NGC US looks to capitalise on 'Star Wars' hype with 'Extraterrestrial' special
As the conclusion to the Star Wars saga Revenge of The Sith takes the world by storm National Geographic Channel (NGC) in the US has announced a special documentary Extraterrestrial which will air on 30 May. The show will feature an array of new and bizarre planetary creatures. What makes them unique is the fact that they are scientifically based visions of life as predicted by some of the world's leading scientists.The show creates two worlds which scientists believe could exist in our own Milky Way galaxy, putting evolution into motion to investigate what life forms could survive there. Utilising a combination of computer generated imaging (CGI) and 3-D effects, Extraterrestrial takes viewers on a galactic journey to come face-to-face with these fantastic alien life forms. The show reflects the contributions of leading scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), prestigious universities and organisations like the Ecospheres Project and the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The experts anticipate discoveries to be made in the near future, when super-powerful new telescopes will begin watching the fringes of the Milky Way for signs of life. Using super computers powerful enough to make predictions about the Earth's climate Extraterrestrial's scientists modeled the weather and climate for a planet that would orbit a red dwarf star, one of the most common stars in our galaxy. To their astonishment, the resulting profile indicated that the planet would be capable of supporting life. Based on the latest scientific results and deep space observations, two planets are identified to represent statistically likely celestial bodies and are subsequently named Aurelia and Blue Moon. Extraterrestrial then brings the science team's visions of their respective inhabitants to the screen through CGI modelling and animation. One of the Planets Aurelia, which circles a red dwarf star, is representative of one of the most habitable types of planets. The scientists are confident of finding something very similar to Aurelia. It's very much in the cards according to them. A place of extremes, one side of Aurelia is permanently exposed to starlight, the other in eternal freezing darkness. There are no seasons, days or nights. Cloud and lightning storms cover the center of the light side, while a giant ice cap smothers much of the dark side. As viewers descend into the light side, violent storm clouds give way to a landscape of immense rivers and vast flood plains, several times bigger than the Amazon. Evolutionary biologists and biomechanists then conceived of life forms they believe could survive on Aurelia -- nicknaming them Stinger Fans, Gulphogs and Hysteria among others. Stinger Fans on Aurelia resemble tall plants with giant fans at the top, but they are flesh-and-blood animals that feed on the sun's energy. Large slithery tentacles constantly move them slowly across the mud, jostling for the best place to capture the sun's precious rays. The Gulphog is the largest predator in the Stinger Fan forest, standing nearly 15 feet high, massive as a buffalo, but with a giraffe-like neck and prominent central teeth. Although it looks ungainly, scientists' calculations show that the Gulphog can run as fast as a racehorse. Its long legs often help it outrun an indigenous predator, dubbed the deadly Hysteria. Hysteria look like tadpoles, peacefully eating tiny creatures that live in Aurelia's lagoons. But the Hysteria can undergo a terrifying transformation when they come together as one undulating creature, rising from the water to bore into land-based victims and releasing a flesh dissolving toxin.
Understanding Extraterrestrials
Join The Discovery Channel in a search for extraterrestrial intelligence using state-of-the-art NASA technology to comb through an infinite amount of stars in the vast galaxy of space. Will we make contact? Narrated by Peter Coyote (E.T. THE EXTRA - TER RESTRIAL.). Most all of the information about UFOs and extraterrestrials has been researched and reported as of 2006. Some researchers report an increase in UFO sights and related encounters, while others report a decrease. The majority of incidents happen at night. They are reported by one or more witnesses, and generally do not involve physical contact. Nondescript photos are often offered as proof of a sighting. Contact information from aliens is generally channeled and speaks about the nature of humanity and its evolution. Description of ships are the same as those recorded throughout history, in recent years centering on triangular formations, one of which I witnessed in November 2003. Without physical contact and information shared, our connection remains an enigma. There are those who believe humanity was seeded by a non-human source who will return one day to help us evolve beyond this reality. This is based on alleged alien contact, religious dogma, ancient prophecies, symbols and archetypes, our inner guidance, meditation, dreams, among other internal and external influences. All are metaphors in the hologram of our reality.
Erich Anton Paul von DänikenErich Anton Paul von Daniken (b. Zofingen, Aargau, Switzerland, April 14, 1935) is a controversial Swiss author best known for his books which examine possible evidence for extraterrestrial influences on early human culture. Von Däniken is one of the key figures responsible for popularizing the paleocontact and ancient astronaut hypotheses. Von Däniken is a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA). He developed a theme park called Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland, which opened on May 23, 2003 and closed on November 19, 2006. His 26 books have been translated into more than 20 languages, selling more than 60 million copies worldwide, and his documentary TV shows have been viewed around the world. His influence can also be seen in science fiction, the New Age culture and some modern religions.
Building on previous works by other authors (including Italian Peter Kolosimo, who was later critical of von Däniken), von Däniken claimed that if intelligent extraterrestrial life exists and has entered the local Solar System in the past, then there is the possibility of finding traces of their visits on Earth, on neighboring planets, or elsewhere in space. He also supports the hypothesis that human evolution may have been manipulated through means of genetic engineering by extraterrestrial beings.
The evidence that von Däniken has put forward to support the paleo-contact hypotheses can be categorized as follows:
- Artifacts have been found which are alleged to represent a higher technological knowledge than is presumed to have existed at the times when they were manufactured. Von Däniken maintains that these artifacts have been manufactured either by extraterrestrial visitors, or by humans who obtained the necessary knowledge from them. Such artifacts include Stonehenge, the statues of Easter Island, the Antikythera mechanism, and the Piri Reis map.
- In ancient art throughout the world, themes are observed which can be interpreted to illustrate astronauts, air and space vehicles, non-human but intelligent creatures, and artifacts of a high technology. Von Däniken also points out details that are similar in the art of unrelated cultures.
- Origins of religions might be a reaction to contact with an alien race by primitive humans. The humans considered the technology of the aliens to be supernatural and the aliens themselves to be gods. According to von Däniken, the oral and literal traditions of most religions contain references to visitors from “stars” and vehicles traveling through air and space. These, he says, should be interpreted as literal descriptions which have changed during the passage of time and have become more obscure, rather than as symbolic or mythical fiction. One such is Ezekiel’s revelation in the Old Testament, which he interprets as a detailed description of a landing spacecraft.
Most in the scientific community have ignored or dismissed von Däniken’s hypotheses. A few scientists, such as Carl Sagan and I. S. Shklovskii, have written about von Däniken’s paleocontact and extraterrestrial visitation claims. Although Sagan did not rule out the possibility of visitation, he insisted that such extraordinary assertions as von Däniken’s demand extraordinary proof without which it would be inappropriate to believe the claims.
Von Däniken claimed that a non-rusting iron pillar in India was evidence of extraterrestrial influence.[2] However, he admitted in a Playboy interview[3] that the pillar was actually rusty and man-made, and that as far as supporting his hypotheses goes “we can forget about this iron thing.” (Von Däniken did not invent the tale of the rust-free iron pillar in India: in 1935 Will Durant inserted the same mistake in Our Oriental Heritage, p. 478) Neither von Däniken nor his publishers have removed this, or any other, discredited evidence from subsequent reprints of his books.
Ronald Story published The Space Gods Revealed in 1976, providing an almost page-by-page refutation of the hypotheses and evidence in von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?, although Story's book itself was deconstructed by a number of critics, including Rocky Wood.
Von Däniken became popular in India during the 1970s, as a result of his books being translated into the Bengali language by translator Ajit Dutta. School level students were the first major group of his believers in India. Von Däniken subsequently visited the Kashmir region of India to check for the presence of radioactivity in an ancient temple, where he believed that a “spacecraft” had once landed. This was mostly covered by the Indian media in a critical manner. Major media houses in India referred to von Däniken’s trip as a “failure,” due to his inability to state the nature of the radioactivity found in the temple.
An exhibit, Un Monde Insolite, largely based on Däniken's Chariots of the gods book was opened in Montreal, Canada for several summers in the 1970s. The exhibit was located in a former theme pavilion on the Expo-67 universal exhibition. It featured replicas of various historical artefacts that Däniken claimed were proof of past alien visitation.
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