The Claim of Life on Venus Debunked
A Russian scientist thought he saw evidence of
living creatures on an old photo of Venus.
Summary: A claim by a Russian scientist that he saw living creatures in
photos taken by Venerea-13, a Soviet probe to Venus 30 years ago, has
been debunked. According to a Russian news service, Leonid
Ksanfomaliti, a respected member of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
says he spotted several interesting objects on the Venetian surface in
the photos. The features, described as a disc and a scorpion, seemed
to change locations from one photo to the next.
"Let's boldly suggest that the objects' morphological features would
allow us to say that they are living," Ksanfomaliti stated, according to the
news service, Ria Novosti. Ksanfomaliti worked on unmanned Soviet
missions to Venus during the 1970s and 1980s. His words have made
headlines around the world, but could they have been mistranslated or
misconstrued?
In one photo, an object shaped somewhat like a crab stands inches
away from the Venera-13. In another Venera-13 image, the crab-like
object appears in a different location. But Jonathan Hill, a technician
and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State
U., says higher-resolution versions of these images show the crab-like
object is really a mechanical component. The same object shows up in
a photo taken by an identical landing probe, Venera-14, and is in the
same position relative to the spacecraft.
NASA says the half-circle components seen in the photos are camera
lens covers which popped off the Venera probes when they landed. The
reason they appear in different places in the two Venera-13
photographs suggesting movement is that the space probe had both a
front and a back camera. One image shows the front camera lens cap
and the other the rear lens cap. The scorpion-like creature in the photo
has been identified as processed noise.
(Radar image of Venus from NASA.)
To read the entire article, click on LIVE SCIENCE.
Comment: The old adage “Seeing is believing” falls short of always
being completely accurate. The most famous case of mistaken identity
in the search for life in the solar system is the Face on Mars, which
turned out to be merely a trick played by shadows.
People do tend sometimes to see only what they want to see. Unless we
are born pessimists, we see things in our favorite sports team that give
us confidence of future success on the field or court. We tend to see the
leaders of our chosen political party as being more pure and gifted than
what they likely are.
In science too, the adage often falls short. Secularists see similarities
between various animals as evidence of their having a common
ancestor. Bible believers see these similarities as evidence of a common
Creator. Secularists seem to see the discovery of new planets as a
promise of eventually discovering life in space. Bible believers see life
as not possible without a living Creator.
What we really need is a perfect set of eyes that are not capable of
misperceiving — and we have them in the testimony of the God who
sees everything (Proverbs 15:3). God sees that we are all sinners
(Romans 3:23), in desperate need of a Savior (“The soul who sins is the
one who will die” Ezekial 18:20). But we see in His Word the path to this
salvation. “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we
are saved” (Acts 15:11).
While we can see everything we need to see for the present, when we
look into the future our vision is clouded. St. Paul says, “Now we see but
a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” What
heaven will hold for our eyes will truly be beyond human words. The last
book of the Bible compares the beauty of heaven to that of precious
jewels (Revelation 21:10-11). Even those who are physically blind
believers at present will be able to witness this beauty, but not those
who are spiritually blind or, in other words, those who do not see their
Savior in the person of Jesus Christ.
A Russian scientist thought he saw evidence of
living creatures on an old photo of Venus.
Summary: A claim by a Russian scientist that he saw living creatures in
photos taken by Venerea-13, a Soviet probe to Venus 30 years ago, has
been debunked. According to a Russian news service, Leonid
Ksanfomaliti, a respected member of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
says he spotted several interesting objects on the Venetian surface in
the photos. The features, described as a disc and a scorpion, seemed
to change locations from one photo to the next.
"Let's boldly suggest that the objects' morphological features would
allow us to say that they are living," Ksanfomaliti stated, according to the
news service, Ria Novosti. Ksanfomaliti worked on unmanned Soviet
missions to Venus during the 1970s and 1980s. His words have made
headlines around the world, but could they have been mistranslated or
misconstrued?
In one photo, an object shaped somewhat like a crab stands inches
away from the Venera-13. In another Venera-13 image, the crab-like
object appears in a different location. But Jonathan Hill, a technician
and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State
U., says higher-resolution versions of these images show the crab-like
object is really a mechanical component. The same object shows up in
a photo taken by an identical landing probe, Venera-14, and is in the
same position relative to the spacecraft.
NASA says the half-circle components seen in the photos are camera
lens covers which popped off the Venera probes when they landed. The
reason they appear in different places in the two Venera-13
photographs suggesting movement is that the space probe had both a
front and a back camera. One image shows the front camera lens cap
and the other the rear lens cap. The scorpion-like creature in the photo
has been identified as processed noise.
(Radar image of Venus from NASA.)
To read the entire article, click on LIVE SCIENCE.
Comment: The old adage “Seeing is believing” falls short of always
being completely accurate. The most famous case of mistaken identity
in the search for life in the solar system is the Face on Mars, which
turned out to be merely a trick played by shadows.
People do tend sometimes to see only what they want to see. Unless we
are born pessimists, we see things in our favorite sports team that give
us confidence of future success on the field or court. We tend to see the
leaders of our chosen political party as being more pure and gifted than
what they likely are.
In science too, the adage often falls short. Secularists see similarities
between various animals as evidence of their having a common
ancestor. Bible believers see these similarities as evidence of a common
Creator. Secularists seem to see the discovery of new planets as a
promise of eventually discovering life in space. Bible believers see life
as not possible without a living Creator.
What we really need is a perfect set of eyes that are not capable of
misperceiving — and we have them in the testimony of the God who
sees everything (Proverbs 15:3). God sees that we are all sinners
(Romans 3:23), in desperate need of a Savior (“The soul who sins is the
one who will die” Ezekial 18:20). But we see in His Word the path to this
salvation. “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we
are saved” (Acts 15:11).
While we can see everything we need to see for the present, when we
look into the future our vision is clouded. St. Paul says, “Now we see but
a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” What
heaven will hold for our eyes will truly be beyond human words. The last
book of the Bible compares the beauty of heaven to that of precious
jewels (Revelation 21:10-11). Even those who are physically blind
believers at present will be able to witness this beauty, but not those
who are spiritually blind or, in other words, those who do not see their
Savior in the person of Jesus Christ.
LSI Blog - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012
