Satellite To Probe 'Ararat Anomaly'
[Original headline: Satellites search for Noah's Ark]
Photos of Mount Ararat contain a mystery object some think is the ark - scientists are now homing in
Scientists are deploying the latest space-age technology in a quest of biblical proportions - a search for remains of Noah's Ark.
Using the high-flying, super-powerful QuickBird satellite, they have begun photographing Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, in the hope of spotting signs that could lead them to the ark.
According to leading astronomy website, Space.com, aircraft pictures taken in the late 1940s, as well as more recent spy satellite shots of the area, show something odd - the 'Ararat Anomaly'.
The photographs show an unidentified feature perched on Mount Ararat.
The Bible says Noah built a large boat so that his family and sets of animals could escape the Great Flood, which lasted 40 days. Once the flood water retreated, the ark settled down on the mountains of Ararat.
Mr Porcher Taylor, a senior associate at a prominent think-tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, has worked for years to compel the United States Central Intelligence Agency to declassify satellite images and other information related to the strange feature, spotted at the 4,700 m level on the mountain's north-western Plateau.
The feature is more than 180 m long, Mr Taylor said, and according to photo interpretation specialists, it has features that look like the structure of a boat.
'I want to solve the enduring mystery of the Ararat Anomaly, no matter what it may be,' he told Space.com
Thanks to the advent of commercial remote sensing satellites, paying to take a peek at the object on Mount Ararat is feasible.
QuickBird, operated by Colorado-based DigitalGlobe, was launched in October last year and is touted as the world's highest resolution commercial imaging satellite.
From space, it can take pictures of objects as small as a television set.
While it has already taken several images of Mount Ararat so far, none could shed any light on the mystery because the critical spot was obscured by cloud.
Mr Taylor, who is also an expert on satellite intelligence gathering, said: 'Because of constant cloud cover, it's tough
'It is a unique and unexplored site on Mount Ararat.
'You're going to have to have ideal weather conditions and a lot of luck when you're flying over to see it.'
Meanwhile, the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency is expected to declassify some satellite images soon, making them available for public scrutiny.
Mr Taylor hopes the Mount Ararat photos are among those released.
One of the experts in his team is Dr Farouk El-Baz, research professor and founding director of Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing.
Dr El-Baz first gained world attention for his work on the Apollo programme.
The Egyptian served as secretary of the lunar landing site selection committee, chairman of the astronaut training group, and principal investigator for visual observations and photography.
He was also a pioneer in the field of remote sensing.
'There is absolutely enough hearsay, enough discussion about the topic to warrant looking into this, to see whether there is something tangible or not,' he said.
He told Space.com a former Apollo 15 moon-walker James Irwin, who mounted six expeditions to Mount Ararat in a search for the ark before he died, once told him that he thought he saw something there.
'Irwin felt it was an imprint on the land of the boat that was turned upside down. So there was something there, in his mind,' Dr El-Baz said.
But he remained unconvinced, because none of the images to date reveal any evidence of the ark.
'I can explain each and every thing as a natural snow bank or shadow.
'But given the interest and the historical nature of such a find, the search is worth conducting,' he said.
On the web: NoahsArkSearch.Com
• Story originally published by:
The Straits Times / Singapore - Sept 4.02
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