What is Digg?109 Comments
- felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+31Read the article, do a little Googling. No one is saying little green men came down from the sky. There is a real possibility that alien biological material did, however.
- rm999, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19He makes a lot of leaps of faith. He claims that the material is biological, so it must be aliens (couldn't it have come from the earth?) He claims here was a sonic boom, so it must be a meteorite (couldn't it have a man-made sonic boom?) And how could a meteorite create red dust for 2 months?
It would be cool if this were alien life, but the reasoning is dubious. - t0ny, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Why do you say that?
Think about how big space is and if there is a random chance of life like ours it has to be repeated at least once. - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12though it seems completely unreasonable that residue from a comet could affect billions of gallons of moisture in the atmosphere for 2 MONTHS, this is interesting.
the first thought that came to my mind was acid rain. due to the change in color but mostly the decreased pH level that apparently caused leaves on trees to dissolve. the article did not mention this possibility. it sounds like a chemical reaction caused by factories in the area caused a red pigment to occur when exposed to water molecules.
or a huge spill occured in a nearby large body of water, evaporated into the atmosphere whilst carrying extremely small particles of dye and some other agent that lowered the pH level.. soda spill?
too many possibilities, but alien biology is probably the most far fetched of any other. - Petrarch1603, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Interesting article. Being published in the Guardian gives it some degree of credence. However I think that this is still in the "hypothetical speculation" category. More research and independent verification and it'll be believable.
- MSStategrad2001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Here is a direct link to the original publication:
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0601/0601022.pdf - cybernetic798, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I can see how you doubt this, but it is wrong to think that only things from 'The Times' or the like are credible. In truth, you can't trust anything or anyone - you would have to check everything yourself. But in any case, some of the most credible sources are the least known (for example, scientific journals get no press but contain so much information). Just because it is not in a major American publication does not make it less credible.
- MSStategrad2001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=405
A little more information (and entertainment) on the subject. - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The thing I find most incredible about this story is that none of the articles I've looked at contained any pictures. Searching Google images was equally fruitless. So I'm left dumbfounded that it rained blood-red for several days over a large area, and nobody thought to take a picture and put it on the internet. That is amazing.
- Kailash.Nadh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yep, I'm from Kerala. I remember media giving this incident wide coverage. At first, it was dismissed saying that it was just acid rain. But later a series of such bizzare incidents took place, like water in ground wells turning red and stuff, which inturn was connected to the rain and then again, dismissed.
But Alien life in Kerala, awesome! - jonesin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7It was reported in New Scientist. That's one of the most leading scientific journals on the planet, I'd call that mainstream news to me.
- RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I'll reserve judgment until there is more concrete evidence.
- ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9But you have to remember, the size of the universe also makes it nearly impossible that life, if it did form elsewhere, would be able to actually reach Earth.
"Most researchers say that Louis is making too great a leap in connecting his rain with microbes from a comet." - I tend to agree with those researchers and remain calmly sceptical. Maybe this rain does have biology in it, but all the evidence that it is alien seems highly circumstantial and speculative. - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I quote Douglas Adams: "The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks."
If you are using Occam's Razor, you first have to decide which explanation is "simpler."
Some options:
A) A two-month sandstorm. The rain, however, contained 9 million particles per ml that had the properties of biological cells.
B) A meterorite may have hit a swarm of bats. "Just hours before the first red rain fell, several people in the Kottayam district heard a loud sonic boom that made their houses rattle." Given the number of bats in the area, and the blood-like qualities of the particles, it's possible. However, no other trace of bats is evident.
C) If a meteorite did hit, it may have contained the strange material that was found in the rain. If it is biological in origin, then organic extraterrestrial material rained on Kerala.
D) It may be some other type of blood from a terrestrial source. The idea of blood distributed in clouds is astonishing and unprecedented, but no wierder than the other possibilities.
So which one is the "simpler" explanation? In my opinion, they're all pretty far-fetched, and whatever the answer, it will be fascinating.
A test for haemoglobin is being performed soon, which should answer the question of whether it is blood or not.
One final thought - a quote from the New Scientist article:
"If they can't explain the origin of the samples, then the suggestion that they are alien life will gain credence. In that case, someone will have to verify an observation that Louis made which even he finds astonishing: that the cells replicate. In earlier unpublished papers, Louis says he cultured the red rain cells in unconventional nutrients, such as cedar wood oil, and showed that these DNA-devoid microbes divide happily at a temperature of 300 C." - YesWorld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A copy of the full NewScientist article can be read here:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/03/03/1427866.htm
The strangest part:
'Cockell argues that there could be a simpler explanation the red particles are actually blood. "They look like red blood cells to me," he says. The size fits just right; red blood cells are normally about 6 to 8 micrometres wide. They are naturally dimpled just like the red rain particles. What's more, mammalian red blood cells contain no DNA because they don't have a cell nucleus.' - devoinregress, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Their is another article about the rain here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1465036.stm
It says that dust or pollution may have caused it but it confirms the event from happening.
It is just a theory anyway and they should always be looked at with more criticism.
I would think pollution would be most likely, India has terrible air pollution. Delhi has some of the worst air pollution in the world. - phej, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I can't believe it either, but I did find one picture on the BBC website. It doesn't show blood drops raining, but you can tell from the puddle in the middle-ground that something red is falling from the sky and I would think that the person's clothing has been stained from the rain - although I could just be imagining that last point.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1465036.stm - lifesun1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I reported on this for my website a few months ago. It seems that there are a number of questions assocaited with this. I think that if mold can survive and grow on the moon (in a self contained vessle) than it is possible that something could grow in a meteor.
I hate to quote Crichton, but "Nature (aka life everwhere) finds a way." - jeffness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4those are irrigated fields. specifically, a method of irrigation called "Central Pivot Irrigation. if you look in the western united states, coincidentally there are instances of it that happen to be around groom lake (area 51), you'll also see many instances of central pivot irrigation.
read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_pivot_irrigation - zweben, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I'm going to have to go with the un-named scientist by calling ***** on this one. I'll believe it when I see it all over the mainstream news and on the front page of the Times.
- wheremyarm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Not really. Even though you're supposed to "cut away" the more complicated argument, you also have to take into account which theory provides a better understanding of all the elements. If there's no sand in the samples, and there is biological material, the sand theory doesn't really "cut it" anymore, does it?
- zweben, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"I can see how you doubt this, but it is wrong to think that only things from 'The Times' or the like are credible. In truth, you can't trust anything or anyone - you would have to check everything yourself. But in any case, some of the most credible sources are the least known (for example, scientific journals get no press but contain so much information). Just because it is not in a major American publication does not make it less credible."
Won't let me reply normally, sorry.
I agree with what you said- I read science journals myself- I'm just saying that basically I don't really care to research the validity of these claims myself, but if reputable non-scientific news sources pick this story up, I'll believe it, because I trust they checked the facts at least as much as I would.
Man, I love this new comment system. - gwjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Red Rain! WTF! Why was this not bigger news earlier? Must have been a busy newsweek or something; Too busy to mention sheets of blood red rainstorms; bet if it happened over Miami or Toronto it would have been the _only_ news story for a week. Anyway, digg needs an xfile category.
- ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Well I didn't find any factories, BUT over in Arabia I found what appear to be crop circles or something! http://maps.google.com/?ll=23.176976,46.942005&spn=0.074643,0.116043&t=k
Possible connection? - fatlip, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4its pretty selfish to consider earth the only source of life in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE. however, i would LOVE to see the slides of these 'cells' with maybe some labels on them pointing out different things about each part of it.
i dont see why this wouldnt be possible. its not like people were falling from the sky. i still find it incredible how people dismiss things just because they dont believe in extraterrestrial life. many of those people are religious too, which strikes me even more odd. extraterrestrial life is impossible but a great big man in the sky that controls everything is not?
please. - muikano, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Well first of all, he's suggesting it. And it's all verifiable. Just ask if the government did anything with the airspace. If it's anything the government is good at, it's keeping up the paperwork.
If there was a sonic boom then check the instruments. Meteorites and man-made ones have nuance differences. And find the ***** meteorite. I'm not going to say it's dubious. But anything so spectacular warrants an open mind. It sure as hell isn't dust.
And the meteorite didn't create dust dude. that's precisely what it isn't. It's Carbon, Iron thing. Just think of it as Unidentified Carbon Iron material. Really Really pure Iron burned at High temperatures streaming acrosss moisture clouds could cause red rain. But sheets of RED RAIN? It also burned organic material, and specifically organic material like leaves, but not clothes. That's pretty signicant. Look at the symptoms dude. What besides alien material could cause that? That's the only NATURAL explanation. If we can rule that out then we can safely assume something more sinister--that it was man made. And that's even more to worry about. - ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Maybe God exploded?
- BritOverseas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I agree with some of the posters, are we truly that full of our own egos that we believe that we are the only "living" things on roughly 128,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (I think that is enough 0's, give or take a dozen) possible celestial bodies?
I am not talking "Humans" here, just "living" "things" of some kind.
It does not take a great leap of faith on my part to realise that this is probability rather than possibility. - JimW, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is damm interesting. Will study this closer later.
- robunck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Chubby rain!" (Bowfinger anyone?)
- Beautyon, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6As you read the inevitable reams of garbage from the idiots who start talking about Occams Razor and all that arrogant skeptic nonsnse, bear in mind that in the 19th century, most 'scientists' didnt believe that meteorites came from space. Yes, you read me right; scientists DIDNT BELIEVE THAT METEORITES CAME FROM SPACE.
This is absolutely no different. The Science cultists have been confronted by something outside of their dogma, and once again, as with the metorites, they refuse to look at the blaspheming material. They are closing ranks and chanting the rosary of Saganism - 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence', 'Occams Razor' etc etc. See them in their hoods, frantically bowing as they recite their sacred prayers!!! - cakefart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2While the pdf I read is interesting and all, I don't see what specific predictions their paper makes, and how their idea is testable.
- cybernetic798, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well I feel that bacterial life can exist on other parts of the universe easily (FYI, drake's eqn is for intelligent life not any life) so I wouldn't doubt this specifically, but like in all scientific endeavors, a second opinion is needed to set it in stone.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok Tom Cruise. (don't be a sheep kid).
- Flankk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Alright, I'll send Elmo down to pick you up. Hopefully the crew won't disintegrate into the atmosphere this time...
- mistshadow2k4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Considering that the unnamed scientist hasn't even "glanced" at the evidence yet, I don't see why. There is evidence that might prove something and you won't even look at it before calling it *****? Are you a lawyer? Because that's not science. Something isn't false just because you refuse to believe it - or vice versa.
- YesWorld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For more anecdotal evidence of "blood" rain in history:
http://www.strangemag.com/redrain.html - Flankk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well put, but I wouldn't discredit all of his findings entirely. Something bigger than dust flying over India occurred, especially when it's preceded by a sonic boom which "shook houses." I am looking forward to any results about this fluid, so let's keep it in the spotlight.
- bryantee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Understandable, but you've got to remember we're dealing with scientists here, not the Vatican.
- ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3No, I don't think real scientists believe, or use, that crap. It's more just those with a digg phd.
- Goracle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't think it is egotistical to consider the idea that we are the lone living beings on this earth. If you have done any research you would notice how many individual variables it takes for their to be the right conditions for any chance of life whatsoever. And yes...the statistics are just as overwhelming as how vast this universe is.
Interesting...but until the validity is proven, I am still a skeptic. - bryantee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ThePhilomath, I think the suggestion is that life may have sparked on the comet itself. They are very rich in organic material, particularly carbon. Under the right conditions it is possible, and it may have just happened to drop by earth.
- felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think you're the third person from Kerala to comment on this thread. How cool is that? I wonder if it's time for a DiggNation meetup live from Kerala?
- mos6507, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That's the problem. There really isn't a simpler explanation.
- Incense, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1DUGG because it's a cool story, and it's super fun to say Red Rain. Very cool article!
- jeffness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's probably just Union Carbide up to their old shenanigans again! or some other nefarious chemical test. i don't understand how a localized weather system could "rain red" for an extended period of time. if it were comet bourne, then surely the vapor trail would have dissipated, or moved, or something.. 2 months stead of solid red rain? I can't believe it..
Bopal disaster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bopal_disaster - kometes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Bigfoot called and he wants his rant back.
- mattgilberg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i agree, how the hell could it rain red in the same spot for 2 months and no where else, and btw, if its raining bloodlike rain, i would be getting my ass out of where ever the hell that ***** going down, thats some freaky *****.
- Petrarch1603, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I never said that popular means accurate. Read closely before you post, and learn how to use the "reply" button. Digg has threads now.
- royeiror, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3also, on what conditions where the samples taken?, is there a record of a meteor around that area? and, there is a lot of space for tainted water to gather microbes on it's way down from a cloud, so, it could be that some carbon-oxygen-iron dust came off a comet, but i think the microbes are terrestrial 100%. I don't think they could have withstood the entry temperatures into the atmosphere and such. so I'll go along and call *****.
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