Huge UFO flying over Overland Park, Kansas 29-Jul-2015

Here’s a new video of a big unidentified flying object flying across the night sky above Overland Park in Kansas. This happened on 29th July 2015.

Witness report: 

1) I happened to be visiting FACEBOOk group at the precise moment when [JP] and [MW] were looking for witnesses on something they were spotting at that time. I asked in what direction to look, so, since I live in Metro Area of KC., and I had my Night Vision ready, I proceeded to film at 11:05 PM CT 
2) I originally spotted this ufo with the naked eye, as soon as I went out and then proceeded to look for it through my eye piece in my Night Vision camera. 
3) Well my first thought was it could or could not be a UFO, because the 1st couple of seconds it was flying in a straight-line path. Then suddenly, after asking for a validation, as if it wanted to make itself known by increasing it’s size, it “Power-up,” a term used in Dr Greer CE-5 groups to get bigger and brighter as a indication to validate it’s existence! 
4) The object looks like a fireball aka ball of light, or Orb of light. It actions were the following: flying, 45 degree angels turns, increased in size and decreased in size, the intensity of light was much brighter, and closer, than a satellite. speed to the point it was hardly visual and then suddenly fly towards me. 
5) My feels are of content and recognition. Though I do not feel to comfortable when they make the attempt to come closer as they have in two separate instances in the past of these particular crafts. 
6) Lost sight because it disappeared over the trees!  

Author (source: MUFON)

31-07-2015 om 20:48 geschreven door peter  

Stephen Hawking: Did He Change His Tune On Extraterrestrials?

The alien history of planet earth is deeper than we could ever imagine. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has cautioned people that no one would want to meet extraterrestrial creatures. On Monday, however, Dr. Hawking tossed his support behind the $100-million Breakthrough Listen project of Russian tycoon Yuri Milner. This project plans to hunt space for signs of extraterrestrial life communication.

Things like this boggle the mind of course because these things make you oscillate from a sceptic to a believer and everywhere in-between. While he previously released statements regarding the cautions on communicating with the aliens before, provided they exist, would be devastating and catastrophic. However, it seems that curiosity has gotten him. On Monday, Dr. Hawking said that today is a time to commit to the search for the answer. He is referring about seeking life beyond Earth. Certainly, listening is different from speaking. As for the Breakthrough Listen project, it is not inclusive to new plans in broadcasting signals into space that would invite extraterrestrials to find people.

Both Mr. Milner and Hawking revealed that their ten-year project involves scanning for radio signals along with the world’s largest radio telescopes. It also includes listening to star system signals nearby earth and its one hundred closest galaxies. Breakthrough Listen is designed to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life that possibly exists in the Universe. It was being portrayed as the most all-inclusive search for alien communications. However, earth’s evidence that simple life can flourish in environments unfriendly to humans, as well as the sighting numerous planets orbiting stars, has added energy to the effort. The breakthrough of extrasolar planets has paved the way to estimate the Milky Way holding billions of planets routing within the habitable zone.

In a documentary of 2010 Discovery Channel, Hawkins said that if aliens visit humans, the result would be much as if Columbus landed in America – not good for Native Americans.

31-07-2015 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

Fleet of UFOs recorded near The Sun on 27th July 2015

New interesting video footage of a Fleet of UFOs recorded near The Sun on 27th July 2015.

Related posts:
Triangle – shaped fleet of UFOs recorded over Rockland, Main on 14th July 2015
Huge UFO sighting recorded near The Sun on 15th July 2015
UFO sighting recorded near The Sun on 9th May 2015
UFO sightings – Many Earth Size UFOs Recorded Near Sun on 15th January 2013

31-07-2015 om 20:22 geschreven door peter  

NASA believes there are more than a billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way

The discovery of the most Earth-like planet in the solar system by the NASA’s Kepler mission has sparked a lot of enthusiasm among the astronomers and other scientist’s but recent research suggests that there might be more planets that resemble Earth, on the brink of discovery. The scientists have already suggested in their reports in 2013 that there might be more than 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting around the habitable zones of sun-like stars. Now, NASA’s scientist, Natalie Batalha has said that there might be a billion Earths in the Milky Way galaxy alone. The new planet has been named Kepler 452b and at this moment little is known about it. Recently, it was reported that NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has discovered a bunch of new planets. Out of this lot, the scientists have indicated that Kepler 452b is most Earth-like planet that has ever been found outside the Solar system. All the information available is not a 100 per cent correct but estimates put the radius of the new planet to be about 60 per cent more than that of Earth.

The surface of Kepler 452b is probably rocky and it lies within the habitable zone of its parent star, much like the distance at which the Earth revolves around the Sun. Kepler 452b has not been seen by anyone yet and has been detected only by the Kepler telescope, the reason being that it is too far away. There are still speculations regarding the presence of atmosphere on Kepler 452b.

The surface of Kepler 452b is probably rocky and it lies within the habitable zone of its parent star, much like the distance at which the Earth revolves around the Sun. Kepler 452b has not been seen by anyone yet and has been detected only by the Kepler telescope, the reason being that it is too far away. There are still speculations regarding the presence of atmosphere on Kepler 452b.

The Christian Science Monitor reported,” The new Planet circles its sun-like star in an orbit that lasts 385 days, placing it firmly in the zone that scientists consider habitable-where temperatures are warm enough for there to be liquid water on the surface.” A lot of data is available for the scientists as the Kepler has been collecting data about these exoplanets for six years. Most of this data was not useful earlier because of the lack of technology that could decipher them, but now, the scientists are making full use of the technology to unveil new facts about these exoplanets.This data mainly reveals information about the planet’s age, composition, surface temperatures etc. The planets that show potential are then reassessed to make sure that they are really planets or not.The scientists at NASA are very confident of finding new planets like Earth and believe that they are getting closer and closer to it.

Image Credit: NASA Ames/W. Stenzel

{ http://www.bangalorean.net/  }

31-07-2015 om 01:20 geschreven door peter  

British War Planes Now Starting To Monitor UFO’s In The Sky

The MoD say that they have been carrying out military exercises at the same time as the UFO sightings – coincidence much?(RAF Voyager pictured) [GETTY]

So many UFO’s are now being seen around the world, is it any surprise then that Military Forces are now starting to send out planes to investigate these anomalies in the sky! No, it really isn’t – but will they admit that’s what they are doing, that’s the big question!?

The British Ministry Of Defence (MOD) recently confirmed that they were recently involved with managing some pretty intense training in the skies above Manchester and Liverpool, BUT at the same time numerous Orbs/UFO’s were seen in the same area at the time – could it be as we have stated before that the ET’s are watching us and possibly monitoring our weapons of war, or could it be that these British war planes were being sent out into the skies to monitor UFO’s?

Object: UFO spotted in the sky over Liverpool

It was reported to a newspaper how two orb-like objects were spotted hovering over Manchester and Liverpool.  The clear footage shows the unidentified object glowing as it floated above both cities.

It has now emerged that ‘apparently’ the British MOD may have been conducting military exercises at the same time, it has been claimed, however this seems like far to much of a coincidence and many people believe that the planes were sent out to ‘Monitor’ the UFO’s.

A few people in the area at the time witnessed the event unfolding in the sky.

UFO expert, Jenny Randles, told a local newspaper that she had seen several war planes in the area at the time the UFO’s were reported.  She said:

“Some kind of military exercise is happening because I have seen several big RAF Voyager aircraft pass right over here.

“They were routed from RAF Brize Norton well above the busy flight path into Ringway but well below the usual altitude for planes passing over on airways.

“The RAF jets were about 19,000 feet heading on a south-west to north-east course.

“These Voyagers are large aircraft based on the Airbus 330 and used for transport and refuel.” Said UFO researcher Jenny Randles.

A Taxi driver named Paul Douglas was apparently left stunned, after spotting the UFO flying high in the sky above Liverpool. Paul called it a ‘Mad’ looking UFO when he first reported it.  Days later another video popped up of the orb-like object hovering Manchester, just over 30 miles away, of what appeared to be the exact same UFO.

Paul Douglas told the Liverpool Echo:

“It was over the marina and it was just a mad object in the sky. It sort of looked like a drone but it also had three green lights on it.”

“It was hovering over the water and I tried to follow it in the car as I was coming down Upper Parliament Street.

“As it was hovering, the birds were making a funny noise and going a bit mad. Then after a couple of minutes it started going out towards the water again.

“It was pretty high in the sky as it was floating over the water. I went to the waterfront to ask two fishermen if they saw it as it moved on but they didn’t.”

A gentleman called Rick Power ALSO filmed the object and told Daily Star Newspaper: “I’ve never seen anything like it.” (please click HERE to see related Video/Article).

WHAT’S THAT? Rick Power caught this UFO hovering above Manchester [RICK POWER/TWITTER]

U.I.P SUMMARY – Surprise surprise, an MoD spokesman said it does not comment on specific military exercises and would not comment further.

The Voyager aircraft is primarily a refuelling plane in the British Airforce, however people have suggested that it was strange seeing these crafts flying low over the area where the UFO was seen, suggesting that it had perhaps been on some kind of surveillance role, to investigate what the unusual craft was in the sky’s above Manchester/Liverpool.

I personally once witnessed an Orb hovering up high in the sky above Bristol UK, and within ten minutes a military craft went by quickly in the night sky in a similar direction to the way that the Orb went. It was very obvious at the time the RAF (Royal Air Force) were investigating what this object was in the sky.

There have now been many reporting’s in the UK of British military planes and helicopters being seen in the area at the same time as some of these UFO’s in the skies above us…..It is very clear now that the British Military ARE in fact investigating UFO’s no matter how much they deny it!

MWV – U.I.P 

Please check out the below confrontation between a British Apache Helicopter and some ‘Balls of light’ in the sky’s above RENDLESHAM:

{  http://www.ufointernationalproject.com/ }

31-07-2015 om 01:11 geschreven door peter  

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What are the ‘blood trails’ on Saturn’s moon? Experts are stumped by mysterious arch-shaped red lines on Tethys' icy surface

• The Cassini probe spotted mysterious red lines on Tethys, several hundred miles long and only a few miles wide
• Scientists say they may be exposed ice with chemical impurities or the result of outgassing from inside Tethys
• Except for a few small craters on Saturn's moon Dione, reddish-tinted features are rare on other moons of Saturn

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Cassini has spotted mysterious red lines, several hundred miles long, scratched across the surface of Saturn's icy moon Tethys.

The unexplained arc-shaped 'blood trails' are among the most unusual colour features on Saturn's moons to be revealed by the probe.

Astronomers are baffled by their presence, with some suggesting they may be exposed ice containing chemical impurities, or the result of outgassing from inside Tethys.

  

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Unusual arc-shaped, reddish streaks cut across the surface of Saturn's ice-rich moon Tethys in this enhanced-color mosaic. The red streaks are narrow, curved lines on the moon's surface, only a few miles wide but several hundred miles long. The red streaks are among the most unusual color features on Saturn's moons to be revealed by Cassini's cameras

The colour images for this observation, taken in April, are the first to show large northern areas of Tethys under the lighting and viewing conditions needed to see the arcs clearly.

As the Saturn system moved into its northern hemisphere summer over the past few years, northern latitudes have become increasingly well illuminated.

As a result, the arcs - which are only a few miles wide - have become clearly visible for the first time.

'The red arcs really popped out when we saw the new images,' said Cassini participating scientist Paul Schenk of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.

  

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This mosaic of Saturn's icy moon Tethys shows a range of features on the moon's trailing hemisphere. Tethys is tidally locked to Saturn, so the trailing hemisphere is the side of the moon that always faces opposite its direction of motion as it orbits the planet

  

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With the expanded range of colors visible to Cassini's cameras, differences in materials and their textures become apparent that are subtle or unseen in natural color views. Here, the giant impact basin Odysseus on Saturn's moon Tethys stands out brightly from the rest of the illuminated icy crescent

'It's surprising how extensive these features are.'

The origin of the features and their reddish colour is a mystery to Cassini scientists.

Possibilities being studied include ideas that the reddish material is ice filled with impurities or substances that have come to the surface from inside Tethys.

They could also be associated with features like fractures that are below the resolution of the available images.

Except for a few small craters on Saturn's moon Dione, reddish-tinted features are rare on other moons of Saturn.

Many reddish features do occur, however, on the geologically young surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.

'The red arcs must be geologically young because they cut across older features like impact craters, but we don't know their age in years.' said Paul Helfenstein, a Cassini imaging scientist.

'If the stain is only a thin, coloured veneer on the icy soil, exposure to the space environment at Tethys' surface might erase them on relatively short time scales.'

The Cassini team is currently planning follow-up observations of the features, at higher resolution, later this year.

'After 11 years in orbit, Cassini continues to make surprising discoveries,' said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

'We are planning an even closer look at one of the Tethys red arcs in November to see if we can tease out the source and composition of these unusual markings.'

Tethys is a small moon 662 miles (1,066 km) in diameter that orbits 183,100 miles (294,660 km) from Saturn. This image shows terrain slightly farther to the southwest than images taken a couple of hours earlier

{ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

31-07-2015 om 01:00 geschreven door peter  

What sounds did NASA send to space to find alien life? It was not 'Shake It Off'

Sterilgutassistentin/Wikimedia Commons            

For almost 30 years, NASA has had a collection of sounds floating through space, trying to make contact with alien life.

But what did the scientists think would make a connection with extra-terrestrials? Their choices may surprise you.

Sounds like Morse Code, dogs barking, a train and even a baby cooing and crying were sent into space on the "Golden Record," the sounds that were sent on the Voyager spacecraft that launched in 1977, The Next Web reported.

And now you can hear the high quality recordings yourself.

Click here or listen below.

{http://www.ajc.com/ }

31-07-2015 om 00:38 geschreven door peter  

Researchers discover what was located on top of the Great Pyramid

The investigations of renowned Spanish architect Miguel Pérez-Sánchez that lasted over ten years, enabled him to rebuild via computer models, with great accuracy, the pyramid of Cheops and determine that it was "crowned" by a sphere of 2 meters in diameter.

The Great Pyramid, the most important building of the Old Kingdom, was the first of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and it is the only one that remains standing today, devoid of its original coating blocks of white limestone and lacking its summit which gave the pyramid another 9 meters in height. Now researchers know the exact shape of the object placed on top of the pyramid.

The sphere located at the top of the pyramid, as proposed by Pérez-Sánchez, symbolized the Eye of Horus and had a diameter of 2,718 royal cubits (2.7 meters), which is the accurate measure of the number e.

The sphere located on the Pyramid was proportionate with the Sun and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which was associated with Isis.

Pérez-Sánchez had the support of a multidisciplinary team in his investigation, which allowed them to draw the pyramid on computer with an accuracy of 4 decimals (3.1416) representing "100 times the usual precision in architecture". 

The three-dimensional drawing of the Great Pyramid has revealed its original measurements, analyzing it has allowed researchers to understand the historical significance of the monument. In addition of the sphere located on top of the pyramid, missing today, analysis enabled researchers to find out the inclination angle 51,84º, the platform that supported the sphere with a pi perimeter of royal cubits; and the height of the pyramidal vertex of 277 778 cubits, equal to the quotient of dividing 1,000,000 between 3,600. According to Pérez-Sánchez, the discovery of the original shape and dimensions of the Great Pyramid, its reconstruction and analysis has revealed an architecture made of pure mathematics, geometry, geodesy and astronomy.

An old image of the top of the Great Pyramid

The original surface of the pyramid, now in ruins, was 100,000 times the number pi (π) 3000 years ahead of the understanding of π.

The ancient Egyptians that planned the Pyramid had an incredible scientific knowledge, understanding the Pythagorean Theorem two millennia ahead of time, a precision in the definition of pi with 6 decimals 3 millennia ahead of its time, including the knowledge of the number e, and the accurate measures of the Earth, Sun and Sirius anticipated over 4 millennia.

The geodesic dependence of the Great Pyramid has been confirmed by scaling relations based on the sexagesimal system: The planetary meridian can be obtained as 43,200 times the perimeter of the base in contact with the ground; the polar radius as 43,200 times the total height of the monument, and the average perimeter of the Earth as 21,600 times the total perimeter of the base. "

Thanks to the astronomical data provided by Plutarch, researchers managed to place the incredible monument in its historical context understanding why Pharaoh Khufu had commissioned these incredible projects. 

This is believed to be the reason thy, Snefru, father of Khufu, built during his reign, three pyramids in search for the "perfect pyramid" which explains the efforts of the architects of the Pyramid, to include within the Great Pyramid, their knowledge of the past.

More importantly, Pérez-Sánchez mentions the great Sphinx in his work, stating that "the Great Sphinx is not contemporary with the pyramids that surround it, but it is the product of a much earlier civilization that shaped and carved it around the eight millennium BC.

{ http://bizlifes.net/ }

31-07-2015 om 00:28 geschreven door peter  

You’ve Never Seen Pluto Like This Before

Using images taken by New Horizons during its historic mission to Pluto, NASA has assembled this simulation which shows two regions of the icy world.

{ http://sputniknews.com/ }

31-07-2015 om 00:18 geschreven door peter  

Gunung Padang, The Mysterious Ancient Pyramid In Indonesia That Is Rewriting History

(Graham Hancock) The archaeological establishment is scrambling to find some reason to reject and pour scorn on the extraordinary consequences of the excavations now taking place at Gunung Padang in Indonesia.

Since its first exploration by archaeologists in 1914 the site was thought to be a natural hill with 2500 year-old megalithic structures on top of it. But in 2010 geologist Dr Danny Hilman Natawidjaja (who earned his doctorate at Cal Tech) recognized this “hill” as a possible man-made pyramid and began to explore it using ground penetrating radar, seismic tomography, resistivity survey and other remote sensing techniques, as well as some direct excavations and deep core drilling.

The results were immediately intriguing (see this article I wrote in January for background: http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/HancockG9-Mystery-Lost-Civilization.php)
producing evidence of deeply buried man-made chambers and yielding carbon dates going back as far as 26,000 years. This was the last Ice Age when our ancestors are supposed (according to the orthodox archaeological model) to be have been nothing more than primitive hunter gatherers incapable of large-scale construction and engineering feats. Was it possible that geologist Natawidjaja was unearthing the proof of a lost advanced civilization of prehistoric antiquity? Such ideas are heresy to mainstream archaeologists and sure enough the archaeological establishment in Indonesia banded together against Dr Natawidjaja and his team, lobbied the political authorities, agitated locally and succeeded in slowing down, though not completely stopping, the further exploration of Gunung Padang.

Dr Natawidjaja fought back, doing some high-level lobbying of his own, taking the matter to the President of Indonesia himself. There were further delays to do with elections in Indonesia but just a couple of months ago, in mid-August 2014, the final obstacles were lifted and Dr Natawidjaja and his team moved back onto the Gunung Padang site with full approval to go ahead with their work, including permission to excavate the concealed chambers.

Artist’s impression of Gunung Padang as it would have looked in antiquity by and courtesy of architect Pon S Purajatnika. ©

Archaeologists were furious and immediately began lobbying to get the work stopped – fortunately to no avail as preliminary excavations have produced results that prove beyond doubt that Gunung Padang in indeed a man-made pyramid of great antiquity as Dr Natawidjaja had long ago proposed. Even the relatively young layer so far excavated (the second artificial columnar rock-layer beneath the megalithic site visible on the surface) has yielded dates of 5200 BC (nearly 3000 years older than the orthodox dating for the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt) and there are firm indications from the original remote sensing and core drilling work of much older layers below. In short, it is now evident to all that the site is vastly older than the 2500 years that archaeologists had insisted upon for decades. Even the most hostile amongst them are therefore now reframing their assessment of the site and referring to it as “a gigantic terraced tomb, which was part of the biggest megalithic culture in the archipelago.”

For a flavor of the sour grapes the archaeological establishment feel towards Dr Natawidjaja and his team see this recent article from the Jakarta Post:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/24/archaeologists-slam-excavation-gunung-padang-site.html

I asked Dr Natawidjaja for his response to the Jakarta Post article and he replied as follows:

• “The article has got the story all wrong.  All excavations were supervised by archeologists from Agency for Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites (BPCB) and University of Indonesia.  The excavation sites have also recently been inspected by the Director for Conservation of Archeological Sites (who is the boss of Miss Desril Shanti ), by the head of the BPCB, and by the Minister of Education and Culture himself.  Afterward, they gave a press conference confirming that all excavations are good and proper.  For information, the head of the National Archeological Center, which is the main office above local Archeological Centers including Bandung Archeological Center, is also a member of the National Team for Gunung Padang. The Jakarta Post article is also wrong about the funding.  The Minister of Education and Culture did indeed announce in the press conference that he would allocate about Rp 3 billion for the research but it has not begun to be disbursed yet.  So far, I and my team are still working willingly on our own funding with the help of the soldiers (TNI) who have been working alongside us.  Of course the TNI have their own funding – but not from that Endowment Fund.”

As to the progress of the work at Gunung Padang, Dr Natawidjaja writes as follows:

• “The research progress has been being great.  We have excavated three more spots right on top of the megalithic site in the past couple weeks, which give more evidence and details about the buried structures.  We have uncovered lots more stone artifacts from the excavations.  The existence of the pyramid-like structure beneath the megalithic site is now loud and clear; even for non-specialists, it is not too difficult  to understand if they come and see for themselves.    We have found some kind of open hall buried by soil 5-7 meters thick; however we have not yet got into the main chamber.  We are now drilling to the suspected location of the chamber (based on subsurface geophysic) in the middle of the megalithic site.”

Stay tuned for more news from the front line!

Source: Graham Hancock
Via: RMN

{ http://www.theeventchronicle.com/ }

30-07-2015 om 23:12 geschreven door peter  

Russian Major General: “UFO’s Are Real and We Know How to Summon Them!”

Russian Major General stated that they have the ability to summon UFOs. They observed an increase in UFO activity. These observations were made during the testing of large scale weapons.

Vasily Yeremenko added that the increased number of military flights and movement of the equipment can summon UFOs in Vladimirovka. The more they increase the number of military units, bigger chances are that UFO will show up.

According to Russians, up to this day modern science has been unsuccessful to recognize such phenomena. It is unclear if the UFOs are surveillance drones sent by the US or Japan. Lastly, UFOs could be a proof of extraterrestrial activity.

Media outlets made reports that the Russian Navy released to the public documents which detail many encounters with unidentified objects.

The former Navy officer and UFO researcher, Vladimir Azhazha revealed that half of UFO encounters are linked to the oceans or other water surfaces.

There has been one recorded incident when six unknown objects were chasing a nuclear submarine on a combat mission. The submarine had to surface and the objects followed and flew away.

Navy Intelligence Captain of 1st rank, Igor Barklayof concluded that Ocean UFOs appear at the location of NATO’s fleets. Atlantic Ocean, the Bermuda Triangle and the Caribbean Sea are the most common places of UFO sightings.

{ http://mirrorspectrum.com/ }

30-07-2015 om 22:55 geschreven door peter  

First Alien Auroras Found, Are 1 Million Times Brighter Than Any On Earth

Astronomers have discovered the first auroras ever seen outside the solar system — alien light shows more powerful than any other auroras ever witnessed, perhaps 1 million times brighter than any on Earth, researchers say.

An artist's concept of brilliant auroras on the brown dwarf LSR J1835+3259, a misfit failed star about 18.5 light-years from Earth. The auroras are the first ever detected beyond our own solar system.

Auroras could soon be detected from distant exoplanets as well, investigators added.

Auroras, the radiant displays of colors in the sky known on Earth as the northern or southern lights, are also seen on all of the other planets with magnetic fields in the solar system. They are caused by currents in the magnetosphere of a planet — the shell of electrically charged particles captured by a planet's magnetic field — that force electrons to rain down on the atmosphere, colliding with the molecules within and making them give off light. [Amazing Auroras on Earth in 2015 (Photos)]

To see if auroras might be seen outside the solar system, astronomers investigated a mysterious Jupiter-size object called LSR J1835+3259, located about 18.5 light-years from Earth. The object is a few dozen times more massive than Jupiter, suggesting it is too heavy to be a planet but too light to be a star, the researchers said.

They suggested that LSR J1835+3259 is a brown dwarf, a strange misfit object sometimes known as a failed star. As massive as brown dwarfs are compared to planets, they are too puny to force atoms to fuse together and release the nuclear energy that powers stars.

In 2001, scientists unexpectedly discovered that brown dwarfs could generate radio waves. "That was very surprising," said Gregg Hallinan, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and lead author of the new study. "Typically, we see radio waves from really active stars, not objects with much cooler temperatures like brown dwarfs," he told Space.com.

                                                                                             

Auroras detected on the brown dwarf LSR J1835+3259 are much brighter than auroras on Earth, possibly …

In 2008, Hallinan and his colleagues found that LSR J1835+3259 emitted radio waves in pulses. "We knew that radio pulses from planets in our own solar system were caused by aurorae, so we thought maybe brown dwarfs had aurorae too," he said.

Using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico to scan radio wavelengths of light, along with the Hale Telescope on Palomar Mountain in California and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to scan visible wavelengths of light, the researchers detected the telltale signs of auroras on LSR J1835+3259.

"If you were to somehow stand on the brown dwarf's surface and survive — the surface gravity is maybe 100 times more intense than Earth's, and the temperature is several hundred to several thousand degrees — you'd see a beautiful bright-red aurora," Hallinan said. "The colors of auroras depend on whatever the atmosphere they take place in is made of. In Earth's case, it's mostly green and blue and red because of oxygen and nitrogen. When it comes to Jupiter, Saturn and brown dwarfs — which have hydrogen-rich atmospheres — you'd see red, and there would be ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths as well."

Until now, the brightest known auroras came from Jupiter, which has the most powerful magnetic field in the solar system. In comparison, these newfound auroras are more than 10,000 times — and maybe 100,000 times — brighter than Jupiter's, Hallinan said. This is because LSR J1835+3259 has a magnetic field perhaps 200 times stronger than Jupiter's, he said.

It remains a mystery what might drive LSR J1835+3259's auroras. On Earth, auroras are driven by winds of electrically charged particles streaming from the sun, but this brown dwarf does not have a stellar companion.

One possibility is that LSR J1835+3259's auroras are driven by an Earth-size planet that generates strong currents in the brown dwarf's magnetosphere as it barrels through its magnetic field, Hallinan said. Auroras on Jupiter are driven, in part, by its moon Io plowing through Jupiter's magnetic field.

Another possibility is that electrically charged particles might rain down on the brown dwarf from above to drive the auroras. It remains uncertain where such particles might come from — perhaps interstellar gas and dust, or matter venting from a nearby volcanic planet, or plasma originally spewed upward from the brown dwarf itself, Hallinan said.

Hallinan and his colleagues have developed a new array of radio telescopes, the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array in California, dedicated to detecting far-off auroras. "We've already confirmed aurorae for a few more objects," Hallinan said. "Maybe 10 percent or higher of brown dwarfs may exhibit aurorae."

Moreover, Hallinan suggested that it may be possible to detect auroras from exoplanets circling other stars — specifically, gas giants larger than Jupiter with powerful magnetic fields. "Extrasolar aurorae could help us measure how strong the magnetic fields of extrasolar planets are," Hallinan said.

The scientists detail their findings in the July 30 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

• Aurora Photos: Amazing Northern Lights Display from Solar Storms
• Solar Storm Sets Off Vibrant Auroras Over Maine | Video
• Brown Dwarf Photos: Failed Stars and Stellar Misfits Revealed

Copyright 2015 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• Earth
• magnetic fields
• solar system
• brown dwarfs 

{ http://news.yahoo.com/ }

30-07-2015 om 22:34 geschreven door peter  

Neptune’s sudden jolt could explain weird ring in Kuiper belt

(Image: Detlev Van Ravenswaay/Science Photo Library)

BILLIONS of years ago, Neptune made one giant leap. This jump left behind a close-knit group of icy objects called the Kuiper belt kernel, 6.5 billion kilometres from the sun, according to a new study.

The Kuiper belt is a collection of icy planetesimals that sits beyond Neptune. Astronomers estimate that it has trillions of members, including dwarf planets like Pluto – remnants of the solar system’s formation more than 4 billion years ago that have hardly changed since.

Most of the Kuiper belt’s population is scattered far above and below the neat plane in which the planets lie. Members of the kernel, however, stick tightly to that plane and to each other. No one knew why, until David Nesvorny of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, made a simulation of them.

His simulation rewinds the solar system’s history, showing the kernel’s formative years (arxiv.org/abs/1506.06019). The kernel started life in Neptune’s gravitational clutches, but further from the sun. The planet slowly wandered outwards, and pushed these icy objects with it.

But, when it was 4.2 billion kilometres from our star, Neptune shifted its orbit suddenly, probably because of a close encounter with another planet. The kernel couldn’t keep up: the objects escaped Neptune and remained together, exactly where they were at the time.

Learning more about the Kuiper belt’s composition and how it is distributed can help us understand the solar system’s babyhood and how it matured. NASA’s New Horizons mission, which flew past Pluto last month and beamed us the first-ever close-up pictures of the dwarf planet, will help pin down these details.

“The Kuiper belt is a perfect clue to understanding how the solar system evolved since its formation,” says Nesvorny.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Neptune’s jump left a weird ring of icy bodies”

{ https://www.newscientist.com/ }

30-07-2015 om 22:24 geschreven door peter  

The Dismal Future of Interstellar Travel

I have been an avid science fiction reader all my life, but as an astronomer for over half my life, the essential paradox of my fantasy world can no longer be maintained. Basically, science tells us that traveling fast enough to make interstellar travel possible requires more money than society will ever be able to invest in the attempt.

Einstein's theory of special relativity works phenomenally well, with no obvious errors in the domain relevant to space travel. His more comprehensive theory of general relativity also works exceptionally well and offers no workable opportunity to "warp" space in a way that can be technologically applied to space travel without killing the traveler or incinerating the universe. Interstellar travel will be constrained by the reality of special relativity and general relativity, and there is no monkeying with Mother Nature to make science fiction a reality.

The Daedalus starship (Credit: Nick Stevens, www.starbase1.co.uk)

So the only way to get from here to Alpha Centauri is by the slow-boat method of some kind of kinetic or radiative propulsion. There are many workable ideas, such as ion drives, fusion drives and solar sails. In fact, the all-around best ready-to-go idea is the ion engine, which is an off-the-shelf  technology that has been used on many satellites and several spacecraft so far. With a small but constant thrust applied over months, years and decades, scaled-up versions of these systems could boost small payloads to over 10 percent of the speed of light in a few years, allowing travel times to Alpha Centauri and other nearby stars of as little as a century or less.

The Fly in the Ointment!

Andreas Hein, an engineer with the Icarus Interstellar Project, developed a rigorous method for forecasting the economics of interstellar travel, only to find that most economically plausible scenarios for a "Daedalus-type" mission would cost upwards of  $174 trillion and require  nearly 40 years of development and 0.4 percent of the world GDP. This would be for an unmanned, 50-year journey to Barnard's Star using "fusion drive" technology. It consists of 50,000 tons of fuel and 500 tons of scientific equipment. Top speed: 12 percent of the speed of light.

All plausible interstellar missions require travel times of decades or centuries, which means the complex technology must be 100-percent reliable and/or self-repairing. There can be essentially no moving parts, because friction would create wear and tear over decades and centuries of use.

It is entirely plausible to think about kilogram-sized payloads that can be boosted to near-relativistic speeds very economically, but this is impractical because at the distance of the nearest stars, you need a powerful and massive transmitter that can relay data back to Earth, or what is the point of the journey?  Even a Voyager-class spacecraft with, say, a "souped-up" megawatt radio transmitter could not be detected at Alpha Centauri by the largest Earth-based telescopes, even at data rates of 1 bit per year!  A laser-based system would be highly directional and could possibly do the trick, but it would weigh tons, not kilograms.

One option could be a sophisticated nanotechnology system with a mass of a few dozen kilograms that would arrive at its destination, find an asteroid to mine, and then build from scratch a much more massive system capable of carrying out the scientific investigation and relaying the data back to Earth. 

But the concept of sending humans to the stars makes no sense technologically, or at an economic scale that would interest humanity as it is currently constituted. Even if we were at the brink of extinction, do you really think that 7 or 10 billion humans would want to foot the bill and the decades-long effort to send a few lucky humans on a one-way trip to a distant planet -- that may not even be habitable?

So What Do We Do?

Our solar system is vast, and a big-enough playground for human exploration to last us for centuries. It is technologically accessible to us even today, as the numerous unmanned spacecraft and robotic systems clearly show. There are many scenarios that can be planned over decadal or century timescales that would have human outposts and colonies on just about every interesting body in the solar system, from planetary surfaces and the surfaces of their moons to asteroids and comets.

But is manned exploration the only way to go for now? Absolutely not!

When you subtract manned exploration, which is hugely expensive, and replace it with robotic rovers that relay high-definition images back to Earth, all of humanity can participate in their own personal and virtual exploration of space, not just a few astronauts or colonists. The Apollo program gave us 12 astronauts walking on the lunar surface, a huge milestone for humanity, but today we can do the Apollo program all over again and augment it with  a virtual, shared experience involving billions of people! This is the wave of the future for space exploration, because it is technologically doable today and scalable at ridiculously low cost per human involved. NASA's Curiosity rover is only the Model-T vanguard of this new approach to human exploration.  More sophisticated versions will eventually explore the subsurface ocean of Europa and the river systems on the "Earth-like" world of Titan -- perhaps by the end of this century!

Robotic exploration of the solar system is now in full-swing! (Credit: NASA/Curiosity)

I know this robotic vision of human exploration doesn't match up with the Star Trek or Babylon 5 versions of the future, where flesh-and-blood humans explore the galaxy in starships. As an avid science fiction reader, I too am pissed that we live in a universe where star travel seems permanently beyond reach in any kind of human future that makes scientific or economic sense. But this is the deck of cards that we are dealt. We can pine away for a mythical future of interstellar colonization, but that will be a reality for a future humanity that looks nothing like our civilization, perhaps driven by extinction to help focus the resources toward that goal.

Meanwhile, if you want any kind of space exploration that matters within the next century or beyond, it will be robotic, virtual, and involve billions of people, not just a few very lucky travelers -- so what's wrong with that?

30-07-2015 om 22:14 geschreven door peter  

Researchers demonstrate the world's first white lasers

This schematic illustrates the novel nanosheet with three parallel segments created by the researchers, each supporting laser action in one of three elementary colors. The device is capable of lasing in any visible color, completely tunable 

More luminous and energy efficient than LEDs, white lasers look to be the future in lighting and light-based wireless communication. 

While lasers were invented in 1960 and are commonly used in many applications, one characteristic of the technology has proven unattainable. No one has been able to create a laser that beams white light.

Researchers at Arizona State University have solved the puzzle. They have proven that semiconductor lasers are capable of emitting over the full visible color spectrum, which is necessary to produce a white laser.

The researchers have created a novel nanosheet – a thin layer of semiconductor that measures roughly one-fifth of the thickness of human hair in size with a thickness that is roughly one-thousandth of the thickness of human hair – with three parallel segments, each supporting laser action in one of three elementary colors. The device is capable of lasing in any visible color, completely tunable from red, green to blue, or any color in between. When the total field is collected, a white color emerges.

The researchers, engineers in ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, published their findings in the July 27 advance online publication of the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Cun-Zheng Ning, professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, authored the paper, "A monolithic white laser," with his doctoral students Fan Fan, Sunay Turkdogan, Zhicheng Liu and David Shelhammer. Turkdogan and Liu completed their doctorates after this research.

The technological advance puts lasers one step closer to being a mainstream light source and potential replacement or alternative to light emitting diodes (LEDs). Lasers are brighter, more energy efficient, and can potentially provide more accurate and vivid colors for displays like computer screens and televisions. Ning's group has already shown that their structures could cover as much as 70 percent more colors than the current display industry standard.

Another important application could be in the future of visible light communication in which the same room lighting systems could be used for both illumination and communication. The technology under development is called Li-Fi for light-based wireless communication, as opposed to the more prevailing Wi-Fi using radio waves. Li-Fi could be more than 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi, and white laser Li-Fi could be 10 to 100 times faster than LED based Li-Fi currently still under development.

"The concept of white lasers first seems counterintuitive because the light from a typical laser contains exactly one color, a specific wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum, rather than a broad-range of different wavelengths. White light is typically viewed as a complete mixture of all of the wavelengths of the visible spectrum," said Ning, who also spent extended time at Tsinghua University in China during several years of the research.

In typical LED-based lighting, a blue LED is coated with phosphor materials to convert a portion of the blue light to green, yellow and red light. This mixture of colored light will be perceived by humans as white light and can therefore be used for general illumination.

Sandia National Labs in 2011 produced high-quality white light from four separate large lasers. The researchers showed that the human eye is as comfortable with white light generated by diode lasers as with that produced by LEDs, inspiring others to advance the technology.

This photo collage, supplied by the researchers, shows the mixed emission color from a multi-segment nanosheet in the colors of red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta and white. The top dots in each photograph are the direct image of laser 

"While this pioneering proof-of-concept demonstration is impressive, those independent lasers cannot be used for room lighting or in displays," Ning said. "A single tiny piece of semiconductor material emitting laser light in all colors or in white is desired." 

Semiconductors, usually a solid chemical element or compound arranged into crystals, are widely used for computer chips or for light generation in telecommunication systems. They have interesting optical properties and are used to make lasers and LEDs because they can emit light of a specific color when a voltage is applied to them. The most preferred light emitting material for semiconductors is indium gallium nitride, though other materials such as cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide also are used for emitting visible colors.

The main challenge, the researchers noted, lies in the way light emitting semiconductor materials are grown and how they work to emit light of different colors. Typically a given semiconductor emits light of a single color – blue, green or red – that is determined by a unique atomic structure and energy bandgap.

The "lattice constant" represents the distance between the atoms. To produce all possible wavelengths in the visible spectral range you need several semiconductors of very different lattice constants and energy bandgaps.

"Our goal is to achieve a single semiconductor piece capable of laser operation in the three fundamental lasing colors. The piece should be small enough, so that people can perceive only one overall mixed color, instead of three individual colors," said Fan. "But it was not easy."

"The key obstacle is an issue called lattice mismatch, or the lattice constant being too different for the various materials required," Liu said. "We have not been able to grow different semiconductor crystals together in high enough quality, using traditional techniques, if their lattice constants are too different."

The most desired solution, according to Ning, would be to have a single semiconductor structure that emits all needed colors. He and his graduate students turned to nanotechnology to achieve their milestone.

The key is that at nanometer scale larger mismatches can be better tolerated than in traditional growth techniques for bulk materials. High quality crystals can be grown even with large mismatch of different lattice constants.

Recognizing this unique possibility early on, Ning's group started pursuing the distinctive properties of nanomaterials, such as nanowires or nanosheets, more than 10 years ago.  He and his students have been researching various nanomaterials to see how far they could push the limit of advantages of nanomaterials to explore the high crystal quality growth of very dissimilar materials.

Six years ago, under U.S. Army Research Office funding, they demonstrated that one could indeed grow nanowire materials in a wide range of energy bandgaps so that color tunable lasing from red to green can be achieved on a single substrate of about one centimeter long. Later on they realized simultaneous laser operation in green and red from a single semiconductor nanosheet or nanowires. These achievements triggered Ning's thought to push the envelope further to see if a single white laser is ever possible.

Blue, necessary to produce white, proved to be a greater challenge with its wide energy bandgap and very different material properties.

"We have struggled for almost two years to grow blue emitting materials in nanosheet form, which is required to demonstrate eventual white lasers, " said Turkdogan, who is now assistant professor at University of Yalova in Turkey.

After exhaustive research, the group finally came up with a strategy to create the required shape first, and then convert the materials into the right alloy contents to emit the blue color. Turkdogan said, "To the best of our knowledge, our unique growth strategy is the first demonstration of an interesting growth process called dual ion exchange process that enabled the needed structure."

This strategy of decoupling structural shapes and composition represents a major change of strategy and an important breakthrough that finally made it possible to grow a single piece of structure containing three segments of different semiconductors emitting all needed colors and the white lasers possible. Turkdogan said that, "this is not the case, typically, in the material growth where shapes and compositions are achieved simultaneously."

While this first proof of concept is important, significant obstacles remain to make such white lasers applicable for real-life lighting or display applications. One of crucial next steps is to achieve the similar white lasers under the drive of a battery. For the present demonstration, the researchers had to use a laser light to pump electrons to emit light. This experimental effort demonstrates the key first material requirement and will lay the groundwork for the eventual white lasers under electrical operation. t

More information:                                       

"A monolithic white laser." Nature Nanotechnology (2015) DOI:0.1038/nnano.2015.149   

{ http://phys.org/ }                                 

30-07-2015 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious radio bursts from space follow a mathematical pattern

It could very well turn out that the mysterious radio signals that we have been intercepting for 15 years are Alien messages.

It seems that researchers have found out that the mysterious radio signals that they have been received in the recent past follow a mathematical pattern and, according to experts, if this pattern is real as they think, it would mean that these bursts are of artificial nature, produced by otherworldly technology. Does this mean Extraterrestrial civilizations do exist? It's not a certainty, but it is a possibility.

Radio Telescopes across the globe have been picking up mysterious signals ever since the 2000's. These strange "bursts" last only a couple of milliseconds but are extremely powerful, they seem to produce as much energy as our sun produces in a month.

The most recent radio signal detected was the one in 2014. The Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia recorded a mysterious radio burst in real-time. This mysterious signal, like all the signals prior to this, have left researchers baffled. Better yet, all of these signals seem to follow a mathematical pattern.

So what does this mean, "mathematical pattern"?

Well, it means that we have detected 10 fast bursts of radio waves from somewhere in the universe since 2001. The strange part about all of the fast bursts of radio waves is the delay between the arrival of the first and last waves of every burst is always close to a multiple of 187.5 and that is freaky and unexplainable so far. Science cannot explain this as no known natural process can create something like that. 

Its something incredible

Researchers say that there is a 5 in a 10,000 probability that what we are detecting in a coincidence. According to John Learned, "if this pattern is real, it is very, very hard to explain.”

“Beacon from extraterrestrials” has always been on the list of weird possible origins for these bursts. “These have been intriguing as an engineered signal, or evidence of extraterrestrial technology, since the first was discovered,” says Jill Tarter, former director of the SETI Institute in California. “I’m intrigued. Stay tuned.

So what causes the fast bursts of radio waves? Are these mysterious signals caused by a natural phenomena in the universe? If so, how is it possible that they follow such a specific mathematical pattern? But if they are not of a natural origin, is it possible that this is the ultimate evidence suggesting that we are not alone in the universe?

{ http://www.ewao.com/ }

30-07-2015 om 20:58 geschreven door peter  

Underwater Extraterrestrials: Declassified Russian Navy Records Say They’re Real

Unidentified submerged objects (USOs) are not as famous as UFOs although they are often encountered, according to declassified Russian Navy records. The common trait of all USO phenomena is that they involve unexplained and technologically advanced objects, far superior to anything we’ve ever built.

The recently declassified documents contain Soviet era reports detailing many cases of possible USO encounters. Former naval officer and Russian UFO researcher Vladimir Azhazha believes these documents are of great value. One of the most interesting cases he examined involved a nuclear submarine on a combat mission in the Southern Pacific. During the routine operation, the submarine detected six unknown objects travelling in formation at speeds in excess of 230 knots (265+ mph). In comparison, the fastest submarine was the Soviet K-222, which reached about 44 knots (51 mph).

The submarine’s sonar determined the objects were heading straight for it so the captain gave the order to surface. The USOs followed them to the surface then flew away. Similar instances have been reported in the region of the Bermuda Triangle, as retired submarine commander Yuri Beketov recalls. On-board instruments often malfunctioned, indicating the presence of strong interference. Many believe this is a clear sign of USO/UFO presence.

On several occasions the instruments gave reading of material objects moving at incredible speed. Calculations showed speeds of about 230 knots, or 265 mph. Speeding so fast is a challenge even on the surface. But water resistance is much higher. It was like the objects defied the laws of physics. There’s only one explanation: the creatures who built them far surpass us in development,” said Beketov.

Both UFOs and USOs seem to concentrate wherever military operations occur, indicating their interest in humanity’s military arsenal.

Another USO hotspot is Lake Baikal in Russia. The world’s deepest freshwater lake has always had a certain mysterious nature and fishermen tell tales of lights being spotted in its deep waters. Multiple folk tales describe swimmers being dragged down by creatures lurking beneath Baikal’s calm waves.

Another of the Russian documents described the encounter between a group of military divers and several humanoid beings in silver suits. The divers were training in Lake Baikal at a depth of 150 feet (50 meters) when they came upon a group of unknown creatures. The divers went deeper in the pursuit of the humanoids. Three men were killed, while the other four were severely injured.

Vladimir Azhazha believes the issue should be thoroughly investigated. “I think about underwater bases and say: why not? Nothing should be discarded,” says Azhazha. “Skepticism is the easiest way: believe nothing, do nothing. People rarely visit great depths. So it’s very important to analyze what they encounter there.”

source

{  http://worldtruth.tv/ }

30-07-2015 om 20:30 geschreven door peter  

10 Top Secret Military Bases the Government Doesn't Want You to Know About

30-07-2015 om 20:03 geschreven door peter  

Vitamin B3 comes from SPACE: Niacin finding supports theories of extraterrestrial origins for life on Earth

• Supernovae explosions produce vast dust clouds in space that compress
• Layers of frost made of various gases form on these dust particles
• Radiation  powers chemical reactions   producing organic molecules on dust
• Ice becomes part of comets which then deliver organic molecules to Earth

By Jack Millner For Mailonline

Vitamin B3 found on Earth might have been made in space and delivered to Earth on meteorites, according to Nasa.

The vitamin forms part of a chemical compound that is found in all living cells and is an essential building block for life.

The finding supports theories that some of the organic material needed for life had extraterrestrial origins and arrived on Earth on comets and meteors.

  

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The vitamin B3 forms part of a chemical compound that is found in all living cells and is an essential building block for life. Pictured is an artist's impression of a protoplanetary disk which contains dust particles with an icy frost that end up in comets, possibly bringing organic compounds to Earth

Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is a component of a chemical compound called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) which is essential for metabolism and thought to be ancient in origin. 

'We found that the types of organic compounds in our laboratory-produced ices match very well to what is found in meteorites,' said Karen Smith of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

'This result suggests that these important organic compounds in meteorites may have originated from simple molecular ices in space. 

'This type of chemistry may also be relevant for comets, which contain large amounts of water and carbon dioxide ices. 

'These experiments show that vitamin B3 and other complex organic compounds could be made in space and it is plausible that meteorite and comet impacts could have added an extraterrestrial component to the supply of vitamin B3 on ancient Earth.' 

Supernovae explosions produce vast dust clouds in space that then compress under their own gravity, giving birth to solar systems.

Layers of frost - made from carbon dioxide, water and other gases - form on these dust particles just like frost builds up on a car window on a cold night.

Radiation in space powers chemical reactions in this frost layer to produce complex organic molecules, possibly including vitamin B3, according to researchers.

These icy grains become incorporated into comets and asteroids, some of which end up colliding with young planets like Earth, delivering their organic molecules. 

To simulate this process, Nasa researchers created cold space-like conditions in their Cosmic Ice Laboratory at Nasa Goddard.

  

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Nasa researchers simulated conditions in space to try to make vitamin B3 from ice that they then bombarded with radiation. Pictured, the chemical deposit made by Nasa researchers

Gases were released into the vacuum chamber where they froze, then researchers bombarded them with protons to simulate space radiation. 

The experiment produced a variety of complex molecules including vitamin B3.

'Rosetta could help validate these experiments if it finds some of the same complex organic molecules in the gases released by the comet or in the comet's nucleus,' said Smith.  

The study builds on previous work that showed that vitamin B3 was present in carbon-rich meteorites.

In that work the team showed vitamin B3 could be made from a building-block organic molecule called pyridine in carbon dioxide ice under conditions found in space.

The new experiments involved adding water ice to the mixture, with researchers finding that even with the addition of water, the vitamin could be made under a wide variety of scenarios where the amount of water ice varied.

'This work is part of a broad research program in the field of Astrobiology at Nasa Goddard,' said Perry Gerakines, Smith's postdoctoral research advisor.

'We are working to understand the origins of biologically important molecules and how they came to exist throughout the Solar System and on Earth. 

'The experiments performed in our laboratory demonstrate an important possible connection between the complex organic molecules formed in cold interstellar space and those we find in meteorites.'

{ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

30-07-2015 om 19:47 geschreven door peter  

Produceren de mysterieuze witte vlekken op dwergplaneet Ceres mist? - HLN.be

Bron: space.com, io9.com 

Wetenschap  Een nieuwe intrigerende twist in de zoektocht naar een verklaring voor de mysterieuze witte vlekken op dwergplaneet Ceres. De bekende vlekken op de bodem van Ceres' krater Occator lijken een soort van nevel te produceren, die ongeveer de helft van de krater bedekt. Daardoor zou er lokaal een soort atmosfeer ontstaan binnen de wanden van de 92 kilometer brede krater. Dat schrijven verschillende Amerikaanse wetenschapswebsites.

IJs

• Als je de krater rond de middag onder een schuine hoek bekijkt, is het net of de krater gevuld is met een soort nevel, die steeds in een gelijkmatig patroon terugkeert

          Geoloog Christopher Russell

"Als je de krater rond de middag onder een schuine hoek bekijkt, is het net of de krater gevuld is met een soort nevel, die steeds in een gelijkmatig patroon terugkeert", lichtte Russell op 21 juli toe tijdens een presentatie op het NASA Exploration Science Forum. De nevel bedekt ongeveer de helft van de krater en komt niet verder dan de randen ervan. "In meerdere gevallen is de mist teruggekeerd, steeds rond hetzelfde tijdstip."


Er zijn meerdere witte vlekken op Ceres, maar enkel in de Occator-krater werd de nevel waargenomen. Als de waarnemingen bevestigd worden, bestaan de heldere vlekken uit ijs, dat sublimeert tot mist en zo een heel kleine, tijdelijke atmosfeer creëert in de krater.

Russell benadrukt echter dat het nog veel te vroeg is om conclusies te trekken. In een interview na de presentatie was de wetenschapper erg voorzichtig: "Ik sprak op basis van slechts enkele foto's, en mijn interpretatie wordt betwist door enkele leden van mijn onderzoeksteam. Ik wil het debat intern voeren vooraleer we er een verklaring opplakken. Ik heb natuurlijk mijn persoonlijke mening, maar heb niet altijd gelijk."

De Occator-krater met verschillende witte vlekken. De mist werd slechts bij één van die vlekken waargenomen. © afp.

Piramide

Russell maakte nog enkele andere ontdekkingen bekend. Zo blijkt Ceres een beetje kleiner dan onderzoekers aanvankelijk vermoedden: de dwergplaneet heeft een diameter van 962 kilometer, en niet 974 kilometer. Onderzoekers ontdekten ook een berg die 'De Piramide' werd gedoopt. Het massief, 5 kilometer hoog en 30 kilometer breed, heeft een platte top en heeft vreemd gelijnde flanken.

Eerdere werden al aardverschuivingen en bochtige canyons ontdekt, net als gestolde lavastromen en structuren die lang geleden instortten.

'De Piramide', duidelijk in beeld op deze foto die door NASA werd vrijgegeven. © afp.

30-07-2015 om 19:46 geschreven door peter