The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
31-03-2018
Sporen van 1 miljoen mensen ontdekt in 'onbewoonde Amazonegebieden'
Sporen van 1 miljoen mensen ontdekt in 'onbewoonde Amazonegebieden'
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Wij dachten dat in deze gebieden vrijwel niemand woonde. Maar we zaten er goed naast.
Het Amazonegebied is enorm uitgestrekt en lang niet alle delen zijn even goed bereikbaar. Geen wonder dat archeologen het gebied nog steeds niet helemaal hebben uitgekamd. Ze moeten keuzes maken; ze kunnen onmogelijk het hele Amazonegebied aan een onderzoek onderwerpen. Tot op heden richtten archeologische studies zich daarom op gebieden in de omgeving van de grote rivieren. Aangenomen werd dat dat de plekken waren waar mensen zich in het verleden het liefst vestigden. Maar daar moeten we nu op terugkomen. Onderzoekers van de universiteit van Exeter hebben dieper in het regenwoud – dus op grote afstand van de grote rivieren – namelijk sporen gevonden van honderden dorpjes die samen mogelijk tot wel 1 miljoen mensen herbergden.
Mato Grosso De onderzoekers bestudeerden een gebied in wat nu de Braziliaanse provincie Mato Grosso is. Ze vonden er niet alleen resten van versterkte dorpen, maar ook 81 mysterieuze geoglyfen (zie kader). De dorpjes bevinden zich in de meeste gevallen nabij of zelfs in de geoglyfen.
Afbeelding: University of Exeter.
Geoglyfen zijn door mensen gemaakte greppels in het landschap die vanuit de lucht gezien een vierkante, ronde of zelfs hexagonale vorm hebben. De functie van de greppels is nog altijd onbekend. Mogelijk werden ze voor ceremoniële doeleinden aangelegd.
Misvatting “Het is een veelvoorkomende misvatting dat de Amazone een ongerept landschap is, waarin her en der verspreid nomadische gemeenschappen te vinden zijn,” stelt onderzoeker Jonas Gregorio de Souza. “Dat klopt niet. Wij ontdekten dat sommige populaties die op afstand van de grote rivieren leefden, veel groter waren dan gedacht en dat deze mensen van invloed waren op hun omgeving en dat kunnen we ook nog steeds zien.”
Het onderzoek naar de geschiedenis van het Amazonewoud is niet alleen interessant voor archeologen. Ook biologen kunnen er hun voordeel mee doen, meent De Souza. “De Amazone speelt een cruciale rol in het reguleren van het aardse klimaat en als we meer over de geschiedenis ervan weten, helpt dat een ieder om betere beslissingen te nemen over hoe we in de toekomst voor het woud moeten zorgen.”
Extreme temperatuurveranderingen kon prehistorische mensen niet klein krijgen
Extreme temperatuurveranderingen kon prehistorische mensen niet klein krijgen
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Ze hielden stand, zelfs toen de temperatuur in amper tien jaar tijd 3 graden Celsius daalde.
Dat blijkt uit opgravingen in Star Carr, een archeologische vindplaats uit de middensteentijd in Engeland. Op deze plaats zijn sporen van mensen gevonden die teruggaan tot zo’n 9000 voor Christus. Het betekent dat de mensen die hier woonden, met een behoorlijk instabiel klimaat te maken hadden (zie kader).
Na de ijstijd
Zo’n 11.500 jaar geleden kwam er een einde aan de IJstijd: de aarde begon op te warmen. Gletsjers trokken zich terug en ijskappen op het noordelijk halfrond verdwenen. Het zorgde ervoor dat er behoorlijk wat smeltwater in de oceanen liep en de interactie tussen die oceanen en het wegkwijnende ijs leidde tot extreme weersomstandigheden en een vrij instabiel klimaat.
Zo kregen de mensen in Engeland te maken met een zeer koude periode die zo’n honderd jaar aanhield. Maar dat deed ze weinig, zo onthullen de opgravingen. In aardlagen uit die periode zijn namelijk heel veel bewerkt hout, botten van dieren en gereedschappen aangetroffen dei stuk voor stuk getuigen van hun productiviteit en doorzettingsvermogen.
Geen onoverkomelijk probleem “Er is betoogd dat abrupte klimatologische gebeurtenissen een crash in Mesolithische populaties in het noorden van Groot-Brittannië veroorzaakten, maar onze studie onthult dat samenlevingen – in ieder geval die van de pionierende kolonisten in Star Carr – in staat was om om te gaan met extreme en aanhoudende klimatologische gebeurtenissen,” vertelt onderzoeker Simon Blockley. “Wij ontdekten dat mensen in feite veel sterker beïnvloed werden door kleine, lokale veranderingen in hun omgeving.” Blockley denkt dan bijvoorbeeld aan het verdwijnen van het meer dat ooit op de plek van Star Carr lag. Mensen woonden aan de rand ervan, maar zagen het meer op een gegeven moment geleidelijk aan verdwijnen. “Door de tijd heen werd het meer steeds ondieper en moerassiger, het begon in veenland te veranderen en dwong de kolonisten om het gebied te verlaten.”
De onderzoekers baseren hun conclusies niet alleen op archeologische vondsten. Ze bestudeerden ook pollen en sedimenten om meer te weten te komen over de klimaatveranderingen waarmee deze mensen te maken kregen. Zo ontdekten ze twee perioden van extreme afkoeling, waarbij de gemiddelde temperatuur in ongeveer tien jaar tijd met 3 graden Celsius afnam. De eerste keer dat dat gebeurde, hadden mensen dit gebied nog maar net betrokken. De afkoeling zorgde er in dat stadium waarschijnlijk voor dat de samenleving wat minder vooruitgang boekte en wat minder actief was. Maar toen er een tijd later weer sprake was van afkoeling, stond de samenleving al wat sterker in de schoenen en hadden de dalende temperaturen weinig effect. Het onderzoek onthult volgens onderzoeker Nicky Milner dat we niet te snel conclusies moeten trekken over de effecten die extreme temperatuurveranderingen op vroege mensenpopulaties heeft gehad.
Compleet nieuw 'orgaan' ontdekt in het menselijk lichaam
Compleet nieuw 'orgaan' ontdekt in het menselijk lichaam
Caroline Kraaijvanger
En het lijkt ook nog eens een heel belangrijke functie te hebben.
Het nieuwe ‘orgaan’ bevindt zich net onder het oppervlak van de huid, rond het spijsverteringskanaal, de longen, de urinewegen en omringende vaten, aderen en het bindweefsel tussen spieren. Lang werd gedacht dat het dichte, verbindende weefsels waren. Maar in werkelijkheid blijken het met vloeistof gevulde compartimenten te zijn die bovendien met elkaar in verbinding staan.
Functie De compartimenten hebben waarschijnlijk een zeer belangrijke functie, zo stellen onderzoekers in het blad Scientific Reports. Mogelijk doen ze dienst als schokdempers die voorkomen dat weefsels die veel samenknijpen, pulseren of pompen – denk aan organen, maar ook spieren en bloedvaten – scheuren.
Hier zie je het interstitium onder de huid.
Afbeelding: Jill Gregory / Mount Sinai Health System, CC-BY-ND.
Interstitium De ontdekking van dit nieuwe orgaan – dat de onderzoekers ‘interstitium’ hebben gedoopt – kan bovendien meer inzicht geven in verschillende ziekten. Zo kunnen de onderzoekers nu verklaren dat kankercellen die het weefsel rond onder meer het spijsverteringskanal, de longen en vaten binnendringen, hun weg weten te vinden naar de lymfeklieren. Je moet het interstitium als het ware zien als een verzameling snelwegen waar vloeistoffen gebruik van kunnen maken om zich door het lichaam te verplaatsen en dat wegennetwerk komt uit in de lymfeklieren.
Waarom nu pas? Het lijkt misschien vreemd dat onderzoekers anno 2018 nog nieuwe organen ontdekken in het menselijk lichaam. Hoe kon het interstitium zo lang onopgemerkt blijven? Dat is goed te verklaren. Onderzoekers bestuderen weefsels eigenlijk altijd onder de microscoop. Voor ze het onder de microscoop leggen, bewerken ze deze echter altijd enigszins om de cellen en andere structuren goed in beeld te krijgen. Het betekent onder meer dat alle vloeistof uit het weefsel wordt gehaald. Hierdoor stort het interstitium als een pannenkoek ineen, waardoor het opeens een heel dicht weefsel lijkt.
De onderzoekers kwamen het nieuwe ‘orgaan’ op het spoor dankzij een vrij nieuwe technologie die gebruikt kan worden om weefsels in beeld te brengen. De technologie werd gebruikt om te verwijderen weefsels in het lichaam van kankerpatiënten te bestuderen en liet de met vloeistoffen gevulde weefsels zien. Vervolgonderzoek wees uit dat die met vloeistof gevulde compartimenten overal waar in het lichaam weefsels bewogen of samengedrukt werden, te vinden waren.
Aarde had mogelijk al oceanen vóórdat de maan ontstond
Aarde had mogelijk al oceanen vóórdat de maan ontstond
De aarde had misschien al veel vroeger water dan gedacht. Zo vroeg zelfs dat er al oceanen bestonden vóór de kolossale inslag van een protoplaneet ter grootte van Mars die de maan deed ontstaan.
Tot die conclusie komt een team van wetenschappers, onder leiding van Richard Greenwood van de Britse Open University, dat de zuurstofsamenstelling van maangesteenten heeft vergeleken met die van basaltgesteenten uit de diepe oceanen op aarde (Science Advances, 28 maart).
De aanwezigheid van vloeibaar water verandert de hoeveelheden van verschillende zuurstofisotopen in gesteente. Dus als het meeste water op aarde pas na de grote inslag was aangekomen, zouden de aardse gesteenten een duidelijk andere zuurstofsamenstelling moeten hebben dan die van de maan. Dat blijkt echter niet het geval te zijn: de verschillen zijn heel klein.
Dat wijst erop dat er ten tijde van de botsing met Theia, ongeveer 4,4 miljard jaar geleden, al veel water moet zijn geweest op aarde. Bovendien moet deze botsing dermate krachtig zijn geweest dat het materiaal van de jonge aarde zich volledig met dat van Theia vermengde.
Deze conclusie is in strijd met de gangbare gedachte dat de maan grotendeels uit materiaal van Theia bestaat en maar voor een klein deel uit aards oergesteente. Een andere interessante implicatie is dat kolossale inslagen als deze niet funest hoeven te zijn voor de watervoorraad op een planeet.
De kleine verschillen tussen de zuurstofsamenstellingen van de gesteenten van maan en aarde schrijven Greenwood en zijn collega’s toe aan een latere, veel kleinere inslagen die op aarde hebben plaatsgevonden. Daar zou onze planeet 5 tot 30 procent van haar watervoorraad aan te danken hebben.
Advanced Ancient Structures That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
Advanced Ancient Structures That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
The ancient world is full of wonders that the modern age cannot compete with. The beauty of modern buildings has its grace, but when we focus on the old structures, our mind gets bamboozled as they are so extraordinary and unique. A lot of methods and technologies which were used to create these ancient temples, palaces, and cities, remained rather obscure.
So, let us check out five fascinating ancient structures around the world which have been the subject of many movies, documentaries, and studies.
1 – Derinkuyu- The old underground City
The underground city of Derinkuyu reaches a depth of 60m (200 feet) and used to shelter as many as 20.000 people; it's the largest of the 200 underground cities discovered in Cappadocia, Turkey
In the Cappadocia region of Turkey there is a town called Derinkuyu; and beneath Derinkuyu there is a city, vast and deep, of ancient design, preserved to this day. The mystery of who built it and why remains, although scholars have their theories.
It is 11 levels, according to National Geographic, descending about 280 feet, with an area of a little over 4 miles squared (10.4 kilometers squared).
It includes chambers for various daily activities, including temples, tombs, shops, living quarters, and even livestock pens. It has 15,000 air shafts, and enough room to comfortably hold approximately 20,000 people.
Despite numerous theories have been suggested by archeologists nobody nows who exactly built this city and why.
2 – Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni
The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni in Malta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is believed to be the oldest prehistoric underground temple in the world. The subterranean structure is shrouded in mystery, from the discovery of elongated skulls to stories of paranormal phenomena. But the characteristic that has been attracting experts from around the globe is the unique acoustic properties found within the underground chambers of the Hypogeum.
Despite the plethora of research on the acoustic properties of the Oracle Room, there remain just as many questions as answers.
3 – The ancient Marib Dam
The Great Dam of Ma’rib certainly dates back to about the 8th century BCE and is considered the oldest known dam in the world, being counted as one of the most wonderful feats of engineering in the ancient world. The date of the first construction of the Dam at Ma’rib goes back to somewhere between 1750 and 1700 BC. The Sabaens managed all this before the existence of concrete, and their dam stood for over 1,000 years. In comparison, modern dams built with our advanced technology last for around 50 years. The Great Dam of Marib was about 2,000 feet long, and while it stood, it converted ancient Yemen into a fertile oasis, what was then known as the kingdom of Sheba.
4 – Puma Punku, the stone city
Puma Punku is the name of a large temple complex located near Tiwanaku, in Bolivia, and is part of a larger archaeological site known as Tiahuanacu. The temple’s origin is a mystery, but based on carbon dating of organic material found on site, archeologists believe the complex may have been built by the Tiwanaku empire – one of the most important civilization prior to the Inca Empire – that flourished between 300 and 1000 AD.
The most intriguing thing about Puma Punku is the stonework. The stones are of mammoth proportion. The largest of these blocks is 25.6 feet long, 17 feet wide and 3.5 feet thick, and is estimated to weigh 131 metric tons. Due to their size, the method by which they were transported to Puma Punku and perfectly cut has been main topic of interest since the temple’s discovery.
5 – Gobekli Tepe
The recently (1995) discovered monolith at Gobekli Tepe is clearly the worlds biggest mystery. When found, it appeared to have been deliberately buried in sand, for reasons that still remain unknown.
What’s even stranger is that carbon dating estimates the site to be over 12,000 years old!
The precision carving used during the construction is completely unexplainable. So far just 5% of this incredible site has been excavated. Situated at the northwest edge of Mesopotamia in Southeastern Turkey, Gobekli Tepe is a tell; that is, an ancient manmade hill built from the accumulated layers of millennia of building atop the ruins of those who came before. At the lowest level, its most significant construction dates back to 10,000-11,000 BC, a period that predates the introduction of writing, metal tools and the wheel in the region by 6,000 years.
Fondée en 1997, l’Association québécoise d’ufologie (AQU) est un réseau d’enquête et recherche sur les ovnis au Québec. L’AQU accueille des gens de tous les milieux qui s’intéressent à la question des objets volants non identifiés (OVNI).
Et en 20 ans d’existence, l’association affirme n’avoir jamais reçu autant de cas d’apparitions d’OVNIS en une seule année (2017) dans le ciel de la Belle Province (le Québec).
491 cas d’observations d’OVNIS seulement en 2017 au Québec
Entre autres activités, l’AQU mène régulièrement des enquêtes pour essayer d’élucider les différents cas d’observations que le public lui soumet. L’organisme s’est servi de toutes ces données recueillies au fil des ans pour réaliser une étude comparative des observations d’OVNIS faites au Québec. Il en ressort que 491 cas d’observations d’OVNIS auraient été rapportés en sol québécois en 2017. En comparaison, il n’y avait eu que 177 cas en 2014, soit 314 cas de plus en un an.
Selon Gilles Milot, le président de l’organisme, cela s’explique par le fait que « les gens ont moins peur de faire rire d’eux aujourd’hui, parce qu’ils s’aperçoivent qu’ils ne sont pas les seuls à vivre des expériences impliquant des phénomènes étranges. Lorsqu’ils peuvent s’identifier à d’autres cas, les témoins sont plus aptes à nous partager ce qu’ils ont vécu ».
24% des observations faites par des personnes âgées de 35 à 49 ans
Les statistiques 2017 de l’AQU montrent que le mois de juillet a été le plus chargé en termes d’apparitions, avec 67 cas rapportés. Ce sont les habitants de Montérégie (région administrative du Québec) qui ont aperçu le plus grand nombre d’OVNIS en 2017, comme en 2015 et en 2016. Nul doute que les extraterrestres doivent trouver un intérêt particulier dans cette région.
Les observations faites par les témoins québécois sont le plus souvent des formes rondes et sphériques inconnues dans le ciel. Selon l’étude de l’AQU, c’est en général entre 21 h et 23 h que les observations sont faites. Et 24% des gens qui ont aperçu des OVNIS sont âgés de 35 à 49 ans, dont 33% ayant fait des études postsecondaires. Ce sont donc des gens en parfaite possession de leur esprit qui disent avoir vu des OVNIS dans le ciel québécois. E.T. serait-il réellement parmi nous ?
MYSTERY AS UFO HUNTER POSTS IMAGES OF HUGE SPHERICAL OBJECT IN FRONT OF THE SUN THAT WAS CAPTURED BY NASA CAMERAS
MYSTERY AS UFO HUNTER POSTS IMAGES OF HUGE SPHERICAL OBJECT IN FRONT OF THE SUN THAT WAS CAPTURED BY NASA CAMERAS
A huge blue sphere was picked up by cameras on the STEREO HI1 satellite
UFO hunter Pamela Johnson claims the Sun started reacting to the object
There are frames missing from the next two days but it’s now disappeared
Scientists and conspiracy theorists across the world have been left stunned after Nasa cameras picked up a mysterious blue sphere moving in front of the Sun.
Facebook user Pamela Jonhson, who lives in Mexico, shared the images from a link to Nasa’s website, claiming the Sun reacted to the object.
The images, taken from Nasa’s STEREO satellites which orbit the Sun, show the large spectacle in clear view – before it goes missing from other frames.
Scroll down for video
A huge blue sphere seen in front of the Sun by Nasa cameras has mystified scientists and sent UFO hunters into uproar
However, the object has now disappeared from view and has not been seen again
Pamela Johnson claims the Sun started reacting to the object on November 15, and there are several frames from the feed missing throughout the following days.
The images left internet users divided as to whether or not this was anything exceptional.
A YouTube account named mrfaithandphysics said: ‘It certainly does look exceptional and I’m stumped.
‘I’d say rouge planet, but we don’t see it moving and then it’s gone.’
The footage then goes grainy, with the mysterious object appearing to disappear from view
The images, taken from Nasa’s STEREO satellites which orbit the Sun, show the large object in clear view
Another, mrreg II, added: ‘I have downloaded the images from SECCHI HI1 and this is strange. This ‘anomaly’ can only be seen on images from 11.17, but there are missing several both before and after its appearance.
‘But just consider this: The light on the tallest ‘lightrod’ is the planet Mercury. This ‘anomaly’ seem to be behind it…. And Mercury is 4,880 km across…’
However, a more skeptical Mike Sovereign said: ‘ok if you ask me, nasa would never be so careless to allow something like this to reach the public . And it looks like something is projecting this.’ image in space , hallographic perhaps or project blue beam.’
The YouTube account boisedk added: ‘If it were a big deal the pictures would never see the light of day.’
While Earth is currently experiencing unprecedented manmade climate change, the planet has gone through extreme changes in climate throughout history. By studying how early human societies responded to these intense periods, scientists hope to gain a better understanding of how humanity at large responds to environmental instability. According to a newly released paper, we now know how Mesolithic humans dealt with erratic climate at the end of the last ice age: pretty damn well.
Star Carr is a Middle Stone Age archeological site at which people lived around 9,000 B.C. It’s located in what’s now North Yorkshire, England and over the past 15 years, different teams of archeologists have discovered heaps of artifacts that belonged to the ancient people who lived there. In a paper published Monday in Nature Ecology & Evolution a team of researchers announced that further excavation of this site and samples taken from the surrounding environment have revealed that 11,000 years ago this area experienced abrupt climate change. However, contrary to what was expected, the humans who were living there continued to thrive despite the fact they were living during a 100-year long cold snap.
One of the headdress found in the recent excavations.
“This result was quite astounding as we knew there were climate shifts of several degrees of annual cooling, big enough to change the local environment but they had no influence on the Star Carr residents,” study co-author and University of York professor Nicky Milner, Ph.D., explained in an accompanying blog. “These early Holocene pioneering populations were building house and lake structures, depositing headdresses that are an iconic feature of the site, and continuing their lifeways before, during, and after our climate shift.”
“For us, this went directly against a growing narrative of climate as a driver of change in many archeological records, including ones individual team members have worked on, and shows an amazing level of resilience and adaptation to the site and environment in these populations.”
Map of the palaeo-lake with sites marked around it: Star Carr is site 1.
Beginning in 2012, Milner and her team began a combined archeological and palaeoenvironmental project at the site. The goal was to both excavate for signs of human life and take environmental samples, steps that would hopefully reveal how climate affected Mesolithic humans. They drilled cores from the neighboring lake beds and trapped within these sediment cores was pollen, macrofossils, and isotopes — analysis of which revealed that the area had undergone fluctuating patterns of climatic and environmental change, including two episodes of extreme cooling.
These events matched an already established timeline: The first, occurring essentially when humans returned to the area after the last ice age, and the second when the humans were more established in the area.
Meanwhile, others on the team found undeniable signs of human activity: Evidence of houses, large wooden platforms built on the edge of the lake, huge quantities of bones, and heaps of artifacts, including elaborate antler headdresses, all buried in the wetland. After these were radiocarbon dated, they compared the age of the artifacts to the timeline of the cooling periods and discovered an overlap — the first cooling period may have slightly slowed down the progress of the humans, but the second period had “very little impact” on their society.
Sediment core taken from the lake.
This contradicts previous theories that extreme climatic events caused a crash in Mesolithic populations in northern England. The people in Star Carr, at least, were able to cope.
“Perhaps the later, more established community at Star Carr were buffered from the effects of the second extreme cooling event — which is likely to have caused exceptionally harsh winter conditions — by their continued access to a range of resources at the site, including red deer,” Milner explained in a statementreleased Monday.
“Putting this archeological data into the context of the climate and environment is very exciting and shows that we need to keep an open mind when thinking about the effects of extreme climate on early populations.”
Mars’ lack of water and of a magnetic field could be linked, new research proposes.
Image via Pixabay.
Despite being a pretty inhospitable place today, Mars used to have liquid water aplenty and an atmosphere. Taken together, these likely made the red planet not that unlike our own Earth — which is to say, ‘comfortable’. Sometime in the past, however, both the water and the air vanished. Our working theory is that it was caused by Mars’s magnetic field, which waned then disappeared roughly 4 billion years ago. Without it to insulate the planet, solar winds flayed it of its atmosphere, slowly turning it into the dry ball of dust and rock we see today.
Magnet..Oh…
It’s a compelling story, but there is one especially frustrating piece missing from it: what killed off the magnetic field? Last week, at the at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Texas, planetary scientist Joseph O’Rourke presented a new theory which could fill in this missing piece. He believes that the disappearance of the planet’s magnetic field is connected to its missing surface water.
To the best of our knowledge, planets produce their magnetic fields through the churning of their molten, ferrous cores. Convection — where the heated part of a molten material rises to the top, to be replaced by the denser, colder part on top — keeps this metal moving. And just like a dynamo, where you have moving iron, you get a magnetic field.
O’Rourke’s theory is that an influx of hydrogen, sourced by the splitting of water moleculesdeeper into the Martian mantle, could have stalled this dynamo — and with it, Mars’ magnetic field. Convection relies on differences in density to keep material (in our case, molten iron) moving. But if a lighter material — and it’s hard to get lighter than hydrogen — settles relatively close to the bottom of the convection cell, it can block denser material from sinking back down. It clogs the system.
“Too much hydrogen and you can shut down convection entirely,” he said. “Hydrogen is a heartless killer.”
O’Rourke, from the Arizona State University in Tempe, worked together with Dan Shim, a colleague at the University, to determine where all this hydrogen could have come from. They believe it was sourced from water that was chemically locked in Martial minerals. While it would remain stable in the upper layers of the mantle, the incredible heat and pressures closer to the core could pull these water molecules out of their minerals, and then break them apart. The oxygen atom, being highly reactive, would go on to form new compounds — while the hydrogen atoms would build up near the core and stall convection.
This meddling hydrogen
So, was there enough water in Mars’ mantle for the job? The authors note that Mars’ crust is rich in olivine, a material that doesn’t bond very well with water, and so it remains relatively dry. At deeper levels, where there’s more pressure, this olivine transforms into the minerals wadsleyite and ringwoodite, which do hold more water. Deeper still, the mineral turns into bridgmanite and becomes dry again. According to the team, this bridgmanite layer should act as a buffer, keeping water away and insulating the convection cell. So far, the situation on (in?) Mars is very similar to that on Earth — the same minerals are involved, and there’s no reason to believe that they would behave differently on Mars.
However, there is one important distinction between the two planets — Mars’ mantle cooled down significantly, while Earth’s remains hot. Temperature plays a key role here because it’s the combination of high pressure at high temperatures that prompts the transition to bridgmanite and later keeps it stable. In a progressively cool mantle, like Mars’, the bridgmanite layer would shrink and eventually disappear altogether.
Whether or not this mineral survived in Mars’ interior depends on how large the planet’s core is. We don’t yet know how large it is, but NASA’s InSight Mars lander, scheduled for launch on May 5th, may find out.
One interesting implication of O’Rourke’s theory is that if hydrogen did clog up the magnetic field, it did so surprisingly fast — previous research suggests that Mars’ magnetic field disappeared quite rapidly, over 100 million years’ time.
For now, we’ll have to wait for InSight to launch, and see if the theory stands up to measurements taken in the field. Whatever the results may be, one thing is certain: Mars’ stubborn lack of a magnetic field is bad for business. Hopefully, this research will offer some insight as to how we can fix it.
The paper “Suppressing the Martian Dynamo with Ongoing Hydrogenation of the Core by Hydrated Mantle Minerals” has been presented at the 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, on March 21, 2018.
Troublante coïncidence : un objet volant non identifié a été repéré par deux pilotes de deux avions de lignes américains différents. Les deux hommes survolaient le ciel de l’Arizona. Personne ne sait ce que c’était. Mais l’événement suscite évidemment bien des fantasmes.
- « Y’avait-il quelque chose au-dessus de nous il y a trente secondes ? » Voilà le message radio lancé par un pilote d’un Learjet se dirigeant vers la Californie (États-Unis), à 12000m d’altitude alors qu’il survole le désert d’Arizona
-« Négatif », lui répond un contrôleur aérien du centre de trafic aérien d’Albuquerque au Nouveau-Mexique.
- « Ok. Pourtant quelque chose nous a survolés! », lui rétorque le pilote.
Ce dialogue enregistré entre un pilote et un contrôleur du ciel a été publié, mercredi, par le Huffington Post américain. Les faits remontent au 24février dernier. Il était 15h30, heure locale.
Quelques minutes plus tard, le contrôleur du ciel demande à un autre pilote d’un Airbus d’American Airlines voyageant dans la même direction d’ouvrir l’œil sur ce qui se passe au-dessus de lui.
- « Oui quelque chose vient de passer au-dessus de nous en se dirigeant dans la direction opposée à la nôtre. On a vu une grande ombre », confirme, à son tour, le pilote de ce deuxième avion. Il y avait un grand reflet, je n’arrivais pas à distinguer ce que c’était, mais ce n’était pas un avion… »
D’autres pilotes sont intervenus dans la conversation. Ils émettent l’hypothèse d’un ballon Google. Mais le pilote d’American Airlines estime que « c’est peu probable ».
Aucune explication pour le moment
Plusieurs semaines plus tard, les autorités sont toujours perplexes, selon le New York Times. En dehors du témoignage et du rapport fait par les deux pilotes de ligne, cet événement demeure mystérieux pour l’administration américaine de l’aviation civile (FAA). À sa connaissance, aucun autre avion ne se trouvait logiquement dans les parages. « Nous entretenons des relations de travail étroites avec d’autres organismes. Quel que soit l’objet volant, un avion militaire, civil ou un ballon météorologique, nous sommes tenus au courant. Ce n’était pas le cas en l’occurrence », déclare un de ses représentants cité par le New York Times.
À 800 km de Roswell
Il n’en fallait pas plus pour que les hypothèses les plus farfelues soient émises. Certains évoquent le survol d’un appareil russe ou coréen compte tenu des tensions diplomatiques actuelles. D’autres thèses conspirationnistes estiment évidemment que le gouvernement américain cache la vérité sur l’existence d’une vie extraterrestre. D’autant que ces faits se sont produits à vol d’oiseau, à environ 800km à l’ouest de Roswell.
Souvenez-vous: le 2juillet 1947, un ovni aurait explosé en plein vol et se serait écrasé près de Roswell, au cœur du Nouveau-Mexique, aux États-Unis. Cette affaire, qui a été très médiatisée, constitue l’un des événements les plus controversés de l’histoire américaine. Elle a donné naissance à de nombreux livres, films et d’extravagantes thèses. Néanmoins, soixante-dix ans après, le mystère demeure. Et cette nouvelle mystérieuse affaire d’ovni fait de nouveau s’emballer la machine à fantasmes.
Tiangong-1 now appears brighter in our skies as the Chinese space station descends toward Earth this weekend. Astronomers are catching it! Their videos here, along with updated reentry predictions.
Still from a video shot early on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, by Brian Ottum. See the video below.
Experienced sky observers are doing their best to track China’s first space station, Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace 1), as it speeds across our sky on its way to a fiery demise this weekend. We know of at least two who have succeeded in this demanding observation. See their videos below.
astropicsdailyAs you may have heard, the Chinese space station Tiangong-1 will come crashing down to Earth this weekend. Here is my video of the bus-sized satellite from this morning. The camera was having trouble keeping up with Tiangong as it zoomed across the sky - you can see stars whip past. Taken March 28, 12.6UT. The space station is starting to dip into the atmosphere, 120 miles up. Friction could be starting to cause it to warm up and glow. Predictions have it burning up late Saturday night, but that could happen as early as Saturday morning or Sunday. We just don't know where or when. Chunks are likely to hit Earth, but probably the ocean. Video taken with Canon 5DmkIII, 10" F/5 reflector telescope, satellite tracking Paramount MX mount, remote control observatory located at Dark Sky New Mexico. #astro#astronomy#astronomia#astrophotography#astrophotos#APOD#cosmos
algolwatchMy app has it in our hood Sunday 6:41... think it'll last that long?
astropicsdaily@algolwatch 6UT on Sunday, which is 2am EDT, is currently the best forecast. But the uncertainty is about 24 hrs either side!!!!! We currently have no idea where or when. Hopefully better estimate on Friday evening.
brianm910Awesome! I was wondering if I could find it here and get a video of it.
The Virtual Telescope Project in Rome and Tenagra Observatories in Arizona provided an exciting livestream of their successful attempt to view Tiangong-1, also earlier in the day on Wednesday. Check this out! It’s really fun to hear Gianluca Masi‘s commentary and he searches for – and finds – the space station.
As of today (March 30, 2018) the spacecraft is at about 117 miles (188 km) in altitude. That’s down from about 134 miles (215 km) altitude on March 24. And it’s down from 155 miles (258 km) on March 7. Its orbit is clearly decaying as you can see if you follow the spacecraft’s descent here. The end will come more or less suddenly, due in part to changing conditions in Earth’s upper atmosphere, which is why it’s so inherently unpredictable.
Have you been hearing specific reentry locations for China’s first space station, Tiangong-1, aka Heavenly Palace 1? I heard Michigan at one point, then Wisconsin.
Don’t believe these specific predictions. Experts are still saying reentry will take place anywhere between 43 degrees north and 43 degrees south (see map below). At no time will a precise time or location prediction for reentry be possible.
Tiangong-1 potential reentry area. Map showing the area between 42.8 degrees north and 42.8 degrees south latitude (in green), over which Tiangong-1 could reenter.
Tiangong-1 was launched in 2011, and, originally, a controlled reentry was planned. Firing the craft’s engines would have enabled controllers to allow the craft to burn up (mostly) over a large, unpopulated region of the South Pacific ocean. Any surviving pieces would have fallen into the ocean. But, in March 2016, the Tiangong-1 space station ceased functioning. Ground teams lost control of the craft, and it can no longer be commanded to fire its engines. It is, therefore, expected to make an uncontrolled reentry … soon.
The spacecraft’s main body is approximately 34 feet (10.4 meters) long.
ESA has said that Tiangong-1 will “substantially burn up” in Earth’s atmosphere. Will pieces crash to Earth? Possibly. Will they crash in populated areas? It’s not possible to say, but the chances are small that any human being will be harmed, according to a statement from Aerospace, a research organization that advises government and private enterprise on space flight. Aerospace said:
There is a chance that a small amount of Tiangong-1 debris may survive reentry and impact the ground. Should this happen, any surviving debris would fall within a region that is a few hundred kilometers in size and centered along a point on the Earth that the station passes over.
Aerospace also warned that the space station might be carrying a highly toxic and corrosive fuel called hydrazine on board.
Tiangong-1 is not designed to withstand reentry, as some spacecraft are. But it will mostly burn up when it falls, due to the extreme heat and friction generated by its high-speed passage through Earth’s atmosphere.
Tiangong-1’s predicted reentry as of March 29, 2018, via ESA.
Tiangong-1’s major goal was to test and master technologies related to orbital rendezvous and docking. One uncrewed and two crewed missions – executed by the Shenzhou (Divine Craft) spacecraft – took place during its operational lifetime. ESA explained:
Following launch in 2011, the Tiangong-1 orbit began steadily decaying due to the faint, yet not-zero, atmospheric drag present even at 300 or 400 km altitude [~200 to 250 miles altitude]. This affects all satellites and spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, like the International Space Station, for example.
Bottom line: China’s first space station will soon undergo an uncontrolled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. As of March 29, Aerospace Corporation was predicting April 1 ± 16 hours. At no time will a precise time or location prediction for reentry be possible.
No One Can Explain Bizarre UFO Seen By 2 Separate Airliners In Arizona
No One Can Explain Bizarre UFO Seen By 2 Separate Airliners In Arizona
What just happened in the skies above Arizona? Two different airliners encountered an Unidentified Flying Object and the audio recording describing the encounter is so bizarre, that even the FAA is in awe.
The strange incident occurred above Arizona last month, but the audio recording was only recently released to the general public, offering solid evidence of a strange aerial sighting that no one, not even the FAA, has been able to explain so far.
The mystery encounter occurred on February 24, in Arizona airspace when the pilot of a Learjet 36 airliner operated by Phoenix Air Group contacted Air Traffic Control, after noticing something he couldn’t understand.
What pilots saw was beyond bizarre.
“Was anybody above us that passed us, like, 30 seconds ago?” the pilot asks, stammering a little, which you can hear in recordings originally obtained from the FAA by The Drive, excerpts of which are posted below.
“Negative,” the air traffic controller, stationed at Albuquerque’s Air Traffic Centre in New Mexico, replies to the pilot.
“Okay…” the pilot confirms, sounding unconvinced. “Something did.”
Check out the video recording in the YouTube video below:
Soon after the first pilot reported the mysterious object to traffic control, another pilot was heard discussing the object that had just flown past them.
In the recording, we can hear a pilot saying: “A UFO!”
To what the other pilot responded: “Yeah.”
After a couple of minutes, air traffic decides to contact another airliner which was following a similar route, an American Airlines A321 Airbus, telling the pilots to be on the lookout for anything that may pass above them in the next 15 miles.
Confused, American Airlines pilot is heard asking: “If anything passes over?”
Air traffic goes on to explain the situation to the pilots flying the American Airlines Airbus, and the Learjet pilot clarifies what he was able to see, flying above them.
“I don’t know what it was, it wasn’t an airplane but it was… the path was going in the opposite direction.”
Shortly after, the pilot onboard American Airlines Airbus 321 witnessed the same thing passing over them.
“Yeah, something just passed over us, like a… I don’t know what it was, but it was at least 2,000–3000 feet above us. Yeah, it passed right over the top of us.”
This creates more confusion among Air Traffic and the controller asks the pilot whether the object was “in motion or if it was just hovering”, but the Airbus pilot couldn’t answer.
“I couldn’t make it out if it was a balloon or whatnot, but it was just really beaming light or had a big reflection and several thousand feet above us going the opposite direction.”
Trying to get to the bottom of things, Air traffic asks whether its possible that what the pilots had witnessed was a Google Balloon, but the pilots responded “Doubtful.”
“We don’t have any comment beyond what you hear,” the FAA said in a statementissued to media outlets.
“Other than the brief conversation between two aircraft, the controller was unable to verify that any other aircraft was in the area. We have a close working relationship with a number of other agencies and safely handle military aircraft and civilian aircraft of all types in that area every day, including high-altitude weather balloons.”
Elon Musk’s Brain Chip Reportedly Planned For Animal Testing
Elon Musk’s Brain Chip Reportedly Planned For Animal Testing
This innovative—yet controversial—technology could allow humans to communicate through telepathy, have “superpowers” and solve some degenerative diseases of the brain. Furthermore, according to Elon Musk, these brain chips could help prevent Artificial Intelligence from taking over mankind.
However, the idea itself raises a number of questions which many experts can’t really answer.
Is it correct? Is it ethical? And should mankind begin fusing with machines?
Despite the fact we as a society may not have an answer for those questions yet, Elon Musk’s Neuralink is planning to conduct animal trials.
It’s a logical and necessary next step. Apparently.
If Musk’s Neuralink ever wants to connect human minds with machines, it will first have to be tested on animals, something that could soon happen according to Gizmodo, as Neuralink has requested from the University of California a permit to experiment with lab animals and build “a small operating room for testing and another area to house rodents.”
Furthermore, Neuralink is also looking for staff to work in San Francisco on “nanotechnology and next-generation microelectromechanical systems”.
“While many of our resources can be found in typical semiconductor process environments, we are highly interdisciplinary, and the usage often deviates from traditional semiconductor processing,” the listing says.
Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are fundamental tools for establishing brain-machine interfaces.
A calculation presented last month by Grand View Research projected that the market for these devices as medical implants could reach 57,000 million dollars by 2025.
This figure includes devices applicable beyond the brain, such as pacemakers.
However, Neuralink’s interest in MEMS is in line with Musk’s ambition to commercialize a chip that can help people with brain damage and, in his words, “prevent machines with artificial intelligence from overtaking us.”
As noted by Gizmodo, a spokesperson for Neuralink declined to comment on this story and Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the comments of the people who are currently working on Neuralink, Musk’s company is focusing on something known as ‘neural cord’, which is based on small brain electrodes that can one day be charged to enhance our capabilities.
Broadly speaking, Neuralink is a neuroscience company that plans to develop ‘cranial computers’.
The first step of the company will be to treat diseases such as epilepsy, major depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, but as noted by Musk, these implants could help us prevent AI taking over, something that Musk mentioned a few months ago saying that “Or humans are fused with machines, or artificial intelligence will make us irrelevant.”
Anil Seth, professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, explains the link between perception and reality. Seth believes reality as we know it comes from activity of our brain. Following is a transcript of the video.
Anil Seth: Is our reality just a hallucination that we all agree on?
WIRED Live
Anil Seth: How do we know that we experience the real world? In fact, we probably don't. Everything that we perceive, everything that we experience, is a result of the brain interpreting the sensory information that comes in in a particular way.
I'm Anil Seth. I'm a professor of neuroscience at the University of Sussex in the UK. Now you could say that all of our experiences are all hallucinated. It's just that whenever we agree about what's out there, that's what we call reality. Brain brings to bear its prior expectations about what's out there in order to interpret this massive, noisy, and ambiguous sensory information that it continually encounters.
Perception, instead of just being a reflection of what's actually there in the world, is always this active process of interpretation. It's easy to assume that we see with our eyes. In fact, we see with our brains. Our eyes are of course necessary, but what we actually end up perceiving is much more a product of how our brain interprets all this information from the eyes than the eyes being this window into an objective external reality. And when the balance is disturbed between how the brain interprets sensory information and what the sensory information actually is, well, that's when people start to see things that other people don't, and that's what we call hallucination.
When you look at a cloud, and sometimes you can see faces in clouds, now that's a kind of hallucination. Other people who will see things that really other people don't see, that's just a different balance that they have between how their prior expectations influence the sensory data that comes in. Another aspect of this is when you take things like psychedelic drugs. That also leads people to have unusual experiences, to see things that aren't there. Again, it doesn't mean that these things really exist. It just means that your brain is working in a different way so that its prior expectations come to dominate this sensory information.
We can see a number of things that happen in the brain on psychedelics. One of the things that happens is the brain generally becomes a bit more disorganized. Normally in the brain, different parts of the brain have activity that correlates. So we see all these networks in the brain with different areas active at the same time, and then they diminish their activity at the same time as well. How visual hallucinations in the psychedelic state might come about could be that in the psychedelic state, what you perceive is dependent more on the brain than the sensory data that's coming in through the eyes and the ears. And we have the opportunity now to try to characterize exactly how and why this happens.
But what we experience as being real is a construction of the brain. So when I experience a particular color, that doesn't mean that color exists out there in the universe, that a red mug is actually painted some color that exists independently of my mind and brain. No, red is something that my brain constructs in order to interpret visual information. This leads to the question, is anything real? Is anything really there?
Is de realiteit slechts een illusie? Deze neurowetenschapper denkt van wel
Is de realiteit slechts een illusie? Deze neurowetenschapper denkt van wel
De realiteit om ons heen is een voortvloeisel van onze hersenactiviteit. Dat zegt professor Anil Seth van de Universiteit van Sussex.
Hoe weten we dat we de echte wereld zien? Waarschijnlijk is de realiteit die we waarnemen een illusie, aldus Seth.
“Alles wat we waarnemen, alles wat we ervaren, is het resultaat van zintuiglijke informatieverwerking,” zegt hij.
We zien met ons brein
Perceptie is geen reflectie van de wereld om ons heen, maar een interpretatieproces. “Het is makkelijk om aan te nemen dat we met onze ogen zien, maar we zien met ons brein,” klinkt het.
Onze ogen zijn nodig om te kunnen zien, maar wat we daadwerkelijk zien is vooral het gevolg van de manier waarop ons brein alle informatie interpreteert die de ogen opvangen.
Om die reden zien sommige mensen wat anderen niet kunnen zien. “We denken dat de wereld om ons heen echt is, maar in werkelijkheid is het een constructie van het brein.”
Echt
Dus als je een bepaalde kleur ziet, betekent dat niet per definitie dat die kleur in het universum bestaat en dat jouw rode mok een kleur heeft die los staat van je geest en brein.
Rood is een kleur die je brein heeft aangemaakt om visuele informatie te interpreteren. En dit leidt tot de vraag: is alles wel echt? Is er überhaupt iets wat echt bestaat?
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Zo groot als een bus en 9 ton zwaar, maar waar en wanneer stort Chinees ruimtestation dit weekend neer op aarde? - HLN.be
Zo groot als een bus en 9 ton zwaar, maar waar en wanneer stort Chinees ruimtestation dit weekend neer op aarde? - HLN.be
Infografieken Nederland
WETENSCHAP Dit weekend zal het Chinese ruimtestation Tiangong-1, dat ongeveer zo groot is als een bus, met een rotvaart op aarde neerstorten. De kans dat je een van de brokstukken op je hoofd krijgt, is wel bijzonder klein: er is maar één kans op een biljoen.
“Wanneer en waar het station zal neerkomen, is niet precies te voorspellen”, weet Bart Hendrickx, die als ruimtevaartspecialist verbonden is aan Volkssterrenwacht Urania. “De laatste voorspelling is dat het zondag zal zijn. Zeker is dat de brokstukken ergens tussen 43° noorderbreedte en 43° zuiderbreedte zullen neervallen. Wij lopen dus helemaal geen gevaar.” Het gebied waar stukjes van het ruimtestation kunnen terechtkomen, strekt zich ongeveer uit van het midden van Italië tot onder Australië. Vrij groot, inderdaad. “Maar”, zegt Hendrickx, “Vergeet ook niet dat 70% van de aarde uit water bestaat. De kans dat je getroffen wordt door een blikseminslag is vele keren groter.”
Het ruimtestation, dat in 2011 gelanceerd werd en waarmee de Chinezen al in 2016 het contact verloren, is zo groot als een autobus. “Het weegt ongeveer 9 ton en is 10 meter lang. Maar er zijn al veel grotere objecten naar beneden gekomen: het Amerikaanse ruimtestation Skylab, dat in 1979 neerstortte, woog 80 ton of met andere woorden tien keer meer. Dat Tiangong-1 - wat Chinees is voor ‘Hemels Paleis’ - ongecontroleerd naar beneden zal komen, is geen ideaal scenario, maar ook dat is in het verleden nog gebeurd.”
Tiangong-1 zal neerstorten met een snelheid van 27.000 kilometer per uur, wat volgens Hendrickx véél trager is dan een meteoriet. Bovendien zullen de meeste brokstukken opbranden bij contact met de dampkring. “Als je toch nog een stuk vindt van het ruimtestation, kan je er beter afblijven: de temperatuur zal hoog zijn en in de tank kan ook altijd wat van de giftige brandstof achtergebleven zijn.”
REUTERSEen schaalmodel van het bewuste ruimtestation.
I suspect that a lot of UFO activity in the latter part of the 1940s in the United States had more to do with classified, military experimentation than it did with aliens. There is, however, no doubt that there was a significant number of UFO reports from that period which are not so easy to dismiss. In many such cases, UFOs intruded upon sensitive military/government airspace in the United States. In the latter part of the 1940s – and particularly so in 1948 – a curious phenomenon was repeatedly seen in the skies over New Mexico. They were strange, glowing balls of green light that seemed to take a disturbing amount of interest in the many defense, atomic, and military establishments that existed in the state at the time. A program designed to investigate the reports, which was given the name of Project Twinkle, was soon put into place.
Consider the following, written by Lt. Col. Doyle Rees of the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, on 25 May 1950. It was for the specific attention of Brigadier General Joseph F. Carroll, Director of Special Investigations, USAF:
“In a liaison meeting with other military and government intelligence and investigative agencies in December 1948, it was determined that the frequency of unexplained aerial phenomena in the New Mexico area was such that an organized plan of reporting these observations should be undertaken. The organization and physical location of units of this District were most suitable for collecting these data, therefore, since December 1948, this District has assumed the responsibility for collecting and reporting basic information with respect to aerial phenomena occurring in this general area.”
Los Alamos
And a large body of that so-called “basic information” was profound, to say the very least. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) memorandum dated 31 January 1949 and titled Protection of Vital Installations, reveals the following: “During the past two months various sightings of unexplained phenomena have been reported in the vicinity ofthe Atomic Energy Commission Installation at Los Alamos, New Mexico,where these phenomena now appear to be concentrated[emphasis mine]. During December 1948 on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 20th, and 28th sightings of unexplained aerial phenomena were made near Los Alamos by Special Agents of the Office of Special Investigations; Airline Pilots; Military Pilots; Los Alamos Security Inspectors; and private citizens. On January 6, 1949, another similar object was sighted in the same area.” Moving on…
It’s intriguing to note that the atomic research facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee was also a magnet for countless close encounters with UFOs – in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Consider, for example, the following official report generated on 2 March 1950 by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC):
“There is a radar station near Knoxville which has been in operation about 3 weeks. This radar station is being operated by station WROL of Knoxville. On 1 March at 2135 hours the station picked up an object 340 degrees and 18 miles from Knoxville, altitude 40,000 feet. Direction and distance put the object directly over [emphasis mine] Oak Ridge. AEC Security Division Chief at Oak Ridge checked with Smyrna Air Base, Nashville which reported it had no flight plan for any plane in that vicinity and altitude. On 2 March at 1105 station picked up object at 335 degrees and 18 miles from Knoxville, altitude 40,000 feet. AEC Security Division Chief checked with Smyrna Air Base with negative results.”
On the following day, 3 March, 1950, a further report surfaced: “At 2130 hours on 2nd March, radar station picked up two objects 310 degrees, altitude 80,000 feet, approximately 18 miles from Knoxville in general direction of Oak Ridge, moving in circular motion but in opposite directions.” And Oak Ridge continued to be a target for the mysterious intruders. An FBI teletype of 13 October 1950 refers to the detection of a veritable squadron of unknown objects tracked over the Oak Ridge installation at 11.25 p.m. on 12 October: “USAF radar installation at Knoxville picked up indications of eleven objects and perhaps more traveling acrosscontrolled areaof Atomic Energy installation at Oak Ridge [emphasis mine]…operators are experienced reliable personnel and radar set is in perfect operating condition.”
Oak Ridge
Perhaps most significant of all, is the following FBI document that offers the significant thoughts and conclusions of Oak Ridge personnel with respect to the UFO invasions in sensitive airspace:
“The opinions of the Security Division, AEC Oak Ridge; Security Branch, NEPA [Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft project] Division, Oak Ridge; AEC Security Patrol, Oak Ridge; FBI Knoxville; Air Force Radar and Fighter Squadrons, Knoxville; and the OSI, Konxville, Tennessee, fail to evolve an adequate explanation for OBJECTS SIGHTED OVER OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE; however, the possibilities of practical jokers, mass hysteria, balloons of any description, flights of birds, falling leaves, insect swarms, peculiar weather conditions, reflections, flying kites, objects thrown from the ground, windblown objects, insanity, and many other natural happenings have been rejected because of the simultaneous witnessing of the objects with the reported radar sightings; because of the reliability of the witnesses; because of the detailed, similar description of the objects seen by different persons…”
Note that in the above-paragraph the words “objects sighted over Oak Ridge” were all typed in capital letters, further demonstrating the concern over such cases.
Not exactly outright invasions, but pretty damn close.
This is no April Fool’s joke. The dead-and-descending-out-of-control Chinese space station Tiangong-1 is predicted to crash somewhere on Earth on April 1st, plus-or-minus a day or two. This was probably not a good time for the recent U.S. government actions against China because its government and space agency hasn’t been too open about when or where the space debris might make its flaming landfall. The Chinese media site Global Times got an official to speak but only on the condition of anonymity and he said it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact reentry location now (March 29). In fact, it won’t be known until just two hours before it starts to fall. Thanks, China!
I thought you said I had two hours!
Fortunately, scientists at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have no fear for their lives (from their government, at least) and are willing to share some signs that the end of the Heavenly Palace (the meaning of Tiangong) is near.
“[You will see a] series of fireballs streaking across the sky.”
Fireballs? That’s it? No explosions? Horns? Apocalyptic voices from the sky? That helpful hint is from Markus Dolensky, of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, a joint venture between Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. That’s not much from some of the world’s leading researchers in radio astronomy who are building the International Square Kilometre Array — the world’s biggest ground-based telescope array.
Maybe an astrophysics researcher is a better person to ask than an astronomer. The Daily Star checked with Alan Duffy, an astrophysics researcher at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, and here’s what he had to say.
“The international community doesn’t know what the craft is made of, and that makes estimating the danger more challenging, as hardened fuel containers could reach the ground while lightweight panels won’t.”
So, we need to be looking for fireballs of space station fuel, which we already know contains hydrazine – a highly-toxic propellant used by China in rocket fuels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says short-term exposure to high levels of hydrazine – burning or otherwise — may cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma and cancer. Good thing we’ll be able to see it, right? Well, only if it’s burning. Otherwise, it’s a colorless liquid with an ammonia smell. You know … like ammonia.
Is there ANY chance this is an April Fool’s joke?
If we survive, the next time a space station crashes to Earth it won’t be so bad, according to Kenneth Chang of The New York Times.
“Indeed, space agencies like the E.S.A. are using Tiangong-1 as a learning exercise to compare their prediction models.”
April Fool’s Day was so much more fun when the biggest story was Taco Bell buying the Liberty Bell and renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.
Let’s hope we have a similarly good laugh about Tiangong-1 on April 2nd.
Today, I’m going to tell you the intriguing story of Project Horizon. It fell under the auspices of the U.S. Army, and had its origins in the latter part of the 1950s. The plan was to take the first steps towards constructing an installation on the surface of the Moon by the mid-1960s. The goal was for the base to be armed with nuclear weapons and which could be used to decimate the Soviet Union if the United States was hit by a sneak attack and the infrastructure of the nation was significantly destroyed.
After much preliminary discussion, it was in late March 1959 that the ambitious program was finally put into place. Overseeing many of the plans to create the secret base was Lieutenant General Arthur G. Trudeau. At the time, Trudeau was the Army’s Chief of Research and Development. Now-declassified files on Project Horizon demonstrate that Trudeau and his team estimated it would cost approximately $6 Billion to design, build and fully equip a base on the Moon. In a document titled “Project Horizon: A U.S. Army Study for the Establishment of a Lunar Military Post,” Trudeau wrote the following words:
“There is a requirement for a manned military outpost on the Moon. The lunar outpost is required to develop and protect potential United States interests on the Moon; to develop techniques in Moon-based surveillance of the Earth and space, in communications relay, and in operations on the surface of the Moon, for further exploration into space and for military operations on the Moon if required; and to support scientific investigations on the Moon.”
The program was indeed a grand one, a far-reaching operation designed to ensure that the control of outer space would fall into the hands of the United States and and specifically not into the hands of the Russians. In the wake of the publication of Trudeau’s report, plans were quickly initiated. One of those who was brought into the program was Wernher Von Braun – a scientist, and someone who had been a member of Germany’s Nazi Party and a member of the SS. He was an expert in the field of rocketry and someone who, after the Second World War, was brought to the United States under cover of a classified and controversial program called Operation Paperclip. Von Braun chose to assign an engineer named Heinz-Hermann Koelle to oversee Project Horizon. Koelle fought for the Nazis during the Second World War. Evidently, the Nazi-based backgrounds of the pair didn’t bother those working on Project Horizon. It certainly should have, though. But, I digress.
The initial goal was for the Moon base to be relatively small, which made a great deal of sense. After all, we’re talking about entirely new territory and revolutionary technology. So, the plan was to slowly make the base bigger and bigger as time went on. But, initially, it would be something akin to a North Pole outpost, with a staff of around just one to two dozen. Using the base as a strategic military facility, as well as a place in which the mysteries of the Moon and the Solar System could be carefully and secretly studied, ensured that America would have a significant lead over the Soviets – who were clearly a major threat at the time.
In fact, on this issue of a potential Soviet threat, the Project Horizon team gave serious and deep consideration to the possibility that the Russians might very well try and destroy the base – possibly even with Russian cosmonauts invading the base and armed to the teeth with high-tech weaponry. On the scientific side of things, a great deal of research was focused on ensuring that the base would have a plentiful supply of water and oxygen – which, of course, none could live without. Plans were initiated to have vast shuttle craft send endless supplies of water and food to the base – that is, until the staff became completely self-sufficient, which was seen as completely feasible. In theory, at least.
As for how and where, exactly, the base would be constructed, Project Horizon’s scientists were of the opinion that the best option would be to build it in an already-existing, natural crater. Such was the enthusiasm for the program, an estimation was made that the initial construction of the base could begin in 1965 – which was four years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon. Project workers suggested that it might be wise to construct significant parts of the base underground, chiefly to protect it from not just the Soviets, but from natural space debris too, such a fragments of meteorites.
Although Project Horizon was seen as a major (and secret) program of the military, it was ultimately deemed to be way too far ahead of itself. The military concluded that the plans for the creation of Project Horizon to begin in 1965 were overly ambitious in the extreme and the program was cancelled. What was once on the horizon was finally no more.
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
