[meteorite-list] Crackpot in the news

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Apr 23 22:28:27 2005
Message-ID: <ca1m61l6drnqiau9i2eodba04ftb8h5b13_at_4ax.com>

Sadly, the article writer seems to be too poorly educated to see that this guy is, indeed, a
lunatic.


http://www.pall-times.com/articles/2005/04/23/news/news2.txt

MINETTO MAN'S SKYGAZING PASSION IS 'LUNAR-CY'

By DEBRA LUPIEN ROBILLARD, Features Editor
MINETTO - Amateur astonomer Joseph Bush said he can, and does, spend hours at a time with his eye to
the lens watching the Moon.

"I've been fascinated with the Moon since I was a kid," said Bush. He remembers his first telescope
was from the Montgomery Ward catalog - a far cry from the remote-controlled, 1,900mm Meade 125 scope
he uses now.

"I can pick up a marble sitting on the Moon with this thing," he added, nodding at his telescope.

Which is why at 4 o'clock in the morning on clear nights, while most of us are asleep in our beds,
Bush can be found out on his back deck or front yard staring into space.

Bush said although he has no formal training in astronomy, he has been researching and reading
everything he can, particularly about the Moon.

"People say the Moon is dead, but it's still alive," he said. "I've got (photos with) eruptions
coming off of the Moon."

Bush takes pictures with a 35mm camera attached to the telescope, using 110 speed black-and-white
film to eliminate what he calls "noise," or spots, on the photos you would normally get with color
film. He pointed out as there is no atmosphere on the Moon, he cannot say the short-lived eruptions
are volcanic, but suggests it is high-pressure steam being released.

Bush claims he is the only man who has caught an eruption on the Moon on film. He keeps up a e-mail
correspondence with Dr. James B, Garvin, lead scientist for Mars Exploration with NASA.

"When I sent him my photos, they actually turned the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to check it out,"
he said.

According to an e-mail received from Garvin by Bush, this is indeed unusual as the HST is used
primarily for space observations much further away than the Moon, which is "only" about 384,403
kilometers (238,857 miles) from Earth, a figure that changes as it orbits Earth.

Because of how busy the HST is for what Garvin describes as "critical astrophysical observations,
finding time to make lunar observations with it is difficult.

"This is why it is important for people such as yourselves and other Earth-based telescopic
observers to continue to look at the Moon," writes Garvin.

Although he prefers the manual method, his state-of-the-art telescope is equipped with a remote
control which can pinpoint about 40,000 different celestial bodies. All you need to do, explained
Bush, is set the telescope up so it is facing dead north, select the body you want to view and press
"go to" on the remote.

"I once actually caught a meteor as it slammed into the Moon," said Bush. "I saw a blue flash and
then I could see dirt flying all over when it hit."

Bush said it is common to see meteorites, pieces of a meteor, hitting the Moon's surface, however,
but it was a rare occurrence to catch a meteor strike.

"The Moon is our sister planet," he said. "It keeps us in orbit, governs our seas and it takes a lot
of (meteorite) hits for us."

He said by Lake Ontario and in particular, Fair Haven, are great places to set up because they are
so clear. Bush has a photo of what is called a star burst, which is when a star explodes.

"It's so far away, it probably actually exploded millions of years ago, and we are just seeing it
now," he said.

Because he watches the Moon so often and for hours at a time, Bush has seen things he said he cannot
identify, which he calls, of course, UFOs (unidentified flying objects).

"Everything I've taken (photos) so far as the UFOs have come from the southwest (sky)," he said.
"I've picked up some small unidentified objects between 700-900 miles out."

When it comes to UFOs, he said his colleagues at NASA, such as Garvin, of course will neither
confirm nor deny these sightings as UFOs. But, this does not deter Bush, who understands NASA's
stance on the matters of UFOs. He continues to send NASA all of his sightings, under the
enthusiastic encouragement of Garvin who writes, "Both Dr. (Anne) Kinney, our leading astronomer and
director at NASA headquarters, and myself are very impressed with your work and interest and look
forward to continued interactions."

Bush resides in Minetto with his wife, Betty.
Received on Sat 23 Apr 2005 10:34:45 PM PDT