Web abuzz with claims that Hubble sought to censor Lemaitre's paper

July 13, 2011 by Bob Yirka report

Edwin Hubble

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Edwin Hubble

(PhysOrg.com) -- In one of those odd scientific debates where people who ought to know better, speak up, and in this case, print articles on arXiv, making claims about personal issues rather than science, buzz has been created that might lead to little more than rhetoric. In this case, it’s first Sidney van den Bergh, a Canadian astronomer, who has published a paper on arXiv citing evidence that Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaitre's paper on cosmological observations appeared to have been intentionally censored when translated into English, and then David Block, a South African mathematician and amateur historian adding fuel to the fire by publishing to the same site an article where he asserts he has proof that American, Edwin Hubble (of whom the Hubble telescope is named) was involved in a conspiracy of sorts, to censor the paper previously mentioned by van den Bergh.

The entire argument centers on a paper first published by Lemaitre in 1927 in Belgium; written in French it wasn’t read much outside of his home country. In the paper, Lemaitre outlined his theory that the universe appeared to be expanding, and also offered a constant that could be used to determine the rate.

In 1929, Hubble published a paper that offered the same theory and constant (which came to be known as the Hubble constant) and was at the time given full credit for the discovery. Later however (1931), Lemaitre’s paper was translated into English and published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), which of course gave some credence to Lemaitre’s work, but not entirely, because it was subsequently discovered that certain sections of the original had been omitted, the most important of which, was the part where Lemaitre derived the constant for which Hubble was ultimately credited.

Georges Lemaitre
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Georges Lemaitre

Block offers as proof, a letter written by Scottish astronomer William Marshall Smart (editor for MNRAS), that he says, shows that it was Lemaitre himself who performed the translation, but because Smart only asked for certain sections to be translated, the end result wound up an abbreviated version of the original. Block then goes on to say he believes it was pressure on Smart, from Hubble, that caused him to do what he did, though he offers little evidence to support such a claim.

At this point, professional historians are not convinced, and so, this argument, as with many others of its kind in the science field, will likely rage on, with little gained, but perhaps something lost, as energy that could be spent on , is wasted on meaningless squabble.

More information: A Hubble Eclipse: Lemaitre and Censorship, David L. Block, arXiv:1106.3928v2 [physics.hist-ph] http://arxiv.org/a … /1106.3928v2

Abstract
One of the greatest discoveries of modern times is that of the expanding Universe, almost invariably attributed to Hubble (1929). What is not widely known is that the original treatise by Lemaitre (1927) contained a rich fusion of both theory and of observation. The French paper was meticulously censored when printed in English - all discussions of radial velocities and distances (and the very first empirical determination of "H") were omitted. Fascinating insights are gleaned from a letter recently found in the Lema^itre archives. An appeal is made for a Lemaitre Telescope, to honour the discoverer of the expanding universe.

via Nature

© 2010 PhysOrg.com

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rawa1
Jul 13, 2011

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This new article already contradicts this view. It would be actually quite strange situation, because Hubble was a strong proponent of Steady state Universe model (he explained the red shift with dispersion of light). He opposed the Lamaitre's model from its very beginning in the same way, like F.Zwicky or Albert Einstein - so he wasn't motivated in its plagiarization.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.0442
omatumr
Jul 13, 2011

Rank: 1.6 / 5 (7)
Scientists have egos and can be manipulated by propaganda artists.

Now many are starting to see the connection between:

a.) Hiding and manipulating data on the Sun - Earth's heat source,
b.) The world-wide fable of CO2-induced global warming,
c.) Disintegration of the USA space program,
d.) Disintegrating of the world's economy,
e.) Loss of national sovereignty, and
f.) Budget negotiations!

They are not mere coincidence!

They follow from a 1972 decision to use "Global Climate Change" as the common enemy to unite nations, end nationalism, and avoid the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Many skeptics endorse those noble goals, but not the use of scientific information as a propaganda tool that might lead to a tyrannical world government, as in George Orwell's book, "1984".

http://www.online...ll/1984/

Many are now seeing the connection [1].

1. Dark Fireworks on the Sun, by Dr. Tony Phiilips

www.physorg.com/n...sun.html

Oliver K. Manuel
Vendicar_Decarian
Jul 13, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
"Astronomers will make no progress until they realize that they can not see stars." - OmaTard, AKA - Oliver K. Manuel
Isaacsname
Jul 13, 2011

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Sneaky. I guess it's all about who get's published first then ?
Jayded
Sep 05, 2011

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@omatumr - It surprises me that such ignorant ppl actually read articles like this, did they run out of conspiracy comics? Your usual download of p0rn not satisfying you any more? Frankly amazed that guys like you can string sentences together.
omatumr
Sep 05, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
NASA announced it has recorded and will release video recordings of changes in the Sun, from its quietest period in years to the activity marking the beginning of solar cycle 24 !

www.irishweathero...26.html/

Let's let observations determine the validity of models rather than models determining the validity of observations!

Many fields of science astronomy, astrophysics, climatology, cosmology, nuclear, particle, planetary and solar sciences have been seriously compromised [1] since it was decided on 1971 [2] that Earths heat source is a steady H-fusion reactor that cannot cause climate change.

1. Neutron Repulsion, The APEIRON Journal, in press (2011)
http://arxiv.org/...2.1499v1

2. Deep Roots of Climategate (2011)
http://dl.dropbox...oots.pdf

With kind regards,
Oliver K. Manuel
Former NASA Principal
Investigator for Apollo
Jayded
Sep 06, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
@Oliver. Nobody is in doubt that both the earth and the sun have impacts upon climate change, the earth has natural mechanisms for climactic shift and it would be obvious to assume that solar output must be a trigger factor as well.
The basic mechanics of climate change are very simple, the earths atmosphere was at one point unable to sustain complex life. The atmosphere (both methane and carbon) were sequestrated in plant, marine and fungal species. Those species became coal and oil. We extract the coal/oil and return it to the atmosphere, thus returning the atmosphere gradually to a point where it no longer can support life. No body debates this. This is not a conspiracy. The debate is in regards to projections over the climactic inputs of elevated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and earths ability to resink them. You would need to be a fool, if for a second you dont see our impact upon the planet and allocate all weather phenomena to solar output. The figures just dont balance.
Rank 4.6 /5 (7 votes)
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