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For every Newton or Galileo, there’s a Velikovsky and a Horbiger. Check out these 5 completely baseless theories about space. 10 Crackpot Theories About Space: http://science.howstuffworks.com/10-crackpot-theories-space.htm Subscribe http://bit.ly/1AWgeM7 Twitter https://twitter.com/HowStuffWorks Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HowStuffWorks Google+ https://plus.google.com/+howstuffworks Website http://www.howstuffworks.com Watch More https://www.youtube.com/HowStuffWorks Music Attribution: "Beloved" by Jahzzar http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Dune/Beloved Video Attribution: NASA | What is a Pulsar? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjLk_72V9Bw • For every Newton or Galileo, there’s a Velikovsky and a Horbiger. • There’s a lot of *space* for crank theories ... in space. • Body • Velikovsky’s Astronomical Theories • The psychiatrist and author Immanuel Velikovsky had lots of theories about astronomy and the history of the solar system • In 1950, Velikovsky published the very popular book “Worlds in Collision” • “Worlds in Collision” made many claims, including: • About 3,500 years ago, a large piece of matter collided with the planet Jupiter • The planet Venus, which was originally a comet, was ejected from the collision • The Venus-comet traveled through the solar system, passing near Earth several times • Velikovsky claimed the close passage of other planets and objects like the Venus-comet was behind the stories of catastrophes and strange astronomical phenomena reported in the Bible and other ancient religious traditions • Velikovsky’s ideas were and still are almost universally rejected by scientists • They are unsupported by geology, astronomy, Newtonian physics, etc. • Planet X Will Destroy Earth • In 1995, a woman from Wisconsin named Nancy Lieder set up an online discussion group in which she claimed to have been visited by aliens • Lieder said the aliens used communication implants they had given her to warn planet Earth about the danger of Planet X • This was not another planet full of aliens, but a planet that would supposedly swing through the orbits of the inner planets in the solar system and pass dangerously close to Earth and result in calamity. • There is no evidence whatsoever for the existence of this planet. • According to NASA sources, if a large planet were headed toward Earth, we’d know about it at least a decade ahead of time. • The moon doesn’t rotate. • This one might not count as a “theory,” but it sure as heck counts as “wrong.” • Because we always see pretty much the same face of the moon, it has been tempting for many non-experts to assume that the moon doesn’t rotate like the Earth does • But that’s not true. • The moon experiences synchronous rotation with the Earth, meaning roughly the same part of the moon is always facing in toward the Earth • This is why you always see the same side, and not the so-called “Dark Side” of the moon, which actually is not a thing • Horbiger’s World Ice Theory • In 1913, the Austrian engineer Hanns Horbiger (with the help of astronomer Phillip Fauth) published a book explaining his so-called “world ice theory,” or “Welteislehre.” • Horbiger proposed that ice played a central role in the universe • He proposed that in the ancient past, a wet star had collided with a large, hot star, and the wet star exploded, sending water vapor all over the universe • This water vapor condensed and froze into chunks of ice • Hailstorms occur when icy meteors fall into the Earth’s atmosphere • Perhaps needless to say, this is not a widely accepted theory today • Horbiger passed away in 1931 • For some reason, a bunch of the Nazis really liked the world ice theory • Pulsars are Alien Beacons • Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that function sort of like a cosmic lighthouse with a rotating beam. • Their rotation means we observe bursts of radiation from them at regular intervals, kind of like a cosmic strobe light. • The regular “flashing” of the pulsar signal has led some people to believe pulsars are alien transmission beacons, saying hello from far away • But these days, that looks pretty unlikely, since no one has ever detected a more complex pattern or structured signal in the flashes of a pulsar • Conclusion • What’s your favorite crank theory about space, science or nature? • Like this video • Subscribe to this channel • If you want to learn more weird and fascinating space conjectures, read 10 Crackpot Theories About Space at HowStuffWorks.com