UFOs, a Green Venus and Sun Gobbling? Isn't That Going a Little Far, Mrs Hatoyama?
Written by Ian O'Neill
Venus? Green? Awesome!
This might sound like a quote taken from the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist or the chant from someone who spent an hour too many at an Amsterdam coffee shop, but it wasn't.
Actually, these are the words of the wife of the Japanese premier-in-waiting Yukio Hatoyama.
Mrs Miyuki Hatoyama might be married to a man Japan nicknames "The Alien," but it looks like it's not him who has dreams of an extraterrestrial nature…
If there's one thing politicians must dread when they are voted into a position of power, it's the past. Previous indiscretions, past conversations, old business that involved major campaign donors; all of these must keep many government ministers awake at night, worried that the media will dig up some dirt.
However, in the case of the soon-to-be prime minister of Japan (who won the recent elections with a landslide victory), it's his 66-year old wife who wrote something last year in a book called Very Strange Things I've Encountered, that's causing a stir. But through his wife's own admission, Yukio Hatoyama is an open minded fellow and probably won't be concerned about what the public may think of Miyuki's book.
Very Strange Things documents Mrs Hatoyama's experiences 20 years ago when a UFO picked her up and took her to Venus. "It was a very beautiful place and it was really green," she observed.
If by "green" she actually means "dark brown," and by "beautiful" she means "a tropical, bone crushing atmosphere, stuffed with poisonous gas and a landscape resembling hell," then I think Miyuki really did fly there.
Naturally, after she had her joyride to Venus, Miyuki arrived back in bed, next to her now ex-husband who told her it was just a dream.
In addition to her night-time jaunts around the Solar System, Miyuki also partakes in a little solar feast every now and again. On a Japanese TV show earlier this year, Miyuki went into some detail about her spiritualistic beliefs.
"I also eat the sun," she said on the program, closing her eyes, pulling pieces off an imaginary Sun. "Like this, hum, hum, hum. It gives me enormous energy [...] My husband has recently started doing that too."
This all seems like a lot of fun, but what does this mean for Japan? As noted by Keith Cowing over at NASA Watch, perhaps we'll see a boost in JAXA (the Japanese space agency) funding. It might also go some way to explaining why there's been a surge of interest in Japanese space solar power!
Things might go a little too far if we start seeing JAXA UFO patrols in low-Earth orbit, but for now, I suspect it's going to be a rather flamboyant term in office for the Hatoyama's…
Sources: Reuters, NASA Watch, Time
Filed under: Venus
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September 3rd, 2009 at 6:12 am
Maybe she can work out a deal with Frito Lay:
New Sun-flavored Sun Chips(tm)! Made with whole grains and Real Solar Plasma! We guarantee you'll never eat anything this hot again! (Even if you survive!!!)
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 am
*FACEPALM*
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Soo, do you think we can blame them for the missing sunspots?
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:00 am
Facepalm about says it all. it is curious that people would continue to think Venus is some sort of habitable place. it is most torrid hell of a planetary surface in the solar system.
Back in the 1950s some microwave horned antennas were pointed at Venus. The place had a microwave signature matching a black body curve tail for a T between 500 and 900K. Even then people persisted with models of Venusian surface as a tropical paradise.
I suppose we need to get some probes and rovers down on the surface there. That would be a lot harder than on Mars. The engineering problems with heat and pressure are formidable.
Then again maybe the Venusians are fooling our sensors to conceal their planetary Sangri La from us
LC
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 am
As pointed out on a previous thread, there are two types of UFO observers. The first group take the term literally – they saw an unidentified flying object and leave it at that, no extraterrestrial explanation implied or observed. The second group not only observes UFOs, but also know what planet or star system these 'presumed aliens' originated and usually contain way too much over-the-top explanations or details of exactly what was observed or deduced from the barest of details. I believe Yukio Hatoyama may belong to the latter group (and sure says something about the lack of scientific and technical education even in first-world countries).
Oh well, even Nancy Reagan consulted astrologers while her husband was president, so go figure
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:27 am
"Out of the body" experience to a parallel universe? Hmmm, could be?
Shamanistic revivalist anyone?
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:12 am
Greetings and Salutations…
Actually, there HAVE been landings on Venus…and if one is comfortable in an atmospheric pressure of 1400 PSI, 900 degree F temperatures, and choking fumes of sulfuric acid in an almost pure CO2 atmosphere, it probably IS a paradise.
http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/venus/landings-on-venus/
regards
dave mundt
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:40 am
Lawrence B. Crowell:
From Wikipedia — Venera-D:
COOL! (metaphorically speaking.)
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
Err… the system here did not recognize the Cyrillic text for Venera-D — hence the "??????-?" above.
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:40 am
Getting a robot or probe to move around on Venus would be far more difficult. The Russian probes are shielded enough to last for a short while. I suppose a nuclear powered heat pump to cool the interior is what would be required for a long duration exploration probe on the surface. Venus is a tough bitch.
LC
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:42 am
In Cyrillic it would be something like Benepa. Sort of.
I studied Russian for a couple of years.
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
Lawrence B. Crowell:
I was thinking of that, too; however, in order for the heat-pump to work, the radiator would have to operate at a temperature well above that of the Venusian environment.
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
The radiator would be hot enough to glow. Also as the temperature difference becomes large the efficiency of heat pumps is diminished.
I would not expect a venusian rover any time soon. It means the surface geology will remain largely elusive, except at a few spots where quick analysis might be done.
LC
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
If ever a Venusian rover is built, it would be appropriate to name it Salamander — the mythical creature which was thought capable of living in or withstanding fire.
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I would have to agree with LBC and IVAN3MAN, We're probably quite a number of years from seeing a successful Venusian rover. As LBC says, Venus is a "tough bitch"
@John Hanford, i couldn't agree more with your classification of UFO observers. Perhaps Ms. Hatoyama actually did visit Venus, and the atmospheric pressure affected her cognitive abilities.
September 4th, 2009 at 6:54 am
If anyone's interested, Nick did an article about a proposed Venus rover here:
http://www.universetoday.com/2007/11/15/how-to-keep-a-venus-rover-cool/
September 6th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
"While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus."
Like when I was asleep last night, my soul drove over to Cote de Pablo's house and we made sweet sweet love all night long. Then my soul bought a lottery ticket, which I won, and then I single handedly funded my very own 100m-class telescope which I proceeded to observe through with an eyepiece! Amazingly, while I was observing, Stephen Segal appeared out of nowhere and I proceeded to have a knife fight with him – man that guy is weak. I has his number in two minutes flat.
It was all frigging amazing. The only thing that sucks is that my soul only seems to be able to travel when I'm asleep. That sucks, because everything seems a bit hazy – a bit like a like a dream – when I wake up the next day.