171:
31:
432:", 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. The claimed artificiality of the "face" was also the topic of a chapter of his 1993 book.
409:, 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.
1101:
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
251:
Van
Flandern worked at the USNO until 1983, first becoming Chief of the Research Branch and later becoming Chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch of the Nautical Almanac Office. His espousal of highly non-mainstream beliefs, particularly the exploded planet hypothesis, eventually led to his
1082:
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
178:
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. His mother died when he was 16; he and his siblings then lived with their grandmother, Margery Jobe, until he went to college. He graduated from
339:) by examining the light patterns during stellar occultations, Van Flandern and others began to report similar observations. 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
367:"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."
273:
He married
Barbara Ann Weber (1942-2018) in 1963 in Kentucky, and they had three 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.
327:
With
Kenneth Pulkkinen, he published "Low precision formulae for planetary positions" in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement in 1979. The paper set a record for the number of reprints requested from that journal.
725:
309:. However, in later years, with new data available, Van Flandern himself admitted his findings were flawed and contradicted by more accurate findings based on radio measurements with the
377:. He alleged that when experimental evidence is incompatible with mainstream scientific theories, mainstream scientists refuse to acknowledge this to avoid jeopardizing their funding.
1102:
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."
412:
In 1998 Van
Flandern wrote a paper asserting that astronomical observations imply that gravity propagates at least twenty billion times faster than light, or even infinitely fast.
1083:
gravitational fields are continually regenerated, as in LeSage particle models of gravity , then all masses are continually absorbing energy from this universal flux."
389:. 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 "
266:
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
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880:
468:
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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".
1347:
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174:
Van
Flandern mentioned in historical marker about Project Moonwatch. Placed by Cincinnati Astronomical Society and the city of Cincinnati, OH
857:
1322:
324:. They described this in a letter to the editor of a computing magazine in 1968. This was available for use in business applications.
1066:
1047:
Van
Flandern, T. C., Tedesco, E. F. & Binzel, R. P. in Asteroids (ed. Gehrels, T.) 443–465 (Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson, 1979).
180:
1292:
192:
259:-viewing expeditions and promoting his non-mainstream views in a newsletter and website. Shortly after he died in 2009, the
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146:. Van Flandern had a career as a professional scientist but was noted as an outspoken proponent of certain fringe views in
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406:
920:
494:"Bulletin of the AAS, Vol. 43, Issue 1. Tom C. Van Flandern (1940–2009), by David W. Dunham and Victor J. Slabinski"
428:
Van Flandern was a prominent advocate of the belief that certain geological features seen on Mars, especially the "
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361:
how he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the mainstream views of science by the early 1980s. He wrote:
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390:
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472:
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Dunham, David W. (December 1978). "Satellite of Minor Planet 532 Herculina Discovered During Occultation".
293:
During the mid-1970s, Van Flandern believed that lunar observations gave evidence of variation in Newton's
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861:
805:
306:
986:
Van Flandern, T. C. & Pulkkinen, K. F. (1979). "Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions".
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529:
493:
305:. In 1974, his essay "A Determination of the Rate of Change of G" was awarded second place by the
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449:
294:
229:
126:
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142:(June 26, 1940 – January 9, 2009) was an American astronomer and author who specialized in
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November 5, 1960 Mike Rogers "Satellite Spies Situate Tracking Station on Logan" page 1
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1323:"Scientists at Port Angeles conference huddle over alternatives to 'big bang' theory"
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1132:
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648:
385:
In 1976, while Van Flandern worked for the USNO, he began to promote the belief that
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267:
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95:
1280:
Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets: Paradoxes Resolved, Origins Illuminated
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972:
373:
In his book, on blogs, lectures, newsletters, and websites, Van Flandern focused on
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Archived: Salon story about relativity dissidents including Van Flandern (archived)
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Following his separation from the USNO, Van Flandern started a business organizing
445:
413:
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170:
91:
54:
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Van Flandern, T (1998). "The speed of gravity ? What the experiments say".
30:
843:
530:
David Dunham (KinetX, Inc.); Victor Slabinski (U.S. Naval Observatory) (2011).
116:
1116:
1360:
662:
Gart Westerhout; Charles K. Roberts (1984). "U.S. Naval Observatory Report".
452:"; a conference of individuals who opposed the Big Bang cosmological models.
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310:
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Van Flandern and Henry Fliegel developed a compact algorithm to calculate a
429:
417:
396:
321:
278:
963:
947:"Letters to the editor: a machine algorithm for processing calendar dates"
946:
912:
691:""Meta" Researcher Champions New Funding Sources for Independent Science"
317:
245:
211:
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Jeffery D. Kooistra (July–August 1999). "Conference on Future Energy".
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Colin Keay (September 1993). "Another Revolution in Physics. Maybe?".
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301:), consistent with a speculative idea that had been put forward by
260:
1283:. chapter 24. New Evidence for Artificiality at Cydonia on Mars:
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151:
1056:"Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets", Van Flandern (1993)
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USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, November 1977
713:
USNO Staff Directory for Nautical Almanac Office, December 1976
241:
944:
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Barbara Ann (Weber) Flandern, Peninsula Daily News, Legacy.Com
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May 17, 1961 "Cincy Moonwatchers Report on Satellites" page 2
199:. He also helped found a Moonwatchers team while studying at
935:
Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets, Van Flandern 1993.
795:
Gonzo Science, Jim Richardson, Alan Richardson, p. 62, 2004.
909:
Was Einstein Right?: putting general relativity to the test
559:
August 9, 1959 "Still Keeping Watch" Logansport, IN page 19
420:
demonstrated that Van Flandern's argument was fallacious.
331:
Following claims by David Dunham in 1978 to have detected
1206:
Carlip, S (2000). "Aberration and the Speed of Gravity".
945:
Fliegel, Henry; Thomas C. Van Flanderen (October 1968).
397:
Le Sage's theory of gravitation and the speed of gravity
617:
T. S. Baskett (1963). "U.S. Naval Observatory Report".
187:. While there, he helped start the Cleveland branch of
607:
May 4, 1962 "Tom Van Flandern Given Fellowship" page 9
547:
October 8, 1957 "Moonwatch Team Here Gets Set" page 5
352:
232:(USNO), joining USNO in 1963. In 1969, he received a
206:
Van Flandern graduated from Xavier University with a
1260:"Proof that the Cydonia Face on Mars is Artificial"
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220:) in 1962 and was awarded a teaching fellowship at
743:
435:
1166:
320:from a Gregorian date that would fit on a single
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1020:
878:
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1167:Marsh, Gerald E; Nissim-Sabat, Charles (1999).
345:spacecraft photographed Dactyl, a satellite of
191:, an amateur science program initiated by the
1113:"Dr. Thomas Van Flandern – MUFON-LA (1 of 1)"
903:
665:Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society
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288:
203:; this team broke a tracking record in 1961.
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1129:
881:"A Determination of the Rate of Change of G"
746:"Gravitation and the expansion of the Earth"
1014:
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29:
1343:Archived: Biography at Meta Research site
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440:Van Flandern was a vocal opponent of the
359:Dark Matter, Missing Planets, New Comets
357:Van Flandern described in his 1993 book
169:
1067:"The Exploded Planet Hypothesis - 2000"
988:Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
583:May 17, 1961 "Reports Activity" page 10
557:The Pharos-Tribune and Logansport Press
158:. He also published the non-mainstream
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726:Australian & New Zealand Physicist
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444:model in cosmology and believed in a
193:Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
448:instead. In 2008, he organized the "
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1169:"Comment on "The speed of gravity""
683:
13:
1262:. Metaresearch.org. Archived from
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353:Non-mainstream science and beliefs
228:on a scholarship sponsored by the
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375:problems in cosmology and physics
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387:major planets sometimes explode
240:from Yale after completing his
806:"52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)"
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1:
1238:10.1016/S0375-9601(00)00101-8
1193:10.1016/S0375-9601(99)00675-1
1154:10.1016/S0375-9601(98)00650-1
455:
333:satellites for some asteroids
349:, during its flyby in 1993.
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7:
1382:Pseudoscientific physicists
862:Gravity Research Foundation
744:van Flandern T. C. (1979).
416:, Charles Nissim-Sabat and
307:Gravity Research Foundation
140:Thomas Charles Van Flandern
35:Thomas Van Flandern in 2007
23:Thomas Charles Van Flandern
10:
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289:Mainstream scientific work
181:Saint Ignatius High School
1277:Tom Van Flandern (1993).
1115:. youtube. Archived from
1023:The Minor Planet Bulletin
951:Communications of the ACM
879:Tom Van Flandern (1974).
277:Tom Van Flandern died of
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1307:: CS1 maint: location (
401:Van Flandern supported
264:52266 Van Flandern
1392:Yale University alumni
605:Xavier University News
569:Xavier University News
545:Cleveland Plain Dealer
295:gravitational constant
230:U.S. Naval Observatory
175:
160:Meta Research Bulletin
127:U.S. Naval Observatory
964:10.1145/364096.364097
407:theory of gravitation
403:Georges-Louis Le Sage
222:Georgetown University
173:
156:extraterrestrial life
1377:American astronomers
1285:North Atlantic Books
620:Astronomical Journal
268:binary minor planets
1230:2000PhLA..267...81C
1185:1999PhLA..262..257M
1146:1998PhLA..250....1V
1035:1978MPBu....6...13D
1000:1979ApJS...41..391V
846:. January 21, 2009.
810:Minor Planet Center
764:1979Natur.278..821V
678:1985BAAS...17..457.
633:1963AJ.....68..649M
593:The Anderson Herald
450:Crisis in Cosmology
283:Seattle, Washington
189:Operation Moonwatch
144:celestial mechanics
73:Seattle, Washington
16:American astronomer
1387:Relativity critics
246:lunar occultations
176:
1294:978-1-55643-268-2
1173:Physics Letters A
1133:Physics Letters A
381:Exploding planets
201:Xavier University
137:
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103:Scientific career
96:Xavier University
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424:Face on Mars
418:Steve Carlip
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123:Institutions
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67:(2009-01-09)
1372:2009 deaths
1367:1940 births
913:Basic Books
318:Julian date
212:mathematics
80:Nationality
1361:Categories
1077:2013-06-02
840:"Obituary"
499:2023-09-22
479:2011-02-17
469:"Obituary"
456:References
303:Paul Dirac
197:satellites
47:1940-06-26
1303:cite book
1029:: 13–14.
733:(9): 230.
649:119856085
335:(notably
238:astronomy
217:cum laude
195:to track
185:Cleveland
166:Biography
148:astronomy
113:Astronomy
1246:12941280
1096:Magazine
973:27358750
907:(1993).
815:2 August
696:APS News
442:Big Bang
391:Planet V
322:IBM card
261:asteroid
83:American
1226:Bibcode
1181:Bibcode
1142:Bibcode
1031:Bibcode
996:Bibcode
760:Bibcode
674:Bibcode
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629:Bibcode
347:243 Ida
342:Galileo
257:eclipse
152:physics
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109:Fields
1242:S2CID
1216:arXiv
1099:(26).
969:S2CID
891:(PDF)
884:(PDF)
645:S2CID
234:Ph.D.
1309:link
1289:ISBN
917:ISBN
817:2016
208:B.S.
115:and
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41:Born
1234:doi
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