There are numerous theories, ranging from the ludicrous fringe to more reasonable explanations. Some have said that it might be a part of the craft that the rover was attached to for landing. When Curiosity landed, it parachuted down attached by cables from another craft that then flew a short but safe distance away and crashed. However, that does little to explain why the image didn’t appear in later photos. Some space buffs have said that it could be a dust storm or tornado that had moved on in later photos.
NASA seems to be enjoying the controversy. Mission manager Michael Watkins teased in an interview, saying that if the rover had accidentally captured an image of its mother craft crashing, “it would be incredibly cool.” Others said it would be an insane coincidence. In any case, it is very interesting, but at the end of the day, the real explanation could be as simple as dirt on the lens of the rover’s camera. But that isn’t very fun to talk about, is it?
Here is the image…let us know what you think.

Well, nothing could be more ridiculous. Neil Armstrong was certainly the main figure that everyone remembers from the moon landing. But there are hundreds of people still alive today that were involved in the execution of the program, including the fellow astronauts that landed on the moon with Neil. The idea that Neil Armstrong passing away means that no one will ever know for sure is just silly. If the moon landing was a hoax, there are still plenty of people walking around that know it was. And that is rule number one of a conspiracy of that kind. Too many people know about it, it will never work out. With that many people being aware of what happened, someone would have anonymously tried to expose it by now. And NASA and the government can’t go around killing off everyone that was involved in the program. So, Neil Armstrong’s death should be mourned and his legacy appreciated, but not even the craziest conspiracy theorist out there should see it as a lost chance for “truth.”

The spots aren’t an altogether new discovery. They were first noticed as far back as 1998. They show up on the surface when Mars starts to warm up. This supports the idea that it could be living organisms coming out from hibernation in a harsh winter on the Red Planet, but the fact that they appear in the same place over and over again seems to balance that theory back out by taking away a nice point of evidence for it being life. When winter comes back around, they promptly disappear again.
Scientists from all over the world have pondered the black objects, and the most accepted theory is that the objects are actually geysers. They explode as the planet’s surface heats back up and then freeze in the winter.

So, what do you make of the picture below? Do you buy into the geyser theory or does it look more like what could be the most electrifying discovery of the young century? Expect the debate to continue because the black objects are nowhere near where the various Martian rovers visiting the planet have set up shop. And the rovers can’t exactly hop over for a look as it takes a considerable amount of time for them to negotiate the rough Martian surface. The rovers generally try to land where they want to be and travel small distances to areas of interest, but they are not doing any Martian globe-trotting, for sure.

We’re not trying to scare anyone. Everyone around here at Common Sense Conspiracy remembers the drama around Comet Elenin that never materialized. We are simply pointing out that there is reason for concern when one of these PHA’s pass terrifically close and we don’t know about it until just before it happens.

Now, don’t fall out of your chair. It is highly unlikely that NASA will announce that Curiosity inadvertently stumbled on an ant bed on Mars. Much more likely will be the discovery of organic chemical compounds that will further the theory that life at some point thrived on Mars, at least in certain areas, and perhaps could still today given the right conditions.

Such an announcement would indeed be one “for the history books.” In fact, it may be the single greatest discovery of the modern era. Proof that life is not limited to Earth would be such an all-encompassing revelation that we at Common Sense Conspiracy are starting to worry if the world can handle it. Think about it. If this was proven, and people believed it, then the concept that there are other civilizations out there somewhere becomes instantly a near mathematical certainty. With that comes a barrage of other questions. And one of the biggest ones revolves around religion. Major world religions have never had to deal with this, and with the exception of Scientology, rarely address it. Christians and Jews tend to dismiss the possibility of life elsewhere because the Bible simply does not mention it. They thus assume that it must not exist, and many feel that it would somehow take away from the majesty of their God’s creation if it were found out that it was just a speck of sand in the universal landscape. Would such a discovery trigger a meltdown of world religions? War? Famine?

Interesting timing. Many people around the world are still fascinated with the concept of the world encountering some sort of calamity around December 21, 2012, the date in which the Mayan calendar, which went on for years and years, abruptly ended. The argument about what that means is nothing new here at Common Sense Conspiracy, but this sudden announcement that something huge has been unearthed (pardon the pun) on Mars comes at a convenient time, just a couple of lousy weeks before the world is supposed to change forever. Could Curiosity’s discovery be the beginning of a new age on the Earth, as the Mayan calendar predicted, an enlightened one where people know once and for all that they are not alone?

Frankly, we can’t wait for NASA to make the announcement. Whatever it is, it will be conspiracy gold. Fact-checking and analysis will be around the clock here at the CSC, you can rest assured. But at the least, it is fascinating, isn’t it? Instead of some worldwide apocalypse, did the Mayans somehow predict a huge scientific discovery around December 21, 2012 that would usher in a new age of human intelligence and knowledge?

Or did someone just get tired of making calendars?

The revelation is causing a stir internationally as some nations think that this might be a violation of “space laws,” which are basically worldwide treaties that space-capable nations have signed. However, Planetary Resources has all the answers and doesn’t see any legal obstacles standing in its way from taking the search for resources outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. Planetary Resources has refused to divulge how much money is has raised for the project, but all of its owners have a net worth of $50 billion bucks together, so you can bet there’s no shortage of money making this happen.

Planetary Resources has lofty visions. They even see the possibility of building bases on asteroids that are rich in hydrogen and oxygen. These two elements are used extensively in launching rockets, and the company believes that one day asteroids could be used as launching points for missions to deeper space than humans currently venture into now. They are really looking to the future, and the investors believe that this is the next logical step for humankind in finding resources. What do you think?

Before this new information was released, scientists already believed that there were likely to be millions of possible planets out there that might be in the right zone around their respective stars to possibly haven given rise to life.  However, planets that orbit red dwarf stars were omitted from the results because it was surmised that water could not exist on these planets.  Red dwarf stars are small, in astronomical terms, and usually don’t put out very much light.  This meant that the possible Goldilocks zone, the term used for the inhabitable area, would be very close to the star, and also very small.  This led scientists to believe that the chances of finding life around a red dwarf star would be very low.  A recent study from the European Space Agency begged to differ with this approach.  They sampled 102 red dwarfs and found that 41% of them had enough of a habitable zone to make it reasonable to think there could be planets there with the possibility of thriving life.  As astronomy goes, this simple finding opened up billions of possibilities that were originally left out of the data.

So, the bottom line is that these new findings mean that there are even more stars out there with possibly inhabited planets around them than was previously thought.  If there is life on a planet revolving around a red dwarf star, it may be very different than the life we know here on Earth.  After all, the proximity of the habitable zone to the star means a much higher level of radiation.  To support life, the planet would have to have an excellent atmosphere or life that has somehow adapted to living with this kind of radiation exposure.  But bringing half of the red dwarfs in the universe back into the race means that the odds just grew by an exponential rate.

Common Sense Conspiracy has repeatedly touched on solar storms and the solar cycle in our articles, especially with more interest in it of late because the current solar cycle is nearing its most active point. Our point was always that these solar cycles run in periods of around eleven years, are a known phenomenon, and repeat themselves for as long as anyone has paid attention. What happens is that there is just enough time between this part of the cycle and the last one for people to forget about it. In conspiracy circles, this can lead to people being drawn into a fear mongering campaign as some websites (not this one) present these perfectly normal situations as international calamities.

Solar flares on the sun make even our most destructive weapons on Earth look like children’s toys.
While the solar cycle runs predictably and many functions on Earth actually have learned to use it to their advantage (i.e. amateur radio operators), not all solar storms are the same. Much like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes, the phenomenon of the solar storm can occur at any time during the solar cycle, but every once in a while, we have one that goes beyond the norm. NASA is now predicting that the current solar cycle is showing enough activity that it could produce a solar storm that could rival the last one recognized in history. That was the Solar Storm of 1859. That’s right, 153 years ago was the last truly major solar storm that had obvious and disturbing effects on the Earth. And most people are blissfully unaware that it ever happened.
That’s the thing about disasters like this. It’s a mathematical certainty that they will happen eventually, but they come so few and far between that their existence can leave generations of social consciousness. Another example is the cataclysmic earthquake in 1812 along the New Madrid fault. This area of the country is known for almost never experiencing damaging earthquakes. And yet one of the worst ever in recorded history occurred there in 1812. Once again, it’s a mathematical certainty that the plates along the fault will move and New Madrid will come to life again, but most people living in that region would never count it as a worry in their mind. Yet, seismologists have already signaled that the New Madrid fault is already about a hundred years overdue a big one. In any case, these disasters are ever-present threats, but most people won’t know anything about it until it happens. NASA’s revelations that we could see a solar storm that rivals the one in 1859 next year is not something that only should matter to astronomers or scientists. Let’s take a look back at what happened 153 years ago so we can get an idea of what we might be in for this time next year.
The Solar Storm of 1859 produced the largest solar flare ever observed. Richard C. Carrington was the one to observe it, so sometimes the solar storm is named after him. From August 28 of that year to September 2, observers noticed sunspots and flares all over the sun’s surface, much more than normal. Around noon on September 1, Carrington observed the big one that caused a coronal mass ejection to take place. Put simply, this is when a solar flare erupts outward and travels out into space. It happens all the time, believe it or not, and they often have enough power to reach Earth. The average solar flare takes three or four days to reach the Earth after the ejection. Carrington’s ejection reached Earth in 17 hours. That should give you a pretty good idea of how much more powerful this particular solar flare was than the average that take place all the time. This ejection also benefited from all of the increased activity going on. The sun’s materials that normally help deflect ejections were already burnt up by previous, smaller ejections, paving the way for Carrington’s to rush toward the Earth at a tremendous rate of speed.
Carrington’s flare was not solely responsible for what happened next. It was the culmination of all of the increased activity over the past week that lead to the largest geomagnetic storm ever recorded by observers. Once again, this was not like a solar eclipse where everyone goes outside to view a rare event. This was obvious to everyone. Aurorae developed all over the world. In the Caribbean region it was particularly pronounced. In the Rocky Mountains in the United States, gold miners actually thought it was morning because the sky so bright in the middle of the night.
The storm knocked out telegraph systems all over the world, mostly at once. Some operators were even shocked. The telegraphs actually caught fire in some places. In an even stranger effect, some systems continued to function without power. Apparently enough of a surge occurred due to the solar storm that it had enough power inside to continue functioning despite having no actual power source. The unbelievable light over the Earth through the night was chronicled in many newspapers of the time and can still be found in some cases if you’re interested in how the event was reported.

The amount of satellites orbiting the Earth is astounding, as can be seen here.
Now, flash forward to our current time. The world is completely different than it was in 1859. Electronic devices are everywhere. Satellites orbit the Earth and provide us with a wide variety of services. If a solar storm of that magnitude does indeed hit next year, it will be an unbelievable event that will be much more damaging than it was in 1859. Communications will be instantly returned to the stone age. Power grids will fail and huge blackouts will occur. Many of our modern conveniences, like cell phones, television, Internet, and global navigation will be out of commission in a matter of seconds. And then, there are a lot of effects that simply cannot be predicted. Much like the telegraph machines shocking operators or continuing to operate without power, there is no way to know how our world in 2013 would receive another unprecedented solar surge.
On the positive side, technology would probably allow us to know that it was coming way before the aurorae stretch across the globe. However, there is little that can be done to prepare, even with fair warning. The satellites will be left defenseless, and it isn’t like they can simply bring them down temporarily to avoid the disaster. The time it may take to replace failing devices is an issue as well. This would not be a quick fix. Launching satellites into orbit happens regularly, but we have never had a situation where thousands needed to be launched in a short time span to return services. Then, there’s the problem of all of the dead satellites up there, trashing Earth’s orbit with space junk. Some believe that it may be possible to minimize damage by turning the satellites off while the storm is going on, but this would cause all of the same problems as an actual loss of their services.
The economic impact could be a lot scarier than any physical damage. We all have experienced how delicate the stock market and economy can be with disasters of Earthly origin. Something like this would bring everything to a screeching halt and no doubt plunge the stock market into a state of chaos. Industries all over the globe would not be able to carry on their day-to-day operations without these services, from power to satellites, and prices would be bound to rise as creating and distributing products becomes a challenge in an age where we all are used to getting whatever we need whenever we need it.
This article is not designed to inspire fear, but to educate people. Whether the NASA predictions ring true or not, people at least need to be aware that such a disaster is possible and has happened before. And whether 2013 is the magical year or not, there is a 100% chance it will happen again. The only question is when.

Let’s start with the reality here.  The Earth does indeed seem to shift its magnetic poles from time to time.  From time to time in Earth terms means millions of years.  Many scientists today have hypothesized that the Earth experiences a magnetic pole shift on the average about every half a million years.  What does that mean?  It’s simple, really.  The Earth’s magnetic pole reverses.  So north would be south and south would be north and so on.  The “North Pole” would be in Antarctica.  That is the theory, and there is scientific evidence to back up the phenomenon.

The idea of the North Pole and South Pole is somewhat mythical to begin with.  The North and South Poles are the northernmost and southernmost points on the Earth.  This is often confused with the magnetic poles, but in reality, the magnetic pole of the Earth is where all of its magnetic fields mesh together.  While it is not perfectly in line with the North Pole, it is close enough that most people consider them to be one and the same.  However, the Earth’s magnetic fields are drifting all the time.  Mind you, they drift very slowly and in small increments that take millions of years to amount to anything.  But the Earth is not a solid magnet.  A normal, everyday bar magnet loses its power, but the Earth’s magnetism has continued for billions of years, as far as we can tell.  Albert Einstein declared the Earth’s magnetic field to be one of the most prominent unsolved mysteries of physics.

In the Atlantic Ocean, there is a crack where lava runs out from deep within the Earth’s surface.  The lava turns into rock over time, and it sort of freezes that time period inside.  Scientists are able to ascertain the magnetic polarity of the Earth by examining these rocks, but results are varied.  Some scientists believe the Earth is due for a magnetic shift any time now according to these records, but others say that it doesn’t matter what happened because the Earth is ever-changing and its magnetic properties are not static.  Meaning no one can predict when a magnetic pole shift will happen.

For those that believe a magnetic pole shift is imminent, think about this.  Even the most enterprising scientists say that it could happen some time in the next 2,000 years.  Now, wait a minute.  We can toss out numbers like that all day long, but what does it really mean?  Well, 2,000 years encompasses the entire time from the present day to the birth of Jesus Christ.  And everything that happened in between.  And even if it started tomorrow, the same scientists say that it would take between 100 and a few thousand years to reach fruition.  Lot of room for error, there.

While it’s a passing fad for people to worry about a magnetic pole shift, the problem is there is no physical evidence to indicate we are any closer to one than we were 2,000 years ago, or 20,000 years ago.  Remember, pole shifts come across millions of years, and the odds of us being in that year at any given time are remarkably low.  The entire history of mankind on Earth is only a blink of the eye in the history of the planet.

Yes, if such a phenomenon did occur in our lifetimes, its effects would be staggering.  You are literally talking about a world turned upside down.  So much of our technology revolves around our knowledge of magnetism and the Earth’s current fields, and many things would cease to function.  Species that migrate have learned where to go from millions of years of practice and evolution.  A pole shift would leave them in danger, following their instincts only to find that they are suddenly wrong and ill-informed.  The weather would change dramatically, unleashing entirely new disasters on unsuspecting regions.

And yet, the most likely result is that on December 22, 2012, we will all wake up and go about our daily routines as normal.  And it could stay that way for thousands or even millions of years to come.

And then again, it could happen tomorrow.