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{{Short description|American astronomer}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Thomas C Van Flandern
| name = Thomas Charles Van Flandern
| image = File:Photo of Thomas Van Flandern.jpeg
| image = File:Photo of Thomas Van Flandern.jpeg
| image_size =
| image_size =
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| birth_place = [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
| birth_place = [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|01|09|1940|06|26|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|01|09|1940|06|26|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Seattle, Washington]]<ref>[http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090114/obit/301149998/-1/OBIT Obituary]</ref>
| death_place = [[Seattle, Washington]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090114/obit/301149998/-1/OBIT |title=Obituary |access-date=2011-02-17 |archive-date=2011-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715062706/http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090114/obit/301149998/-1/OBIT |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://baas.aas.org/pub/tom-c-van-flandern-1940-2009/release/1 |title=Bulletin of the AAS, Vol. 43, Issue 1. Tom C. Van Flandern (1940–2009), by David W. Dunham and Victor J. Slabinski |access-date=2023-09-22}}</ref>
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| field = [[Astronomy]] and [[fringe-science]]
| field = [[Astronomy]] and [[fringe-science]]
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}}


'''Thomas C Van Flandern''' (June 26, 1940 – January 9, 2009) was an American astronomer and author specializing in [[celestial mechanics]]. Van Flandern had a career as a professional scientist, but was noted as an outspoken proponent of non-mainstream views related to [[astronomy]], [[physics]], and [[extra-terrestrial life]]. He also published the non-mainstream ''Meta Research Bulletin''. He died of [[colon cancer]] in [[Seattle, Washington]].<ref name="sequimobit">{{Cite web| url =http://www.sequimgazette.com/obituaries/article.exm/2009-01-21_obituaries |title = Obituary | publisher = [[Sequim Gazette]] | date = January 21, 2009 }}</ref>
'''Thomas Charles Van Flandern''' (June 26, 1940 – January 9, 2009) was an American astronomer and author specializing in [[celestial mechanics]]. Van Flandern had a career as a professional scientist, but was noted as an outspoken proponent of certain fringe views in [[astronomy]], [[physics]], and [[extra-terrestrial life]]. He also published the non-mainstream ''Meta Research Bulletin''.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
[[File:Cincinnati Moonwatch Team sign.jpg|thumb|right|Van Flandern mentioned in historical marker about Project Moonwatch. Placed by Cincinnati Astronomical Society and the city of Cincinnati, OH]]
[[File:Cincinnati Moonwatch Team sign.jpg|thumb|right|Van Flandern mentioned in historical marker about Project Moonwatch. Placed by Cincinnati Astronomical Society and the city of Cincinnati, OH]]


Tom Van Flandern was the first child of Robert F. Van Flandern, a police officer, and Anna Mary Haley. His father left the family when Tom was 5.<ref>Tom C. Van Flandern - aas.org</ref> His mother passed away when he was 16; he and his siblings then lived with their grandmother, Margery Jobe, until he went to college.<ref>Tom C. Van Flandern - aas.org</ref> He graduated from [[Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland)|Saint Ignatius High School]] in [[Cleveland]]. While there, he helped start the Cleveland branch of [[Operation Moonwatch]], an amateur science program initiated by the [[Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory]] to track [[satellite]]s.<ref>''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' October 8, 1957 "Moonwatch Team Here Gets Set" page 5</ref><ref>''The Pharos-Tribune and Logansport Press'' August 9, 1959 "Still Keeping Watch" Logansport, IN page 19</ref> He also helped found a Moonwatchers team while studying at [[Xavier University]]<ref>''Xavier University News'' November 5, 1960 Mike Rogers "Satellite Spies Situate Tracking Station on Logan" page 1</ref>; this team broke a tracking record in 1961.<ref>''Kingsport News'' May 17, 1961 "Reports Activity" page 10</ref><ref>''The Anderson Herald'' May 17, 1961 "Cincy Moonwatchers Report on Satellites" page 2</ref>
Tom Van Flandern was the first child of Robert F. Van Flandern, a police officer, and Anna Mary Haley. His father left the family when Tom was 5.<ref name="aas" /> His mother died when he was 16; he and his siblings then lived with their grandmother, Margery Jobe, until he went to college.<ref name="aas" /> He graduated from [[Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland)|Saint Ignatius High School]] in [[Cleveland]]. While there, he helped start the Cleveland branch of [[Operation Moonwatch]], an amateur science program initiated by the [[Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory]] to track [[satellite]]s.<ref>''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' October 8, 1957 "Moonwatch Team Here Gets Set" page 5</ref><ref>''The Pharos-Tribune and Logansport Press'' August 9, 1959 "Still Keeping Watch" Logansport, IN page 19</ref> He also helped found a Moonwatchers team while studying at [[Xavier University]];<ref>''Xavier University News'' November 5, 1960 Mike Rogers "Satellite Spies Situate Tracking Station on Logan" page 1</ref> this team broke a tracking record in 1961.<ref>''Kingsport News'' May 17, 1961 "Reports Activity" page 10</ref><ref>''The Anderson Herald'' May 17, 1961 "Cincy Moonwatchers Report on Satellites" page 2</ref>


Van Flandern graduated from Xavier University with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in [[mathematics]] (''[[cum laude]]'') in 1962 and was awarded a teaching fellowship at [[Georgetown University]].<ref>''Xavier University News'' May 4, 1962 "Tom Van Flandern Given Fellowship" page 9</ref><ref name="aas" /> He attended [[Yale University]] on a scholarship sponsored by the [[U.S. Naval Observatory]] (USNO),{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}<!-- there is no mention of him in the yearly report: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1962AJ.....67..608./0000670.000.html --> joining USNO in 1963.<ref>{{Cite journal| bibcode = 1963AJ.....68..649M | title = U.S. Naval Observatory Report | author = T. S. Baskett | journal = [[Astronomical Journal]] | date = 1963 | volume = 68 | issue = 9 | pages = 672, 674 |doi = 10.1086/109195 }}</ref> In 1969, he received a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[astronomy]] from Yale after completing his [[Thesis|dissertation]] on [[occultation|lunar occultations]].
Van Flandern graduated from Xavier University with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in [[mathematics]] (''[[cum laude]]'') in 1962 and was awarded a teaching fellowship at [[Georgetown University]].<ref>''Xavier University News'' May 4, 1962 "Tom Van Flandern Given Fellowship" page 9</ref><ref name="aas" /> He attended [[Yale University]] on a scholarship sponsored by the [[U.S. Naval Observatory]] (USNO),{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}<!-- there is no mention of him in the yearly report: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1962AJ.....67..608./0000670.000.html --> joining USNO in 1963.<ref>{{Cite journal| bibcode = 1963AJ.....68..649M | title = U.S. Naval Observatory Report | author = T. S. Baskett | journal = [[Astronomical Journal]] | date = 1963 | volume = 68 | issue = 9 | pages = 672, 674 |doi = 10.1086/109195 | s2cid = 119856085 }}</ref> In 1969, he received a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[astronomy]] from Yale after completing his [[Thesis|dissertation]] on [[occultation|lunar occultations]].


Van Flandern worked at the USNO until 1983<!-- baas85 says 1983-4; aps says 1983 -->,<ref name="baas85">{{Cite journal| title = U.S. Naval Observatory Report | author = Gart Westerhout | author2 = Charles K. Roberts | journal = [[Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society]] | volume = 17 | page = 457 | bibcode = 1985BAAS...17..457. | date = 1984 }}</ref><ref name="aps">{{Cite journal| url = http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/199604/funding.cfm | title = "Meta" Researcher Champions New Funding Sources for Independent Science | date = April 1996 | volume = 5 | issue = 4 | journal = [[APS News]] }}</ref> first becoming Chief of the Research Branch<ref>USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, December 1976</ref> and later becoming Chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch of the Nautical Almanac Office.<ref>{{Cite journal| author = Colin Keay | title = Another Revolution in Physics. Maybe? | journal = [[Australian & New Zealand Physicist]] | volume = 30 | issue = 9 | date = September 1993 | page = 230 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 278 | issue = 5707 | page = 821 | date = 1979 | title = Gravitation and the expansion of the Earth |author=van Flandern T. C. | doi = 10.1038/278821a0 |bibcode = 1979Natur.278..821V }}</ref><ref>USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, November 1977</ref> His espousal of highly non-mainstream beliefs, particularly the exploded planet hypothesis, eventually led to his separation from the USNO. He later said, "This forced me to the 'fringes,' areas of astronomy not accepted as credible by experts of the field".<ref>Gonzo Science, Jim Richardson, Alan Richardson, p. 62, 2004.</ref>
Van Flandern worked at the USNO until 1983<!-- baas85 says 1983-4; aps says 1983 -->,<ref name="baas85">{{Cite journal| title = U.S. Naval Observatory Report | author = Gart Westerhout | author2 = Charles K. Roberts | journal = [[Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society]] | volume = 17 | page = 457 | bibcode = 1985BAAS...17..457. | date = 1984 }}</ref><ref name="aps">{{Cite journal| url = http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/199604/funding.cfm | title = "Meta" Researcher Champions New Funding Sources for Independent Science | date = April 1996 | volume = 5 | issue = 4 | journal = [[APS News]] }}</ref> first becoming Chief of the Research Branch<ref>USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, December 1976</ref> and later becoming Chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch of the Nautical Almanac Office.<ref>{{Cite journal| author = Colin Keay | title = Another Revolution in Physics. Maybe? | journal = [[Australian & New Zealand Physicist]] | volume = 30 | issue = 9 | date = September 1993 | page = 230 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 278 | issue = 5707 | page = 821 | date = 1979 | title = Gravitation and the expansion of the Earth |author=van Flandern T. C. | doi = 10.1038/278821a0 |bibcode = 1979Natur.278..821V | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, November 1977</ref> His espousal of highly non-mainstream beliefs, particularly the exploded planet hypothesis, eventually led to his separation from the USNO. He later said, "This forced me to the 'fringes,' areas of astronomy not accepted as credible by experts of the field".<ref>Gonzo Science, Jim Richardson, Alan Richardson, p. 62, 2004.</ref>


Following his separation from the USNO, Van Flandern started a business organizing [[eclipse]] viewing expeditions, and promoting his non-mainstream views in a newsletter and web site. He won the Astronomy Award from the Washington Academy of Sciences in 2000.<ref>Tom C. Van Flandern - aas.org</ref> Shortly after his death in 2009, the [[asteroid]] [[52266&nbsp;Van Flandern]] was named in his honor because of his prediction and analysis of lunar occultations at the U.S. Naval Observatory and publications of papers on the dynamics of [[minor-planet moon|binary minor planets]].<ref name="MPC-Van Flandern" />
Following his separation from the USNO, Van Flandern started a business organizing [[eclipse]] viewing expeditions, and promoting his non-mainstream views in a newsletter and web site. Shortly after his death in 2009, the [[asteroid]] [[52266&nbsp;Van Flandern]] was named in his honor because of his prediction and analysis of lunar occultations at the U.S. Naval Observatory and publications of papers on the dynamics of [[minor-planet moon|binary minor planets]].<ref name="MPC-Van Flandern" />


He married Barbara Ann Weber (1942-2018) in 1963 in Kentucky, and they had 3 sons, Michael, Brian, and Kevin, and a daughter, Connie. The couple moved to Sequim, Washington from the East Coast in 2005 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.<ref>Tom C. Van Flandern - aas.org</ref> <ref> Barbara Ann (Weber) Flandern, Peninsula Daily News, Legacy.Com</ref>
He married Barbara Ann Weber (1942-2018) in 1963 in Kentucky, and they had 3 sons, Michael, Brian, and Kevin, and a daughter, Connie. The couple moved to Sequim, Washington from the East Coast in 2005 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.<ref name="aas" /><ref>Barbara Ann (Weber) Flandern, Peninsula Daily News, Legacy.Com</ref>

Tom Van Flandern died of [[colon cancer]] in [[Seattle, Washington]].<ref name="sequimobit">{{Cite web| url =http://www.sequimgazette.com/obituaries/article.exm/2009-01-21_obituaries |title = Obituary | publisher = [[Sequim Gazette]] | date = January 21, 2009 }}</ref>


== Mainstream scientific work ==
== Mainstream scientific work ==


During the mid-1970s, Van Flandern believed that lunar observations gave evidence of variation in Newton's [[gravitational constant]] (''G''), consistent with a speculative idea that had been put forward by [[Paul Dirac]]. In 1974, his essay "A Determination of the Rate of Change of G" was awarded second place by the [[Gravity Research Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/winners_year.html#74 | title = Award winners | publisher = [[Gravity Research Foundation]] | deadurl = yes | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929022056/http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/winners_year.html#74 | archivedate = 2007-09-29 | df = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/pdf/awarded/1974/vanflandern.pdf | title = A Determination of the Rate of Change of G | date = 1974 | author = Tom Van Flandern | deadurl = yes | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20111001230512/http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/pdf/awarded/1974/vanflandern.pdf | archivedate = 2011-10-01 | df = }}</ref>
During the mid-1970s, Van Flandern believed that lunar observations gave evidence of variation in Newton's [[gravitational constant]] (''G''), consistent with a speculative idea that had been put forward by [[Paul Dirac]]. In 1974, his essay "A Determination of the Rate of Change of G" was awarded second place by the [[Gravity Research Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/winners_year.html#74 | title = Award winners | publisher = [[Gravity Research Foundation]] | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929022056/http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/winners_year.html#74 | archivedate = 2007-09-29 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/pdf/awarded/1974/vanflandern.pdf | title = A Determination of the Rate of Change of G | date = 1974 | author = Tom Van Flandern | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20111001230512/http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/pdf/awarded/1974/vanflandern.pdf | archivedate = 2011-10-01 }}</ref>
However, in later years, with new data available, Van Flandern himself admitted his findings were flawed, and the conclusions were contradicted by more accurate findings based on radio measurements with the [[Viking lander]]s.<ref>{{Cite book| page = 175– | author = Clifford Will | authorlink = Clifford Martin Will | title = Was Einstein Right?: putting general relativity to the test | publisher = [[Basic Books]] | edition = 2nd | date = 1993 | isbn = 0-465-09086-9}}</ref><ref>Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets, Van Flandern 1993.</ref>
However, in later years, with new data available, Van Flandern himself admitted his findings were flawed, and the conclusions were contradicted by more accurate findings based on radio measurements with the [[Viking lander]]s.<ref>{{Cite book| page = 175– | author = Clifford Will | author-link = Clifford Martin Will | title = Was Einstein Right?: putting general relativity to the test | publisher = [[Basic Books]] | edition = 2nd | date = 1993 | isbn = 0-465-09086-9}}</ref><ref>Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets, Van Flandern 1993.</ref>


Van Flandern and Henry Fliegel developed a compact algorithm to calculate a [[Julian date]] from a Gregorian date that would fit on a single [[Punched card|IBM card]]. They described this in a letter to the editor of a computing magazine in 1968.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fliegel|first=Henry|title=Letters to the editor: a machine algorithm for processing calendar dates|journal=Communications of the ACM|volume=11|issue=10|publisher=ACM|author2=Thomas C. Van Flanderen |page=657|doi=10.1145/364096.364097|date=October 1968}}</ref> This was available for use in business applications.<ref name="aas" />
Van Flandern and Henry Fliegel developed a compact algorithm to calculate a [[Julian date]] from a Gregorian date that would fit on a single [[Punched card|IBM card]]. They described this in a letter to the editor of a computing magazine in 1968.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fliegel|first=Henry|title=Letters to the editor: a machine algorithm for processing calendar dates|journal=Communications of the ACM|volume=11|issue=10|publisher=ACM|author2=Thomas C. Van Flanderen |page=657|doi=10.1145/364096.364097|date=October 1968|s2cid=27358750|doi-access=free}}</ref> This was available for use in business applications.<ref name="aas" />


With Kenneth Pulkkinen, he published "Low precision formulae for planetary positions", in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement in 1979.<ref>{{Cite journal| title = Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions | author = Van Flandern, T. C. | author2 = Pulkkinen, K. F. | last-author-amp = yes | journal = Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series | date = 1979 | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 391–411 | doi=10.1086/190623|bibcode = 1979ApJS...41..391V }}</ref> The paper set a record for the number of reprints requested from that journal.<ref name="aas" />
With Kenneth Pulkkinen, he published "Low precision formulae for planetary positions", in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement in 1979.<ref>{{Cite journal| title = Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions | author = Van Flandern, T. C. | author2 = Pulkkinen, K. F. | name-list-style = amp | journal = Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series | date = 1979 | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 391–411 | doi=10.1086/190623|bibcode = 1979ApJS...41..391V }}</ref> The paper set a record for the number of reprints requested from that journal.<ref name="aas" />


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Following claims by David Dunham in 1978 to have detected [[Minor-planet moon|satellites for some asteroids]] (notably [[532 Herculina]]) by examining the light patterns during stellar occultations,<ref name="Dunham-1978" /> Van Flandern and others began to report similar observations.<ref>Van Flandern, T. C., Tedesco, E. F. & Binzel, R. P. in Asteroids (ed. Gehrels, T.) 443–465 (Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson, 1979).</ref> His non-mainstream 1978 prediction that some asteroids have natural satellites, which was almost universally rejected at the time, was later proven correct when the ''[[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo]]'' spacecraft photographed Dactyl, a satellite of [[243 Ida]], during its flyby in 1993.<ref name="aas" />
In 2003, he developed the [[Van Flandern-Yang hypothesis]] with [[Xin-She Yang]] after observations made during the [[Solar eclipse of March 9, 1997]].<ref>T. Van Flandern and X.-S. Yang, Allais gravity and pendulum effects during solar eclipses explained, Phys. Rev. D 67 (2003) 022002</ref>


== Non-mainstream science and beliefs ==
== Non-mainstream science and beliefs ==
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Van Flandern described in his 1993 book ''Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets''<ref>"Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets", Van Flandern (1993)</ref> how he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the mainstream views of science by the early 1980s. He wrote:


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::"Events in my life caused me to start questioning my goals and the correctness of everything I had learned. In matters of religion, medicine, biology, physics, and other fields, I came to discover that reality differed seriously from what I had been taught."
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Van Flandern described in his book<ref>"Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets", Van Flandern (1993)</ref> how he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the mainstream view of science by the early 1980s. He wrote


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In his book, on blogs, lectures, newsletters and websites, Van Flandern focused on [[List of unsolved problems in physics|problems in cosmology and physics]]. He alleged that when experimental evidence is incompatible with mainstream scientific theories, mainstream scientists refuse to acknowledge this to avoid jeopardizing their funding.<ref name="aas" />
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::''Events in my life caused me to start questioning my goals and the correctness of everything I had learned. In matters of religion, medicine, biology, physics, and other fields, I came to discover that reality differed seriously from what I had been taught.''


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=== Exploding planets ===
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In his book, on blogs, lectures, newsletter and web site, Van Flandern focused on problems with [[List of unsolved problems in physics|cosmology and physics theories]]. He alleged that when experimental evidence is incompatible with mainstream scientific theories, mainstream scientists refuse to acknowledge this to avoid jeopardizing their funding.<ref name="aas" />
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In 1976, while Van Flandern was employed by the USNO, he began to promote the belief that [[Fifth planet (hypothetical)#Disruption theory|major planets sometimes explode]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://metaresearch.org/solar%20system/eph/eph2000.asp |title=The Exploded Planet Hypothesis - 2000 |accessdate=2013-06-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407233124/http://metaresearch.org/solar%20system/eph/eph2000.asp |archivedate=2013-04-07 }} According to Van Flandern's article on the Exploded Planet Hypothesis: "The third planetary explosion mechanism relies on one other hypothesis not yet widely accepted, but holds out the potential for an indefinitely large reservoir of energy for exploding even massive planets and stars. If gravitational fields are continually regenerated, as in LeSage particle models of gravity [xvi], then all masses are continually absorbing energy from this universal flux."</ref> Van Flandern also speculated that the origin of the human species may well have been on the planet Mars, which he believed was once a moon of a now-exploded "[[Phaeton (hypothetical planet)|Planet V]]".

=== Deep Reality Physics ===

Van Flandern espoused a set of principles for assessing ideas, and dubbed theories that he deemed compliant with these principles as "Deep Reality Physics." He claimed that mainstream scientific theories, especially the prevailing theories regarding the [[Big Bang]], [[solar system formation]], relativity, and electrodynamics, [[List of unsolved problems in physics#cosmology and general relativity|left unanswered questions]] and therefore did not meet his criteria and often advocated his own replacement theories. Van Flandern's seven principles were:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://metaresearch.org/cosmology/PhysicsHasItsPrinciples.asp |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-01-19 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104212720/http://www.metaresearch.org/cosmology/PhysicsHasItsPrinciples.asp |archivedate=2016-01-04 |df= }}</ref>

:::Every effect has an antecedent, proximate cause
:::No time reversal
:::No true action at a distance
:::No creation ex nihilo
:::No demise ad nihil
:::The finite cannot become infinite
:::Tangible, material entities cannot occupy the same space at the same time

=== Minor-planet satellites ===

⚫
Following claims by David Dunham in 1978 to have detected [[Minor-planet moon|satellites for some asteroids]] (notably [[532 Herculina]]) by examining the light patterns during stellar occultations,<ref name="Dunham-1978" /> Van Flandern and others began to report similar observations.<ref>Van Flandern, T. C., Tedesco, E. F. & Binzel, R. P. in Asteroids (ed. Gehrels, T.) 443–465 (Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson, 1979).</ref> His non-mainstream 1978 prediction that some asteroids have natural satellites, which was almost universally rejected, was proven correct when the ''[[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo]]'' spacecraft photographed Dactyl, a satellite of [[243&nbsp;Ida]], during its flyby in 1993.<ref name="aas" />

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=== Exploding Planets ===

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In 1976, while Van Flandern was employed by the USNO, he began to promote the belief that [[Fifth planet (hypothetical)#The Disruption Theory|major planets sometimes explode]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://metaresearch.org/solar%20system/eph/eph2000.asp |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-06-02 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407233124/http://metaresearch.org/solar%20system/eph/eph2000.asp |archivedate=2013-04-07 |df= }} According to Van Flandern's article on the Exploded Planet Hypothesis "The third planetary explosion mechanism relies on one other hypothesis not yet widely accepted, but holds out the potential for an indefinitely large reservoir of energy for exploding even massive planets and stars. If gravitational fields are continually regenerated, as in LeSage particle models of gravity [xvi], then all masses are continually absorbing energy from this universal flux."</ref> In his "Exploded Planet Hypothesis 2000" he lists as possible reasons for explosion either a runaway nuclear reaction in uranium in the core, a change of state as the planet cools down, creating a density phase change (like water to ice) and causing it to implode or explode, or absorption of heat from [[Le Sage's theory of gravitation|gravitons]].<ref>Van Flandern, Tom. [http://metaresearch. org/solar% 20system/eph/eph2000. asp "The Exploded Planet Hypothesis 2000."]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Meta Research, (2000).</ref><ref name="Flandern2007">{{cite journal|last1=Flandern|first1=Tom Van|title=The challenge of the exploded planet hypothesis|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|volume=6|issue=3|date=2007|pages=185–197|issn=1473-5504|doi=10.1017/S1473550407003758|bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..185V }}</ref><ref>Van Flandern, Tom. Dark Matter, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BnKYxM4uZ1QC Missing Planets and New Comets: Paradoxes Resolved, Origins Illuminated]. North Atlantic Books, 1999.</ref> In his book Van Flandern described the negative reception of his ideas about exploding planets among mainstream scientists. Van Flandern also speculated that the origin of the human species may well have been on the planet Mars, which he believed was once a moon of a now-exploded "[[Phaeton (hypothetical planet)|Planet V]]".


=== Le Sage's theory of gravitation and the speed of gravity ===
=== Le Sage's theory of gravitation and the speed of gravity ===
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Van Flandern supported [[Georges-Louis Le Sage]]'s [[Le Sage's theory of gravitation|theory of gravitation]], according to which gravity is the result of a flux of invisible "ultra-mundane corpuscles" impinging on all objects from all directions at superluminal speeds. He gave public lectures in which he claimed that these particles could be used as a limitless source of free energy, and to provide superluminal propulsion for spacecraft.<ref>{{Cite journal| author = Jeffery D. Kooistra |title = Conference on Future Energy |journal=[[Magazine (magazine)|Magazine]] |issue= 26 | date = July–August 1999}} An editor gave a summary of Van Flandern's talk at the Infinite Energy conference and wrote "Van Flandern gave a talk entitled 'On a Complete Theory of Gravity and Free Energy'. For the free energy enthusiast, the implications of gravity being particulate and perhaps blockable are obvious. Block or deflect the c-gravitons raining down from the sky and up you go into space. Turn off the blocking shield and recover the energy you've gained, for free, as you fall back to Earth."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aJobWkrig | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131201005/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aJobWkrig| archive-date=2014-01-31 | url-status=dead|title = Dr. Thomas Van Flandern – MUFON-LA (1 of 1) | publisher = youtube}}</ref>


⚫
In 1998 Van Flandern wrote a paper<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00650-1 | title = The speed of gravity ? What the experiments say | date = 1998 | last1 = Van Flandern | first1 = T | journal = [[Physics Letters A]] | volume = 250| issue = 1–3 | pages = 1–11|bibcode = 1998PhLA..250....1V }}</ref> asserting that astronomical observations imply that gravity propagates at least twenty billion times faster than light, or even infinitely fast. [[Gerald E. Marsh]], Charles Nissim-Sabat and [[Steve Carlip]] demonstrated that Van Flandern's argument was fallacious.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi =10.1016/S0375-9601(99)00675-1 | title =Comment on "The speed of gravity" | date =1999 | last1 =Marsh | first1 =Gerald E | last2 =Nissim-Sabat | first2 =Charles | journal =Physics Letters A | volume =262| issue =2–3 | pages =257|bibcode = 1999PhLA..262..257M | url =https://zenodo.org/record/1260033 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| last1 =Carlip | first1 =S | title=Aberration and the Speed of Gravity | journal= Phys. Lett. A | date=2000 | volume=267| issue =2–3 | pages=81–87 | arxiv= gr-qc/9909087 | doi=10.1016/S0375-9601(00)00101-8 |bibcode = 2000PhLA..267...81C | s2cid =12941280 }}</ref>
⚫
Van Flandern supported [[Le Sage]]'s [[Le Sage's theory of gravitation|theory of gravitation]], according to which gravity is the result of a flux of invisible "ultra-mundane corpuscles" impinging on all objects from all directions at superluminal speeds. He gave public lectures in which he claimed that these particles could be used as a limitless source of free energy, and to provide superluminal propulsion for spacecraft.<ref>{{Cite journal| author = Jeffery D. Kooistra | title = Conference on Future Energy|journal = Magazine (magazine)|Magazine| issue = 26 | date = July–August 1999}} An editor gave a summary of Van Flandern's talk at the Infinite Energy conference and wrote "Van Flandern gave a talk entitled 'On a Complete Theory of Gravity and Free Energy'. For the free energy enthusiast, the implications of gravity being particulate and perhaps blockable are obvious. Block or deflect the c-gravitons raining down from the sky and up you go into space. Turn off the blocking shield and recover the energy you've gained, for free, as you fall back to Earth."</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aJobWkrig| title = Dr. Thomas Van Flandern – MUFON-LA (1 of 1) | publisher = youtube}}</ref> He also speculated that the ultra-mundane flux caused the explosion of a major planet once located between Mars and Jupiter.

⚫
In 1998 Van Flandern wrote a paper<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00650-1 | title = The speed of gravity ? What the experiments say | date = 1998 | last1 = Van Flandern | first1 = T | journal = [[Physics Letters A]] | volume = 250| issue = 1–3 | pages = 1–11|bibcode = 1998PhLA..250....1V }}</ref> asserting that astronomical observations imply that gravity propagates at least twenty billion times faster than light, or even infinitely fast.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi =10.1016/S0375-9601(99)00675-1 | title =Comment on "The speed of gravity" | date =1999 | last1 =Marsh | first1 =Gerald E | last2 =Nissim-Sabat | first2 =Charles | journal =Physics Letters A | volume =262| issue =2–3 | pages =257|bibcode = 1999PhLA..262..257M | url =https://zenodo.org/record/1260033 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| last1 =Carlip | first1 =S | title=Aberration and the Speed of Gravity | journal= Phys. Lett. A | date=2000 | volume=267| issue =2–3 | pages=81–87 | arxiv= gr-qc/9909087 | doi=10.1016/S0375-9601(00)00101-8 |bibcode = 2000PhLA..267...81C }}</ref>


=== Face on Mars ===
=== Face on Mars ===
⚫
Van Flandern was a prominent advocate of the belief that certain geological features seen on Mars, especially the "[[Cydonia face|face at Cydonia]]", are not of natural origin, but were produced by intelligent extraterrestrial life, probably the inhabitants of a major planet once located where the asteroid belt presently exists, and which Van Flandern believed had exploded 3.2 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/cydonia/proof_files/proof.asp |title=Proof that the Cydonia Face on Mars is Artificial |publisher=Metaresearch.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021123170349/http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/cydonia/proof_files/proof.asp |archivedate=2002-11-23 }}</ref> The claimed artificiality of the "face" was also the topic of a chapter of his 1993 book.<ref name="Flandern1998">{{cite book|author=Tom Van Flandern|title=Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets: Paradoxes Resolved, Origins Illuminated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fq8trtkOvMEC&pg=PA417|date=1993|publisher=[[North Atlantic Books]]|isbn=978-1-55643-268-2|location=chapter 24. New Evidence for Artificiality at Cydonia on Mars}}</ref>


⚫
=== Rejection of Big Bang cosmology ===
⚫
Van Flandern was a prominent advocate of the belief that certain geological features seen on Mars, especially the "[[Cydonia face|face at Cydonia]]", are not of natural origin, but were produced by intelligent extra-terrestrial life, probably the inhabitants of a major planet once located where the asteroid belt presently exists, and which Van Flandern believed had exploded 3.2 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/cydonia/proof_files/proof.asp |title=Proof that the Cydonia Face on Mars is Artificial |publisher=Metaresearch.org |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021123170349/http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/cydonia/proof_files/proof.asp |archivedate=2002-11-23 |df= }}</ref> The claimed artificiality of the "face" was also the topic of a chapter of his 1993 book.<ref name="Flandern1998">{{cite book|author=Tom Van Flandern|title=Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets: Paradoxes Resolved, Origins Illuminated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fq8trtkOvMEC&pg=PA417|date=1993|publisher=[[North Atlantic Books]]|isbn=978-1-55643-268-2|location=chapter 24. New Evidence for Artificiality at Cydonia on Mars}}</ref> He also gave lectures on the subject.<ref>{{Cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkXsQbaDg5g| title = Mysterious Mars | publisher = youtube}}</ref>{{Citation needed|reason=completely contradicted by last presentations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfj6h5CttAo; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgzkjsMmRZg |date=August 2017}}
Van Flandern was a vocal opponent of the [[Big Bang model]] in cosmology, and supported instead a [[static universe]]. In 2008 he was an organizer of a conference of individuals who opposed the Big Bang cosmological models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110302|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122508/www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110302|archive-date=2016-03-04|title=Scientists at Port Angeles conference huddle over alternatives to 'big bang' theory}}</ref><ref name="aas" />

When it was first imaged, and into the 21st century, the "Face" is near universally accepted to be an [[optical illusion]], an example of [[pareidolia]], and theories that it was an artificial artifact were considered to be pseudo-science.<ref name=cnnface>{{Cite web|last=Britt|first=R.R.|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/17/alien.debunk/index.html|title=Scientist attacks alien claims on Mars|publisher=CNN|date=March 18, 2004|accessdate=October 12, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib03.html| title = Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List| publisher = Astronomical Society of the Pacific| deadurl = yes| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20101120071353/http://astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib03.html| archivedate = 2010-11-20| df = }}</ref> After analysis of the higher resolution [[Mars Global Surveyor]] data [[NASA]] stated that "a detailed analysis of multiple images of this feature reveals a natural looking Martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance depends on the viewing angle and angle of [[lighting|illumination]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_60.html|title=The Face on Mars, Viking Project|publisher=[[NASA]] website|accessdate=April 26, 2007}}</ref>

Van Flandern and NASA contractor Lan Fleming claimed the image was doctored by NASA to give it the appearance of a natural formation.<ref>Part 2 Mysterious Mars Lecture Dr Tom Van Flandern- You Tube</ref><ref>The Politics of Science and Enhancement of the Face on Mars, How to Make a Catbox, The Unmasking of Middle Butte - VGL.Org</ref> Van Flandern did 8 tests: face in 3D, fractal test, mounds non-random, nearby context, bilateral symmetry, location, orientation, and purpose, and all passed. He concluded the Face was artificial beyond reasonable doubt.<ref>Van Flandern, T. 1999. Dark Matter, Missing Planets, and New Comets. North Atlantic</ref>

⚫
=== Rejection of Big Bang Cosmology ===

Van Flandern was a vocal opponent of the Big Bang model in cosmology, and supported instead a [[Steady state theory|Steady-State cosmology]]. He compiled a list of what he regarded as problems for the Big Bang model. It began as a list of "Top 10" problems, then expanded to the "Top 30", and ultimately by 2008 had reached the "Top 60".<ref>[http://metaresearch.org/cosmology/BB-top-30.asp The Top 30 Problems With the Big Bang] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327225237/http://metaresearch.org/cosmology/BB-top-30.asp |date=2013-03-27 }}, Van Flandern's web article explaining his objections to Big Bang cosmology.</ref> In 2008 he was an organizer of a conference of individuals who oppose the Big Bang cosmological models.<ref>http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110302</ref> Van Flandern did not reject General Relativity as some have asserted, but rather rejected its geometrical interpretation. He said: "General relativity has a geometric and a field interpretation. If angular momentum conservation is invoked in the geometric interpretation to explain experiments, the causality principle is violated. The field interpretation avoids this problem by allowing faster-than-light propagation in forward time."<ref>http://aas.org/obituaries/tom-c-van-flandern-1940-2009</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Criticism of relativity theory]]


== References ==
== References ==
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|title = BAAS Obituary
|title = BAAS Obituary
|author = David Dunham (KinetX, Inc.) |author2=Victor Slabinski (U.S. Naval Observatory)
|author = David Dunham (KinetX, Inc.) |author2=Victor Slabinski (U.S. Naval Observatory)
|date=2011}}</ref>
|date=2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2020}}</ref>


<ref name="MPC-Van Flandern">{{cite web
<ref name="MPC-Van Flandern">{{cite web
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== External links ==
== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160607003517/http://metaresearch.org/home/about%20meta%20research/vanflandern.asp Archived: Biography at Meta Research site]
{{external links|date=January 2014}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709013626/http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2000/07/06/einstein/index.html Archived: Salon story about relativity dissidents including Van Flandern (archived)]

{{wikisource author}}
{{wikisource author}}
*
* {{Official website|http://metaresearch.org/}}
* [https://aas.org/obituaries/tom-c-van-flandern-1940-2009 American Astronomical Society obituary]
* [http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/52-1731488/meta-research.aspx Meta Research, Inc.], [[GuideStar]]
* [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=tom+van+flandern&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=1%2C21&as_sdtp=on Google Scholar on Tom Van Flandern]
* [http://news.cincinnati.com/article/C2/20121030/NEWS05/310300005/?nclick_check=1 Cincinnati.com article on Project Moonwatch historical marker]
* [http://www.sequimgazette.com/entertainment/article.exm/2012-12-06_sequim_s_ties_to_the_space_age Sequim Gazette article on Van Flandern]
* [https://archive.is/20130626185459/http://www.xavier.edu/news/Ohio-Historical-Society-Marker-Honors-Xavier-Astronomers.cfm?grp_id=319 Xavier University article on Project Moonwatch historical marker]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305092902/http://remarkableohio.org/historicalmarker.aspx?fileid=138463&historicalmarkerid=106264 The Ohio Historical Society article on Cincinnati Astronomical Society and Project Moonwatch]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131211192915/http://xtra.xavier.edu/xavier-magazine/eyes-on-the-sky/ Xavier University article about Project Moonwatch team members]
* [http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/32102.html Niels Bohr Library & Archives oral history transcript of Van Flandern and Slabinski]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Flandern, Tom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Flandern, Tom}}
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[[Category:American astronomers]]
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[[Category:Fringe physics]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
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[[Category:American astronomers]]
[[Category:Pseudoscientific physicists]]
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[[Category:Relativity critics]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]

Revision as of 17:01, 8 January 2024

Thomas Charles Van Flandern
Thomas Van Flandern in 2007
Born(1940-06-26)June 26, 1940
Cleveland, Ohio
DiedJanuary 9, 2009(2009-01-09) (aged 68)
Seattle, Washington[1][2]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University, Xavier University
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy and fringe-science
InstitutionsU.S. Naval Observatory, Meta Research

Thomas Charles Van Flandern (June 26, 1940 – January 9, 2009) was an American astronomer and author specializing in celestial mechanics. Van Flandern had a career as a professional scientist, but was noted as an outspoken proponent of certain fringe views in astronomy, physics, and extra-terrestrial life. He also published the non-mainstream Meta Research Bulletin.

Biography

Van Flandern mentioned in historical marker about Project Moonwatch. Placed by Cincinnati Astronomical Society and the city of Cincinnati, OH

Tom Van Flandern was the first child of Robert F. Van Flandern, a police officer, and Anna Mary Haley. His father left the family when Tom was 5.[3] His mother died when he was 16; he and his siblings then lived with their grandmother, Margery Jobe, until he went to college.[3] He graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland. While there, he helped start the Cleveland branch of Operation Moonwatch, an amateur science program initiated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to track satellites.[4][5] He also helped found a Moonwatchers team while studying at Xavier University;[6] this team broke a tracking record in 1961.[7][8]

Van Flandern graduated from Xavier University with a B.S. in mathematics (cum laude) in 1962 and was awarded a teaching fellowship at Georgetown University.[9][3] He attended Yale University on a scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO),[citation needed] joining USNO in 1963.[10] In 1969, he received a Ph.D. in astronomy from Yale after completing his dissertation on lunar occultations.

Van Flandern worked at the USNO until 1983,[11][12] first becoming Chief of the Research Branch[13] and later becoming Chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch of the Nautical Almanac Office.[14][15][16] His espousal of highly non-mainstream beliefs, particularly the exploded planet hypothesis, eventually led to his separation from the USNO. He later said, "This forced me to the 'fringes,' areas of astronomy not accepted as credible by experts of the field".[17]

Following his separation from the USNO, Van Flandern started a business organizing eclipse viewing expeditions, and promoting his non-mainstream views in a newsletter and web site. Shortly after his death in 2009, the asteroid 52266 Van Flandern was named in his honor because of his prediction and analysis of lunar occultations at the U.S. Naval Observatory and publications of papers on the dynamics of binary minor planets.[18]

He married Barbara Ann Weber (1942-2018) in 1963 in Kentucky, and they had 3 sons, Michael, Brian, and Kevin, and a daughter, Connie. The couple moved to Sequim, Washington from the East Coast in 2005 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.[3][19]

Tom Van Flandern died of colon cancer in Seattle, Washington.[20]

Mainstream scientific work

During the mid-1970s, Van Flandern believed that lunar observations gave evidence of variation in Newton's gravitational constant (G), consistent with a speculative idea that had been put forward by Paul Dirac. In 1974, his essay "A Determination of the Rate of Change of G" was awarded second place by the Gravity Research Foundation.[21][22] However, in later years, with new data available, Van Flandern himself admitted his findings were flawed, and the conclusions were contradicted by more accurate findings based on radio measurements with the Viking landers.[23][24]

Van Flandern and Henry Fliegel developed a compact algorithm to calculate a Julian date from a Gregorian date that would fit on a single IBM card. They described this in a letter to the editor of a computing magazine in 1968.[25] This was available for use in business applications.[3]

With Kenneth Pulkkinen, he published "Low precision formulae for planetary positions", in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement in 1979.[26] The paper set a record for the number of reprints requested from that journal.[3]

Following claims by David Dunham in 1978 to have detected satellites for some asteroids (notably 532 Herculina) by examining the light patterns during stellar occultations,[27] Van Flandern and others began to report similar observations.[28] His non-mainstream 1978 prediction that some asteroids have natural satellites, which was almost universally rejected at the time, was later proven correct when the Galileo spacecraft photographed Dactyl, a satellite of 243 Ida, during its flyby in 1993.[3]

Non-mainstream science and beliefs

Van Flandern described in his 1993 book Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets[29] how he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the mainstream views of science by the early 1980s. He wrote:

"Events in my life caused me to start questioning my goals and the correctness of everything I had learned. In matters of religion, medicine, biology, physics, and other fields, I came to discover that reality differed seriously from what I had been taught."

In his book, on blogs, lectures, newsletters and websites, Van Flandern focused on problems in cosmology and physics. He alleged that when experimental evidence is incompatible with mainstream scientific theories, mainstream scientists refuse to acknowledge this to avoid jeopardizing their funding.[3]

Exploding planets

In 1976, while Van Flandern was employed by the USNO, he began to promote the belief that major planets sometimes explode.[30] Van Flandern also speculated that the origin of the human species may well have been on the planet Mars, which he believed was once a moon of a now-exploded "Planet V".

Le Sage's theory of gravitation and the speed of gravity

Van Flandern supported Georges-Louis Le Sage's theory of gravitation, according to which gravity is the result of a flux of invisible "ultra-mundane corpuscles" impinging on all objects from all directions at superluminal speeds. He gave public lectures in which he claimed that these particles could be used as a limitless source of free energy, and to provide superluminal propulsion for spacecraft.[31][32]

In 1998 Van Flandern wrote a paper[33] asserting that astronomical observations imply that gravity propagates at least twenty billion times faster than light, or even infinitely fast. Gerald E. Marsh, Charles Nissim-Sabat and Steve Carlip demonstrated that Van Flandern's argument was fallacious.[34][35]

Face on Mars

Van Flandern was a prominent advocate of the belief that certain geological features seen on Mars, especially the "face at Cydonia", are not of natural origin, but were produced by intelligent extraterrestrial life, probably the inhabitants of a major planet once located where the asteroid belt presently exists, and which Van Flandern believed had exploded 3.2 million years ago.[36] The claimed artificiality of the "face" was also the topic of a chapter of his 1993 book.[37]

Rejection of Big Bang cosmology

Van Flandern was a vocal opponent of the Big Bang model in cosmology, and supported instead a static universe. In 2008 he was an organizer of a conference of individuals who opposed the Big Bang cosmological models.[38][3]

References

  1. ^ "Obituary". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  2. ^ "Bulletin of the AAS, Vol. 43, Issue 1. Tom C. Van Flandern (1940–2009), by David W. Dunham and Victor J. Slabinski". Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i David Dunham (KinetX, Inc.); Victor Slabinski (U.S. Naval Observatory) (2011). "BAAS Obituary".[dead link]
  4. ^ Cleveland Plain Dealer October 8, 1957 "Moonwatch Team Here Gets Set" page 5
  5. ^ The Pharos-Tribune and Logansport Press August 9, 1959 "Still Keeping Watch" Logansport, IN page 19
  6. ^ Xavier University News November 5, 1960 Mike Rogers "Satellite Spies Situate Tracking Station on Logan" page 1
  7. ^ Kingsport News May 17, 1961 "Reports Activity" page 10
  8. ^ The Anderson Herald May 17, 1961 "Cincy Moonwatchers Report on Satellites" page 2
  9. ^ Xavier University News May 4, 1962 "Tom Van Flandern Given Fellowship" page 9
  10. ^ T. S. Baskett (1963). "U.S. Naval Observatory Report". Astronomical Journal. 68 (9): 672, 674. Bibcode:1963AJ.....68..649M. doi:10.1086/109195. S2CID 119856085.
  11. ^ Gart Westerhout; Charles K. Roberts (1984). "U.S. Naval Observatory Report". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 17: 457. Bibcode:1985BAAS...17..457.
  12. ^ ""Meta" Researcher Champions New Funding Sources for Independent Science". APS News. 5 (4). April 1996.
  13. ^ USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, December 1976
  14. ^ Colin Keay (September 1993). "Another Revolution in Physics. Maybe?". Australian & New Zealand Physicist. 30 (9): 230.
  15. ^ van Flandern T. C. (1979). "Gravitation and the expansion of the Earth". Nature. 278 (5707): 821. Bibcode:1979Natur.278..821V. doi:10.1038/278821a0.
  16. ^ USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, November 1977
  17. ^ Gonzo Science, Jim Richardson, Alan Richardson, p. 62, 2004.
  18. ^ "52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  19. ^ Barbara Ann (Weber) Flandern, Peninsula Daily News, Legacy.Com
  20. ^ "Obituary". Sequim Gazette. January 21, 2009.
  21. ^ "Award winners". Gravity Research Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
  22. ^ Tom Van Flandern (1974). "A Determination of the Rate of Change of G" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-01.
  23. ^ Clifford Will (1993). Was Einstein Right?: putting general relativity to the test (2nd ed.). Basic Books. p. 175–. ISBN 0-465-09086-9.
  24. ^ Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets, Van Flandern 1993.
  25. ^ Fliegel, Henry; Thomas C. Van Flanderen (October 1968). "Letters to the editor: a machine algorithm for processing calendar dates". Communications of the ACM. 11 (10). ACM: 657. doi:10.1145/364096.364097. S2CID 27358750.
  26. ^ Van Flandern, T. C. & Pulkkinen, K. F. (1979). "Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 41 (3): 391–411. Bibcode:1979ApJS...41..391V. doi:10.1086/190623.
  27. ^ Dunham, David W. (December 1978). "Satellite of Minor Planet 532 Herculina Discovered During Occultation". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 6: 13–14. Bibcode:1978MPBu....6...13D.
  28. ^ Van Flandern, T. C., Tedesco, E. F. & Binzel, R. P. in Asteroids (ed. Gehrels, T.) 443–465 (Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson, 1979).
  29. ^ "Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets", Van Flandern (1993)
  30. ^ "The Exploded Planet Hypothesis - 2000". Archived from the original on 2013-04-07. Retrieved 2013-06-02. According to Van Flandern's article on the Exploded Planet Hypothesis: "The third planetary explosion mechanism relies on one other hypothesis not yet widely accepted, but holds out the potential for an indefinitely large reservoir of energy for exploding even massive planets and stars. If gravitational fields are continually regenerated, as in LeSage particle models of gravity [xvi], then all masses are continually absorbing energy from this universal flux."
  31. ^ Jeffery D. Kooistra (July–August 1999). "Conference on Future Energy". Magazine (26). An editor gave a summary of Van Flandern's talk at the Infinite Energy conference and wrote "Van Flandern gave a talk entitled 'On a Complete Theory of Gravity and Free Energy'. For the free energy enthusiast, the implications of gravity being particulate and perhaps blockable are obvious. Block or deflect the c-gravitons raining down from the sky and up you go into space. Turn off the blocking shield and recover the energy you've gained, for free, as you fall back to Earth."
  32. ^ "Dr. Thomas Van Flandern – MUFON-LA (1 of 1)". youtube. Archived from the original on 2014-01-31.
  33. ^ Van Flandern, T (1998). "The speed of gravity ? What the experiments say". Physics Letters A. 250 (1–3): 1–11. Bibcode:1998PhLA..250....1V. doi:10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00650-1.
  34. ^ Marsh, Gerald E; Nissim-Sabat, Charles (1999). "Comment on "The speed of gravity"". Physics Letters A. 262 (2–3): 257. Bibcode:1999PhLA..262..257M. doi:10.1016/S0375-9601(99)00675-1.
  35. ^ Carlip, S (2000). "Aberration and the Speed of Gravity". Phys. Lett. A. 267 (2–3): 81–87. arXiv:gr-qc/9909087. Bibcode:2000PhLA..267...81C. doi:10.1016/S0375-9601(00)00101-8. S2CID 12941280.
  36. ^ "Proof that the Cydonia Face on Mars is Artificial". Metaresearch.org. Archived from the original on 2002-11-23.
  37. ^ Tom Van Flandern (1993). Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets: Paradoxes Resolved, Origins Illuminated. chapter 24. New Evidence for Artificiality at Cydonia on Mars: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1-55643-268-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  38. ^ "Scientists at Port Angeles conference huddle over alternatives to 'big bang' theory". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.

External links

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