A Beginner's View of Our Electric Universe - New

Comets were first described in 1950 by the American astronomer Fred Whipple as dirty snowballs melting in
the radiated heat of the Sun. They have now been closely inspected by sensitive measuring equipment carried
on space probes, and some being pointed at them from the ground. To those with open minds who remain
receptive, the data returned tells us that comets are not the dirty snowballs that astro-science would have us
believe. And in terms of how many there are, despite the problem of coming up with a figure in the first place,
an estimate of around 6 billion was originally statistically predicted.
This number was found to be far too low when better data
analysis was conducted and computer simulations were
carried out, so it was raised to a figure of ~400 billion.
Overall, this has turned out to be a big issue for cometary
scientists, because there now seem to be far too many
comets to suit the preferred story about their origin and the
calculations used to come up with predictions about them.
To address this and accommodate the larger figure, ideas
were revised to claim that beyond those left over from our
own solar system's formation, the Sun must have captured
most of its comets from other stars billions of years ago
when those stars came close to our solar system. This is quite a wild piece of speculation and it has no basis
in anything whatsoever. However, being just another guess from their limited gravity toolbox, it highlights yet
again that sticking plasters are quite happily applied by astro-science to patch up their theories. The sad thing is
that it is mostly the public purse that funds the highly questionable work of mainstream astro-science and that
currently at least, most of those involved enjoy well-paid jobs, rosy futures and the prospect of nice pensions.
Digressing for a moment, there are a couple of things to underline. University students entering astro-science
disciplines should not be faced with this type of attitude for it may influence the direction of their careers.
A few may be tempted to go along, but I prefer to think that most others would take a more responsible and
independent approach. It is also apparent that the public shows little interest in science in general, for many of
us do not see much within it playing a significant role in our daily lives. However, reasons do exist for us to
consider this attitude carefully and for us to think more about what is going on in science research; outcomes
from which have already determined much of our own and our children's futures. If we were to take a moment
to lift our heads out of the daily grind, we would be giving ourselves a chance to realise this is very important
stuff and that we should be paying more attention to it.
41 | We are waiting for answers to these questions
The two tails of a typical comet nearing the Sun © author