Just in from Johnson Space Center...
Dateline: 22 May, 2007 1645 CDT
NASA researchers have announced today the likelihood that certain plant types may not only be non-native to the Earth, but might also be intentionally "planted" on Earth by alien civilizations.
Orchids have long been known to be the most evolutionarily advanced plant family. For years scientists have light-heartedly suggested they're the "humans of the Plant Kingdom." With today's announcement, scientists are eerily reconsidering those words.
Today's announcement stunned the world when it suggested certain orchid species might actually be alien radio transmitters, actively communicating with distant solar systems.
NASA spokespersons had more to offer about the mechanism of this communication than the motive behind it.
Deep space communication requires a listening device capable of receiving the longest frequency waves in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum - that is, radio waves. A longer EM frequency can travel the farthest before breaking up, but needs a much larger dish for reception. These reception dishes are typically so large, such as in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, they aren't one contiguous dish, but rather, smaller dishes placed in precise locations to capture the wave nodes of the incoming radio signal. This is how we're able to capture messages from the deepest of space.
Radio transmitters, on the other hand, can be tight, compact units.
NASA scientists, after monitoring intense deep-space radio traffic, have traced the signal to a specific orchid genus known as Psychopsis. Their studies have confirmed that when the un-orchid-like petals line up in an orthogonal conformation (see photo 1) they are acting as a radio dish, not unlike Arecibo, and are able to receive deep-space messages.
Upon further investigation, they're suggesting the small central column is actually a radio transmitter (see photo 2). The exaggerated long flower spike is clearly aimed at placing the transmitter and receiver higher in the Earth's atmosphere for clearer transmission and reception.
When asked to theorize on the purpose of such a listening/sending device being placed on Earth, scientists could only speculate. Many believe it's merely an exploratory probe searching and reporting back on growing conditions on different worlds. One conspiracy theorist, however, suggested the Psychopsis genus contains an undiscovered location marker - not unlike a GPS transmitter - that will allow this alien world to transport nearby specimen orchids back to their home planet.
Reply With Quote
