The Sun's Weather Cycle May Start in 'Tsunamis,' End with 'Terminators'

By Passant Rabie

A tsunami of plasma rushes through the sun before a new sunspot cycle begins.

An image of the sun in ultraviolet light showing a string of active regions near the Sun's equator over about 36 hours. 

(Image: © NASA)

Astronomers may have finally figured out what causes the sun's 11-year cycle of activity, and it involves a "tsunami" of magnetic fields. 

The sun, like other stars, goes through a cycle marked by a change in magnetic activity, levels of radiation, and the number and size of sunspots. While our sun's 11-year cycle was discovered more than a century ago, predicting exactly when one cycle ends and a new one begins has been an ongoing challenge. 

A pair of related studies have mapped out the sun's activity over the course of 140 years, looking for clues about the solar cycle that are visible on the surface. By looking at the way bright flashes of ultraviolet light migrate across the sun's surface, the researchers discovered that the sun's mysterious 11-year cycle may be marked by a "terminator" event that ends one cycle and a "tsunami" of magnetic fields that initiates a new one. Those bright flickers of ultraviolet light and the sun's magnetic fields appear to drive the cycle itself, and monitoring those flashes could help scientists predict when a new cycle will begin.

• Related: Stunning Photos of Solar Flares & Sun Storms

"We have observed the sunspot cycle for hundreds of years," Mausumi Dikpati, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and lead author of the tsunami study, published in the journal Nature in February, said in a statement. "But it's been a mystery what mechanism could transport a signal from the equator, where the cycle ends, to the sun's midlatitudes, where the next cycle begins, in such a relatively short amount of time."

The first study looked for markers of the end of a solar cycle. Using 140 years of solar observations, the team of scientists studied the movement of so-called coronal bright points, or flickers of extreme ultraviolet light in the sun's corona. 

(Image credit: UCAR)

The light flickers first appear at a higher altitude than the sunspots and move toward the equator, the researchers found. There, the flickers overlap with the sunspots in the midlatitudes before both flickers and sunspots reach the equator and disappear, the study said. 

Their disappearance, which the scientists deemed as the "terminator" event, is shortly followed by a large burst of activity in the flickering lights.

(Image credit: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory)

The second study, published later in July in the journal Solar Physics, built on the findings of the terminator study, suggesting that the bright flickers marked the movement of the sun's magnetic fields. These magnetic fields wrap around the sun like rubber bands on the east and the west, according to the statement, and also move toward the equator near the end of the solar cycle. 

Such fields also act as "magnetic dams," trapping plasma behind them as they travel. Once these fields reach the center, the opposing charges of the magnetic fields moving in from the east and the west collide with each other, releasing the fields' pent-up magnetic charge in a fluid-like motion. The researchers called this rush of fluid a "tsunami." 

As the tsunami of solar plasma reaches the sun's midlatitudes, it encounters the incoming magnetic fields of the next solar cycle, and this collision results in the bright light flickers, the study said.

The authors of the studies said they plan on using the Parker Solar Probe, the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope to observe the current solar cycle. As it comes to an end in the first half of the year 2020 and a new one begins, the researchers will be able to put their results to the test. 

"We believe the results … could revolutionize our understanding of the solar interior and the processes that create sunspots and shape the sunspot cycle," Scott McIntosh, a scientist at NCAR and lead author of the "terminator" study, said in the statement.

• Planetary Orbits May Explain Mystery of Sun's 11-year-Cycle 
• Solar Wind May Leave 'Sunburn' Scars on the Moon 
• This Stunning Video Shows Sun's Pulsing 'Skin' in Incredible Detail 

Follow Passant Rabie on Twitter @passantrabie. 

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. 

{ https://www.space.com/ }

01-08-2019 om 01:10 geschreven door peter  

A Russian Space Cargo Ship Just Fell to Earth. See Its Fiery Demise!

01-08-2019 om 00:54 geschreven door peter  

Watch the Mars 2020 rover flex its muscles by doing some biceps curls

 BY TIBI PUIU 

In just a year’s time, NASA will launch a new robotic rover mission to Mars. The mission, temporarily called “Mars 2020”, will involve the collection and retrieval of rock and soil samples to Earth. This means there’s gonna be quite a bit of heavy lifting involved. Luckily, a recent demonstration showed that the rover is up for the task.

The rover’s arm and turret are some of its most important parts. They must work together to emulate the arm of a geologist that’s examining and collecting samples. Recently, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Spacecraft Assembly Facility in Pasadena, California, NASA engineers instructed the rover’s 88-pound arm to perform a bicep curl as it moved from a deployed to a stowed configuration.

“This was our first opportunity to watch the arm and turret move in concert with each other, making sure that everything worked as advertised — nothing blocking or otherwise hindering smooth operation of the system,” said Dave Levine, an integration engineer for Mars 2020.

“Standing there, watching the arm and turret go through their motions, you can’t help but marvel that the rover will be in space in less than a year from now and performing these exact movements on Mars in less than two.”

In its final configuration, the rover’s arm will have five electrical motors and five joints. The turret will be equipped with cameras, life and chemical element detection instruments, a percussive drill, and a coring mechanism.

The mission’s launch is planned for July 2020 and scheduled to land at Jezero Crater on Mars in February 2021. Although a future return trip to Mars to retrieve the rover’s collected samples hasn’t yet been put in motion, nor is it clear if it’s feasible at this moment, NASA believes that sample collection from Mars merits much attention. NASA also says that many aspects of the upcoming Mars 2020 mission will shape the technology required for human missions on the Red Planet.

This will be NASA’s seventh mission to touch down on Mars, joining the likes of Curiosity, InSight lander, Spirit, and Opportunity. In order to find a cool name as its predecessors, NASA has put out a call for K-12 students in US schools, offering them the chance to name the 2020 rover. This is somewhat of a tradition now. Before it was dubbed Curiosity, the previously-deployed plucky rover was known as the Mars Science Laboratory.

{ https://www.zmescience.com/ }

31-07-2019 om 23:39 geschreven door peter  

NASA werkt samen met Elon Musk en Jeff Bezos aan nieuwe technologie voor Mars- en maanreizen - HLN.be 

Bron: The Verge

De rijkste man op aarde, Jeff Bezos, heeft drie partnerships met NASA op zak. Het bedrijf wil in de toekomst commerciële reizen naar de Maan aanbieden. Bezos zal met zijn Blue Origin werken aan een nieuw systeem voor ruimtenavigatie en landingen op de Maan. Daarbij krijgt hij hulp van NASA en zal hij nieuwe materialen testen die gebruikt kunnen worden in landingsgestellen voor maanreizen. 

Lees ook

Voor de rijkste miljardairs is ruimtereizen niet zomaar een hobby meer

De andere grote nieuwe partner van NASA is SpaceX, het ruimtevaartbedrijf van multimiljardair Elon Musk. SpaceX zal zich richten op de  ‘Starship raket’, een project dat nog in zijn kinderschoenen staat. Musk hoopt een systeem te bouwen waarmee raketten onderweg hun brandstof kunnen aanvullen om naar bestemmingen op grotere afstand te reizen. 

Het project zou zich nog in een beginfase bevinden, maar mocht het Musk lukken, kan dat een revolutie in de ruimtevaart betekenen. En laat dat nu net een specialiteit zijn van de ondernemer die onder meer PayPal en Tesla op de markt bracht. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

31-07-2019 om 23:16 geschreven door peter  

Nucleaire wolk trok twee jaar geleden over Europa, nu hebben wetenschappers bron kunnen traceren - HLN.be

Bron: IPS

In september 2017 trok een wolk ruthenium-106 over Europa. Omdat er weinig gevaar was voor de volksgezondheid, kreeg de wolk weinig aandacht in de media. Toch was de radioactieve vervuiling in de EU honderd keer hoger dan na de kernramp in Fukushima in 2011.

Nu hebben zeventig wetenschappers van verschillende Europese universiteiten dankzij de analyse van 13.000 metingen over heel Europa de oorzaak van het incident kunnen traceren.

Lees ook

Russen laten eerste drijvende kerncentrale te water: “Dit ontwerp kent geen gevaren”

Verwerking

Uit hun berekeningen blijkt dat er geen ongeval met een kernreactor aan de oorzaak ligt, maar een probleem in een nucleair verwerkingsbedrijf. De exacte locatie van het incident is moeilijk vast te leggen, maar de data wijzen op een plek in het zuiden van het Oeralgebergte.

Daar ligt de Russische nucleaire installatie Mayak. Die veroorzaakte in 1957 al eens een groot lek toen een tank explodeerde, met een enorme nucleaire vervuiling van de regio tot gevolg. Rusland ontkent dat er drie jaar geleden in Mayak een ongeluk is gebeurd.

Bijzonder

“Deze keer ging het om een korte puls die erg snel was verdwenen”, zegt Georg Steinhauser van de University of Hannover. “We konden aantonen dat het incident is gebeurd in een opwerkingsinstallatie van gebruikte brandstofstaven, in een late fase van het verwerkingsproces. Ook al is er geen officiële verklaring, toch hebben we een erg goed idee van wat er gebeurd kan zijn.”

Een van de opvallende eigenschappen van de wolk was dat ze enkel uit ruthenium-106 bestond. Dat is erg ongewoon, en het feit dat er geen andere radioactieve bestanddelen gemeten werden, was een duidelijke indicatie dat het om een lek uit een verwerkingsinstallatie moest gaan.

Ook de geografische voetafdruk van de wolk was opvallend: de stof werd gevonden in grote delen van Centraal- en Oost-Europa, Azië en het Arabisch schiereiland, zelfs tot in de Caraïben.

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

31-07-2019 om 23:09 geschreven door peter  

NASA en ESA willen stukjes van Mars naar aarde halen, maar timing is cruciaal- HLN.be

Bron: NASA

In april 2018 tekenden NASA en ESA alvast een intentieverklaring waarin te lezen staat dat ze bodemmonsters op Mars willen verzamelen. Een eerste stap van het masterplan wordt volgend jaar reeds uitgerold. In 2020 wordt er een nieuwe Marsrover van NASA gelanceerd richting de ruimte. Als alles gaat zoals gepland, zal die rover in februari 2021 landen. Eenmaal daar moet de Marsrover op verkenning gaan en  in totaal 38 tubes met bodemmateriaal verzamelen.

Enkele tubes worden gedropt op de rode planeet en later opgehaald, de overige stalen houdt de Marsrover bij zich.

Lees ook

NASA is klaar voor Mars: bouw van Orion-capsule afgerond

Unicum 

In 2026 volgt de tweede stap. Daarbij wordt de ruimtesonde ‘Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL)’ naar Mars gestuurd. Zijn originele (Engelse) naam spreekt boekdelen: de SRL moet de tubes met monsters ophalen en ze terug naar de aarde brengen. Het proces zal ongeveer acht maanden in beslag nemen, waarvan vijf maanden benut zullen worden om de tubes met monsters te verzamelen. De SRL wacht een heuse uitdaging “want de sonde moet de omgeving en temperaturen overleven op Mars” zegt projectleider Brian Muirhead. Bovendien keerde nog nooit eerder een ruimtesonde van Mars terug naar de aarde. 

Als dat in 2026 wél lukt, wordt de lander na acht maanden terug in een baan rond Mars, zo’n 300 kilometer boven de rode planeet, gebracht. Vervolgens zal die daar opgepikt worden door de zogenaamde ‘Earth Return Orbiter’ (ERO). Volgens de planning wordt die ERO gelijktijdig met de SRL gelanceerd om enkele maanden in de ruimte door te brengen totdat zijn ‘vriendje’ terugkeert. 

Uiteindelijk zullen de twee in 2031 terug landen op de aarde. Specifiek moet dat gebeuren in de Verenigde Staten, waar de monsters in quarantaine geplaatst kunnen worden. 

Details

Alles moet tot in het detail gepland worden, want de timing is cruciaal. Ten eerste zijn de ruimtevaartuigen al zes maanden onderweg voordat ze op de rode planeet arriveren. En men kan niet zomaar vertrekken: de vaartuigen (en/of astronauten) kunnen enkel naar Mars reizen als de planeet aan de dezelfde kant van de zon is gepositioneerd als de aarde. Dit komt slecht om de 26 maanden voor: dus in 2031, 2033, enzovoort. 

Loopt er met andere woorden iets mis in de planning, betekent dat dat de SRL en ERO pas in 2028 in plaats van 2026 gelanceerd kunnen worden. Dan zal het automatisch tot 2033 duren voordat er stukjes van Mars op aarde arriveren. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

31-07-2019 om 23:00 geschreven door peter  

Maan is 150 miljoen jaar ouder dan gedacht - HLN.be

Bron: Belga

Het gaat om maanstalen die door astronauten van de Apollo-missies tussen 1969 en 1972 werden meegebracht naar de aarde. Het onderzoek, dat gepubliceerd werd in het vaktijdschrift Nature Geoscience, bracht aan het licht dat de maan eigenlijk al 150 miljoen jaar eerder gevormd werd dan gedacht.

Lees ook

Nooit geziene natuurbranden teisteren Noordpool

Botsing

Het was Maxwell Thiemens van de universiteit van Keulen die het onderzoek leidde. Hij werkte eraan tijdens zijn doctoraatsstudie.

De maan zou ontstaan zijn na een botsing tussen de vroege aarde en een ander hemellichaam ter grootte van Mars. Over het tijdstip is niet iedereen het eens, maar de theoretische modellen die gebruikt worden en het nieuwe onderzoek op basis van de chemische samenstelling van de stalen, verschillen dus 150 miljoen jaar.

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

31-07-2019 om 22:41 geschreven door peter  

WIJ ZIEN ZE NIET AANKOMEN

Misschien is één van de grootste gevaren die ons bedreigen wel dat niemand die asteroïdes ziet aankomen. 

Enkele dagen geleden scheerde wederom een zogenaamde “city killer” vlak langs de aarde en niemand had deze opgemerkt.

Alan Duffy, hoofdwetenschapper bij het Royal Institution of Australia, zei: “Ik was stomverbaasd, dit was echt schrikken”. 

Deze asteroïde was er niet eentje die al lang van te voren door astronomen was ontdekt of werd gevolgd. Het was een asteroïde die als het ware vanuit het niets verscheen. Zo werd het ook omschreven door astronoom Michael Brown uit Melbourne. 

We praten hier over een object dat volgens NASA een doorsnee had van ergens tussen de 57 en 130 meter en een koers volgde die het tot op 73.000 kilometer afstand van de aarde bracht. 

Ook Michael Brown was stomverbaasd en zei: “Mensen beseffen eigenlijk pas wat er is gebeurd, als het object ons al is gepasseerd”. 

Kort voordat de asteroïde de aarde passeerde (enkele uren) werd deze door astronomen in Amerika en Brazilië ontdekt. 

Volgens Brown is het de grootste asteroïde die in lange tijd zo dicht bij de aarde is geweest. Als je dan nagaat dat deze asteroïde groot genoeg is om een complete stad te vernietigen, hoe kan het dan dat helemaal niemand deze heeft zien aankomen? 

Dit schijnt te komen doordat deze asteroïdes eigenlijk te klein zijn om in de kijker te lopen. Astronomen moeten echt een beetje geluk hebben om dit soort objecten te ontdekken. Vaak gebeurt dit doordat bijvoorbeeld het zonlicht er net op valt of iets dergelijks. 

NASA concentreert zich voornamelijk op asteroïdes met een doorsnee van groter dan zo’n 800 meter en zegt daarvan er ongeveer 90 procent te hebben geïdentificeerd. 

En dat betekent dat asteroide 2019 OK zoals deze heet, niet in die categorie valt en dus eigenlijk wordt genegeerd, terwijl het groot genoeg is om Amsterdam of Rotterdam compleet te verwoesten. 

Dan komt er volgens Brown nog een probleem om de hoek kijken en dat is dat omloopbaan en de koers van dit soort objecten nogal grillig is en heel moeilijk te voorspellen. 

Toch maakt dit object lange reizen door de ruimte en gaat in zijn elliptische omloopbaan zelfs voorbij Mars tot in de buurt van Venus. Ook dit betekent weer dat de observatietijd wanneer het in de buurt van de aarde komt, heel erg kort is. 

Wanneer het de aarde passeert heeft dit object een snelheid van 24 kilometer per seconde oftewel ruim 86.000 kilometer per uur. Dat is heel erg snel voor een asteroïde, want de meesten doen dit met een snelheid van tussen de 4 en 19 kilometer per seconde. 

Brown zegt dat het een kwestie van geluk blijft wanneer een dergelijk object wordt waargenomen en dat dit eigenlijk nooit eerder is dan enkele weken voordat het de aarde passeert of raakt en dan nog moet iemand toevallig de juiste kant op kijken. 

Allan Duffy zegt: “Het is iets waar we ons eerlijk gezegd zorgen over moeten maken. Het is geen Hollywood film. Het is een duidelijk en aanwezig gevaar”. 

Hij zegt verder dat wanneer een asteroïde zoals 2019 OK de aarde geraakt zou hebben je dit zou kunnen vergelijken met een kernexplosie, genoeg om een grote stad compleet te vernietigen. 

Enkele maanden geleden schreven we het volgende: 

Keer op keer wordt ons verteld dat er zo goed als geen kans is dat de aarde zal worden geraakt door een asteroïde. 

De vraag is dan natuurlijk waarom NASA een simulatie gaat uitvoeren van een mogelijke asteroïde apocalypse? 

Niet alleen NASA doet aan deze simulatie mee, ook het alom bekende FEMA en om een generale repetitie te houden voor wanneer deze ramp werkelijk zal plaatsvinden. Ook andere internationale partners zoals de European Space Agency (ESA) zullen aan deze simulatie deelnemen. 

De gevolgen op aarde van een inslag door een asteroïde kunnen heel verschillend zijn, afhankelijk van waar deze zal neerkomen. Feit is dat wij in onze moderne tijd nog nooit een dergelijke ramp hebben meegemaakt, dus bij die oefening zullen er heel veel onbekende factoren meespelen. Desondanks gaat men deze oefening houden om de belangrijkste aspecten van een dergelijke ramp te identificeren. 

Het scenario dat gebruikt zal worden is dat op 26 maart er een asteroïde is ontdekt die de codenaam 2019 PDC krijgt. In eerste instantie wordt dan gesteld dat er een kans is van 1 op 50.000 dat deze de aarde zal raken, maar al snel wordt dit bijgesteld naar een kans van 1 op 100. 

In bovenstaand scenario spreken we dan alleen over de wat grotere asteroïdes en niet eens over de kleinere zoals 2019 OK die klaarblijkelijk te klein zijn om wat mee te doen. 

Als je dan verder bedenkt dat de asteroïde bij Chelyabinsk enkele jaren geleden slechts een doorsnee had van ruim 20 meter, in de lucht ontplofte en al enorme schade veroorzaakte, dan weet je dat ook de kleinere asteroïdes die door NASA en andere instanties worden genegeerd ook letterlijk levensgevaarlijk kunnen zijn. 

Nu is er op dit moment misschien weinig dat er gedaan kan worden als een astroïde zoals 2019 OK op een bepaalde plek op aarde af koerst, maar het maakt bijvoorbeeld voor de inwoners van Amsterdam of Rotterdam een heel verschil of ze weten dat een asteroïde hun stad gaat raken over twee weken of twee uur. 

Een letterlijk verschil tussen leven en dood en hoog tijd dat al die miljarden dollars die nu weer worden geïnvesteerd in een nieuwe bewapeningswedloop in de ruimte, worden gebruikt om een waarschuwingssysteem voor asteroïdes op te zetten voor de bevolking. 

Maar ja, dat is diezelfde bevolking die de elite juist zo graag kwijt wil. 

{ http://niburu.co/ }

31-07-2019 om 22:26 geschreven door peter  

Patrick Knox

ANOTHER veteran US serviceman has broken his silence about witnessing Britain's most famous UFO encounter nearly 40 years ago.

Ex-sgt Michael Smith has revealed officially for the first time that he also saw the spooky activity in 1980 in the Suffolk countryside.

A drawing of the craft seen during the unexplained incident

Credit: Alamy

An information board in Rendlesham Forest

Credit: Alamy

Back in 2016 Steve Longero, who was a young US Air Force police officer working at bases RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge, came forward about witnessing strange lights while on duty.  

Now Mr Smith, then a 19-year-old member of the 81st Airborne Police Squadron at RAF Bentwaters, has come forward to reveal what he says he saw.

He said: "A month before the base was put on alert and I was called out and I got onto as bunker by one of the gates.

“I was having a pee outside when I saw an orange glowing light in the woods — it was a reddish ball.

"It stopped right in front of me — it just stayed there and hovered two feet off the ground and I called for reinforcements I was scared to death."

Ever since the incident theories and rumours have grown only last year there were claims that the Rendlesham Forest Incident because it has become known was in fact a prank played on the US Air Force by the SAS.

The Rendlesham Forest incident: Britain’s most famous UFO sighting

The Rendlesham Forest incident took place in December 1980 over a series of at least two nights.

On December 26, 1980, military personnel at the twin bases of RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk saw a strange light in Rendlesham Forest, which lies between the two bases.

Three men were sent out to investigate where two of them encountered a small, triangularshaped craft.

One man, Jim Penniston, got close enough to touch the side of the object.

He and another of the airmen present, John Burroughs, made sketches of the craft for witness statements.

Two nights later Deputy Base Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt and his team then encountered the UFO.

He said later: "Here I am, a senior official who routinely denies this sort of thing and diligently works to debunk them, and I'm involved in the middle of something I can't explain."
Despite an MOD investigation the Rendlesham Forest incident remains unexplained.

Dubbed "Britain's Roswell" the reported sightings and contacts with aliens took place over a series of nights in December 1980 and the incident continues to fascinate UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists.

The Ministry of Defence stated at the time that the event posed no threat to national security, and it therefore was never fully investigated.

Sceptics have explained the sightings as a misinterpretation of a series of nocturnal lights, a fireball, the beam from the Orfordness Lighthouse or even bright stars.

Despite an MOD investigation the Rendlesham Forest incident remains unexplained (stock image)

Credit: Getty Images

Steve Longero has remained tight-lipped for more than three decades

A UFO trail sign at Rendlesham Forest, which has become a tourist hotspotµ

Credit: Getty Images

The Rendlesham Forest incident took place in December 1980 and has been dubbed Britain's Roswell

Credit: Alamy

{ https://www.thesun.co.uk/ }

31-07-2019 om 22:09 geschreven door peter  

31-07-2019 om 21:44 geschreven door peter  

“If you’re standing on the surface of that planet, there are three suns in the sky, but two of them are pretty far away and small-looking. They’re like two red, ominous eyes in the sky.”

That’s the made-for-a-sci-fi-novel description of the otherwise boringly-named planet LTT 1445Ab discovered recently just 22.5 light-years away from Earth. It’s hot – three suns will do that to a planet – but it has an atmosphere, so it’s getting some interest from astronomers. How about a better name first? Ghidorah? Triple Sol? My Three Suns? Ta-three-ine?

“It is the second nearest transiting exoplanet system found to date, and the closest one known for which the primary is an M dwarf.”

Artist’s rendition of the view from a hypothetical moon in orbit around the first known planet to reside in a tight-knit triple-star system.

(Credit: JPL)

According to their new report, “Three Red Suns in the Sky: A Transiting, Terrestrial Planet in a Triple M Dwarf System at 6.9 Parsecs,” submitted this week to The Astronomical Journal, astronomers led by Jennifer Winters of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics used data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope launched last year to search for exoplanets using the transit method to locate changes in the light of a star that indicates a planet passing in front of it. While LTT 1445Ab is in a three-star system, it only orbits one of them, and that orbit is a scorchingly-fast once every 5.36 Earth days – extremely speedy for a planet just slightly larger than Earth (1.35 times the size) but much denser (8 times the mass) and hotter (surface temperatures 311 °F (155 °C or 428 Kelvin).

“The presence of a transiting planet in this system raises the possibility that the entire system is co-planar, which implies that the system may have formed from the early fragmentation of an individual protostellar core.”

Spider’s view from LTT 1445Ab?

While the atmosphered planet is interesting, the three suns are more intriguing, and LTT 1445Ab could shed some light (by ironically blocking it) on how these three-sun systems formed. Yes, there’s more – ScienceAlert points out that planet HD 131399Ab, discovered in 2016, orbits three suns 340 light-years away in a very slow 550-year orbit, making it far less suitable for study. The study surmises that the three suns of LTT 1445Ab may be the fragments of a single star that broke apart early in the history of the universe. The astronomers are hoping that the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to be launched in 2021, will help answer the question.

Three Suns and a Rock. Great name for a band or a sci-fi movie. Any other ideas?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

31-07-2019 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced this week that a team of divers has made some pretty remarkable discoveries in the ancient sunken city of Heracleion. Because the only thing better than a lost ancient Egyptian city is a lost and sunken ancient Egyptian city.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Antiquities, the team found multiple ancient temples, gold coins, precious jewels, and a sizable ceremonial boat during their two month long excavation of the site. The city of Heracleion rose to prominence during the last days of the Pharaohs, as the Ptolemaic dynasty began their rule over the Egyptian coast. The city was named for the Greek hero of myth Heracles (better known by his Roman name: Hercules) who, according to ancient legend, actually visited the city and was presumably such a cool guy that they changed the name from the original Egyptian name, Thonis, to Heracleion in his muscly honor.

Beyond Heracles, the city was mentioned in many stories, both legendary and historical. Myth holds that Heracleion was one of the last stops of Paris and Helen of Troy fleeing from the jealous King Menelnaus before the Trojan war. Queen Cleopatra was also crowned in a temple in Heracleion. The website of Franck Goddio, the underwater archaeologist who discovered Heracleion, describes the city’s mysterious history:

Thonis-Heracleion (the Egyptian and Greek names of the city) is a city lost between legend and reality. Before the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC, the city knew glorious times as the obligatory port of entry to Egypt for all ships coming from the Greek world. It had also a religious importance because of the temple of Amun, which played an important role in rites associated with dynasty continuity. The city was founded probably around the 8th century BC, underwent diverse natural catastrophes, and finally sunk entirely into the depths of the Mediterranean in the 8th century AD.

Archaeologist Franck Goddio with an engraving found at Heracleion.

©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Heracleion was first discovered in 2000 by Franck Goddio, and has slowly been excavated over the past 19 years. Goddio led the latest two-month-long excavation, which proved much more fruitful than previous endeavors thanks to modern technology. The team of European and Egyptian archaeologists used an underwater imaging tool to locate artifacts on the sea floor and those buried beneath.

On the latest expedition, the team discovered the crumbling remains of a large Egyptian temple including the massive stone columns, as well as a smaller Greek temple buried beneath three feet of sediment on the ocean floor. The team also found the missing chunk of a large ceremonial boat. Previous expeditions had uncovered 75 different boats, mostly incomplete. This find completes one of those previously discovered, a 43-foot-long ornate boat stuffed with coins and jewelry that the Ministry of Antiquities says was likely used for ceremonial purposes.

Statue of a Ptolemaic queen.

©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

The treasures found inside the boat include gold jewelry and coins that date to the reign of King Ptolemy II, who ruled from 283 to 246 B.C. They also found pottery dating to the fourth century B.C.

The team also surveyed another sunken city, Canopus, and found that the city was half a mile larger than previously thought. They recovered some coins and pottery from Canopus which, according to the Ministry of Antiquities, indicates that this city was also a bustling port town from the fourth century B.C. through the Islamic period.

The number of “lost” cities being found and excavated seems to be increasing exponentially as our ability to image previously unassailable locations gets better and better. There’s no telling how many forgotten places, people, and stories have yet to be discovered.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

31-07-2019 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

Based on new research conducted by Francois Costard, who is a scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, he believes that an ancient asteroid impact on Mars created a mega-tsunami. Although it was quite common for asteroids to slam into Mars around three and a half billion years ago, there was one in particular that Costard was interested in.

He believes that a huge asteroid hit Mars creating a gigantic crater and that impact sent a thousand-foot wall of water across the planet which made odd landforms across the surface. In fact, he says that Mars’ strange features could have only been created by a massive tsunami that would have crashed into shore and then went back over the landscape. Costard has been discussing his theory, in particular a location on Mars named the “Thumbprint Terrain”, and he now thinks that he has discovered the impact crater that caused the massive tsunami. His findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets.

This wasn’t the first time that the mega-tsunami theory has been mentioned. In 2016, several astronomers discussed the possibility of an ancient asteroid impact causing two tsunamis across the Red Planet. Costard then did more research on the astronomers’ theory by trying to find out where the tsunami had originated from. He narrowed it down to ten possible impact craters that could have potentially caused the mega-tsunami, but one in particular caught his attention. Since the Lomonosov Crater is the correct age (approximately 3 billion years old), along with its huge size (75 miles across), and it’s shape (there are clues that suggests it was under water when the asteroid impacted the planet), it seems like that crater is the likely point of origin.

This new theory would change the timeline of when it is believed that Mars lost all of its water which was around 3.7 billion years ago after the core of the planet cooled down as well as the disappearance of the magnetic field. Since the planet didn’t have any atmosphere, surface water would have disappeared rather quickly.

Recently, however, scientists are finding new evidence that surface water was still present on the Red Planet a lot longer after the collapse of its magnetic field and possibly even as recent as in the last billion years. The Thumbprint Terrain is a fascinating area on Mars since it’s on the edge of a large low-lying plane that many scientists believe once held a huge northern ocean. And if the Lomonosov Crater is the actual impact site of the asteroid that caused the mega-tsunami, that means that there was still a huge ocean on Mars around 3 billion years ago. The timeline as to when a water-filled Mars turned into the “Red Planet” may be much more recent than previously thought.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

31-07-2019 om 21:01 geschreven door peter  

UFO Or Alien Creature Moves Past Sun Satellite Lens, July 30. 2019, UFO Sighting News. Alien Life Found!

Date of sighting: July 30, 2019
Location of sighting: Earths sun, SOHO satellite
Source: Helioviewer.org

I found a large unknown object shooting past the SOHO satellite today. The object always moves in groups of 2-4. Here we see it alone, but not far away are several others in their group. The objects always have a curved inward back area and a rounded outward front area. I believe these are living entities, not alien craft.  The objects are usually together, that means it has a social instinct to gather for safety. This one flying past the SOHO satellite looks big, but its hard to tell exactly how big because it could be just meters from the lens of the satellite. However I believe these object to be several meters in size. Streetcap1 caught some great ones too. I will place his video below mine to compare and contrast. 
Scott C. Waring-Taiwan

Below is Streetcap1 video of the sun creatures. 

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

31-07-2019 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

Plymouth Resident Captures A Video Of UFOs During Fierce Lightning Storm

Dozens of witnesses sent in photos and videos of the lightning that hit Plymouth recently. Residents saw intense flashes of lightning and heard thunder across the area following the extremely humid weather.

However, one man believes he may have caught more than just a bolt of lightning.

Ben Williams claimed to have captured something on his camera just before midnight.

Mr Williams said that he tried to freeze-frame it to see a better picture as it was swift, but there was something to see.

The footage was taken through a mobile phone camera. When slowed down, the video seems to show some UFOs appearing and disappearing out of thin air.

Video experts say the blobs are relatively identical but do not look like marks on the camera because of the rate in which they are visible.

Mr Williams is very interested to know what could be the reason for the mysterious shapes. He recorded the video outside his home to see some good lightning but got more than just that instead.

The shadowy shapes appear for a split second on the video during a fierce lightning strike before disappearing as quickly as they arrived.

The larger of the orbs is very distinguishable on the centre right of the screen when the video is slowed down.

So, what could this mystery object be?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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

31-07-2019 om 19:57 geschreven door peter  

Storm the Bermuda Triangle Has Gained Wide Attention on Facebook

Inspired by the plan on Facebook to Storm Area 51, thousands of individuals have vowed to venture into the latest Facebook event.

The organiser has offered to provide boats to people who are interested in going into the 270,000-square mile Bermuda Triangle, which is known for the mysterious disappearance of planes and ships.

Anthony Carnovale requires attendees on “Storm The Bermuda Triangle, It Can’t Swallow All Of Us” to dress as Spongebob characters or pirates.

He promises to provide the boats, and scuba gear and guests are encouraged to bring weed and a lot of beer and whiskey.

Mr Carnovale also set up a fundraising page for an event featuring live music and entertainment in an attempt to raise $75,000 and insisted he was not a scam.

He explains that he is trying to throw a party for everyone to show this country we can organize.

The event is scheduled for October 1, and more than 40,000 people have already expressed their interest.

The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle is believed to date back to the mysterious disappearance of five US Navy torpedo bombers in 1945 during a training mission known as Flight 19.

The planes disappeared without any traces, and it was later claimed that a search plane sent out to conduct a rescue operation of the missing crew also disappeared.

Several explanations have been provided for the disappearances, including UFOs.

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

31-07-2019 om 19:53 geschreven door peter  

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31-07-2019 om 01:44 geschreven door peter  

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31-07-2019 om 01:40 geschreven door peter  

31-07-2019 om 01:36 geschreven door peter  

Huge solar storm that will slam Earth TODAY could knockout satellites, disrupt power supplies and spark stunning auroras

• NASA spotted a solar flare releasing a coronal mass ejection earlier this week
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a 'G1' storm watch
• G1 is used to label a 'minor' storm that can cause weak power grid fluctuations, impact satellites and spark auroras

By CECILE BORKHATARIA FOR MAILONLINE

A massive solar storm is making its way towards Earth, and it's likely to hit today.

The storm was created by a solar flare - a large explosion in the sun's atmosphere - which generated charged particles earlier this week. 

The charged particles from the sun are moving towards Earth, and they could disrupt power grids, spacecraft and satellite operations. 

The solar particles are expected to hit Earth either today or tomorrow, and they will also likely trigger auroras for people living in higher latitudes. 

Scroll down for video 

A solar storm is forecast to hit Earth today after the sun unleashed a powerful solar flare on Sunday night. Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory Satellite captured this image of the sun releasing a solar flare (right) earlier this week

'Aurora may be visible at high latitudes,' the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wrote in a statment. 

This may include the 'northern tier' of the US, with affected states including parts of Michigan and Maine.

The NOAA says that the forecast suggests the solar storm will be a G-1 or 'minor' storm, which could become a G-2 'moderate storm' depending on how the charged particles hit Earth. 

Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a severity scale, with G at the bottom, R in the middle and S at the top. 

The particles, which came from the sun after a solar flare took place on February 12, could cause 'weak power grid fluctuations' and a 'minor impact on satellite operations,' according to the NOAA.

NASA and the NOAA keep a track of solar events using many different telescopes which help generate geomagnetic weather forecasts. 

Northern Hemisphere Aurora forecast for February 15, 2018. Probability of visible Aurora is shown on the scale at the bottom left 

Researchers also study the sun to learn more about its structure as well as obtain data to make predictions about different types of solar events, such as solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections, which are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun.

Solar flares and particles ejected via coronal mass jections are associated with dark spots on the sun's surface. 

These are areas of intense magnetic activity, and when the magnetic fields in a sunspot cross each other, it can result in an energy explosion, known as a solar flare, which sends radiation into space. 

WHAT ARE SOLAR STORMS AND ARE THEY DANGEROUS?

Solar storms, or solar activity, can be divided into four main components that can have impacts on Earth:  .  

• Coronal Mass Ejections (CME's): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing through solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts to Earth when they're aimed at Earth.
• Solar flares: A large explosion in the sun's atmosphere. These flares are made of photons that travel out directly from the flare site. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth 
• High-speed solar wind streams: These come from coronal holes on the sun, which form anywhere on the sun and usually only when they are closer to the solar equator do the winds impact Earth. 
• Solar energetic particles: High-energy charged particles thought to be released primarily by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through solar wind, solar energetic particles can be produced and because they are charged, they follow the magnetic field lines between the Sun and Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect Earth will have an impact. 

While these may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger of these phenomena because of the relatively low orbit of manned missions.

However, they do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks.

This photo shows the sun's coronal holes in an x-ray image. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release bubbles or tongues of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections

The damage caused by solar storms 

Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.

The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing Earth's magnetic field.

Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.

When Coronal Mass Ejections strike Earth they cause geomagnetic storms and enhanced aurora.

They can disrupt radio waves, GPS coordinates and overload electrical systems.

A large influx of energy could flow into high voltage power grids and permanently damage transformers.

This could shut off businesses and homes around the world. 

Source: NASA - Solar Storm and Space Weather 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA) issued a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm watch for tonight. Shown here is the forecast for auroras tonight, which are expected to hit areas of North America

Forecasters monitor these events, and when a storm looks likely to have a significant impact, engineers can shut down certain systems on satellites, or prepare for impacts on the power grid. 

The sun has an 11-year cycle of sunspot activity, with the last maximum having taken place in April 2014. 

This summer, NASA is set to launch a spacecraft called Parker Solar Probe, which will travel closer to the sun than any other previous mission. 

It will fly by Venus and travel into the corona - the sun's upper atmosphere, with the aim of learning more about the particles that are ejected by the sun. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

31-07-2019 om 01:30 geschreven door peter