28-04-2019 om 17:52 geschreven door peter  

How To Time Travel, According To A Physicist!

Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University explains what we know about time travel so far.

It's critical that you realize that there are two types of time travel, and they are radically different. Time travel to the future? Definitely possible.

We know how to do it because Einstein showed us the way over a hundred years ago. It’s surprising how few people actually really know about this in their bones.

He showed that if you go out into space and travel near the speed of light, and you turn around, and you come back, your clock will be ticking off time more slowly. So, when you step off it's going to be the future on planet Earth. You will have time traveled into the future.

He also showed that if you hang out near a nice strong source of gravity, a neutron star, a black hole  and you kind of get right near the edge of that object, time also for you would slow down real slow relative to everybody else. And therefore, when you come back to Earth, for instance, it'll again be far into the future.

This is not controversial stuff. Any physicist who knows what they're talking about agrees with this. But the other kind of time travel — to the past is where the arguments start to happen because many of us don't think that time travel to the past is possible.

The main proposal that people at least consider worthy of attention for traveling to the past does make use of a weird concept called wormholes. A wormhole is something that really … Albert Einstein again discovered. The guy has like got his name written over everything in this field.

It's a bridge, if you will, from one location space to another. It's kind of a tunnel that gives you a shortcut to go from here to here.

Now he discovered this in 1935 but it was subsequently realized that if you manipulate the openings of a wormhole — put one near a black hole or take one on a high-speed journey, then time of the two openings of this wormhole tunnel will not take off at the same rate, so that you will no longer just go from one location in space to another, if you go through this tunnel, through this wormhole, you'll go from one moment in time to a different moment in time.

Go one way, you'll travel to the past, the other way, travel to the future.

Now again, we don't know if wormholes are real. We don't know if they are real whether you'll be able to go through them.

So, there are all sorts of uncertainties here. Most of us think that you're not going to actually go on a whirlwind journey through a wormhole to the past. But it's still not ruled out.

  

{ http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

28-04-2019 om 17:44 geschreven door peter  

28-04-2019 om 00:56 geschreven door peter  

On the matter of doppelgangers, Britannica.com states:  “Doppelgänger, (German: ‘double goer’), in German folklore, a wraith or apparition of a living person, as distinguished from a ghost. The concept of the existence of a spirit double, an exact but usually invisible replica of every man, bird, or beast, is an ancient and widespread belief. To meet one’s double is a sign that one’s death is imminent. The doppelgänger became a popular symbol of horror literature, and the theme took on considerable complexity.” Then, there’s the following from Mythology.net: ” Stories of doppelgangers date back to ancient myth and legend. The theme of an evil twin or haunting ghost replica have featured numerous times in literature and art, depicting an innate fascination with the concept, whether real or imaginary. The concept of a good and evil twin is noted as far back as the 5^th century BC, in an ancient Iranian religion called Zoroastrianism. The two primal spirits were the sons of time and represented darkness and light.”

All of which brings me to the matter of, as per the title of this article, the strange story of Brad Steiger’s very own doppelgangers. It was a few years ago that Brad shared with me the extremely weird saga. He said: “After more than 50 years of research in the UFO and paranormal fields, I have come to the conclusion that many of the mysteries that bedevil us are products of a reflexive phenomenon.  This reflexive action does not usually occur in the more mundane pursuits of architecture, industry, mining, agriculture and the like, but once one begins actively to pursue Ufology or psychical research, one runs the risk of entering a surreal world in which the usual physical laws do not apply.”

Surreal, indeed, as the following words from Brad made abundantly clear: “In the following cases I suspect a human agency was involved in a strange campaign that was conducted regarding Steiger imposters who spoke at various conferences around the United States. On occasions the imposters allegedly conducted themselves very well, thus making the whole enterprise of ‘Counterfeit Steigers’ a seemingly futile project. On other occasions, the imposter’s assignment was quite obviously to taint my reputation.

“On a unfortunate number of occasions, I received letters complaining of my outrageous and insulting behavior while speaking at a conference. There were claims that I had openly berated my audience, calling them stupid for accepting the very premise of UFOs. A close friend happened to arrive on the scene after one pseudo-Steiger had departed and tried his best to assure the sponsors of the event that the rowdy, disrespectful speaker could not have been the real Brad.  In his letter, my friend warned me that he had visited a number of lecture halls where the imposter had damned his audiences. ‘Someone seems out to damage your reputation,’ he advised.

“In a most bizarre twist, dozens of men and women have approached me at various lectures and seminars, congratulating me about the manner in which I bested Dr. Carl Sagan in debate. The event allegedly occurred after a lecture when I happened to bump into the great scientist in a restaurant.  The eatery, according to the witnesses, was crowded with those who had attended the seminar, and they egged on a debate between myself and Dr. Sagan.  I mopped up the floor with him, countering his every argument against the reality of UFOs. The truth is that I never met Dr. Sagan, therefore, neither had I ever debated him. But from coast to coast, there are those who claim to have witnessed my triumphal bout.

“Even more individuals claim to have been in the audience when I delivered a rousing message from the Space Brothers in Seattle.  Regardless of how often I deny that I was not in Seattle at that time and have never channeled the Space Brothers, those who were at that event are puzzled why I would deny my eloquence.”

Truly, a bizarre and sinister story.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

28-04-2019 om 00:32 geschreven door peter  

Some of the most interesting UFO reports from over the years are those which occurred at sea. Entire books have been written about this subject, most notably, Ivan Sanderson’s Invisible Residents (1970), which may have been the first major offering to look deeply at a maritime component to the broader UFO enigma.

In the book, Sanderson leads off with an explosive account, to put it lightly. “One evening in the Antarctic,” Sanderson writes, “a Brazilian scientist by the name of Dr. Rubens J. Villela, seconded to the U.S. Navy’s ‘Operation Deep Freeze’ and aboard an icebreaker, was literally jolted almost out of both his body and his mind by a ‘something’ that suddenly came roaring up out of the sea through no less than 37 feet of ice, and went on up into the sky like a vast silvery bullet. The ship was in Admiralty Bay, which faces the South Atlantic Ocean.”

Explosive indeed. It is one of countless similar reports; and by saying “countless,” I don’t mean this merely as an expression used in passing. One might argue that there are literally too many reports of odd things like this, observed in our skies, and particularly over our oceans, to be able to count them reliably.

Many can be explained as some prosaic things, of course, and some others are likely the results of biological phenomenon such as bioluminescent organisms and other naturally-occurring “light shows” that can appear in certain regions of ocean water. However, there are always those outliers, which are a bit more difficult to explain.

In keeping with Sanderson’s description of a “vast silvery bullet” from earlier, an interesting report occurred in the 1980s, where employees with the RCA Service Company at the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) base in the Bahamas observed an unusual object as it passed overhead one evening.

The primary witness had been a crew member stationed there in 1985, when he and another crew member were performing a routine overnight watch that lasted from midnight until 4 AM. Suddenly, a source of light traveling through the sky caught their attention, when they turned and saw two strange “rockets” flying side by side, which passed directly over their ship traveling on an easterly course.

Andros Island, adjacent to the “Tongue of the Ocean,” where the incident report in question took place.

According to a witness statement supplied to NUFORC:

These “rockets” were highly unusual as neither made any sound, were traveling at an oddly slow rate of speed and were visible to us for about 15 seconds. However, the rockets left behind contrails that glowed brightly and which were “multi-colored,” in that the contrail smoke changed from white to green to blue to pink and then disappeared completely after about ten minutes. (I estimate that they passed over us at an altitude of about 500 to 1000 feet; both rockets were white-colored and perhaps 25 to 40 feet in length).

The witnessed wondered whether these projectile-like objects could have been part of some secret U.S. Navy test that had been underway in the area. However, the main witness noted that he felt any AUTEC personnel would have possessed knowledge of U.S. Navy experiments in the area, of which none were known at that time.

“As an AUTEC vessel, we would definitely have been informed that such a test was being undertaken,” the witness stated, “and subsequently warned to stay out of the area. This had always been the Navy’s practice during similar rocket firing tests that I witnessed while working at sea in the same area.”

After their sighting of the two unusual objects, the witness checked with an air traffic control operator back at the Andros base, who said he had no knowledge of anything akin to rocket tests that had taken place on the night of the sighting, though he “certainly would have been in a position to know.”

The witness said he and his companion “never heard of rockets that travel in such close proximity to each other,” or “at such an unusually slow speed.” Also unusual was the fact that these objects, whatever they were, made no sound whatsoever.

“Since that incident occurred,” the witness concluded, “I have learned that there is a known history of so-called ghost rocket sightings in other parts of the world, particularly in Sweden.”

Could these two objects witnessed by two AUTEC crew members in the summer of 1985 have been anything akin to the mysterious projectiles observed over Scandinavia almost half a century earlier? In any case, we can count them among the “countless” other sightings I addressed near the outset of this report, and among the many “unknowns” that occasionally appear in the skies over our oceans.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

28-04-2019 om 00:16 geschreven door peter  

Trump’s Space Force Isn’t the Only Military Space Program: Here’s What China and Russia Are Up To

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket prepares to launch a GPS satellite into orbit.

Photo: John Roux (AP

The United States may or may not be getting a Space Force, but while President Trump is all-in on the creation of a new branch of the U.S. Military—and blowing up the military bureaucracy—it’s worth keeping in mind other countries have their military space programs. A recent DIA report shines a light on how the U.S. views these programs, particularly those of Russia and China, neither of which seem particularly threatening—for now anyway. 

This week President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive 4, ordering the Pentagon to stand up the Space Force as a new branch of the U.S. military. The Space Force, which still requires the blessing of Congress, is miles from being able to put moon boots on the ground, and its existence—let alone usefulness—is still a puzzle to many. To look at how supporters justify the Space Force, it’s useful to look at America’s potential adversaries, particularly Russia and China, and what the U.S. government claims they’re doing in space.

Russia is potentially America’s foremost space adversary, at least for now anyway. Russia’s space establishment is an inheritance from the Cold War-era USSR, and the country has a lot of operational extraterrestrial hardware today. The USSR never landed astronauts on the moon or flew a reusable spacecraft like the Space Shuttle, but it was the first country to put a man in space (and unlike the United States, Russia can still do that today) and orbited the space station Mir long before the International Space Station was in the sky. 

The USSR was also arguably the first to militarize space, placing a cannon the Salyut-3 space station, and the Pentagon is still wary of Russia’s intentions. The Pentagon is most concerned with Russia’s military counter-space program, which it believes is pointed squarely at the United States. The Defense Intelligence Agency’s Challenges to Security in Space report, published in February 2019, claims that “Russia views America’s perceived dependence on space as the ‘Achilles heel’ of U.S. military power, which can be exploited to achieve Russian conflict objectives.”

It goes on:

Russia is therefore pursuing counterspace systems to neutralize or deny U.S. space-based services, both military and commercial, as a means of offsetting a perceived U.S. military advantage and is developing an array of weapons designed to interfere with or destroy an adversary’s satellites.

A computerized projection of space objects monitored by Russian space radar, Sofrino, Russia.

Photo: AP

How does Russia plan to do this? First, Moscow needs to know what U.S. space assets to target in wartime. Despite the loss of the economic and military power of the wider Soviet Union, Russia still maintains a network of “telescopes, radars, and other sensors,” capable of detecting and tracking U.S. satellites and other space objects. Russia would likely go after America’s military-controlled NAVSTAR GPS satellites (24 of them), Milstar military communications satellites (eight), the Defense Satellite Communications System satellites (seven), and literally dozens of early missile warning, reconnaissance, and surveillance satellites. The loss of GPS satellites in particular would hit civilian smartphone and other GPS users around the globe.

Interfering with space assets doesn’t necessarily require going into space. Moscow has led efforts to develop GPS jamming technology like something recently detected in the Black Sea and near the Russian-Norwegian border. It could also jam-interfere with satellites and their ability to pass messages between terrestrial forces. Finally, hacking satellites or ground stations could prevent their use by adversaries. Not only do none of these measures actually involve going into space, in some cases they can be done from the comfort of home.

A straightforward solution is to fire a ground-based laser at a satellite in low earth orbit, blinding or otherwise disabling it. The new DIA report warns that the Peresvet laser weapon, deployed in late 2018, is designed to attack enemy satellites. The DIA also reports that Russia is likely testing a “ground-based, mobile missile system” for the destruction of incoming ballistic missiles and satellites.

Chinese students celebrating China’s first taikonaut, Yang Liwei.

Photo: Getty

China is the other major space power. China launched its first satellite in April 1970, but ramped up space activities in the late 1990s and 2000s as the country experienced rapid economic growth. China launched its first taikonaut, Yang Liwei, into space in 2003, and in January 2019 landed a probe on the far side of the moon.

Like Russia, the U.S. is worried about Chinese counterspace activities potentially aimed at American satellites. Like Russia, China has a network of space surveillance assets, including telescopes, radars, and space tracking ships such as the small fleet of Yuan Wang space event ships, whose huge two huge high frequency parabolic antennas and optical tracking stations can monitor satellites in space. 

The Defense Intelligence Agency believes that China is following a similar track to Russia, developing counterspace assets that can cripple U.S. forces in wartime. The DIA believes that China will attempt to interfere with satellites from the ground, but also believes it is prepared to physically go after satellites: Chinese research into satellites that can close with objects in space, repair satellites, and clean up “space debris,” the DIA argues, could be used to go after perfectly good enemy satellites and disable them. 

China’s SC-19 anti-satellite weapon is believed to be based on the DF-21 medium range ballistic missile, a version of which is shown here.

Photo: Andy Wong (Getty)

China also has an anti-satellite missile, the SC-19, believed to be currently operational. The SC-19 was tested in 2007 against the obsolete Fengyun-1C weather satellite, an incident viewed with alarm not just because it was an anti-satellite weapon but because it produced more than 3,000 pieces of hazardous space debris. The Pentagon believes China is developing ground-based anti-satellite weapons, including a laser that could damage the optics of spy satellites by 2020, and further in the future, a more powerful laser to disable GPS and communications satellites.

Russian and Chinese counterspace efforts are just one part of the military space efforts of both countries, but both seem pretty squarely aimed at the United States’ military space assets. They are not, for example, working to place nuclear or other weapons in space that could be dropped down on the heads of ordinary Americans. Both countries realize a key truth about the modern American way of war: if war comes, America fights its wars in some else’s backyard. In the event of war, U.S. forces would use communications and navigation satellites to coordinate the flow of ships, aircraft, and formations of troops over thousands of miles, across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the doorsteps of both Russia and China. Advocates of the U.S. Space Force believe that Russia, China, and other entities are seeking ways to disrupt that flow in wartime and give themselves an edge. That’s a pretty natural reaction to a potential adversary.

Artist’s conception of a Soviet laser at Sary Shagan, USSR, published in 1985. In 1989 a hands-on assessment revealed the most powerful laser at the facility had only a 2 kilowatt output, “as much as a sunbeam

Illustration: Department of Defense (Soviet Military Power)

There are unknowns here that should give us pause. We don’t how true claims of Russian and Chinese ground-based anti-satellite lasers are. The Pentagon first warned of a similar Soviet laser weapon in 1985 but the actual system fell far short of weapon status. Another thing we don’t know: the intent of Russia and China to use anti-satellite weapons. While early use by both countries might be advantageous in a conventional war, the benefits could be short-lived. Moscow and Beijing would both have to weigh whether it was more important to slow the Americans down or avoid a war in space that could wipe out their own fleets of satellites.

Is there enough of a threat here to justify an entirely new arm of the Pentagon? The answer is “probably not yet.” As important as our military satellites are, the threat to them is relatively thin at this point. Supporters of the Space Force have really not answered the question of how a new branch of the military bureaucracy would do a better job than the current military bureaucracy, and the current U.S. leadership lacks credibility. As more of America’s economy becomes space-oriented a Space Force is an inevitability. But now, in 2019? It doesn’t seem to make sense.

{ https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/ }

27-04-2019 om 23:49 geschreven door peter  

Photo: AP

{ https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/ }

27-04-2019 om 23:15 geschreven door peter  

AN Oxford University professor has claimed aliens are already breeding with humans to create a new hybrid species that will save the planet.

Dr Young-hae Chi, an instructor in Korean at Oxford’s Oriental Institute, part of the prestigious university, thinks this new species will save Earth from annihilation from climate change.

Dr Chi first said the hybrids may already exist in a lecture in 2012 but has now written a book on the subject.

He believes there is a strong correlation between climate change and alienabductions, the Oxford Student newspaper has reported.

His book, written in Korean, is called Alien Visitations and the End of Humanity.

He says he has identified four types of aliens – small, tall and bold, scaly with snake eyes, and insect-like.

Dr Chi believes the insect aliens may be in charge and give orders to the other types.

The aliens exist in their own bio-system that humans cannot experience because our perception is limited by our organs, the professor has claimed.

As the aliens are said to be highly intelligent, so Dr Chi believes they could solve the problems on Earth in the future, such as climate change.

He said: “So, they come not for the sake of us, but for the sake of them, their survival, but their survival is actually our survival as well — the survival of the entire biosphere.”

Dr Chi said he was “still looking for more evidence to support my view”.

His initial lecture, Alien Abduction and the Environmental Crisis, outlined his theory.

He cited an “abduction researcher” in the US, who argued that aliens’ primary purpose is to colonise the planet by interbreeding with humans to produce a new hybrid species.

Dr Chi believes aliens appear on Earth when the planet is facing significant problems, such as climate change or nuclear war, and he concluded: “It may be more or less assumed that the hybrid project is a response to this impending demise of human civilisation.”

Dr Chi says there are four alien types with the ones that look like insects in charge

Dr Chi first expounded his ideas in a 2012 lecture

The academic says there is a strong link between climate change and alien abductions

He says he has identified four types of aliens – small, tall and bold, scaly with snake eyes, and insect-like. 

Dr Chi believes the insect aliens may be in charge and give orders to the other types. 

The aliens exist in their own bio-system that humans cannot experience because our perception is limited by our organs, the professor has claimed.

As the aliens are said to be highly intelligent, so Dr Chi believes they could solve the problems on Earth in the future, such as climate change.

In 2012, Dr Chi gave a lecture at the the Ammach Conference, titled ‘Alien Abduction and the Environmental Crisis’ in which he outlined his theory concerning the presence of aliens on earth. Dr Chi began his lecture with the statement that “perhaps human civilisation is coming to an end”.

In his fifty-five minute presentation he cited Dr David Jacobs, an ‘abduction researcher’ in the US, who argued that aliens’ primary purpose is to colonise the earth, by interbreeding with humans to produce a new hybrid species. Second generation ‘hybrids’ are, according to Jacobs, walking unobserved among us. 

Dr Chi argued that “it is not only scientists and theologians, but also non-human species who appear to be greatly concerned about the survivability of the human species”. He pointed out that the timing of aliens’ appearance coincides with the earth facing major problems, climate change and nuclear weapons in particular. He concludes that “it may be more or less assumed that the hybrid project is a response to this impending demise of human civilisation”. 

www.oxfordstudent.com... 

www.standard.co.uk... 

nypost.com...

{ https://www.thesun.co.uk/ }

27-04-2019 om 22:50 geschreven door peter  

Bringing Centuries of Bad Luck: 10 Unlucky Artifacts and Cursed Archaeological Sites

• Some unlucky artifacts and cursed sites: The Ring of Silvianus ( CC BY 2.0 ), Tutankhamun’s silver trumpet with wooden insert ( Meridianos), the Hope Diamond ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ), Stone ringfort, “Ring of Kerry” in Ireland (Francis Bijl/ CC BY 2.0 ), and r uins of an ancient synagogue at Chorazin. (Lev.Tsimbler/ CC BY SA 4.0 )

When an artifact or location is called ‘cursed’ it often refers to bad luck befalling whoever possesses the object or disrespects, or sometimes just visits, the site. Curses, jinxes, hexes, and black magic were a common element in the ancient world to punish or spread misfortune and many people believe that certain places and artifacts have been cursed by angered individuals looking to create havoc for mistreatment suffered in their lives.

1. The Curse of the Stolen Ring of Senicianus

Ring of Silvianus. ( CC BY 2.0 )

Sometime during the 4th century AD, Silvianus, a Roman stationed in Gloucestershire, England, visited the elaborate baths of the Celtic God Nodens. Located on a hill above the River Severn at Lydney, the temple of Nodens celebrated the Roman-British deity that is associated with healing, hunting, dogs, and the sea.

When Silvianus was at the temple, his gold ring was stolen from him. Silvianus believed that it was Senicianus who stole it, thus he went to the temple and prepared a lead plate known as a defixio or ‘curse tablet’ . He inscribed the tablet in Latin and the text is translated: ‘For the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those named Senicianus permit no good health until it is returned to the temple of Nodens.’

In 1929, archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler saw a connection between the ring and the curse tablet. The connection cannot be entirely confirmed, however, Senicianus is an unusual name and the close dates of the artifacts seem to support Wheeler’s theory.

J.R.R. Tolkien was asked by his friend Wheeler to help clarify who the obscure god Nodens was and what role he might play in the history of the Ring. Many now believe that the Ring of Senicianus was the inspiration for the ring in The Hobbit.

2. Gold Fever and the Unlucky Artifacts in the Karun Treasure of the Lydians

Some of the beautiful artifacts included in the Lydian/Karun treasure. ( T.C UŞAK İLİ RESMİ TANITIM SİTESİ )

When a collection of stunning Lydian artifacts were discovered in the Uşak Province in Turkey in 1966, archaeologists were amazed with the 363 ancient artifacts dating back to the 7th century BC. But the impressive Karun treasure, as it’s now known, caused many troubles and locals say the treasure is cursed and brings nothing but problems and death.

As time passed, people started to see more and more issues with the treasure and even when they were celebrating the discovery, people of the Uşak Province feared that the hoard was not necessarily a good thing. What is the curse supposedly connected to the famous treasure about? It’s all related to a “ gold fever” . Legends say that people get sick from the treasure and apparently cannot stop themselves from trying to get a piece of it for themselves.

Currently, the mysterious artifacts are exhibited in the Uşak Museum of Archaeology. During the years of the battle between the Turkish government and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987-1993), the Americans had to send back all the previously purchased artifacts. However, in May 2006 one of the artifacts was identified as a fake. A larger problem is that currently no one knows how many of the artifacts from the original collection were replaced with forgeries. Could the fake relics be explained by the Karun treasure curse?

3. King Tut’s Cursed Trumpets that Summon Wars

Tutankhamun’s silver trumpet with wooden insert. ( Meridianos)

In 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in Egypt by an expedition led by the archaeologist Howard Carter. The discoveries made in uncovering the largely untouched tomb provided a wealth of knowledge about ancient Egypt, its burial practices, and its customs. Among the amazing items recovered was a set of wooden, silver, and bronze trumpets – a fascinating find, but possibly a cursed one too.

The sound of one of the trumpets was recorded in 1939 by BBC Radio so that people from all over the world heard the sound of this extraordinary and ancient instrument. A few months after the trumpet was played, World War II broke out, eventually leading to a legend that the trumpets had the magical power to summon war.

In fact, the earliest trumpets in Egypt appear to have been used for military purposes, to alert and possibly direct soldiers on the battlefield. Egyptian archaeologists, such as Zahi Hawass , do believe the trumpets have magical powers related to war. Egyptologist Hala Hassan, a supporter of the idea that the trumpets are cursed, also claims that one of the trumpets was played in 1967 and again in 1990 by anonymous students who were conducting a study on the Tutankhamun artifacts.

Furthermore, Hassan said that in 2011, a week before the revolution broke out, a staff member, again anonymous, at the museum had been photographing and documenting the artifact and he apparently played it. So far, these stories are anecdotal and do not provide conclusive evidence for the reality of the curse. But that hasn’t stopped the legend of King Tut’s cursed trumpets.

4. The “Curse” of the Hope Diamond

The Tereshchenko and Hope Diamonds, two rare, blue, and world famous diamonds. ( CC BY-SA 4.0 )

It is widely believed that the Hope Diamond is cursed, as bad luck has (supposedly) befallen a number of people who were connected to the diamond. A counter-claim also exists, which states that there is no evidence to support this popular belief, and that the curse was fabricated solely to arouse interest in the artifact.

According to one version of the origin story of the Hope Diamond, this diamond once adorned an idol in a Hindu temple in India. One day, the diamond was stolen by a Hindu priest, who was punished with a slow and agonizing death for his crime. Somehow, the diamond is said to have ended up in a mine by the Krishna River in southwest India.

Another version of the story has its first European owner, a French merchant by the name of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, as the sacrilegious thief. Additionally, it is claimed that Tavernier was struck by the ‘curse’, coming down with a raging fever shortly after stealing the diamond, dying, and his corpse being ravaged by wolves. However, this appears to be a legend – Tavernier is recorded to have lived until a ripe old age of 84, returned to France, sold the diamond to the French king , retired to Russia, and died peacefully many years later.

5. The ‘Unlucky Mummy’ Said to Have Sunk the Titanic

The ‘Unlucky Mummy’. ( Trustees of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0 )

Strange occurrences have been said to eddy around an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the “Unlucky Mummy” since it was taken from Egypt to Europe in the 19th century. Some of these stories are certainly myth, but some were allegedly verified by a journalist named Bertram Fletcher Robinson in the early 20th century.

The history of this artifact (which is not actually the entire mummy, but rather the mummy’s case lid) was recounted in the August 1909 edition of Pearson’s Magazine. Robinson found it was discovered in Egypt by an Arab who sold it to a Mr. W at a party organized by a “well-known English lady of title.”

It is recorded that “On the return journey of the party, one of the members was shot accidentally in the arm by his servant, through a gun exploding without visible cause. The arm had to be amputated. Another died in poverty within a year. A third was shot. The owner of the mummy case found, on reaching Cairo, that he had lost a large part of his fortune, and died soon afterwards. When the case arrived in England, it was given by its owner, Mr. W., to a married sister living near London [BRFonline speculates that this may have been a woman by the name of Ms. Warwick Hunt]. At once, misfortune fell upon her household; large financial losses were suffered, bringing other troubles with them.”

But the story of the Unlucky Mummy doesn’t stop there. The artifact allegedly made its way aboard the Titanic and it has even been blamed in some legends for the tragedy. The story of the cursed mummy is interesting, but the Titanic part has been proven false. Apparently the Unlucky Mummy got connected to the ship because a journalist told a friend about anothermalignant mummy spirit and when he died on the ship, the friend got the story all tangled up. The mummy case never left the British Museum and certainly wasn’t on the Titanic.

6. The Cursed Tomb of the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon

Tomb of Casimir IV in the Wawel Cathedral, late Gothic masterpiece by Veit Stoss. ( Public Domain ) King Casimir IV Jagiellon. ( Public Domain )

Before the tomb King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, known also as Casimir IV Jagiellon, was opened it was major news and all of the researchers in Krakow, Poland began to joke about a curse, which could take many of their lives. Unfortunately for them, the funny anecdotes became a prophecy.

During the examination of the rotten wood coffin and king’s remains a few researchers died, some due to infections and others because of strokes. After a few days, four of the group had passed away, but during the next few years, many others died of cancer or other diseases. In total, it is believed that no less than 15 people who worked at the tomb or in the laboratories died because of contact with the remains of King Casimir IV Jagiellon.

After years of speculations, researchers finally discovered the real reason for the death of more than 15 people connected with the research. There was no curse - the killer was the same as in the Egyptian tomb of King Tut – Aspergillus flavus, a saprophytic and a pathogenic fungus.

Nowadays, researchers are aware that people with lower resistance shouldn’t visit tombs that may have this fungus within. Scholars who join the campaigns which explore ancient tombsmust be healthy enough to not become victims of another ”curse”.

7. A Holy Yet Cursed Medieval Well in England

St. Anne’s Well, between Rainhill and Sutton St Helens, near Liverpool, UK. ( Jamie Quartermaine )

Legends speak of pilgrims bathing in St. Anne’s Well near Liverpool in England to cure their eye and skin diseases . The well was built to honor Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, “who had a cult following in Britain during the late Medieval Period (1066-1485 AD).” Legends say that St. Anne had bathed in the well, providing the waters with healing powers.

Local folklore also states that the steward of a landowner neighboring the well named Hugh Darcy argued with the prior, Father Delwaney, about access to the well and land boundaries. Darcy apparently told Delwaney that the prior would likely not hold his important position much longer, before stomping back toward his master’s estate.

Soon thereafter the monks were apparently removed from the priory by the king’s men. On their way out they passed by the holy well where Father Delwaney saw Hugh Darcy (who seemed to be awaiting them and to have had an “understanding” with the commissioners taking the monks away). The prior was angered by Darcy’s appearance and possible role in the loss of the monastery and he said: “The curse of the serpent be on thee, thou spoiler of the Lord’s inheritance, thy ill-gotten gains shall not profit thee, and a year and a day shall not pass ere St. Anne thy head shall bruise.” Not long after placing this curse on Darcy, the prior fainted and died.

Darcy wasted no time in gaining access to the farmlands around the holy well and tearing down the building made for the pilgrims who visited it. Although things seemed to be going smoothly at first, Darcy “could not get rid of the strange foreboding of coming evil.” Three months later his son died of a mysterious illness and soon after he suffered heavy financial loss. The legend ends with Darcy disappearing after a night of drinking. His body was allegedly found beside the well where his head was crushed in – the prior’s curse had come true.

8. Bad Luck for People Who Disturb Fairy Rings and Fairy Forts

Stone ringfort, “Ring of Kerry” in Ireland. (Francis Bijl/ CC BY 2.0 )

Irish ringforts were ancient circular settlements which were surrounded and enclosed by one or more earthen or stone banks and ditches. As ringforts from the Iron Age fell out of use, their purpose was eventually forgotten and locals explained the strange, circular, built-up sites as the homes of fairies. It is believed that to disturb these sites is to provoke fairies. It is often said that leprechauns, notorious trickster fairies, keep their gold in the forts, which were mainly agricultural settlements or farmsteads, and not actually designed for warfare.

Such is the case for other such ‘fairy dwellings’ traditionally across Europe. Fairy rings are a naturally occurring circle of mushrooms. These rings were traditionally believed to be a portal to the fairy realm , and were often seen as a dark omen and dangerous place.

Tradition dictates that if you have a ringfort on your land, it is to be treated with respect, and not to be damaged, or you might suffer legendary fates , such as livestock dying, family members sickening, and relationships failing.

In recent history, the bankruptcy of a billionaire  has been blamed upon the disturbance of ancient dwellings, when in 2011 Ireland’s richest man, developer Sean Quinn, suffered a catastrophic financial downfall after moving a megalithic burial tomb to make way for a quarry. These kinds of events keep the legendary curses of fairy forts and fairy rings alive.

9. A City Jesus Cursed – Chorazin

Ruins of an ancient synagogue at Chorazin. (Lev.Tsimbler/ CC BY SA 4.0 )

Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum are the three and only cities mentioned in the Bible that Jesus allegedly cursed, according to the gospel of Matthew as well as the Gospel of Luke. Chorazin was a city in Galilee where Jesus lived after he left Nazareth.

According to the Bible, Chorazin would see Jesus’ miracles multiple times over at least three years. However, it seems that none of the miracles had any result in changing the lives of the inhabitants of Chorazin and this is the point where Jesus woes Chorazin for not repenting to his powers and changing their ‘ways’. He is said to have used his powers to condemn a whole city in the same way as the God of the Old Testament did numerous times.

Chorazin was actually a prominent ancient city, although during the third century AD the city became uninhabited and today its archaeological remains are identified with the place called Khirbet Kerazeh. However, no archaeological evidence has been found showing that the city existed in the first century AD, the time Jesus was alive.

Eusebius writes that around 330 AD the city was in ruins as a result of a devastating earthquake which was attributed to the punishment of God and the fulfilment of Jesus’ curse. But the dates just don’t coincide.

10. The Ghost City of Bhangarh and the Curse of the Holy Man

The sprawling grounds of Bhangarh Fort. Source: BigStockPhoto

The abandoned fort of Bhangarh is thought to be the most haunted place in India, so much so that the Archaeological Survey of India has forbidden access to the site between sunset and sunrise, and locals have moved their town outside the limits of the fort. The reputation of Bhangarh stems from two old legends, both related to curses.

The town of Bhangarh, which is located in the Rajgarh municipality in the state of Rajasthan, was first established in 1573 during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son. The fort, which is actually a small city composed of temples, palaces, and multiple gates, covers a large area of land at the foot of a mountain. But despite its beauty and the picturesque scenery, the fort was completely abandoned by 1783, with locals moving their village elsewhere.

According to legend, the city of Bhangarh was cursed by a holy man named Baba Balnath, who had given permission for the construction of the town so long as the height of the buildings did not cast shadow over his retreat. Balnath warned that if this were to occur, he would destroy the entire city. When a descendant prince raised the palace to a height that cast a shadow over Bhangarh’s abode, it is said that he cursed the whole town. Many believe that Balanath is buried there to this day.

www.Ancient-Origins.net – Reconstructing the story of humanity’s past

Source: 

• https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/unlucky-artifacts-0011799

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/v3/ }

27-04-2019 om 22:27 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.nieuwsblad.be/ }

27-04-2019 om 21:50 geschreven door peter  

Disclosure Event! Navy Prepares New Guidelines for Reporting UFO Sightings

For many years it was considered a career ender to report these unexplained encounters so many military personnel downplayed them but now the U.S. Navy is updating their reporting protocol for pilots and other witnesses who encounter UFOs.

Politico revealed the U.S. Navy is drafting new guidelines for pilots and other personnel to report encounters with unidentified aircraft which is a significant new step in creating a formal process to collect and analyze the unexplained sightings.

Right now, we have situation in which UFOs and UAPs are treated as anomalies to be ignored rather than anomalies to be explored, the Navy said in a statement in response to questions from Politico.

The Navy isn’t endorsing the idea that its sailors have encountered alien spacecraft. But it is acknowledging there have been enough strange aerial sightings by credible and highly trained military personnel that they need to be recorded in the official record and studied.

Source 

• http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/

7

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/v3/ }

27-04-2019 om 21:38 geschreven door peter  

Egyptian King Tomb Found On Mars! Did Egyptians Come From Mars? April 2019, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Source photo: 

• https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/images/pia10210.html
  

Guys I wanted to share this with you. Not only did I find an Egyptian style carving on a hill on Mars, but I actually found several. There are several other carvings near this great one and I added yellow color to the image to make them more visible, because the black and white image often makes details harder to notice. 

This really has me asking...are ancient Egyptians from mars? Did they then move to Egypt, because Egypt is very similar in appearance and weather to that of Mars. No other place on Earth looks as much like Mars. So if this is true, it totally explains why such amazing pyramids are built way out in the middle of nowhere. Its because it was the closest to home that they could come.
Scott C. Waring

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

27-04-2019 om 21:02 geschreven door peter  

US Presidential Candidate Thinks UFOs Probably Exist

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has made exciting statements to the UFO community during a campaign trail interview. Mr Yang said he believes UFOs probably do exist and admitted to being very curious about the phenomenon.

Speaking to New Hampshire newspaper The Conway Daily Sun, Mr Yang said “I’m very curious about UFOs. I have a feeling they probably do exist.”

Mr Yang started to get the attention of the public after he bared a plan to give each over the age of 18 US citizen a universal basic income of $ 1,000 (£773) per month.

It would be given regardless of whether the recipient receives other welfare or is in employment.

Mr Yang came up with the plan to offset the impact of automation, which could result to large scale job losses.

The Conway Daily Sun has a tradition of asking prospective presidential nominees regarding UFOs. Current Democrat frontrunner Bernie Sanders was also asked on his views on UFO’s but refused to talk about it.

The paper is expected to ask the same to former vice-president Joe Biden this week.

During the Democratic presidential primaries in 2016, Mrs Clinton admitted to the paper she thought UFO’s exist. 

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

27-04-2019 om 20:42 geschreven door peter  

Life on Mars: ‘Amazing E-SHAPED’ alien structures spotted on Red Planet

EVIDENCE of alien life on Mars has been spotted in NASA footage of the Red Planet, a conspiracy theorist has claimed.

{ https://www.express.co.uk/ }

27-04-2019 om 01:23 geschreven door peter  

ISS SHOCK: How NASA Spacewalk live stream was INTERRUPTED by anomaly behind astronaut

NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) live stream was interrupted during their Spacewalk mission when an anomaly appeared behind one of the astronauts.

27-04-2019 om 01:10 geschreven door peter  

The day the asteroid might hit

ESA's Flyeye telescope is now being built in Italy

“The first step in protecting our planet is knowing what’s out there,” says Rüdiger Jehn, ESA’s Head of Planetary Defence.

“Only then, with enough warning, can we take the steps needed to prevent an asteroid strike altogether, or to minimise the damage it does on the ground.”

20 000 asteroid milestone

As of April 2019, 20 000 asteroids whose orbit brings them near Earth have been found. At the current rate of roughly 150 new discoveries every month, this number is set to rapidly increase.

Estimated risk corridor for the impact of a hypothetical asteroid

What will they do? What would you do?

On ESA Facebook, join us for two live-stream videos straight from the Planetary Defense Conference. The first will be on Sunday, 28 April, at 14:00 CEST (08:00 EDT) with Rüdiger Jehn, ESA’s Head of Planetary Defence, and the second on Thursday, 2 May, at around mid-afternoon European time.

For daily updates on the asteroid impact scenario, check out “Rolling coverage: Brace for hypothetical asteroid impact”, beginning on the first day of the conference, Monday, 29 April, over on ESA's Rocket Science blog.

Asteroid 2019 PDC hypothetical impact scenario

The scene has been set for this year’s hypothetical impact scenario. Although realistic, it is completely fictional and does not describe an actual asteroid impact.

  

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• An asteroid was discovered on 26 March 2019 and was given the name '2019 PDC' by the Minor Planet Center.
• Very little is known about this newly discovered asteroid’s physical properties. With a magnitude (brightness) of 21.1 – invisible to the naked eye but viewable by professional astronomers – it has been classed as a ‘Potentially Hazardous Asteroid’, and experts have determined its average size could be anywhere from 100-300 metres.
• The day after 2019 PDC was discovered, ESA and NASA’s ‘impact monitoring systems’ identified several future dates when the asteroid could hit Earth. At this early stage, with not many observations yet recorded, both systems agreed that the asteroid was most likely to strike on 29 April 2027 – more than eight years away – with a probability of impact of about 1 in 50 000.
• Astronomers continued to monitor the asteroid for a month after its initial detection, which provided them more information about the object’s trajectory, and have now discovered that the chance of impact is rapidly increasing. By 29 April 2019, (the first day of the Planetary Defence Conference), the probability of impact has risen to 1 in 100.

---

ESA coordinates European efforts

ESA's planned Hera mission will test asteroid deflection techniques

As in previous years, ESA is sponsoring the event and providing a conference co-chair. A large team of ESA experts will also be present, including members of the Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre and the Hera asteroid deflection mission.

During the hypothetical asteroid impact scenario, ESA experts will participate in discussions on the possible risks posed by asteroid 2019 PDC, and what responses could be considered.

“Fortunately, impacts from medium and large asteroids are not very common,” explains Detlef Koschny, senior asteroid expert at ESA who will be involved in the hypothetical scenario.”

“However, this means we have little opportunity to practise our response to this very real – though unlikely – danger. This year’s impact scenario is a very unique chance to run through, in real-time, an asteroid impact.”

Space Safety at ESA

Space Safety & Security at ESA

Solar activity, asteroids and artificial space debris all pose threats to our planet and our use of space.

ESA's Space Safety activities aim to safeguard society and the critical satellites on which we depend, identifying and mitigating threats from space through projects such as the Flyeye telescopes, the Lagrange space weather mission and the Hera asteroid mission.

As asteroid experts meet for the international Planetary Defense Conference, ESA is focusing on the threat we face from space rocks. How likely is an asteroid impact? What is ESA doing to mitigate impact risks? Follow the hashtag #PlanetaryDefense to find out more.

{  http://www.esa.int/ESA }

27-04-2019 om 00:57 geschreven door peter  

How angry pilots got the Navy to stop dismissing UFO sightings

By WASHINGTON POST 

By Deanna Paul | The Washington Post

A recent uptick in sightings of unidentified flying objects – or as the military calls them, “unexplained aerial phenomena” – prompted the U.S. Navy to draft formal procedures for pilots to document encounters, a corrective measure that former officials say is long overdue.

“Since 2014, these intrusions have been happening on a regular basis,” Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told The Washington Post on Wednesday. Recently, unidentified aircraft entered military-designated airspace as often as multiple times per month. “We want to get to the bottom of this. We need to determine who’s doing it, where it’s coming from and what their intent is. We need to try to find ways to prevent it from happening again.”

Citing safety and security concerns, Gradisher vowed to “investigate each and every report.”

Luis Elizondo, a former senior intelligence officer, told The Post that the new Navy guidelines formalized the reporting process, facilitating data-driven analysis while removing the stigma from talking about UFOs, calling it “the single greatest decision the Navy has made in decades.”

Chris Mellon, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence and a staffer on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was less laudatory.

“I don’t believe in safety through ignorance,” he said, scolding the intelligence community for its lack of “curiosity and courage” and “failure to react” to a strong pattern of sightings.

In some cases, pilots – many of whom are engineers and academy graduates – say they observed small spherical objects flying in formation. Others say they’ve seen white, Tic-Tac-shaped vehicles. Aside from drones, all engines rely on burning fuel to generate power, but these vehicles all had no air intake, no wind and no exhaust.

“It’s very mysterious, and they still seem to exceed our aircraft in speed,” he said, calling it a “truly radical technology.”

According to Mellon, awestruck and baffled pilots, concerned that reporting unidentified flying aircraft would adversely affect their careers, tended not to speak up. And when they did, he said there was little interest in investigating their reports.

“Imagine you see highly advanced vehicles, they appear on radar systems, they look bizarre, no one knows where they’re from. This happens on a recurring basis, and no one does anything,” said Mellon, who now works with UFODATA, a private organization. Because agencies don’t share this type of information, it’s difficult to know the full extent of activity. Still, he estimated that dozens of incidents were witnessed by naval officers in a single year, enough to force the service to address the issue.

“Pilots are upset, and they’re trying to help wake up a slumbering system,” he told The Post.

Lawmakers’ growing curiosity and concern also appeared to coax action out of the Navy.

In 2017, the Pentagon first confirmed the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, a government operation launched in 2007 to collect and analyze “anomalous aerospace threats.” As The Post’s Joby Warrick reported, the investigation ranged from “advanced aircraft fielded by traditional U.S. adversaries to commercial drones to possible alien encounters.”

According to former Pentagon officials and documents previously seen by The Post, program funding, which totaled at least $22 million, was suspended in 2012.

Gradisher, the Navy spokesman, said that “in response to requests for information from congressional members and staff, officials have provided a series of briefings by senior Naval Intelligence officials as well as aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety.”

Elizondo, who also ran AATIP, said the newly drafted guidelines were a culmination of many things. Most notably: that the Navy had enough credible evidence – including eyewitness accounts and corroborating radar information – to “know this is occurring.”

“If I came to you and said, ‘There are these things that can fly over our country with impunity, defying the laws of physics, and within moments could deploy a nuclear device at will’ – that would be a matter of national security.”

With the number of U.S. military people in the Air Force and Navy who described the same observations, the noise level could not be ignored.

“This type of activity is very alarming,” Elizondo said, “and people are recognizing there are things in our aerospace that lie beyond our understanding.”

{ https://www.mercurynews.com/ }

26-04-2019 om 22:58 geschreven door peter  

Wetenschappers staan voor raadsel: ons universum groeit sneller dan gedacht maar niemand weet waarom - HLN.be

Wetenschappers proberen al lang te achterhalen hoe snel onze ruimte precies uitdijt. Om dat te berekenen heeft onderzoeker Adam Riess de NASA-ruimtetelescoop Hubble ingezet. Hubble heeft 70 pulserende sterren (cepheïden, nvdr.) bestudeerd in het naburige sterrenstelsel de Grote Magelhaense Wolk, dat zo’n 162.000 lichtjaren van ons stelsel verwijderd is. Cepheïden lichten op en dimmen aan een voorspelbaar ritme. Ze worden daarom gebruikt om de afstand te meten tussen verschillende sterrenstelsels. 

Het team van Riess heeft de waarnemingen van Hubble samengelegd met die uit het Araucaria Project - een samenwerking tussen astronomen uit Chili, de VS en Europa - om zo het onderzoek te verfijnen. Daaruit zijn nieuwe berekeningen gekomen over de afstanden in onze ruimte en over de Hubbleconstante (dat is de mate waarin ons universum groeit, nvdr.). 

Tegenstrijdigheid

Uit berekeningen op basis van Hubblemetingen is eerder al gebleken dat het universum ongeveer 9% sneller groeit dan gedacht. Maar wat de wetenschappers al jaren in de haren doet krabben is dat de berekening niet overeenkomt met die over de groei van het universum kort na de big bang. Met andere woorden: onze ruimte breidt sneller uit dan wat voorspeld was op basis van waarnemingen door de Planck-satelliet jaren geleden. Een grote tegenstrijdigheid, aldus de wetenschappers.

De voorbije jaren heeft het team van Adam Riess van de Amerikaanse Johns Hopkins-universiteit de berekeningen verfijnd om te achterhalen of die tegenstrijdigheid komt door een verschil in meettechnieken of door een foute berekening. Wetenschappers beschrijven nu in het gerenommeerde blad The Astrophysical Journal dat ze er zo goed als zeker van zijn dat het niet gaat om een fout of toeval. “Het verschil wordt steeds groter en we zijn nu op een punt gekomen dat we het niet meer kunnen opzijschuiven als toeval”, zegt Riess, die in 2011 de Nobelprijs in de fysica won omdat hij aantoonde dat de uitbreiding van het heelal versnelt. 

Nieuwe theorie

“Dit is niet gewoon twee experimenten die het oneens zijn”, zegt Riess “We meten iets fundamenteel anders. De ene meting gaat over hoe snel de ruimte vandaag de dag groeit. De andere is een voorspelling gebaseerd op de fysica van het vroege universum en op metingen over hoe snel het zou moeten uitdijen. Als deze waarden niet overeenkomen, dan is de kans groot dat we iets missen in het kosmologische model dat die twee periodes (kort na de oerknal en nu) verbindt.”

Onderzoekers hebben verschillende ideeën over de snelle uitbreiding van de ruimte. Maar geen enkele daarvan kan op dit moment bewezen worden. Ze houden er ook rekening mee dat het gewoon (nog) niet kan verklaard worden met de huidige theorieën in de fysica. De wetenschappers zouden dus eigenlijk een nieuwe theorie moeten ‘bedenken’ om het te begrijpen. 

Voorlopig werkt Riess met zijn team verder met Hubble om de berekeningen te verfijnen en de onzekerheid in de Hubbleconstante te verkleinen. Zo hopen ze ooit de reden van de tegenstrijdigheid te kunnen achterhalen.

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

26-04-2019 om 22:38 geschreven door peter  

Ontmoet OSCaR, de kleine ruimtestofzuiger die 6 miljoen kilogram afval uit de ruimte moet verwijderen - HLN.be

Bron: Space.com

OSCaR (Obsolete Spacecraft Capture and Removal), genoemd naar het moppermonster in Sesamstraat dat in een vuilnisbak woont, wordt momenteel ontwikkeld door enkele onderzoekers aan het Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. De kleine rechthoekige satelliet wordt uitgerust met sensoren en een lange grijparm. De sensoren detecteren ruimteafval waarna de grijparm het afval uit de ruimte moet verwijderen.

Idealiter gebeurt dat zonder weinig tot geen begeleiding vanaf de aarde. “We zeggen OSCaR wat hij moet doen, daarna is het een kwestie van vertrouwen”, aldus projectleider Kurt Anderson. Vergelijk OSCaR gerust met een automatische stofzuiger die het huis onder handen neemt als zijn eigenaars werken zijn.

Lees ook

Er zweeft voor 8.000 Fiats Panda aan afval in de ruimte. En dat kan weleens een probleem worden

Veel groter dan zo’n automatische stofzuiger zal OSCaR overigens niet zijn. Alleen moet de nanosatelliet, met een lengte van dertig centimeter, en breedte en diepte van 10 centimeter, heel wat meer werk verrichten dan een simpele stofzuiger. “Dat is de uitdaging: OSCaR moet eigenlijk evenveel kunnen als een grote satelliet.”

Ruimteafval

Veel van de brokstukken in de ruimte, gaan grotendeels terug naar de ruimtewedloop van de Koude Oorlog. Toen brachten zowel de Verenigde Staten als de Sovjet-Unie de ene satelliet na de andere in een baan rond de aarde. Maar op die satellieten stond een houdbaarheidsdatum waardoor vele exemplaren inmiddels doelloos rond de aarde zweven.

De raketten die toen (en nu) gelanceerd werden, zorgen overigens ook voor heel wat ruimteafval. Zowel een bemande als onbemande ruimtevlucht heeft verschillende trappen nodig om een specifieke baan rond de aarde te bereiken. Die rakettrappen worden onderweg afgevuurd en blijven daarna rond de aarde cirkelen.

(Lees verder onder de foto)

Schade 

Naar schatting zweven er inmiddels zo’n 129.000 miljoen stukken rondom de aarde. Daarvan zijn 34.000 stukken zo’n tien centimeter groot volgens cijfers van het Europese Ruimtevaartagentschap (ESA). En ongeveer 8.500 objecten bewegen met een snelheid van 28.200 kilometer per uur in een lage baan om de aarde (LEO). In diezelfde lage baan rond de aarde bevinden zich heel wat satellieten. Het spreekt voor zich dat zelfs een minuscuul stuk ruimteafval heel wat schade kan aanrichten als het met een snelheid van bijna 30.000 kilometer per uur tegen zo’n satelliet botst. 

Zo nam de astronaut Tim Peak in 2016 een foto van een beschadigde ruit in het Internationaal Ruimtestation (ISS). De barst kwam er vermoedelijk nadat een klein stuk ruimteafval zoals een verfschilfer, de ruit raakte. 

Een tweede nadeel van het ruimteafval: het valt uiteindelijk terug neer. En wanneer de brokstukken niet volledig opbranden in de atmosfeer van de aarde, storten ze met een hoge snelheid neer. De kans dat je zo’n brokstuk op je hoofd krijgt, is behoorlijk klein - de aarde bestaat immers voor 70 procent uit water - maar als het gebeurt, is de schade aanzienlijk groot. 

Vele OSCaRs 

OSCaR is trouwens niet alleen, ze zijn met veel. En maar goed ook, want elke nanosatelliet zal slechts vier brokstukken kunnen ruimen. Vervolgens zal het ruimtevaartuig binnen vijf jaar terug naar de aarde keren.

Bekijk ook:

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

26-04-2019 om 22:28 geschreven door peter  

If they exist today, what exactly do sea serpents look like? If your description includes a long neck attached to a large bulky body, that doesn’t really sound like ‘serpent’ – does it? According to a new study, the portrayals of mythical creatures referred to as sea serpents changed during the 18th century as more of the creatures we call dinosaurs were discovered and the news about them spread, and this influenced what people thought they saw bashing boats, scaring swimmers and perhaps even floating around in a certain loch named Ness. Are long-necked sea monsters merely a figment of the imagination spawned by mass dinosaur hysteria?

“The problem is an interesting fusion of history and palaeontology which shows that statistics can be used to rigorously test all sorts of strange hypotheses, if the data is handled in the right way.”

Statistics fused with paleontology when Dr. Charles Paxton, a statistical ecologist at the University of St. Andrews, joined forces with Dr. Darren Naish, a palaeontologist at the University of Southampton, to use statistical analysis to study sea monster reports and compare them to the hypothesis proposed by science fiction writer L. Sprague De Camp that discoveries of Mesozoic reptiles like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs influenced sea monster sightings to change from serpents to long-necked dinosaur-like creatures. That matches the classic image of the Loch Ness monster for one, but how many reports resemble the no-neck mosasaur?

To test the theory, Paxton and Naish scanned newspapers, books and recorded testimonies from 1801 to 2015 and compiled a database of 1,543 non-hoax sea monster sightings. A plot of the events clearly shows a spike between 1930 and 1934 coinciding with the increase in Loch Ness sightings which culminated with the infamous “surgeon’s photo” hoax showing a creature resembling a plesiosaur. Drawings and accounts of other events look similar. What about mosasaur-like monsters?

“Over the last 200 years, there is indeed evidence of a decline in serpentiform sea serpent reports and an increase in the proportion of reports with necks but there is no evidence for an increase in the proportion of mosasaur-like reports. However, witnesses only began to unequivocally compare sea serpents to prehistoric reptiles in the late nineteenth century, some fifty years after the suggestion was first made by naturalists.”

The study, “Did Nineteenth Century Marine Vertebrate Fossil Discoveries Influence Sea Serpent Reports?”, published in the journal Earth Sciences History, concludes that numbers don’t lie, but witnesses might. The discoveries of the more esthetic and unusual long-necked plesiosaurs definitely influenced sea monster reports, but the more fishlike and less monsterish mosasaurs did not.

Scary … but sea monster worthy?

Will this conclusion inspire similar statistical studies of other monster and cryptid sightings? What would such an analysis of Bigfoot sightings point to? Mothman? How about aliens and flying saucers?

On the other hand, do you really want to let facts ruin your fantasies?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

26-04-2019 om 22:08 geschreven door peter