Professor Courtney Brown of Emory University, founder of the Farsight Institute and author of the sensational book "Cosmic Voyage," and famed author and professed abductee Whitley Strieber, teamed on Art Bell's syndicated "Coast to Coast" radio program in the early morning hours of Friday, November 29, 1996 to announce that a top astronomer associated with a "top-10 university" now has definite proof that a huge object, thought to be a "ship" of extraterrestrial origin, is trailing comet Hale-Bopp.
Two weeks ago, on November 14, Houston-based amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek imaged something while viewing Hale-Bopp with his 10" telescope, then went on the Art Bell show to describe what appeared to be a large "Saturnlike object" close to Hale-Bopp. This set off a firestorm of controversy on the internet, in which Shramek was generally denounced. Crushed by the negative publicity, he soon left Texas and went into seclusion in another state, where he reportedly remains at this time.
However, having heard of Shramek's image, Courtney Brown assigned three of the Farsight Institute's remote viewers to examine the situation out at Hale-Bopp. On the basis of their findings, Brown asserted on Bell's show that there was indeed a second, huge object that was apparently under intelligent control. The ensuing huge controversy, which dismayed Shramek, did nothing to dampen Brown's insistence that the mystery second object does exist.
Appearing again on the Art Bell program the morning of November 29, Brown went even further. He said that after the first round of viewing sessions nearly two weeks ago, he had quietly gone about seeking hard confirmation of his findings among professional astronomers. Now, he says, he has received photographs from, and talked "for many hours" with an internationally known astronomer who works at a "top-10 university," who positively confirms that there is an extraordinary second object that appears to be a "ship" under intelligent control.
Brown refuses to give the name of the astronomer or the university, stating that this man is currently deliberating his next steps in consultation with his family and professional colleagues. "This is a free will universe, and this man must make his own decision," Brown stated on the air. Art Bell stated that he had in his possession copies of the photographs, which are described as of such high quality that, if they were posted to the internet, their origin would be easy to determine. Bell said he does not know the name of the astronomer.
Whitley Strieber appeared later on the same program to assert his conviction that the photos, along with the astronomer's testimony, did indeed represent evidence of a huge, intelligently guided object running with Hale-Bopp. Strieber spent most of his two hours on the program talking about his own experiences of contact with "the visitors" and how humans might respond and adjust to the imminent certainty of extraterrestrial life visiting the earth.
Brown also stated that a radio astronomer, a colleague of the other astronomer, had discovered evidently intelligent radio signals coming from the Hale-Bopp object. Brown said it should soon be possible to announce the exact frequency on which the signals could be heard, so that others can verify them.
Brown stated his belief that the astronomer would call a press conference within one week to announce his findings. He noted, however, that there were bound to be very serious repercussions to such a step, and that the astronomer might decide against it, at least for the moment.
However, if these claims are true, it can't be long before anyone with a reasonably good telescope can confirm that the second object is there. Thus, if it is there, some kind of announcement seems a certainty before long.
On the other hand, if it is not there, Courtney Brown and Whitley Strieber, among others, will certainly be denounced. Both they and Art Bell acknowledged that talking about this on the air put them all at risk of grave ridicule, or worse.
In the following story, Rebecca Schatte describes the first steps in this ongoing controversy, in which her personal friend Chuck Shramek made and announced his controversial images of Hale-Bopp. Following Schatte's story, CNI News editor Michael Lindemann interviews Farsight Institute representative Prudence Calabrese.
For additional details, visit the following web sights:
Farsight Institute -- www.farsight.org
Communion (Whitley Strieber) -- www.strieber.com
Art Bell's Home Page -- www.artbell.com
Hale-Bopp Home Page -- www.halebopp.com
"What Is The Truth About Hale-Bopp? -- www.pe.net/~minnie/shechinah.html
Original file name: .CNI - HB Companion.Brown
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