The Black Knight: A Mysterious Satellite

Have you ever heard of the Black Knight? No, we are not talking about the Batman villain or the medieval warrior. We are talking about a mysterious object that some people claim is a man-made satellite that has been orbiting the Earth for 13,000 years. Sounds unbelievable, right? Well, there are many stories and theories about the Black Knight, and some of them are more plausible than others. In this article, we will explore the origin, the sightings, and the controversies of the Black Knight, and try to separate the facts from the fiction.

The Origin of the Legend

The first mention of the Black Knight dates back to 1899, when the famous inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla reported receiving a strange radio signal during his experiments at his laboratory in Colorado Springs. Tesla believed that the signal was of extraterrestrial origin, and speculated that it came from Mars or Venus. He also claimed that he was able to communicate with the source of the signal, and that it was a form of intelligent life.

Tesla’s claims were not taken seriously by the scientific community, and were largely forgotten until the 1950s, when the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union began. In 1954, a British newspaper called the Daily Express published an article that reported the existence of two satellites orbiting the Earth, detected by the US Air Force. The article quoted a retired naval officer named Duncan Lunan, who said that he had traced the orbits of the satellites and found that they matched the predictions of a Scottish astronomer named Duncan MacDougall, who had calculated the orbits of two hypothetical satellites in 1899, based on Tesla’s signal.

Lunan also said that he had decoded the radio signal from one of the satellites, and that it contained a star map that pointed to the constellation of Bootes, the location of a star system called Epsilon Boötis. Lunan suggested that the satellite was a probe sent by an alien civilization from that star system, 13,000 years ago, when the Earth was in the last ice age.

The article caused a sensation among the public, and many people believed that the Black Knight was the name of the alien satellite. However, Lunan later admitted that he had made a mistake in his calculations, and that the star map was actually a reflection of his own subconscious. He also said that the Daily Express had distorted his words, and that he never claimed that the satellites were of extraterrestrial origin. He said that they were most likely natural objects, such as asteroids or space debris.

The Sightings of the Object

Despite Lunan’s retraction, the legend of the Black Knight persisted, and was fueled by several sightings of a dark object in space, captured by cameras, telescopes, and radar. One of the most famous sightings occurred in 1998, when the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, during the STS-88 mission, photographed a black object near the International Space Station. The object appeared to have a triangular shape, and was estimated to be about 10 meters long and 3 meters wide. The NASA officials said that the object was a thermal blanket that had been lost during an earlier spacewalk, and that it posed no threat to the shuttle or the station. However, some UFO researchers and enthusiasts disagreed, and claimed that the object was the Black Knight, and that NASA was covering up its true nature.

Another sighting occurred in 2016, when a YouTube user named Streetcap1 uploaded a video that showed a dark object passing behind the Earth, as seen from the live feed of the International Space Station. The video went viral, and many people commented that the object was the Black Knight, and that it was proof of alien visitation. However, skeptics pointed out that the object was too small and blurry to be identified, and that it could have been anything, such as a satellite, a meteor, or a piece of space junk.

The Controversies of the Black Knight

The Black Knight has been the subject of many controversies and debates, both among the believers and the skeptics. Some of the questions and arguments that have been raised are:

• Is the Black Knight a real satellite or a hoax? Some people think that the Black Knight is a real object that has been orbiting the Earth for thousands of years, and that it has a connection to Tesla, aliens, or ancient civilizations. Others think that the Black Knight is a hoax, and that it is a collection of unrelated phenomena, such as natural objects, man-made debris, or optical illusions, that have been misinterpreted or fabricated by the media, the conspiracy theorists, or the pranksters.

• What is the purpose of the Black Knight? Some people think that the Black Knight is a probe that was sent by an alien civilization to monitor or contact the Earth, and that it has a message or a mission for humanity. Others think that the Black Knight is a weapon that was created by a hostile or rogue faction, and that it poses a threat or a challenge to the Earth, and that it should be destroyed or captured.

• What is the evidence of the Black Knight? Some people think that the evidence of the Black Knight is strong and convincing, and that it includes the radio signal, the newspaper article, the photographs, the videos, and the testimonies of the witnesses. Others think that the evidence of the Black Knight is weak and unreliable, and that it is based on errors, assumptions, coincidences, or manipulations, and that it lacks scientific verification or explanation.

The Black Knight has also been the inspiration for many works of fiction, such as books, movies, games, and comics. Some of the examples are:

• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), a movie that features the Black Knight as a Transformer that was sent by the Quintessons, an ancient alien race that created the Transformers, to destroy the Earth.

• The Black Knight Satellite (2013), a book that tells the story of a group of hackers who discover the Black Knight and try to decode its signal, while being pursued by a secret organization that wants to use it for their own agenda.

• Black Knight (2018), a game that allows the player to control the Black Knight and explore the solar system, while avoiding or fighting other satellites, asteroids, and aliens.

• The Black Knight (2019), a comic that follows the adventures of a superhero who uses the Black Knight as his base and his weapon, and who fights against evil forces that threaten the world.

The Conclusion

The Black Knight is one of the most intriguing and mysterious legends of the modern era. It has fascinated and puzzled many people, and it has sparked many debates and controversies. Whether it is a real satellite or a hoax, whether it is a friend or a foe, whether it is a message or a challenge, the Black Knight remains a mystery that awaits to be solved. Until then, it will continue to orbit the Earth, and to capture the imagination of the curious and the adventurous.