THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?

LISTENING TO OUMUAMUA

CARL SAGAN SENT RECORDS INTO SPACE

Seeking to contact any alien race.We are among so many

It makes sense to sing to them.But they don't use radio.

And LPs (even if golden)have no needle in space

So instead of seeking to speak to alien consciousness

why not listen?

An artist's impression of 'Oumuamua.   (European Southern Observatory, via University of Hawaii)

(Newser) – It's unlikely that the first object found to have visited our solar system from interstellar space is carrying a message from aliens, but scientists will listen for one anyway. Beginning Wednesday, the Green Bank telescope in West Virginia will observe the mysterious cigar-shaped 'Oumuamua across four radio transmission bands, from 1 to 12 GHz, as part of the Breakthrough Listen project searching for evidence of alien life, reports the Guardian. 'Oumuamua—Hawaiian for "a messenger from afar arriving first," per NASA—was first spotted by scientists in Hawaii in October as it sped past Earth at an astronomical stone's throw, per a release. It's now twice as far from Earth as the sun and scheduled to pass through Jupiter's orbit in May 2018, but close enough that the Green Bank telescope can detect even the faintest radio transmissions.

'Oumuamua is estimated to be up to 10 times as long as it is wide, and the press release notes that researchers have theorized that an interstellar spacecraft would be of similar shape, so as to reduce friction and damage from space debris. While project adviser Avi Loeb of Harvard acknowledges "most likely it is of natural origin"—it's widely believed to be an asteroid—he says that because of its curious shape, "we would like to check if it has any sign of artificial origin, such as radio emissions." Even if the Green Bank telescope fails to pick up any signal or other suggestion of "extraterrestrial technology," all will not be for naught: The Breakthrough Listen project's work may reveal more about 'Oumuamua's chemistry, including whether it   

http://www.spiritthom.com