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From: magnus@io.com (Bruce Lanier Wright)
Date: Wed, 25 Dec 1996 23:07:47 -0600
Fwd Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 10:51:02 -0500
Subject: Rumors of Aliens Trail Comet

Rumors of Aliens Trail Comet
Albuquerque Journal, 12/3/96

Charges that a spacecraft is headed for Earth behind the Comet Hale-Bopp
have taken on a life of their own

By John Fleck
Journal Staff Writer

An alien spacecraft is headed toward Earth, tailing Comet Hale-Bopp. NASA
and the U.S.government know about it and are suppressing the telescope
images that would prove it. Those charges, lurking on the Internet and talk
radio since the comet was discovered in 1995, have exploded in recent
weeks. The talk has been fueled by nationally syndicated late-night talk
show host Art Bell and
discussion groups on the Internet, where anyone who wants can weigh in.
Despite debunking by scientists, the conspiracy theories have gained a
momentum of their own, with the scientists who offer explanations
immediately lumped in with the conspirators.

The debate has grown so intense that, two weeks ago, one Internet critic
called Alan Hale, the New Mexico astronomer who discovered the comet, "an
Earth traitor" after Hale helped debunk one of the latest "mystery
spaceship" sightings. "This whole thing is nutty," said Hale, who said he
is alternately amused and aghast at the uproar surrounding the comet that
bears his name.

The most popular tale is that the spacecraft is either out to destroy us or save
us.

The government knows about it, according to the conspiracy theorists, and
is keeping it from the public.  Their evidence is a hodgepodge of
speculation, information allegedly gathered telepathically from the aliens
and astronomical data that, scientists say, have been misinterpreted out of
ignorance.

Neither Bell nor any of the other chief conspiracy theorists responded to
Journal requests for comment.

Hale-Bopp would seem an unlikely subject for an international cover-up,
scientists say, simply because anyone who wants can take a look. Now 270
million miles from Earth and growing brighter, the potential comet of the
century
is hanging out there for anyone with a cheap telescope or even a pair of
binoculars to see.

Hale, who lives in the mountains outside Cloudcroft in southern New Mexico,
has been observing the comet every night it's visible, and hasn't seen
anything amiss. "Don't take my word for it," he says. "Go out and look at
it." Since Hale and amateur star-gazer Thomas Bopp discovered the comet in
July 1995, the
conspiracy theorists have latched onto the comet with a vengeance.

The evidence for the alien presence is hung from bits of truth. As
astronomers gather more data on the comet's orbit, they have revised their
calculations of its orbit. That has led to calls from conspiracy theorists
that Hale-Bopp has "changed course," something no comet could do.

Conspiracy theorists have also made much of a perceived paucity of publicly
available images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble comet pictures taken in September and
October, published recently in the magazine Science News, do not seem to
have reduced the vehemence of those arguments.  For the record, NASA
scientist Jay Bergstralh, who is heading up a portion of the space agency's
comet research efforts, said he has heard of no such conspiracy.

The discovery of "mysterious objects" in telescope pictures of the comet
has been trumpeted by the conspiracy buffs, only to have astronomers
identify them as stars in the backgrounds of the pictures.

"What's upsetting is that they won't take the time to learn," said
Harvard-based astronomer Daniel Green.

If there was a mysterious object flying alongside the comet, said Green,
amateur and professional astronomers around the world watching the comet
would have seen and reported it.

"That's the way science works. That's the way astronomy works. You can't
hide anything," said Green, who works for the International Astronomical
Union, an international clearing house for such information.

The "mysterious object" pictures have nevertheless raised the conspiracy
talk to a crescendo in recent weeks, led by late-night talk radio host
Bell, whose syndicated show runs in Albuquerque on KOB AM (770) from
midnight to 4 a.m.

Last Thursday night, a guest on Bell's program claimed to have "remotely
viewed" the alien spacecraft, using a sort of telepathic eyesight.

Hale said the Internet has been both a curse and a blessing. Anyone with a
computer and a telephone connection can "publish" information on the
Internet, a worldwide computer network. That has allowed the Hale-Bopp
conspiracy theories to spread quickly, but it has also given scientists an
equal forum.

But with Hale-Bopp getting brighter and likely to be major public spectacle
next spring, Hale expects the wild talk to continue. "It's just going to
get worse," he said.