This site is dedicated to all those X-FILES fans who are searching the Cosmos for information about various aspects of numerous subjects covered by the TV show and movie.
It is primarily a document source. All of the information is contained in my own "X-Files". Here you will find data about extraterrestrial phenomena including meteors / meteorites, comets, UFOs, aliens and related topics. I have been updating on a daily basis to include new material. Since I am in the process of moving, my files are in scores of boxes and it will take weeks before I get things sorted out and organized. So please check back again, soon.
Also included will be material related to ALL X-FILES items in my personal collection, including Trading Cards, Posters, Comics, Magazine articles, Movie and other Memorabilia -- anything related to the popular series. Scans of source material, each with its corresponding [X] LINK, as well as complete annotated lists hopefully will be included as time permits.
Aside from reflecting my own avid scientific interest in these phenomena, the site is dedicated to all those who are true seekers of "TRUTH", having open, creative and imaginative minds, free of the "dogmas" of modern science which frequently only serve to stifle initiative and lock the doors of real progress. It is the all pervasive theme of the series! Perhaps one of you will be able to add to our continuing saga in a significant way.
Any donations of X-Files related items is always welcome and credit will be given where appropriate. You may email the KEEPER OF THE X-FILES [X] with comments, suggestions or offers of potential reference file material.
I believe that some of the most exciting discoveries of basic scientific principles have yet to be made, simply by patient, exacting observers of our natural world. They will not be PhDs in their well funded universities and / or government / private research centers, rather some anonymous aficionado who was alert enough at the right moment to make the simple logical empirical jump from concept A to concept B! This is serendipity at its best and it has occurred numerous times in the history of science.
My interest in astronomy and related subjects goes way back to my mid-teen years when I founded and presided over the GREATER NORTHEAST ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY [X] which held monthly meetings [X] at a local branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, attended by amateur astronomers from the area, young and old. We also sponsored various exhibits [X] at the library.
I had made my own Newtonian reflector with a friend, grinding the mirror at the Amateur Telescope Makers Club at the Franklin Institute. I had obtained the first meteorite for my collection. And I avidly read the scores of books on astronomy and related subjects in my, then, fledging library. I was anything but prepared for what was to come!
How do we know what is outside of this blue orb we have called Earth, floating eternally in ethereal space ?
Scientists can analyze the light coming from the most distant stars , the rainbow SPECTRUM it produces, punctuated by "signature" (Frauenhofer) lines at certain wavelengths, and tell us what elements the entity is made of. But I want something more tangible-- I want to be able to stick my hand in the gaping wound of the Cosmos and actually palpate what is there!
If you have ever seen a "shooting star" or METEOR and understand what you witnessed, you may know that our planet is being continually bombarded by vagabond material from outer space. Tons of these alien "visitors" attack the Earth on a daily basis in a rainy rampage through our atmosphere adding to the material under foot. The smaller ones completely "burn up" due to the intense heat caused by rapid transit through the shell of mixed gases which envelop the orb. Larger meteors may be fragmented.
IF they reach the Earths surface they are called METEORITES. They range in size from invisible-to -the-naked-eye, MICRO METEORITES, to masses weighing many tons. Take a golf ball and throw it lightly into a flat tray of flour or moist mud. A gaping CRATER is produced at the point of impact and you can tell the trajectory of the meteorite by examining the ejecta / spray pattern.
Perhaps the most famous example of an such an event is WINSLOW CRATER [X] in Winslow, Arizona (= Canyon Diablo = Ninninger Crater). Fragments of this particular alien visitor may still be found tens of miles from the impact site.
This world of ours has been traumatized by large meteorite impacts many times throughout the history of the Earth. Some scientists suggest that they may have caused several mass extinctions of animal and plant life.
What are meteorites made of? They are classified according to their gross chemical / petrologic composition.
They may be metal rich, SIDERITES [X] (Figure 1), largely composed of nickel and iron. Only about 10% of meteorites are of this kind. They are designated :
OCTAHEDRITES if the nickel content is lower (Mineral : Kamacite) or HEXAHEDRITES having a higher Ni content (Taenite). Both varieties exhibit a cross-hatching pattern of their crystal structure, termed Widmanstätten [X] (Figure 2) and Newman FIGURES or LINES, respectively, when etched with dilute nitric acid on a polished surface. Alaxites, having a very rich nickel content, do not produce this pattern when etched.
They are further classified according to the crystal size. Coarse = I & 2, medium = 3 and fine = 4.
If they contain large amounts of silicate inclusions (the most common mineral group on Earth) and other substances, they belong to an in-between group known as SILICATED IRONS or MESOSIDERITES.
The most prized are perhaps the PALLASITES, offering us even gem-sized PERIDOT crystals direct from the Cosmic jeweler!
By far the largest number of known meteorites pertain to the STONY meteorites. They are also somewhat more difficult to detect because they resemble our own garden variety rocks, are lighter than the metallics, and weather much faster. They may be :
CHONDRITES : having observable various sized and shaped mineral inclusions or clasts termed CHONDRULES. They are subdivided according to their Fe (iron) content : LL = VERY low, L = low, H = high and HH = VERY high. Numbers are added to refer to the degree of crystallization and change within the clasts themselves : 3 = most "primitive" or original form, 1 = more "evolved" or changed from the original mineral state.
CARBONACEOUS CHONDRITES (C) are the rarest of this group and contain inclusions of carbon compounds INCLUDING precursors of AMINO ACIDS, the building blocks of life! When I was still in high school I attended a "Members'" lecture at the Franklin Institute by two scientists whose names I can not recall (Dr. Nagy & ?). They gave the first public presentation of work they had done on a small number of the then known (ca.1956) Cs stating that they had discovered and analyzed what they termed "Organized Elements", possible microscopic fossil vestiges of some as yet unknown extraterrestrial life having an unusual (at least for known Earth life forms) "trilateral" symmetry!! I do have reprints of their papers in my research files somewhere, BUT my files are very like a "strewn field" with representatives in New Jersey and the Canary Islands!!
ACHONDRITES : they contain no chondrules, BUT may include clasts of minerals which have been remelted or metamorphosed during their original formation. They usually contain NO metal as visible inclusions.
TEKTITES [X] (Figure 3) are glass meteorites (SiO2 with other trace elements) of unknown origin. It has been said that they originated when a comet or large meteor struck the Moon and sprayed ejecta into space in the direction of the Earth. They usually occur in "strewn fields" in Indonesia, Australia and several other places.
They come in all sizes and shapes of pitted, usually blackish color, from near spheres to buttons, dumb-bells, tear drops and irregular forms.
MOLDAVITES, from the Czech strewn field, are a beautiful green to blue color which are often cut and faceted and made into "Space jewelry".
The different types of meteorites mentioned above, as well as their rarer composite representatives, (they will eventually be accompanied by photos of actual specimens) each has its own formational history at some point in the evolution of the Universe, and each tells its own particular story.
COMETS [X], those masses of icy space slurpies, have also struck the Earth. The latest theoretical event thought to be due to such an impact is the TUNGUSKA EVENT, which occured in a remote region of Siberia on 30 June 1908, lighting the sky to distant observers. "Theoretical" simply because no meteorite evidence has yet been found in or around the site, and the destruction must be explained in some way.
Trees were leveled in a circular pattern for miles, and herds of reindeer were killed by the blast! The bark of Pices obouata , the Pine, appears to be imbedded with micro spherules of glass (tectites?), probable fusion products resulting from the energy of the impact on the silicate minerals in the surrounding soil? It is reported that trees in the area grew at an "accelerated" rate after the explosion.
Recent theories about why the DINOSAURS [X], and many other life forms, seemed to become extinct "en masse" at the end of the Cretaceous Period of the MESOZOIC ERA [X], some 65 million years ago, suggest such a comet or asteroid impact as the probable cause based on the petrographic anaylsis of the sediments deposited directly above the last dinosaur bearing layers from various outcrops around the world. Iridium, a rare terrestrial element, is abundant in these deposits and also in meteorites. Whatever the cause, the climate became suddently much colder and even many plant species disappeared.
CATASTROPHISM [X], in terms of Earth Science, was always considered an off-the-wall subject. Mainly because geological and palaeontological processes were thought to progress at a slow measured pace over eons of time. This allowed enough leaway for continental drift to fragment and move the then major landmasses across the globe and for genetic modifications to gradually take place to enable new life forms to "evolve". It was a nice tidy picture of things.
Emmanuel Velikovsky [X] was a psychiatrist, biblical scholar and lifelong researcher in many fields, close friend of Albert Einstein since his stay in Berlin in the early 1920's and co-resident of Princeton, New Jersey until his death in 1979. He wrote the incredible masterly documented, WORLDS IN COLLISION [X], in 1950 , a rather heretical tome by "establishment" norms, relating how a Cosmic "catastrophy" had occured within the time span of recorded human history! Repressed memories of the event were then transformed into myths and religious beliefs among many cultures.
Although certain researchers have suggested that extraterrestrial craft have been depicted in art (paintings, illuminated manuscripts and even petroglyphs) dating back many centuries, their examples seem more allegorical than real. Saints and prophets riding on fiery chariots or glowing comet-like masses. Nothing even remotely resembling an "advanced" type of space vehicle.
Sci-Fi cineasts have a wide range of cigar shaped space modules and quasi saucer shaped craft to choose from. The classical Flash Gordon and War of the Worlds come to mind as early examples.
In the first days of July of 1947 (why is it that no one seems to be able to give an exact date? If my car crashes it does so on a particular day of some month, and the time would also be recorded somewhere!!), according to "eyewitness reports", an Unidentified Flying Object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico [X] , complete with its alien occupants. Of course the U.S. military is said to have covered up any serious civilian investigation of the incident and reportedly took the craft and its alien sightseers (dead and / or alive??) to the now famous Hanger 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio (why there?) -- but purported eyewitness accounts did leak out, as they usually seem to somehow.
Another location is often cited as being a TOP SECRET NEVADA TEST SITE located about 125 miles N of Las Vegas. Located on this sprawling military reservation is Area-51 [X] , at Groom Lake, Nevada and S-4 at Papoose Lake, Nevada, about 12 miles SSW of Area-51.
It is here that Bob Lazar, reported to be a physicist, has said that he was employed by the U.S. government to do research on the power source of UFOs, some kind of anti gravity device. The government is supposed to have several UFOs at the site. He described a saucer shaped object, the dimensions of which I have been unable to find. Concrete data concerning Lazar himself seems to be hard to come by. He says that any documents pertaining to him, including birth records, university degrees and employment files have been deleted by the government! It is possible!!
I am somewhat amazed that the FIRST book about Roswell was published in 1980! THE ROSWELL INCIDENT was written by Charles Berlitz (an author who seems to specialize in sensationalistic revelations of various kinds) and William L. Moore.
Can you imagine this same sort of thing happening today with the general population ever armed with their trusty video cameras, always prepped and ready for just about anything!! Let any government even wildly imagine that they could silence such an event now -- BUT I am sure they would do their best to make their usual desperate, intimidating bungling attempts to classify the "purported" object as some weather balloon or maybe even an artificial satellite and to label any firsthand observers as delusionary crackpots!!
Some nine years after Roswell, on the warm night of 31 August 1956, nearing midnight, in the large back yard of our former family summer home in North Wildwood, near the southern tip of New Jersey, a friend and I were using a small 4-inch Newtonian reflector to observe Mars. The sky was clear and dark, making for excellent observations. The eerie anoying glow of the lights of overdevelopment was not yet a technical problem.
VERY CLEARLY and UNMISTAKABLY we saw them!! -- and made the following observation of our first U.F.O. sighting!!
On a small sheet of paper, now brown with age, I still have the original U.F.O. OBSERVATION REPORT [X] in my extensive data files.
We were left completely astounded by what we saw! This is impossible. They can not really exist!! We are really the only living creatures in this whole wide Universe!!
Seven nights later, on 7 September 1956 , my brother and two friends joined the observation session and guess what? A sighting of several more U.F.O.s at three different times!!
Once again I typed out a brief report on my Father's old black typewriter, and we all signed the OBSERVATION REPORT #2 [X].
About a week later, due to the chance participation of a reporter at one of our astronomy club meetings, a story about these sightings appeared in the local newspaper, THE MAYFAIR TIMES [X] of 13 September 1956.
I sensed that I was transfixed and transformed at the sight of these extraterrestrial craft and somehow it seemed as if I had suddenly entered into a new plane of consciuosness. Was I contacted subliminally in some way? Were they keeping track of my life from that point on? Did they influence what I would be doing? It was a very strange yet palpably REAL sensation!
My friends never talked about their experience again with anyone. I feel compelled to recount it because I BELIEVE [X] and I think the time has come to tell the story!! Is humanity ready?
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