56,690 --> 00:01:53,340 this 41 00:01:58,429 --> 00:01:56,700 when JFK made his famous 1962 speech 42 00:01:59,990 --> 00:01:58,439 declaring that the United States would 43 00:02:02,030 --> 00:02:00,000 put a man on the Moon by the end of the 44 00:02:04,969 --> 00:02:02,040 decade it was more than just an 45 00:02:07,130 --> 00:02:04,979 inspiring Prime Time sound bite more 46 00:02:09,290 --> 00:02:07,140 than a decade into the Cold War both the 47 00:02:11,449 --> 00:02:09,300 U.S and the Soviet Union were pouring 48 00:02:13,850 --> 00:02:11,459 enormous resources into developing 49 00:02:15,830 --> 00:02:13,860 increasingly Advanced weapons and other 50 00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:15,840 technology in a battle for Global 51 00:02:18,830 --> 00:02:16,980 dominance 52 00:02:21,470 --> 00:02:18,840 putting a man on the moon wouldn't just 53 00:02:23,869 --> 00:02:21,480 be a major Flex to own the commies what 54 00:02:26,210 --> 00:02:23,879 JFK was asking the American people to 55 00:02:28,369 --> 00:02:26,220 put their Collective will behind was 56 00:02:31,010 --> 00:02:28,379 nothing short of an attempt to push the 57 00:02:32,930 --> 00:02:31,020 very boundaries of human potential to 58 00:02:35,570 --> 00:02:32,940 ensure that the U.S wouldn't just be the 59 00:02:36,350 --> 00:02:35,580 dominant power on Earth but in space as 60 00:02:38,630 --> 00:02:36,360 well 61 00:02:40,790 --> 00:02:38,640 however when President Kennedy said that 62 00:02:42,589 --> 00:02:40,800 America would put a man on the moon not 63 00:02:45,110 --> 00:02:42,599 because it is easy but because it is 64 00:02:47,750 --> 00:02:45,120 hard he may have underestimated just 65 00:02:50,089 --> 00:02:47,760 exactly how hard it was going to be and 66 00:02:51,589 --> 00:02:50,099 as this particular Story Goes NASA 67 00:02:52,970 --> 00:02:51,599 eventually figured out that they 68 00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:52,980 probably weren't going to meet the 69 00:02:56,570 --> 00:02:55,260 deadline to put a man on the moon or 70 00:02:58,309 --> 00:02:56,580 they figured out that they could 71 00:02:59,809 --> 00:02:58,319 probably put a man on the moon but they 72 00:03:01,369 --> 00:02:59,819 weren't so sure if they could bring him 73 00:03:03,350 --> 00:03:01,379 back and there was a fear that the whole 74 00:03:05,030 --> 00:03:03,360 world watching an American hero die on 75 00:03:07,729 --> 00:03:05,040 the moon would be the end of the space 76 00:03:09,290 --> 00:03:07,739 program or they figured out how to put a 77 00:03:11,330 --> 00:03:09,300 man on the moon but they didn't have a 78 00:03:12,949 --> 00:03:11,340 good way to make the broadcast happen so 79 00:03:14,390 --> 00:03:12,959 they filmed it in a studio so they could 80 00:03:15,890 --> 00:03:14,400 have tighter control over the images 81 00:03:18,530 --> 00:03:15,900 that were released 82 00:03:20,509 --> 00:03:18,540 anyway some version of one of those 83 00:03:22,970 --> 00:03:20,519 things happened and the government ended 84 00:03:25,009 --> 00:03:22,980 up recruiting Stanley Kubrick to help 85 00:03:27,770 --> 00:03:25,019 them to fake the moon landing 86 00:03:29,630 --> 00:03:27,780 his film 2001 A Space Odyssey was 87 00:03:32,210 --> 00:03:29,640 basically a practice run and a cover-up 88 00:03:34,610 --> 00:03:32,220 for this project and The Shining was his 89 00:03:36,530 --> 00:03:34,620 coded confession and cry for help as the 90 00:03:38,930 --> 00:03:36,540 four secrecy and the shame of lying to 91 00:03:40,369 --> 00:03:38,940 his fellow humans took their toll upon 92 00:03:42,949 --> 00:03:40,379 the fame director 93 00:03:45,350 --> 00:03:42,959 now transparently I don't believe that 94 00:03:47,089 --> 00:03:45,360 any of that is true but trust that I've 95 00:03:48,949 --> 00:03:47,099 spent enough time going down that rabbit 96 00:03:50,690 --> 00:03:48,959 hole that I'm aware of basically every 97 00:03:53,030 --> 00:03:50,700 iteration of every Theory that's out 98 00:03:56,089 --> 00:03:53,040 there the long and short of it is that 99 00:03:58,250 --> 00:03:56,099 yes we went to the moon as entertaining 100 00:03:59,930 --> 00:03:58,260 as those conspiracy theories are they 101 00:04:01,970 --> 00:03:59,940 have been pretty conclusively debunked 102 00:04:03,649 --> 00:04:01,980 many times over I'll link to some 103 00:04:05,149 --> 00:04:03,659 resources in the episode brief that you 104 00:04:07,490 --> 00:04:05,159 can check out if you want to explore 105 00:04:09,229 --> 00:04:07,500 this more but for our purposes it 106 00:04:10,789 --> 00:04:09,239 doesn't feel productive to retread a 107 00:04:14,030 --> 00:04:10,799 road that's been treaded so many times 108 00:04:15,649 --> 00:04:14,040 before and besides while the conspiracy 109 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:15,659 theories around the fake moon landing 110 00:04:20,090 --> 00:04:17,940 have been debunked there are countless 111 00:04:22,370 --> 00:04:20,100 Mysteries that still remain unanswered 112 00:04:24,590 --> 00:04:22,380 because if there's one thing that you 113 00:04:26,870 --> 00:04:24,600 need to know about the moon it's this 114 00:04:28,189 --> 00:04:26,880 the Moon is weird 115 00:04:29,810 --> 00:04:28,199 when you think about the most 116 00:04:32,090 --> 00:04:29,820 interesting moons in the solar system 117 00:04:34,310 --> 00:04:32,100 our own satellite is probably not the 118 00:04:36,710 --> 00:04:34,320 first one that comes to mind after all 119 00:04:39,590 --> 00:04:36,720 there is a mysterious ocean under the 120 00:04:42,170 --> 00:04:39,600 Frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa 121 00:04:44,330 --> 00:04:42,180 another of Jupiter's moons IO is one of 122 00:04:47,330 --> 00:04:44,340 the most volcanically active places in 123 00:04:49,909 --> 00:04:47,340 the solar system Saturn's moon Titan has 124 00:04:52,670 --> 00:04:49,919 oceans of liquid methane and on the 125 00:04:54,650 --> 00:04:52,680 surface of nearby Enceladus massive 126 00:04:58,010 --> 00:04:54,660 water geysers shoot up into the air 127 00:05:00,110 --> 00:04:58,020 causing snow to Fall by comparison our 128 00:05:02,390 --> 00:05:00,120 geologically quiet moon with no 129 00:05:04,969 --> 00:05:02,400 atmosphere and few defining features on 130 00:05:08,330 --> 00:05:04,979 its pockmarked surface seems pretty 131 00:05:11,629 --> 00:05:08,340 standard issue but in reality our moon 132 00:05:13,310 --> 00:05:11,639 is anything but and I'll be honest once 133 00:05:15,650 --> 00:05:13,320 you start to recognize all the ways in 134 00:05:18,050 --> 00:05:15,660 which our moon isn't just weird but 135 00:05:20,689 --> 00:05:18,060 straight up doesn't make sense it can be 136 00:05:22,909 --> 00:05:20,699 pretty unsettling and I'd argue that 137 00:05:24,890 --> 00:05:22,919 there's two reasons for that the first 138 00:05:27,110 --> 00:05:24,900 is that whether you spend much time 139 00:05:29,629 --> 00:05:27,120 noticing it or not the Moon is a big 140 00:05:31,550 --> 00:05:29,639 part of our everyday lives it's visible 141 00:05:33,830 --> 00:05:31,560 in the sky most nights and even 142 00:05:36,290 --> 00:05:33,840 sometimes during the day it's consistent 143 00:05:38,029 --> 00:05:36,300 and predictable quietly serving as the 144 00:05:39,590 --> 00:05:38,039 backdrop of Our Lives 145 00:05:41,270 --> 00:05:39,600 and that's what makes the mirror 146 00:05:42,890 --> 00:05:41,280 suggestion that there could be more to 147 00:05:43,909 --> 00:05:42,900 the Moon than meets the eye so 148 00:05:45,710 --> 00:05:43,919 disturbing 149 00:05:47,450 --> 00:05:45,720 how could we miss something like this 150 00:05:49,610 --> 00:05:47,460 and what are the implications for 151 00:05:51,230 --> 00:05:49,620 Humanity if our moon isn't what it 152 00:05:52,610 --> 00:05:51,240 appears to be 153 00:05:54,710 --> 00:05:52,620 and the second reason that learning 154 00:05:56,629 --> 00:05:54,720 about the moon can be so unsettling is 155 00:05:58,909 --> 00:05:56,639 just the sheer preponderance of 156 00:06:01,070 --> 00:05:58,919 weirdness if there were a few little 157 00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:01,080 Mysteries or idiosyncrasies about the 158 00:06:04,969 --> 00:06:03,000 moon this would just be a fun thought 159 00:06:07,430 --> 00:06:04,979 exercise that would be really easy to 160 00:06:08,930 --> 00:06:07,440 dismiss but what I'm about to present to 161 00:06:11,870 --> 00:06:08,940 you isn't just a collection of 162 00:06:13,969 --> 00:06:11,880 interesting factoids it's an avalanche 163 00:06:16,969 --> 00:06:13,979 of contradictions and impossibilities 164 00:06:19,490 --> 00:06:16,979 piling one on top of each other pointing 165 00:06:21,110 --> 00:06:19,500 us to one startling and undeniable truth 166 00:06:23,210 --> 00:06:21,120 which is this 167 00:06:25,969 --> 00:06:23,220 the moon isn't just weird 168 00:06:28,189 --> 00:06:25,979 some would argue that it's impossible it 169 00:06:30,529 --> 00:06:28,199 shouldn't exist and though it hangs in 170 00:06:32,390 --> 00:06:30,539 our Sky inspiring artists and lighting 171 00:06:34,790 --> 00:06:32,400 our midnight paths and patiently 172 00:06:37,189 --> 00:06:34,800 counting out the rhythm of Our Lives the 173 00:06:39,350 --> 00:06:37,199 reality is that we have no idea what the 174 00:06:42,230 --> 00:06:39,360 moon is or where it came from 175 00:06:44,150 --> 00:06:42,240 so let's dive into it here's everything 176 00:06:46,309 --> 00:06:44,160 that's weird about the moon 177 00:06:48,170 --> 00:06:46,319 first of all when you look up at the 178 00:06:49,850 --> 00:06:48,180 moon in the night sky no matter the 179 00:06:51,850 --> 00:06:49,860 phase and no matter the time of year 180 00:06:55,010 --> 00:06:51,860 you're always looking at the same side 181 00:06:56,150 --> 00:06:55,020 now granted this isn't so mysterious in 182 00:06:58,129 --> 00:06:56,160 and of itself 183 00:07:00,110 --> 00:06:58,139 this is because the Moon is tidally 184 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:00,120 locked with the Earth something that's 185 00:07:04,070 --> 00:07:02,100 fairly common among moons that are 186 00:07:06,409 --> 00:07:04,080 relatively large in size with respect to 187 00:07:08,390 --> 00:07:06,419 the planet they orbit like ours 188 00:07:10,249 --> 00:07:08,400 still when you think about the fact that 189 00:07:12,409 --> 00:07:10,259 the Moon is orbiting the Earth while the 190 00:07:14,629 --> 00:07:12,419 Earth orbits the sun which itself is 191 00:07:16,790 --> 00:07:14,639 orbiting the center of the Milky Way all 192 00:07:18,529 --> 00:07:16,800 of which is hurtling through space it is 193 00:07:20,930 --> 00:07:18,539 kind of mind-blowing that we only ever 194 00:07:23,150 --> 00:07:20,940 see one side of the moon for that to 195 00:07:25,610 --> 00:07:23,160 happen the moon has to rotate on its 196 00:07:26,629 --> 00:07:25,620 axis at the exact rate that it orbits 197 00:07:29,270 --> 00:07:26,639 the earth 198 00:07:31,610 --> 00:07:29,280 so it's not necessarily mysterious but 199 00:07:33,230 --> 00:07:31,620 it is cool and despite the fact that it 200 00:07:35,870 --> 00:07:33,240 can be explained within the realm of 201 00:07:38,089 --> 00:07:35,880 common natural phenomena there's still 202 00:07:39,650 --> 00:07:38,099 something undeniably Eerie about the 203 00:07:42,710 --> 00:07:39,660 fact that we never see the back of the 204 00:07:46,309 --> 00:07:42,720 Moon in fact it wasn't until October 7th 205 00:07:48,950 --> 00:07:46,319 1959 when the Soviet probe Luna 3 sent 206 00:07:51,290 --> 00:07:48,960 back the first 18 images of The Far Side 207 00:07:53,350 --> 00:07:51,300 of the Moon that humans got their first 208 00:07:55,670 --> 00:07:53,360 glimpse of its Mysteries 209 00:07:57,950 --> 00:07:55,680 hypothetically up until that point in 210 00:08:00,409 --> 00:07:57,960 human history anything could have been 211 00:08:03,350 --> 00:08:00,419 hiding back there an alien base evidence 212 00:08:05,990 --> 00:08:03,360 of A Lost Civilization giant graffiti of 213 00:08:08,210 --> 00:08:06,000 extraterrestrial genitalia and we never 214 00:08:09,589 --> 00:08:08,220 would have known it's unsettling to 215 00:08:11,629 --> 00:08:09,599 think that the closest and most 216 00:08:14,150 --> 00:08:11,639 prominent object in the night sky could 217 00:08:16,129 --> 00:08:14,160 be keeping secrets like that and yet 218 00:08:18,650 --> 00:08:16,139 though it creates a considerable blind 219 00:08:20,210 --> 00:08:18,660 spot for us ultimately we should be 220 00:08:22,189 --> 00:08:20,220 grateful for the fact that our moon is 221 00:08:24,589 --> 00:08:22,199 tidally locked with the Earth because if 222 00:08:25,730 --> 00:08:24,599 it wasn't life on Earth might not even 223 00:08:28,070 --> 00:08:25,740 exist 224 00:08:30,950 --> 00:08:28,080 there's still so much that we don't know 225 00:08:32,649 --> 00:08:30,960 about how life arose on this planet it's 226 00:08:35,329 --> 00:08:32,659 one of the great mysteries of science 227 00:08:36,769 --> 00:08:35,339 however one of the most popular theories 228 00:08:39,110 --> 00:08:36,779 about how that might have happened 229 00:08:40,670 --> 00:08:39,120 directly involves the moon and its 230 00:08:42,769 --> 00:08:40,680 influence on the tides 231 00:08:44,990 --> 00:08:42,779 if we assume that life on Earth arose 232 00:08:46,970 --> 00:08:45,000 through natural processes then we can 233 00:08:50,150 --> 00:08:46,980 think of the young earth like a giant 234 00:08:52,190 --> 00:08:50,160 chemistry set if DNA and RNA are the 235 00:08:54,110 --> 00:08:52,200 building blocks of life then a 236 00:08:56,150 --> 00:08:54,120 staggering number of chemical reactions 237 00:08:57,829 --> 00:08:56,160 would have needed to occur first to 238 00:09:00,829 --> 00:08:57,839 create the building blocks of those 239 00:09:02,090 --> 00:09:00,839 building blocks or protonucleic acid 240 00:09:05,030 --> 00:09:02,100 molecules 241 00:09:07,190 --> 00:09:05,040 but for DNA and RNA to evolve from this 242 00:09:09,710 --> 00:09:07,200 group of protonucleic acid structures 243 00:09:12,050 --> 00:09:09,720 first they had to be able to replicate 244 00:09:13,730 --> 00:09:12,060 and one way for that to happen would be 245 00:09:15,590 --> 00:09:13,740 to cyclically bring these structures 246 00:09:18,170 --> 00:09:15,600 together and then break them apart again 247 00:09:20,509 --> 00:09:18,180 the lunar Tides may have provided 248 00:09:22,009 --> 00:09:20,519 exactly that necessary mechanism to 249 00:09:24,650 --> 00:09:22,019 bring about life 250 00:09:27,230 --> 00:09:24,660 Kevin zannel a planetary scientist at 251 00:09:28,970 --> 00:09:27,240 the NASA Ames Research Center said in an 252 00:09:31,430 --> 00:09:28,980 article on this topic in Scientific 253 00:09:33,470 --> 00:09:31,440 American a lot of origin of Life 254 00:09:36,050 --> 00:09:33,480 reactions involve getting rid of water 255 00:09:38,930 --> 00:09:36,060 so you look for a means to concentrate 256 00:09:40,850 --> 00:09:38,940 your Solutions one way to do that is to 257 00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:40,860 throw water up on a hot rock and then 258 00:09:46,190 --> 00:09:43,740 have the waters recede and evaporate so 259 00:09:48,590 --> 00:09:46,200 it's possible that without the moon life 260 00:09:50,870 --> 00:09:48,600 on Earth may never have developed 261 00:09:53,150 --> 00:09:50,880 however even if the moon didn't play a 262 00:09:55,790 --> 00:09:53,160 role in the actual emergence of life on 263 00:09:57,590 --> 00:09:55,800 the planet without the Moon that life 264 00:10:00,769 --> 00:09:57,600 almost certainly wouldn't have been a 265 00:10:02,509 --> 00:10:00,779 successful or diverse the reality is 266 00:10:04,610 --> 00:10:02,519 that there are a number of factors that 267 00:10:08,030 --> 00:10:04,620 make the Earth not just suited for life 268 00:10:10,370 --> 00:10:08,040 but uniquely so and virtually all of 269 00:10:12,290 --> 00:10:10,380 those factors are the direct result of 270 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:12,300 the influence of the Moon 271 00:10:17,570 --> 00:10:14,040 one of the most important of these 272 00:10:19,130 --> 00:10:17,580 factors is the tides the moon isn't just 273 00:10:22,009 --> 00:10:19,140 large compared to the earth at 274 00:10:25,130 --> 00:10:22,019 approximately one-sixth its size it also 275 00:10:26,690 --> 00:10:25,140 orbits very closely this combination 276 00:10:28,850 --> 00:10:26,700 means that the moon's gravitational 277 00:10:31,610 --> 00:10:28,860 impact on the earth is particularly 278 00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:31,620 profound as the moon orbits the planet 279 00:10:37,009 --> 00:10:34,260 the atmosphere on the side closest to it 280 00:10:39,889 --> 00:10:37,019 bulges and distances measured in Miles 281 00:10:42,590 --> 00:10:39,899 the oceans bulge in distances measured 282 00:10:44,930 --> 00:10:42,600 in feet and even the earth's land mass 283 00:10:48,110 --> 00:10:44,940 rises in distances measured in fractions 284 00:10:50,269 --> 00:10:48,120 of an inch this constant movement of the 285 00:10:51,829 --> 00:10:50,279 oceans generates worldwide ocean 286 00:10:54,170 --> 00:10:51,839 currents that help to widely 287 00:10:56,930 --> 00:10:54,180 redistribute Earth's water nutrients and 288 00:10:59,690 --> 00:10:56,940 toxins without this stirring effect 289 00:11:01,850 --> 00:10:59,700 ocean water could be stagnant and the 290 00:11:03,050 --> 00:11:01,860 oceans would be mostly if not entirely 291 00:11:05,329 --> 00:11:03,060 dead 292 00:11:07,490 --> 00:11:05,339 the study Rhythm of the tides doesn't 293 00:11:09,829 --> 00:11:07,500 just help support life in the oceans 294 00:11:12,650 --> 00:11:09,839 they also help to regulate the climate 295 00:11:14,810 --> 00:11:12,660 and temperature of the planet the tides 296 00:11:16,550 --> 00:11:14,820 transport enormous amounts of heat from 297 00:11:19,069 --> 00:11:16,560 the temperate equator areas to The 298 00:11:22,190 --> 00:11:19,079 Frigid poles significantly mitigating 299 00:11:24,470 --> 00:11:22,200 extreme climate fluctuations without the 300 00:11:26,750 --> 00:11:24,480 lunar Tides climate oscillations would 301 00:11:28,910 --> 00:11:26,760 be far more extreme and are relatively 302 00:11:30,470 --> 00:11:28,920 predictable climate patterns would cease 303 00:11:32,509 --> 00:11:30,480 to exist 304 00:11:35,030 --> 00:11:32,519 the moon also helps to keep the earth's 305 00:11:37,970 --> 00:11:35,040 climate stable by stabilizing the spin 306 00:11:41,569 --> 00:11:37,980 of the Earth itself the Earth's axis is 307 00:11:43,430 --> 00:11:41,579 tilted at 23.5 degrees which it turns 308 00:11:46,130 --> 00:11:43,440 out is just about perfect for supporting 309 00:11:47,810 --> 00:11:46,140 life on the planet even a shift of a few 310 00:11:49,730 --> 00:11:47,820 degrees could have catastrophic 311 00:11:51,590 --> 00:11:49,740 consequences for climate 312 00:11:53,389 --> 00:11:51,600 certain areas of the planet would spend 313 00:11:56,030 --> 00:11:53,399 significantly more time in direct 314 00:11:58,069 --> 00:11:56,040 sunlight causing previously temperate 315 00:12:00,710 --> 00:11:58,079 regions to be as hot as Death Valley 316 00:12:03,290 --> 00:12:00,720 while other places would be plunged Into 317 00:12:05,750 --> 00:12:03,300 Darkness for months at a time making 318 00:12:07,130 --> 00:12:05,760 those areas as cold and hostile to life 319 00:12:09,410 --> 00:12:07,140 as the poles 320 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:09,420 and these extremes wouldn't just have an 321 00:12:13,910 --> 00:12:11,640 impact locally but would throw all of 322 00:12:16,610 --> 00:12:13,920 the planet's weather patterns into chaos 323 00:12:19,250 --> 00:12:16,620 it's hard to imagine Life as We Know It 324 00:12:21,470 --> 00:12:19,260 existing in those conditions and yet 325 00:12:23,930 --> 00:12:21,480 without the stabilizing influence of the 326 00:12:26,210 --> 00:12:23,940 Moon these sorts of shifts and the tilt 327 00:12:27,889 --> 00:12:26,220 of the Earth would be inevitable 328 00:12:30,050 --> 00:12:27,899 Beyond its impact on the Earth's 329 00:12:31,850 --> 00:12:30,060 temperature and climate the moon also 330 00:12:34,730 --> 00:12:31,860 protects the Earth from outside threats 331 00:12:36,350 --> 00:12:34,740 as well the moon's gravity pulls many of 332 00:12:38,269 --> 00:12:36,360 the comets asteroids and other 333 00:12:40,970 --> 00:12:38,279 Interstellar objects out of the direct 334 00:12:42,889 --> 00:12:40,980 path of the earth which has undoubtedly 335 00:12:46,009 --> 00:12:42,899 saved us from countless potentially 336 00:12:48,290 --> 00:12:46,019 devastating impacts the moon essentially 337 00:12:50,030 --> 00:12:48,300 acts like the Earth's bouncer helping to 338 00:12:52,370 --> 00:12:50,040 clear out much of the space debris that 339 00:12:54,710 --> 00:12:52,380 might threaten life on the planet its 340 00:12:56,389 --> 00:12:54,720 pockmarked surface tells the story of 341 00:12:58,069 --> 00:12:56,399 hundreds of major strikes that were 342 00:13:00,590 --> 00:12:58,079 narrowly avoided 343 00:13:02,329 --> 00:13:00,600 and all of that is super interesting but 344 00:13:04,790 --> 00:13:02,339 it's also probably not terribly 345 00:13:06,769 --> 00:13:04,800 surprising as we discussed back in 346 00:13:09,350 --> 00:13:06,779 episode 3 when we talked about the Fermi 347 00:13:11,569 --> 00:13:09,360 Paradox without more data it's 348 00:13:13,610 --> 00:13:11,579 impossible for us to know how weird our 349 00:13:15,829 --> 00:13:13,620 planet or our solar system might be in 350 00:13:17,870 --> 00:13:15,839 the context of the greater Cosmos 351 00:13:19,970 --> 00:13:17,880 there could be an earth equivalent in 352 00:13:22,430 --> 00:13:19,980 one out of a hundred solar systems or in 353 00:13:23,810 --> 00:13:22,440 one out of a billion solar systems we 354 00:13:26,030 --> 00:13:23,820 simply don't know 355 00:13:27,590 --> 00:13:26,040 however when we look at all of the 356 00:13:29,750 --> 00:13:27,600 things that had to go right on our 357 00:13:32,569 --> 00:13:29,760 planet for it to be as particularly well 358 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:32,579 calibrated to life as it is it seems 359 00:13:37,129 --> 00:13:34,920 reasonable to assume that we've got an 360 00:13:40,310 --> 00:13:37,139 unusually good setup here on Earth 361 00:13:42,170 --> 00:13:40,320 after all we're here life has existed 362 00:13:45,590 --> 00:13:42,180 consistently on this planet for the last 363 00:13:47,389 --> 00:13:45,600 3.7 billion years long enough for an 364 00:13:49,910 --> 00:13:47,399 intelligent species to emerge and 365 00:13:51,769 --> 00:13:49,920 contemplate its place in the universe so 366 00:13:53,629 --> 00:13:51,779 the fact that we are here to ask the 367 00:13:55,190 --> 00:13:53,639 questions means that we shouldn't be 368 00:13:58,190 --> 00:13:55,200 surprised to find that the Earth has 369 00:14:00,829 --> 00:13:58,200 been cosmically lucky in many ways 370 00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:00,839 otherwise we likely wouldn't be 371 00:14:04,970 --> 00:14:02,760 maybe for a planet to be stable enough 372 00:14:07,850 --> 00:14:04,980 to develop and sustain complex life 373 00:14:10,129 --> 00:14:07,860 forms for billions of years it has to 374 00:14:11,930 --> 00:14:10,139 have a moon like ours one that's big 375 00:14:13,910 --> 00:14:11,940 enough and close enough and tidally 376 00:14:16,310 --> 00:14:13,920 locked so that it stabilizes and 377 00:14:18,290 --> 00:14:16,320 protects the planet while also churning 378 00:14:20,750 --> 00:14:18,300 its oceans with the steady pulse of the 379 00:14:22,850 --> 00:14:20,760 tides creating both the building blocks 380 00:14:23,990 --> 00:14:22,860 for life and the ideal place for it to 381 00:14:26,930 --> 00:14:24,000 thrive 382 00:14:29,930 --> 00:14:26,940 but still there are those who argue that 383 00:14:31,610 --> 00:14:29,940 the Moon is too perfect they argue that 384 00:14:33,949 --> 00:14:31,620 there are so many things about the Moon 385 00:14:35,810 --> 00:14:33,959 that are improbable that it would have 386 00:14:38,690 --> 00:14:35,820 been impossible for the moon to be the 387 00:14:40,850 --> 00:14:38,700 result of natural phenomena which leaves 388 00:14:42,949 --> 00:14:40,860 really only one other option 389 00:14:44,269 --> 00:14:42,959 could the moon have been intentionally 390 00:14:47,509 --> 00:14:44,279 designed 391 00:14:50,030 --> 00:14:47,519 let's take a closer look at the evidence 392 00:14:52,129 --> 00:14:50,040 one of the most striking observations to 393 00:14:54,949 --> 00:14:52,139 be made about the Moon is how unusual 394 00:14:57,350 --> 00:14:54,959 the phenomenon of solar eclipses is 395 00:15:00,350 --> 00:14:57,360 from the dawn of human history we have 396 00:15:03,110 --> 00:15:00,360 been fascinated by solar eclipses 397 00:15:05,210 --> 00:15:03,120 about once every 18 months somewhere on 398 00:15:07,970 --> 00:15:05,220 Earth there is a total solar eclipse 399 00:15:09,670 --> 00:15:07,980 where for a brief time the moon moves 400 00:15:12,290 --> 00:15:09,680 directly into the path of the sun 401 00:15:14,329 --> 00:15:12,300 covering it perfectly so that only the 402 00:15:15,769 --> 00:15:14,339 glow of the sun's Corona can be seen 403 00:15:18,769 --> 00:15:15,779 around the edges 404 00:15:21,410 --> 00:15:18,779 what few consider however is how many 405 00:15:22,850 --> 00:15:21,420 things have to be perfectly aligned for 406 00:15:25,670 --> 00:15:22,860 that to be the case 407 00:15:28,129 --> 00:15:25,680 first of all although the sun is 400 408 00:15:30,889 --> 00:15:28,139 times bigger than the moon they appear 409 00:15:32,629 --> 00:15:30,899 to be the same size in the sky on Earth 410 00:15:35,389 --> 00:15:32,639 this is because the sun is almost 411 00:15:36,769 --> 00:15:35,399 exactly 400 times further away from the 412 00:15:39,110 --> 00:15:36,779 Earth and the Moon 413 00:15:41,930 --> 00:15:39,120 and while most moons orbit around the 414 00:15:44,030 --> 00:15:41,940 equator of their planets our moon has a 415 00:15:46,550 --> 00:15:44,040 slightly tilted orbit that aligns to our 416 00:15:49,189 --> 00:15:46,560 orbit around the sun if those things 417 00:15:50,930 --> 00:15:49,199 weren't true solar eclipses as we know 418 00:15:53,509 --> 00:15:50,940 them wouldn't be possible 419 00:15:55,670 --> 00:15:53,519 and I'll admit when I think about how 420 00:15:57,829 --> 00:15:55,680 astronomically small the chances must be 421 00:16:00,769 --> 00:15:57,839 for the moon to be so perfectly aligned 422 00:16:03,170 --> 00:16:00,779 as to create solar eclipses it kind of 423 00:16:05,210 --> 00:16:03,180 freaks me out the odds are just so 424 00:16:07,490 --> 00:16:05,220 vanishingly small that that would happen 425 00:16:10,189 --> 00:16:07,500 naturally that it's hard not to find 426 00:16:12,530 --> 00:16:10,199 yourself looking at the moon differently 427 00:16:14,870 --> 00:16:12,540 however I will Splash a little cold 428 00:16:16,370 --> 00:16:14,880 water on our Collective Faces by 429 00:16:18,170 --> 00:16:16,380 pointing out that the Moon is actually 430 00:16:20,750 --> 00:16:18,180 moving away from the earth at the 431 00:16:22,670 --> 00:16:20,760 unfathomably slow pace of about an inch 432 00:16:24,530 --> 00:16:22,680 and a half a year and although that 433 00:16:27,769 --> 00:16:24,540 movement is so slow as to be 434 00:16:29,930 --> 00:16:27,779 imperceptible on any human time scale if 435 00:16:32,150 --> 00:16:29,940 you roll back the tape 4.5 billion years 436 00:16:34,730 --> 00:16:32,160 we can deduce that it would have been 10 437 00:16:36,290 --> 00:16:34,740 times closer to the Earth than it is now 438 00:16:38,569 --> 00:16:36,300 meaning that it would have been much 439 00:16:41,150 --> 00:16:38,579 bigger in the sky than the Sun and the 440 00:16:43,370 --> 00:16:41,160 truly ancient past and if we play the 441 00:16:45,530 --> 00:16:43,380 tape forward 600 million years from now 442 00:16:46,970 --> 00:16:45,540 the moon will be so far away that it 443 00:16:48,949 --> 00:16:46,980 will no longer be big enough to block 444 00:16:51,290 --> 00:16:48,959 out the light of the Sun and solar 445 00:16:53,569 --> 00:16:51,300 eclipses will cease to exist 446 00:16:55,310 --> 00:16:53,579 so one could argue that the perfect 447 00:16:57,170 --> 00:16:55,320 placement of the moon is only an 448 00:16:59,269 --> 00:16:57,180 illusion considering that it hasn't 449 00:17:00,350 --> 00:16:59,279 always been and won't always be so 450 00:17:02,990 --> 00:17:00,360 perfect 451 00:17:04,610 --> 00:17:03,000 however considering that solar eclipses 452 00:17:07,010 --> 00:17:04,620 have been visible since before the time 453 00:17:08,689 --> 00:17:07,020 of the dinosaurs and will continue to be 454 00:17:11,169 --> 00:17:08,699 so for several hundred million more 455 00:17:14,090 --> 00:17:11,179 years to come I think it's still notable 456 00:17:16,130 --> 00:17:14,100 and it's not just the eclipses that call 457 00:17:18,650 --> 00:17:16,140 the size and placement of the Moon into 458 00:17:20,090 --> 00:17:18,660 question it's anomalous for a few other 459 00:17:23,210 --> 00:17:20,100 reasons as well 460 00:17:25,789 --> 00:17:23,220 first of all it's way too big 461 00:17:27,829 --> 00:17:25,799 there are over 200 moons in our solar 462 00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:27,839 system and although the Earth is only 463 00:17:32,810 --> 00:17:30,059 the fifth largest of the eight planets 464 00:17:34,909 --> 00:17:32,820 it has the fifth largest moon 465 00:17:36,710 --> 00:17:34,919 there are only four moons in the entire 466 00:17:39,950 --> 00:17:36,720 solar system that are larger than ours 467 00:17:42,830 --> 00:17:39,960 Jupiter's moons Ganymede Callisto and IO 468 00:17:45,169 --> 00:17:42,840 and Saturn's moon Titan so the issue 469 00:17:47,690 --> 00:17:45,179 isn't just the moon's size but its size 470 00:17:49,789 --> 00:17:47,700 relative to the Earth the largest moon 471 00:17:51,650 --> 00:17:49,799 in the solar system Ganymede is only 472 00:17:54,230 --> 00:17:51,660 about 50 percent larger than the moon 473 00:17:56,870 --> 00:17:54,240 and yet the diameter of Jupiter is 11 474 00:17:58,789 --> 00:17:56,880 times that of earth when we look at the 475 00:18:00,650 --> 00:17:58,799 rest of the solar system it just doesn't 476 00:18:02,630 --> 00:18:00,660 make sense that one of the biggest moons 477 00:18:04,490 --> 00:18:02,640 would orbit one of the smallest planets 478 00:18:05,990 --> 00:18:04,500 it suggests that maybe there was 479 00:18:08,570 --> 00:18:06,000 something different about how the moon 480 00:18:10,490 --> 00:18:08,580 was formed and came to orbit the Earth 481 00:18:12,890 --> 00:18:10,500 and the moon isn't just way bigger than 482 00:18:14,570 --> 00:18:12,900 we'd expect it to be it's also much 483 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:14,580 closer to the Earth 484 00:18:18,830 --> 00:18:16,740 in fact there are those who argue that 485 00:18:20,630 --> 00:18:18,840 because the Moon is so big relative to 486 00:18:22,970 --> 00:18:20,640 the Earth and because it orbits the 487 00:18:25,010 --> 00:18:22,980 earth so closely that it isn't even 488 00:18:27,110 --> 00:18:25,020 technically a moon at all 489 00:18:28,310 --> 00:18:27,120 could the moon secretly be another 490 00:18:30,710 --> 00:18:28,320 planet 491 00:18:32,210 --> 00:18:30,720 it turns out that idea is not as crazy 492 00:18:36,289 --> 00:18:32,220 as it may sound 493 00:18:38,810 --> 00:18:36,299 in January of 2005 Eris was discovered a 494 00:18:41,510 --> 00:18:38,820 rocky trans-newtonian object with its 495 00:18:43,909 --> 00:18:41,520 own Moon Eris as it turns out was 496 00:18:45,590 --> 00:18:43,919 destined to be a Planet Killer and the 497 00:18:47,930 --> 00:18:45,600 planet that it killed not through 498 00:18:49,190 --> 00:18:47,940 Collision but through definition was 499 00:18:51,470 --> 00:18:49,200 Pluto 500 00:18:54,310 --> 00:18:51,480 in August of the following year the 501 00:18:56,870 --> 00:18:54,320 international astronomy Union or the iau 502 00:18:59,330 --> 00:18:56,880 announced that based on the discovery of 503 00:19:02,150 --> 00:18:59,340 Eris they had voted to demote Pluto from 504 00:19:04,250 --> 00:19:02,160 a planet to a dwarf planet this decision 505 00:19:06,950 --> 00:19:04,260 was controversial and remained so to 506 00:19:09,169 --> 00:19:06,960 this day for a couple of reasons the 507 00:19:11,510 --> 00:19:09,179 first is that it's not exactly clear 508 00:19:13,669 --> 00:19:11,520 that the iau had the authority to make 509 00:19:15,890 --> 00:19:13,679 that decision there is no clear 510 00:19:18,409 --> 00:19:15,900 Authority that has the final say on the 511 00:19:20,510 --> 00:19:18,419 definition of a planet and this decision 512 00:19:23,330 --> 00:19:20,520 was made by an organization made up 513 00:19:25,789 --> 00:19:23,340 exclusively of astronomers planetary 514 00:19:27,710 --> 00:19:25,799 scientists weren't consulted many of 515 00:19:30,110 --> 00:19:27,720 whom object to the fact that the iau 516 00:19:32,330 --> 00:19:30,120 redefined what a planet is without 517 00:19:35,150 --> 00:19:32,340 taking into account any geophysical 518 00:19:37,190 --> 00:19:35,160 characteristics of the planet itself the 519 00:19:39,409 --> 00:19:37,200 decision on Pluto was made based on the 520 00:19:42,049 --> 00:19:39,419 following definition of a planet a 521 00:19:43,909 --> 00:19:42,059 planet is a body that orbits the Sun is 522 00:19:46,610 --> 00:19:43,919 massive enough for its own gravity to 523 00:19:48,350 --> 00:19:46,620 make it round and which has cleared its 524 00:19:51,049 --> 00:19:48,360 neighborhood of smaller objects 525 00:19:53,150 --> 00:19:51,059 approaching its orbit it's the last part 526 00:19:55,070 --> 00:19:53,160 that caused Eris to deliver the Death 527 00:19:58,010 --> 00:19:55,080 Blow To Pluto's status as a planet 528 00:20:00,350 --> 00:19:58,020 because aerys is larger than Pluto and 529 00:20:02,270 --> 00:20:00,360 orbits in its general area the argument 530 00:20:03,590 --> 00:20:02,280 was made that Pluto had failed to clear 531 00:20:06,350 --> 00:20:03,600 its neighborhood 532 00:20:08,570 --> 00:20:06,360 however some still argue that no 533 00:20:11,150 --> 00:20:08,580 planetary body ever really entirely 534 00:20:13,130 --> 00:20:11,160 clears its neighborhood asteroids and 535 00:20:15,650 --> 00:20:13,140 other large objects persist within the 536 00:20:17,990 --> 00:20:15,660 orbits of all of the planets and so the 537 00:20:19,909 --> 00:20:18,000 controversy over Pluto rages on and 538 00:20:22,190 --> 00:20:19,919 likely we'll continue to do so long into 539 00:20:25,010 --> 00:20:22,200 the future and the reason for that is 540 00:20:27,049 --> 00:20:25,020 simple all objects in space are 541 00:20:29,390 --> 00:20:27,059 constantly moving and are in a constant 542 00:20:31,250 --> 00:20:29,400 state of flux even if that change is 543 00:20:33,770 --> 00:20:31,260 happening on the scale of millions of 544 00:20:36,110 --> 00:20:33,780 years and though some objects in space 545 00:20:38,630 --> 00:20:36,120 are clearly an asteroid and some other 546 00:20:40,730 --> 00:20:38,640 objects are clearly a planet there 547 00:20:42,890 --> 00:20:40,740 exists a vast spectrum of types of 548 00:20:44,930 --> 00:20:42,900 objects in between and it can be 549 00:20:46,789 --> 00:20:44,940 extremely difficult to classify some of 550 00:20:47,750 --> 00:20:46,799 these objects into one category or 551 00:20:49,669 --> 00:20:47,760 another 552 00:20:51,529 --> 00:20:49,679 and our moon is actually one of these 553 00:20:54,770 --> 00:20:51,539 objects that falls into that gray area 554 00:20:57,110 --> 00:20:54,780 it all comes down to our definitions so 555 00:20:59,270 --> 00:20:57,120 is the moon really a moon or could it 556 00:21:01,490 --> 00:20:59,280 actually be the second planet in a 557 00:21:03,529 --> 00:21:01,500 binary system with the Earth 558 00:21:05,750 --> 00:21:03,539 some would argue that it is and this 559 00:21:07,850 --> 00:21:05,760 assertion is based on more than just the 560 00:21:09,770 --> 00:21:07,860 superficial recognition of the moon's 561 00:21:12,470 --> 00:21:09,780 close orbit to the Earth or its relative 562 00:21:15,110 --> 00:21:12,480 size it's based on the definition of a 563 00:21:17,810 --> 00:21:15,120 planet itself and the surprising orbit 564 00:21:20,029 --> 00:21:17,820 that the moon takes around the Sun in 565 00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:20,039 his book on time space and other things 566 00:21:25,730 --> 00:21:23,580 Isaac Asimov writes quote we might look 567 00:21:27,890 --> 00:21:25,740 upon the moon then as neither a true 568 00:21:30,169 --> 00:21:27,900 satellite of the earth nor a captured 569 00:21:32,810 --> 00:21:30,179 one but as a planet in its own Right 570 00:21:33,890 --> 00:21:32,820 Moving about the sun in careful step 571 00:21:35,930 --> 00:21:33,900 with the Earth 572 00:21:38,149 --> 00:21:35,940 to be sure from within the Moon Earth 573 00:21:39,830 --> 00:21:38,159 system the simplest way of picturing the 574 00:21:40,850 --> 00:21:39,840 situation is to have the moon revolve 575 00:21:43,190 --> 00:21:40,860 around the Earth 576 00:21:45,049 --> 00:21:43,200 but if you were to draw a picture of the 577 00:21:47,450 --> 00:21:45,059 orbits of the Earth and Moon about the 578 00:21:49,909 --> 00:21:47,460 sun exactly to scale you would see that 579 00:21:52,490 --> 00:21:49,919 the moon's orbit is everywhere concave 580 00:21:55,070 --> 00:21:52,500 toward the sun it's always falling 581 00:21:57,830 --> 00:21:55,080 toward the sun all the other satellites 582 00:22:00,049 --> 00:21:57,840 without exception fall away from the Sun 583 00:22:02,210 --> 00:22:00,059 through part of their orbits caught as 584 00:22:03,529 --> 00:22:02,220 they are by the superior pull of their 585 00:22:06,289 --> 00:22:03,539 primary planet 586 00:22:08,390 --> 00:22:06,299 but not the moon end quote 587 00:22:10,490 --> 00:22:08,400 another way to visualize this is that 588 00:22:12,230 --> 00:22:10,500 the Earth's gravity does very little to 589 00:22:15,110 --> 00:22:12,240 disrupt the orbit of the moon around the 590 00:22:17,630 --> 00:22:15,120 Sun and so can we even truly say that 591 00:22:19,850 --> 00:22:17,640 the moon orbits the earth or is its true 592 00:22:21,770 --> 00:22:19,860 orbit around the Sun and if the 593 00:22:24,289 --> 00:22:21,780 definition of a planet is a body that 594 00:22:25,730 --> 00:22:24,299 orbits the sun then wouldn't that make 595 00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:25,740 the Moon a planet 596 00:22:30,590 --> 00:22:28,320 for many this argument comes down to one 597 00:22:31,730 --> 00:22:30,600 thing the very center of the Earth Moon 598 00:22:33,950 --> 00:22:31,740 system 599 00:22:35,990 --> 00:22:33,960 a berry Center is the center of mass 600 00:22:37,070 --> 00:22:36,000 around which two bodies orbit each other 601 00:22:39,289 --> 00:22:37,080 in space 602 00:22:41,570 --> 00:22:39,299 because the gravitational forces between 603 00:22:44,690 --> 00:22:41,580 two objects will always be acting on 604 00:22:47,630 --> 00:22:44,700 each other one object never truly orbits 605 00:22:50,029 --> 00:22:47,640 another rather both objects orbit the 606 00:22:51,950 --> 00:22:50,039 center of mass between them because of 607 00:22:54,710 --> 00:22:51,960 gravity the Berry Center will always be 608 00:22:56,450 --> 00:22:54,720 closer to the more massive object and in 609 00:22:58,730 --> 00:22:56,460 the case of the Earth and the moon the 610 00:23:00,770 --> 00:22:58,740 Berry Center is actually inside of the 611 00:23:03,529 --> 00:23:00,780 earth about a thousand miles below the 612 00:23:05,330 --> 00:23:03,539 surface many have argued that this means 613 00:23:07,029 --> 00:23:05,340 that technically the Moon is orbiting 614 00:23:09,830 --> 00:23:07,039 the Earth and is therefore a moon 615 00:23:11,870 --> 00:23:09,840 however if the Berry Center were outside 616 00:23:14,149 --> 00:23:11,880 of the earth and was located somewhere 617 00:23:16,549 --> 00:23:14,159 between the two bodies then the moon 618 00:23:18,830 --> 00:23:16,559 would be a planet and as we discussed 619 00:23:21,169 --> 00:23:18,840 the Moon is actually moving slowly away 620 00:23:22,669 --> 00:23:21,179 from the earth so it's conceivable that 621 00:23:25,250 --> 00:23:22,679 at some point in the future the moon 622 00:23:27,169 --> 00:23:25,260 will technically be a planet and yet 623 00:23:28,370 --> 00:23:27,179 nothing fundamental about the moon will 624 00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:28,380 have changed 625 00:23:32,870 --> 00:23:30,720 see how complicated this can get 626 00:23:35,029 --> 00:23:32,880 it gets even more complicated because 627 00:23:37,549 --> 00:23:35,039 the reality is that scientists have had 628 00:23:39,649 --> 00:23:37,559 to admit for decades now that we 629 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:39,659 actually have no idea how the moon was 630 00:23:44,270 --> 00:23:41,760 formed and with all of the strange 631 00:23:46,070 --> 00:23:44,280 peculiarities about the moon we've been 632 00:23:49,130 --> 00:23:46,080 forced to admit that none of our 633 00:23:50,810 --> 00:23:49,140 hypotheses really fit the data when we 634 00:23:53,270 --> 00:23:50,820 put together everything that we know 635 00:23:55,850 --> 00:23:53,280 about the Moon the Moon simply doesn't 636 00:23:57,649 --> 00:23:55,860 make sense and that opens up some very 637 00:24:00,409 --> 00:23:57,659 strange and very unsettling 638 00:24:02,930 --> 00:24:00,419 possibilities about what might really be 639 00:24:04,430 --> 00:24:02,940 going on with our nearest neighbor let's 640 00:24:06,649 --> 00:24:04,440 start by looking at the various 641 00:24:09,169 --> 00:24:06,659 hypotheses for where the moon might have 642 00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:09,179 come from and to do that we first need 643 00:24:13,850 --> 00:24:11,360 to establish when the moon was formed 644 00:24:15,230 --> 00:24:13,860 and as with basically everything else 645 00:24:18,169 --> 00:24:15,240 that has to do with our largest 646 00:24:20,450 --> 00:24:18,179 satellite there are no easy answers 647 00:24:22,310 --> 00:24:20,460 the Apollo missions brought back rocks 648 00:24:24,110 --> 00:24:22,320 and other samples from the lunar surface 649 00:24:26,330 --> 00:24:24,120 that we have studied and continue to 650 00:24:28,190 --> 00:24:26,340 study in order to learn more about the 651 00:24:30,289 --> 00:24:28,200 moon including its makeup and its 652 00:24:31,850 --> 00:24:30,299 Origins and one of the most surprising 653 00:24:33,770 --> 00:24:31,860 things that we've learned is that the 654 00:24:37,190 --> 00:24:33,780 Moon is much older than we initially 655 00:24:38,810 --> 00:24:37,200 thought in fact startlingly lunar 656 00:24:41,029 --> 00:24:38,820 samples have been shown to be anywhere 657 00:24:43,190 --> 00:24:41,039 from 10 million to 100 million years 658 00:24:44,750 --> 00:24:43,200 older than the oldest rock samples that 659 00:24:47,870 --> 00:24:44,760 we've found on Earth 660 00:24:50,270 --> 00:24:47,880 so how could this be possible could the 661 00:24:52,430 --> 00:24:50,280 moon really be older than the Earth 662 00:24:54,289 --> 00:24:52,440 there's one theory for how the moon was 663 00:24:55,549 --> 00:24:54,299 formed that would allow for this and 664 00:24:58,610 --> 00:24:55,559 that's what is known as the capture 665 00:25:00,529 --> 00:24:58,620 Theory the basic idea is that way back 666 00:25:02,330 --> 00:25:00,539 in the chaos of the early solar system 667 00:25:04,850 --> 00:25:02,340 the path of the Moon and the Earth 668 00:25:06,710 --> 00:25:04,860 intersected in exactly the right way at 669 00:25:08,750 --> 00:25:06,720 exactly the right angle so that the moon 670 00:25:11,450 --> 00:25:08,760 was captured by the gravity of the earth 671 00:25:13,010 --> 00:25:11,460 and pulled into its orbit this would 672 00:25:14,990 --> 00:25:13,020 explain how the moon could have been 673 00:25:17,930 --> 00:25:15,000 formed before the Earth and then later 674 00:25:19,310 --> 00:25:17,940 came to orbit it however based on 675 00:25:22,010 --> 00:25:19,320 everything that we've discussed about 676 00:25:24,830 --> 00:25:22,020 the moon so far this is so unlikely as 677 00:25:26,930 --> 00:25:24,840 to be basically impossible the Moon is 678 00:25:29,149 --> 00:25:26,940 so large relative to the earth and its 679 00:25:31,730 --> 00:25:29,159 orbit is so close and so nearly 680 00:25:33,470 --> 00:25:31,740 perfectly circular that it's just simply 681 00:25:35,330 --> 00:25:33,480 not feasible for the earth to have 682 00:25:37,250 --> 00:25:35,340 captured the moon in this way 683 00:25:39,649 --> 00:25:37,260 so although this was once a popular 684 00:25:42,110 --> 00:25:39,659 Theory it's no longer considered to be 685 00:25:44,029 --> 00:25:42,120 viable And yet when we think about the 686 00:25:46,610 --> 00:25:44,039 moon and how perfectly placed it is 687 00:25:48,950 --> 00:25:46,620 bigger than it should be and closer than 688 00:25:51,470 --> 00:25:48,960 it should be tidally locked so that we 689 00:25:53,210 --> 00:25:51,480 only see one side rotating in perfect 690 00:25:55,730 --> 00:25:53,220 rhythm with the rotation of the earth 691 00:25:58,130 --> 00:25:55,740 creating the life-giving tides and 692 00:26:00,289 --> 00:25:58,140 perhaps even life itself while it's 693 00:26:03,169 --> 00:26:00,299 perfect alignment creates the profound 694 00:26:05,029 --> 00:26:03,179 Celestial cycle of the eclipses it's 695 00:26:07,250 --> 00:26:05,039 hard not to wonder 696 00:26:09,529 --> 00:26:07,260 if the moon wasn't captured by the 697 00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:09,539 gravity of the earth could it have been 698 00:26:14,090 --> 00:26:11,640 placed into orbit around it by some 699 00:26:15,529 --> 00:26:14,100 other means could the moon have been 700 00:26:17,450 --> 00:26:15,539 placed in orbit around the Earth 701 00:26:20,269 --> 00:26:17,460 intentionally 702 00:26:21,769 --> 00:26:20,279 it's an intriguing question considering 703 00:26:24,049 --> 00:26:21,779 the considerable role that the moon 704 00:26:26,330 --> 00:26:24,059 plays in making the Earth so hospitable 705 00:26:28,970 --> 00:26:26,340 to life and the Precision of its unusual 706 00:26:31,010 --> 00:26:28,980 placement in orbit could it be that an 707 00:26:34,190 --> 00:26:31,020 intelligent species either created the 708 00:26:36,470 --> 00:26:34,200 moon or more likely co-opted an existing 709 00:26:37,970 --> 00:26:36,480 Rocky body in space and place it in 710 00:26:39,590 --> 00:26:37,980 orbit around the Earth in order to 711 00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:39,600 Foster the development of life on the 712 00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:40,380 planet 713 00:26:45,350 --> 00:26:43,260 and could they still be watching us now 714 00:26:47,570 --> 00:26:45,360 it may sound like an absurd proposition 715 00:26:49,370 --> 00:26:47,580 but to be fair it fits the evidence 716 00:26:51,470 --> 00:26:49,380 better than many other more respectable 717 00:26:53,750 --> 00:26:51,480 theories around the moon's Origins 718 00:26:55,789 --> 00:26:53,760 and this theory is made all the more 719 00:26:58,970 --> 00:26:55,799 intriguing by the fact that there is 720 00:27:00,230 --> 00:26:58,980 evidence that the moon might in fact be 721 00:27:02,630 --> 00:27:00,240 Hollow 722 00:27:07,490 --> 00:27:02,640 that's right people we're talking about 723 00:27:12,350 --> 00:27:10,070 my deep and Abiding Love for the hollow 724 00:27:14,750 --> 00:27:12,360 Earth theory is well documented on this 725 00:27:16,549 --> 00:27:14,760 podcast and although you will drag the 726 00:27:19,070 --> 00:27:16,559 hollow Earth theory out of my cold dead 727 00:27:21,230 --> 00:27:19,080 hands I will grudgingly admit that the 728 00:27:24,289 --> 00:27:21,240 evidence for it actually being true is 729 00:27:26,269 --> 00:27:24,299 essentially non-existent however the 730 00:27:28,850 --> 00:27:26,279 same cannot be said for the hollow Moon 731 00:27:30,769 --> 00:27:28,860 Theory as wild as it may sound there 732 00:27:33,110 --> 00:27:30,779 actually is evidence that the moon might 733 00:27:34,970 --> 00:27:33,120 be Hollow or at the very least that it 734 00:27:36,769 --> 00:27:34,980 might have massive open Caverns 735 00:27:38,810 --> 00:27:36,779 concealed within it 736 00:27:40,549 --> 00:27:38,820 one of the goals of the Apollo missions 737 00:27:43,130 --> 00:27:40,559 was to learn more about the moon's 738 00:27:45,289 --> 00:27:43,140 internal structure and to do that they 739 00:27:47,510 --> 00:27:45,299 set up remote seismic stations on the 740 00:27:49,250 --> 00:27:47,520 moon's surface and it was through these 741 00:27:51,110 --> 00:27:49,260 experiments that they discovered that 742 00:27:52,549 --> 00:27:51,120 the moon's composition is very different 743 00:27:54,230 --> 00:27:52,559 than we thought 744 00:27:55,789 --> 00:27:54,240 the first indication that something 745 00:27:58,789 --> 00:27:55,799 might be strange about the moon's 746 00:28:02,690 --> 00:27:58,799 composition came during Apollo 12. on 747 00:28:05,210 --> 00:28:02,700 November 14 1969 Commander Charles Pete 748 00:28:08,330 --> 00:28:05,220 Conrad and lunar module pilot Alan L 749 00:28:10,370 --> 00:28:08,340 Bean landed on the lunar surface eight 750 00:28:12,529 --> 00:28:10,380 hours later they were reunited with dick 751 00:28:15,169 --> 00:28:12,539 Gordon in the Command Module and headed 752 00:28:17,090 --> 00:28:15,179 back to Earth but as they departed they 753 00:28:20,029 --> 00:28:17,100 intentionally crashed the lunar module 754 00:28:22,130 --> 00:28:20,039 into the Moon it impacted about 40 miles 755 00:28:25,610 --> 00:28:22,140 away from the Apollo 12 Landing site 756 00:28:27,830 --> 00:28:25,620 with the force of one ton of TNT the 757 00:28:30,350 --> 00:28:27,840 resulting shock wave built up and peaked 758 00:28:32,990 --> 00:28:30,360 in just eight minutes then it took an 759 00:28:35,210 --> 00:28:33,000 hour to fully dissipate much like a Gong 760 00:28:37,730 --> 00:28:35,220 that continues to vibrate long after it 761 00:28:40,070 --> 00:28:37,740 is struck something similar happened on 762 00:28:42,590 --> 00:28:40,080 Apollo 13 when the crew conducted a 763 00:28:46,070 --> 00:28:42,600 similar controlled crash it hit with the 764 00:28:48,289 --> 00:28:46,080 force of 11 and a half tons of TNT this 765 00:28:50,390 --> 00:28:48,299 translated to a seismic impact that 766 00:28:52,610 --> 00:28:50,400 peaked after seven minutes but this time 767 00:28:54,350 --> 00:28:52,620 it continued to reverberate for nearly 768 00:28:56,630 --> 00:28:54,360 four hours 769 00:28:58,789 --> 00:28:56,640 the vibrations from these two impacts 770 00:29:01,490 --> 00:28:58,799 lasted much longer than scientists 771 00:29:04,370 --> 00:29:01,500 expected far longer than any equivalent 772 00:29:06,409 --> 00:29:04,380 seismic vibrations last on Earth it was 773 00:29:09,110 --> 00:29:06,419 almost as if the moon was ringing like a 774 00:29:10,610 --> 00:29:09,120 bell this strange result forced 775 00:29:13,190 --> 00:29:10,620 scientists to think differently about 776 00:29:15,169 --> 00:29:13,200 the moon and its composition and has led 777 00:29:16,549 --> 00:29:15,179 many to speculate that the moon might in 778 00:29:18,830 --> 00:29:16,559 fact be Hollow 779 00:29:21,529 --> 00:29:18,840 and this raises even more disturbing 780 00:29:25,070 --> 00:29:21,539 questions because as famed astronomer Dr 781 00:29:28,070 --> 00:29:25,080 Carl Sagan wrote in 1966 a natural 782 00:29:31,130 --> 00:29:28,080 satellite cannot be a hollow object 783 00:29:32,870 --> 00:29:31,140 so if the moon is hollow we suddenly 784 00:29:34,310 --> 00:29:32,880 have to Grapple with the reality that 785 00:29:35,870 --> 00:29:34,320 the Moon is likely an artificial 786 00:29:37,190 --> 00:29:35,880 structure created by an unknown 787 00:29:39,590 --> 00:29:37,200 intelligence 788 00:29:42,230 --> 00:29:39,600 and to be honest I'm not totally sure 789 00:29:43,669 --> 00:29:42,240 what to make of any of this there are of 790 00:29:46,130 --> 00:29:43,679 course rebuttals to the hollow Moon 791 00:29:47,510 --> 00:29:46,140 theory in particular it has been argued 792 00:29:49,730 --> 00:29:47,520 that the bell-like seismic 793 00:29:51,710 --> 00:29:49,740 reverberations of the Moon relative to 794 00:29:53,570 --> 00:29:51,720 what we see on Earth is due to the fact 795 00:29:55,370 --> 00:29:53,580 that there is water on Earth that 796 00:29:57,049 --> 00:29:55,380 permeates the surface of the Earth like 797 00:29:59,510 --> 00:29:57,059 water in a sponge 798 00:30:01,730 --> 00:29:59,520 as energy from an earthquake moves 799 00:30:03,649 --> 00:30:01,740 through our planet that damp material 800 00:30:06,049 --> 00:30:03,659 absorbs the energy of the Waves 801 00:30:09,590 --> 00:30:06,059 ultimately deadening their effects 802 00:30:12,529 --> 00:30:09,600 but the Moon is dry cool and rigid more 803 00:30:14,870 --> 00:30:12,539 like a solid rock than a sponge so even 804 00:30:17,210 --> 00:30:14,880 if a moon Quake is less intense there's 805 00:30:18,830 --> 00:30:17,220 nothing to slow down the vibrations they 806 00:30:21,350 --> 00:30:18,840 just go back and forth through the moon 807 00:30:24,350 --> 00:30:21,360 until the solid Stone eventually stops 808 00:30:27,230 --> 00:30:24,360 them the ringing Bell is the shock waves 809 00:30:29,750 --> 00:30:27,240 reverberating through that stone and hey 810 00:30:31,909 --> 00:30:29,760 that could totally be the case I mean it 811 00:30:33,350 --> 00:30:31,919 sounds right but it also raises the 812 00:30:35,510 --> 00:30:33,360 question of why scientists were 813 00:30:36,710 --> 00:30:35,520 initially so puzzled by these results in 814 00:30:39,049 --> 00:30:36,720 the first place 815 00:30:41,330 --> 00:30:39,059 I mean they already knew that there 816 00:30:43,370 --> 00:30:41,340 wasn't water on the moon right there's 817 00:30:45,169 --> 00:30:43,380 something about that argument that just 818 00:30:47,810 --> 00:30:45,179 doesn't sit right with me 819 00:30:49,789 --> 00:30:47,820 and listen I'm totally prepared to 820 00:30:52,190 --> 00:30:49,799 accept the evidence that the Moon is not 821 00:30:54,830 --> 00:30:52,200 Hollow I just haven't really been able 822 00:30:56,690 --> 00:30:54,840 to find it the rebuttals that I've found 823 00:30:58,970 --> 00:30:56,700 all seem to give those vague 824 00:31:00,710 --> 00:30:58,980 condescending non-answers that the 825 00:31:02,450 --> 00:31:00,720 experts give when answering a question 826 00:31:05,269 --> 00:31:02,460 that they don't feel is even worthy of 827 00:31:07,190 --> 00:31:05,279 being entertained in this case it's 828 00:31:09,230 --> 00:31:07,200 usually vaguely referencing a more 829 00:31:12,950 --> 00:31:09,240 advanced understanding of lunar seismic 830 00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:12,960 activity to which I say fantastic what 831 00:31:17,029 --> 00:31:14,760 is that understanding I'd love to hear 832 00:31:19,549 --> 00:31:17,039 more about that but no one ever seems to 833 00:31:22,669 --> 00:31:19,559 take it further and that's frustrating 834 00:31:24,649 --> 00:31:22,679 that said I'm fairly certain that there 835 00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:24,659 is an explanation for why those lunar 836 00:31:28,730 --> 00:31:26,580 module crashes made the moon ring like a 837 00:31:30,769 --> 00:31:28,740 bell that doesn't involve an alien 838 00:31:32,389 --> 00:31:30,779 intelligence creating a giant spaceship 839 00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:32,399 out of a hollowed out Moon and using it 840 00:31:36,350 --> 00:31:33,840 to surveil the Earth 841 00:31:38,389 --> 00:31:36,360 it's just that I don't see any virtue in 842 00:31:41,029 --> 00:31:38,399 throwing out hypotheses based on the 843 00:31:42,289 --> 00:31:41,039 giggle Factor rather than on the actual 844 00:31:45,169 --> 00:31:42,299 evidence 845 00:31:46,970 --> 00:31:45,179 the reality is that we understand so 846 00:31:49,430 --> 00:31:46,980 little about the universe and our place 847 00:31:51,590 --> 00:31:49,440 within it we look at the moon in the sky 848 00:31:54,169 --> 00:31:51,600 every night but we still know so little 849 00:31:55,730 --> 00:31:54,179 about it that it remains at best a 850 00:31:58,730 --> 00:31:55,740 mysterious stranger 851 00:32:00,950 --> 00:31:58,740 it would be incredibly arrogant of us to 852 00:32:03,350 --> 00:32:00,960 assume that reality is bound by our 853 00:32:05,389 --> 00:32:03,360 naive and narrow conception of what is 854 00:32:07,310 --> 00:32:05,399 ridiculous and what is not 855 00:32:09,769 --> 00:32:07,320 but even if the moon is not a 856 00:32:11,210 --> 00:32:09,779 hollowed-out alien superstructure there 857 00:32:13,909 --> 00:32:11,220 are still some things about its 858 00:32:15,649 --> 00:32:13,919 composition that are very peculiar and 859 00:32:18,289 --> 00:32:15,659 which have perplexed scientists for 860 00:32:20,269 --> 00:32:18,299 decades and to understand why we have to 861 00:32:21,470 --> 00:32:20,279 go back to how the moon was formed in 862 00:32:23,090 --> 00:32:21,480 the first place 863 00:32:25,010 --> 00:32:23,100 the leading theory to explain the 864 00:32:27,830 --> 00:32:25,020 formation of the moon is called the 865 00:32:29,750 --> 00:32:27,840 giant impact theory in this Theory a 866 00:32:31,789 --> 00:32:29,760 mars-sized object collided with the 867 00:32:33,529 --> 00:32:31,799 Earth billions of years ago and the moon 868 00:32:35,029 --> 00:32:33,539 formed from the debris disc that 869 00:32:37,970 --> 00:32:35,039 subsequently formed around the planet 870 00:32:40,029 --> 00:32:37,980 this Theory Works to explain so many of 871 00:32:43,190 --> 00:32:40,039 the weird idiosyncrasies about the moon 872 00:32:45,830 --> 00:32:43,200 including its large size and close orbit 873 00:32:48,649 --> 00:32:45,840 it also worked in the models to explain 874 00:32:51,049 --> 00:32:48,659 the length of the Earth's day so this 875 00:32:54,830 --> 00:32:51,059 theory has a lot to recommend it 876 00:32:56,630 --> 00:32:54,840 however it has one major flaw this 877 00:32:59,330 --> 00:32:56,640 theory predicts that the moon is made 878 00:33:02,090 --> 00:32:59,340 mostly from the mars-sized planet but 879 00:33:04,010 --> 00:33:02,100 that's just not what we see in many ways 880 00:33:05,450 --> 00:33:04,020 the Earth and the moon are identical 881 00:33:07,549 --> 00:33:05,460 twins 882 00:33:09,590 --> 00:33:07,559 the isotopic elements of a planet 883 00:33:11,870 --> 00:33:09,600 function sort of like its genetic code 884 00:33:14,090 --> 00:33:11,880 the Isotopes from the Earth and the moon 885 00:33:16,130 --> 00:33:14,100 are the same which means that they were 886 00:33:18,230 --> 00:33:16,140 made of the same materials 887 00:33:20,330 --> 00:33:18,240 and of all of the things that don't make 888 00:33:22,669 --> 00:33:20,340 sense about the moon this is the thing 889 00:33:24,470 --> 00:33:22,679 that doesn't make sense the most and it 890 00:33:25,549 --> 00:33:24,480 also happens to be the hardest to 891 00:33:27,590 --> 00:33:25,559 dismiss 892 00:33:30,470 --> 00:33:27,600 we just don't see this with other 893 00:33:32,690 --> 00:33:30,480 planets every other planet and every 894 00:33:35,990 --> 00:33:32,700 other moon in the solar system all have 895 00:33:38,389 --> 00:33:36,000 their own distinct genetic code no other 896 00:33:41,630 --> 00:33:38,399 planet is a genetic twin with any of its 897 00:33:43,970 --> 00:33:41,640 moons so it's very weird and for many 898 00:33:47,149 --> 00:33:43,980 scientists this was clear evidence that 899 00:33:49,250 --> 00:33:47,159 the giant impact theory was doomed there 900 00:33:51,110 --> 00:33:49,260 was just no way to use the existing 901 00:33:52,850 --> 00:33:51,120 models to make a moon with the same 902 00:33:55,370 --> 00:33:52,860 genetic code as the Earth without 903 00:33:57,169 --> 00:33:55,380 assuming that they somehow had the same 904 00:33:59,750 --> 00:33:57,179 genetic code to begin with which is 905 00:34:01,549 --> 00:33:59,760 simply too astronomically unlikely to 906 00:34:03,590 --> 00:34:01,559 really be considered 907 00:34:06,169 --> 00:34:03,600 problem was that there weren't really 908 00:34:07,549 --> 00:34:06,179 any other better answers the fact that 909 00:34:10,490 --> 00:34:07,559 the Earth and the moon were genetic 910 00:34:12,050 --> 00:34:10,500 twins was seemingly impossible and yet 911 00:34:14,629 --> 00:34:12,060 they are 912 00:34:16,490 --> 00:34:14,639 and with that realization it suddenly 913 00:34:18,950 --> 00:34:16,500 doesn't seem so crazy that some look at 914 00:34:21,710 --> 00:34:18,960 our moon with suspicion because by all 915 00:34:23,389 --> 00:34:21,720 accounts it shouldn't be there and what 916 00:34:26,030 --> 00:34:23,399 are we to make of that 917 00:34:27,710 --> 00:34:26,040 well it turns out that this mystery may 918 00:34:30,470 --> 00:34:27,720 have an answer after all 919 00:34:33,230 --> 00:34:30,480 just a few years ago planetary scientist 920 00:34:35,450 --> 00:34:33,240 and MacArthur genius Sarah T Stewart and 921 00:34:37,849 --> 00:34:35,460 a team of her students decided to take 922 00:34:40,190 --> 00:34:37,859 on the task of saving the giant impact 923 00:34:42,050 --> 00:34:40,200 Theory they started by going back to the 924 00:34:43,609 --> 00:34:42,060 beginning and questioning all of their 925 00:34:45,710 --> 00:34:43,619 previous assumptions 926 00:34:48,470 --> 00:34:45,720 something that had made the giant impact 927 00:34:49,909 --> 00:34:48,480 Theory so popular in the first place was 928 00:34:52,190 --> 00:34:49,919 the way that it had been modeled was 929 00:34:54,530 --> 00:34:52,200 able to explain the size of the Moon and 930 00:34:56,869 --> 00:34:54,540 the length of the Earth's day however 931 00:34:58,430 --> 00:34:56,879 Stewart's team began to question if 932 00:35:00,349 --> 00:34:58,440 maybe there was something else that 933 00:35:02,150 --> 00:35:00,359 could have explained these things 934 00:35:04,609 --> 00:35:02,160 questioning these fundamental 935 00:35:06,410 --> 00:35:04,619 assumptions about the model allowed them 936 00:35:08,810 --> 00:35:06,420 to tweak the model and try out different 937 00:35:11,150 --> 00:35:08,820 scenarios including dramatically 938 00:35:13,609 --> 00:35:11,160 increasing the speed of the Earth's spin 939 00:35:16,730 --> 00:35:13,619 in these scenarios with a fast spinning 940 00:35:19,430 --> 00:35:16,740 Earth they found something astounding 941 00:35:22,430 --> 00:35:19,440 Stewart and her team had discovered a 942 00:35:24,530 --> 00:35:22,440 new kind of astronomical object it took 943 00:35:26,450 --> 00:35:24,540 the team three years of analyzing the 944 00:35:28,550 --> 00:35:26,460 data to really understand what they were 945 00:35:30,530 --> 00:35:28,560 looking at and part of the reason for 946 00:35:31,910 --> 00:35:30,540 that goes back to the very definition of 947 00:35:34,010 --> 00:35:31,920 a planet itself 948 00:35:36,170 --> 00:35:34,020 as you'll recall one of the main 949 00:35:37,970 --> 00:35:36,180 qualifications for being a planet is 950 00:35:40,430 --> 00:35:37,980 that a body must be massive enough for 951 00:35:42,890 --> 00:35:40,440 its own gravity to make it round 952 00:35:44,750 --> 00:35:42,900 however Stewart's team found that 953 00:35:47,329 --> 00:35:44,760 immediately after an impact of this 954 00:35:49,069 --> 00:35:47,339 nature the young Earth would no longer 955 00:35:51,770 --> 00:35:49,079 have had a surface 956 00:35:53,510 --> 00:35:51,780 with the entire planet vaporized the 957 00:35:55,670 --> 00:35:53,520 planet would have been made entirely of 958 00:35:58,490 --> 00:35:55,680 gas they got progressively more dense 959 00:36:01,069 --> 00:35:58,500 with depth essentially the Earth would 960 00:36:03,890 --> 00:36:01,079 have been just like Jupiter and as this 961 00:36:06,890 --> 00:36:03,900 hot fast spinning gaseous body continued 962 00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:06,900 its spin the equator would get wider and 963 00:36:11,810 --> 00:36:08,760 wider until it pushed Beyond a 964 00:36:15,230 --> 00:36:11,820 spheroidal shape and became a disc 965 00:36:17,930 --> 00:36:15,240 new object is no longer a planet but it 966 00:36:20,030 --> 00:36:17,940 is made of planets the model showed that 967 00:36:22,130 --> 00:36:20,040 in just a few hours the materials of 968 00:36:24,109 --> 00:36:22,140 both the earth and the mars-sized object 969 00:36:26,810 --> 00:36:24,119 that it collided with would have been 970 00:36:28,970 --> 00:36:26,820 entirely mixed together finally giving 971 00:36:31,010 --> 00:36:28,980 us an explanation for how the Moon and 972 00:36:33,589 --> 00:36:31,020 the Earth could share the same genetic 973 00:36:35,810 --> 00:36:33,599 code they named this new astronomical 974 00:36:38,270 --> 00:36:35,820 object a cenestia 975 00:36:39,950 --> 00:36:38,280 okay but wait that's a nice story and 976 00:36:41,810 --> 00:36:39,960 all but I'm sure some of you are 977 00:36:43,069 --> 00:36:41,820 wondering how does this explain how the 978 00:36:45,050 --> 00:36:43,079 moon could be older than the earth 979 00:36:47,450 --> 00:36:45,060 wouldn't this mean that they were 980 00:36:48,710 --> 00:36:47,460 technically formed or rather reformed at 981 00:36:50,210 --> 00:36:48,720 the same time 982 00:36:52,190 --> 00:36:50,220 there's actually another possible 983 00:36:54,109 --> 00:36:52,200 explanation for that and it all comes 984 00:36:56,390 --> 00:36:54,119 down to the geological activity of the 985 00:36:58,849 --> 00:36:56,400 Moon although we used to think that the 986 00:37:01,310 --> 00:36:58,859 moon had no geological activity we now 987 00:37:03,109 --> 00:37:01,320 know that isn't the case however the 988 00:37:05,210 --> 00:37:03,119 amount of geological activity on the 989 00:37:07,010 --> 00:37:05,220 moon is extremely limited when compared 990 00:37:09,170 --> 00:37:07,020 to what we see on Earth 991 00:37:11,450 --> 00:37:09,180 due to volcanic activity and plate 992 00:37:13,430 --> 00:37:11,460 tectonics the surface of the Earth is 993 00:37:15,710 --> 00:37:13,440 basically turned over over the course of 994 00:37:17,750 --> 00:37:15,720 hundreds of millions of years whereas 995 00:37:20,450 --> 00:37:17,760 the changes on the moon on the same 996 00:37:22,310 --> 00:37:20,460 timeline are much more subtle so this 997 00:37:23,990 --> 00:37:22,320 could be the explanation for why the 998 00:37:25,550 --> 00:37:24,000 rocks on the moon are older there are 999 00:37:28,190 --> 00:37:25,560 just older rocks still around to be 1000 00:37:30,230 --> 00:37:28,200 found it's too early to say for certain 1001 00:37:32,510 --> 00:37:30,240 if this new theory for the creation of 1002 00:37:34,370 --> 00:37:32,520 the moon will stand the test of time or 1003 00:37:36,950 --> 00:37:34,380 whether new emerging data will again 1004 00:37:39,650 --> 00:37:36,960 throw its Origins into question however 1005 00:37:42,290 --> 00:37:39,660 it does seem to tick most of the boxes 1006 00:37:43,730 --> 00:37:42,300 so should we feel silly for considering 1007 00:37:47,150 --> 00:37:43,740 that the moon might be an alien 1008 00:37:49,490 --> 00:37:47,160 superstructure I don't think so in fact 1009 00:37:51,589 --> 00:37:49,500 I'd argue that our wonder and curiosity 1010 00:37:54,349 --> 00:37:51,599 aren't mere child like Whimsy to be 1011 00:37:57,109 --> 00:37:54,359 subverted and grown out of they are our 1012 00:37:59,630 --> 00:37:57,119 most profound tools for discovery 1013 00:38:01,370 --> 00:37:59,640 in a TED talk about her Discovery Dr 1014 00:38:03,410 --> 00:38:01,380 Stewart said the following about the 1015 00:38:05,390 --> 00:38:03,420 process that allowed her and her team to 1016 00:38:08,690 --> 00:38:05,400 finally crack the mystery of the moon's 1017 00:38:10,990 --> 00:38:08,700 Origins quote what do you do when faced 1018 00:38:14,210 --> 00:38:11,000 with the unknown how do you even start 1019 00:38:16,609 --> 00:38:14,220 we questioned everything what is a 1020 00:38:19,130 --> 00:38:16,619 planet when is a planet no longer a 1021 00:38:21,829 --> 00:38:19,140 planet anymore we played with these new 1022 00:38:24,530 --> 00:38:21,839 ideas we had to get rid of our old ideas 1023 00:38:26,450 --> 00:38:24,540 and by playing I could throw away all of 1024 00:38:30,230 --> 00:38:26,460 the data all of the rules of the real 1025 00:38:32,270 --> 00:38:30,240 world and free my mind to explore and by 1026 00:38:34,730 --> 00:38:32,280 making a mental space where I could try 1027 00:38:37,490 --> 00:38:34,740 out outrageous ideas and then bring them 1028 00:38:40,730 --> 00:38:37,500 back into the real world to test them I 1029 00:38:43,010 --> 00:38:40,740 could learn and by playing we learned so 1030 00:38:45,170 --> 00:38:43,020 much unquote 1031 00:38:47,210 --> 00:38:45,180 so I don't think that we should ever 1032 00:38:49,069 --> 00:38:47,220 allow ourselves to be shamed for being 1033 00:38:51,050 --> 00:38:49,079 willing to throw out the rules and 1034 00:38:53,750 --> 00:38:51,060 simply play with ideas 1035 00:38:56,450 --> 00:38:53,760 speculation is not the same as belief 1036 00:38:59,030 --> 00:38:56,460 and entertaining an idea is not the same 1037 00:39:01,670 --> 00:38:59,040 as internalizing it and the willingness 1038 00:39:04,730 --> 00:39:01,680 to color Outside the Lines try on new 1039 00:39:06,650 --> 00:39:04,740 ideas and consider all possibilities no 1040 00:39:10,910 --> 00:39:06,660 matter how ridiculous they may seem 1041 00:39:13,010 --> 00:39:10,920 isn't just a virtue but is 100 necessary 1042 00:39:14,450 --> 00:39:13,020 to the rigorous application of the 1043 00:39:16,790 --> 00:39:14,460 scientific method 1044 00:39:18,890 --> 00:39:16,800 a problem that we've encountered many 1045 00:39:20,750 --> 00:39:18,900 times on this journey is that all too 1046 00:39:22,849 --> 00:39:20,760 often when confronted with a data point 1047 00:39:25,370 --> 00:39:22,859 that breaks the current Paradigm and 1048 00:39:28,069 --> 00:39:25,380 hints its strange new possibilities that 1049 00:39:29,930 --> 00:39:28,079 we're told simply can't be possible it 1050 00:39:32,089 --> 00:39:29,940 is the Instinct of the mainstream to 1051 00:39:34,130 --> 00:39:32,099 Simply ignore that data point and to 1052 00:39:36,170 --> 00:39:34,140 treat with derision anyone who dares to 1053 00:39:36,950 --> 00:39:36,180 question what the Rogue Data Point might 1054 00:39:39,589 --> 00:39:36,960 mean 1055 00:39:41,510 --> 00:39:39,599 the reality is that we went for decades 1056 00:39:44,089 --> 00:39:41,520 without a workable model for the origins 1057 00:39:46,010 --> 00:39:44,099 of the Moon the hollow Moon Theory might 1058 00:39:49,370 --> 00:39:46,020 sound ridiculous to you and that's 1059 00:39:51,109 --> 00:39:49,380 absolutely Fair however unlike other 1060 00:39:53,510 --> 00:39:51,119 theories that were being presented by 1061 00:39:55,849 --> 00:39:53,520 the mainstream at the time that theory 1062 00:39:57,349 --> 00:39:55,859 at least had the virtue of being able to 1063 00:39:59,810 --> 00:39:57,359 explain some of the moon's more 1064 00:40:01,550 --> 00:39:59,820 perplexing anomalies instead of Simply 1065 00:40:03,770 --> 00:40:01,560 brushing them under the rug 1066 00:40:06,589 --> 00:40:03,780 and who are we to say what is ridiculous 1067 00:40:08,630 --> 00:40:06,599 and what isn't the idea that giant 1068 00:40:10,970 --> 00:40:08,640 dragon-like lizards once roamed the 1069 00:40:13,430 --> 00:40:10,980 Earth but the universe isn't just 1070 00:40:15,470 --> 00:40:13,440 expanding but accelerating 1071 00:40:17,569 --> 00:40:15,480 that the mere Act of observing an event 1072 00:40:19,970 --> 00:40:17,579 can change its outcome 1073 00:40:22,069 --> 00:40:19,980 all of these are scientific realities 1074 00:40:23,810 --> 00:40:22,079 that would have once been considered to 1075 00:40:26,510 --> 00:40:23,820 be preposterous 1076 00:40:29,089 --> 00:40:26,520 true scientific rigor requires the 1077 00:40:30,950 --> 00:40:29,099 intellectual courage to always recognize 1078 00:40:34,150 --> 00:40:30,960 that the horizons of your understanding 1079 00:40:36,650 --> 00:40:34,160 do not constitute the limits of what is 1080 00:40:38,450 --> 00:40:36,660 imagination and speculation are 1081 00:40:41,390 --> 00:40:38,460 necessary ingredients for scientific 1082 00:40:44,150 --> 00:40:41,400 breakthroughs and cynicism though 1083 00:40:44,650 --> 00:40:44,160 fashionable will always be the enemy of 1084 00:41:12,849 --> 00:40:44,660 progress 1085 00:41:17,510 --> 00:41:15,050 thank you 1086 00:41:20,150 --> 00:41:17,520 and now it's finally time to talk about 1087 00:41:21,770 --> 00:41:20,160 the moon landing it's easy to speculate 1088 00:41:26,390 --> 00:41:21,780 about the Moon from down here on Earth 1089 00:41:29,210 --> 00:41:26,400 but between 1969 and 1972 12 human 1090 00:41:31,250 --> 00:41:29,220 beings actually walked on its surface 1091 00:41:34,130 --> 00:41:31,260 what did they find on that Barren world 1092 00:41:36,589 --> 00:41:34,140 and what might they be hiding 1093 00:41:38,750 --> 00:41:36,599 and as always when treading new ground 1094 00:41:40,910 --> 00:41:38,760 on our journey down the UFO Rabbit Hole 1095 00:41:42,710 --> 00:41:40,920 I like to stop to take a second to 1096 00:41:45,170 --> 00:41:42,720 recall what Tom Delong has said about 1097 00:41:46,670 --> 00:41:45,180 the topic at hand if you're wondering 1098 00:41:49,310 --> 00:41:46,680 why we care about what the guy from 1099 00:41:50,930 --> 00:41:49,320 Blink 182 thinks I strongly recommend 1100 00:41:53,450 --> 00:41:50,940 that you go back and listen to episodes 1101 00:41:54,829 --> 00:41:53,460 6 and 7 in the Mr Delong Goes to 1102 00:41:57,530 --> 00:41:54,839 Washington series 1103 00:41:59,210 --> 00:41:57,540 as most of you will recall the long had 1104 00:42:00,349 --> 00:41:59,220 some very interesting thoughts on the 1105 00:42:02,510 --> 00:42:00,359 moon landing 1106 00:42:03,950 --> 00:42:02,520 his assertion has been that all of the 1107 00:42:05,750 --> 00:42:03,960 conspiracy theories about the moon 1108 00:42:07,550 --> 00:42:05,760 landing being faked have actually been 1109 00:42:09,589 --> 00:42:07,560 the result of a massive misinformation 1110 00:42:12,290 --> 00:42:09,599 campaign on the part of the United 1111 00:42:14,030 --> 00:42:12,300 States government according to Delong 1112 00:42:16,130 --> 00:42:14,040 the conspiracy theory that the moon 1113 00:42:18,050 --> 00:42:16,140 landing was faked was created by the 1114 00:42:19,609 --> 00:42:18,060 government to keep people from asking 1115 00:42:22,609 --> 00:42:19,619 the question that they didn't want them 1116 00:42:25,069 --> 00:42:22,619 to ask which is what did the Apollo 1117 00:42:27,770 --> 00:42:25,079 Astronauts find on the moon 1118 00:42:29,630 --> 00:42:27,780 and of course the fact that Tom Delong 1119 00:42:32,270 --> 00:42:29,640 believes it doesn't necessarily mean 1120 00:42:34,910 --> 00:42:32,280 that it's true however we have to 1121 00:42:36,470 --> 00:42:34,920 Grapple with the fact that one we have 1122 00:42:38,210 --> 00:42:36,480 solid proof that de long was being 1123 00:42:39,710 --> 00:42:38,220 briefed by high-ranking members of the 1124 00:42:41,870 --> 00:42:39,720 military and intelligence communities 1125 00:42:45,410 --> 00:42:41,880 who would be the most likely to have 1126 00:42:47,390 --> 00:42:45,420 information about UFOs and two these 1127 00:42:50,150 --> 00:42:47,400 same individuals came forward publicly 1128 00:42:52,310 --> 00:42:50,160 alongside Delong and if never publicly 1129 00:42:53,270 --> 00:42:52,320 disavowed him or directly disputed his 1130 00:42:56,030 --> 00:42:53,280 claims 1131 00:42:58,849 --> 00:42:56,040 so we have to assume that at the very 1132 00:43:00,170 --> 00:42:58,859 least some of what he is saying has some 1133 00:43:02,089 --> 00:43:00,180 truth to it 1134 00:43:03,470 --> 00:43:02,099 so could Tom be right about the moon 1135 00:43:05,390 --> 00:43:03,480 landing 1136 00:43:07,430 --> 00:43:05,400 it turns out that there is a story in 1137 00:43:10,430 --> 00:43:07,440 the UFO lore that supports this Theory 1138 00:43:12,650 --> 00:43:10,440 the story goes something like this 1139 00:43:14,710 --> 00:43:12,660 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin 1140 00:43:17,390 --> 00:43:14,720 walked on the moon they were not alone 1141 00:43:20,150 --> 00:43:17,400 as they stepped onto the barren lunar 1142 00:43:22,670 --> 00:43:20,160 surface they saw giant craft near a 1143 00:43:25,069 --> 00:43:22,680 crater in the distance not wanting to 1144 00:43:26,990 --> 00:43:25,079 alarm the public Armstrong switched over 1145 00:43:28,970 --> 00:43:27,000 to a medical channel to communicate the 1146 00:43:32,089 --> 00:43:28,980 message back to NASA 1147 00:43:34,190 --> 00:43:32,099 however back on Earth some radio hams 1148 00:43:36,950 --> 00:43:34,200 with their own VHF receiving facilities 1149 00:43:39,050 --> 00:43:36,960 that bypass NASA's broadcasting Outlets 1150 00:43:40,250 --> 00:43:39,060 allegedly picked up the following 1151 00:43:43,670 --> 00:43:40,260 Exchange 1152 00:43:44,510 --> 00:43:43,680 Apollo 11. they're here they're watching 1153 00:43:47,510 --> 00:43:44,520 us 1154 00:43:49,609 --> 00:43:47,520 NASA what's there Mission Control 1155 00:43:52,970 --> 00:43:49,619 calling Apollo 11. 1156 00:43:56,089 --> 00:43:52,980 Apollo 11. these babies are huge sir 1157 00:43:58,550 --> 00:43:56,099 enormous oh my God you wouldn't believe 1158 00:44:00,770 --> 00:43:58,560 it I'm telling you there are other 1159 00:44:02,510 --> 00:44:00,780 spacecraft out here lined up on the far 1160 00:44:06,030 --> 00:44:02,520 side of the crater Edge 1161 00:44:14,930 --> 00:44:06,040 they're on the moon watching us 1162 00:44:19,849 --> 00:44:17,930 so could this actually be true could the 1163 00:44:21,890 --> 00:44:19,859 Apollo 11 astronauts really have made 1164 00:44:23,990 --> 00:44:21,900 contact with a non-human intelligence 1165 00:44:25,849 --> 00:44:24,000 that was watching them on the moon 1166 00:44:27,130 --> 00:44:25,859 if so it would make sense that the 1167 00:44:29,809 --> 00:44:27,140 government would want to cover that up 1168 00:44:31,970 --> 00:44:29,819 an occupied moon is one of the most 1169 00:44:33,349 --> 00:44:31,980 objectively terrifying ideas that one 1170 00:44:35,569 --> 00:44:33,359 can conjure up 1171 00:44:38,510 --> 00:44:35,579 the implications for Humanity would 1172 00:44:40,970 --> 00:44:38,520 almost certainly not be great 1173 00:44:44,210 --> 00:44:40,980 and might this explain why after landing 1174 00:44:46,490 --> 00:44:44,220 there six times between 1969 and 1972 1175 00:44:48,170 --> 00:44:46,500 and despite the near Universal 1176 00:44:49,970 --> 00:44:48,180 assumption that the Apollo missions 1177 00:44:52,370 --> 00:44:49,980 would lead to the eventual colonization 1178 00:44:55,130 --> 00:44:52,380 and development of the Moon though we 1179 00:44:57,829 --> 00:44:55,140 haven't returned to the Moon in 50 years 1180 00:44:59,930 --> 00:44:57,839 perhaps but it's impossible to know for 1181 00:45:02,089 --> 00:44:59,940 sure what's frustrating about this story 1182 00:45:04,970 --> 00:45:02,099 is that it's entirely based upon hearsay 1183 00:45:06,650 --> 00:45:04,980 both private citizens and alleged former 1184 00:45:08,630 --> 00:45:06,660 members of NASA's communication team 1185 00:45:09,890 --> 00:45:08,640 have come forward at various times to 1186 00:45:12,349 --> 00:45:09,900 confirm that this exchange really 1187 00:45:14,089 --> 00:45:12,359 happened but without a recording or some 1188 00:45:16,309 --> 00:45:14,099 other way to verify that this actually 1189 00:45:18,770 --> 00:45:16,319 happened it's impossible to make a call 1190 00:45:21,290 --> 00:45:18,780 on this one one way or the other it's a 1191 00:45:22,849 --> 00:45:21,300 cool story but we need more evidence to 1192 00:45:25,790 --> 00:45:22,859 consider it to be anything more than 1193 00:45:27,710 --> 00:45:25,800 just a story I will say though that this 1194 00:45:30,230 --> 00:45:27,720 story is a hard one to walk away from 1195 00:45:32,150 --> 00:45:30,240 entirely although There Is No Smoking 1196 00:45:33,829 --> 00:45:32,160 Gun to prove that the Apollo Astronauts 1197 00:45:36,109 --> 00:45:33,839 encountered a non-human intelligence 1198 00:45:38,510 --> 00:45:36,119 while on the moon this is one of those 1199 00:45:40,190 --> 00:45:38,520 cases where there is so much smoke that 1200 00:45:42,950 --> 00:45:40,200 it can sometimes feel impossible that 1201 00:45:45,470 --> 00:45:42,960 there isn't some sort of a fire and that 1202 00:45:48,530 --> 00:45:45,480 smoke comes in the form of the words and 1203 00:45:50,930 --> 00:45:48,540 actions of the astronauts themselves 1204 00:45:53,270 --> 00:45:50,940 to me one of the most haunting and 1205 00:45:55,069 --> 00:45:53,280 compelling images in all of the UFO lore 1206 00:45:57,170 --> 00:45:55,079 is that of the press conference that 1207 00:45:59,270 --> 00:45:57,180 occurred with the Apollo 11 astronauts 1208 00:46:01,550 --> 00:45:59,280 after they returned to Earth 1209 00:46:03,589 --> 00:46:01,560 while in many of their pre-launch media 1210 00:46:05,750 --> 00:46:03,599 appearances the Apollo team of Neil 1211 00:46:08,510 --> 00:46:05,760 Armstrong Buzz Aldrin and Michael 1212 00:46:10,849 --> 00:46:08,520 Collins seemed jovial and excited about 1213 00:46:13,130 --> 00:46:10,859 their mission the post-flight press 1214 00:46:14,510 --> 00:46:13,140 conference struck a decidedly different 1215 00:46:16,550 --> 00:46:14,520 tone 1216 00:46:18,349 --> 00:46:16,560 rather than seeming proud and 1217 00:46:20,990 --> 00:46:18,359 enthusiastic about their history-making 1218 00:46:23,870 --> 00:46:21,000 trip to the moon the three men seemed 1219 00:46:26,030 --> 00:46:23,880 subdued in somber they seem weirdly 1220 00:46:28,670 --> 00:46:26,040 disconnected and uncomfortable even 1221 00:46:30,230 --> 00:46:28,680 angry and resentful at times the words 1222 00:46:32,450 --> 00:46:30,240 coming out of their mouths are the right 1223 00:46:36,109 --> 00:46:32,460 ones but something about the whole press 1224 00:46:37,670 --> 00:46:36,119 conference just feels off many people 1225 00:46:39,770 --> 00:46:37,680 have pointed to this press conference 1226 00:46:41,750 --> 00:46:39,780 over the years as proof that the Apollo 1227 00:46:44,450 --> 00:46:41,760 11 team encountered something on the 1228 00:46:47,030 --> 00:46:44,460 moon that terrified them something that 1229 00:46:49,490 --> 00:46:47,040 they were told to keep quiet about and I 1230 00:46:51,230 --> 00:46:49,500 have to say when I watch the video it's 1231 00:46:53,930 --> 00:46:51,240 very easy to see where they get that 1232 00:46:56,450 --> 00:46:53,940 impression I am no expert on human 1233 00:46:59,390 --> 00:46:56,460 psychology or body language and I don't 1234 00:47:01,970 --> 00:46:59,400 claim to be but in my admittedly highly 1235 00:47:04,010 --> 00:47:01,980 subjective opinion when I watched that 1236 00:47:05,510 --> 00:47:04,020 press conference it's hard to not feel 1237 00:47:07,670 --> 00:47:05,520 like what you're looking at in the 1238 00:47:11,089 --> 00:47:07,680 behavior of the Apollo Astronauts is the 1239 00:47:13,010 --> 00:47:11,099 aftermath of significant trauma in short 1240 00:47:13,010 --> 00:47:13,970 they look like they've been through some 1241 00:47:19,130 --> 00:47:17,450 and to be fair they had even if we were 1242 00:47:20,930 --> 00:47:19,140 to take the possibility of an encounter 1243 00:47:23,270 --> 00:47:20,940 with a non-human intelligence off the 1244 00:47:24,589 --> 00:47:23,280 table what the Apollo Astronauts went 1245 00:47:26,329 --> 00:47:24,599 through is something that the vast 1246 00:47:29,270 --> 00:47:26,339 majority of humans that have ever lived 1247 00:47:31,309 --> 00:47:29,280 could scarcely even imagine leaving the 1248 00:47:33,230 --> 00:47:31,319 Earth and entering the endless black 1249 00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:33,240 vacuum of space 1250 00:47:37,609 --> 00:47:35,520 the profundity of that experience is as 1251 00:47:40,309 --> 00:47:37,619 hard to overstate as it is for us to 1252 00:47:42,829 --> 00:47:40,319 truly conceptualize we spend every 1253 00:47:45,050 --> 00:47:42,839 second of our lives here on Earth it is 1254 00:47:46,970 --> 00:47:45,060 our context in the stage upon which all 1255 00:47:49,130 --> 00:47:46,980 of human history as we know it has 1256 00:47:51,530 --> 00:47:49,140 unfolded and for even the most 1257 00:47:53,510 --> 00:47:51,540 well-traveled the Earth is so large that 1258 00:47:55,309 --> 00:47:53,520 any one person can only ever hope to see 1259 00:47:57,290 --> 00:47:55,319 a tiny fraction of it 1260 00:47:59,630 --> 00:47:57,300 so what would it mean to be able to see 1261 00:48:01,490 --> 00:47:59,640 the Earth from a distance to look out 1262 00:48:03,349 --> 00:48:01,500 the window and to see the fragility of 1263 00:48:05,630 --> 00:48:03,359 the planet that is home to everyone that 1264 00:48:08,630 --> 00:48:05,640 you've ever known to everyone that has 1265 00:48:10,490 --> 00:48:08,640 ever lived to see the delicate Whisper 1266 00:48:12,589 --> 00:48:10,500 of the atmosphere that envelops this 1267 00:48:14,930 --> 00:48:12,599 green and blue world and how little 1268 00:48:17,630 --> 00:48:14,940 separates this gleaming Jewel from the 1269 00:48:20,210 --> 00:48:17,640 infinite Blackness of space 1270 00:48:22,250 --> 00:48:20,220 I'd argue that it's impossible for any 1271 00:48:23,750 --> 00:48:22,260 of us to truly grasp what that 1272 00:48:26,510 --> 00:48:23,760 experience would be like without having 1273 00:48:28,730 --> 00:48:26,520 lived it and because this experience is 1274 00:48:30,349 --> 00:48:28,740 so foreign to us I don't know that we 1275 00:48:32,329 --> 00:48:30,359 can necessarily make assumptions about 1276 00:48:34,730 --> 00:48:32,339 the mental state of the astronauts after 1277 00:48:36,109 --> 00:48:34,740 their return no matter how tempting it 1278 00:48:38,390 --> 00:48:36,119 may be to do so 1279 00:48:40,250 --> 00:48:38,400 it could be that the strange demeanor of 1280 00:48:41,990 --> 00:48:40,260 the Apollo 11 astronauts at the 1281 00:48:43,430 --> 00:48:42,000 post-flight press conference was due to 1282 00:48:45,710 --> 00:48:43,440 the stress of going through such an 1283 00:48:47,329 --> 00:48:45,720 overwhelming experience 1284 00:48:48,829 --> 00:48:47,339 and there's another point that I think 1285 00:48:50,809 --> 00:48:48,839 is important to make about the press 1286 00:48:52,430 --> 00:48:50,819 conference which is that it didn't 1287 00:48:54,890 --> 00:48:52,440 happen immediately following the 1288 00:48:59,569 --> 00:48:54,900 astronauts return to Earth on July 24th 1289 00:49:01,250 --> 00:48:59,579 1969 but 19 days later on August 12th 1290 00:49:03,290 --> 00:49:01,260 most of the time when I hear people 1291 00:49:04,609 --> 00:49:03,300 reference this press conference it seems 1292 00:49:05,990 --> 00:49:04,619 like they're making the assumption that 1293 00:49:08,510 --> 00:49:06,000 it happened within a day or so after 1294 00:49:11,210 --> 00:49:08,520 Splashdown when in fact it happened 1295 00:49:13,490 --> 00:49:11,220 nearly three weeks later it doesn't make 1296 00:49:15,170 --> 00:49:13,500 their behavior any less strange but it 1297 00:49:16,790 --> 00:49:15,180 does significantly increase the 1298 00:49:18,530 --> 00:49:16,800 possibility that their demeanor was in 1299 00:49:20,270 --> 00:49:18,540 response to something other than their 1300 00:49:22,970 --> 00:49:20,280 experience in space 1301 00:49:25,130 --> 00:49:22,980 so while the Apollo 11 press conference 1302 00:49:27,829 --> 00:49:25,140 is certainly compelling it hardly 1303 00:49:30,230 --> 00:49:27,839 qualifies as proof of anything however 1304 00:49:32,329 --> 00:49:30,240 this press conference hardly represents 1305 00:49:34,130 --> 00:49:32,339 the only time that the words and actions 1306 00:49:35,450 --> 00:49:34,140 of former astronauts have seemed to hint 1307 00:49:37,490 --> 00:49:35,460 that there might have been something 1308 00:49:40,730 --> 00:49:37,500 more going on during the Apollo missions 1309 00:49:43,309 --> 00:49:40,740 than was ever admitted to the public 1310 00:49:45,109 --> 00:49:43,319 we've spoken before about Ross coltheart 1311 00:49:47,089 --> 00:49:45,119 the award-winning investigative 1312 00:49:48,890 --> 00:49:47,099 journalist and author of The phenomenal 1313 00:49:51,530 --> 00:49:48,900 book in plain sight 1314 00:49:53,630 --> 00:49:51,540 cold heart Sterling reputation as a 1315 00:49:55,430 --> 00:49:53,640 hard-nosed journalist who is unafraid to 1316 00:49:57,530 --> 00:49:55,440 tackle even the most daunting stories 1317 00:49:59,930 --> 00:49:57,540 has helped to bring a new level of 1318 00:50:01,370 --> 00:49:59,940 credibility to the UFO topic through his 1319 00:50:03,650 --> 00:50:01,380 investigations 1320 00:50:05,450 --> 00:50:03,660 listen to what he had to say on an 1321 00:50:07,849 --> 00:50:05,460 episode of theories of everything with 1322 00:50:09,410 --> 00:50:07,859 Kurt J mungle when asked about the moon 1323 00:50:13,510 --> 00:50:09,420 landing 1324 00:50:18,170 --> 00:50:15,950 I was watching this documentary by red 1325 00:50:19,609 --> 00:50:18,180 red panda koala and I'll link that in 1326 00:50:21,589 --> 00:50:19,619 the description it's a great documentary 1327 00:50:23,150 --> 00:50:21,599 on Tom DeLonge and he was saying that 1328 00:50:25,010 --> 00:50:23,160 what happened with 1329 00:50:28,010 --> 00:50:25,020 the US that went to the moon that 1330 00:50:29,870 --> 00:50:28,020 afterward the U.S was involved in 1331 00:50:32,210 --> 00:50:29,880 disinformation saying that we didn't go 1332 00:50:34,970 --> 00:50:32,220 to the moon so that people can 1333 00:50:37,550 --> 00:50:34,980 squabble over who over whether or not 1334 00:50:39,770 --> 00:50:37,560 the moon landing was real and then not 1335 00:50:41,990 --> 00:50:39,780 ask the question well what did they find 1336 00:50:43,970 --> 00:50:42,000 on the moon and apparently there was 1337 00:50:46,550 --> 00:50:43,980 something interesting so I'm curious 1338 00:50:49,609 --> 00:50:46,560 what was found on the moon 1339 00:50:51,890 --> 00:50:49,619 I don't die but what I can tell you is 1340 00:50:54,049 --> 00:50:51,900 that Edgar Mitchell told 1341 00:50:56,630 --> 00:50:54,059 my friend the spaceman who was one of 1342 00:50:58,970 --> 00:50:56,640 Edgar's closest personal friends 1343 00:51:01,130 --> 00:50:58,980 that he believed that every Apollo 1344 00:51:03,349 --> 00:51:01,140 mission was followed at 1345 00:51:05,750 --> 00:51:03,359 observed while there 1346 00:51:08,270 --> 00:51:05,760 and followed back 1347 00:51:10,190 --> 00:51:08,280 and Edgar even told his friend that when 1348 00:51:12,470 --> 00:51:10,200 he was on the moon 1349 00:51:15,589 --> 00:51:12,480 in the course of coming in flying the 1350 00:51:17,569 --> 00:51:15,599 letter module into a landing position 1351 00:51:19,069 --> 00:51:17,579 on I think it's the Sea of Morris I 1352 00:51:22,010 --> 00:51:19,079 can't remember again the precise name 1353 00:51:23,690 --> 00:51:22,020 but um he claimed to my friends that he 1354 00:51:25,370 --> 00:51:23,700 saw an object 1355 00:51:26,990 --> 00:51:25,380 which 1356 00:51:30,230 --> 00:51:27,000 funnily enough 1357 00:51:32,030 --> 00:51:30,240 when you actually look at the the film 1358 00:51:34,130 --> 00:51:32,040 The NASA film of the learner module 1359 00:51:36,890 --> 00:51:34,140 Landing if you look where he says he saw 1360 00:51:38,630 --> 00:51:36,900 the object you can see something that's 1361 00:51:40,549 --> 00:51:38,640 anomalous 1362 00:51:41,930 --> 00:51:40,559 but he says that when they landed and he 1363 00:51:44,150 --> 00:51:41,940 got out of the leader my children was 1364 00:51:45,589 --> 00:51:44,160 doing his walk he looked back across to 1365 00:51:47,089 --> 00:51:45,599 see if he could see that object and he 1366 00:51:49,069 --> 00:51:47,099 should have been able to see it but he 1367 00:51:51,710 --> 00:51:49,079 couldn't see it anymore 1368 00:51:53,210 --> 00:51:51,720 so echovital's not the only one he's not 1369 00:51:54,829 --> 00:51:53,220 the only astronaut and people really 1370 00:51:57,589 --> 00:51:54,839 should take a much closer look at this 1371 00:52:00,170 --> 00:51:57,599 he's not the only person who said that 1372 00:52:02,450 --> 00:52:00,180 he's seen stuff a lot of astronauts have 1373 00:52:04,549 --> 00:52:02,460 reported seeing anomalous phenomena but 1374 00:52:06,410 --> 00:52:04,559 frankly if there is stuff on the moon I 1375 00:52:08,870 --> 00:52:06,420 I just don't know I'm not privy to any 1376 00:52:10,069 --> 00:52:08,880 secret information nobody's a briefing 1377 00:52:12,349 --> 00:52:10,079 about it but 1378 00:52:14,089 --> 00:52:12,359 certainly astronauts have reported 1379 00:52:16,970 --> 00:52:14,099 seeing enormous phenomena of there for 1380 00:52:18,890 --> 00:52:16,980 years and I I don't think NASA has given 1381 00:52:20,990 --> 00:52:18,900 a full accounting of all of the 1382 00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:21,000 anomalous objects that have been seen 1383 00:52:26,390 --> 00:52:23,400 from the space station or indeed from 1384 00:52:28,309 --> 00:52:26,400 the Gemini or Apollo capsules 1385 00:52:30,650 --> 00:52:28,319 crazy right 1386 00:52:32,870 --> 00:52:30,660 and though I have no real way to confirm 1387 00:52:35,270 --> 00:52:32,880 coldheart's claims about what Apollo 14 1388 00:52:37,150 --> 00:52:35,280 astronaut and sixth man to walk on the 1389 00:52:39,890 --> 00:52:37,160 moon Edgar Mitchell said to his friend 1390 00:52:41,930 --> 00:52:39,900 there are plenty of publicly documented 1391 00:52:43,069 --> 00:52:41,940 instances of Mitchell making similar 1392 00:52:46,910 --> 00:52:43,079 claims 1393 00:52:49,490 --> 00:52:46,920 on April 19 1996 in an interview with 1394 00:52:51,349 --> 00:52:49,500 Dateline NBC Mitchell said that he had 1395 00:52:53,089 --> 00:52:51,359 met with officials from three different 1396 00:52:54,309 --> 00:52:53,099 countries who claimed to have had 1397 00:52:56,990 --> 00:52:54,319 personal encounters with 1398 00:52:59,870 --> 00:52:57,000 extraterrestrials he offered his opinion 1399 00:53:02,390 --> 00:52:59,880 the evidence for such alien contact was 1400 00:53:03,650 --> 00:53:02,400 very strong and had been classified by 1401 00:53:06,349 --> 00:53:03,660 governments who were covering up 1402 00:53:08,750 --> 00:53:06,359 visitations and the existence of aliens 1403 00:53:10,430 --> 00:53:08,760 beings bodies in places such as Roswell 1404 00:53:12,890 --> 00:53:10,440 New Mexico 1405 00:53:15,049 --> 00:53:12,900 in 2004 Mitchell told the Saint 1406 00:53:17,390 --> 00:53:15,059 Petersburg times that a cabal of 1407 00:53:19,670 --> 00:53:17,400 insiders in the U.S government were 1408 00:53:21,710 --> 00:53:19,680 studying recovered alien bodies and that 1409 00:53:24,589 --> 00:53:21,720 this group had stopped briefing U.S 1410 00:53:27,530 --> 00:53:24,599 presidents after John F Kennedy he said 1411 00:53:29,930 --> 00:53:27,540 we all know that UFOs are real now the 1412 00:53:33,109 --> 00:53:29,940 question is where they come from 1413 00:53:35,569 --> 00:53:33,119 on July 23 2008 Edgar Mitchell was 1414 00:53:37,609 --> 00:53:35,579 interviewed on karang radio in this 1415 00:53:39,770 --> 00:53:37,619 interview Mitchell claimed the Roswell 1416 00:53:42,230 --> 00:53:39,780 crash was real and that aliens have 1417 00:53:44,089 --> 00:53:42,240 contacted humans several times but that 1418 00:53:46,849 --> 00:53:44,099 governments have hidden the truth for 60 1419 00:53:48,589 --> 00:53:46,859 years stating I happen to have been 1420 00:53:50,390 --> 00:53:48,599 privileged enough to be in on the fact 1421 00:53:53,510 --> 00:53:50,400 that we've been visited on this planet 1422 00:53:56,210 --> 00:53:53,520 and the UFO phenomenon is real 1423 00:53:57,730 --> 00:53:56,220 in 2015 Mitchell said in an interview 1424 00:53:59,690 --> 00:53:57,740 with the Daily Mirror that 1425 00:54:01,430 --> 00:53:59,700 extraterrestrials had been attempting to 1426 00:54:04,430 --> 00:54:01,440 keep us from going to war with Russia 1427 00:54:06,290 --> 00:54:04,440 and help create peace on Earth he also 1428 00:54:08,390 --> 00:54:06,300 said that White Sands was a testing 1429 00:54:09,950 --> 00:54:08,400 ground for Atomic weapons and that's 1430 00:54:11,870 --> 00:54:09,960 what the extraterrestrials were 1431 00:54:13,910 --> 00:54:11,880 interested in they wanted to know about 1432 00:54:15,710 --> 00:54:13,920 our military capabilities 1433 00:54:17,569 --> 00:54:15,720 and Edgar Mitchell isn't the only 1434 00:54:19,430 --> 00:54:17,579 astronaut who's made claims about the 1435 00:54:22,670 --> 00:54:19,440 existence of UFOs 1436 00:54:24,530 --> 00:54:22,680 in September 1999 Gordon Cooper the 1437 00:54:26,750 --> 00:54:24,540 pilot of the last and longest Mercury 1438 00:54:29,569 --> 00:54:26,760 space flight appeared on the radio show 1439 00:54:31,549 --> 00:54:29,579 coast to coast in that interview Cooper 1440 00:54:33,829 --> 00:54:31,559 actually denied a long-standing report 1441 00:54:35,770 --> 00:54:33,839 that had been repeated over the years by 1442 00:54:38,750 --> 00:54:35,780 various well-respected ufologists 1443 00:54:41,450 --> 00:54:38,760 including Jay Allen heineck and Jacques 1444 00:54:43,490 --> 00:54:41,460 filet that he saw a greenish object with 1445 00:54:47,510 --> 00:54:43,500 a red tail move past his Mercury 9 1446 00:54:49,130 --> 00:54:47,520 spacecraft in 1963. no somebody made a 1447 00:54:51,710 --> 00:54:49,140 lot of money selling lies on that one 1448 00:54:53,690 --> 00:54:51,720 Cooper told host Art Bell it was totally 1449 00:54:56,270 --> 00:54:53,700 untrue sorry to say 1450 00:54:58,190 --> 00:54:56,280 however the retired Air Force Colonel 1451 00:55:00,890 --> 00:54:58,200 who once lectured the United Nations on 1452 00:55:02,750 --> 00:55:00,900 the reality of UFOs made it clear that 1453 00:55:04,849 --> 00:55:02,760 he held an unshakable belief in 1454 00:55:07,730 --> 00:55:04,859 extraterrestrial intelligence thanks 1455 00:55:09,290 --> 00:55:07,740 largely to a personal experience he told 1456 00:55:11,870 --> 00:55:09,300 Belle about an encounter which took 1457 00:55:13,849 --> 00:55:11,880 place over Germany in the early 1950s in 1458 00:55:16,730 --> 00:55:13,859 which he saw multiple flying saucers 1459 00:55:18,349 --> 00:55:16,740 flying in formation at the time he had 1460 00:55:20,809 --> 00:55:18,359 assumed that they must be some kind of 1461 00:55:22,730 --> 00:55:20,819 secret Soviet technology but looking 1462 00:55:24,349 --> 00:55:22,740 back he said that he suspected that it 1463 00:55:25,370 --> 00:55:24,359 was some kind of an extraterrestrial 1464 00:55:28,370 --> 00:55:25,380 vehicle 1465 00:55:30,349 --> 00:55:28,380 he also claimed that he saw a UFO land 1466 00:55:33,890 --> 00:55:30,359 at Edwards Air Force Base in California 1467 00:55:35,890 --> 00:55:33,900 in 1957. Cooper said that he filmed the 1468 00:55:38,390 --> 00:55:35,900 event with a camera crew at the base 1469 00:55:40,370 --> 00:55:38,400 afterward he handed it over to a 1470 00:55:42,230 --> 00:55:40,380 high-ranking officer from Washington and 1471 00:55:43,309 --> 00:55:42,240 he never saw or heard about it ever 1472 00:55:47,210 --> 00:55:43,319 again 1473 00:55:49,130 --> 00:55:47,220 in 2014 Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin and 1474 00:55:52,130 --> 00:55:49,140 the Sci-Fi documentary aliens on the 1475 00:55:53,750 --> 00:55:52,140 moon was shown saying quote I saw this 1476 00:55:56,150 --> 00:55:53,760 illumination that was moving with 1477 00:55:58,490 --> 00:55:56,160 respect to the Stars we were smart 1478 00:56:00,770 --> 00:55:58,500 enough not to say Houston there's a 1479 00:56:02,690 --> 00:56:00,780 light out there that's following us so 1480 00:56:06,589 --> 00:56:02,700 technically it becomes an unidentified 1481 00:56:08,390 --> 00:56:06,599 flying object now to be fair Aldrin did 1482 00:56:10,670 --> 00:56:08,400 later clarify that he felt that his 1483 00:56:12,470 --> 00:56:10,680 statement was taken out of context it's 1484 00:56:14,569 --> 00:56:12,480 pretty clear that he's not necessarily 1485 00:56:16,910 --> 00:56:14,579 saying that he saw a UFO but rather that 1486 00:56:19,730 --> 00:56:16,920 he saw something which was unidentified 1487 00:56:21,650 --> 00:56:19,740 that is an important distinction and 1488 00:56:23,750 --> 00:56:21,660 frankly given the freewheeling and 1489 00:56:25,609 --> 00:56:23,760 sensationalist approach of the film it 1490 00:56:27,230 --> 00:56:25,619 seems pretty unlikely that he was aware 1491 00:56:30,170 --> 00:56:27,240 ahead of time of the claims that were 1492 00:56:32,270 --> 00:56:30,180 being made so at best there's a big 1493 00:56:34,490 --> 00:56:32,280 asterisk thanks to this one 1494 00:56:36,290 --> 00:56:34,500 but at the same time it could also be 1495 00:56:37,730 --> 00:56:36,300 argued that Aldrin was just covering his 1496 00:56:40,430 --> 00:56:37,740 tracks after saying more than he should 1497 00:56:41,990 --> 00:56:40,440 have and I personally think that just 1498 00:56:43,549 --> 00:56:42,000 the fact that he made it clear that the 1499 00:56:45,410 --> 00:56:43,559 Apollo Astronauts would have known 1500 00:56:47,809 --> 00:56:45,420 better than to say anything to NASA 1501 00:56:49,970 --> 00:56:47,819 about it if they did in fact see a UFO 1502 00:56:51,530 --> 00:56:49,980 is an interesting enough claim to make 1503 00:56:53,809 --> 00:56:51,540 this worth noting 1504 00:56:56,450 --> 00:56:53,819 and there are former astronauts who have 1505 00:56:58,549 --> 00:56:56,460 made even more astonishing claims in 1506 00:57:01,430 --> 00:56:58,559 September of this year former Apollo 1507 00:57:03,650 --> 00:57:01,440 astronaut Al Warden shocked the hosts of 1508 00:57:05,690 --> 00:57:03,660 a British TV show Good Morning Britain 1509 00:57:08,930 --> 00:57:05,700 when he responded to a question about 1510 00:57:11,030 --> 00:57:08,940 aliens by saying quote we are the aliens 1511 00:57:13,010 --> 00:57:11,040 who come from somewhere else if you 1512 00:57:14,690 --> 00:57:13,020 don't believe me go get books on Ancient 1513 00:57:16,970 --> 00:57:14,700 Sumerians 1514 00:57:19,370 --> 00:57:16,980 and to me that's the most interesting 1515 00:57:21,109 --> 00:57:19,380 part of this whole story not so much 1516 00:57:22,790 --> 00:57:21,119 what the astronauts might have seen on 1517 00:57:24,710 --> 00:57:22,800 the moon but the way that their 1518 00:57:26,630 --> 00:57:24,720 involvement with the space program has 1519 00:57:29,329 --> 00:57:26,640 impacted their personal belief systems 1520 00:57:31,430 --> 00:57:29,339 because here's the thing maybe the 1521 00:57:33,770 --> 00:57:31,440 astronauts encountered UFOs in space and 1522 00:57:35,510 --> 00:57:33,780 on the moon or maybe they didn't I'd 1523 00:57:37,309 --> 00:57:35,520 argue that it seems like they saw 1524 00:57:39,829 --> 00:57:37,319 something up there but even if we 1525 00:57:41,990 --> 00:57:39,839 entirely seed that point we're still 1526 00:57:44,630 --> 00:57:42,000 left with a considerable mystery on our 1527 00:57:47,150 --> 00:57:44,640 hands and here's what I mean by that 1528 00:57:49,130 --> 00:57:47,160 I think it's fair to assume at the very 1529 00:57:51,710 --> 00:57:49,140 least that the astronauts of the early 1530 00:57:53,390 --> 00:57:51,720 Space Program would have had some level 1531 00:57:55,309 --> 00:57:53,400 of access to privileged information 1532 00:57:58,609 --> 00:57:55,319 regarding our government's interaction 1533 00:58:01,970 --> 00:57:58,619 with UFOs the Apollo missions began in 1534 00:58:03,530 --> 00:58:01,980 1961 which was 14 years after the 1535 00:58:05,750 --> 00:58:03,540 Kenneth Arnold sighting and the 1536 00:58:07,549 --> 00:58:05,760 subsequent Roswell incident which served 1537 00:58:09,829 --> 00:58:07,559 as the kickoff for our modern conception 1538 00:58:11,990 --> 00:58:09,839 of the UFO phenomenon and brought it 1539 00:58:13,970 --> 00:58:12,000 clearly into the public awareness 1540 00:58:16,010 --> 00:58:13,980 and you'll recall that in the following 1541 00:58:18,770 --> 00:58:16,020 weeks the National Security Act was 1542 00:58:20,809 --> 00:58:18,780 signed into law this Monumental piece of 1543 00:58:22,849 --> 00:58:20,819 legislation called for a restructuring 1544 00:58:24,470 --> 00:58:22,859 of the Department of Defense including 1545 00:58:27,049 --> 00:58:24,480 the creation of the National Security 1546 00:58:29,089 --> 00:58:27,059 Council the creation of the Air Force as 1547 00:58:32,450 --> 00:58:29,099 its own entity separate from the Army 1548 00:58:34,069 --> 00:58:32,460 and the creation of the CIA and just a 1549 00:58:37,549 --> 00:58:34,079 few weeks after that in September of 1550 00:58:39,890 --> 00:58:37,559 1947 General Nathan twinning penned a 1551 00:58:41,329 --> 00:58:39,900 now famous letter about the flying discs 1552 00:58:43,549 --> 00:58:41,339 that were being reported around the 1553 00:58:45,770 --> 00:58:43,559 country writing that the craft were 1554 00:58:48,230 --> 00:58:45,780 something real and not Visionary or 1555 00:58:50,510 --> 00:58:48,240 fictitious so we know that the 1556 00:58:52,789 --> 00:58:50,520 government believed UFOs to be real at 1557 00:58:54,710 --> 00:58:52,799 that time and there's extensive evidence 1558 00:58:56,690 --> 00:58:54,720 that Extreme Measures were being taken 1559 00:58:59,690 --> 00:58:56,700 behind the scenes to respond to this 1560 00:59:02,270 --> 00:58:59,700 unprecedented new threat so knowing that 1561 00:59:03,650 --> 00:59:02,280 it seems reasonable to assume that at 1562 00:59:06,170 --> 00:59:03,660 that point that they would have started 1563 00:59:07,970 --> 00:59:06,180 to send people into space that those 1564 00:59:09,789 --> 00:59:07,980 people were probably briefed on what 1565 00:59:12,770 --> 00:59:09,799 they could possibly run into up there 1566 00:59:15,109 --> 00:59:12,780 the last thing NASA wants to any mission 1567 00:59:18,109 --> 00:59:15,119 is a surprise because surprises in space 1568 00:59:19,849 --> 00:59:18,119 are how people wind up dead so the idea 1569 00:59:22,130 --> 00:59:19,859 that the astronauts wouldn't have been 1570 00:59:25,670 --> 00:59:22,140 made aware of the reality of the UFO 1571 00:59:28,190 --> 00:59:25,680 phenomenon seems incredibly unlikely and 1572 00:59:29,990 --> 00:59:28,200 to be clear astronauts are exactly the 1573 00:59:32,089 --> 00:59:30,000 kind of people that you would entrust 1574 00:59:34,309 --> 00:59:32,099 with this information they have 1575 00:59:36,349 --> 00:59:34,319 extensive military backgrounds they have 1576 00:59:38,569 --> 00:59:36,359 terminal degrees in scientific Fields 1577 00:59:40,910 --> 00:59:38,579 they've undergone extensive background 1578 00:59:43,210 --> 00:59:40,920 checks and psychological evaluations to 1579 00:59:45,289 --> 00:59:43,220 determine that they are of sound mind 1580 00:59:47,210 --> 00:59:45,299 astronauts are the very best and 1581 00:59:49,549 --> 00:59:47,220 brightest of our very best and brightest 1582 00:59:51,650 --> 00:59:49,559 in short these are not people who are 1583 00:59:52,910 --> 00:59:51,660 given to Flights of Fancy or irrational 1584 00:59:55,190 --> 00:59:52,920 beliefs 1585 00:59:57,170 --> 00:59:55,200 so whether or not they actually saw 1586 00:59:58,609 --> 00:59:57,180 anything up there what I find most 1587 01:00:00,349 --> 00:59:58,619 interesting are the beliefs that 1588 01:00:01,789 --> 01:00:00,359 astronauts have about things like the 1589 01:00:04,490 --> 01:00:01,799 reality of extraterrestrial 1590 01:00:06,530 --> 01:00:04,500 intelligences the meaning of the UFO 1591 01:00:08,809 --> 01:00:06,540 phenomenon and its interaction with 1592 01:00:10,730 --> 01:00:08,819 Humanity throughout history these are 1593 01:00:12,230 --> 01:00:10,740 people with privileged information and 1594 01:00:14,450 --> 01:00:12,240 with the military and education 1595 01:00:16,370 --> 01:00:14,460 background necessary to make some pretty 1596 01:00:17,750 --> 01:00:16,380 informed guesses about what they think 1597 01:00:20,210 --> 01:00:17,760 it all might mean 1598 01:00:22,609 --> 01:00:20,220 and with many of the former astronauts 1599 01:00:25,069 --> 01:00:22,619 what they believe is as fascinating as 1600 01:00:27,289 --> 01:00:25,079 it is bizarre take for instance Edgar 1601 01:00:30,289 --> 01:00:27,299 Mitchell Mitchell reported that on his 1602 01:00:32,809 --> 01:00:30,299 return to Earth after the 1971 Apollo 14 1603 01:00:36,170 --> 01:00:32,819 moon landing that he had an experience 1604 01:00:38,750 --> 01:00:36,180 comparable to savikalpa samadhi in the 1605 01:00:40,370 --> 01:00:38,760 Buddhist tradition savikalpa samadhi is 1606 01:00:42,410 --> 01:00:40,380 a state in which the mind is still 1607 01:00:45,049 --> 01:00:42,420 active and the yogi is still attached to 1608 01:00:47,030 --> 01:00:45,059 the bodily and worldly distractions but 1609 01:00:49,010 --> 01:00:47,040 he or she gets a glimpse of bliss and 1610 01:00:51,650 --> 01:00:49,020 the underlying Oneness that connects us 1611 01:00:53,809 --> 01:00:51,660 all that profound experience led him to 1612 01:00:57,530 --> 01:00:53,819 create the Institute of noetic Sciences 1613 01:00:58,970 --> 01:00:57,540 in 1973 an organization that is still 1614 01:01:01,010 --> 01:00:58,980 active today 1615 01:01:03,710 --> 01:01:01,020 the word noetic comes from the Greek 1616 01:01:06,109 --> 01:01:03,720 word nois which means mind or ways of 1617 01:01:08,089 --> 01:01:06,119 knowing writing in The Huffington Post 1618 01:01:10,329 --> 01:01:08,099 the institute's director of research 1619 01:01:13,910 --> 01:01:10,339 pointed to philosopher William James's 1620 01:01:16,190 --> 01:01:13,920 1902 definition of the word as quote 1621 01:01:18,349 --> 01:01:16,200 states of insight into the depths of 1622 01:01:20,710 --> 01:01:18,359 Truth unplumbed by the discursive 1623 01:01:23,329 --> 01:01:20,720 intellect they are illuminations 1624 01:01:25,789 --> 01:01:23,339 Revelations full of significance and 1625 01:01:28,309 --> 01:01:25,799 importance all inarticulate though they 1626 01:01:30,289 --> 01:01:28,319 remain and as a rule they carry with 1627 01:01:33,410 --> 01:01:30,299 them a curious sense of authority 1628 01:01:35,329 --> 01:01:33,420 unquote as for what it actually does the 1629 01:01:38,410 --> 01:01:35,339 Institute conducts research on topics 1630 01:01:40,970 --> 01:01:38,420 such as spontaneous remission meditation 1631 01:01:43,010 --> 01:01:40,980 Consciousness alternative healing 1632 01:01:45,470 --> 01:01:43,020 practices consciousness-based Health 1633 01:01:48,890 --> 01:01:45,480 Care spirituality human potential 1634 01:01:50,809 --> 01:01:48,900 psychic abilities psychokinesis and the 1635 01:01:51,589 --> 01:01:50,819 survival of Consciousness after bodily 1636 01:01:53,930 --> 01:01:51,599 death 1637 01:01:55,250 --> 01:01:53,940 I mean it's interesting right and even 1638 01:01:57,230 --> 01:01:55,260 more interesting when you think about 1639 01:01:59,510 --> 01:01:57,240 how his belief in those extraordinary 1640 01:02:01,549 --> 01:01:59,520 things might have been informed and 1641 01:02:03,589 --> 01:02:01,559 influenced by his belief in UFOs and 1642 01:02:05,990 --> 01:02:03,599 non-human intelligence 1643 01:02:08,030 --> 01:02:06,000 and then there's this story that is so 1644 01:02:10,490 --> 01:02:08,040 strange that at first I couldn't believe 1645 01:02:12,349 --> 01:02:10,500 it was real and once I confirmed that it 1646 01:02:14,809 --> 01:02:12,359 was I couldn't believe that I'd never 1647 01:02:16,730 --> 01:02:14,819 heard it before and it involves the 1648 01:02:20,089 --> 01:02:16,740 single most famous name in the history 1649 01:02:22,069 --> 01:02:20,099 of the Space Program Neil Armstrong 1650 01:02:24,890 --> 01:02:22,079 after returning from the Moon and doing 1651 01:02:27,049 --> 01:02:24,900 the obligatory press afterward Neil 1652 01:02:29,809 --> 01:02:27,059 Armstrong mostly shunned the spotlight 1653 01:02:31,370 --> 01:02:29,819 he was a private man and could even be 1654 01:02:35,150 --> 01:02:31,380 shy at times 1655 01:02:36,950 --> 01:02:35,160 however in August of 1976 Armstrong 1656 01:02:39,589 --> 01:02:36,960 emerged from his life of relative 1657 01:02:42,049 --> 01:02:39,599 anonymity to join an expedition deep 1658 01:02:43,370 --> 01:02:42,059 into the jungles of Ecuador but what was 1659 01:02:46,730 --> 01:02:43,380 he looking for 1660 01:02:48,829 --> 01:02:46,740 just a few years prior in 1973 Swiss 1661 01:02:51,170 --> 01:02:48,839 writer and ancient alien theorist Eric 1662 01:02:53,809 --> 01:02:51,180 Von daniken released his book The Gold 1663 01:02:56,150 --> 01:02:53,819 of the Gods in that book he recounted 1664 01:02:57,530 --> 01:02:56,160 the tale of an Argentinian explorer who 1665 01:03:00,650 --> 01:02:57,540 claimed to have explored a cave in 1666 01:03:03,470 --> 01:03:00,660 Ecuador called Cueva de los tayos in 1667 01:03:05,750 --> 01:03:03,480 1969. there he claimed to have 1668 01:03:08,210 --> 01:03:05,760 discovered an enormous ancient treasure 1669 01:03:11,510 --> 01:03:08,220 including mounds of gold unusual 1670 01:03:14,030 --> 01:03:11,520 sculptures and most notably a mysterious 1671 01:03:15,890 --> 01:03:14,040 library with giant books made of solid 1672 01:03:18,069 --> 01:03:15,900 metal the books were said to be 1673 01:03:20,270 --> 01:03:18,079 inscribed with some unknown language 1674 01:03:22,370 --> 01:03:20,280 Legends surrounding this metal Library 1675 01:03:24,650 --> 01:03:22,380 suggest that this Library contained 1676 01:03:26,630 --> 01:03:24,660 Knowledge from an advanced non-human 1677 01:03:29,030 --> 01:03:26,640 intelligent species that gave ancient 1678 01:03:31,670 --> 01:03:29,040 wisdom to humans and helped to plant the 1679 01:03:33,530 --> 01:03:31,680 seeds of civilization and the books were 1680 01:03:35,630 --> 01:03:33,540 said to contain information about 1681 01:03:37,970 --> 01:03:35,640 Advanced extraterrestrial technology 1682 01:03:39,589 --> 01:03:37,980 that could change Life as We Know It On 1683 01:03:41,930 --> 01:03:39,599 This Planet if it were to be discovered 1684 01:03:44,450 --> 01:03:41,940 as a result of the claims published in 1685 01:03:46,609 --> 01:03:44,460 vandana's book an expedition to the cave 1686 01:03:49,609 --> 01:03:46,619 was organized by a Scottish gentleman by 1687 01:03:51,589 --> 01:03:49,619 the name of Stan Hall in 1976. one of 1688 01:03:54,230 --> 01:03:51,599 the largest and most expensive cave 1689 01:03:56,030 --> 01:03:54,240 Explorations ever undertaken the 1690 01:03:58,370 --> 01:03:56,040 Expedition involved over a hundred 1691 01:04:00,950 --> 01:03:58,380 people including experts in a variety of 1692 01:04:03,589 --> 01:04:00,960 fields British and Ecuadorian military 1693 01:04:06,049 --> 01:04:03,599 personnel a eight experienced British 1694 01:04:08,329 --> 01:04:06,059 cavers and a film crew to capture it all 1695 01:04:10,130 --> 01:04:08,339 in short it doesn't sound at all like 1696 01:04:11,750 --> 01:04:10,140 the kind of scene that the notoriously 1697 01:04:14,569 --> 01:04:11,760 private Armstrong would have been into 1698 01:04:16,609 --> 01:04:14,579 and yet he was there front and center 1699 01:04:19,190 --> 01:04:16,619 helping to lead a team into the jungle 1700 01:04:21,470 --> 01:04:19,200 in search of a lost alien treasure 1701 01:04:23,750 --> 01:04:21,480 I mean what 1702 01:04:26,750 --> 01:04:23,760 granted the expedition was ultimately 1703 01:04:29,210 --> 01:04:26,760 unsuccessful but still the fact that 1704 01:04:31,490 --> 01:04:29,220 Neil Armstrong willingly and publicly 1705 01:04:33,530 --> 01:04:31,500 attached his name to this braved the 1706 01:04:35,569 --> 01:04:33,540 cameras and the press and went to the 1707 01:04:38,030 --> 01:04:35,579 Jungle In Search of Lost Knowledge from 1708 01:04:40,670 --> 01:04:38,040 an alien intelligence is just frankly 1709 01:04:42,890 --> 01:04:40,680 wild I don't even really know what to do 1710 01:04:45,109 --> 01:04:42,900 with that but at the very least we can 1711 01:04:47,210 --> 01:04:45,119 say that Neil Armstrong the first man on 1712 01:04:49,130 --> 01:04:47,220 the moon and someone whom I would argue 1713 01:04:51,349 --> 01:04:49,140 was certainly read into whatever 1714 01:04:53,930 --> 01:04:51,359 realities lie behind the US government's 1715 01:04:56,030 --> 01:04:53,940 secrecy regarding the UFO phenomenon 1716 01:04:58,670 --> 01:04:56,040 clearly didn't think that the existence 1717 01:05:01,609 --> 01:04:58,680 of a Secret store of alien treasure in a 1718 01:05:04,309 --> 01:05:01,619 cave in Ecuador was a crazy idea and not 1719 01:05:05,630 --> 01:05:04,319 only did he not think it was crazy he 1720 01:05:07,670 --> 01:05:05,640 thought that it was enough within the 1721 01:05:09,589 --> 01:05:07,680 realm of possibility that he was willing 1722 01:05:11,809 --> 01:05:09,599 to publicly attach his name to the 1723 01:05:14,510 --> 01:05:11,819 Expedition and join them with their 1724 01:05:16,609 --> 01:05:14,520 camera crews in the jungle and you have 1725 01:05:18,650 --> 01:05:16,619 to imagine that NASA couldn't have been 1726 01:05:19,730 --> 01:05:18,660 too thrilled about that but he went 1727 01:05:22,370 --> 01:05:19,740 anyway 1728 01:05:25,309 --> 01:05:22,380 it's impossible not to wonder what it 1729 01:05:27,289 --> 01:05:25,319 was that Neil Armstrong knew and what he 1730 01:05:29,870 --> 01:05:27,299 may have experienced that would lead him 1731 01:05:31,789 --> 01:05:29,880 on such an unlikely Adventure 1732 01:05:34,849 --> 01:05:31,799 and that's where we'll pick up next time 1733 01:05:37,010 --> 01:05:34,859 because as we'll see We've Only Just 1734 01:05:39,049 --> 01:05:37,020 Begun to scratch the surface of the 1735 01:05:42,049 --> 01:05:39,059 strangeness and mystery around the early 1736 01:05:43,730 --> 01:05:42,059 Space Program the reality is that the 1737 01:05:45,410 --> 01:05:43,740 strange beliefs and interests of the 1738 01:05:48,230 --> 01:05:45,420 likes of Edgar Mitchell and Neil 1739 01:05:50,450 --> 01:05:48,240 Armstrong are not the exception in the 1740 01:05:53,329 --> 01:05:50,460 story of our journey to space but the 1741 01:05:55,250 --> 01:05:53,339 rule occult and esoteric practices 1742 01:05:58,010 --> 01:05:55,260 permeated the culture of the early 1743 01:06:00,770 --> 01:05:58,020 rocket programs in the U.S Germany and 1744 01:06:03,109 --> 01:06:00,780 the Soviet Union providing both the 1745 01:06:05,510 --> 01:06:03,119 motivation and many would argue the 1746 01:06:08,809 --> 01:06:05,520 means by which Humanity took its first 1747 01:06:09,280 --> 01:06:08,819 Intrepid steps into the Stars until next 1748 01:06:16,990 --> 01:06:09,290 time 1749 01:06:17,000 --> 01:06:22,609 I'm flying to the Moon 1750 01:06:22,619 --> 01:06:30,430 tonight 1751 01:06:30,440 --> 01:06:35,569 I'm flying back home 1752 01:06:35,579 --> 01:06:43,450 with you tonight 1753 01:06:43,460 --> 01:06:47,950 and it's how far away 1754 01:06:55,240 --> 01:06:50,289 so long 1755 01:07:50,930 --> 01:07:17,770 [Music] 1756 01:07:50,940 --> 01:07:54,980 foreign 1757 01:08:21,169 --> 01:08:15,930 [Music] 1758 01:08:31,610 --> 01:08:23,780 foreign 1759 01:08:50,990 --> 01:08:40,769 [Music] 1760 01:08:51,000 --> 01:09:00,800 foreign