Asri-unix.892
net.space
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:C70:sri-unix!DIETZ@USC-ECL
Thu Mar  4 07:35:04 1982
Quasar Spaceship Theory
This theory is not very consistent with the evidence.

(1) Shifts in positions of quasars.

    If quasars are moving at near c, and are only a few thousand parsecs
away, shouldn't we see them move?  Remember, we can determine their 
positions to within very close limits by using very long baseline
interferometry.

(2) Observable effects of such spaceships

    If the ships produce lots of high velocity gas they should have 
dramatic effects on the interstellar medium.  We should see features 
that look like long jets of very hot gas, radiating X-rays and such.
We would know if such features existed within a few thousand light years:
no such effects have been detected.
  
    If there are 10^11 quasar spaceships within a few thousand light
years their density comes out to one spaceship per ~10 cubic light
years.  If one were within, say, 20 light years it shouldn't be hard
to spot, even if the beam is directed away from us.

(3) Other details

    The gravitational lens is inexplicable unless qusars are at
cosmological distances.  Quasars often have a two lobed structure.
This structure is easy to explain if the quasar is a galaxy, but not
if it is a spaceship.  If quasars are spaceships they should be
visible in other galaxies, but they are not.
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