e-telescope Category: Mystery and Strange

Apocalypse 2012

Abandon all your possessions and run for the hills: It has been foretold that the world is coming to an end sooner than you think, in the year 2012. It seems that you can't pick up any newspaper or magazine without reading that the apocalypse is almost upon us.

What really is going to happen in 2012? Asteroid 433 Eros is going to pass within 17 million miles of the Earth in January; the United States will hand over control of the Korean military back to the Koreans in April; there will be an annular solar eclipse in May and a solar transit of Venus in June; the Summer Olympics will take place in London; the Earth's population will officially pass 7 billion people in October; the United States will elect a new President in November; construction of the new Freedom Tower will be complete in New York City; the sun will flip its magnetic poles as it does at the end of every 11-year sunspot cycle; and, as I'm sure you've heard by now, the Mayan calendar completes its 5,125 year cycle, presumably portending the End of Days. full text

Seeing Angels

The Battle of Mons was the first major action by the British Expeditionary Force during World War I. From August 22-23 1914, despite being heavily outnumbered by German forces, British troops were actually able to hold the line at the Mons-Conde Canal near Mons, Belgium before being forced to retreat. Despite heavy casualties, the British troops inflicted even greater losses on the Germans during the battle and gradual withdrawal which lasted nearly two weeks before the Allies were able to counter-attack at the Battle of the Marne. It hardly seemed surprising that the British success in holding off superior troops during a well-ordered retreat became a propaganda coup for the British government. While technically a defeat, the story of the British troops at Mons became legendary.

And in more ways than one. full text

History mystery: Rudolf Hess' strange journey to England

Rudolf Hess was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 26 April 1894 to a wealthy German merchant. He was educated in Germany from the age of twelve at Godesberg. Later on, he joined his father�s business in Hamsburg. In August 1914, Hess joined the German army. He served in First Bavarian Infantry Regiment during World War I. He eventually went on to become the official pilot in the Germany Army Air Service in 1918. full text

Bloop

The Bloop is the name given to an ultra-low frequency and extremely powerful underwater sound detected by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) several times during the summer of 1997. The source of the sound remains unknown. full text