Brain implant boosts memory for first time ever

New memory prosthesis could be a game-changer for dementia care.

by Kristin Houser, Futurism

Image: Brain activity

SCIEPRO / Getty Images

A BIONIC MEMORY BOOST

With everyone from Elon Musk to MIT to the U.S. Department of Defense researching brain implants, it seems only a matter of time before such devices are ready to help humans extend their natural capabilities. Now, a professor from the University of Southern California (USC) has demonstrated the use of a brain implant to improve the human memory, and the device could have major implications for the treatment of one of the U.S.’s deadliest diseases.

Dong Song is a research associate professor of biomedical engineering at USC, and he recently presented his findings on a “memory prosthesis” during a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington D.C. According to a New Scientist report, the device is the first to effectively improve the human memory.

To test his device, Song’s team enlisted the help of 20 volunteers who were having brain electrodes implanted for the treatment of epilepsy.

Once implanted in the volunteers, Song’s device could collect data on their brain activity during tests designed to stimulate either short-term memory or working memory. The researchers then determined the pattern associated with optimal memory performance and used the device’s electrodes to stimulate the brain following that pattern during later tests.

Based on their research, such stimulation improved short-term memory by roughly 15 percent and working memory by about 25 percent. When the researchers stimulated the brain randomly, performance worsened.

As Song told New Scientist, “We are writing the neural code to enhance memory function. This has never been done before.”

A GROWING PROBLEM

While a better memory could be useful for students cramming for tests or those of us with trouble remembering names, it could be absolutely life-changing for people affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s.

As Bill Gates noted when announcing plans to invest $100 million of his own money into dementia and Alzheimer’s research, the disease is a multi-level problem that’s positioned to get even worse.

Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, with the vast majority of sufferers over the age of 65. With advances in medicine and healthcare continuously increasing how long we live, that segment of the population is growing dramatically, and by 2030, 20 percent of U.S. citizens are expected to be older than 65.

This increase in the number of potential dementia sufferers can be costly in both a financial and emotional sense. In 2016, the total cost of healthcare and long-term care for those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was an estimated $236 billion, and according to the Alzheimer’s Association, the more severe a person’s cognitive impairment, the higher the rates of depression in their familial caregivers.

Of course, further testing is required before Song’s device could be approved as a treatment for dementia or Alzheimer’s, but if it is able to help those patients regain even part of their lost memory function, the impact would be felt not only by the patients themselves, but their families and even the economy at large.

A Robotics Set That Lets Kids Bring Their Lego Creations to Life

{ https://www.nbcnews.com/mach }

22-01-2018 om 17:26 geschreven door peter  

What Will Happen When Aliens Arrive 

THE world could be woefully unprepared for an alien invasion and because extraterrestrial technology would be far superior.

Governments around the globe remain tight-lipped on counter-invasion strategies, with the US claiming nothing is in place and it would have to react to what exactly is in front of them.

But what is clear is there would be no point in humans trying to fight them.

Any extra-terrestrial which can make its way across the universe would have technology that would make it look like our arsenal is a pile of rocks. 

Jill Tarter, a member of Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life (SETI) Institute and part of the management board for the Allen Telescope Array in California, said: “If they showed up on our doorstep, that means they have technologies that are considerably advanced with respect to ours.

“And because of that, they’re going to be the ones that set the rules.”

While there is no official plan, it is believed that the United Nations would take charge.

They group would be responsible for every country’s atomic weaponry and air strikes, as well as distributing, and probably rationing, food across the planet.

If ET has bad intentions for Earth, conscription may take place with many healthy men and women of fighting age being forced into battle – although it probably will not make much of a difference.Far more likely than aliens arriving on our doorstep would be they send a signal or a message to Earth.SETI is an agency which has been scanning the skies in search of alien activity since 1984.

The Rio Scale The ET hunters have laid out a set of guidelines and recommendations to follow if, or when, we make contact

Firstly, the people who detect the signal would have to make sure it is genuine, then once it is confirmed they would have to inform the the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams would be informed, who would inform professional observers across the globe and the United Nations Secretary General.There are then a few factors to take into consideration as to whether the public should be informed which is judged on the Rio Scale.According to Seth Shostak, senior astronomer for SETI: “A SETI detection could have important consequences for society.

The Rio Scale would help experts determine how much of a threat it is

“The Rio Scale runs from 0 (forget it) to 10 (this is definitely IT!). It’s composed of two multiplicative factors: a term Q that measures the importance of the discovery (for example, if a signal comes from within the solar system, it’s adjudged to be more important than one coming from the other side of the Galaxy), and a term δ that estimates the credibility of the claim (is there hard data, or only an anecdotal report?) The Rio index is imply Q times δ.”After that, a response would have to be calculated.

Stephen Hawking says we should ignore alien calls

Although it has always been denied, Director of UN Office for Outer Space Affairs would probably lead contact.Malaysian astrophysicist Mazlan Offman, who served from 2010 to 2014, was strongly tipped top be the person to go to if aliens come out with the classic “take us to your leader”, but she refuted this during her time in charge, saying “It sounds really cool but I have to deny it.”Simonetta Di Pippo took over Offman’s post and so she could be the point of contact.

Another likely candidate is Paul Davies – chairman of SETI’s post detection task force.

As any alien’s grasp of English, or any human language, will probably be non-existent, experts have devised other ways to show that we are intelligent, with the mathematical formula for Pie as good as anything to send back to show that we are not completely primitive.

However, others think, including Stephen Hawking, that we should not respond at all.

Professor Hawking said that it would be best to keep schtum as, judging by what has happened when humans have met other humans who they deem inferior, it could spell the end of us.

The theoretical physicist said: “One day we might receive a signal from a planet like Gliese 832c, but we should be wary of answering back.”

“Meeting an advanced civilisation could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus. 

“That didn’t turn out so well.”

Source www.express.co.uk

{ http://alien-ufo-sightings.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 17:10 geschreven door peter  

Un OVNI et ses occupants photographiés en Floride, USA

{  http://activite-paranormale.net/}

22-01-2018 om 16:44 geschreven door peter  

Bizarre: Former CIA Pilot Claims The Moon Has More Than 250 Million Citizens

What a totally absurd statement right? I mean who in their right mind can say that the moon—Earth’s desolate natural satellite—is inhabited by no less than 250 million citizens?

Come to think about it, a lot of weird things have been said about the moon, and all statements come from people with a solid background, being employed either by the military, government agencies or private corporations.

Now, despite the fact that the claims made by Former CIA pilot John Lear may be wrong, but we cannot overlook the sheer amount of information that has been leaked about the moon, where we can clearly see surface features that raise more questions than answers.

Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance

—Einstein

Are there really alien bases on the surface of Earth’s moon?

Do I believe there are 250 million inhabitants on the moon? , o I don’t. However, if you do the research independently of what you read here, you’ll notice that the moon has attracted all sorts of strange comments in the last couple of decades.

We can’t forget what Michael Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov of the Soviet Academy of Sciences wrote about the moon in the 1970’s.

In July of 1970, two Russian scientists, Mikhail Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov, published an article in the Soviet Journal Sputnik called “Is the Moon the Creation of Alien Intelligence?”

The theory proposed by the two experts offers arguments that would explain the countless enigmas surrounding the moon and its creation.

After they published the controversial article, they raised numerous question in the scientific community, which today—nearly half a decade after publishment—seem more reasonable than ever before.

The Russian scientific duo proposed a theory how our natural satellite is, in fact, a planetoid that was literally hollowed out eons ago in the far reaches of the universe by super advanced intelligent beings possessing a technology far superior to ours, even today.

In their article, Vasin and Shcherbakov write:

“Abandoning the traditional paths of ‘common sense,’ we have plunged into what may, at first sight, seem to be unbridled and irresponsible fantasy. But the more minutely we go into all the knowledge gathered by man about the Moon, the more we are convinced that there is not a single fact to rule out our hypothesis. Not only that, but many things so far considered to be lunar enigmas are explainable in the light of this new theory.”

Since the 1970’s we’ve made a number of odd discoveries on the Moon.

For example, Dr. John Brandenburg, the Deputy Manager of the Clementine Mission to the Moon, which discovered water at the Moon’s poles said:

“The Clementine Mission was a photo reconnaissance mission basically to check out if someone was building bases on the moon that we didn’t know about. Were they expanding they expanding them? Of all the pictures I’ve seen from the moon that show possible structures, the most impressive is a picture of a miles-wide recto-linear structure. This looked unmistakably artificial, and it shouldn’t be there. As somebody in the space defense community, I look on any such structure on the moon with great concern because it isn’t ours, there’s no way we could have built such a thing. It means someone else is up there.”

We’ve successfully identified a number of oddities on the Moon.

On the lunar surface, scientists have found PROCESSED METALSsuch as Brass, the elements of Uranium 236 and Neptunium 237. These elements have NEVER been found to occur naturally. Uranium 236 for example, is a radioactive nuclear waste which is found in spent nuclear and reprocessed Uranium.

Isaac Asimov wrote about the moon raising numerous questions as well:

“It’s simply too large to have been captured by the Earth. The chances of such a capture having been effected and the Moon then having taken up nearly circular orbit around our Earth are too small to make such an eventuality credible.”

Earth’s moon has more than 250 million citizens

John Lear who is an experienced pilot, who holds 17 world speed records, and a man who piloted a number of missions for the CIA and other government agencies.

Lear became very interested in the UFO phenomenon after having spoken to United States Air Force Personnel who had witnessed the UFO landing at Bentwaters AFB, England.

In the video you are about to see below, Lear offers ‘evidence’ of anomalous structures on the lunar surface and goes on to describe technologies and city structures which were not made by humans.

In line with what other scientists and ever former Astronauts have said, Lear’s statements raise numerous questions about the true nature of our moon.

What do you think about the moon, the statements made by Lear and other scientists, military personnel, and former astronauts?

Featured image credit: Shutterstock

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22-01-2018 om 16:07 geschreven door peter  

Yes, it will. Someday the star Betelgeuse will run out of fuel, collapse under its own weight, and then rebound in a spectacular supernova explosion. Someday … but probably not soon.

Red Betelgeuse, also known as Alpha Orionis, is the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion.

Photo taken February 18, 2014 by Thomas Wildoner.

As the year turns, or on some January or February evening, come to know the red star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion. It’s not only one of Orion’s brightest stars. It’s also a star that astronomers know will one day explode as a supernova. And by one estimate, it’s only 430 light-years away! Follow the links below to learn more about Betelgeuse and its explosive destiny.

INDEX:

Betelgeuse will explode someday.

Will Betelgeuse become a second sun?

Will the explosion of Betelgeuse destroy earthly life?

What will happen when Betelgeuse goes supernova?

How to see the star Betelgeuse in the night sky.

Betelgeuse in pop culture, history and mythology.

Betelgeuse imaged in ultraviolet light by the Hubble Space Telescope and subsequently enhanced by NASA. The bright white spot is likely one of this star’s poles.

Image via NASA/ESA.

View larger. | Thomas Wildoner captured these before-and-after images of the supernova that erupted in January 2014 in the galaxy M82. See the supernova? Astronomers sometimes say that a supernova can outshine the galaxy in which it resides. This photo makes me believe it! Read more about the supernova in M82.

Betelgeuse will explode someday 

Betelgeuse lies some 430 light-years from Earth. (Note: determining distances, especially to red supergiant stars, is a vexing problem in Astronomy. Estimates vary and are often revised, with some as high as 650 light-years.) Yet it’s already one of the brightest stars in Earth’s sky. The reason is that Betelgeuse is a supergiant star. It is intrinsically very brilliant.

Such brilliance comes at a price, however. Betelgeuse is one of the most famous stars in the sky because it’s due to explode someday. Betelgeuse’s enormous energy requires that the fuel be expended quickly (relatively speaking), and in fact Betelgeuse is now near the end of its lifetime. Someday soon (astronomically speaking), it will run out of fuel, collapse under its own weight, and then rebound in a spectacular supernova explosion. When this happens, Betelgeuse will brighten enormously for a few weeks or months, perhaps as bright as the full moon and visible in broad daylight.

When will it happen? Probably not in our lifetimes. But, in fact, no one really knows. It could be tomorrow or a million years in the future.

Images of closest supernova in years, in galaxy M82

Cool image, but we won’t see this from Earth when Betelgeuse goes supernova sometime in the next thousand – or million – years. 

Image via Geekosystem

Will Betelgeuse become a second sun? 

Short answer: no. That rumor was flying around in 2012. Remember 2012? The year the world was supposed to end? Anyway, when it does go supernova, Betelgeuse won’t be bright enough to appear as a second sun in our sky.

Instead, anyone alive on Earth when it happens will be treated to an amazingly beautiful sight in the night sky – a very, very, very bright star.

Will the explosion of Betelgeuse destroy earthly life? 

When Betelgeuse does blow up, our planet Earth is too far away for this explosion to harm, much less destroy, life on Earth. Astrophysicists say we’d have to be within 50 light-years of a supernova for it to harm us. Betelgeuse is nearly 10 times this distance.

So we’re safe from Betelgeuse. And, in fact, if there are any astronomers around when it does blow, they will be extremely thrilled to have a relatively nearby supernova to study.

Artist’s concept showing star Betelgeuse (center), with a series of arcs immediately to the left of the star. The arcs are thought to be material ejected from Betelgeuse as it evolved into a red supergiant. Notice the faint linear bar of dust on the left side of the image. It represents a dusty filament connected to our galaxy’s magnetic field, or the edge of an interstellar cloud. If this filament, or wall, exists – as some astronomers believe – the arcs ejected from Betelgeuse will hit the wall 5,000 years from now. Betelgeuse itself will collide with the wall 12,500 years later.

Image via ESA/Herschel/PACS/L. Decin et al. 

Read more about this image here.

What will happen when Betelgeuse goes supernova?

 Fortunately for us, it appears that there will be few, if any, adverse affects to Earth when Betelgeuse goes supernova.

If Betelgeuse were side by side with our sun, you’d find it 10,000 times brighter than the sun in visible light. It might be surprising then to learn that the surface temperature of Betelgeuse is only about 6,000 degrees F (3,600K) in contrast to the sun’s 10,000 degrees F.

In terms of mass, Betelgeuse is thought to be about 15 times the mass of the sun, but 600 times wider and more than 200 million times its volume! When you consider its size, as well as the infrared and other radiations it pumps out, Betelgeuse probably outshines our sun by at least 50,000 times.

Betelgeuse is one of two very bright stars in the constellation Orion the Hunter. The other bright star is Rigel. Notice Betelgeuse and Rigel on either side of the short, straight row of three medium-bright stars. That row of stars represents Orion’s Belt. Betelgeuse is said to represent the right shoulder of the Hunter.

How to see the star Betelgeuse in the night sky. 

At mid-northern latitudes, around the first of every year, Betelgeuse rises around sunset. The star is very well placed for viewing on January and February evenings.

By the beginning of March, this star is due south in early evening. By mid-May, it can be glimpsed briefly in the west after sunset. Betelgeuse is traveling behind the sun in early summer, but it returns to the east before dawn by about mid-July.

Betelgeuse – in the famous constellation Orion – is easy to spot. See our sky chart to learn the pattern of the constellation Orion the Hunter. Orion itself is noticeable for the short, straight row of three medium-bright stars in its mid-section. Betelgeuse is in the upper left corner of the large rectangle forming Orion.

The star Betelgeuse has a distinctive color: somber orange-red. It’s ideal for convincing non-believers that stars do, in fact, come in colors.

Stars designated as Alpha are typically brightest in their constellations. But Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, despite the fact that it’s fainter than Orion’s other bright star, Rigel. Betelgeuse is the 10th brightest star in the sky overall, and it’s the 7th brightest star visible from most of the U.S., Canada, Europe and the majority of the northern hemisphere.

Betelgeuse is often said to represent the right shoulder of the Orion the Hunter. µ

Diagram via stardate.org.

Betelgeuse in pop culture, history and mythology. 

Remember the movie Beetlejuice? This star’s name is similar.

The proper names of many bright stars are Arabic in origin. This fact reflects the dominance of Arabic astronomers and astrologers during Europe’s Dark Ages. The name Betelgeuse apparently is derived from an Arabic phrase that is usually translated as The Armpit of the Giant. Of course the Giant refers to Orion, but – rather than an armpit – some authors see Betelgeuse as representing a hand or sometimes a shoulder. While it is not entirely clear what the name means, in any event, Betelgeuse marks the right shoulder of Orion in many old star maps.

In the ancient myths, Orion is most often associated with a giant, a warrior, a hunter, a god or some other anthropomorphic or animal figure, so it is not surprising that most depictions of Betelgeuse have an anatomical connection. The Sanskrit name signified an arm, too, for example, although it likely was really the leg of a stag. In parts of Brazil Betelgeuse was seen as the hind leg of a cayman (crocodilian) or the foreleg of a turtle. On the other hand, in ancient Japan, Betelgeuse was considered to be part of the rim of a ceremonial drum. In Peru, it was one of four vultures about to devour a criminal.

Jim Livingston wrote in October, 2016: “I love the golden colors of Betelgeuse against the velvety black night sky.”

Bottom line: The star Betelgeuse is destined to explode someday as a supernova. But don’t worry. The chances of it exploding in our lifetimes are … well, astronomically small. Even if it did explode, it would not destroy or even harm earthly life. It would not add a second sun to Earth’s sky. It would most likely simply be a wonderful natural event. If, when it happens, people are still watching the skies, then they’ll have something awesome to tell their grandchildren.

The position of Betelgeuse is RA 05h 55m 10.3053s, dec +07° 24′ 25.4″.

{ http://earthsky.org/ }

22-01-2018 om 15:54 geschreven door peter  

NASA SHOWS EINSTEIN WAS RIGHT: OUR SUN IS LOSING MASS—AND ITS GRIP ON OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

As our sun gets older, it's losing mass, and so its gravitational pull becomes weaker. As a result, the orbits of all the planets in our solar system are expanding, not unlike "the waistband of a couch potato in midlife," according to a new NASA press statement. 

A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Maryland and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has shown that the aging sun is behaving according to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. The key to testing his theory? The planet Mercury.

NASA and MIT scientists analyzed subtle changes in Mercury’s motion to learn about the sun and how its dynamics influence the planet’s orbit.

NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

In 2015, NASA's MESSENGER probe crashed into Mercury (intentionally; this is just how NASA wraps things up a lot of the time) ending its planetary exploration mission. But the seven years' worth of data it gathered while still active provided the researchers with everything they needed to estimate the relevant parameters for both general relativity and the sun's own life cycle. A paper describing the research was published in the scientific journal Nature.

“Mercury is the perfect test object for these experiments because it is so sensitive to the gravitational effect and activity of the sun,” lead author Antonio Genova, an MIT researcher working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in the press statement.

Einstein's famous theory accounts for the fact that the gravitational fields of huge objects—like the sun—warp the space-time continuum around them, according to Gizmodo. Because Mercury is the planet in our solar system closest to the sun, its orbit is the tightest.

“We’re addressing long-standing and very important questions both in fundamental physics and solar science by using a planetary-science approach,” Goddard geophysicist Erwan Mazarico said in the NASA statement. “By coming at these problems from a different perspective, we can gain more confidence in the numbers, and we can learn more about the interplay between the sun and the planets.”

View image on Twitter

NASA

✔@NASA

Like humans, our Sun loses mass as it ages, weakening its gravitational pull. To study the dynamics of our aging star, @NASASun researchers have enlisted Mercury, the smallest, innermost planet in the solar system. See how: http://go.nasa.gov/2DsuhTT 

2:34 AM - Jan 19, 2018

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That warping effect Einstein predicted slowly but steadily affects Mercury's orbit. In a few billion years, it might crash into the Earth, according to Space.com. The accuracy with which the researchers found general relativity has predicted Mercury's path has reaffirmed that Einstein was right. This may seem like a foregone conclusion to the average non-physicist who isn't really in a position to question Einstein, but it's important to remember that almost anything in science is open to questioning. 

“The study demonstrates how making measurements of planetary orbit changes throughout the solar system opens the possibility of future discoveries about the nature of the sun and planets, and indeed, about the basic workings of the universe,” co-author Maria Zuber, vice president for research at MIT, said in the NASA statement.

22-01-2018 om 15:39 geschreven door peter  

UFOs over Hessdalen, Norway 20-Jan-2018

I have just received this video. A person, who reported this, added: I’m no Speilberg, I tried to film with my Phone, sg3, 16 megPs,  and record from my Ipad, instead of screen shots, look to the right upper corner.

This was taken over UFO hotspot Hessdalen in Norway.

{ http://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

22-01-2018 om 15:28 geschreven door peter  

Here’s where the Super Blue Blood-Moon on January 31 will be best observed from

Prepare to look up at the night sky at the end of the month, as you might be able to witness an event that has not happened for 150 years. On January 31, millions of people around the globe will have the chance to witness a lunar eclipse, blue moon, and supermoon at the same time, or in other words, a Super Blue Blood-Moon.

The event is believed to have been last observed 152 years ago, to be exact in 1866.

So, if you are an astronomy lover, make sure to be in the right place to view this amazing and somewhat magical event.

The combination of events will make the moon appear much larger, brighter and with a different and unusual color in the sky,

In fact, the next full moon on January 31, will show off Earth’s natural satellite in such special conditions that they have not coincided in more than a century and a half.

It is the third in a series of ‘supermoons’ when the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee, and Earth’s natural satellite will appear 14 percent brighter than usual, according to NASA.

Three ‘magical’ events are set to occur on January 31st, 2018.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

In fact, NASA scientists are calling it a magical event.

It’s a magical event and Dr. Noah Petro, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center calls it a “collision of multiple lunar events. A lot of things are happening at once,” Petro said. “It’s a cool event.”

It also happens to coincide with the second full moon of the month, commonly known as “blue moon”.

In addition, the blue supermoon will pass through the shadow of the Earth to give viewers—located in the right place—a total lunar eclipse.

While the Moon is in the shadow of the Earth, it will take on a reddish hue, known as the “blood moon.”

However, once you break down everything that will occur on January 31 you’ll see we will be witnessing a Super Blue Blood Moon.

And despite the fact that the name of the event may sound somewhat catchy, the “blue” portion of the name of this event has more to do with the idea that there are two full moons in the same month and not much, or at all to do with the moon turning blue.

This map shows the areas of visibility for the upcoming “super blue blood moon” eclipse of Jan. 31, 2018.

Credit: NASA

For observers in North America, Alaska or Hawaii, the eclipse will be visible before dawn on January 31.

For those in the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the “supermoon of blue blood” can be seen during the moonrise on the morning of the 31st.

In Western Europe and most of Africa and South America, the phenomenon will be partial since these will be areas not affected by the eclipse.

Now that you know where the events will be best observed from, hope for good weather and clear skies.

Featured image credit: Shutterstock

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22-01-2018 om 12:01 geschreven door peter  

New Map Of Moon Titan Reveals It Has A Sea Level Similar To Earth

Titan, Saturn’s giant satellite, is more Earth-like than previously thought.

Previous observations have shown that Titan has a dense atmosphere and stable liquid on its surface.

Of course, its seas and lakes are not made of water, but methane and ethane.

Now, researchers have found a new way in which this distant alien satellite looks disturbingly like our planet: it has sea level, a constant average elevation in relation to gravitational attraction.

The new study, based on data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, finds that Titan’s seas are constantly rising relative to their gravitational pull, just like Earth’s oceans.

Ligeia Mare, a look at the second largest known body of liquid on the Surface of Saturn’s moon Titan.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

It seems that the smallest lakes on Titan appear at elevations several hundred meters higher than sea level.

On Earth, lakes are also commonly found at high altitudes.

The highest lake navigable by large ships, the Titicaca, located at more than 3,700 meters above sea level.

The new study suggests that elevation is important because Titan’s liquid bodies appear to be connected below the surface in something like an aquifer system on Earth.

The hydrocarbons seem to flow below the surface of the moon in a similar way as water flows through porous underground rock or gravel on our planet, which means that nearby lakes communicate with each other and share a common liquid level.

A rendered size-comparison sheet between the Planet Earth, the Moon, and Saturn’s Moon Titan.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.

“We’re measuring the elevation of a liquid surface on another body 10 astronomical units away from the sun to an accuracy of roughly 40 centimeters,” explains Alex Hayes, of Cornell University (New York).

“Because we have such amazing accuracy we were able to see that between these two seas the elevation varied smoothly about 11 meters, relative to the center of mass of Titan, consistent with the expected change in the gravitational potential. We are measuring Titan’s geoid. This is the shape that the surface would take under the influence of gravity and rotation alone, which is the same shape that dominates Earth’s oceans.”

Much of the study was based on the data obtained by the Cassini radar instrument.

A new topographic map published in Geophysical Research Letters offered new insight into Titan.

The map exposed several new features on Titan, including new mountains, none of more than 700 meters in elevation.

It also offered a global view of the highs and lows of its topography, which allowed scientists to confirm that two places in the equatorial region of Titan which are in fact depressions that could be ancient dry seas or cryovolcanic flows.

The map also revealed that Titan is a bit more flattened than previously known, suggesting that there is more variability in the thickness of its crust than previously thought.

Despite the fact that we have learned much about Titan in recent years, only 9 percent of Titan has been mapped in high-resolution, while around 30 percent was imaged in lower resolution.

Featured image credit: Shutterstock.

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22-01-2018 om 11:51 geschreven door peter  

Mindbending White And Green Balls Of Light Spotted Over Siberia Leaving Locals Terrified

Russia has been hit by a wave of reports of a giant UFO in the sky last night with spectacular pictures of an enormous glowing ball illuminating northern Siberia. Social media erupted with claims of 'aliens arriving' and locals in far flung parts of the country told of 'shivers down their spines'.

While the source of the light remains unclear, some have suggested that it was the the trace of a rocket launched by the Russian military that caused this extraordinary phenomenon in the night sky.Vasily Zubkov posted: 'I went out to smoke a cigarette and thought it was the end of the world.'
The extraordinary scenes were captured by leading Siberian photographer Sergey Anisimov in the town of Salekhard which straddles the Arctic Circle.
'I was taken aback for a few minutes, not understanding what was happening,' he said.’ The glowing ball rose from behind the trees and moved in my direction. My first thought was about the most powerful searchlight, but the speed of changing everything around changed the idea of what was happening. The ball began to turn into an arc and gradually dissipated.'
After the multi-coloured light show was over he went home to find local children as young as five in the yard babbling about 'aliens' and 'the portal to another dimension', he said.
Some 520 miles further east, another photographer Alexey Yakovlev admitted to feeling scared as he witnessed the UFO spectacle at Strezhevoi, in the north of Tomsk region, reported The Siberian Times.
'At first I thought - it is such a radiance of such an unusual form, round in shape. But gradually the ball began to expand, it became clear that this is not some radiance and it became scary. It's good that I was not alone....a group of people cannot hallucinate.' On social media, Anastasia Boldyreva posted simply: 'Aliens arrived.

'The were many similar messages. Nurgazy Taabaldiev claimed: 'It's a gap in the space-time continuum.

While the source of the light has not been confirmed, not all are convinced it was a Russian rocket test.
Some local experts suggest it may have been caused by the Northern lights.But the most common theory is that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin had chosen this moment to frighten the West with grandiose military exercises by his strategic nuclear forces.
Putin personally oversaw the launch of four nuclear-capable ballistic missiles as part of a training exercise for Russia's strategic nuclear forces, the Kremlin said on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.
The test launches, conducted last night, involved land, air, and submarine-based ballistic missiles, Russia's defence ministry said in a separate statement.
The ministry said a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile had been test fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, hitting a target at the Kura military testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula thousands of kilometres (miles) away.  

It was the likely the traces of one of these rockets - capable of carrying nuclear missiles - that caused this extraordinary phenomenon in the night sky, say the Russian media. As photographer Mr Yakovlev accurately guessed: 'It seems I accidentally shot the launch of a secret space rocket from Plesetsk'.
Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Manual, told MailOnline: 'This looks amazing and it is not surprising the sight of it caused witnesses to think of aliens and the opening of a portal to another dimension.

'These fantastic possibilities are shot down by the prosaic explanation that this strange light phenomena was caused by the testing of an intercontinental missile.
'This seems like a poor explanation for something so spectacular but other rocket launches have caused similar spectacles. 'In particular, in December 2009 a stunning spiralling light was seen over Norway, which was caused by a failed Russian missile test.
'They may not be of an alien origin but we can certainly admire their beauty, even if they are caused by weapons of mass destruction.' A similar light was seen in the skies over Norway in December 2009, which was caused by a failed missile launch.
Speaking to Barents Observer at the time, Dr Truls Lynne Hansen, a researcher at the Tromso Geophysical Observatory, said: 'The missile has probably come out of control and exploded.

'The peculiar spiral shaped light pattern comes from reflection of the sun in the leaking fuel.' 

Via Dailymail

{ http://www.thespaceacademy.org/ }

22-01-2018 om 01:52 geschreven door peter  

Dark UFO Over Crete, Does The World Need To Worry About Invasion? Jan 11, 2018, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: January 11, 2018

Location of sighting: Rethymno, Crete

News source: 

http://china.greekreporter.com/希腊克里特岛惊现怪异飞碟云/

 

This UFO cloaked in a cloud was seen over Crete last week. You can see that its breaking through the clouds. Don't be fooled by these cloaked craft. Aliens are highly intelligent and often believe that human intelligence is incredibly inferior to them. Thus, humans will often assume the cloud is just a cloud. However, we at UFO Sightings Daily know different. Here it almost looks like an invasion. Very dark, almost sinister looking. 

Scott C. Waring

 

News states: 

Photographer Yiannis Gkikas snapped a rare scene on January 11 in Rethymno, Crete, Greece, when a huge cloud of disk-shaped aircraft appeared in the sky. The group's photos were subsequently posted on the Greek weather website Meteokrites.

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 01:22 geschreven door peter  

Long Glowing UFO Seen Over City In Santos, Brazil In Jan 2018, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: January 2018
Location of sighting: Santos, Brazil

This UFO was reported by SecureTeam10 of Youtube. A UFO moves across the night sky. Five bright center lights glowing all the while and some smaller lights along its sides. The video was taken long ways on the phone instead of sideways. Thats another sign thats its real. The way it shoots off is a rare thing to see on video. Most UFO reports only show the craft hovering, but here we see it moving from left to right and then shots off right again. 

This is an important video that shows how a UFO moves so easily, so perfectly, without making rounded turns. Tell us your thoughts on this video in the comments below please. 

Scott C. Waring

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 01:14 geschreven door peter  

Alien UFO Hidden In Cloud Moves Over Thailand Frightening Residents This Week, Jan 14, 2018, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: January 14, 2018
Location of sighting: Mount Taishan, Thailand
News source: 

http://sd.dzwww.com/sdnews/201801/t20180114_16913600.htm

Captured over Thailand this week was a UFO cloaked as a cloud. Why would an alien race disguise their craft as a cloud? First they have rules, rules about intrumpting without the governments consent. Second they have no intention to frighten people, they instead want to get as close as possible to the ground so that they can scan the inhabitants and their daily routines. I think the cloud cloak is actually pure genius on their part. 
Scott C. Waring

News states: 
On the morning of the 14th, when many people are still asleep, the photographer Liu Guoqing of Thailand captured the wonderful scene in the sky. A cloud of similar UFO UFO, appeared in Mount Taishan, against the colorful sky under the glow. Dai top, many people also photographed this group "UFO cloud." 

It is understood that this god-like cloud of flying saucer, the scientific name pod cloud, is a natural phenomenon of weather, often when the humid air over the mountains appeared. If the temperature of the air drops over the mountains, the moisture in the air condenses into a pod cloud. 

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 01:06 geschreven door peter  

150 Meter UFO Hovers Over Volcano Mouth In Mexico, Jan 15, 2018, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: January 15, 2018
Location of sighting: Popocatepetl, Mexico
Facebook video:

 https://www.facebook.com/diario.cambio1/videos/918076715018976/


A Facebook user reported that they witnessed a dark UFO disk hovering over a volcano called Popocatelpetl in Mexico this week. This particular volcano is notorious for its UFO sightings over the last decade. I have long believed that below this volcano sits an underground alien base. The base is about 4-5km below the surface.  This volcano has a mouth that is 600 meters across. Now compare the mouth area with the size of the UFO. You will see this UFO is about 25-30% the size of the volcano mouth. Therefore the UFO is 150 to 200 meters across. Thats one big craft. 

Now since this is Facebook, its not so easy to post a video right here for you, but please click the link above and watch it. It is fantastic!
Scott C. Waring

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 00:55 geschreven door peter  

WAT GEBEURDE ER IN HEMELSNAAM BOVEN  MICHIGAN, USA? ( VIDEO )

Op 16 januari 2018, net na acht uur 's avonds, werden inwoners van de Amerikaanse staat Michigan opgeschrikt door een meteoriet die met een knal explodeerde. 

Vrijwel tegelijkertijd gebeurde er een aantal anders mysterieuze dingen zoals een lichtstraal uit de hemel en UFO's die werden gefilmd boven de bewuste locatie. 

Wat er afgelopen week gebeurde in de Amerikaanse staat Michigan is ronduit bizar te noemen. Een aantal gebeurtenissen die vrijwel tegelijk plaatsvinden en toch ogenschijnlijk niets met elkaar te maken hebben. 

Het begint net na acht uur op 16 januari 2018 wanneer duizenden mensen een vreemde lichtbol waarnemen boven de staat. Het bleek een meteoriet te zijn die met een flinke explosie uit elkaar barstte, volgens de autoriteiten. Eveneens zou deze meteoriet een aardbeving van 2.0 op de schaal van Richter hebben veroorzaakt, op ongeveer 40 kilometer afstand van Detroit.

 

Maar, dan begint het heel vreemd te worden, want ongeveer tegelijkertijd wordt een soort lichtstraal waargenomen boven de stad Taylor.

Een straal die niets te maken heeft met de meteoriet en die er als volgt uitziet.

Deze lichtstraal was te zien boven Taylor, een stad met ongeveer 65.000 inwoners. Net na dat de vreemde lichtstraal aan de hemel verscheen, brak er brand uit bij een woonhuis met garage in die plaats. 

De autoriteiten kwamen heel snel met de mededeling dat de brand niets te maken had met de meteoriet en over de vreemde lichtstraal werd al helemaal niets vermeld. Het zou allemaal veroorzaakt zijn door wat lekkende benzine uit een pick-up truck.

Echter, uit foto's die mensen ter plaatse maakten, lijkt het meer alsof er een bom is ingeslagen in het huis en garage.

Een tweede belangrijk punt is dat wetenschappers inmiddels hebben verklaard dat de aardbeving die werd gemeten niet veroorzaakt kan zijn door de meteoriet, omdat die in de lucht exploderen en geen aardschokken veroorzaken.

Een ander opvallend feit is dat het plaatsje Taylor in de laatste decennia is bezocht door drie verschillende presidenten: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton en Barack Obama. Dit geeft dan weer aanleiding om te denken dat er iets speciaals is op/in die plek, wat verder wordt bevestigd door het volgende: 

Een vrouw die in Taylor woont en het licht zag en het gerommel in de lucht hoorde, dacht in eerste instantie aan onweer, maar toen ze naar buiten keek begreep ze dat dit niet kon omdat het een vrij heldere koude nacht was. Ze besloot toen om de beelden van haar beveiligingscamera te bekijken en ze viel ze bijna van haar stoel want ze zag maar liefst vijf verschillende UFO's die heen en weer vlogen,  formaties aannamen en een en ander had niets met een meteoriet te maken.

De vrouw die de opname had gemaakt, besloot om deze te delen met de rest van de wereld en plaatste de beelden op haar YouTube-kanaal, Lucky Puppie, en normaal gesproken staan daar alleen beelden op van allerlei honden. 

De beelden van de UFO's stonden er ook niet lang, want de volgende dag waren ze plotsklaps verdwenen. Of ze dit zelf heeft gedaan of dat de video werd verbannen, is niet duidelijk.

Gelukkig had iemand een kopie gemaakt, zodat we ook zelf de bijzondere bewegende beelden kunnen zien. 



Duidelijk is dat er die bewuste dinsdagavond heel wat meer gebeurde dan "alleen maar" een meteoriet. Iets kwam uit de hemel en veroorzaakte een verwoest huis en garage op de grond. Iets dat heel sterk doet denken aan het soort laserstralen die werden waargenomen tijdens de recente branden in Californië. 

Daarnaast rijst de vraag waarom drie verschillende presidenten zo nodig naar Taylor moesten en eveneens of dit alles misschien verband houdt met de ruimte-oorlog waar we onlangs over schreven.

{ http://www.niburu.co/ }

22-01-2018 om 00:45 geschreven door peter  

The 2-mile-long Marree Man is the second largest geoglyph in the world but nobody knows who made it

Boban Docevski

The first thought that comes to mind when beholding it is that this enormous piece of land art was made by the ancients to serve as a sign for the gods, or as a mythical representation of some tribal hero. But this is not the case with the Marree Man, the second largest geoglyph in the world. It was discovered recently after a plane flew over it in 1998, and it was probably created recently as well. The only problem is, nobody knows who made it or why.

Although it was the 1990s and information about somebody doing something traveled fast, somehow an individual or a group of artists managed to get to this hardly accessible part of South Australia, on the plateau of Finnis Springs, just outside an Australian military base called Woomera Prohibited Area, and created this huge geoglyph with a perimeter of 17 miles. It was definitely a massive undertaking that demanded a lot of labor, and it is strange how nobody noticed–especially because it was close to a big military base.

On June 26, 1998, Trec Smith, a local pilot, flew from the nearby town of Marree to Cooper Pedy and noticed the drawing that was spread across the whole plateau. Later, a hotel in the area claimed that they received an anonymous fax with the coordinates of the geoglyph. Soon the Marree Man geoglyph became headline news across Australia. A big part of the fascination lay in the fact that nobody knew who actually made it. It seemed like some extraterrestrials came and did it in a few seconds.

Marree Man

So what is the Marree Man? Visually speaking, the Marree man is a depiction of a man who holds a boomerang (or a woomera–a throwing stick that was used to chase away birds). Upon examination, it was discovered that the lines of the Marree man were about 8 to 12 inches deep and 114 feet wide. The whole figure is an astonishing 2.6 miles long, and it takes up a perimeter of 17 miles.

The following year, the media was anonymously informed that a small plaque was buried just 16 feet south of Marree Man’s nose. The plaque turned out to be a little American flag with Olympic rings over it. The short text on the plaque reads:

“In honour of the land they once knew. His attainments in these pursuits are extraordinary; a constant source of wonderment and admiration.”

Research was done on this quote, and it was discovered that it comes from a 1946 book written by H. H. Finlayson called The Red Centre. The book is about the hunters of the Pitjantjatjara tribe–the tribe that lives around the Uluru rock formation. These particular words come from a chapter in which the author describes how wallabies were hunted with the use of throwing sticks. The section also describes the look of the hunters, who were naked and had initiation marks on their bodies.

The media received another anonymous message with the name of the artwork. Supposedly it was called “Stuart’s Giant,” after John McDouall Stuart, the famous explorer who led the first expedition across Australia.

Reception of the newly created geoglyph was mixed but mainly positive. A lot of people wanted it to stay. After all, it started bringing tourists to the area. One of the local newspapers, the Advertiser, wrote that the land drawing should be made permanent. Because of the weather conditions in the region, the Marree Man started to erode and disappear. By 2013 it was barely visible, so people demanded that the lines should be made deeper; down to the white chalk layer beneath the ground. Those that were against it, like Dorothy Kotz, the Minister for Environment and Heritage at the time, described the figure as “environmental vandalism.” David Ruthman, who was the Minister for Aboriginal affairs called it “graffiti.”

There are two main theories about the author of this modern geoglyph. According to some people, it was made by Aboriginal artist Bardius Goldberg, who died in 2002. He was the perfect suspect. He lived in Alice Springs and had often discussed his wish to create a piece of art that would be visible from space. One of his friends said that he received $10,000 during the time when the figure was discovered. Goldberg never confirmed nor denied this claims.

Another theory is that the geoglyph was made by a group from the United States. This is possible because of several facts. First of all, the description of the figure is written in feet instead of meters; also, the term Aboriginal “reservations” is mentioned, and this word is never used to describe the Aborigines. Another clue is a jar that was found buried near the Marree Man. In it, an American flag, together with a satellite picture of the geoglyph, was found. There was also a note in which the infamous Branch Davidian sect was mentioned. Despite all the clues, the creation of the Marree Man is still a mystery.

Related story from us: Archaeologists rediscover one of the oldest known Peruvian geoglyphs, that of a 2,000-year-old killer whale once worshiped as a deity

Mystery aside, this geoglyph is still an attraction. In 2016, its decaying lines were fixed with the help of a satellite-guided tool. Now it is visible again, and although the area is off-limits, those who want can take a flight over it and see it.

{ https://www.thevintagenews.com/ }

22-01-2018 om 00:18 geschreven door peter  

Amazing video of a UFO over Bangor, Ireland 20-Feb-2013

{ http://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

21-01-2018 om 23:52 geschreven door peter  

{ http://nationalufocenter.com/ }

21-01-2018 om 23:26 geschreven door peter  

Filer’s Files #3 – 2018 Abductions and Alien Contact - PART II

21-01-2018 om 23:08 geschreven door peter  

WHY NASA'S MARS PLANS ARE GETTING CONTROVERSIAL

Elizabeth Rayne

If NASA is ever going to put boots on Mars (and possibly other alien worlds), it won’t happen by just deciding to blast a rocket off to the Red Planet one day. The question is whether a moon-orbiting space station is the right way to get one boot print closer.

With the ISS retiring in 2028, NASA needs a phase two, as NBC Machobserved. The space agency sees the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) in its future. Humans will fly beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time in 45 years to live on the DSG, where they will start building and testing the equipment and technology that will eventually launch Martian missions.

We can’t just land on Mars without hanging out far from Earth for any extended period of time. There is still too much that science doesn’t know about the long-term effects of deep space on physical and mental health—imagine spending a year on a floating space station with nowhere near the leg room of the ISS, a quarter million miles from Earth. But. It will be a launchpad for future missions we can now only imagine in sci-fi movies.

Exactly how necessary is all this? When a Nobel-winning theoretical physicist like Steven Weinberg insists that the ISS is nothing but space junk, you have to wonder.

We're anxious to land on Mars—but first, the moon.

"No important science has come out of it,” Weinberg told Space.com of the satellite that has been orbiting Earth since 1998, and thinks the same of the DSG though NASA begs to differ. “I could almost say no science has come out of it. And I would go beyond that and say that the whole manned spaceflight program, which is so enormously expensive, has produced nothing of scientific value."

Weinberg believes that only robotic missions like the Mars rovers have contributed anything useful to science. If humans actually walking on the moon (which he thinks of as more than a publicity stunt than anything else) made people gasp at their TV screens back in the ‘60s, it no longer has the same shock value. We’re exorbitantly expensive to keep alive out there, not to mention that we radiate too much heat and actually want to go home. Robots don’t come with those hangups.

Does NASA need to second-guess its priorities? There are obviously ethical implications to studying human survival in deep space when you’re exposing astronauts to more than just microgravity. There is no sunblock that can possibly guard against he harmful effects of high-energy cosmic rays and other kinds of killer radiation. Beaming help up from Earth would not be an option in a medical emergency. Any intervention from the home planet would take weeks to reach lunar orbit, and by then, things could happen that you might rather not want to think about.

 NASA's Space Launch System, seen in this artist's rendering, is billed as the world's most powerful rocket. NASA

So who do we listen to, the space agency or the super-physicist? Nobody is really sure, but one thing we can probably agree on for now is that NASA’s mentality of taking the Mars thing in stages is less scary than Elon Musk’s ambitions to make humans Martians even sooner. 

(via NBC Mach)

{ http://www.syfy.com/ }

21-01-2018 om 22:17 geschreven door peter