Flowers at the South Pole

Antarctica was once home to a diverse rainforest. The unearthing of traces of vegetation in 90-million-year-old sediments off the coast of West Antarctica shows just how radically different the planet was during the age of dinosaurs, with conifers, ferns and blooming flowers where an ice sheet sits today (SN: 4/1/20).

Life finds a way

Researchers are still identifying new species and cataloging the amazing diversity of life on Earth. This year saw the discovery that the sparkly “Elvis worm” of the deep sea is actually four different species (SN: 5/25/20). Other scientists found a bonanza of 10 new bird species and subspecies on remote Indonesian islands (SN: 1/9/20). And the first complete count of plant species on New Guinea revealed more than 13,600 species of vascular plants, the most of any island on Earth (SN: 8/18/20).

Raining reptiles

During a cold snap in southern Florida, lizards started falling from trees, landing legs-up (SN: 10/30/20). The reptiles weren’t hurt, just so cold that they couldn’t move and lost their grip. Oddly, this may be good news for the six lizard species scientists examined. The ability to withstand temperatures down to about 5.5° Celsius may suggest some resilience to extreme weather caused by climate change.

Super chill

Hot water can sometimes freeze more quickly than cold, a baffling phenomenon called the Mpemba effect. Scientists couldn’t explain it — and weren’t sure it was even real. Now researchers have demonstrated the bizarre effect for the first time in the laboratory by cooling glass beads as a proxy for the more complex freezing process of water. In some conditions, the researchers say, materials can take a cooling “shortcut” that allows warmer objects to cool faster than colder ones (SN: 8/7/20).

Edge of the map

Astronomers have found the edges of the Milky Way, for the first time showing its enormous span and potentially helping to gauge its heft. Our home galaxy stretches almost 2 million light-years across, more than 15 times as wide as the Milky Way’s spiral disk of stars and planets (SN: 3/23/20). Beyond that disk lies a broad stretch of gas surrounded by a vast halo of invisible dark matter.

Go fly a snake

Paradise tree snakes can fling themselves 10 meters or more through the air, and engineers have now figured out how they stay aloft. Once the snakes are in the air, they undulate both side to side and up and down, giving them the stability needed to glide (SN: 6/29/20).

Floats our boat

Here was a chance to witness the seemingly impossible: tiny toy boats floating along both the top and bottom of a levitating liquid. Physicists made this magic happen by shaking a container of liquid, thus keeping a fluid layer aloft above a layer of air and allowing the inverted flotation (SN: 9/2/20).

Will to survive

One inspiring creature just refused to accept being eaten. The Regimbartia attenuata water beetle is the first prey known to survive a trip through a frog’s entire digestive system, not just by taking a ride (like the fish eggs found this year to survive ducks’ digestive systems) but by actively escaping through the back door (SN: 8/3/20; SN: 6/29/20).

Everybody smile

From grins to grimaces, facial expressions may be universal across human cultures, and from ancient times to the modern day. Just by looking at the faces of sculptures crafted between 3,500 and 600 years ago, without the context of the rest of the sculpture, present-day people correctly interpreted expressions such as anger in depictions of combat and pain in sculptures of people being tortured (SN: 8/19/20).

Meet PigeonBot

A robotic bird made with real pigeon feathers can change the shape of its wings by fanning its feathers out or gathering them in, making for more birdlike flight. Using the robot, scientists discovered that a bird can steer into a turn by bending just one “finger” on one of its wings (SN: 1/16/20).

It’s alive!

Putting Rip Van Winkle to shame, microbes that had been buried in seafloor sediments for more than 100 million years revived and multiplied. All the microbes needed was food to pull them from their dormant state (SN: 7/28/20).

{ https://www.sciencenews.org/ }

20-12-2020 om 01:21 geschreven door peter  

Was the Magi’s Mission History or Myth?

In just twelve short verses the Gospel of Matthew records the visit of the mysterious Magi to pay homage to the baby Jesus. The allure of mystical wizards from exotic lands captured the imagination of early Christians. Matthew’s short narrative was expanded and elaborated to the Christmas tale we hear today.

But did any such wise men exist, and if so, who were they and where did they come from? The predominant opinion among New Testament scholars is that the whole story is a fabrication—a fantastic myth devised to make the birth of Jesus extra special, but are they correct?

Making of the Magi Myth

The Magi story began to be elaborated along with the growth of Gnosticism and early Christianity. Extra Biblical writings about the mysterious Magi proliferated. The earliest apocryphal version of Jesus’ birth is a document called The Gospel of James or The Protoevangelium of James. The Protoevangelium tells the story of Mary’s birth and childhood, her betrothal to Joseph and the birth of Jesus. The account of Jesus’ birth follows Matthew and Luke’s account, but there are some extra details: Mary rides a donkey to Bethlehem, there is no mention of an inn as such, and the stable where Jesus is born is in a cave.

There is a midwife named Salome present, and as Jesus is born, a wonderful, mysterious light appears. In the Protoevangelium there are no shepherds, but the story of the Wise Men is told— obviously quoting from Matthew. Adding to Matthew, the Wise Men in the Protoevangelium say, the star was so bright on its appearing that all the other stars dimmed in its light.

Around the same time one of the earliest Christian writers, Ignatius of Antioch (d.108) in his epistle to the Ephesians, waxes eloquently about the star, “a star shone in the night brighter than all other stars. Its light was indescribable, and its strangeness produced wonder. And all the rest of the stars with the sun and the moon made a choir around that star which outshone them all.”  The exaggeration and glorification of the Magi story had already begun.

By the third century the idea that the Magi were kings was starting to get traction. Tertullian and Origen mused on the Old Testament prophecies that kings would come to worship the Messiah bearing gold and frankincense, and concluded that the Magi must have been kings.

• The Mysteries of the Three Kings: Who Were They and Where Did They Come From?
• What the Magi Had in Common with Scientists
• The Slaughter Of The Magi: How Ancient Persia Made Genocide an Annual Holiday

Journey of the Magi. (Eric Wilcox /

 CC BY-NC 2.0 )

It was also in the third century that the Magi story began to take the leap from legend to myth. The Legend of Aphroditianus is an apocryphal writing that originated in Syria, where there was a strong Persian influence. The tale begins with the account of a miracle in the temple of a pagan goddess in Persia at the time of Christ’s birth. According to the myth, the statues in the temple danced, sung and announced that the goddess Hera had been made pregnant by Zeus.

Suddenly a star appears above the statue of the goddess Hera. A voice from heaven is heard, and all the dancing statues fall on their faces. The wise men of the court take this to mean that a king is to be born in Judea. That evening the god Dionysus confirms their interpretation. Then the god sends the Magi to Judea with gifts, the star pointing them along their way. The story tells of the Magi’s journey to Bethlehem, and how they meet the Jewish leaders, and finally Mary and Jesus. They return to Persia bringing a portrait of Jesus and Mary, and subsequently put it in the temple, where the star first appeared.

Depiction of The Magi following the star in search of baby Jesus.

(Kevin Phillips / Public domain )

In another third century work, the opus imperfectum, a writer named Ephraim said the Magi saw a human image in the star. While the eighth century Chronicle of Zuqnin says there were twelve Magi, all of whom saw a different human image in the star. Clearly, the Magi story had found its wings and soared to mythical heights impossible to imagine by the simple storyteller Matthew.

Another bizarre apocryphal text is The Revelation of the Magi. This story pretends to be told by the Magi themselves. The Wise Men are residents of a mythical land called Shir in the Far East. They are the descendants of Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve , who passed on to them a prophecy from his father that one day a star of amazing brightness would appear to announce the birth of God in human form.

The story continues as every year the mystical Magi of Shir ascended their holy mountain where the Cave of Treasures is located. This cave contains the wisdom of Seth and the treasures of Adam, and it is there that the super bright star, brighter than the sun, appears to them as a tiny radiant human. The star child tells them to go on a long journey to Bethlehem. After long preparations they set off only to find that the star child accompanies them, removing all obstacles and miraculously providing them with food and protection.

Apart from being historical curiosities, these Gnostic texts have no value apart from being mildly entertaining. They are about as important to the search for Matthew’s Wise Men as Disney’s Sword in the Stone is to the search for the historical King Arthur .

The Medieval Myth

By the sixth century Christians may not have believed the wildly fantastic Magi stories of the Gnostics, but the idea that the Magi were wise men from Persia had taken root. So in the sixth century we find the Emperor Justinian commissioning the famous mosaic of the three Magi in Ravenna. Justinian’s mosaic actually named the Wise Men, and it is at the beginning of the sixth century that their names were first documented.

Mosaic of the Three Magi (young, middle aged & elderly) in Sant Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna.

( vvoe / Adobe stock)

The Excerpta Latina Barbari composed in Alexandria, calls them Bithisarea, Melichior and Gathaspa or as we now know them, Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar. In contrast, Syriac Christians named the Magi, Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. Ethiopian Christians called them Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while the Armenians said they were named, Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.

The various ethnic names of the Magi also indicate a widening out of the Magi tradition from the assumption that they were Persian priests. The Syrian, Ethiopian and Armenian Christians were among the first to accept the Christian message, and their independent Magi traditions attests to both the antiquity of the Magi story and affirms St Augustine of Hippo’s (d. 430) suggestions that the Wise Men represented the whole of the Gentile (non-Jewish) world.

Some two hundred years after Justinian’s famous mosaics, an eighth century Irish manuscript Collectanea et Flores offers more details about the appearance of the Wise Men, explaining that they represent the three ages of man (youth, middle-age and old age). By this time, they were no longer Persian Magi. Instead the Wise Men assumed three different racial characteristics showing that they represented Europe, Africa and Asia - the three regions of the known world.  At the same time, the British historian, Venerable Bede mused that the international origins of the Three Wise Men could also signify the three sons of Noah who, as tradition had it, re-peopled the globe and were the source of humanity’s three basic racial groups. These accumulated traditions explain why, in Christian artwork, the Magi are shown to be young, middle-aged and elderly: African, Asian and European.

Detail of the Three Kings from The Adoration of the Magi (elderly, middle-aged, young / European, Asian, African).

(Edward Burne Jones / Public domain )

The legends about the Magi continued to develop, so that according to the 12th-century life of St Eustorgio , the bodies of the Three Kings were discovered in Persia in the early fourth century by St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine and eventually translated to the cathedral in Cologne.

In the fourteenth century the Venetian explorer Marco Polo recorded that he had visited the village in Persia where Helena had identified the tomb, and in the same century, the Carmelite monk John of Hildesheim wrote Historia trium regum, (History of the Three Kings). John of Hildesheim recounts how the star was first sighted in the forty second year of the Emperor Augustus from the summit of Mount Vaus in the East by a group of pagan astrologers who were aware of the Old Testament prophecy of Balaam.

Hildesheim says the star was as bright as the Sun, and that the Three Kings from their own lands set out to follow the star they had seen. Melchior travelled from Nubia and Arabia. Balthasar from Godolia and Saba, and Caspar from Tharsis and Egrisoulle. Each with a magnificent retinue, they followed the star for thirteen days and arrived at the same time in Jerusalem, where they were amazed to discover that they understood one another’s languages. After their audience with King Herod , and instructed by his scribes, they continued their journey to Bethlehem, again guided by the magical star.

The Magi before King Herod, on a 13th-century stained glass window in Chartres Cathedral, France.

(Lawrence OP / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 )

History or Mystery? A Quest for Investigation

Matthew’s simple story burgeoned into a fantastic tale as no other Biblical narrative had. But what if the wildly elaborated myth, like that of King Arthur, was rooted in historical circumstances and real individuals? What if it could be shown that there were circumstances and players in first century Judea who fit the story? Always wanting to stand orthodoxy on its head, I set out on a quest of my own. I began to investigate whether there might be a foundation of historical truth beneath the accumulated legends surrounding the Magi story. To do this, I had to strip away the accretions that encrusted Matthew’s simple story.

What I found was astounding. First, I discovered that because of their assumption that the Magi story was a fairy tale, very few scholars had taken the time to investigate thoroughly the possible identity of the Wise Men. My research brought me into contact with an almost forgotten ancient civilization and new technologies, which shed light on the subject. Some fresh archaeological findings and new understandings from the Dead Sea Scrolls also contributed to the quest.

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, Israel.

( byjeng / Adobe stock)

Matthew said the Wise Men were “from the East.” By the end of the first century, because of the destruction of Jerusalem, the center of Christianity shifted north and west to Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. If you lived in present-day Turkey or Greece “the East” is clearly Persia. The fact that Matthew used the word “Magi” was also a powerful pointer. There was indeed an ancient caste of shamans from Persia called ‘the Magi’. But like most mystery stories, the first and most obvious solution is rarely the correct one.

Christianity’s hub may have shifted north and west, but Matthew’s Gospel was written in Judea to the Jews of that area. “The East” for them was the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, in the Old Testament the “people of the East” are always the nomadic tribes of Arabia. The Persians come from the North. The earliest Christian witness outside the New Testament is Justin Martyr, who is also situated in Judea. He says that the Wise Men came from Arabia. I therefore began to search for possible candidates from Arabia.

Petra and the Nabateans

This led, of course, to the fabulously wealthy and mysterious kingdom of Nabatea with the ancient city of Petra as its capital. Suffice it to say that once I discovered the Nabateans, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The politics, economics, religion and culture of the time all combined to make the Nabateans the obvious choice.

The Nabatean monastery ruins in Petra.

( carbo82 / Adobe stock)

Just two details will illustrate the wealth of evidence that combines to strengthen this theory. The finest gold in the ancient world was mined in Western Arabia, and the shrubs from which incense and myrrh are sourced only grow in Eastern Arabia and Northeast Africa, which is all territory controlled by the Nabateans. The gold, frankincense and myrrh were clearly diplomatic gifts (representative of the Nabtean kingdom) from King Aretas IV of Nabatea to honor a grandson or great grandson of his neighbor King Herod.

Secondly, new discoveries by archaeo-astronomers from Spain have shown that the Nabatean temples were aligned to the solstices and constellations, and the archaeological dig at the temple of Khirbet et Tannur, uncovered a stone carved zodiac proving that the Nabatean Magi were star gazers.

These are just two pieces of evidence that direct the quest for the identity of the Wise Men to Nabatea.  It is perfectly probable that there were wise men who had the motive, the means and the method to pay homage to Jesus Christ, just as Matthew recorded.

My findings not only stand the established academic orthodoxy on its head, but they should cause everyone interested in New Testament scholarship, ancient history and the historical veracity of the Gospels to think again.

Like the story of King Arthur, the tale of the Wise Men who visited Bethlehem was embroidered and embellished over many years. But beneath it all there is a foundation of historical truth, which is fascinating and compelling.

The simple facts of the Magi story undermine the assumptions that the nativity narratives are fairy tales made up to make Jesus more special. Instead my findings show that beneath all the mystery, there is history.

Dwight Longenecker’s book The Mystery of the Magi - The Quest for the True Identity of the Three Wise Men is published by Regnery Press. It is available on Amazon and from his website: dwightlongenecker.com

• Top image: The Magi with baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Source: Henry Siddons Mowbray / Public domain

By Fr Dwight Longenecker

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

20-12-2020 om 00:34 geschreven door peter  

UFO filmed in the sky above Brazil 17-Dec-2020

This new footage of a multiple unidentified flying objects was filmed in somewhere in Brazil on 17th December 2020.

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

19-12-2020 om 23:51 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers find two failed stars wandering the universe together

Astronomers have discovered an exotic binary system consisting of two brown dwarfs orbiting each other.

 by Rob Lea

A team of researchers from the University of Bern has discovered a very different binary system 450 light-years from Earth. The system — CFHTWIR-Oph 98 or Oph 98 for short — has twin occupants that appeared at first sight to be exoplanets existing in a star-less system. A deeper examination has revealed that they are brown dwarfs — Oph 98 A and Oph 98 B respectively — astronomical objects that are similar to stars but smaller and cooler.

These brown dwarfs wander the galaxy together, orbiting each other at an incredibly large distance equivalent to 200 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

The discovery of the curious Oph 98 system by the research team led by Clémence Fontanive from the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) and National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS (NCCR PlanetS) is documented in a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Contents [hide]

• 0.1 A Star that Failed
• 0.2 Brown Dwarfs with a Weak Bond
• 0.3 Hubble Shines Through Again
• 1 Original Research

A Star that Failed

The Oph 98 is a relativity new-born system in astrophysical terms, forming just 3 million years ago in the Ophiuchus stellar nursery (hence the ‘Oph’ element of its name). Its relative youth has some interesting consequences for the bodies that comprise it and led the team to properly identify its constituent bodies. 

The system has not existed for long enough for it to start forming planets. This means that Oph 98 A and B must have both formed via the same mechanisms that give rise to stars. This conclusion is also supported by the fact that Oph 98 B is roughly the right size to be a planet, but Oph A is too small to have the reservoir of material needed to form a planet so large. That means they must be brown dwarfs.

“This tells us that Oph 98 B, like its host, must have formed through the same mechanisms that produce stars and shows that the processes that create binary stars operate on scaled-down versions all the way down to these planetary masses,” says Fontanive.

The fact that brown dwarfs form in ways that are similar to stars and share similar masses, but do not ignite with the nuclear processes that power stars, has often led to them being nicknamed ‘failed stars.’ It is extremely rare for star-forming processes to create worlds that go on to exist in a system such as this. 

The objects are rare examples of astronomical bodies similar to giant exoplanets that orbit each other without a parent star. Both are young brown dwarfs, with Oph 98 A being the larger of the two with a mass 15 times that of Jupiter. Its smaller companion — Oph 98 B — has a mass equivalent to 8 times that of the gas giant, which is the largest body other than the Sun in our solar system.

This isn’t the only thing that makes Oph 98 unique, however. 

Brown Dwarfs with a Weak Bond

Another thing that makes the Oph 98 system so remarkable is the fact that, like all binary systems, the bodies are gravitationally bound. These bonds are greater with objects of greater mass but follow an inverse square law — meaning the bond’s strength falls off quickly as separation distances increase. Because these objects have relatively small mass coupled with an extremely large separation, the gravitational bond between them is one of the weakest in terms of energy that astronomers have ever observed. 

Observing this system at all is no mean feat as brown dwarfs — especially low-mass ones — emit very little electromagnetic radiation and are thus, not easy to spot.

“Low-mass brown dwarfs are very cold and emit very little light, only through infrared thermal radiation,” explains Fontanive. “This heat glow is extremely faint and red, and brown dwarfs are hence only visible in infrared light.” 

This visibility challenge was further compounded by the fact that Oph 98 and the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster itself is embedded in a dense cloud of dust that scatters visible light. “Infrared observations are the only way to see through this dust,” the researcher adds.

In fact, the team’s discovery was only made possible by the impressive power of the Hubble Space Telescope and the fact that it makes its observations from above Earth.

Hubble Shines Through Again

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the only telescopes capable of observing objects as faint as the Oph 98 A and B and resolving the image of the brown dwarfs at such tight angles.

“Detecting a system like Oph 98 also requires a camera with a very high resolution, as the angle separating Oph 98 A and B is a thousand times smaller than the size of the moon in the sky,” Fontanive continues. 

Hubble’s space-based vantage point is also crucial for the observation of such objects. This is because the infrared signatures that are used to observe brown dwarfs arise from water vapors that form in their upper atmospheres. As Earth’s atmosphere is full of water also producing this signal, the fainter trace from distant brown dwarfs is almost always obscured beyond detection for telescopes at the planet’s surface. 

“Both objects looked very red and showed clear signs of water molecules. This immediately confirmed that the faint source we saw next to Oph 98 A was very likely to also be a cold brown dwarf, rather than a random star that happened to be aligned with the brown dwarf in the sky,” says Fontanive.

Interestingly, the team’s findings have helped confirm the fact that the Oph 98 system has actually been spotted before. The binary was also visible in data collected by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 14 years ago. This older data helped the team confirm how Oph 98 A and B move together across the galaxy as a pair.

“We observed the system again this summer from another Hawaiian observatory, the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope. Using these data, we were able to confirm that Oph 98 A and B are moving together across the sky over time, relative to other stars located behind them, which is evidence that they are bound to each other in a binary pair”, explains Fontanive. “We are really witnessing an incredibly rare output of stellar formation processes.”

Original Research

• Fontanive. C., et al, ‘A wide planetary-mass companion to a young low-mass brown dwarf in Ophiuchus,’ The Astrophysical Journal Letters, [2020], [https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.08871]

{ https://www.zmescience.com/ }

19-12-2020 om 23:38 geschreven door peter  

Crashed Flying Saucer Spotted In Antarctica

Humans have made contact with aliens but their existence has been kept secret at the behest of a Galactic Federation of extraterrestrials. The aliens have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet. 

In a scene reminiscent of the Eighties horror film The Thing, a huge crashed flying saucer has been seen half-buried in the Antarctic ice.

They have been waiting for humanity to evolve and reach a stage where we will generally understand what space and spaceships are.  There’s an agreement between the US government and the aliens. They signed a contract with us to do experiments here. They, too, are researching and trying to understand the whole fabric of the universe, and they want us as helpers.  Part of that unsettling pact, includes a secret underground base on Mars which is staffed by a team of ETs and Americans.  Remarkably, President Trump was on the verge of revealing, but the aliens in the Galactic Federation, which presumably governs intelligent species in the galaxy, are saying: Wait, let people calm down first. They don’t want to start mass hysteria. They want to first make us sane and und

{ https://verytopsecret.info/ }

19-12-2020 om 22:48 geschreven door peter  

By Alejandro Rojas

19-12-2020 om 21:56 geschreven door peter  

This intergalactic filament is 50 million-light-years long, the longest we've ever seen

19-12-2020 om 20:52 geschreven door peter  

The Truth About Aliens | The Day Before Disclosure!

RELATED VIDEO, selected and posted by peter2011

{ https://www.disclose.tv/ }

19-12-2020 om 19:57 geschreven door peter  

19-12-2020 om 18:37 geschreven door peter  

Cutaway illustration depicting subsurface lakes on Mars. Research suggests these underground lakes, or aquifers – formed by melting ice deep below the surface – would have been the best places for life to exist on a planet as cold as Mars. They might also help explain conflicting scenarios of a warm, wet early Mars versus the colder Mars we see today.

Image via ESA/ Medialab.

If there was ever life on Mars, where would it be? What would be the best place to look for evidence of Martian life, whether that’s ancient fossilized life or still-living microbes? As many scientists have suggested, the answer may be underground, where conditions are warmer and may be wetter. Now, a new study – announced by Rutgers University in New Jersey on December 2, 2020 – expands on that idea. It suggests the region most likely to hold such evidence is several miles below Mars’ surface, where geothermal heat (geothermal energy) could have melted subsurface ice sheets.

The new peer-reviewed paper was published in Science Advances on December 2, 2020.

From the paper:

In explaining extensive evidence for past liquid water, the debate on whether Mars was primarily warm and wet or cold and arid 4 billion years (Ga) ago has continued for decades. The sun’s luminosity was ~30% lower 4 Ga ago; thus, most Martian climate models struggle to elevate the mean surface temperature past the melting point of water. Basal melting of ice sheets may help resolve that paradox. We modeled the thermophysical evolution of ice and estimate the geothermal heat flux required to produce meltwater on a cold, arid Mars.

We then analyzed geophysical and geochemical data, showing that basal melting would have been feasible on Mars 4 Ga ago. If Mars were warm and wet 4 Ga ago, then the geothermal flux would have even sustained hydrothermal activity. Regardless of the actual nature of the ancient Martian climate, the subsurface would have been the most habitable region on Mars.

EarthSky 2021 lunar calendars now available! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

Was early Mars always cold, with most of its water underground (left) or was it once warm and wet? The conflicting evidence for both still has not been resolved, but the new study may help to finally answer this long-standing question.

Image via NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center/ The Weather Channel.

Schematic representation of warm and wet early Mars (left) and cold, arid early Mars (right).

Image via Ojha et al./ Science Advances.

The findings have direct implications for the possibility of life on Mars, past or present, and may also help scientists finally reconcile the two opposing scenarios of early Mars, whether it was warm and wet or colder and drier (or something in-between). As lead author Lujendra Ojha at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, stated:

Even if greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor are pumped into the early Martian atmosphere in computer simulations, climate models still struggle to support a long-term warm and wet Mars. I and my co-authors propose that the faint young sun paradox may be reconciled, at least partly, if Mars had high geothermal heat in its past.

We know Mars was much wetter in the past, with lakes and rivers, and maybe even an ocean. But most climate models still suggest the planet was colder and drier than that. If Mars had enough heat underground, that could help explain the paradox, even if the planet was cold on the surface due to a fainter sun at the time, about 4 billion years ago.

Current evidence suggests that Mars had abundant liquid water on its surface 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago (the Noachian era). In this new scenario, water could have been produced by melting ice below the surface, due to radioactive decay. Elements like uranium, thorium, and potassium are known to do that on rocky planets, including Earth. Even if the surface was colder, there could still have been enough heat deep below to melt the ice.

Lujendra Ojha at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, lead author of the new study.

Image via Instagram.

This process would likely have been similar to subglacial lakes in areas of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland. Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a good example of one of these lakes. Drilling expeditions by Russian scientists in the dark subsurface lake have found microscopic life in the ice layers close to the liquid water. Further analysis has shown that Lake Vostok contains a diverse set of microbes, as well as some multicellular organisms.

So, could such heating have actually been possible during the Noachian era on Mars? The researchers say yes, saying that the conditions needed would have been ubiquitous.

After Mars lost its magnetic field and most of its atmosphere, it would have become impossible for liquid water to remain on the surface. But it could easily have persisted below the surface, at increasingly greater depths. Ojha said:

At such depths, life could have been sustained by hydrothermal (heating) activity and rock-water reactions. So, the subsurface may represent the longest-lived habitable environment on Mars.

If microbes ever existed on Mars on the surface or in the near-surface, they likely would have retreated deeper underground where liquid water was still available. It makes sense, then, that any traces of that life might be far below the surface, where they are protected from the harsh ultraviolet radiation of the sun.

The possibility of life in underground niches where water was or is available takes on extra significance with the discovery of what appear to be subsurface lakes on Mars right now. The first one was discovered by the Mars Express orbiter in 2018, beneath the south polar cap, with three more reported near it last October. These lakes, similar to ones in polar regions on Earth, are cold and probably very salty, but could still potentially support some kinds of microorganisms. The finding of any liquid water on Mars today is exciting in terms of possible life, since the surface is now so inhospitable.

Radar image from Mars Express in 2018 showing the first detected largest lake beneath the south polar ice. Similar subsurface lakes, created by melting ice, would have been the best places for Martian life to exist, according to the new study.

Image via ESA/ NASA/ JPL/ ASI/ Univ. Rome/ R. Orosei et al. 2018.

The lakes beneath the south polar cap are probably kept liquid by salts, since there is little or no geothermal heat in this location. But could could there be others, perhaps in locations near volcanoes where there could still be some latent heat left over from when the planet was highly geologically active? And indeed, there is also now evidence for some volcanic activity still occurring below the Martian surface.

If any of these lakes are not too salty, they might be ideal habitats for microbes, just as the Rutgers researchers have hypothesized. Being able to sample them, however, is still far off in the future, unfortunately. But in the search for life, they might just be where future explorers strike biological gold.

• Bottom line: A new study suggests that the best place to look for evidence of life on Mars is miles underground, where geothermal heat melted subsurface ice.
• Source: Groundwater production from geothermal heating on early Mars and implication for early martian habitability
• Via Rutgers University

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

{ https://earthsky.org/ }

19-12-2020 om 18:14 geschreven door peter  

Most Unidentified Flying Objects aren’t actually unidentified. Here’s a list of phenomena, either natural or human-made, that people often mistake for UFOs.

An experimental rocket test over Norway in 2009, which triggered many UFO reports. Read more about this photo.

If an alien spaceship were to appear in Earth’s sky, it’s likely it’d be seen first by those who spend a lot of time gazing upwards: astronomers. But professional and amateur astronomers don’t usually observe any Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). Because they know what sorts of objects appear in both the daytime and nighttime sky, they’re able to identify most sightings fairly quickly, no matter how strange they may appear. On the other hand, members of the general public do report UFOs. During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, for example, there’s been an increase in perceived UFO sightings in many countries. Many have been attributed to most people’s relative inexperience with interpreting cell phone camera shots. Lens flares – internal reflections within the camera – are often the culprit. In 2020, the bump-up in UFO reports is also an indication that people have had more time to observe the sky. That’s a trend we hope continues.

• EarthSky 2021 lunar calendars now available! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

For your reference, here’s a list of sky objects people frequently mistake for UFOs.

1. Rocket launches
2. Used rocket bodies
3. Atmospheric balloons
4. Earth-orbiting satellites
5. Contrails from jet aircraft
6. Chinese lanterns
7. Bright meteors
8. “Moving stars”
9. Planet Venus

1. Rocket launches. On the morning of September 2, 2015, many people in Miami, Florida, looked up to catch a glimpse of the strange moving light seen above. Some labeled it as a UFO when posting photos to Twitter or Facebook, but others knew it was an Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.

Some observers have seen a slow-moving object displaying a strange single or double trail, which may even change its appearance over the moments you observe it. This can occur if an observer is fortunate enough to see a spacecraft just after being launched; you may be seeing one rocket stage separating from another, or the ignition of a new stage.

Take a look at the video below. This is a SpaceEx Falcon 9 launch in December 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, as seen from Los Angeles, California.

2. Used rocket bodies 

tumbling objects orbiting our planet – also produce flashes in our night sky. After launching a satellite, most rocket bodies continue to orbit Earth for weeks, months or even years. As a rocket body tumbles in orbit, it may be visible as a dim moving “star” that might produce bright flashes as various sides of the tumbling object are exposed to sunlight.

An interesting sighting of this kind is a flash that appears to come from a static point in the sky. How is this possible? Geosynchronous satellites need to be placed in a very high orbit, some 22,200 miles (35,727 km) above Earth’s surface. After the launch of this sort of satellite, the rocket body that carried the satellite to orbit will also remain orbiting our planet. Instead of having a circular orbit it will have a highly elliptical (elongated) orbit. It might produce some peculiar flashes, which might be visible from Earth. How does it happen? Depending on the location and perspective of the observer, the erratic flashes of the rocket body from a geosynchronous satellite might appear to originate from an apparent static place in the sky. This rare occurrence is possible if the reflecting rocket body is more or less moving towards, or more or less departing, Earth as it pursues its stretched-out (elliptical) orbit. This is the same principle that occurs when a distant airplane appears to be static as it moves towards you. To the unaided eye, the subsequent flashes may give the impression that they are originating from the same area of the sky. If you are fortunate enough to witness this kind of flash in the sky, grab your binoculars! Magnification may confirm that the object is indeed moving slightly instead of remaining static.

An apparent static bright dot that was visible in daylight, was later confirmed to be a globe. A view using a telescope revealed it was this balloon from Google’s Project Loon.

Image via Eddie Irizarry.

3. Atmospheric balloons

Some observers reporting UFOs describe:

… an apparent planet or stationary bright object seen in broad daylight.

Large, round objects in the sky can be strange-looking. They may not appear to be moving. Different types of balloons and globes are being launched by various groups trying to do various things – for example, study Earth’s weather or atmosphere – and although these objects are slowly drifting on the wind, their distance from an observer might cause them to appear stationary in the sky. An example is Google’s Loon program. Loon has launched a network of globes to test internet coverage with the goal of providing access to remote areas. They can gain an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) or twice as high as commercial aircraft. Those balloons are reflective, and they appear bright in the sky. They can cause reports of UFO sightings.

Vince Babkirk captured this flare from an iridium satellite on July 22, 2016. He wrote: “There were lots of fast moving clouds tonight, but the Iridium 59 satellite was supposed to appear … [the clouds] parted just in time for me to capture the flare.” Read more about iridium flare satellites.

4. Earth-orbiting satellites. 

Satellites are easily visible to the unaided eye one or two hours before sunrise and after sunset. We see them then because their high-altitude orbits let them receive and reflect sunlight, even if it is dark at the observer’s site. Satellites generally appear as slow-moving “stars” that may disappear as they pass into Earth’s shadow. Some satellites, including the Hubble Space Telescope, sometimes reflect sunlight in an optimum way for a brief time, causing a bright flash or flare. Iridium satellites, which provide cellular communications to remote areas, formerly had reflective antennas that produced very intense flashes as bright as -8 magnitude! That’s much brighter than the brightest planet, Venus. It’s bright that it appeared as a huge spotlight from up there for one or two seconds. Newer Iridium satellites do not have this property.

Satellites traveling in groups have also been known to cause a stir, and we can likely expect an increase in reports when the Starlink satellite network becomes even more noticeable. Below is a video of a train of them passing by, captured by Marco Langbroek in the Netherlands in 2019:

Especially when they’re seen in the west around sunset, jet contrails can look like falling objects.

Image via Contrail Science.

5. Contrails from jet aircraft. 

Contrails are often confused with “slow-moving meteors” or “unannounced comets,” or other sorts of strange UFOs (in this case, often unidentified falling objects) by casual observers. These vapor or condensation trails are produced by high-altitude aircraft. They look impressive, especially when visible in the west around sunset. A contrail being illuminated by the setting sun may appear as a slow falling, burning, meteor-like object from the sky. Of course, it’s not falling or burning at all. It’s just jet exhaust released into the atmosphere. Still, its distance from an observer can cause it to look slow-moving. Just know that these are not UFOs; they’re ordinary jets. They’re also not comets, by the way, which are detected and announced well in advance, usually many weeks or months before they become visible to the unaided eye (if they ever do). Comets are visible for many days or weeks, not for a few minutes. So, do not confuse contrails with comets … or any falling spacecraft.

Chinese lanterns. 

These sky lanterns or small hot air balloons are made of translucent paper and may look very curious from distance. People launch those colored lanterns at festivals, parties and other activities. Observers see a slow moving light high in the sky, and as soon as the small candle or the waxy cell is spent, the bright colored light that was seen in the sky “disappears.” Its bright light can be visible for several minutes in the sky. When a group of lanterns is launched, wind can send them at slightly different heights and directions, but a trio of Chinese lanterns is enough to cause reports of a formation of UFOs!

Smoke trail from a bright fireball whose sightings were centered on Arizona on June 2, 2016. Later, a team from Arizona State University found the meteorite from this event.

Image via David Adkins/American Meteor Society.

5. Bright meteors. 

A meteor – or piece of debris from space – might leave a strange-looking trail as seen in the photo above. Or a bright meteor that happens to be moving toward you might appear as a short, bright light, which then disappears.

Some meteors – called fireballs – can be so bright that they can light up the night sky in such a way that can briefly turn the night into day. They’re actually pretty common, if you consider Earth as a whole. View the fireball logs from the American Meteor Society.

Why stars twinkle fiercely – sometimes even appearing to move around in the sky – when you see them near the horizon.

Illustration by Bob King, aka AstroBob.

6. “Moving stars.” 

Atmospheric turbulence or different temperature layers in the atmosphere can make a bright star, especially a star low on the horizon, to show an erratic movement. Experienced observers see this frequently. It’s merely an effect of Earth’s atmosphere and is gradually reduced or eliminated as the star gets higher in the sky, and as the light from the star passes through less of Earth’s atmosphere (see the diagram above).

An erratically moving object – a great candidate for being considered a UFO – typically turns out to be a bright star seen low in the sky.

Which brings us to what is perhaps the all-time most reported UFO …

Photo taken October 2, 2015 by Mohamed Laaifat

Photographies in Normandy, France.

7. Planet Venus.

Venus is the brightest planet, and the third-brightest object in Earth’s sky after the sun and moon. If and when you see Venus, it’ll always be bright, much brighter than any other starlike object in the sky. And there are special times in the orbits of Venus and Earth around the sun when Venus looks even brighter than usual. These times of greatest brilliancy for Venus occur when the planet is about to pass between us and the sun, and, at such times, Venus typically looms low in our sky and shines with an eerie brilliant light. UFO reports always increase around then!

There are likely other objects that can be added to this list. If you know of any, tell us in the comments below.

Just know that – while some UFO sightings may be temporarily or indefinitely unexplained – most can be explained.

And don’t get too excited or scared if you ever see some rare or strange object in the sky; there’s no better way to investigate quickly than taking a closer look with optical aid. Keep a pair of binoculars handy! There are also excellent websites such as Heavens-Above to check celestial happenings and local satellites passing by.

• Bottom line: A reference list of he most common natural and human-made phenomena in the sky that people frequently mistake for UFOs.

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted bypeter2011

{ https://earthsky.org/ }

19-12-2020 om 17:29 geschreven door peter  

On December 4, Professor Haim Eshed generated worldwide headlines when in an interview published by the Israeli national newspaper, Yedioth Aharonot, he revealed the existence of a secret US agreement with extraterrestrials, the existence of a joint US alien base on Mars, and a Galactic Federation monitoring human affairs. Reactions to the Professor’s startling revelations varied from those taking the comments as a major breakthrough on disclosure of extraterrestrial life, to many claiming he either had lost his mind or his words were distorted during the translation process.

It’s important to point out that Eshed gave the interview to promote his recent book, published in Hebrew, titled The Universe Beyond the Horizon conversations with Professor Haim Eshed. This is where one controversy arises since he appeared to say much more in his interview than what he told in his book.

Here’s the crux of what the Professor had to say according to an extract of the interview, translated into English, that was published by The Jewish Press on December 5, which set off the worldwide controversy:

The UFOs have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet. Trump was on the verge of revealing, but the aliens in the Galactic Federation are saying: Wait, let people calm down first. They don’t want to start mass hysteria. They want to first make us sane and understanding. They have been waiting for humanity to evolve and reach a stage where we will generally understand what space and spaceships are.

There’s an agreement between the US government and the aliens. They signed a contract with us to do experiments here. They, too, are researching and trying to understand the whole fabric of the universe, and they want us as helpers.

There’s an underground base in the depths of Mars, where their representatives are, and also our American astronauts.

Anticipating that some would conclude that he had lost his mind in making such comments, the Professor, who is also a former Brigadier General in the Israel Defense Force (IDF),  added for good measure:

If I had come up with what I’m saying today five years ago, I would have been hospitalized. Wherever I’ve gone with this in academia, they’ve said: the man has lost his mind. Today they’re already talking differently.

I have nothing to lose. I’ve received my degrees and awards, I am respected in universities abroad, where the trend is also changing.

Support for Professor Eshed’s continued sanity comes from former colleagues such as the current head of the Israel Space Agency, Dr.  Isaac Ben-Israel (also a former IDF general), who says that Eshed “has been talking about aliens for decades, and it never compromised his academic integrity.”

Ben-Israel’s admission is vitally important since it shows that Eshed’s beliefs about alleged alien contacts and joint agreements with the US have evolved over decades during much of his professional life, and not a post-career flight of fancy as contended by some.

Other former colleagues such Dr. Dan Blumberg, the current head of the Earth and Planetary Image Facility at Ben Gurion University, says that the extraterrestrial topic is an important one that Eshed is more than qualified to cover authoritatively, but not as appears in the original Yedioth article:

I know Haim Eshed well, and have enormous respect for him. It’s a viable and legitimate discussion, but it has been taken to a completely bizarre place by the article.

Blumberg’s position is similar to many in that Eshed’s views were either mistranslated or embellished in the original December 4 article. But were they?

What’s important to keep in mind in finding an answer is that the Yedioth Aharonot interview follows the traditional question and answer format, interspersed with the interviewer’s commentary. The commentary sections involve the interviewer applying Eshed’s views to contemporary developments, which might raise the possibility of mistranslation or embellishment. However, these commentaries are followed by the professor’s own words in answering a succession of questions about UFOs, extraterrestrial life and secret agreements, all done in the Hebrew language.

I did a Google Translate of the Yedioth Aharonot interview into English and found Eshed’s responses to questions where he addressed the issues of US alien agreements, a US base on Mars, and a Galactic Federation monitoring human events. I was able to confirm that his responses, through Google Translate, closely matched what was written in the Jewish Press story, and other Israeli news outlets, such as The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel, in their English language articles.

While I’m not proficient in the Hebrew language, nor does Google Translate do justice to what Eshed is saying, there is nevertheless consistency in the quotes attributed to him, by these three independent Israeli news stories, with the translation of the Professor’s own words by Google Translate.

Each Israeli source discussed the radical implications of what was said rather than raise problems of embellishment or translation. Clearly, the writers for each Israeli source read the original Yedioth Aharonot interview to get the gist of what Eshed was saying in his own words.

What was subsequently published in Israeli news sources are therefore  accurate translations of what Professor Eshed actually said rather than embellishments or distortions as suggested by leading UFO researchers such as Britain’s Nick Pope. He told NBC News: “Either this is some sort of practical joke or publicity stunt to help sell his book, perhaps with something having been lost in translation, or someone in the know is breaking ranks”.  

Having eliminated translation or embellishment problems, then is Eshed “breaking ranks” and revealing long-held secrets as Pope suggests?

For an answer, we need to consider Eshed’s background, as revealed by Wikipedia and other sources. In 1969, Eshed was sent to the US by the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Intelligence Division to gain a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering. Upon his return, he headed the IDF’s research and development department in the Intelligence Corps. By 1979, as Lt. Colonel in the IDF, he began to work on a detailed proposal for the establishment of a satellite program that could be used for space reconnaissance of the Middle East.

In 1981, Eshed retired from active military service and became a full-time professor at the Israel Institute of Technology, aka Technion, Israel’s oldest and top-ranked University. He subsequently played key roles in founding and leading the Israel Space Agency (1983) and the Technion’s (Asher) Space Research Institute (1984). Eshed managed Israel’s satellite projects, including its highly classified spy satellites responsible for monitoring the Middle East region for possible national security threats such as Iran’s secret construction of nuclear weapons facilities.

There are two phases during his military and civilian career that Eshed would have acquired access to information concerning extraterrestrial life and technology. The first phase involved his military service with the IDF, where Eshed worked with “Unit 81”, the secret technology unit of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate. It is the Israeli equivalent of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology.

It’s highly likely that Eshed, at some time during US Israeli collaborations on breakthrough technologies, would have learned about multiple highly classified DARPA/CIA programs conducted during the 1970s. One of these very likely included a joint US extraterrestrial base on Mars reported by various insiders associated with the Montauk Project (1971-1983).

Decades later, Laura Eisenhower, the great granddaughter of President Eisenhower, says that she was subjected to a recruitment effort for a secret US base on Mars, but declined despite great pressure exerted on her.

Consequently, it is likely that it is through joint US Israeli collaboration on breakthrough technologies while he was associated with Unit 81 during his military service that Eshed first learned about a secret US base on Mars and extraterrestrial agreements.

During his subsequent “civilian career” (1981-2010), Eshed no doubt continued to work closely with his peers from DARPA and the CIA on breakthrough technologies, while he focused on space surveillance technologies for the IDF.

Up to his retirement in October 2010, Professor Eshed had been responsible for the launch of 20 Israeli satellites during his nearly 30-year career at the Space Research Institute and the Israel Space Agency.

During his command of Israel’s spy satellite program, he now worked closely with US peers from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which runs spy satellites and is jointly run by the Pentagon and the CIA. It’s during joint intelligence sharing between the NRO, CIA, and the Pentagon’s National Security Agency (NSA), with the IDF, Israel Space Agency, and the Space Research Institute that Eshed presumably learned a lot more about highly classified US programs concerning UFOs and extraterrestrial life that he first learned about while working for Unit 81.

According to Dan Sherman, a 12-year veteran with the US Air Force (1982-1994), the NSA ran an electronic communications program (“Project Preserve Destiny”) with extraterrestrials that relayed details about abducted humans that were returned to their pick-up locations unharmed and with memories wiped. Sherman’s testimony matches what Prof. Eshed and others have said about US extraterrestrial agreements and genetic experiments.

As for Eshed’s revelations about a Galactic Federation monitoring human affairs and deciding that humanity is not yet ready for open contact, this is clearly a highly controversial claim. There have been many claims of an extraterrestrial Federation, Confederation, or Alliance monitoring human affairs and regulating multiple alien visitors’ activities to our world.

The earliest reference goes back to 1952 when the famed contactee, George Van Tassel, claimed to be in communication with the “Ashtar Command,” which was deemed to be part of a wider Galactic Federation, that requested the US abandon research into thermonuclear weapons. The Galactic Federation/Ashtar Command was involved in a failed diplomatic outreach that occurred on February 20, 1954, when President Eisenhower met with its representatives at Edwards Air Force base to discuss thermonuclear weapons testing. The extraterrestrial representatives further warned Eisenhower about unscrupulous alien groups that would soon make contact to make deals.

There has been over the subsequent decades a steady succession of contactees, insiders and channelers that have spoken or written about a Galactic Federation regulating human affairs. Eshed’s reference to the Galactic Federation adds credence to the legitimacy of such claims. Indeed, the subject of Galactic Diplomacy, which is the title of my 2013 book, has been given a healthy shot of credibility.

In a December 10 interview published on YouTube, I spoke with Corey Goode, a secret space program insider, about Professor Eshed’s claims concerning a Galactic Federation. Goode elaborated upon the different federations that he was aware of or that he interacted with during his SSP service and off planet contact experiences.

As for his claim that the Galactic Federation asserts humanity is not yet ready for open contact due to our lack of technological development, there are a few ways to interpret this. One may be that our overall technological level of development needs to be closer to a Type 1 status civilization according to the Kardashev scale. This is where the majority of humanity’s energy needs come from planet-wide energy generating systems. This would require humanity moving away from non-renewable fossil fuel sources to electromagnetic or other planet-wide energy systems.

Another interpretation is that the current global situation by which advanced technology is controlled by the Deep State and withheld from the rest of humanity needs to be dealt with before open contact can occur. In other words, the power of the Deep State needs to be removed or significantly curtailed before humanity is ready for contact. After all, why would a benign Galactic Federation want to admit a planetary member that is schizophrenic and corrupted by a hidden Deep State that contemptuously manipulates the rest of humanity?

In conclusion, Professor Eshed’s revelations have brought to the mainstream media’s attention information drawn from highly classified extraterrestrial related projects that have been earlier revealed by many brave insiders, witnesses, and contactees who were widely ridiculed and debunked for their disclosure efforts. It’s hard to debunk someone with Professor Eshed’s background and stature when he raises such controversial topics.

While there may be controversy over Eshed’s startling comments, this is not due to erroneous translations, embellishments, or him losing his mind. Instead, humanity is being told to wake up to truths about extraterrestrial life and secret agreements with the visitors that have been ignored and widely ridiculed for decades.

Many scientists, academics, and space professionals are in deep denial that they could have been fooled about such monumental issues during their distinguished careers. Professor Eshed’s revelations are a big wake up call. He is asking if we personally and collectively are ready for open contact with extraterrestrial life and a Galactic Federation.

[Note: Audio version of this article is available on YouTube and Spotify]

© Michael E. Salla, Ph.D. Copyright Notice

Further Reading

• The Coming Solar Flash & the Galactic Federation – Q&A with Corey Goode 
• Navy Admiral describes Reverse Engineering program involving extraterrestrial spacecraft
• When Secrecy is Better than Official Disclosure of Extraterrestrial Life
• New Investigation Shows Disputed MJ-12 Document Exposing Extraterrestrial Contact is Authentic
• Military Insiders Confirm Thousands of Extraterrestrials Live Among Us
• Eisenhower threatened to invade Area 51 former US Congress members hear testimony

{ https://exopolitics.org/ }

19-12-2020 om 16:36 geschreven door peter  

Just four years after he left his post as CIA director and three years after the now-famous release of the Tic Tac UFO videos taken by US Navy pilots, John O. Brennan sat down for an interview to discuss these sightings, other unexplained sightings and, most interestingly, alien life forms. Brennan is promoting his new book, “Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, At Home and Abroad” – a title which obviously does not include “enemies from outer space.” Brennan attempts to address those issues on the Marginal Revolution podcast hosted by Tyler Cowen. While Cowen is gracious enough to provide a transcript and both audio and video links to the podcast, Brennan’s comments on UFOs and aliens deserve special focus.

John O. Brennan

“I’ve seen some of those videos from Navy pilots, and I must tell you that they are quite eyebrow-raising when you look at them. You try to ensure that you have as much data as possible in terms of visuals and also different types of maybe technical collection of sensors that you have at the time. Also, I believe, it’s important to reach out into other environments and find out, were there any type of weather phenomena at that time that might have, in fact, created the appearance of the phenomenon that you’re looking at? Were there some things that were happening on the ground, or other types of phenomena that could help explain what seems to be quite a mystery as far as what is there?”

Eyebrow-raising? The reactions by the pilots, the ufology community, the media and the public to the Tic Tac videos and pilot testimonies seemed a little stronger than that. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Brennan spent 25 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, including stints as daily intelligence briefer for President Bill Clinton, deputy executive director and director of the newly created Terrorist Threat Integration Center under President George W. Bush, and director of the CIA during the final four years of the Obama administration. In other words, Brennan knows how to give briefings and his answer to Tyler’s question on how he would have handled the videos as director reflects that.

“Also, I believe, it’s important to reach out into other environments and find out, were there any type of weather phenomena at that time that might have, in fact, created the appearance of the phenomenon that you’re looking at? Were there some things that were happening on the ground, or other types of phenomena that could help explain what seems to be quite a mystery as far as what is there?”

It would have been beneficial to have had Brennan handling the disclosure of the Tic Tac videos since he’s asking questions that were not revealed when they were leaked nor after the government reluctantly confirmed their existence. Brennan assures Cowen that he would not have made up his mind in advance or discounted any unusual possibilities before analyzing all of the data. While he obviously no longer has access to that kind of data, he still offers his theory on what they might be.

“When people talk about it, is there other life besides what’s in the States, in the world, the globe? Life is defined in many different ways. I think it’s a bit presumptuous and arrogant for us to believe that there’s no other form of life anywhere in the entire universe. What that might be is subject to a lot of different views. But I think some of the phenomena we’re going to be seeing continues to be unexplained and might, in fact, be some type of phenomenon that is the result of something that we don’t yet understand and that could involve some type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life.”

In other words, he has not ruled out “It’s aliens!” and opens the possibility that we’re seeing a different life form that current technology is unable to recognize or interpret. He doesn’t dismiss the videos as examples of advanced Earth enemy technology (something the rest of his book shows he knows something about) or leaks of U.S. advanced technology that is being secretly tested on potentially unsuspecting military personnel. Instead, he draws a refreshing conclusion not often seen in the intelligence community.

“I just want to leave my mind open as to what something might be, but who knows what these things might be?”

For someone who spent 25 years in a job that required him to give the most powerful person in the world just the facts, no matter how distressing they may be, John O. Brennan sounds like a person who can be more open now since he no longer has the fate of the world hanging on his analysis. Unfortunately, that’s as far as he went on the subject of UFOs and aliens in this interview.

It sure would be nice to get him back into the secret files for one more look.

TRANSCRIPT

COWEN: Let’s say we take a concrete issue. The Navy has reported that a lot of its pilots have seen unidentified flying objects. If you’re tackling that, as a CIA director or someone who works there, what is it you would sift through and interpret? How would that go?

BRENNAN: I’ve seen some of those videos from Navy pilots, and I must tell you that they are quite eyebrow-raising when you look at them. You try to ensure that you have as much data as possible in terms of visuals and also different types of maybe technical collection of sensors that you have at the time.

Also, I believe, it’s important to reach out into other environments and find out, were there any type of weather phenomena at that time that might have, in fact, created the appearance of the phenomenon that you’re looking at? Were there some things that were happening on the ground, or other types of phenomena that could help explain what seems to be quite a mystery as far as what is there?

I think an important thing for analysts to do is not to go into this type of challenge either discounting certain types of possibilities or believing in advance that it is likely X, Y, or Z. You really have to approach it with an open mind, but get as much data as possible and get as much expertise as possible brought to bear.

COWEN: At the end of all that sifting and interpreting, what do you think is the most likely hypothesis?

BRENNAN: [laughs]I don’t know. When people talk about it, is there other life besides what’s in the States, in the world, the globe? Life is defined in many different ways. I think it’s a bit presumptuous and arrogant for us to believe that there’s no other form of life anywhere in the entire universe. What that might be is subject to a lot of different views.

But I think some of the phenomena we’re going to be seeing continues to be unexplained and might, in fact, be some type of phenomenon that is the result of something that we don’t yet understand and that could involve some type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life.

COWEN: Being an agnostic, you don’t think it’s something supernatural?

BRENNAN: Well, supernatural is in the eye of the holder. Again, I’m not going to discount them. That’s why I’m an agnostic as opposed to an atheist. I just want to leave my mind open as to what something might be, but who knows what these things might be?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

19-12-2020 om 15:19 geschreven door peter  

Fireflies Near Sun Today, Also John Glen Tells About Seeing Them In Space 1962, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Dec 12, 2020
Location of sighting: Earths sun
Source: Helioviewer.org and US National Archives

 

Guys I found a sun photo with lots of these UFOs in it which I believe to be small living lifeforms. Lots of creatures live in water and space is very similar...so similar that astronauts train underwater inside their space suits. Astronaut John Glen made a live feed from space in Feb 1962 from his space capsule orbiting earth. He said he saw "white fireflies" following him slowly and landing on his capsule window and outer hull. He said they were most visible at sunset, but as the sun disappeared  the small fireflies also disappeared. Which tells us that the objects did not glow or light up, but they were only reflecting the light from the sun as they flew around the capsule. Amazing first hand sighting in my video below at the 3:30 mark, before that is my talk about discovery of the Helioview fireflies today. 100% proof that life, even though tiny, exists, thrives in space. 

Scott C. Waring - Taiwan 

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

19-12-2020 om 14:40 geschreven door peter  

A team of Cornell researchers detected radio bursts emanating from the sole exoplanet orbiting the Tau Boötes binary star system – making this the first radio emission received from a planet outside of our solar system.

All together now … with feeling:

“It’s aliens!”

OK, the team, led by Cornell postdoctoral researcher Jake D. Turner, Philippe Zarka of the Observatoire de Paris – Paris Sciences et Lettres University and Jean-Mathias Griessmeier of the Université d’Orléans, isn’t yelling that with feeling along with us, but it’s a great signal they’ve picked up using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope in the Netherlands. The exoplanet – a hot Jupiter gaseous giant named Tau Boötes b – is in a tight orbit around Tau Boötis, a binary system consisting of a yellow-white dwarf and a dim red dwarf that is 51 light years from Earth in the Boötis constellation. The radio bursts are almost certainly coming from the exoplanet, which has Turner’s postdoctoral advisor and astronomy professor Ray Jayawardhana pretty excited.

The real Jupiter

“If confirmed through follow-up observations, this radio detection opens up a new window on exoplanets, giving us a novel way to examine alien worlds that are tens of light-years away.”

According to the Cornell press release – the paper was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics – Turner came up with the idea of studying the radio emissions of our own Jupiter as a way to detect other big gaseous planets outside the solar system. Using that data, they developed a signature for finding them in star systems between 40 and 100 light years away. The team’s “Eureka!” moment came quickly as they found candidates in the 55 Cancri system in the constellation Cancer and in the Upsilon Andromedae systems. However, neither were as significant as Tau Boötes b.

So … are aliens on Tau Boötes b trying to contact us … or anyone else listening?

“The signature, though, is weak. There remains some uncertainty that the detected radio signal is from the planet. The need for follow-up observations is critical.”

Like all good scientists, Turner wants certified proof that the signal is coming from Tau Boötes b. Also, the exoplanet is a hot Jupiter, not an Earth-like exoplanet with a magnetic field that contributes to possible habitability “by shielding their own atmospheres from solar wind and cosmic rays, and protecting the planet from atmospheric loss.” There’s not much chance our own Jupiter harbors life, let alone intelligent life with the ability to intentionally send out radio bursts.

Europa

Could the radio burst come from an exo-moon like Jupiter’s Europa, which has a salty ocean that could support life? Is anyone looking for Europa-like signatures or radio signals?

It’s times like this we mourn the demise of the Arecibo Observatory.

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

19-12-2020 om 01:27 geschreven door peter  

There’s probably not a single one of us who hasn’t, at some point, wondered what it would be like to travel through time. Of course, we must first make a strong case demonstrating that such a thing is, at the very least, feasible. It’s all good and well to share sensational and exciting stories of time-surfing with one and all. The fact is, though, we need much more than that. And, with that said, let’s now look at the science behind time-travel. Today, I’m focusing on the phenomenon called “Wormholes.” Nola Taylor Redd says: “The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Wormholes are predicted by the theory of general relativity. But be wary: wormholes bring with them the dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and dangerous contact with exotic matter. Wormholes were first theorized in 1916, though that wasn’t what they were called at the time. While reviewing another physicist’s solution to the equations in Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, Austrian physicist Ludwig Flamm realized another solution was possible. He described a ‘white hole,’ a theoretical time reversal of a black hole. Entrances to both black and white holes could be connected by a space-time conduit.”

Jillian Scharr is a staff writer for NBC. She, too has, carefully addressed the almost-mind-boggling issues of time-travel and wormholes: “The concept of a time machine typically conjures up images of an implausible plot device used in a few too many science-fiction storylines. But according to Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which explains how gravity operates in the universe, real-life time travel isn’t just a vague fantasy. Traveling forward in time is an uncontroversial possibility, according to Einstein’s theory. In fact, physicists have been able to send tiny particles called muons, which are similar to electrons, forward in time by manipulating the gravity around them. That’s not to say the technology for sending humans 100 years into the future will be available anytime soon, though.”

Now, let us ponder deeply on the words of Calla Cofield, who provides us the following: “In his 1994 publication Black Holes and Time Warps…[Kip] Thorne proposes a thought experiment: Say he obtains a small wormhole, which connects two points in space as if they were not separated by any distance at all. Thorne takes his wormhole and puts one end in his living room, and the other aboard a spaceship parked in his front yard. Thorne’s wife, Carolee, hops aboard the spaceship to prepare for a trip. The two don’t have to say goodbye, though, because no matter how far away Carolee travels, they can see each other through the wormhole. They can even hold hands, as if through an open doorway.” Fascinating? Indeed! We aren’t over yet, though.

Bill Andrews, of Discover magazine, most assuredly gives us something to think about – and deeply too: “The first problem for any explorer determined to survey a wormhole is simply finding one. While Einstein’s work says they can exist, we don’t currently know of any. They may actually be impossible after all, forbidden by some deeper physics that the universe obeys, but we haven’t discovered. The second issue is that, despite years of research, scientists still aren’t really sure how wormholes would work. Can any technology ever create and manipulate them, or are they simply a part of the universe? Do they stay open forever, or are they only traversable for a limited time? And perhaps most significantly, are they stable enough to allow for human travel? The answer to all of these: We just don’t know.”

Now, I’ll share with you the words of my colleague and friend here at the Mysterious Universe website, Paul Seaburn. In 2017, he elected to immerse himself into this strange and swirling world of wormholes: “In a recent post on his Forbes blog, Starts with a Bang, theoretical astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Siegel lays out the parts and the plans for traveling backwards in time. Siegel claims this ‘time machine’ abides by Einstein’s general theory of relativity and will not destroy the universe as we know it. Siegel proposes a sort of reverse wormhole. Instead of the conventional ‘travel 40 light years out at nearly the speed of light, come back and you’ve aged 2 years while everyone else is 82 years older,’ he proposes a wormhole with one fixed end and one that moves around at nearly the speed of light. The wormhole is created, you wait a year and then enter the end that has been in motion. When you come out at the fixed end, it’s 40 years prior. That means if you entered this wormhole today, you could travel back to 1978.”

It’s most important to note that all of those who have addressed the issue of wormholes are well-respected figures in their own, specific arenas. And, they have brought to the table significant material that suggests wormholes and time-travel are both a reality. Heading back into the past? Don’t bet against it!

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

18-12-2020 om 23:27 geschreven door peter  

18-12-2020 om 22:20 geschreven door peter  

18-12-2020 om 21:44 geschreven door peter  

Reptilian Aliens Documented In Ancient Times | Sumerian Tablets, The Anunnaki - Anton Parks

Reptilian Aliens Documented In Ancient Times | Sumerian Tablets, The Anunnaki – Anton Parks

Anton Parks believes 20,000 newly excavated Sumerian tablets can finally show the true location of the Garden of Eden. Modern experts hypothesise proof of ancient genetic tampering that irreversibly changed the course of human evolution.

Adam, the First Man – Does the ancient Sumerian word “Adam” hold clues to the relationship between early humans and the Sumerian gods? The Anunnaki? Did scholars make deliberate choices to omit certain sections of the Bible’s creation story..

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/ }

18-12-2020 om 20:59 geschreven door peter  

Unknown Bright Objects Swarm in ALL Directions Above Earth From ISS | Bright Aurora & Huge Fireball!

Unknown Bright Objects SWARM in ALL Directions Above Earth From ISS | Bright Aurora & HUGE Fireball!

WAY More Occurred During Today’s Total Eclipse Than Was Expected! *Shockwave/Radio Blackout* & more

We are living in very unique, changing times and during these times I have become more than intrigued by these changes and what is causing them. I’m referring to the earth changes, changes in our sun and how the earth’s atmosphere manages this what I believe to be a much different sunlight.

Over the last 10 years I have become very familiar with our planet, the mechanics of it and how it reacts to many different aspects of space weather and many other things as well. I monitor everything from the sea floor to the cosmos and everything in between. I am a full-time Watchman and as these uncertain times move forward I’ve got your back. When you really need to know…you’ll know.

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/ }

18-12-2020 om 20:50 geschreven door peter