[meteorite-list] Red Rain in India

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Mar 8 12:54:42 2006
Message-ID: <200603081744.k28HiDx11700_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/08gspec.htm

Red rain from another planet?
rediff.com
March 08, 2006

On July 25, 2001, blood-red rain fell over Kerala. The unusual
phenomenon continued for two months, raining crimson, turning clothes
pink, burning leaves on trees. In some places, the rain fell in scarlet
sheets.

Scientists were shocked, and the government ordered an investigation.
Scientists concluded that the rain was red because winds had swept up
dust from Arabia and dumped it on Kerala. But Dr Godfrey Louis, a Reader
in Physics at the School of Pure and Applied Physics at the Mahatma
Gandhi University in Kottayam, Kerala, was not convinced.

He diligently gathered rain samples and, after months of painstaking
research, concluded: 'The red particles, which caused the red rain of
Kerala, are of extraterrestrial origin.'

His colleagues -- other scientists and physicists -- frowned at the
conclusion. But Dr Louis stuck to his theory. His scientific conclusions
have now received international support. Dr Milton Wainwright of the
micro-biology Department at Sheffield University in Britain has been
examining some of the particles of the red rain samples that hit Kerala.
And he has come out in support of Dr Louis' theory that the rains could
belong to an alien life form.

"I am indeed thrilled that my scientific conclusions have received
international support and recognition," Dr Louis told rediff.com New
Scientist Magazine, in its March cover story, has published the red rain
phenomenon along with the doctor's theory.

How did he come to this conclusion, we asked. Dr Louis says the
phenomenon first occurred at the place close to where he lives in
Kerala. "The characteristics were very strange. Conventional
explanations appeared totally inadequate. I started an investigation
with limited resources and was greatly assisted by my research student A
Santhosh Kumar," he says.

How did their investigations bring them to their interesting conclusion?
"We arrived at it by analysing the various aspects associated with the
phenomenon, like the geographical and time distribution pattern, and the
nature of the particles," he says.

These are the findings:

    * The phenomenon can be explained easily if it is assumed that the
      origin of the red particles is from cometary fragments, which
      underwent atmospheric disintegration above Kerala.
    * There is additional correlating evidences that prompts this line
      of thinking, like the sonic boom from the meteor airburst, which
      preceded the first red rain case. Having made a logical
      possibility like this, it follows that the cometary body in
      question should contain a huge quantity of these red particles,
      which amounts to an estimated quantity of more than 50,000 kg.
    * What makes this finding most important is the biological cell-like
      nature of the particles. Under an optical microscope, they appear
      like biological cells. Transmission Electron Microscopy further
      shows a clear cell structure (Image above). Their organic nature
      is indicated by the major presence of carbon and oxygen. But,
      despite these biological indications, the cells do not show the
      presence of DNA. The genetic molecule DNA is present in all living
      organisms found on Earth, so the absence of DNA argues against the
      biological nature of these cells.
    * There is thus the possibility of alternate biomolecules in these
      cells, whose origin is suspected as extraterrestrial. This way,
      the cells may represent an alternate form of life from space. If
      these are such biological cells, then their production in huge
      quantity inside cometary bodies can be explained by the theory of
cometary panspermia.

But, what if these new scientific ideas are wrong? Dr Louis says that,
if they are, he wants a better explanation for the phenomenon and the
strange nature of the cells. "If these cells have a terrestrial origin,
then it follows that they exist in huge quantities in some part of the
Earth and are sure to have been noticed by some microbiologists. But
there appears to be no such identification so far," he says.

Dr Louis' theory was initially ridiculed, but has now been accepted for
research by international scientists like Dr Wainwright. His research
has also been accepted for publication in the reputed international
journal Astrophysics and Space Science. He is soon gearing up to publish
the next set of results and conduct several collaborative studies to
further unravel the mystery of the cells.
Received on Wed 08 Mar 2006 12:44:12 PM PST