Earth 2.0

By Kent Kunefke

A huge blunder by the Space Force leads to the discovery of a hidden planet in Earth's orbit directly behind the Sun. A huge blunder by the Space Force leads to the discovery of a hidden planet in Earth's orbit directly behind the Sun. Follow Jack, Adam, and Ruby as they explore this wonderful new world.

A team is quickly assembled and lau

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scriptor House
• Release date: Apr 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798886922363

Kent Kunefke

Raised in a small southeast Texas town, Kent Kunefke grew up in a little Baptist church at a wonderful time of moon landings and dinosaur discoveries. From an early age, Kent was curious about everything and questioned just about everything but still held strong to his Christian upbringing and the belief that God created the Heavens and the Earth. He was always a free thinker and therefore struggled with his deep seeded religion and natural science most of his life. Not willing to give up either, Kent eventually found a compromise for himself between the two philosophies and wants to shared his own thoughts with the world.

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© 2024 Kent Kunefke. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by Scriptor House LLC

Paperback ISBN: 979-8-88692-235-6

eBook ISBN: 979-8-88692-236-3

Hardback ISBN: 979-8-88692-247-9

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

To my wife, Brenda, thank you for a lifetime of memories.

Now, let’s go make some more.

Love, Kent

THE HIDDEN PLANET

September 14, 2075

"Well, they did it again! Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of ‘They Did What!’. I’m Jack Johannason. Now, let’s get right into it. Most of you probably don’t remember back in the middle of the global Covid-19 pandemic, on Christmas Day, 2021 when NASA launched the ten-million-dollar Webb space telescope but I do. Probably not, but I do. Mainly because my dad ranting and raving about it for days. I was just a boy but I distinctly remember my dad talking about the laundry list of other ways we could have better spent the money at that time. Anyway, we’ve all seen the pretty pictures that the Webb telescope sends back of distant stars and galaxies that we can’t get to. Absolutely amazing!

Well, the Space Force launched a telescope very similar to Webb on April 1, 2032 and they lost it! They did what!

You heard right. On April 1, 2032, a twelve-billion-dollar telescope was lost just a few days after it was launched. April Fool’s Day, how appropriate is that? Anyway, some booster farted a blast in the wrong direction or at the wrong time or for too long and the telescope went tumbling off into space. Why didn’t we know about it? The government didn’t tell you. That’s why! They didn’t tell you they were building it and they certainly didn’t tell you they lost it! Hell, it doesn’t even have a name! But now, they have to tell you because that same telescope just made the biggest discovery of the century, and maybe, the millennium.

You heard it here first! Very little is known right now and I have a lot of work to do but I promise you I will bring it all to you in the weeks to come. For now, the take away is - we have a new planet!

Here is what I do know. The once lost Space Force telescope has discovered a planet hidden directly behind the sun from Earth in the same orbit as Earth at something called Lagrange Point 3 or L3. A small fraction of astronomers, and I mean a very small fraction, like less than 2% of astronomers have long since theorized such a hidden planet could exist. And it does!

It took 36 years and a twenty-seven year old college grad student to find it. Purely by accident, Ruby Willis, an MIT grad student, was turning the Webb telescope to look at the black hole in the center of the Andromeda galaxy but a bright glare was distorting her view. At first, she thought she may have stumbled on a supernova somewhere far beyond Andromeda. So, she began focusing deeper into intergalactic space but the image just became more distorted. Ruby reversed direction and started pulling the focus back into the Milky Way. It turns out that the object is much closer than she ever expected. Once Ruby focused on the object, she immediately recognized it as the Space Force telescope. The Dean of the MIT Astronomy department, Dr. Robert White, confirmed Ruby’s observation. Following standard procedures, they contacted the Keck observatory in Hawaii. In just a matter of minutes, Keck confirmed their findings. The Space Force telescope is in an orbit around the sun almost halfway to Mars.

Here’s the piss-off – Willis and White tried to do the right thing and contacted the Space Force Headquarters in Colorado. They met with some very unusual resistance when inquiring about the telescope. After their brush off at Space Force, Ruby traveled to the refurbished Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to try to establish contact with the Space Force telescope.

Ruby isn’t a grad student at MIT by coincidence. She is not only book smart with degrees in astrophysics, botany, and zoology but she’s street smart too. She called me and told me what she was going to try to do the day she arrived in Puerto Rico. Ruby was going to try to hack into the Space Force Telescope and see if she could move it. Ten days later, Ruby called me again had some jaw dropping news. She spotted a planet peeking out from behind the sun just before she got locked out and snapped a blurry picture of it. Ruby was arrested by the Space Force the very next day. Ruby knew the hack was illegal and she might face some severe charges but she also knew what she saw.

I’m not exactly sure why Ruby called me but I’m glad she did. But right now, I gotta go bail her out, so, I will have to sign off. Tune in next week to ‘They Did What!’ for more on this crazy story. Jack Johannason, IAM-TV. Good night, folks."

September 21, 2075

"It’s official folks! We’ve got another planet! Welcome to this special edition of ‘They Did What!’ Hi, I’m Jack Johannason and let’s get right to it. Last week I told you about a new planet being discovered. I have many new details to bring to you. Scientists are already calling the newly discovered planet Theia. This is the image Ruby Willis, the MIT grad student that discovered the planet, snapped just before the Space Force killed her connection with the telescope.

Here is what I know about Theia. Theia was theorized to have been a small protoplanet that hit Earth 4.5 billion years ago in a glancing blow and created the moon. Most of Theia was swallowed up by Earth except for the debris which coalesced to form the moon. Wrong!

Just in the last week, scientists dug up an old theory that was tossed aside decades ago. Theia was not a glancing blow and it wasn’t a small planet. Earth was hit almost head on by Theia and yes, the moon was formed from the debris. But instead of it being a small planet, Theia was probably about the same size as the Earth was then or even much bigger.

The planet on the far-side of the sun is a little smaller than Earth and appears to have a small moon. Perhaps Theia slammed into Earth and bounced backward or knocked Earth into its current position. Similar to two spinning pool balls. We will never know exactly what happened. It’s not even possible to prove the new planet is Theia or not. It will take a long time to determine if any of this is even possible. Hell, for all we know this is Theia and that is Earth.

Tune in next week and I should have more details for you. I am Jack Johannason and this has been ‘They Did What?’ only on IAM-TV. The only news broadcast station brings you the absolute truth. Both sides of the story, both sides of the argument. You decide. Good night."

September 28, 2075

"You did it! All charges against Ruby Willis have been dropped. This is IAM-TV and you’re watching ‘They Did What!’. I’m Jack Johannason.

Ruby Willis is being hailed as a hero. The outcry by you, America, has forced the USSF to drop all charges and admit to at least some of the cover-up. In exchange for all the information regarding the Space Force telescope and Theia, Ruby Willis will go free. She will be joining me in a moment in an interview with Kitty Collins right here on IAM-TV.

The Space Force has finally given the once lost telescope a name. It is now the Kennedy telescope or the JFK telescope. It is named after President John F. Kennedy. It’s not a bad name but talk about your lack of imagination! There are dozens, if not hundreds of names they could have picked from.

Here’s your ‘They Did What!’ moment. The United States Space Force and NASA collaborated to cover-up the loss of the Kennedy space telescope.

The entire astrological community has always been very aware of the Space Force telescope but were denied access to it because it is a military asset. Everyone involved in the construction and launch of the telescope has been sworn to secrecy and the telescope itself has been deemed confidential. Scientists just always assumed that the telescope is being partially used as a spy satellite or something and let it pass. That sort of thing happens all the time. But they know what it looks like and what it is supposed to do. NASA and the Space Force have been collectively providing pictures from the Webb and Sagan telescopes for 16 years and passing them off as the Space Force telescope’s images. That and some advanced CGI have kept the cover-up going for all this time.

OK. So, by now, you have probably all seen the fuzzy picture of Theia. I will be joining my wife, Kitty Collins, and Ruby Willis on IAM Tonight when we come back to talk about the picture and the events leading to the discovery of Theia."

IAM Tonight with Kitty Collins

Good evening and welcome to IAM Tonight. I’m Kitty Collins. Jack will be joining me tonight to talk about the new planet with astronomy rock star, Ruby Willis. Kitty Collins announces.

Good evening, Ruby and welcome to the show or should I call you Professor Willis? Kitty begins.

Good evening. Thanks for having me. Ruby replies.

Do you mind if I call you Ruby? Kitty asks again.

Oh! Yes. Please do. Ruby says.

So, are you a professor? Kitty asks.

I guess you could call me a professor. I do teach classes in Calculus and Physics and I lead a group discussion in Differential Analysis which is mostly a think tank and doesn’t provide any college credits. Ruby answers.

Wow! So, Professor it is! Kitty exclaims.

No. Please call me Ruby. Ruby says shyly.

I told you, Babe. She is crazy smart! Jack adds.

I assume you know Jack and I are married... Kitty asks Ruby.

Yeah. Ruby says.

I call Kitty my next ex. Jack laughs.

Kitty rolls her eyes and shakes her head as the audience laughs. OK. So, Ruby it is. What were you expecting to find the night you discovered Theia? Kitty asks trying to get on with the interview.

Do you mean the night I spotted telescope or Theia? Ruby asks.

Good point. Let’s start with the telescope. Kitty replies. That way our audience can get the whole picture.

Well, I was actually directing the Webb telescope to study the center of the Andromeda galaxy. I had looked at it before so when I connected to the Webb, I just dialed in the previous coordinates and the telescope started adjusting to them. It usually takes several minutes for this to happen and I make the final movements to focus on the objects I want to observe, so I was preparing some other instruments while Webb was turning and didn’t notice the glare from the JFK, that’s what they are calling the Space Force telescope now. Ruby explains.

When you looked did look through the Webb telescope, what did you see? Kitty prompts.

Well, you actually look through the telescope itself because it’s in space but all there was on the monitor was nothing but a huge glare coming from the upper right quarter of the screen. Ruby explains further.

Well yes, you don’t actually look directly through the telescope itself. Good point. Kitty quips obviously more than a little irritated by the minor correction.

I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to... Ruby begins to apologies.

Oh no. That’s quite alright. I would imagine a lot of people watching don’t know much about the Webb telescope and that gets them off on the right foot? Kitty stops her realizing that Ruby was technically correct.

It’s just that we are trained to be very detailed and as accurate as possible to avoid any minor assumptions even though most of what we do is pure assumption. We call it the astrology paradox. Ruby explains even further.

So, you had a big glare? Jack jumps in.

Yes, and since it wasn’t in the middle of the screen, I knew it wasn’t coming from the Andromeda black hole. Ruby responds. The computer puts you right on any space object that has been logged previously and I have been studying the black hole for several weeks now. She adds.

What did you think it was? Jack asks.

Well, my first thoughts and fears were that the telescope had been damaged. I should have been seeing a clean picture of Andromeda. With a few minor movements I determined the telescope seemed to be functioning properly. Then the thought popped into my head that maybe it was a star going nova causing the glare. Ruby continues.

A star exploding. Kitty adds.

Yes. So, I turned the Webb to center up on the object causing the glare. The entire screen went almost totally a bright yellowish white. But that would be what you would see from a nova or supernova so I switched on some filters and proceeded to focus in on the object that I originally thought was either in the Andromeda galaxy or somewhere beyond that. Ruby tells them.

But the glare wasn’t coming from anything anywhere near that far away, was it? Kitty directs.

No. As a matter of fact it was coming from something much close than I ever imagined. Ruby confirms. It’s crazy how many things can go through your mind in a matter of seconds. I began to imagine I was looking at an object in the Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt. She elaborates.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You just blasted right past a lot of us. Jack exclaims. "Tommy, can we get some sort of graphic up here to show everyone what she is referring to? He directs the television crew.

We can do better than that. A muffled voice says from off camera. And a few seconds later a picture pops up on the studio monitors.

Don’t you just love live TV? Kitty laughs. Ruby, would you mind telling us what we are looking at here. She asks.

Ruby walks over to one of the monitors and begins. This is the Andromeda galaxy and this one is our galaxy, the Milky Way. Somewhere right about here is our solar system. Ruby instructs.

Just then the monitor switches to a graphic of the solar system. Oh! Great! Ruby says as she looks around and starts to describe the picture on the screen. This huge ball of asteroids, comets, and ice is the Oort cloud. The little ring in the middle is the Kuiper belt where Pluto is. And inside the ring is all the planets and the sun. she continues to explain.

Do I get college credits for this? Jack blurts out and the audience laughs.

The screen changes again and a picture of the inner solar system appears. Wow! He’s good! Are you reading my mind or something? So, that first night, I kept pulling the focus back and from one click of the mouse to the next, there was the Space Force telescope. It is orbiting right about here. Ruby says as she points to an area on the map between Earth and Mars.

Halfway to Mars! Jack squawks.

Not quite that far. It’s about two million miles from Earth close to Lagrange Point 5, Mars’ orbit is over thirty-five million miles away. Ruby responds.

OK, Now I’m getting schooled. Jack laughs. So, when I’m wrong, I admit it. I said a few weeks ago on my spot that the telescope was halfway to Mars. I stand corrected. Its only a million or so miles from where it should be. Jack says smugly.

So, you focused on the Space Force telescope and recognized it how? Kitty asks Ruby.

There are several artist representations of it and thousands of other things in orbit around Earth from satellites to asteroids to space junk. Ruby responds. Plus, Bobby confirmed it and he was on the team during part of the design. She added.

Bobby? Do you mean Dr. White, the Dean of the Astronomy Department at MIT? Kitty explains.

Yes. Ruby answers. Next, Dr. White and I contacted the Keck in Hawaii and gave them the coordinates. An hour later it was confirmed, it is the Space Force telescope which is called the Kennedy telescope or the JFK for short now. The next morning, Dr. White and I called the Space Force but they transferred us to four different people before we finally got to General Adams that took down the information and said he would be getting back to us. He never did. A week later I went to Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. I actually called Jack from the airport. Ruby tells them.

That’s when you hacked into the Space Force computer system and established contact with the JFK, right? Jack says.

Right. But I was only in the files long enough to get the telescope contact codes. As soon as I had them, I used the Arecibo Observatory to actually move the telescope. I was just trying to turn it around so the sun shields would be in the right orientation when I caught the image of Theia. Two seconds later, both systems went black and I knew I was caught. The Arecibo Observatory had already recorded the image though and I was able to download it before they showed up to arrest me. Thank you so much for coming to my rescue and thank you America for convincing them to drop the charges. I was afraid I was going to be in a federal prison for who knows how long in a cell with some sort of foreign terrorist or something. Ruby confided.

Oh, I don’t think it was ever that bad. Jack argued. You may have received a pretty hefty fine though. he conceded.

I don’t know. It sure didn’t feel that way to me. Thank you so much! Ruby repeats.

By now, Ruby has gone into full professor mode and is getting very relaxed with the studio. Tommy, would you mind bringing up the graphic I brought? she asks. A few seconds later a blurry blob shows up on the monitor.

That’s it? Kitty asks.

Yes, that’s it. Ruby responds.

How can you tell it is a planet? Kitty prompts.

I guess because I’m used to looking at images like this all the time. Ruby says.

Well, we can do better than that, right? I mean, this is IAM-TV! Kitty exclaims and the studio audience cheers.

A clear picture pops up that at first glance could have been a shot of Earth from the moon. But upon further inspection it obviously isn’t the Earth because the planet has a small moon on the left side of the screen.

Is that Theia? Ruby squeals.

That’s what I was told by General Adams. Kitty confirms.

Seriously? That’s the new planet? Jack asks. How did you get this picture? he questions Kitty.

I have a few connections too you know. Kitty jokes.

How do you know this isn’t just another CGI enhanced fake? Jack questions further very skeptically.

I knew you would go there. Tommy, can we pull it back and show the whole image? Kitty requests. A few seconds later the picture zooms out and the sun dominates the screen. A filter is added and two comparably small specs of light can be seen. I am told that what looks like a big star is Theia and the larger one on the right of the sun is Venus. And Dr. White at MIT confirmed for us that it checks out that it came from where the JFK is orbiting. Kitty tells Jack.

But couldn’t it... Jack begins.

And because I knew you still wouldn’t believe it, here is Dr. White to explain. Kitty finishes. The screen splits and Dr. White appears beside the image wearing a shirt covered in quails.

Hello Dr. White. Thank you for joining us. Kitty announces. "Before you tell us what we