Dit is ons nieuw hondje Kira, een kruising van een waterhond en een Podenko. Ze is sinds 7 februari 2024 bij ons en druk bezig ons hart te veroveren. Het is een lief, aanhankelijk hondje, dat zich op een week snel aan ons heeft aangepast. Ze is heel vinnig en nieuwsgierig, een heel ander hondje dan Noleke.
This is our new dog Kira, a cross between a water dog and a Podenko. She has been with us since February 7, 2024 and is busy winning our hearts. She is a sweet, affectionate dog who quickly adapted to us within a week. She is very quick and curious, a very different dog than Noleke.
DEAR VISITOR,
MY BLOG EXISTS ALREADY 12 YEARS AND 10 MONTHS.
ON 06/04/2024 MORE THAN 1.951.050
VISITORS FROM 134 DIFFERENT NATIONS ALREADY FOUND THEIR WAY TO MY BLOG.
THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF 400GUESTS PER DAY.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HOPE YOU ENJOY EACH TIME.
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.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
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...
People have had UFO encounters since the dawn of recorded history (if not before), but with the advent of airplanes, cars, cameras and binoculars, sightings became much more common. Here are some of the most remarkable sightings of the modern era.
1. KENNETH ARNOLD, WASHINGTON STATE
Kenneth Arnold’s UFO Sighting Was Widely Reported
It started as a normal day for Kenneth Arnold in 1947. He was a private pilot, flying himself to Yakima, Washington for business. He took a small side trip, buzzing by Mt. Rainier to see if he could spot a U.S. Marine transport plane that had crashed recently—there was a $5,000 reward.
He didn’t find the plane, but what he did discover changed the world of ufology. During the flight, he saw several bright flashes. At first he thought they might just be reflections, but the “reflections” grew closer and larger, and he realized he was looking at flying objects. Geese? No, geese don’t fly at 1,200 MPH. A new type of jet? There were no contrails.
And, they were the wrong shape—they were, as Arnold put it, thin and convex. He later told reporters that the objects’ movement reminded him of saucers skipping across water, and thus was born the familiar term “flying saucers”.
2. THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES
The Large Triangular Craft That Frightened Los Angeles in 1942
It was 1942 and the United States was plunged into World War II. In February, only two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, anti-aircraft guns started firing over the city of Los Angeles. Lights had appeared in the sky, witnessed by thousands, and everyone’s first assumption was that the Japanese were staging another attack.
Strangely, the anti-aircraft fire brought nothing down, even though radar showed an “unidentifiable aerial target” over the city. Some witnesses said they saw a large object hovering in the air. Later, a journalist’s photo of the battle scene (at right) sparked controversy among UFO skeptics and only deepened the mystery—it appears to show a large black triangular craft.
3. UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL
Sure, you’ve heard of the Roswell Incident. Skeptics like to say it’s the “most thoroughly debunked UFO claim” in the world. We disagree. You can’t “debunk” something by making up explanations.
The Story Made Headlines, But The Air Force Quickly Tried to Cover Up the Incident
It was a hot day in July 1947 when New Mexico rancher Mac Brazel was out on a remote part of the Foster ranch, and when he came across strange wreckage, he wasn’t sure what to think of it. Maybe the guys at the local military base, the 509th airfield, would know something about it. When Brazel took some officers, including Intelligence Officer Jesse Marcel, to see for themselves, the military men were stunned. It was clear to them that this was indeed a crashed vehicle—and that it wasn’t from this planet.
The story hit the news wires, and calls came in from around the world. General Roger Ramey rushed to the 509th base and concocted a story about a downed weather balloon. The story stuck—”General Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer” read the headlines—and those involved were warned to never reveal what they actually saw.
Later, in old age, Jesse Marcel felt compelled to reveal the truth, and the story became the stuff of legend.
4. UFOS BUZZ D.C.
It’s alarming enough for an air traffic controller to spot seven unknown objects on radar. But when Ed Nugent spotted them in Washington D.C. in July 1952, he realized they were headed toward the White House and the U.S. Capitol building—so he raised an alert. His radar unit checked out, not malfunctioning, and the blips showed up on other radar units as well. Then the objects were sighted by pilots in the area, moving at “an unbelievable speed”.
The objects vanished within 15 minutes, but a few days later, they were back. This time, strange flying lights were noticed by the flight crew on a commercial jet over D.C. They appeared yet again the next day. President Harry Truman was so shaken up by these events that he called the head of Project Blue Book, demanding an explanation. Soon after, a standing shoot-down order was given to Air Force pilots: if you see a UFO, fire on it immediately.
You may also be interested in Part One of this two-part UFO series, where we cover other striking encounters with UFOs that landed, crashed, and buzzed by Earth landmarks.
1. UFO LANDING IN RENDLESHAM FOREST, UK
“I’ve gone on record saying Rendlesham might be the turning point in history that leads to the explanation of the UFO phenomenon.” —Nick Pope, UK Ministry of Defense
It was December 1980, and on a US military base in England, a security patrol observed a strange light descending into nearby Rendlesham Forest, and assumed one of their aircraft must have gone down.
Re-creation of the Craft that Landed in Rendlesham Forest
Sergeants John Burroughs and James Penniston were dispatched to investigate, and instead of a downed plane, they discovered a strange craft with glowing yellow and blue lights, approximately nine by six feet in size. Static electricity seemed to be emanating from it. The men stood and stared at the object for about 10 minutes, finally deciding that it did not appear to be a threat. They moved closer and observed strange hieroglyphic markings on the side of the craft.
Suddenly, an explosion of light from the ship knocked both men down; “I thought I was going to die that night,” Penniston said later. Penniston got up and touched the craft; it felt smooth and warm.
The men stayed near the UFO for 45 minutes until it began to rise through the trees, then shot into the night so quickly that Penniston later wrote in his log book, “Speed: Impossible!”
The next morning, investigators found deep, triangle-shaped impressions in the ground where the craft had been sighted. Tests showed high levels of radiation.
The ship returned for two consecutive nights; on the final night, it was witnessed by nearly 60 people.
2. THE KECKSBURG UFO CRASH
At first, they thought it was some kind of crazy meteor. The fireball that streaked across skies over Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in 1965 dropped metal debris and caused sonic booms. Eyewitnesses in the small town of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania saw the UFO crash into a forest, followed by blue smoke that rose from amongst the trees. They called authorities.
Reproduction of What Witnesses Saw Near Kecksburg, PA
Meanwhile, a few brave individuals ventured into the woods to see what had crash-landed. They found the object partially buried in the ground; it was bronze in color and metallic, about the size of a car, shaped like an acorn. The witnesses noticed strange markings on its surface that resembled Egyptian hieroglyphs. Jim Romanesky, one of the observers, said that the UFO was completely seamless, almost as if it had been made of liquid metal that was poured into a mold.
When the military arrived, they cordoned off the area, detaining and removing everyone from the forest. Witnesses saw them load the object onto a flatbed truck and remove it; when an official report was issued, it said that “absolutely nothing” had been found—case closed.
3.PHOENIX LIGHTS
Phones at the police station were ringing off the hook, UFO reporting agencies were inundated with calls, the news media were receiving a flurry of reports, people were standing in the streets and pointing at the sky: there were strange lights hovering over the city of Phoenix! Thousands of people saw the Phoenix Lights that March day in 1997, including police offers, military personnel, and Arizona governor Fife Symington; eye-witnesses said that the lights appeared to be part of a massive black V-shaped craft that moved slowly and silently as it passed over their rooftops.
The first reports of the UFO came from Henderson, Nevada, where witnesses said the craft was drifting along in a southeasterly direction; it passed over other towns until it appeared over Phoenix. Air traffic controllers at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport could see the lights through their window but registered no sign of anything on radar.
The local Air Force base denied that any activity had taken place that night—then later changed the story and said that the lights had been aircraft flares they’d dropped between 9:00 and 10:00 PM that night. Problem is, the UFO lights had appeared over Henderson, Nevada just before 8:00 PM and over Phoenix just after 8:30 PM.
4. UFO OVER O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
“I am still in absolute wonder and amazement at what I saw that afternoon.”
—Eye-witness to the O’Hare UFO
It had been a normal afternoon at busy O’Hare International when airport employees began to notice something strange in the sky.
A Strange Disc Hovers Over O’Hare International Airport
On November 7, 2006, a metallic, saucer-like craft appeared above the airport and hovered over Gate C-17. A ramp employee was the first to see it as he helped a jet, flight 446 bound for North Carolina, push back to prepare for takeoff. Chatter on two-way radios alerted a dozen other employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors, who all ran to see the disc hovering in the sky.
The UFO lingered over the airport for about two minutes, then, as witnesses described, shot straight up at an incredible velocity and vanished, leaving a clear, sky-blue hole in the clouds.
The Federal Aviation Administration first denied they had any evidence of the matter. When a local reporter discovered a recording of an FAA official discussing the sighting with a United Airlines employee, the FAA changed the story: it was just a weather phenomenon, and there was no need for further investigation.
Signs of Plant Life May Be Easier to Spot on Older Planets, Scientists Find
Signs of Plant Life May Be Easier to Spot on Older Planets, Scientists Find
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer
NASA and NOAA satellites measure vegetation on Earth from space to produce images like this one of plant life between April 2012 and April 2013.
Credit: NASA/NOAA
The rise of plants was crucial in turning Earth from a watery rock into a world where humans could thrive — and our home may not be the only planet where that process has played out.
So scientists decided to investigate Earth's own vegetative history to think through how it could guide our search for habitable exoplanets. The result is a new paper that focuses on what scientists call the vegetation red edge, which just means that Earth happens to reflect back a relatively high amount of near infrared light.
"We use Earth's history as a key for finding life in the universe," research co-author Lisa Kaltenegger, an astronomer at Cornell University, said in a statement. "Looking at how life altered Earth's biosignatures over time helps us to figure out which planets are most likely to show the strongest signs of life, ultimately giving us the best chances of successfully pinpointing life, if it is there." [Earth's Plant Life from Space in Photos: NASA Satellite Images]
The pair of scientists behind the new research looked at how Earth's vegetation red edge as viewed by an alien would change over time as plant life evolved and changed. The first green plants, like mosses, produced a very weak vegetation red edge signal. But now, 400 or 500 million years later, modern plants and trees produce a signal that's about twice as strong. They also feed, house and clothe humans and plenty of other life-forms.
"Our work shows that as plants evolved on Earth, the vegetation signal that reveals their presence became stronger, making older exoplanets really interesting places to look for vegetation," Kaltenegger said in the statement.
And the researchers estimate that the signal will become even more noticeable if Earth continues to become warmer and drier, since cactuses are particularly reflective of this near infrared light. For hopeful astrobiologists, that's not all bad news, since even today, Earth's vegetation red edge would be difficult to catch a glimpse of.
But even taking into account different types of plants and partial cloud cover, the scientists found that Earth looks reliably different from other planets in the solar system — a promising sign for using the technique.
"Observing an exoplanet is more challenging, but telescope technology is getting better at spotting tiny signals," co-author Jack O’Malley-James, also an astronomer at Cornell University, said in the statement. "And factoring Earth's changing landscapes into our models will make it easier to detect vegetation in the future on other worlds."
The research is described in a paper published Sept. 12 in the journal Astrobiology.
Hopes of colonizing Mars rest on the premise that we could terraform the red planet, making it habitable for humans with a breathable atmosphere and clement temperatures. However, a recent study cast doubt on the idea, concluding that terraforming is impossible with present technology.
With colonizing Mars on hold, it's a good time to reevaluate the relationship we have with our nearest cosmic neighbour, the moon. The first successful lander on the moon was the Russian spacecraft Luna 9 in 1966. This mission revealed the barren lunar landscape in fine detail for the first time.
The first close-up images of the moon’s surface, from 1966.
Since the dawn of the space age, there have been over 60 successful missions to the moon, including eight that were manned. The most famous being Apollo 11 in July 1969 which resulted in the first human presence on the moon.
These space pioneers broadened our understanding of Earth and the universe. The Apollo 15 mission of 1971, for example, recovered the so-called "Genesis Rock," one of the oldest rock samples ever found from a crater on the moon. Analysis of other surface samples supported the "giant impact hypothesis," a now predominant view that the moon formed from a giant impact on the Earth some 4.5 billion years ago.
Since then, however, our gaze has shifted away from the moon and onto Mars. In the 1990s, after a string of failures, Mars Pathfinder delivered the first rover onto the surface of Mars. This was the first successful landing on Mars since the Viking probes of the late 1970s. The pictures that the probe returned set the public's imagination aflame, stoking interest in new missions to the red planet.
Rather than mourning the immediate prospect of a manned Martian mission today, we present five reasons why the moon deserves another look – and more than just a flying visit.
The Genesis Rock was formed at least four billion years ago, during the birth of our solar system.
Credit: NASA/Wikimedia Commons
We've only scratched the surface of our moon's potential interest to humanity.
Credit: NASA
1. A staging post in space
To overcome the pull of gravity and reach another body in space you need to achieve a certain speed. A journey to Mars from Earth's surface requires a minimum total speed of nearly 30,000mph (approximately 13.1km/s). This requires large rockets, tonnes of fuel, and complex orbital manoeuvring. Due to the moon's weaker gravitational field, the same journey from the lunar surface would "only" require a speed of 6,500mph (2.9km/s). This is roughly one third of that necessary to reach the International Space Station from Earth.
The mineral troilite, an iron-sulphur compound rare on Earth, is also present in the lunar crust. The sulphur from troilite can be extracted and combined with lunar soil to produce a building material stronger than Portland Cement, meaning a settlement could be constructed on the moon using locally sourced material.
Establishing a lunar base from which to launch deep space missions would massively increase the payload to fuel ratio, allowing us to explore the solar system at a fraction of the current cost and effort.
2. Fuelling the future
Nuclear fusion, the process that fuels stars, could provide our future energy supply. Fusion reactors of the future will use Helium-3, a lighter version of the helium used in party balloons. This isotope is rare on Earth but abundant on the moon where it could be mined, something which has already attracted interest from a number of businesses and governments willing to ship it to Earth.
The core of a nuclear fusion reactor.
Credit: Shutterstock
This initial burst of commercial interest could provide the incentive and finance needed for our first forays into establishing a permanent human presence on the moon.
3. Rock of ages
The moon is an inactive world – no major geological changes have occurred in the last three billion years. On Earth, surface features are weathered by rain, tides, wind or plant growth. The lunar landscape proudly displays a record of its violent past in the form of impact features, offering a preserved history of the solar system which is ready for us to explore.
4. Observing the universe
The atmospheric density of the moon is thin, a ten trillionth of that on Earth. This absence provides the perfect conditions for astronomical observatories across the full breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum. A radio observatory on the far side of the moon would be completely shielded from the radio chatter of Earth.
The low-density atmosphere also makes a ground-based X-ray or gamma ray telescope possible, unlike on Earth where short wavelength light from space is blocked. Such observatories could be maintained and upgraded by a human presence on the moon far more easily than an orbiting telescope.
The lunar observatory could search deeper into space than an Earth-bound equivalent.
Credit: es Bossinas/NASA
5. Humans in space
One of the major hurdles for a Mars mission is understanding how human health is affected by a long-term voyage into space. If anything unexpected occurs, resupply or rescue is over two years away. By testing human tolerances on the moon first and developing technology and experience, further exploration of Mars or beyond will be far more practical. If an emergency occurs on a lunar base, Earth is only three days away.
Another major concern about going to Mars is the inadvertent contaminationof the pristine martian environment by earthly organisms. The Moon is almost certainly sterile, so such concerns are moot.
While the first scientific research conducted on the moon was performed in the late 1960s, in the subsequent half century we have come no closer to a sustained human presence there. This is despite an ever-increasing technological capability which far surpasses what was available to the Apollo missions. Before we can take another giant leap into space, it might be worth taking some small steps closer to home.
Pyramid UFO Caught Over Mexico On Live Internet Cam On Oct 2018, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Pyramid UFO Caught Over Mexico On Live Internet Cam On Oct 2018, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: October 2018 Location of sighting: Mexico City, Mexico Source: Live Mexico Cam
This video was made by a UFO researcher in Australia watching the live Mexico City cam. He is famous for his hard work in the field and this time he caught an amazing Pyramid UFO that is semi cloaked moving through the clouds. I have heard of pyramid clouds, but very few legit reports come in like this one. As you see the cam takes a photo every few seconds so there is a jump in-between, but the UFO is seen in many still shots. Absolute proof that aliens are active in Mexico. Scott C. Waring
I have just received this UFO sighting video through a report form. This happened in Cape Town, South Africa on 24th September 2018.
Witness report:
I have attached part of the video which I had taken yesterday, (Monday, 24 September 2018) at 12:02 of strange activity which I noticed in the sky in the Belville and Brackenfell, Cape Town, South Africa area. It first seemed like flashing lights of possibly an aircraft or even star of some sort, but did it soon became clear that these seemingly flashing lights seemed to be at different places at different times within a fraction of a second, during which I decided to take a video of it with my smartphone. Only after playing the videos back in extremely slow motion, frame for frame, I were amazed to see that this seemed to be only one object but which moved with incredible speed within a fraction of a second! So fast that to the naked eye it will seem like flashing lights appearing at different spots. Please have a look in slow motion especially to see the phenomenal speed with which this thing moves! I could hardly believe my eyes what I had seen on the videos! On the other part of the video, it can clearly be seen that this light orb / flying object will dive at incredible speed after which it will ascent with the same lightning speed, after which it will do some sort of half a circular motion and then dive soon after this at the same incredible speed. I have more footage with even more amazing things which this flying object seemed to be capable of and of which I am sure no aircraft on earth are capable of but could unfortunately only email you this clip due to the size of the full video clip.I would like to know whether there are more people in the Belville area who saw this or if there were anything unusual reported in the skies yesterday at that time.
UFO INVESTIGATION: US officials 'hold SECRET ALIEN TESTS' at ranch - 'DISTURBING'
UFO INVESTIGATION: US officials 'hold SECRET ALIEN TESTS' at ranch - 'DISTURBING'
THE US Department for Defence has carried out a series of undercover tests at the highly controversial UFO sighting ground, the Skinwalker ranch in Utah, leaked documents have claimed.
The video was soon went viral across the web, with many giving their opinions on what it could be.
One person wrote: “In my opinion, its not a satellite, too big if I assume relative distances.
“Its not within the earths atmosphere as would appear to move across the field of view more rapidly and likely be a blur.
“Your focus is on the moon and the object remains in focus. It must also be large!”
UFO sighting: Massive ‘alien spaceship’ seen travelling across the Moon - shock video
(Image: GETTY)
Another person added: “It’s a mother ship!”
YouTuber Ryan Isaaks stated: “No doubt it's a UFO. I’m 100 percent sure.
“We are being watched and don't know how long the government is hiding this from the public.”
However, others believed their was a more natural explanation, with many claiming that it looks like a large rock orbiting the moon or travelling through space.
Which prompted the response: “Looks like a rock, the colour dark and it didn’t turn or change speed.”
Many people believe that there is an alien race living on the moon.
Just last month, conspiracy theorists were sent into a frenzy when a massive structure was spotted on the moon.
Many jumped to the conclusion that it was an alien base or monument, and believe the likes of NASA are covering something up.
The UFO is seen travelling across the moon
(Image: YOUTUBE)
The strange moon-pyramid was spotted using Google’s search tool Google Moon.
The coordinates to find the ‘monolith’ on Google Moon are 20 ° 48'45.54 "N 25 ° 59'50.89" W.
In a video uploaded to YouTube by Argentinian Marcelo Irazusta, the man-made-looking structure seems to be an anomaly on the surface on the moon.
A description from Mr Irazusta alongside the video reads: “A strange elevation of hundreds of meters in the middle of a plain of the Moon is a mystery that must be revealed.
“Everything seems to indicate that it could be a non-natural structure. It is really awesome.”
The huge round body was found on a beach on Seabrook Island, South Dakota, and featured in a Facebook post by Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN)
It said: "Look at this mysterious object that washed ashore in Seabrook Island today! What do you think it is?"
The post was inundated with theories about what it is.
Jennifer Passantino posted: “I saw it this morning on my walk.
“I assume it was a buoy, but could also be the remains of an alien spaceship.”
“(It) could also be the remains of an alien spaceship”
Witness
Many said it looked like part of a space capsule or satellite debris, and some speculated it could be a rocket nozzle from the space shuttle Challenger that blew up about 30 years ago.
Many social media users said it looks like a piece of a mooring buoy or a dredge pipe float used in the removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of lakes and rivers.
One commenter said the object appears to be made of concrete, but the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network said it is "foam-like" and "easily floated in".
The mystery was whisked away by town leaders, according to LMMN.
LMMN
This bizarre object was washed up on a South Dakota beach
THIS 3-MINUTE ANIMATION WILL CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION OF TIME FOREVER
THIS 3-MINUTE ANIMATION WILL CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION OF TIME FOREVER
We all know that Earth is old, but it’s hard to put into perspective just how old it is.
After all, what does 4.5 billion years really mean? How do you even comprehend that amount of time with our short-lived human brains?
Well, Business Insider has done a pretty incredible job of it in this 3-minute animation, by displaying the timeline of Earth if time was the distance from Los Angeles to New York. And, oh boy, our world-view will never be the same.
We start our journey in Los Angeles, back when Earth first formed 4.54 billion years ago. But we don’t get very far on our road trip through time and space before the Moon shows up after Earth is hit by a planetary body.
About halfway across the top of Arizona, the world’s largest rock forms 3.95 billion years ago, and then a few miles down the road – 3.8 billion years ago – the first evidence of life shows up, in the form of replicating molecules.
But it’s not until Kansas, 2.7 billion years ago, when oxygen-producing cyanobacteria first emerge, and then 200 million years later that significant amounts of oxygen build up in Earth’s atmosphere.
And then, believe it or not, it’s not until Pennsylvania – halfway across the country – that multicellular organisms evolve, just 600 million years ago.
A lot happens in Pennsylvania, like plants colonising the land and amphibians evolving. And by the time dinosaurs become extinct we’re already in New York State.
So where do humans fit in?
Well we’ll let you watch the video below to find that out, and let’s just say that it will blow your freaking mind. Especially when you see how much we’ve done in just 5.6 feet (1.7 metres) of time.
The Earth is really, really old. Over four and a half billion years old, in fact. How do we begin to comprehend a number that large? It helps to put it on a more fathomable scale. Watch to see where Earth’s major events would fall on a timeline stretching across the US.
Did John Glenn Tell Us the Truth About UFOs & Aliens in a Frasier Episode???
Did John Glenn Tell Us the Truth About UFOs & Aliens in a Frasier Episode???
In a 2001 episode of Frasier, the late senator and astronaut John Glenn had an interesting guest appearance and I think the script had him basically spill the beans about UFOs and aliens to the American people! Glenn was later depicted by Senator Harry Reid has having an interest in UFOs and aliens and the truth about him. What do you think --- was Glenn a believer and was he trying to aid in Disclosure?
Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Listen program said it has added the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa to its global effort to listen for signals from an alien intelligence
First announced in 2015, Breakthrough Listen is an unprecedented $100 million program – backed by Russian high-tech billionaire Yuri Milner – to listen for signals from an alien intelligence. This massive SETI project is already listening via the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and Parkes Telescope in Australia. On October 2, 2018, Breakthrough Listen announced it will also begin listening via the 64 radio dishes of South Africa’s brand new MeerKAT telescope. It made the announcement at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, saying it planned to:
… examine a million individual stars – 1,000 times the number of targets in any previous search – in the quietest part of the radio spectrum, monitoring for signs of extraterrestrial technology. With the addition of MeerKAT’s observations to its existing surveys, Listen will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Yuri Milner commented:
Collaborating with MeerKAT will significantly enhance the capabilities of Breakthrough Listen. This is now a truly global project.
Artist’s concept of an extraterrestrial, via Shutterstock.
Yuri Milner funds Breakthrough Listen. He was an early investor in Facebook and Twitter and has funded other large endeavors. For example, he has established the largest award in the world in the field of biomedicine and life sciences, called the Breakthrough Prize.
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spent part of this year verifying the 64 radio antennas, each 13.5 meters (44 feet) in diameter, of the MeerKAT telescope. SARAO officially inaugurated the telescope in July 2018.
Breakthrough Listen said its involvement:
… adds the capability to search for technosignatures – signals that indicate the presence of technology on an alien world, and hence provide evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere.
The MeerKAT telescope of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas, located in the remote Karoo Desert of South Africa.
Scientists and engineers from the University of California, Berkeley SETI Research Center have already installed Breakthrough Listen’s special digital instrumentation (much like that installed at Green Bank) at the MeerKAT telescope. The Breakthrough Listen team said its observations will:
… occur in a commensal mode – at the same time as other astrophysics programs. Using sophisticated processing, Breakthrough Listen scientists will digitally point the telescope at targets of interest.
This means that the Breakthrough Listen instrument at MeerKAT will be operating almost continuously, scanning the skies for signs of intelligent life.
The Green Bank telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, is another one of the observatories attempting to eavesdrop on aliens with the help of Breakthrough Listen. Using the Breakthrough Listen digital instrumentation at this telescope, astronomers 3 weeks ago announced they’d found 72 more fast radio bursts from a distant galaxy. Photo via NRAO.
Bottom line: Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Listen program has added the new MeerKAT telescope of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory to its global SETI effort.
Incredibly Weird Microbes Found Deep Underground Could Change Search for Life on Mars
Incredibly Weird Microbes Found Deep Underground Could Change Search for Life on Mars
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer
A microscopic view of cyanobacteria, colored fuchsia, growing on a rock fragment.
Credit: PNAS
Life on Earth just got weirder, and that may have intriguing implications for life beyond this planet.
That's one takeaway from new research that identified cyanobacteria — a class of microbes known for turning sunlight into sugar — living deep below Earth's surface, far away from any ray of sunlight.
Because they're so tiny, cyanobacteria don't always get much love, but they're what turned Earth from an inhospitable rock (to us, anyway) into a green, growing world and first put the oxygen we rely on into the atmosphere. "What the cyanobacteria have invented has been brilliantly important through the history of life on Earth," Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California not involved in the new research, told Space.com. [Photos: Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life]
"They were able to turn our Earth into a place that is habitable for the animals that evolved here," Rothschild said. She called cyanobacteria "one-stop shopping" for turning what was easily accessible about 2.7 billion years ago in the early days of Earth — compounds like water and carbon dioxide — into the oxygen and sugar that animals need to survive. Some cyanobacteria can even turn the nitrogen that makes up most of our atmosphere into biologically useful ammonia.
All of that relies on the bacteria getting enough sunlight to conduct photosynthesis, the reaction that allows cyanobacteria, plants and similar organisms to feed themselves. So, deep within the surface of Earth is an unlikely hideout for cyanobacteria. But that's what the authors of the new research say they've found: cyanobacteria living 2,000 feet (600 meters) deep below the surface of a region called the Iberian Pyrite Belt in southwest Spain.
If the new research holds up, it suggests that some cyanobacteria found themselves unable to gather enough sunlight to complete photosynthesis, then threw in the towel and figured out how to feed themselves on hydrogen instead. (Hydrogen also fuels microbes found at the ocean bottom near deep-sea hydrothermal vents, which are also studied as potential analogues of extraterrestrial life.)
That big switch from photosynthesis to chemical subsistence is intriguing, because while Mars today isn't the sort of place life as we know it could thrive, it was many, many years ago. So, if cyanobacteria on Earth snuck below the surface and found a new way to make a living, does that increase the odds something similar happened with hypothetical cyanobacteria-like organisms on Mars?
It's an exciting proposal, Rothschild said. "The idea of surface organisms going underneath [the ground] is something that a lot of us talk about all the time," Rothschild said, but usually not in the context of cyanobacteria, which are considered too reliant on sunlight. "It provides a nice example of a test case of organisms that started at the surface and then were able to adapt to deep biosphere life."
This isn't the first time cyanobacteria have been spotted doing something unexpected, Daniela Billi, an astrobiologist at the University of Rome not involved with the new research, told Space.com. Just this year, a different team of scientists found that certain cyanobacteria could conduct photosynthesis using just infrared light, which is beyond the visible spectrum. The new research goes one step further, Billi said.
"It is a new metabolism that is really very challenging," she said, and an unexpected way of surviving. "It shows that there are pathways that we were not thinking about." [The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)]
The new research, which was published yesterday (Oct. 1) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underscores one of the loudest choruses in astrobiological research: that life is weird, hardy and ubiquitous.
"Every time that we look in strange, extreme environments on Earth, life is always surprising us. We always find a form of life we were not thinking of or thought could not be there," Billi said. "We are very far from knowing life and its extremes."
This controversial footage is causing a stir among UFO fans and conspiracy theorists as records a bizarre conversation between a "nervous" astronaut and mission control.
The outer-space experts claim that during a live feed from the International Space Station the astronaut mentions the word "gospel" as a strange red-coloured UFO appears on the screen.
Blogger Scott C Waring(Image: Secureteam10)
According to Mr Waring, the appearance of the UFO on the ISS live video feed as the astronaut mentions the gospel" was significant and could not be a coincidence."
Talking his viewers through the footage he drew the attention of viewers to the moment in the recording that the astronaut said the word “gospel,” and the moment that ground control replied to the astronaut, saying, “we will pray for you."
Secure Team 10's Tyler Glockne r also noted how odd it was for the astronaut to be talking about religion ans said the conversation was "very unusual".
Is this a UFO?(Image: Secureteam10)
He said: "You can hear the astronaut speaking about God as a UFO appears, which is strange.
“Although it is not strange to think there may be astronauts who may be religious, but I think it would be uncommon due to the training and scientific knowledge they have.”
But his fans asked whether the reference to "gospel" was actually code for "aliens".
Conspiracy theorists have suggested that the astronaut’s statement that he was looking “forward to this partnership with the gospel,” could be coded language and he was actually telling ground control he was about to meet a delegation of extraterrestrials and hold "talks" with them.
UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018
UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018
Case File Information
TBV Investigations Case Number: 595176
Date of Event / Case File: 05/17/2018 Name of Witness: Anonymous
Case File Status: Likely Explainable
Background
The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 19, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.
Witness Testimony
The witness submitted the following report:
“At approximately 19:30 on May 17, 2018 I saw something extremely bright horizontal to the setting sun. I’ve seen sundogs before and have many photographs of them. This was no sundog. It hung in the air. It was huge. It had a shape. I ran inside and grabbed my phone and snapped a few shots. I also manipulated a couple of them and brought out what looks like a glowing cigar shape object of some kind. I took a few close ups and a couple of wide angles. I have to say I was amazed. I also caught a secondary object that looks geometrical with antennae protruding from the corners when you zoom in on one of the frames. Look at the photographs and you tell me what that is in the sky. Feel free to download and examine them for yourselves.”
The Evidence
The witness also submitted many photographs of the event in question. This took place over Jacksonville, NC.
The Analysis
The image was examined using several filters, settings, and adjustments in Photoshop. The object appears to be part of the sky, and has its own brightness, equal to the sunlight. To the left of the large shape is a small, geometric object hanging in the sky. The pixelated nature of the image makes it impossible to tell for sure what we are looking at. The witness stated that the object was not noticed until examining the images later. The witness further states that the cloud shape hung there as the ones around it moved, dissipated. Some swirling can be seen in the image, but again, not definitive shapes. The event lasted ten minutes.
Image Analysis
Gamma Adjusted to 11.
Inverted.
Levels Maxxed for Dark
Conclusion
It is impossible to draw a conclusion for the geometric shape hanging in the air to the left of the elliptical shape as the image is not clear enough. The elliptical shape could be described on first look as a Fallstreak hole (hole punch cloud), but the cloud type is not right for this phenomenon since Fallstreak holes occur in cirro and alto cumulus clouds. A search of images on Google turned up this example of a similar sky effect. This cloud feature is the only conclusion that can be drawn at this time as there is no discernible anomaly in the image.
The Pentagon Is Building An Army Of Insects To 'Protect Crops'
The Pentagon Is Building An Army Of Insects To 'Protect Crops'
The Pentagon has been researching for a program with the title of “Insect Allies”.
The program has the intention of creating insect armies that defend crops; however, they could also be used as a biological weapon with the Pentagon not denying they have the potential for dual use.
DARPA created Insect Allies to protect against threats to the food supply. An opinion piece in @sciencemagazine questions motives & value of the research. Here we reassert the need for Insect Allies and map the efforts we've taken to proceed responsibly.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institution for Evolutionary Biology along with researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany and the University of Montpellier in France have criticized the program. They believe that the knowledge that has been gained from the research along with the program is limited in the ability to be able to enhance agriculture in the US. They also don’t believe it could be used in response to any national emergency.
Researches believe that the program "may be widely perceived as an effort to develop biological agents for hostile purposes and their means of delivery."
Program Was Developed to Protect Food Supplies
The insect armies are under development by DARPA with the intention of them being able to protect food supplies against any threats. However, the program along with the motives and values of it has been questioned by many researchers.
The program manager of Insect Allies, Dr. Blake Bextine tried to quell any fears by saying that DARPA was "not producing biological weapons, and we reject the hypothetical scenario," though they "accept and agree with concerns about the potential dual use of technology."
While Bextine had tried to persuade people that there were no intentions of using the insect army for bioweapons, a later response by him by way of a two-page document did not have any strong denials about the insect armies becoming bioweapons. He came up with the argument that the program was intended only as a "respond rapidly to threats to the food supply."
Nothing Can Go Wrong With Modified Virus Technology
Bextine was adamant that there was nothing that could go wrong with the program. He put emphasis on "every performer in the program is required to include at least three independent kill switches in their systems to shut down functionality of the technology." Essentially meaning that if the technology, the insects, went rogue they could be killed off.
The aim of the Insect Allies program is to use the modified insects to spread infectious viruses that have been genetically modified to edit the DNA of crops in the fields. Of course, there is nothing to say that they could not be sent out to kill off crops of other countries to bring about famine and death.
After some prompting by Congress, NASA is again getting involved in SETI. Last week, it held a Technosignatures Workshop in Houston, exploring new ways scientists could seek intelligent aliens.
A Dyson sphere megastructure is one type of hypothesized alien technosignature.
Here’s a buzzword you might or might not have heard before: technosignatures. SETI pioneer Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) be renamed the search for technosignatures. Although the question of whether we’re alone in the universe is one of humanity’s oldest (are there “others” who share the universe with us or are we all alone?), most searches for advanced alien life have sought radio waves of artificial origin. More recently, astronomers have suggested looking for visible laser pulses; this is called optical SETI. And there’ve been some exotic ideas, like the possibility that an advanced civilization might use neutron star mergers to signal across the cosmos.
But do we really know what to look for, from an alien civilization that might be millions of years ahead of us?
NASA focused on that question last week (September 26-28, 2018), by hosting a NASA Technosignatures Workshop in Houston, Texas.
Technosignatures are any signs of advanced technology in any one of various plausible forms. They’re analogous to biosignatures, which could be any element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon that provides unmistakeable scientific evidence of past or present life on another world, whether intelligent or not. Technosignatures encompass a much larger conception of alien technology than just intelligent radio or light signals. They could also include such things as massive artificial structures or a planet’s atmosphere full of pollutants. In this way, the search for technosignatures extends beyond the more familiar SETI-type scenarios of looking for radio or light signals.
The workshop was formed after Congress expressed a renewed interest in looking for intelligent alien life last April, urging NASA to expand on its search for technosignatures. The three main facets of the workshop included assessing the current state of the field of research, the most promising avenues of research in technosignatures and where investments could be made to advance the science. Another goal was to determine how NASA could best support the endeavor through partnerships with both private and philanthropic organizations. The workshop had four main specific objectives:
Define the current state of the technosignature field. What experiments have occurred? What is the state-of-the-art for technosignature detection? What limits do we currently have on technosignatures?
Understand the advances coming near-term in the technosignature field. What assets are in place that can be applied to the search for technosignatures? What planned and funded projects will advance the state-of-the-art in future years, and what is the nature of that advancement?
Understand the future potential of the technosignature field. What new surveys, new instruments, technology development, new data-mining algorithms, new theory and modeling, etc., would be important for future advances in the field?
What role can NASA partnerships with the private sector and philanthropic organizations play in advancing our understanding of the technosignatures field?
On September 27, several speakers from the workshop also addressed questions in a Reddit AMA.
The NASA Technosignatures Workshop was recommended by Congress back in April 2018 as means for NASA to expand its search for evidence of alien civilizations.
There may be many ways that an alien civilization, especially one more advanced than us, could affect or alter its environment. Searches for alternative evidence such as this have been done to some extent, but primarily only in the private and philanthropic sectors, not NASA. SETI itself used to be a NASA program until budget cuts ended it in 1993. SETI is now a privately-funded venture. NASA shifted its focus to understanding the origin of life itself, and the potential habitability of other bodies in our solar system and galaxy. This is especially true with its Mars rover missions in recent years, looking for evidence of past habitability, but not life itself. There was even some talk at the conference of the possibility of a technological civilization existing on Earth itself before humans.
Expanding the search to include other possible signs of alien intelligence is a good thing. According to NASA’s2015 Astrobiology Strategy;
Complex life may evolve into cognitive systems that can employ technology in ways that may be observable. Nobody knows the probability, but we know that it is not zero.
SETI is still valuable but limited in scope, currently looking for intentional signals that are strong enough to be detected from many light-years away. Many signals, including ones simply “leaking” out into space, may simply be too weak to be easily detected with current technology. One promising development, however, was noted by Gavin Schmidt on Twitter – it should soon be possible to detect Earth-level leakage of radio waves (not just intentional signals) from nearby stars:
SETI has typically been based on a lot of assumptions about ETI (extraterrestrial intelligence), as Andrew Stewart, a student at Emory University and lead researcher of the Trillion Planet Survey explained in The Current:
First and foremost, we are assuming there is a civilization out there of similar or higher class than ours trying to broadcast their presence using an optical beam, perhaps of the ‘directed energy’ arrayed-type [such as weapons] currently being developed here on Earth. Second, we assume the transmission wavelength of this beam to be one that we can detect. Lastly, we assume that this beacon has been left on long enough for the light to be detected by us. If these requirements are met and the extraterrestrial intelligence’s beam power and diameter are consistent with an Earth-type civilization class, our system will detect this signal.
Traditional SETI effort have used radio telescopes such as the Allen Telescope Array in California.
Image via SETI Institute.
We really don’t know what the first evidence for an alien civilization may look like. It could indeed be radio or light waves, or something even more profound, like a Dyson sphere – a hypothesized massive artificial structure built around a star to harness all of its energy. Or maybe ruins of some now long-dead civilization on some distant planet or moon. Or perhaps intelligent, autonomous probes such as Bracewell probes sent into our solar system.
As one example, Tabby’s Star (aka Boyajian’s Star) has generated a lot of excitement in recent years due to its bizarre episodes of sudden, rapid dimming – up to 22 percent – leading to speculation it may be home to a Dyson sphere or something similar. The sharp dimmings, as well as a much longer overall dimming pattern on the order of decades or centuries, are now thought to be caused by very fine dust, but the origin of the dust and how it’s replenished is still unknown.
The enigmatic Fast Radio Bursts coming from deep space have also sparked much interest, in particular the ones that have now been seen to repeat many times from one single source. They are still unexplained, and probablyhave a natural explanation as per Occam’s razor, but the jury is still out.
Tabby’s Star was an example of what a potential technosignature might look like, although the star’s weird dimmings are now thought to be caused by dust. This artist’s illustration of exocomets orbiting a distant star is suggestive of what might be occurring there.
Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The renewed search for technosignatures is fueled in part by the discovery of thousands of exoplanets in recent years, including ones that are Earth-sized and orbit in the habitable zones of their stars. There are also the ocean worlds – moons such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan and others – which have vast subsurface oceans beneath their icy surfaces. What kind of life might be found in such exotic environments? Such findings increase the likelihood that life – at least of some kind – will be found elsewhere.
Bottom line: When it comes to searching for alien technosignatures – evidence of advanced technology – it has mostly been through the efforts of private organizations. But NASA getting involved again would be a hugeboost, increasing the possibility that some kind of signal or other artifact of intelligent alien life will be found in the not-too-distant future.
Intelligent Extraterrestrial Beings Visited Earth in Prehistoric Times, This Contact Is Connected With the Origins or Development of Technologies and Religions (Video)
Intelligent Extraterrestrial Beings Visited Earth in Prehistoric Times, This Contact Is Connected With the Origins or Development of Technologies and Religions (Video)
Why do people believe in the ancient aliens theory? The ancient astronaut theory is:
Ancient aliens is the idea that aliens visited earth in the past. The idea of ancient aliens is not a new one either. Imagination is one of the most powerful tools in humanity’s evolutionary struggle for survival. As a race, we are hardwired to consider important concepts, such as the creation of life on Earth and the history of people on this planet.
At some point, we are all presented with various explanations and theories regarding the expansion of human life on Earth. In the long history of mankind, the majority of these concepts have followed religious teachings, and the power of a spiritual God or Gods. In modern times, many people have come to challenge these claims. The idea of evolution has been used to describe the gradual change of traits that living organisms undergo over time, which is related to the environment, but it doesn’t explain how the biological cells of human’s first ancestor were spawned.
Because of the fact that everyone is interested in the creation of life on Earth, and concurrently we have been taught to believe in the power of religion and the impossibility of alien life, the idea that this article will be examining is controversial.
It will be based around some concepts that have been labeled absurd by the scientific community, but let your imagination go, and have some fun with the list.
The idea surrounding ancient aliens is a basic one. It states that the human population was influenced by a group of extraterrestrials that visited Earth in the past. The ancient aliens were directly involved in the evolution of primates, including humans. It has been suggested that this was accomplished by way of genetic engineering, cross-breeding, or a combination of both, ultimately helping in the development of human cultures, technologies and religion. The idea first gained widespread exposure with the 1968 publication of Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken, but the concept has been around since the middle of the 19th century. A common variant of the idea includes proposals that deities from most, if not all, religions, including angels and demons, are actually extraterrestrials whose advanced technologies were taken by people as evidence of a divine status.
This concept is related to the religious practice of a cargo cult, which can be seen in modern day pre-industrial tribal societies. Especially during World War II, when indigenous people were contacted by soldiers with advanced equipment, such as guns and tanks.
The cults subsequently attempted to obtain wealth through magic and religious rituals and practices. The ancient alien theory states that extraterrestrials purposely tricked the human population into believing they were Gods, creating religion to help people evolve more efficiently.
The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations. It has been proposed that, with the current age of the universe and its vast number of stars, if the Earth was typical, extraterrestrial life should be common. In response to this paradox, the zoo hypothesis has been suggested. It states that aliens generally avoid making their presence known to humanity, or avoid exerting an influence on development, somewhat akin to zookeepers observing animals in a zoo, or experimental scientists observing a study of life.
Adherents of the hypothesis feel that the Earth and humans are being secretly surveyed using equipment located on Earth, or elsewhere in the Solar System. Charles Fort’s unpublished 1915 manuscript, novel X, describes how Martian beings or Martian events control life on Earth.
Fort ultimately burnt the manuscript, but one surviving quote from it is “The Earth is a farm. We are someone else’s property.”
US Air Force: Don't Worry About Those Weird Lights and Booms Sunday, It's Just a Space Ship
US Air Force: Don't Worry About Those Weird Lights and Booms Sunday, It's Just a Space Ship
By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer
SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 22, 2017, with bystanders on the ground getting a gorgeous light show.
Credit: Maxwell Harris/Getty Images
If you're in the vicinity of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Sunday evening (Oct. 7), you might hear some strange booming and see some weird lights in the sky. But the Air Force would like you to know that there's no need to worry; something entirely normal is going on — a rocket that heaved its way up into space will be falling back to Earth, correcting its trajectory with "multiple engine burns," and then (if all goes well) settling comfortably back on its landing struts in the vicinity of its launch site.
The Air Force released the warning because, while Floridians have had ample time to grow comfortable with the spectacle of SpaceX landings, this will be the first attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket on the West Coast. It will not, however, be the first launch from Vandenberg:
The rocket is currently scheduled to launch at 7:21 p.m. local time, carry the SAOCOM 1A satellite into space, and return to Earth shortly afterward.
According to a Facebook post by the Air Force's 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg, "local residents" can expect to see something of the rocket itself as it returns to the base, while people as far as Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties may hear thunderclap-like sonic booms, depending on the weather.
IT’S RAINING, IT’S POURING Up-close views of the “ring rain” falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet’s atmosphere taken by Cassini (shown in this artist’s illustration) have scientists scratching their heads.
NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
The “ring rain” of material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet’s atmosphere is a much more intense, contaminated downpour than scientists thought.
For decades, astronomers have suspected that Saturn’s rings pelt the planet with grains of water ice, but some of the final observations from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft provide the first detailed views of these celestial showers(SN: 4/14/18, p. 6). Ring rain is highly contaminated with organic matter and other molecules, and hammers Saturnat thousands of kilograms per second, researchers report in the Oct. 5 Science. Understanding the rain’s surprising quantity and quality could help clarify the origins and evolution of Saturn’s rings.
Researchers analyzed data collected by Cassini’s Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer during the spacecraft’s final few orbits in 2017, as it sailed through the gap between Saturn and its innermost ring, known as the D ring (SN Online: 9/15/17). Water constituted only about 24 percent of the material tumbling from Saturn’s ring system into its atmosphere; the rest was methane, carbon monoxide, dinitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide and fragments of organic nanoparticles.
The ring rain’s diverse chemical composition “was a big surprise,” because remote observations show that Saturn’s ring system, on the whole, is almost entirely water ice, says Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who wasn’t involved in the study. Researchers aren’t sure why ring rain is so deprived of water.
Cocktail conundrum
The ring rain that Cassini’s Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer caught falling from Saturn’s rings into its atmosphere is only about 24 percent water — a major surprise, given that Saturn’s ring system is almost entirely water ice. The rest of the ring rain is composed of organic material and other molecules.
The chemical breakdown of Saturn’s ring rain
J.H. WAITE JR. ET AL/SCIENCE 2018
A belt of radiation tucked inside Saturn’s rings could be responsible, says study coauthor Jeff Cuzzi, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Cassini’s end-of-life observations also provided the first closeup views of this band of energetic protons, described in another study in the Oct. 5 Science. The belt’s high-energy radiation may have blasted away much of the water in the D ring very close to Saturn, leaving behind heavier materials like organic compounds, Cuzzi speculates.
Whatever its cause, the ring rain’s peculiar composition may reshape our understanding of the carbon and nitrogen content of Saturn’s atmosphere, says Hunter Waite, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and a coauthor of the ring rain study. Saturn’s presumed chemical makeup may be “just a veneer” created by falling material masking the gas giant’s true composition, he says.
In addition to the ring rain’s chemistry, the Cassini observations also revealed how quickly this material is falling into Saturn’s atmosphere: between 4,800 and 45,000 kilograms per second.
I spy
Observations from Cassini’s final few months revealed a radiation belt composed of high-energy protons tucked inside the gas giant’s ring system. This belt (bright colors below) passes through Saturn’s thin, innermost D ring, and might be stripping water out of the ring material closest to Saturn.
E. ROUSSOS ET AL/SCIENCE 2018
“It’s just an enormous amount of mass flowing into the planet,” Cuzzi says.
Saturn’s rings probably haven’t sustained this rate of rainfall over the course of the planet’s history, he says. If that were the case, the spindly little D ring would have long since eroded away. But a comet or other rogue object may have hit Saturn’s ring system recently, jostling grains out of their usual orbit and making them more vulnerable to Saturn’s gravitational pull.
But if the current deluge is, in fact, Saturn’s normal rate of ring rain, then perhaps the D ring continually siphons material from Saturn’s outer rings, says Kelly Miller, a cosmochemist at the Southwest Research Institute and a coauthor on the ring rain study.
The exact nature of Saturn’s relationship to its rings “is still a puzzle,” Spilker says. But devising more detailed theoretical simulations of what’s going on between the planet’s atmosphere and rings, and testing these theories against the trove of data collected by Cassini could help fill in the picture.
Such work may help scientists better understand not only Saturn, but also any ring-bearing planets that might circle other stars in the universe, she says.
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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 73 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.
Discuss.
