1975 Arecibo Image and 2001 Chilbolton Formation
|
Two unusual crop formations have appeared in a field near a
British radio telescope. One of them is a schematic similar to
an image transmitted by the Arecibo radio telescope in 1974.
Chilbolton Face Formation
|
The broadcast consisted of a transmission of a pictorial
message, which has been approximated in one of the two
crop formations. The transmission was beamed toward the
globular star cluster M13. The cluster is 21,000 light years
from earth, and is located near the edge of our galaxy. It
contains approximately 300,000 stars. The broadcast used
Arecibo's megawatt transmitter and its 305 meter antenna. It
was the equivalent of a twenty trillion watt wide broadcast,
but was focused on a very narrow area of the sky.
Chilbolton Radio Telescope
|
The message contains 1679 bits arranged into 73 lines of 23
characters each. The graphic the message produces shows
the Arecibo telescope, our solar system, a rough human
figure, a representation of earth biochemistry and DNA.
2000 Chilbolton Formation
|
The crop circle approximates the message closely, but with
some key variations. If it is a reply to our communication,
then it would seem to say that it is from a life-form that is
also hydrocarbon based, that they understand mathematics
in the same way that we do, but that their DNA is somewhat
different from ours, and that they inhabit three of the planets
in their solar system.
In addition to the reply to our message, another image is
included, presumably of one of their faces. They look, it
would appear, a bit like us. In fact, it has been conjectured
that this might be a portrait of the hoaxer, or a wry indication
that the formations were made by human beings.
Obviously, whoever made them did not choose to reply to our
Arecibo transmission by radio, but by crop, and there are
some crop circle researchers who believe that the formations
may be of unknown origin. However, this website received a
communication before the formations were publicly known
suggesting that they may be a hoax. The communication
stated that a crop-circle hoaxer would create a face and a
glyph. It is impossible to tell if the formations were already on
the ground when the letter was sent.
To determine whether or not this crop circle is an authentic
anomaly, it is essential to remove some of the swirled crop
and analyze it for the biological changes that have been
associated with genuine mystery formations in the past.
Unless this is done, this highly unusual formation cannot be
definitively declared to be either a hoax or a true unknown.
Last August, a formation appeared in the same immediate
area that was almost certainly genuine. This exquisite fractal
had all of the earmarks of the real anomalies, although no
confirming study of crop from within the formation was ever
carried out.
If our 1975 broadcast was picked up by somebody, they must
be located within 27 light-years of earth, in the direction of
the M13 Star Cluster. Should the formation prove to be
unexplainable, it would make sense for SETI to immediately
begin seeking to pick up conventional transmissions from that
direction. Perhaps the crop formation was a quite logical
attempt to draw our attention to that particular area of the
sky, although how it (or any of the real formations) was
created must remain a matter for conjecture.
Opinion: It hardly seems likely that ET would choose to
announce himself to us via crop. Or it would, if he did not
already appear to be doing so. Like all anomalies, this one
must be carefully studied before judgement can be passed. If
this is a true unknown, it represents a major change in the
way that crop circles are structured. This formation does not
consist of swirled crop, and is not formed primarily of circles.
Instead, the figures are rectangular and the crop is laid
down.
If past is prologue, this new technique will lead to ever more
complex and elegant renditions, perhaps offering more precise
communications. Experienced croppies we have talked to
about these formations are of the opinion that they are rough
enough to have been formed by hoaxers, but intricate--and
surprising--enough to be the real thing.
All photographs Copyright (C) 2001, Lucy Pringle. To see
these images in detail, go to
Lucy
Pringle's Website.
