Godfrey Louis
Encyclopedia
Godfrey Louis is a controversial solid-state physicist
, who, while at Mahatma Gandhi University
in Kerala
, achieved notoriety for his hypotheses about the red rain in Kerala
. In April 2006, he published a paper in the journal Astrophysics and Space Science in which he hypothesised that samples of particles from the "blood-coloured" rain that fell in his state of Kerala
, India
in the summer of 2001 were the result of a comet disintegrating in the upper atmosphere which comprised mainly microbes from outer space. Despite much media interest and the abundant coverage that Dr. Louis' theory received, many leading scientists like Dr. Milton Wainwright disagreed early on with Dr. Louis' hypothesis regarding the red rain's origin. An earlier (2001) study by the Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kerala, India, reported that the red rain was the result of spores from local algae.
Since October 2006 Dr. Louis has been at Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science and Technology
(CUSAT) in Kochi, Kerala
.
In August 2010 Dr. Louis and his collaborators presented a paper in SPIE astrobiology conference held in San Diego, USA. In this paper, which is co-authored by Rajkumar Gangappa ( Univ. of Glamorgan, U K), Chandra Wickramasinghe
(Cardiff Univ. U K), Milton Wainwright (The Univ. of Sheffield U K), A. Santhosh Kumar ( CUSAT, India) and Godfrey Louis , it is claimed that the red rain cells develop internal daughter cells and multiply when exposed to extreme temperature of 121 °C in an autoclave for two hours. It is further reported in the paper that the fluorescent behavior of the red cells have remarkable correspondence with the extended red emission observed in the Red Rectangle nebula
.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, who, while at Mahatma Gandhi University
Mahatma Gandhi University
Mahatma Gandhi University, also known as M G University, was established on 2 October 1983 in Kottayam. The University Grants Commission of India does not believe that the names of Indian universities should be unique, so another UGC-recognized government-run Mahatma Gandhi University was...
in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, achieved notoriety for his hypotheses about the red rain in Kerala
Red rain in Kerala
The Kerala red rain phenomenon was a blood rain event that occurred from July 25 to September 23, 2001, when red-coloured rain sporadically fell on the southern Indian state of Kerala. Heavy downpours occurred in which the rain was colored red, staining clothes pink. Yellow, green, and black rain...
. In April 2006, he published a paper in the journal Astrophysics and Space Science in which he hypothesised that samples of particles from the "blood-coloured" rain that fell in his state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the summer of 2001 were the result of a comet disintegrating in the upper atmosphere which comprised mainly microbes from outer space. Despite much media interest and the abundant coverage that Dr. Louis' theory received, many leading scientists like Dr. Milton Wainwright disagreed early on with Dr. Louis' hypothesis regarding the red rain's origin. An earlier (2001) study by the Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kerala, India, reported that the red rain was the result of spores from local algae.
Since October 2006 Dr. Louis has been at Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science and Technology
Cochin University of Science and Technology
Cochin University of Science and Technology is a government owned autonomous university in Kochi , Kerala, India. Founded in 1971, the university consists of three campuses, two in Kochi and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km inland. The university awards degrees in engineering and allied...
(CUSAT) in Kochi, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
In August 2010 Dr. Louis and his collaborators presented a paper in SPIE astrobiology conference held in San Diego, USA. In this paper, which is co-authored by Rajkumar Gangappa ( Univ. of Glamorgan, U K), Chandra Wickramasinghe
Chandra Wickramasinghe
Vidya Jothi Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe , FIMA, FRAS, FRSA is Professor at Cardiff University and Honorary Professor at the University of Buckingham. He is the Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology...
(Cardiff Univ. U K), Milton Wainwright (The Univ. of Sheffield U K), A. Santhosh Kumar ( CUSAT, India) and Godfrey Louis , it is claimed that the red rain cells develop internal daughter cells and multiply when exposed to extreme temperature of 121 °C in an autoclave for two hours. It is further reported in the paper that the fluorescent behavior of the red cells have remarkable correspondence with the extended red emission observed in the Red Rectangle nebula
Red Rectangle nebula
The Red Rectangle Nebula, so called because of its red color and unique rectangular shape, is a protoplanetary nebula in the Monoceros constellation. Also known as HD 44179, the nebula was discovered in 1973 during a rocket flight associated with the AFCRL Infrared Sky Survey called Hi Star...
.
External links
- Home Page of Dr. Godfrey Louis
- Popular Science – Is It Raining Aliens?
- arXiv astrophysics – Use the search facility http://arxiv.org/find/all/1/all:+EXACT+godfrey_louis/0/1/0/all/0/1 to locate his four papers in ArXiv.org related to red rain.
- Tribune 2 June 2006 – Tribune article
- Horizon, 14 November 2006
- The Extraordinary Tale of Red Rain, Comets and Extraterrestrials,1 September 2010
- Panspermia theorists say India's red rain contains life not seen on Earth, 3 September 2010
- India’s Red Rain: Still Cloudy With a Chance of Alien?, September 2010