Mysterious Alien Spacecraft Spotted in Florida

The state of Florida has long been considered a hotbed for sightings of UFOs and unidentified submerged objects (USOs), and the Gulf Breeze region is no exception. In 1980, Ed Walters captured some of the most compelling evidence of UFO sightings in Gulf Breeze, Florida. He took several photographs of a glowing object that appeared to be an acorn-shaped spacecraft, surrounded by lights and emitting a bright light from the bottom.

Although some skeptics have claimed that the photographs were hoaxed using double exposure techniques, many researchers believe that Walters’ story was genuine. In fact, there were a dozen other witnesses who reported seeing the same object, and several hundred more who saw something that could have been related.

So, what exactly is a USO? As explained by Bill Birnes, USOs are “unidentified submerged objects” that are essentially the underwater equivalent of UFOs. The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean area are both hot spots for USO activity, and there have been countless reports of sightings over the years.

• The Mysterious Wave of Mass UFO Sightings over Mexico City …

Interestingly, the acorn shape of the spacecraft that Walters photographed is similar to the craft that was hand-drawn by a witness in Cuba. Both objects have a basic acorn shape, are surrounded by lights, and emit a bright light from the bottom. The acorn shape is also similar to what was seen in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, in 1965.

Despite the overwhelming evidence and numerous sightings in the area, Walters was called a hoaxer by some skeptics. However, he never let the critics get the best of him and remained steadfast in his belief that what he saw was real. He even passed two lie detector tests and eight hours of psychological tests that proved his sanity.

So, what do these mysterious alien spacecraft want? That is the million-dollar question. Although there are no definitive answers, many researchers believe that they could be attracted to something in the water or out in the ocean.

The Gulf Breeze region of Florida remains a hot spot for sightings of unidentified flying and submerged objects. Although skeptics continue to cast doubt on the validity of the evidence, many researchers believe that there is something truly mysterious and otherworldly happening in the area. Only time will tell what the truth really is.

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

12-03-2023 om 18:39 geschreven door peter  

11-03-2023 om 23:27 geschreven door peter  

Triangle Formation of Black Spheres: Latest UFO Sighting in El Cajon, California

On March 9th, 2023, a UFO sighting was reported in El Cajon, California. According to witness reports, three black spheres appeared overhead an apartment complex in the afternoon. The objects were unlike any known flying objects and were rotating around each other in an odd formation.

The witness, who was filming the objects, noted that they seemed unaffected by the wind and were flickering in the sky. This was not like a metallic reflection of a Mylar balloon, which can often be mistaken for a UFO. The objects disappeared shortly after the witness’s girlfriend made him stop filming to go inside. Suddenly, the spheres whipped around about 90 degrees and vanished.

This latest UFO sighting is just one of many reported in recent years. With the advent of smartphones and social media, it is easier than ever to capture footage of unexplained objects in the sky. However, despite the proliferation of UFO sightings, the phenomenon remains shrouded in mystery.

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

11-03-2023 om 22:20 geschreven door peter  

Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, wrote in a research titled “Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” and co-authored by Abraham Loeb, chairman of Harvard University’s astronomy department that there is a possibility that extraterrestrial motherships and smaller probes may be visiting Earth and other planets in our solar system. 

The Pentagon is literally talking about the existence of alien motherships that release probes to earth.

“An alien mothership could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth. In their research paper they suggest that 'Oumuamua' is possible such a mothership with probe capabilities. 

These tiny probes would reach the Earth as the mothership passes by within a fraction of the Earth-Sun separation, just like ‘Oumuamua’ did,” the authors explained. Astronomers would not be able to notice the spray of mini-probes because they do not reflect enough sunlight for existing survey telescopes to notice them. source.

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

11-03-2023 om 18:43 geschreven door peter  

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

10-03-2023 om 17:43 geschreven door peter  

EXCLUSIVE: 'Our planet is not unique!' UFO experts admit alien 'motherships' could be flying through our solar system with the ability to launch their own smaller probes to visit planets they pass – including Earth

• Director of the Pentagon's UFO unit and former Harvard Astronomy Department Chair have co-authored paper saying alien 'motherships' could be flying through our solar system
• 'An artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth,' the authors write
• They wrote that current sky-scanning telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope would miss such small objects 

By JOSH BOSWELL FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The head of the government's UFO office says alien 'motherships' could be flying through our solar system and sending probes to Earth in a new science paper.

The draft paper, published last week DailyMail.com has learned, has also sparked a row with the UFO chief's predecessor over the physics of strange craft seen in our skies.

The six-page article, titled 'Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena', was co-written by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of the Pentagon's UFO unit called the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and former Harvard Astronomy Department Chair, Professor Avi Loeb.

Loeb is also the founder of the Galileo Project, which aims to use high-resolution telescopes and artificial intelligence algorithms to spot and photograph UFOs around Earth.

He gained national attention for his theory that an interstellar comet that passed through our solar system in 2017, dubbed 'Oumuamua, could in fact be an alien probe, and has written books on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

The head of the government's UFO office says alien 'motherships' could be flying through our solar system and sending probes to Earth. Harvard Astronomy Department Chair  Professor Avi Loeb believes that an interstellar comet that passed through our solar system in 2017, dubbed 'Oumuamua (pictured in an artist's rendering), could in fact be an alien probe

The six-page article, written by the director of the Pentagon's UFO unit Sean Kirkpatrick (left) and former Harvard Astronomy Department Chair Avi Loeb (right), was released last week

His new paper with Kirkpatrick was published on Loeb's website on March 1.

In the article, the scientist and the top intelligence official hypothesized that aliens may have long ago sent a 'mothership' craft across the galaxy, with the ability to launch its own smaller probes to visit interesting planets it passes – including Earth.

In an exclusive interview, Loeb told DailyMail.com that his team at Harvard is currently using a large campus telescope to scan the skies for such probes or other UFOs

'An artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions,' Loeb and Kirkpatrick wrote.

They wrote that current sky-scanning telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope would miss such small objects, whereas 'our deep space radars and space fence' could pick up meter-long incoming UFOs up to 36,000 km in the air – and we therefore should keep an eye out for them.

'Such objects could also become optically detectable as they get close to Earth, especially if they create a fireball as a result of their friction with air,' they wrote.

In an exclusive interview, Loeb told DailyMail.com that his team at Harvard, where he now serves as Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation, is currently using a large campus telescope to scan the skies for such probes or other UFOs, and are planning to set up a second telescope in the coming months as part of his Galileo Project.

'We are just hypothetically raising possibilities,' he said. 'NASA is now designing things that will land on Mars with a parachute shape. These are things that we are planning, and we should consider them as possibilities for other civilizations.

'Our planet is not unique. There are billions of planets like the Earth in the Milky Way galaxy. So why would we think that this is unusual?

'I have not seen data that supports any of these. It's just a possibility. But with the Galileo Project we are starting to collect data now and we will analyze it, but it's too early to say anything.'

Loeb and Kirkpatrick's draft paper also discusses 'physics-based constraints' for the kind of signs we should look for from UFOs – or as the government prefers to call them, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).

Kirkpatrick and Loeb's stance is at odds with the famous descriptions given by some Navy pilots of 'tic tac'-shaped objects videoed off the West Coast in 2004. The footage above captured what pilots recorded on their video sensors during training flights in 2004 and 2015

The two men argue that it is impossible for an object to travel faster than the speed of sound in Earth's atmosphere without creating a sonic boom, and that very fast moving objects always create a 'fireball' or a fiery tail in the air as friction with air molecules causes them to burn up.

They say that as a result, any footage that appears to show objects traveling at supersonic speeds without such characteristics, must be a misidentification – and is likely showing a smaller, slower object closer to the camera, or some other explanation.

'If you're claiming very fast moving objects, you'd better verify you can calculate the distance, so that you are sure about it,' Loeb told DailyMail.com.

'If indeed it's moving so fast, it should have left an imprint. You can't just say an object moves fast while at the same time you don't see any of these signatures.

'Someone who has crappy data, fuzzy images, or something without triangulation: you can't claim 'new physics' without actually proving beyond any reasonable doubt that you measured the distances correctly.

'If you're seeing them [UFOs], it means they interact with light, it means they interact with electric and magnetic fields, because that's what light is. And it means they must interact with the atoms and molecules of air, because air molecules interact with the electric and magnetic forces.'

In the article, the scientist and the top intelligence official hypothesized that aliens may have long ago sent a 'mothership' craft across the galaxy, with the ability to launch its own smaller probes to visit interesting planets it passes – including Earth

Kirkpatrick and Loeb's stance is at odds with the famous descriptions given by some Navy pilots of 'tic tac'-shaped objects videoed off the West Coast in 2004, described as flying over the ocean with no visible means of propulsion, then zipping 40 miles in less than a minute – at least three times the speed of sound – with no sonic boom or fiery trail.

The 'tic tac' and another object encountered by Navy pilots in 2015 were videoed on their F-18 jets' infrared camera, called 'FLIR', and the videos leaked to the New York Times in 2017, sending shockwaves around the world and reigniting popular interest in the UFO topic.

But the UFO office chief Kirkpatrick and Loeb appeared to pour cold water on cases of strange objects caught on FLIR, suggesting that alleged supersonic craft may in fact be slower moving objects closer to the camera.

'One of the most common sets of data within the military holdings comes from FLIR (forward looking infrared) pods,' the authors wrote.

'These sensors provide an accurate resolved image of relative thermal measurements across the scene. Typical UAP sightings are too far away to get a highly resolved image of the object and determination of the object's motion is limited by the lack of range data.

'The range is usually estimated using the flight dynamics of the platform and some fixed points in the scene - if either are available. The error in estimating the range gives rise to a significant variation in the calculated velocity and is subject to human bias and error.'

The comments in the paper drew a fiery reaction from Dr. Travis Taylor, a physicist who in 2019 served as the chief scientist for the government's UFO office.

The comments in the paper drew a fiery reaction from Dr. Travis Taylor (left), a physicist who in 2019 served as the chief scientist for the government's UFO office. 'That is so uncreative and typical of a Harvard physicist. That's so ridiculous,' Taylor told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview this weekend 

Loeb revealed that he will be going on an expedition in May to salvage a roughly three-foot comet that crashed to Earth on March 9, 2017 – hoping to recover pieces of the 'first interstellar material' on our planet

'That is so uncreative and typical of a Harvard physicist. That's so ridiculous,' Taylor told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview this weekend. 'Two equations does not a science paper make.

'Clearly he has not read Chris Van Den Broeck's [1999] paper or another paper called A View from the Bridge.

Taylor was referring to a theory that some UFOs seen flying in extraordinary ways are using a kind of 'warp drive' that bends space-time around the alleged craft, freeing it from the effects of gravity and allowing it to travel at extreme speeds without interacting with air or water molecules around it.

'There's some sort of physics there that we don't understand,' Taylor said.

'It's either magically frictionless – which would be an amazing technology – or it's in sort of a pocket universe, which fits with the Chris Van Der Broeck paper, being a warp bubble that doesn't interact with the things in this universe.'

Taylor made his comments in an interview with DailyMail.com at AlienCon, a UFO conference in Los Angeles, California this weekend where he was a guest speaker.

The combative comments show a widening divide between the ex heads of the UFO office, formerly called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and the current leadership under Kirkpatrick, on how to characterize weird objects seen in the sky, space and under water.

An image obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com of what appears to be a metallic-looking orb flying over Mosul, Iraq in April 2016, was included in a classified briefing video on UFOs shown to multiple US government agencies. The 'Mosul Orb' is an example of objects flying without visible means of propulsion

Loeb also revealed that he will be going on an expedition in May to salvage a roughly three-foot comet that crashed to Earth on March 9, 2017 – hoping to recover pieces of the 'first interstellar material' on our planet.

He told DailyMail.com he wants to retrieve pieces of the comet from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea, and look at its material for signs it was artificially made rather than natural.

'Six months before 'Oumuamua's closest approach to Earth, a meter-size interstellar meteor (IM2) collided with Earth,' Kirkpatrick and Loeb's paper said.

'The coincidences between some orbital parameters of 'Oumuamua and IM2 inspires us to consider the possibility that an artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth.'

'I will be going in a couple of months to find the fragments of the first interstellar material,' Loeb told DailyMail.com in his interview this weekend. 'The task is to see what the composition was. Is it natural like a rock, or was it artificial in origin, like stainless steel or some alloy?

'It's not a cheap expedition, it will cost $1.5million. We have the boat and an exceptional team with the best people in the expedition game. We will do our best. And I will be on the boat.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

10-03-2023 om 15:59 geschreven door peter  

Pentagon UFO Chief’s Report Suggests Possibility of Alien Mothership in Our Solar System

The possibility of an extraterrestrial mothership and smaller probes visiting planets in our solar system is not a new idea, but it has gained new attention following a report by the head of the Pentagon’s unidentified aerial phenomena research office. Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and Abraham Loeb, chairman of Harvard University’s astronomy department, co-authored a research report titled “Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” which suggests that an artificial interstellar object could be a parent craft releasing many small probes during its close passage to Earth.

Kirkpatrick, who previously served as the chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center, was appointed as director of the AARO when it was founded in July 2022. The AARO was established to investigate unidentified “objects of interest” around military installations, according to a Pentagon press release. Loeb gained notoriety when he proposed in October 2017 that our galaxy had been traversed by its first visitor from outer space.

The authors suggest that these tiny probes could reach Earth or other solar system planets for exploration, as the parent craft passes by within a fraction of the Earth-Sun separation, just like the object “Oumuamua” did. “Oumuamua” was detected in October 2017 by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii, and its orbit hinted at other forces besides the sun’s gravitational pull influencing its movement. The object was dubbed “Oumuamua,” the Hawaiian term for “scout.” Find out more at Wikipedia.

The authors further explained that astronomers would not be able to notice the spray of mini-probes because they do not reflect enough sunlight for existing survey telescopes to notice them. This possibility has gained attention following a month of intense scrutiny of unidentified flying objects, a trend ignited when a Chinese spy balloon captivated the nation by drifting across U.S. airspace. Three additional unidentified objects were subsequently found.

On Feb. 16, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and 12 other senators sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Director of National Intelligence Stacey Dixon calling for full funding for the AARO. The Biden administration’s previous funding request for fiscal year 2023 failed to fund anything beyond the office’s basic operating expenses, the lawmakers argued.

In support of the establishment of the AARO, the senators noted that it could help resolve various threats to the US and reduce the stigma surrounding the subject of alien encounters. The funding for the project will depend on the cooperation between the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.

A report presented by the head of a Pentagon research office that claimed that small alien ships could travel to distant planets has gained widespread attention. According to the report, an artificial object could launch several small probes as it approaches Earth.

According to the authors of the report, the lack of sunlight reflected by the mini-probes could prevent astronomers from detecting the objects. The senators noted that the AARO should be funded to address various hazards and threats to the US.

RELATED VIDEOS

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

10-03-2023 om 15:44 geschreven door peter  

Recovered UFO Technology May Be “Being Reverse-Engineered Right Now,” According to U.S. Representative

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life and unidentified flying objects. While some people are skeptical, others believe that these phenomena are real and that we need to take them seriously. In February 2023, four objects were shot down over North America in quick succession, prompting fresh speculation about what UFOs may be, what kind of risk they could pose, and what may come next. Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett told Newsweek that he believed “we have recovered a craft at some point, and possible beings.”

• UFO Mania: Experts Warn of Impending UAP Sightings Wave in the UK

Despite these statements, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the nature of UFOs and their potential implications for national security. In fact, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy said, following a classified briefing on the objects last month, it was “clear to me this is not a recent phenomenon.” “Lock your doors tonight,” he then told gathered reporters.

To address these concerns, US President Biden has ordered an “interagency team” to investigate the “broader policy implications for detection, analysis, and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks.” The team will be tasked with coming up with sharper rules for how to deal with unidentified objects moving forward, distinguishing between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.

5 Key Moments From Biden’s UFO Speech

In mid-January, the Office for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) published a report on UFO, or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), sightings. There had been a total of 510 UAP sightings recorded in the 2022 report, and overall sightings had jumped by 366 since the previously published report. It included new sightings since the previous report, as well as ones that were “either discovered or reported late.” Just over half of the new sightings were deemed “unremarkable,” but of the 171 remaining sightings, some “appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis,” according to the report.

It is important to note that despite these findings, U.S. intelligence has not come across anything “that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin,” according to Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. However, the fact that there is a team dedicated to investigating UFOs suggests that the U.S. government is taking this issue seriously and wants to ensure that we are prepared for any potential threat that may arise.

In conclusion, while the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrial life remains a topic of debate, recent events suggest that we need to take this issue seriously. The fact that the U.S. government has recovered UFO technology and is trying to understand how it works highlights the potential threat

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

10-03-2023 om 14:56 geschreven door peter  

Rare Smiling Sphinx Statue Found in Egypt and it May Depict Emperor Claudius

Archaeologists in southern Egypt have uncovered a remarkable miniature sphinx statue, sporting a rare feature of a smiling face with two dimples. The artifact was found near the Hathor Temple in a tomb with two levels and is believed to potentially represent the Roman Emperor Claudius , making it a significant find. The unusual smiling expression on the sphinx is not typically found in ancient Egyptian art, adding to the intrigue and mystery surrounding the discovery.

In addition, researchers also found a Roman stele (stone slab) written in demotic and hieroglyphic scripts next to the sphinx. Once fully deciphered, the stele may reveal the identity of the sculpted ruler, according to a press release by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. They also discovered a two-layer platform and a mud-brick basin from the Byzantine era. Emperor Claudius is a likely option as he extended Rome’s rule into North Africa between 41 and 54 AD, which coincides with the dating of these finds.

The smiling sphinx in situ, near the Temple of Dendera in Egypt.

Source: Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism

The Roman stela found next to the sphinx.

Source: Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism

The Hathor Temple and the Dendera Zodiac

The Hathor Temple, which is within the Dendera Temple Complex in Qena province, located about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Cairo, is one of Egypt's best-preserved ancient sites. The smiling sphinx and artifacts were discovered within the walls of the complex.

The Hathor temple was constructed during the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 305 BC to 30 BC. It was an important pilgrimage site in ancient Egypt, and many visitors would come to the temple to seek the goddess's blessings and perform rituals. Hathor was a complex deity, worshipped as the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, music, and dance. She was also associated with motherhood, childbirth, and the sky.

The temple is home to the Dendera Zodiac , a celestial map that has been on display at the Louvre in Paris since 1922. The Dendera Zodiac is one of the earliest known representations of the constellations and is considered to be an important document in the history of astronomy. It shows the twelve zodiac signs, as well as other astronomical features such as the planets, the Milky Way, and the constellations of Orion and Sirius.

• Is The Iconic Dendera Zodiac of Ancient Egypt The Oldest Horoscope in the World?
• The Magnificent Temple of Hathor, Goddess of Love: Best Preserved Temple in all of Egypt

Temple of Hathor, Dendera

(Public Domain)

Egypt’s Recent Discoveries to Boost Tourism

Egypt has been unveiling major archaeological finds in recent months, primarily in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, but also in Giza and Luxor. Just last week, the antiquities ministry announced the discovery of a hidden nine-meter passage inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, which could lead to the burial chamber of pharaoh Khufu.

In January, archaeologists in Luxor uncovered an 1,800-year-old complete residential city from the Roman era. These discoveries have been seen by some experts as having more political and economic significance than scientific, reports the Associated Press .

Egypt is relying on tourism to revive its vital tourism industry, which has suffered a severe economic crisis, severely dependent on foreign tourism. The government aims to draw in 30 million tourists per year by 2028, up from 13 million before the pandemic.

The discovery of the sphinx statue near the Hathor Temple is another significant find for Egyptian archaeologists. With ongoing excavations in various parts of the country, Egypt's rich history continues to be uncovered. These archaeological finds not only have scientific importance but also economic significance for the country's vital tourism industry.

• Top image: The smiling sphinx unearthed in Egypt.
• Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

By Sahir Pandey

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ } 

10-03-2023 om 00:39 geschreven door peter  

DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: H5N1 is deadlier than COVID-19 and it's spreading. Humans are not easily infected YET - but the NEXT pandemic may just be a few mutations away

By DR. JENNIFER NUZZO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

• Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo is Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health

Tens of thousands of birds suddenly die in coastal Peru and throughout the Americas.

Then hundreds of sea lions turn up dead. And tragically, an 11 year old girl in Cambodia loses her life.

What's the cause of all these recent unusual events?

A highly pathogenic virus known as H5N1 - avian influenza.

Thankfully, H5N1 is not yet capable of spreading between people like the flu viruses we're used to battling in North America during the fall and winter.

Though the operable word is 'yet'.

Waterfowl are natural carriers of these dangerous viral strains. And most of the time, they don't pose a threat to humans, unless there is direct contact with infected animals or their waste.

Avian influenza viruses don't bind easily to human respiratory cells. Therefore, the disease is not readily transmitted from one person to another through coughing, sneezing or droplets in the breath.

But the increasing ability of H5N1 to spread among animals and directly infect people is stoking fears that the world may be just a few genetic mutations away from another pandemic.

And there are good reasons to worry.

Since 2022, in the United States alone, a record-breaking 58 million farm birds, like chickens and turkeys, have been killed or culled after exposure to the virus.

Tens of thousands of birds suddenly die in coastal Peru and throughout the Americas. (Above) Municipal workers collect dead pelicans on Santa Maria beach in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2022

Then hundreds of sea lions turn up dead. And tragically, an 11 year old girl in Cambodia loses her life. (Above) Bean Narong died of the bird flu on February 22 after falling sick a week earlier

The virus has also jumped to red foxes, mink, racoons, skunks and other non-human mammals across the northwest, midwest and northeast.

In fact, various forms of H5N1 have been spreading in wildlife populations for more than 20 years and they are nasty.

H5N1 has wiped out entire flocks and devastated wildlife populations. Hundreds of people have gotten sick since the virus was first identified in 1997. And among those known to have gotten the virus, about half have died.

That makes H5N1 far more lethal than COVID-19.

What we don't know is how deadly the virus would be if it were to gain the ability to easily infect and transmit between humans.

Everytime a virus invades a cell, it makes copies of itself. Sometimes in the process it makes a mistake – a mutation. Mutations may not result in any changes in how the virus can infect or sicken. But as we've seen with the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, sometimes these mutations can make the virus more transmissible.

And we do know enough to want to act swiftly to prevent that from happening.

H5N1 is hardly the first zoonotic virus – a pathogen that originates in wildlife and spills over into human populations - to pose a serious threat.

Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, which has killed upwards of 40 million people and counting, first emerged in wildlife. The virus likely infected human populations multiple times before it gained the ability to spread and move around the world.

Since the emergence of HIV, there have been many more animal viruses that gained the ability to infect humans.

In the last twenty or so years, the list of zoonotic disease outbreaks that have occurred is staggering. The list includes Ebola, West Nile Virus, Mpox, pandemic influenza in 2009, and two new coronaviruses that predate the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoonotic diseases are thought to kill more than 2.7 million people across the globe each year.

That's astonishing.

And if that's not concerning enough, we're likely not ready for the next one.

The virus has also jumped to red foxes, mink, racoons, skunks and other non-human mammals across the northwest, midwest and northeast.

The steady drumbeat of these events signals to us that the accelerating emergence of new zoonotic diseases is the new normal.

Since the 1940s and 1950s when HIV may have first jumped from chimpanzees to humans, the frequency of zoonotic disease outbreaks has been steadily increasing.

By the end of the 20th century, the number of outbreaks of new infectious disease was more than five times greater than what was occurring in the 1940s - not all are zoonotic, but most are.

And stunningly, more than two thirds of all human outbreaks of new diseases have been caused by zoonotic pathogens

There are many possible reasons for this.

In North America and around the world, human land use is constantly expanding. We're putting new stresses on wildlife populations, increasing their likelihood of getting sick and becoming infected with new illnesses. Climate change is altering natural environments adding to the strain.

The animals themselves are migrating to new regions, creating new opportunities for them to come in contact with people, thus spreading new viruses. And repeated exposure to humans creates more opportunities for the diseases to mutate.

While all viruses are different, it would be folly to ignore that conditions which may have led to the HIV epidemic are magnified today.

If these viruses do become easily transmissible between humans, our modern behavior aids their spread. We are more mobile than ever before – any destination on the planet is reachable within 48 hours.

Finally, as bad as H5N1 avian influenza is, it may not be the worst zoonotic disease threat that we could face.

The U.S. has been preparing for a possible H5N1 pandemic for about 20 years. It has labs that can detect avian influenza and has stockpiled millions of doses of H5N1 vaccines.

Thanks to a seasonal influenza vaccine market, a global infrastructure to make vaccines for new influenza viruses already exists. The U.S. even has a secret supply of eggs to grow new influenza vaccines, if needed.

But as COVID-19 has shown us, when a completely new virus emerges and spreads, it is much harder to respond to it. If a new zoonotic disease emerges, we would not have ready access to the same tools we now employ to combat influenza or COVID-19.

Without vaccines or medicines to prevent or treat infections, we are left with masks and social distancing to contain the spread.

The U.S. has been preparing for a possible H5N1 pandemic for about 20 years. It has labs that can detect avian influenza and has stockpiled millions of doses of H5N1 vaccines.

Since 2022, in the United States alone, a record-breaking 58 million farm birds, like chickens and turkeys, have been killed or culled after exposure to the virus.

We need new tools and strategies to protect ourselves from contagious, zoonotic pathogens that don't just rely on our willingness to lockdown society and lock ourselves inside our homes. Forcing businesses and schools to close represents a failure to prepare.

We can't let zoonotic diseases like H5N1 spread unchecked or else they could mutate to become a bigger threat to humans.

The Biden Administration is right to consider vaccinating U.S. poultry against H5N1, but it's not enough.

That may protect U.S. agricultural interests, but it won't prevent the virus from infecting wildlife or mutating to more easily infect humans.

We need to do more.

Ensuring our schools and businesses are well-ventilated will not only reduce our vulnerability to future zoonotic threats, but will make us safer from other viruses, like seasonal influenza.

We shouldn't wait until our worst case scenario comes true to jump start research and development of new vaccines, rapid tests and medicines.

The World Health Organization recently called on governments to invest in developing prototype vaccines for every animal influenza strain so that they can be more rapidly evaluated and manufactured.

We need better surveillance of emerging wildlife viruses and of people who have high risk exposure to animals.

After three years of responding to COVID-19, the public and, crucially, politicians may have little willingness to do what it takes to prevent a new virus from upending our lives.

Funding for the response to COVID-19 has lapsed. Millions of healthcare workers have left their positions, leaving our fragmented and weakened pandemic healthcare entities further depleted. Efforts to develop new and improved vaccines for COVID-19 are stalled.

None of this bodes well for our readiness for the next pandemic.

We don't know when it may occur or what disease it will be, but we have lots of reasons to count on it being a zoonotic disease, and possibly one we've not yet seen before.

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09-03-2023 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

Smeltend permafrost laat virussen vrij die 50.000 jaar inactief waren: hoe gevaarlijk is dit?

De temperaturen op de arctische gebieden stijgen waardoor het permafrost smelt. In dat permafrost ontdekten wetenschappers al mammoeten en wollige neushoorns, maar er zitten ook oude virussen in die ijslaag. Hoe gevaarlijk is dit voor de mensen en dieren die nu leven? Wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters geeft uitleg: “Het hangt vooral af van hoe weerbaar de virussen zijn na jaren in het permafrost”.

NDBG, Martijn Peters  

Bron: CNN

Het klinkt als een science-fiction verhaal, maar toch waarschuwen heel wat wetenschappers voor de gevolgen van het vrijkomen van eeuwenoude virussen. De reden waarom dieren en virussen zo goed bewaard blijven in het permafrost is niet alleen omdat het koud is, het is ook een zuurstofvrije omgeving waar het licht niet doordringt. De huidige temperaturen op de Noordpool warmen echter zeer snel op waardoor de bovenste laag permafrost in de regio verzwakt.

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“Of een virus in die omstandigheden kan overleven hangt af van hoe goed hij bijvoorbeeld tegen extreme kou kan en hoe lang”, zegt wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters, “Sommige micro-organismen overleven dit niet, andere wel”. Het pokkenvirus kan bijvoorbeeld bij - 20 °C overleven, maar slechts enkele tientallen jaren en geen eeuwen. “Wat ontdooiende permafrost zou kunnen ontketenen, hangt dus af van hoe weerbaar de virussen zijn. Voor onbekende virussen is dat voorlopig moeilijk in te schatten”, zegt Peters.

Wetenschapper Jean-Michel Claverie heeft al meerdere virusfamilies ontdekt in het permafrost en heeft er twee opnieuw tot leven gewekt. De oudste was bijna 48.500 jaar. Het ging hier om virussen die enkel eencellige organismen kunnen besmetten. “Die vormen voor ons geen gevaar”, zegt expert Martijn Peters, “Maar de kans bestaat natuurlijk dat er zich virussen bevinden in de meer dan 23 miljoen km² oppervlakte aan permafrost die het wel op mensen hebben gemunt”.

Een enkele gram permafrost kan duizenden ‘slapende’ micro-organismen bevatten. Zo hebben wetenschappers bijvoorbeeld al fragmenten aangetroffen van het pokken- en influenzavirus. “Waar men vooral voor vreest, is dat er een nieuw virus zou tevoorschijn komen waar ons lichaam nog niet tegen gewapend is, zoals bijvoorbeeld SARS-CoV 2”, zegt Peters.

“Groter probleem”

“Het feit dat de virussen na zo lange tijd nog steeds besmettelijk zijn, wijst op een mogelijk groter probleem”, zegt Claverie. Hij vreest dat mensen zijn onderzoek beschouwen als een wetenschappelijke curiositeit en het niet zien als een ernstige bedreiging voor de volksgezondheid. “Wij zien deze amoebe-infecterende virussen als voorteken voor alle andere mogelijke virussen die zich in de permafrost zouden kunnen bevinden”, zei Claverie aan CNN. “We zien de sporen van vele, vele andere virussen”, voegde hij eraan toe. “Dus we weten dat ze er zijn. We weten niet zeker of ze nog leven. Maar als de amoebevirussen nog leven, kan het zeker zijn dat andere virussen dieren of mensen kunnen infecteren.”

“Het zijn trouwens niet enkel virussen waarvoor we moeten oppassen, maar ook bacteriën”, zegt Peters. In 2016 was er een uitbraak van Bacillus anthracis in Siberië. Zo’n honderd mensen werden opgenomen in het ziekenhuis en 1 jongetje stierf aan de ziekte. De bacterie was vrijgekomen uit de permafrost en had rendieren besmet. Meer dan 2.000 dieren stierven. Je kan miltvuur/antrax oplopen door het eten van besmet vlees. Meer nog, uit wetenschappelijk onderzoek blijkt dat er ook heel wat resistentie tegen antibiotica aanwezig is onder bacteriën die gevonden worden in permafrost, wat ook problematisch kan zijn.

“In het verleden kwamen nieuwe uitbraken van pathogenen meestal door het ontdekken van nieuw onbekend terrein of te dicht contact tussen mens en dier”, zegt Peters, “Maar nu kijken wetenschappers dus ook naar een derde piste: het verdwijnen van ecologische barrières die ons duizenden of zelfs miljoenen jaren beschermd hebben tegen deze micro-organismen”.

Wat kunnen we er tegen doen?

“Naar schatting zou tegen 2.100 bijna alle permafrost verdwenen kunnen zijn door de klimaatverstoring”, laat Peters weten. “De meest impactvolle oplossing is dus het stoppen van de klimaatverstoring en daardoor het massaal ontdooien van de permafrost voorkomen. Dan blijven de micro-organismen zoals v }}irussen mooi op hun plaats zitten”, verduidelijkt Peters.

“Daarnaast kan je natuurlijk ook proberen te voorkomen dat mensen in contact komen met de boosdoeners. Momenteel wonen er slechts ‘enkele miljoenen’ mensen in de permafrostgebieden. Maar als de wereld opwarmt neemt dat aantal misschien wel toe”, vult hij aan. “Tot slot is het ook interessant om meer onderzoek naar de micro-organismen in de permafrost te doen. Hoe meer men weet, hoe beter. Proactief werken is beter dan reactief”, besluit Peters.

KIJK OOK NAAR ALLE GERELATEERDE VIDEO'S, uitgekozen en gepost door peter2011

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09-03-2023 om 23:12 geschreven door peter  

LATEST UFO SIGHTINGS AND VIDEOS - 09-03-2023

Frantic Lady Witnesses A UFO in Montreal!

A Frantic Lady almost to tears try's to explain what she is seeing from inside what appears to be an upper story apartment or office building in Montreal Canada.

video Source MUFON Case # 129464

Large Black & Diamond At Sometimes Shaped UFO

Large Black And At Sometimes Diamond Shaped UFO Over Arizona REC & Witnessed By Mountain Biker.
Video Source MUFON Case # 129525

Asteroid 2023 DW has 'very small chance' of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046

Recently discovered asteroid 2023 DW has been predicted to have a close encounter with Earth on Feb. 14, 2046. See NASA's current odds of impact along with an orbit animation.

The space rock is estimated to be about 50 meters (164 ft) in diameter.

Credit: Space.com | orbit animation: NASA/JPL-Caltech | edited by Steve Spaleta £££

• (https://twitter.com/stevespaleta)

Exploring Venus with NASA's DAVINCI misison, includes descent probe!

NASA Deep Atmosphere of Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging” (DAVINCI) will launch to Venus in 2029 and includes an atmospheric descent probe.

Learn more about the mission here:

• https://www.space.com/venus-davinci-a...

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Developing Tech That Can Last On Venus

How long can a modern spacecraft last on Venus? How to develop electronics, batteries and other things that can survive these harsh conditions? What could the lifespan of such a mission be? We discuss all that with Dr Tibor Kremic from NASA Glenn Research Center.  

00:00 Intro

01:17 How bad Venus really is

03:27 What it takes to last on Venus

06:40 Chips that can survive on Venus

13:59 Batteries for Venus

18:45 Time-based measurements of Venus

23:03 Moving on the surface of Venus

26:32 Clockwork rovers

30:30 High-temperature solar cells

33:00 Advantages of Venus

42:29 Outro

Triton, The Moon That Was A Dwarf Planet!

Everyone knows that Triton is the largest moon of Neptune’s. But what if it wasn’t always like that? What if I told you that Triton used to be a dwarf planet before? Ever since its discovery, scientists have been really puzzled by this massive moon of Neptune. Triton is really peculiar as it is covered by a thick layer of ice that could even potentially be a host for life in the oceans underneath it! A team of scientists at NASA claims that there’s a very big chance that Triton used to be a dwarf planet before it was captured by Neptune, and turned into the very unique moon it is today. But what made scientists suggest that possibility? How else could they explain its peculiarities, like its weird orbital direction and high reflectivity?

Follow me in this video to get to unveil the incredible secrets of this very distant world and get to know the answers to these questions and more!

Triton is the largest and most massive of Neptune's moons and is among the most mysterious moons of our Solar System. It has a diameter of 2,706 kilometers, so in comparison with our Earth’s Moon, Triton is just a little bit smaller, by around 800 km. Carrying a mass of ten to the power of 22 kilograms, it is the seventh largest moon orbiting our Sun.
Neptune and its moon Triton have a very peculiar discovery story. It was observed two centuries before it was discovered as a planet, that’s crazy right? Let’s take a little step back in time into the discovery of Neptune.  

FALCON LAKE - FULL HD DOCUMENTARY MOVIE IN ENGLISH

Throughout the evolutionary course of history, extraterrestrials have not only visited our planet but have gone much further! The Falcon Lake UFO incident is one of the most chilling cases of all time. Stephen Michalak, in 1967, is in Manitoba on business when he is burned by a UFO. This is the most documented, disturbing and famous case ever seen where not only verbal evidence is present but also material and visual evidence. Canada therefore, remains one of the most enigmatic places ever because of endless appearances of unidentified flying objects.

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Caught on Camera and Radar | Kaikoura UFO Lights Incident, New Zealand | Short Documentary

Considered one of the most credible UFO sightings ever, The Kaikoura Lights Incident as its known made headlines not only in New Zealand, but right around the world.

Top 20 Alien Encounters: Most Famous UFO Sightings EVER (Part 2)

In this video,we continue with 20 most famous and controversial UFO sightings of all time. We discuss sightings from the United States, Canada, Australia, South America and Middle East.

We'll examine the evidence, the eyewitness accounts, and the various explanations put forth by skeptics and believers alike. Whether you're a seasoned UFO enthusiast or just curious about the subject, this video is sure to provide plenty of intrigue and speculation.

Join us as we explore the mysteries of the unknown and the unexplained, and uncover the truth behind some of the most fascinating and controversial UFO sightings in history.

This video details the following sightings:

11. Westall U.F.O. sighting (1966)
12. Falcon Lake Incident (1967)
13. Coyne Helicopter Incident (1973)
14. The New York Hudson Valley U.F.O. sightings (1982-1986)
15. Tehran U.F.O. Incident (1976)
16. O'Hare International Airport U.F.O. sighting (2006)
17. Phoenix Lights (1997)
18. Stephenville Lights (2008)
19. Chile Navy U.F.O. (2014)
20. Tic Tac U.F.O. (2004)

For your ready reference, in the first part, we explored the following incidents:

1. The Kenneth Arnold (1947)
2. The Roswell Incident (1947)
3. Mantell U.F.O. Incident (1948)
4. Lubbock Lights (1951)
5. Washington D.C. UFO Incident (1952)
6. Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter (1955)
7. Levelland U.F.O. Case (1957)
8. Aurora, Texas U.F.O. incident (1897)
9. Kecksburg U.F.O. incident (1965)
10. Rendlesham Forest Incident (1980)

Watch Part 1 here: :    • Top 20 Alien Enco...  )

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09-03-2023 om 22:44 geschreven door peter  

Strangeness in sky over Menifee, California (No Sound) 3-6-2023, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: March 6, 2023

Location of sighting: Menifee, California, USA

 

Watch this awesome catch in California. They witness saw these objects appear and unite and then shoot into the clouds and vanish several times. This seems to have no other explanation except possible alien craft flying together. 

Scott C. Waring - Taiwan

 

Eyewitness states: 

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

09-03-2023 om 18:34 geschreven door peter  

On March 7, 2023 a webcam captured a cylindrical object seemly emerging from the side of the Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico and rises into the sky until it is no longer visible. 

The well-known ufologist Jaime Maussan assumed that the object was a transmedium UFO of non-human origin. 

The Popocatépetl volcano is known for its many mysterious UFOs flying in, out or over the volcano over the years but to date, there is no explanation for the presence of these objects, but it is said that a secret alien base is located inside or near the volcano.

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

09-03-2023 om 18:29 geschreven door peter  

The Pyramid-Shaped UAP Over Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine: A Mysterious Encounter Caught on Video by Two Witnesses

A recent video has been making rounds on the internet, showing what appears to be a pyramid-shaped UFO hovering over Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine. The video was allegedly captured in December 2022 by two separate witnesses, both of whom managed to record footage of the strange object. The video has since been shared on various social media platforms, sparking a flurry of discussion and debate around what it could be.

The first witness footage shows a glowing triangular object hovering in the sky, with what appears to be a faint white light emanating from its tip. The second video was captured from a moving vehicle, and shows the same triangular object hovering in the distance, seemingly stationary as the camera shakes slightly from the car’s motion. In the background, the witness can be heard exclaiming in Ukrainian, “It’s not in the clouds, it’s over there!” as she points towards the object.

The video has generated a lot of buzz on Reddit, with users speculating on what the object could be. Some have suggested that it could be a drone, while others have pointed out the triangular shape is often associated with secret military technology. One user even claimed to have seen a similar object in Zacatecas, Mexico in 2018, describing it as yellowish before turning white/light blue, and hovering without making any noise.

• You won’t believe what these Trowbridge (UK) residents caught on camera: A UFO

However, others have raised doubts about the video’s authenticity. One Reddit user pointed out that the second video appears to show the triangular object as a fixed point around which the camera shakes, which would be difficult to fake convincingly. Another user pointed out that the triangular shape is often associated with American military technology, and questioned why such covert tech would be flown above Ukraine.

This video is a fascinating glimpse into the ongoing mystery of UAP sightings. As more people turn to social media to share their sightings, it’s likely that we will see more videos like this in the future. Whether they represent actual evidence of extraterrestrial visitation, secret military technology, or something else entirely, remains to be seen.

Video:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8iy2wh

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

09-03-2023 om 18:16 geschreven door peter  

Galaxy-size shock waves found rattling the cosmic web — the largest structure in the universe

For the first time, astronomers have spotted enormous, galaxy-scale shock waves rattling the "cosmic web" that connects nearly all known galaxies. These cosmic waves could reveal clues about how the largest objects in the universe were sculpted.

(Photo : Pixabay / Geralt)

The discovery was made by stitching and stacking thousands of radio telescope images together, which revealed the soft "radio glow" produced by shock waves from colliding matter in our universe's biggest structures.

The cosmic web is a gigantic network of crisscrossing celestial superhighways paved with hydrogen gas and dark matter. Galaxies tend to form where multiple strands of the web intersect, often in clusters numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Now a new study, published Feb. 15 in the journal Science(opens in new tab), could provide vital clues into the nature of the mysterious magnetic fields that stretch beside these tendrils. 

Related:

• New map of the universe's matter reveals a possible hole in our understanding of the cosmos

"Magnetic fields pervade the universe — from planets and stars to the largest spaces in-between galaxies," lead author Tessa Vernstrom(opens in new tab), an astronomer at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Crawley, Australia, said in a statement(opens in new tab). "However, many aspects of cosmic magnetism are not yet fully understood, especially at the scales seen in the cosmic web."

Taking shape in the chaotic aftermath of the Big Bang, the cosmic web's tendrils formed as clumps of matter from the roiling particle-antiparticle broth of the young universe — whose rapid expansion pushed the filaments outwards to form an interconnected soap-sud structure of thin films surrounding countless, mostly empty voids.

Far from being completely frozen in place, the cosmic web's matter can sometimes violently collide. When matter in the web merges, enormous shock waves send charged particles ricocheting through the web's magnetic fields, causing the particles to emit a faint radio wave glow. These shock waves have been spotted around some of the universe's largest galaxy clusters, but until now they were never observed around the web itself. 

"These shock waves give off radio emissions which should result in the cosmic web 'glowing' in the radio spectrum, but it had never really been conclusively detected due to how faint the signals are," Vernstrom said.

To search for the faint signals, the researchers used data from the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey, the Planck Legacy Archive, the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array and the Murchison Widefield Array to stack radio imaging from 612,025 galaxy cluster pairs, grouped together if they were close enough to be directly connected by cosmic web tendrils. This stacking helped boost the faint radio emissions from the shock waves beyond noisy background effects.

Then, by looking only for polarized radio waves — whose rays vibrate at the same angle as each other and were predicted in simulations to be emitted by the shock waves — the researchers found the signal.

"As very few sources emit polarised radio light, our search was less prone to contamination and we have been able to provide much stronger evidence that we are seeing emissions from the shock waves in the largest structures in the universe, which helps to confirm our models for the growth of this large-scale structure," Vernstrom said.

Now that the shock waves' existence has been confirmed, they could be used to probe the nature of the enormous magnetic fields that suffuse the web, which play an unknown role in shaping the universe.

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{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

09-03-2023 om 01:45 geschreven door peter  

ALIEN-DETECTING AI FINDS EIGHT "SUSPICIOUS" SIGNALS

WHEN THE SCIENTISTS ARE STUMPED, YOU KNOW THEY'RE ONTO SOMETHING.

GETTY / FUTURISM

09-03-2023 om 01:27 geschreven door peter  

Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are merging

Posted by Deborah Byrd and Theresa Wiegert

Milky Way and Andromeda merger has begun

The Andromeda galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way, isn’t noticeable in our night sky, unless you look for it. Under dark skies, however, you can see it without optical aid, but only as a barely visible fuzzy patch of light. But one day, far in the future, Andromeda will be bright in our sky, growing larger and larger … as it gets closer and closer to us. And even though the two galaxies are still 2.5 million light-years apart, the eventual merger of our two galaxies has, in fact, already begun.

The great extent of galactic halos

The Andromeda galaxy is currently racing toward our Milky Way at a speed of about 70 miles (113 km) per second. With this in mind, our merger will occur five billion years from now. But, in August 2020, the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal published new research revealing that the collision between our galaxies is already underway.

The news about the Andromeda galaxy came from Project AMIGA, which uses the Hubble Space Telescope to look at the deep-space surroundings of the Andromeda galaxy. AMIGA stands for Absorption Map of Ionized Gas in Andromeda. NASA called it:

… the most comprehensive study of a halo surrounding a galaxy.

The Andromeda galaxy, our Milky Way and other galaxies all sit enshrouded in a large envelope – called a galactic halo – which consists of gas, dust and stray stars. The halos of galaxies are faint, so faint, in fact, that detecting them is not an easy feat. These astronomers measured the size of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy by looking at how much it absorbed light from background quasars. They were surprised to find that the Andromeda galaxy’s halo stretches much, much farther beyond its visible boundaries.

Indeed, it extends as far as half the distance to our Milky Way (1.3 million light-years) and even farther in other directions (up to 2 million light-years).

Are the halos touching yet?

So, does this mean the halos of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are touching?

It turns out that, from our vantage point inside the Milky Way, we cannot easily measure the characteristics of our galaxy’s halo. However, because the two galaxies are so similar in size and appearance, scientists assume that the halo of the Milky Way would also be similar.

In other words, it’s the faint halos of the galaxies that indeed appear to have started to touch one another. Thus, in a manner of speaking, the collision between our two galaxies has already started.

Visualizing Andromeda’s halo in our sky

Observing 43 background quasars, scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to map out the halo of the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy. The light from these very distant quasars (emission from very bright galaxies fueled by a central supermassive black hole) is absorbed as it travels through the halo. By studying the change in absorption depending on where in the halo you look, scientists not only see the large extent of the halo but also what it consists of.

Illustration via NASA/ ESA/ E. Wheatley (Space Telescope Science Institute).

So what will the Andromeda merger look like?

NASA released the images below in 2012. They are artist’s concepts of what someone on Earth might see as the Andromeda galaxy hurtles toward us.

The depictions below are based on painstaking Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the motion of the Andromeda galaxy, with computer modeling of the inevitable collision between the two galaxies. Also, a series of studies published in 2012 showed that – rather than glancing off each other, as merging galaxies sometimes do – our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy will in fact merge to form a single big elliptical, or football-shaped, galaxy.

Roeland van der Marel, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, told Discover Magazine in February 2022:

Whether it’s fully a head-on collision or more of a glancing blow doesn’t really affect the end result.

And that is a new, giant elliptical galaxy.

Another video of the Andromeda merger

The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, however, won’t be the only ones involved in this merger. As shown in the video below, the other large galaxy in our Local Group of galaxies, that is, M33, aka the Triangulum galaxy, will also play a role.

In the video below, you’ll recognize the Triangulum galaxy as the smaller object near the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies. Although the Triangulum galaxy likely won’t join the merger, it may, nevertheless, at some point strike our Milky Way while engaged in a great cosmic dance with the two larger galaxies.

What happens to stars and planets when galaxies merge?

Across the universe, galaxies are colliding with each other. Astronomers observe galactic collisions – or their aftermaths – with the aid of powerful telescopes. In some ways, when a galactic merger takes place, the two galaxies are like ghosts; they simply pass through each other. That’s because stars inside galaxies are separated by such great distances. Thus the stars themselves typically don’t collide when galaxies merge.

That said, the stars in both the Andromeda galaxy and our Milky Way will be affected by the merger. The Andromeda galaxy contains about a trillion stars. Meanwhile, the Milky Way has about 300 billion stars. Stars from both galaxies will be thrown into new orbits around the newly merged galactic center. For example, according to scientists involved in the 2012 studies:

It is likely the sun will be flung into a new region of our galaxy …

And yet, they said,

… our Earth and solar system are in no danger of being destroyed.

Will humanity see the Andromeda merger?

So, how about life on Earth? Will earthly life survive the merger? Well, the sun will eventually become a red giant in about 7.5 billion years, when it will increase in size and consume the Earth. But even before then, the luminosity, or intrinsic brightness, of the sun will increase. This will happen, ultimately, in a timeline of about four billion years.

As solar radiation reaching the Earth increases, Earth’s surface temperature will increase. We may undergo a runaway greenhouse effect, similar to that going on now on the planet next door, Venus. So there’s a good change that earthly life won’t be around when the merger concludes.

But by that time, maybe some earthly inhabitants will have become space-faring. Perhaps we’ll have left Earth, and even our solar system. We may still get the view of Andromeda crashing into the Milky Way, just from a slightly different perspective.

• Read more: Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision

Bottom line: The Milky Way and Andromeda merger has already begun. The two spiral galaxies will form one giant elliptical galaxy in 5 billion years.

• Source: Project AMIGA: The Circumgalactic Medium of Andromeda*
• Via Discover Magazine

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{ https://earthsky.org/ }

09-03-2023 om 00:44 geschreven door peter  

By Lisa Grossman

{ https://www.sciencenews.org/ }

09-03-2023 om 00:18 geschreven door peter  

By Lisa Grossman

{ https://www.sciencenews.org/ }

09-03-2023 om 00:18 geschreven door peter