Dit is ons nieuw hondje Kira, een kruising van een waterhond en een Podenko. Ze is sinds 7 februari 2024 bij ons en druk bezig ons hart te veroveren. Het is een lief, aanhankelijk hondje, dat zich op een week snel aan ons heeft aangepast. Ze is heel vinnig en nieuwsgierig, een heel ander hondje dan Noleke.
This is our new dog Kira, a cross between a water dog and a Podenko. She has been with us since February 7, 2024 and is busy winning our hearts. She is a sweet, affectionate dog who quickly adapted to us within a week. She is very quick and curious, a very different dog than Noleke.
DEAR VISITOR,
MY BLOG EXISTS ALREADY 12 YEARS AND 11 MONTHS.
ON 06/05/2024 MORE THAN 1.972.210
VISITORS FROM 134 DIFFERENT NATIONS ALREADY FOUND THEIR WAY TO MY BLOG.
THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF 400GUESTS PER DAY.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HOPE YOU ENJOY EACH TIME.
The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
24-11-2023
Gamma-ray Bursts: Harvesting Knowledge From the Universe's Most Powerful Explosions
Gamma-ray Bursts: Harvesting Knowledge From the Universe's Most Powerful Explosions
The most powerful events in the known universe – gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) – are short-lived outbursts of the highest-energy light. They can erupt with a quintillion (a 10 followed by 18 zeros) times the luminosity of our Sun. Now thought to announce the births of new black holes, they were discovered by accident.
Two neutron stars begin to merge in this artist’s concept, blasting jets of high-speed particles. Collision events like this one create short gamma-ray bursts. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ A. Simonnet, Sonoma State University
The backstory takes us to 1963, when the U.S. Air Force launched the Vela satellites to detect gamma rays from banned nuclear weapons tests. The United States had just signed a treaty with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to prohibit tests within Earth’s atmosphere, and the Vela satellites ensured all parties’ compliance. Instead, the satellites stumbled upon 16 gamma-ray events. By 1973, scientists could rule out that both Earth and the Sun were the sources of these brilliant eruptions. That’s when astronomers at Los Alamos National Laboratory published the first paper announcing these bursts originate beyond our solar system. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center quickly confirmed the results through an X-ray detector on the IMP 6 satellite. It would take another two decades and contributions from the Italian Space Agency’s BeppoSax and NASA’s Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory to show that these outbursts occur far beyond our Milky Way galaxy, are evenly distributed across the sky, and are extraordinarily powerful. The closest GRB on record occurred more than 100 million light-years away.
Though discovered by chance, GRBs have proven invaluable for today’s researchers. These flashes of light are rich with insight on phenomena like the end of life of very massive stars or the formation of black holes in distant galaxies.
Still, there are plenty of scientific gems left to discover. In 2017, GRBs were first linked to gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space-time – steering us toward a better understanding of the how these events work.
The Long and Short of GRBs
Astronomers separate GRBs into two main classes: short (where the initial burst of gamma rays lasts less than two seconds) and long events (lasting two seconds or longer).
Shorter bursts also produce fewer gamma rays overall, which lead researchers to hypothesize that the two classes originated from different progenitor systems.
Astronomers now associate short bursts with the collision of either two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, resulting in a black hole and a short-lived explosion. Short GRBs are sometimes followed by kilonovae, light produced by the radioactive decay of chemical elements. That decay generates even heavier elements, like gold, silver, and platinum.
Long bursts are linked to the explosive deaths of massive stars. When a high-mass star runs out of nuclear fuel, its core collapses and then rebounds, driving a shock wave outward through the star. Astronomers see this explosion as a supernova. The core may form a either a neutron star or a black hole.
In both classes, the newly born black hole beams jets in opposite directions. The jets, made of particles accelerated to near the speed of light, pierce through and eventually interact with the surrounding material, emitting gamma rays when they do.
As a high-mass star explodes in this artist’s concept, it produces a jet of high-energy particles. We see GRBs when such gets point almost directly at Earth. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde
This broad outline isn’t the last word, though. The more GRBs astronomers study, the more likely they’ll encounter events that challenge current classifications.
In August 2020, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope tracked down a second-long burst named GRB 200826A, over 6 billion light-years away. It should have fallen within the short-burst class, triggered by mergers of compact objects. However, other characteristics of this event – like the supernova it created – suggested it originated from the collapse of a massive star. Astronomers think this burst may have fizzled out before it could reach the duration typical of long bursts.
Fermi and NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory captured its opposite number, GRB 211211A in December 2021. Located a billion light-years away, the burst lasted for about a minute. While this makes it a long GRB, it was followed by a kilonova, which suggests it was triggered by a merger. Some researchers attribute this burst’s oddities to a neutron star merging with a black hole partner.
As astronomers discover more bursts lasting several hours, there may still be a new class in the making: ultra-long GRBs. The energy created by the death of a high-mass star likely can’t sustain a burst for this long, so scientists must look to different origins.
Some think ultra-long bursts occur from newborn magnetars – neutron stars with rapid rotation rates and magnetic fields a thousand times stronger than average. Others say this new class calls for the power of the universe’s largest stellar residents, blue supergiants. Researchers continue to explore ultra-long GRBs.
Afterglows Shedding New Light
While gamma rays are the most energetic form of light, they certainly aren’t the easiest to spot. Our eyes see only a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Studying any light outside that range, like gamma rays, hinges tightly on the instruments our scientists and engineers develop. This need for technology, alongside GRBs’ already fleeting nature, made bursts more difficult to study in early years.
The Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of GRB 221009A and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending to upper left from the burst.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober
GRB afterglows occur when material in the jets interact with surrounding gas.
Afterglows emit radio, infrared, optical, UV, X-ray, as well as gamma-ray light, which provides more data about the original burst. Afterglows also linger for hours to days (or even years) longer than their initial explosion, creating more opportunities for discovery.
Studying afterglows became key to deducing the driving forces behind different bursts. In long bursts, as the afterglow dims, scientists eventually see the source brighten again as the underlying supernova becomes detectable.
Because afterglows last for such a long time and emit light large telescopes can detect, astronomers can pinpoint their locations and identify their host galaxies. This helps them determine more about bursts, including how far away they are.
Although light is the universe’s fastest traveler, it can’t reach us instantaneously. By the time we detect a burst, millions to billions of years may have passed, allowing us to probe some of the early universe through distant afterglows.
Bursting With Discovery
Despite the expansive research conducted so far, our understanding of GRBs is far from complete. Each new discovery adds new facets to scientists’ gamma-ray burst models.
Fermi and Swift discovered one of these revolutionary events in 2022 with GRB 221009A, a burst so bright it temporarily blinded most space-based gamma-ray instruments. A GRB of this magnitude is predicted to occur once every 10,000 years, making it likely the highest-luminosity event witnessed by human civilization. Astronomers accordingly dubbed it the brightest of all time – or the BOAT.
This is one of the nearest long burst ever seen at the time of its discovery, offering scientists a closer look at the inner workings of not only GRBs, but also the structure of the Milky Way. By peering into the BOAT, they’ve discovered radio waves missing in other models and traced X-ray reflections to map out our galaxy’s hidden dust clouds.
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected X-rays from the initial flash of GRB 221009A for weeks as dust in our galaxy scattered the light back to us, shown here in arbitrary colors. Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)
GRBs also connect us to one of the universe’s most sought-after messengers. Gravitational waves are invisible distortions of space-time, born from cataclysmic events like neutron-star collisions. Think of space-time as the universe’s all-encompassing blanket, with gravitational waves as ripples wafting through the material.
In 2017, Fermi spotted the gamma-ray flash of a neutron-star merger just 1.7 seconds after gravitational waves were detected from the same source. After traveling 130 million light-years, the gravitational waves reached Earth narrowly before the gamma rays, proving gravitational waves travel at the speed of light.
Scientists had never detected light and gravitational waves’ joint journey all the way to Earth. These messengers combined paint a more vivid picture of merging neutron stars.
With continued research, our ever-evolving knowledge of GRBs could unravel the unseen fabric of our universe. But the actual burst is just the tip of the iceberg. An endless bounty of information looms just beneath the surface, ready for the harvest.
Later dubbed the Oh-My-God particle, the cosmic ray’s energy shocked astrophysicists. Nothing in our Galaxy had the power to produce it, and the particle had more energy than was theoretically possible for cosmic rays traveling to Earth from other galaxies.
Led by the University of Utah and the University of Tokyo, the Telescope Array has since observed more than 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, though none approaching the Oh-My-God-level energy. No observations have yet revealed their origin or how they are able to travel to the Earth.
On May 27, 2021, the Telescope Array experiment detected the second-highest extreme-energy cosmic ray.
At 2.4*1020 eV, the energy of this single subatomic particle is equivalent to dropping a brick on your toe from waist height.
The Telescope Array consists of 507 surface detector stations arranged in a square grid that covers 700 km2 outside of Delta, Utah.
The event triggered 23 detectors at the north-west region of the Telescope Array, splashing across 48 km2.
Its arrival direction appeared to be from the Local Void, an empty area of space bordering the Milky Way Galaxy.
“The particles are so high energy, they shouldn’t be affected by galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields,” said Dr. John Matthews, Telescope Array co-spokesperson at the University of Utah.
“You should be able to point to where they come from in the sky.”
“But in the case of the Oh-My-God particle and this new particle, you trace its trajectory to its source and there’s nothing high energy enough to have produced it.”
“That’s the mystery of this — what the heck is going on?”
The researchers named it the Amaterasu particle after the Sun goddess in Japanese mythology.
The Oh-My-God and the Amaterasu particles were detected using different observation techniques, confirming that while rare, these ultra-high energy events are real.
“These events seem like they’re coming from completely different places in the sky. It’s not like there’s one mysterious source,” said University of Utah’s Professor John Belz.
“It could be defects in the structure of spacetime, colliding cosmic strings. I mean, I’m just spit-balling crazy ideas that people are coming up with because there’s not a conventional explanation.”
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays must exceed 5*1019 eV. This means that a single subatomic particle carries the same kinetic energy as a major league pitcher’s fast ball and has tens of millions of times more energy than any human-made particle accelerator can achieve.
Astrophysicists calculated this theoretical limit, known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff, as the maximum energy a proton can hold traveling over long distances before the effect of interactions of the microwave background radiation take their energy.
Known source candidates, such as active galactic nuclei or black holes with accretion disks emitting particle jets, tend to be more than 160 million light-years away from Earth.
The new particle’s 2.4*1020 eV and the Oh-My-God particle’s 3.2*1020 eV easily surpass the cutoff.
The scientists also analyzed cosmic ray composition for clues of its origins: heavier particles, like iron nuclei, have more charge and are more susceptible to bending in a magnetic field than lighter particles made of protons from a hydrogen atom.
The new particle is likely a proton.
Particle physics dictates that a cosmic ray with energy beyond the GZK cutoff is too powerful for the microwave background to distort its path, but back tracing its trajectory points towards empty space.
“Maybe magnetic fields are stronger than we thought, but that disagrees with other observations that show they’re not strong enough to produce significant curvature at these ten-to-the-twentieth electron volt energies. It’s a real mystery,” Professor Belz said.
Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace Says Out Of Body Experience Can Be Induced,
Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace Says Out Of Body Experience Can Be Induced," UFO Sighting News.
Here is something I have never seen before, but pertains to the old CIA files of them using remote viewing to see alien activities and structures on other planets and moons in our solar system. Billionaire Robert Bigelow, states that a general told him about some experiments that created out of body experiences using an astronaut G-Lock, which is like a fast spinning arm with a chair. This is real science and it defies all scientific explanations. But one day, science will recognize it and it will no longer be in the shadows.
UFO orbs are most often seen near aircraft, not because it's interesting, but because it's the only thing in the sky near them that they can scan and observe closely. Here we see a one meter metallic orb, similar to those seen in recently US government released videos. Orbs can both be controlled by an AI thats almost godlike, and it can be controlled manually by an alien or AI species on a far away planet.
Oh, and the eyewitness states, he felt compelled to watch, orbs and UFOs do have telepathic tech that can both read your thoughts from up to a mile away or more and it can also send you messages. If it ever happens to you, you will 100% understand. Yes, its happened to me and I still am amazed by my own experience. Meditation can call them to you, if you are focused for 15 minutes or more, alone and hold still, so they can pinpoint your exact location. Send them a greetings, "Welcome my brothers and sisters in the sky, we are all one, I am honored to know you are there." And go from there on your own. Good luck.
Scott C. Waring
Eyewitness states:
"A sphere makes an excessively close approach to an airplane about to land in Costa Rica. This is a demonstration of the versatility of these objects. We received a mental command to record the aircraft and that we would see a surprise."
Elon Musk, With All His Accomplishments, Can We Rule Out He's An Alien? Nope! UFO Sighting News.
Elon Musk, With All His Accomplishments, Can We Rule Out He's An Alien? Nope! UFO Sighting News.
Musk has a great since of humor, saying there is a graveyard full of his enemies, but there is a bit of truth to it. He's not human, he's an alien from an advanced civilization with an IQ that is off the charts. No human can outwit him, no human can defeat him. He came here on a mis££sion to advance humanity through innovation of technology, and he wont stop till he's completed it.
UFO sightings have always captivated human imagination, sparking curiosity and debate. Among the plethora of global UFO encounters, Japan stands out with its unique and compelling cases. This article delves into the mysterious world of UFO sightings in Japan, exploring both ancient connections and contemporary incidents.
The Fukushima Incident: A Turning Point in UFO Sightings
On March 11, 2011, Japan faced one of the worst nuclear disasters in history at Fukushima. Amidst this catastrophe, numerous UFO sightings were reported, suggesting a possible extraterrestrial interest in our nuclear activities. These sightings were not isolated; similar occurrences were noted during the Chernobyl disaster, hinting at a pattern of otherworldly observation or intervention in nuclear crises.
Global Perspective on UFO Research
While Japan initially denied the existence of UFOs, other countries like Chile have been pioneers in UFO research. In 2014, a significant incident involving Chilean naval officers recording a UFO further solidified the global interest in these unexplained phenomena. Japan’s eventual policy shift in 2020, acknowledging and recording UFO encounters, marked a significant change in global UFO discourse.
Shintoism and the Alien Connection
Japan’s primary religion, Shintoism, with its reverence for Kami (gods or spirits), provides an intriguing perspective on the UFO phenomenon. The Kami, often described as celestial beings, bear striking similarities to descriptions of extraterrestrial beings. With over 81,000 shrines dedicated to these Kami, the ancient religious practices in Japan may hold clues to understanding the long-standing connection between Japan and extraterrestrial visitors.
VIDEO:
Ancient Aliens: Japan’s WILD Extraterrestrial Energy
The ongoing global efforts to study and understand UFO sightings, coupled with Japan’s rich cultural and religious context, present an enigmatic tapestry of human-extraterrestrial interactions. Whether these sightings are mere coincidences or evidence of a deeper cosmic connection, they continue to intrigue and mystify.
In exploring the mystery of UFO sightings, especially in the context of Japan’s unique experiences, we delve into a realm that challenges our understanding of the world and our place in the cosmos. This journey, filled with ancient wisdom and modern encounters, offers an unparalleled exploration of the unknown.
“Wat is er in hemelsnaam aan de hand?”: ontdekking krachtigste kosmische straal sinds ‘Oh-My-God-deeltje’ verbaast wetenschappers
Astronomen hebben een deeltje afkomstig uit de ruimte waargenomen met een extreem hoge energie. De wetenschappers gaven het de naam ‘Amaterasu’, naar de Japanse zonnegodin. Het is de krachtigste kosmische straal ooit geobserveerd sinds het zogenaamde ‘Oh-My-God-deeltje’. En wat het verhaal nog mysterieuzer maakt: de astronomen hebben geen flauw idee wat Amaterasu naar de aarde heeft geslingerd.
Artist’s illustration of extensive air showers induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Credit: Toshihiro Fujii/L-INSIGHT/Kyoto University
Wetenschappers hebben een verbazingwekkende ontdekking met de wereld gedeeld in een nieuwe publicatie in het toonaangevende wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Science. Op 27 mei 2021 namen zij met het Telescope Array-observatorium in Utah waar hoe onze atmosfeer reageerde op een deeltje vanuit de ruimte. Dit observatorium is gespecialiseerd in het observeren van kosmische straling en bestaat uit 507 detectoren, elk zo groot als een pingpongtafel. Samen bestrijken ze een uitgestrekt gebied van maar liefst 700 km².
Het ging hier weliswaar om een deeltje met een extreem hoog energieniveau van meer dan 240 exa-elektronvolt (EeV). Dat is 244,000,000,000,000,000,000 elektronvolt. Ter vergelijking, de gemiddelde energie van een elektron in het noorderlicht is ‘maar’ 40,000 elektronvolt. Het deeltje bevat zelfs nog miljoenen keer meer energie dan de deeltjes die wij kunnen creëren in de krachtigste deeltjesversneller ooit gebouwd, de Large Hadron Collider. Dit energierijke deeltje kreeg de naam ‘Amaterasu’. Dit is een verwijzing naar een zonnegodin uit de Japanse mythologie. Maar het is niet het meest energierijke deeltje ooit. Die eer gaat nog steeds naar het Oh-My-God-deeltje uit 1981 met 320 EeV. Eerst wou men dit het ‘WTF-deeltje’ noemen, maar achteraf kwam ingenieur John Walker met ‘Oh My God’ op de proppen, een verwijzing naar de bijnaam “het God-deeltje” van higgsboson.
Kosmische straling waarnemen met deze hoeveelheid energie is dus een zeldzame gebeurtenis. Zo zeldzaam dat de astronomen die de ontdekking deden eerst dachten dat er gewoon iets mis was met de detectoren, vertelt Toshihiro Fujii van Osaka Metropolitan University. “Toen ik besefte hoe hoog het energieniveau was van deze kosmische straling dacht ik dat dit een vergissing moest zijn. In de afgelopen 3 decennia hebben we immers nog nooit zo'n energierijk deeltje waargenomen.”
Dat dit een uitzonderlijke waarneming is, bevestigt ook John Matthews van de University of Utah. “Het regent continu geladen deeltjes op aarde. Elke seconde vliegt er een door jouw handpalm wanneer je jouw hand uitsteekt. Maar die hebben allemaal een lage energie. Eentje met hoge energie, dat is er een per eeuw op een vierkante kilometer. De kans dat er zo een door jouw hand vliegt is dus zeer klein.”
Als je het traject van dit nieuwe deeltje volgt in de ruimte, dan komt je niets tegen waarvan het van afkomstig kan zijn
Er is ook een mysterieus tintje aan dit hele verhaal. Want wetenschappers hebben geen flauw idee van welke bron deze kosmische straling afkomstig is. Het deeltje lijkt te komen vanuit een regio genaamd ‘The Local Void’. Dat is een leeg gebied dat grenst aan onze Melkweg. Bizar volgens de astronomen, want je hebt een bron nodig die enorme hoeveelheden energie bevat, zelfs een exploderende ster is niet krachtig genoeg, en die is daar nergens te bespeuren.
“Als je het traject van dit nieuwe deeltje en het Oh-My-God-deeltje volgt in de ruimte, dan komt je niets tegen met een energieniveau dat groot genoeg is om deze straling richting de aarde te sturen”, legt John Matthews uit. “Normaal zou je zonder problemen naar de hemel moeten kunnen kijken en zeggen ‘dat daar is de bron’. Dat we dit niet kunnen is het grote mysterie dat deze deeltjes omhult waardoor je denkt: wat is er in hemelsnaam gaande?”
“Het kunnen afwijkingen zijn in de structuur van ruimtetijd, kosmische snaren die botsen, … . Ik ben nu maar willekeurig zotte ideeën van wetenschappers aan het opsommen”, zegt John Belz van de University of Utah. “Er is momenteel gewoon geen logische conventionele verklaring voor wat we ontdekt hebben.” Ook Toshihiro Fujii oppert enkele hypotheses: “Misschien is het deeltje wel afkomstig van een gammastraal of een supermassief zwart gat in het centrum van een sterrenstelsel. Of misschien moeten we eerder kijken naar de afbraak van donkere materie of een zelfs nieuwe deeltje waarvan de natuurkundige eigenschappen niet passen binnen ons Standaard Model.”
Volgens de astronomen is er dus waarschijnlijk een onbekende bron ergens in The Local Void of is onze kennis over de fysica van dit soort deeltjes gewoonweg ontoereikend. Verder onderzoek zal dit moeten uitwijzen. Ze hopen dan ook dat het Amaterasu-deeltje hen nu nieuwe inzichten zal verschaffen in kosmische straling met een hoge energie en waar het vandaan komt.
Het concept van tijdreizen boeit lezers en bioscoopbezoekers al tientallen jaren. Maar hoewel mensen gefascineerd zijn door het idee, is niemand erin geslaagd om het tijdreizen meer tot realiteit te maken dan voorheen. Het lijkt een droom die net iets te ver buiten bereik ligt. Maar in een tijdperk waarin de wetenschap de grenzen van het mogelijke blijft verleggen, weten we eigenlijk wel - in theorie - wat de fysica van tijdreizen zou kunnen inhouden?
Het zal je misschien verbazen dat natuurkundigen nog steeds niet precies weten hoe tijd werkt. Voorlopig lijkt reizen naar de toekomst mogelijk (aangezien we er elke dag naartoe razen).
Maar als het aankomt op het mogelijk ontmoeten van onze over-over-overgrootouders door naar het verleden te reizen, ziet het er extreem moeilijk, of bijna volledig onmogelijk uit.
Tijd was relatief voor Einstein. Een belangrijk resultaat van relativiteit is dat de tijdstroom niet constant is. Tijd kan versnellen of vertragen, afhankelijk van de omstandigheden.
Voor ons zijn de relativistische effecten van tijd te subtiel om op te merken. Maar ze hebben wel degelijk invloed op de satellieten die worden gebruikt voor het Global Positioning System (GPS).
De klokken in de lucht tikken sneller dan de klokken op aarde. Daarom moeten de klokken in de lucht constant worden bijgesteld om de nauwkeurigheid te garanderen. Als dat niet gebeurt, kan je navigatie-app ongeveer 10 km per dag onnauwkeurig zijn!
Relativiteit betekent dat het mogelijk is om naar de toekomst te reizen. Of je nou reist met de lichtsnelheid of tijd doorbrengt in een intens zwaartekrachtsveld, je ervaart een relatief korte hoeveelheid aan subjectieve tijd.
In de rest van het universum zouden daarentegen tientallen jaren of eeuwen voorbijgaan. Dus wanneer je terugkeert, zou je verder in de toekomst zijn dan de tijd die je hebt ervaren.
Een studie uit 1949, gepubliceerd door Kurt Gödel, stelde voor dat een gesloten tijdachtige kromme, een pad waar ruimte en tijd in zichzelf teruglopen, tijdreizen naar het verleden mogelijk zou kunnen maken.
Zonder bewijs voor het bestaan van een gesloten tijdachtige kromme, is er geen manier om deze te reconstrueren. Emily Adlam, filosoof aan de Chapman Universiteit in Californië, zegt: "Zelfs als we veel grotere technologische krachten hadden dan we nu hebben, lijkt het onwaarschijnlijk dat we in staat zouden zijn om doelbewust gesloten tijdachtige krommen te creëren."
In 1991 kwam de natuurkundige Richard Gott met de theorie dat zo'n gesloten cirkel mogelijkµzou zijn als er twee "kosmische snaren" waren die in tegengestelde richting langs elkaar heen bewogen.
Wat geweldig zou zijn... als kosmische snaren bestonden! Deze snaren zijn nog steeds hypothetisch en volgens sommige theorieën zouden ze het hele vroege universum hebben gevormd.
Een ander fenomeen dat volgens de relativiteit mogelijk is, zijn wormgaten. Theoretisch is het mogelijk dat ruimtetijd wordt gevouwen als een stuk papier, waardoor een tunnel kan worden geperforeerd om een kortere weg te creëren tussen twee ver van elkaar verwijderde punten, oftewel een wormgat.
Het probleem met wormgaten is weer dat hoewel in theorie is aangetoond dat ze zouden kunnen bestaan, als een wiskundige mogelijkheid, het fysieke bestaan van wormgaten iets heel anders is.
Als wormgaten zouden bestaan, zouden ze niet erg lang bestaan. Sterker nog, als het twee zwarte gaten zijn die zich hebben samengevoegd, zoals wordt getheoretiseerd, dan zou hun intense zwaartekrachtsveld instorten onder hun eigen zwaartekracht.
Er is nog meer slecht nieuws voor toekomstige tijdreizigers: deze wormgaten zouden microscopisch klein zijn, te klein voor een bacterie, laat staan voor een mens om er doorheen te gaan.
Om het omvang- en zwaartekrachtprobleem op te lossen zou er een grote hoeveelheid negatieve energie in het atoom nodig zijn. De energie van het atoomveld moet over het algemeen echter meer positieve energie bevatten, dus zelfs als er kleine zakjes negatieve energie in het atoomveld zouden ontstaan, is het geen erg realistisch beeld.
Terwijl relativiteit het gedrag beschrijft van grote objecten zoals mensen en sterrenstelsels, verklaart kwantummechanica het hele kleine: kleiner dan atomen, zoals elektronen en fotonen.
Uit de kwantummechanica zijn vreemde waarnemingen naar voren gekomen, met name non-lokaliteit. Dit is waar een verandering in de toestand van een deeltje op één locatie onmiddellijk een ander "verstrikt" deeltje ergens anders kan beïnvloeden.
Einstein noemde dit "spookachtige actie op afstand". Het is vele malen experimenteel aangetoond, maar veel natuurkundigen zijn ongelukkig met de mogelijkheid van niet-lokaliteit.
Als reactie hierop zijn sommige natuurkundigen met een alternatieve manier gekomen om de experimenten te interpreteren. Sommigen suggereren dat wanneer iets er direct lijkt te zijn, het eigenlijk naar de toekomst is gereisd en weer terug. Dit introduceert retrocausaliteit, oftewel gebeurtenissen die in de toekomst plaatsvinden hebben een effect op het verleden.
Als dit het geval is, is ons lineaire concept van tijd niet noodzakelijk correct. Het betekent in feite dat informatie uit de toekomst altijd terugkeert om het verleden te beïnvloeden. Het is goed om in gedachten te houden dat deze theorie ook niet door iedereen wordt geaccepteerd. Sommigen vinden deze theorie nog ongehoorder dan non-lokaliteit.
Kortom, we hebben geen volledig antwoord. Relativiteit en kwantumfysica zijn niet met elkaar te combineren, maar ze werken wel om bepaalde aspecten van ons universum te verklaren. Misschien is er een overkoepelende, verenigende theorie die ze met elkaar verbindt, maar die is nog niet ontdekt. Voorlopig blijft tijdreizen buiten bereik - net als de meer mysterieuze aspecten van het universum.
Astronomers pouring over imagery obtained by the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) in New Mexico recently spotted a transient object they say is unique—and potentially far more energetic—than past examples they have witnessed, according to new research.
In astrophysics, the area of transient astronomy involves the study of short-lived astronomical events or phenomena. Some of these transient objects may last as little as a few seconds, or even fractions of one, while others could persist for several weeks, or even years.
From the enigmatic fast radio bursts of recent years to sudden eruptions of gamma rays and the appearances of novae and supernovae, the primary feature uniting many transient events is their extremity. That is, they usually result from the powerful energy released by the complete or partial destruction of distant celestial objects.
Now, a team of researchers says they may have located one of the most powerful transient objects in its class that astronomers have ever observed, a discovery that could potentially offer clues toward unraveling other unusual phenomena observed in recent years.
The new object, dubbed VT 1137-0337, is believed by astronomers to be a pulsar wind nebula (PWN), also known as a plerion. These objects occur when a nebula forms within the remaining shell of a supernova remnant (SNR). The unique feature of a PWN involves how winds generated by a central pulsar are what astronomers believe powers the nebula.
The discovery of VT 1137-0337 resulted from the analysis of images collected by VLASS, part of an ongoing project of New Mexico’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory, by astronomers Dillon Dong, a graduate student at Caltech, and Professor Gregg Hallinan, his doctoral adviser.
Comparisons between VLA images of the area where VT 1137-0337 exists as seen in 2018 (right) and in 1998 (left), showing that the object only appeared within recent years (Credit: Dong & Hallinan, NRAO/AUI/NSF).
Dong explained to The Debrief that the otherwise monumental task of sifting through the VLASS imagery was made easier by applying filtering that relied on code he wrote, which scanned every image they acquired and identified all of the radio sources present at the time they were recorded. Dong’s program also filtered out artifacts that occasionally turn up in VLASS images, all of which helped him and Hallinan narrow down transient objects that would likely be of interest to their research.
The next step was to take the filtered data and compare that against data from previous radio surveys conducted over the last several decades.
“By cross-matching my catalog of VLASS radio sources with a catalog from a historical radio survey from the 90s and 2000s called FIRST, I identified several thousand variable and transient sources,” Dong told The Debrief, noting that the transient objects he and Hallinan focused on were primarily “sources that have brightened substantially or newly appeared in the radio sky over the past two decades.”
Dong says that several of the transient objects they detected result from far distant black holes that possess relatively compact jets of powerful radio emissions, the likes of which have been discovered in previous studies of VLASS imagery in recent years.
However, during his recent research effort, Dong was more interested in objects that existed closer to us, within an estimated 600 million light-years.
“To find those nearby sources, I cross-matched the catalog of radio variables/transients with a catalog of nearby galaxies,” Dong explained. What he found surprised him.
“As it turns out, there are about 20 transients that are located too close to nearby galaxies to be explained by chance,” Dong told The Debrief, calling the new collection of transient objects—all presumably in nearby galaxies—a sort of “gold mine.”
One of the sources that stood out among those detected by Dong’s code filtering system turned out to be the first known instance involving a stellar collision that is believed to have given rise to a supernova explosion. And there were other transients that caught the eye of Dong and Hallinan, one in particular on account of several unusual features it possessed.
“VT 1137-0337 was another transient that stood out, this time because it had a very unusual flat radio spectrum and because it was fading so slowly,” Dong says. “Both of these properties are unique among known radio transients, and their combination is best explained by an emerging pulsar wind nebula.”
Dong says that the radio emission characteristics displayed by VT 1137-0337 resemble those of known pulsar wind nebula, the most famous of which is the Crab Nebula, located in the constellation Taurus. However, what set VT 1137-0337 apart from other nebulae like it was the amount of energy it produced: close to 10,000 times more than the Crab Nebula.
The Crab Nebula, as seen by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope
(Public Domain).
“VT 1137-0337 one is 10,000x the luminosity of the Crab Nebula,” Dong says, “mostly because the neutron star is young and hasn’t had a chance to slow down. It is also five to 500 times more strongly magnetized than the Crab Pulsar, which contributes to the energy.”
Dong says that astronomers currently think that most neutron stars have their genesis from within supernovae, which as he words it, “carve-out” a nebula that eventually emerges as gas ejected from the supernova becomes transparent.
“This one nicely fits the picture which is why we were able to identify it as a PWN,” Dong says, though noting that it “will be interesting to see if we can find examples of others that may be formed in different ways.”
However, the data Dong and Hallinan are processing could lead to more than just the discovery of transient objects like VT 1137-0337, now believed to be the most powerful PWN ever observed. In addition to being extremely dense, neutron stars are also some of the most magnetic objects in the universe (hence the name magnetar, which simply denotes a neutron star with a highly magnetic field). As highly magnetized neutron stars spin, a wind of highly charged particles is produced, which are ejected from the star at close to the speed of light.
However, even in the case of an object as powerful as VT 1137-0337, the amount of energy required to propel the particle wind outward eventually has a braking effect.
“If you leave the magnet spinning for hundreds or thousands of years, the energy it takes to launch that wind will act as an extremely strong brake and will significantly slow down the rotation” Dong explains.
“That’s the case for pretty much every neutron star we know of in the Milky Way” Dong told The Debrief, who says that “the previous youngest one is about 700 years old and has been slowing down ever since it was born.”
“In our case, we found one that’s less than 80 years old, which provides astronomers an opportunity to directly observe how particularly powerful neutron stars behave when they’re young.” Not only that, but it could also potentially shed light on another great mystery of modern astrophysics: fast radio bursts.
“Some of the leading theories for fast radio bursts claim that they are also due to young, highly magnetized neutron stars,” Dong says. “We haven’t seen any bursts yet from this source, but if we do, that would be an important piece of evidence in confirming this theory.”
Going forward, Dong says he plans to continue to watch VT 1137-0337, although he is always on the lookout for additional evidence of transient features that turn up in the VLASS imagery, and even hints at the fact that there may already have been a few others detected.
“There are many interesting transients left to publish,” Dong told The Debrief, confiding that he plans to “be spending much of the next year writing papers.”
Micah Hanks is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. Follow his work atmicahhanks.com and on Twitter:@MicahHanks.
NASA is gearing up for a new space biology research program, which the agency says will advance its understanding of how lunar dust can affect animals and plants, along with a range of other investigations into how the lunar environment may affect organisms.
NASA announced that it has awarded nearly a dozen grants or cooperative agreements as part of its Thrive In DEep Space (TIDES) program, which aims “to enable long-duration space missions and improve life on Earth through innovative research,” the agency said in a release on Tuesday.
The focus areas of the TIDES program will study how environmental stressors imposed by spaceflight can impact organisms, along with other information aimed at helping NASA better understand how to leverage technologies in the years ahead as advances in human spaceflight carry our explorations further into deep space.
The space biology research programs include investigations into plants undertaken by University of Wisconsin, Madison scientist Simon Gilroy, Ph.D., who will look at how lunar regolith impacts the nutrition of vegetation. Aymeric Goyer, Ph.D. of Oregon State University, will also undertake a study of potato plants grown in lunar regolith.
At the intersection of plant studies and microbial organisms, Christopher Mason, Ph.D., a professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, will study how microbes known as extremophiles can potentially aid plant growth in lunar soil.
A similar research effort, undertaken by University of Texas, Austin researcher Thomas Juenger, Ph.D., will look at engineering plant-microbial interactions to aid plant growth in simulated lunar soil, and Miranda Haus, Ph.D. of Michigan State University will examine root stunting in lunar highland regolith and its effect on legumes.
Additional TIDES research efforts will focus on how lunar regolith-based substrate impacts the growth of tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables, along with a series of experiments undertaken by Kathryn Fixen, Ph.D. with the University of Minnesota, into small-scale investigations of how lunar regolith may affect plants.
Animal research investigations are also included in the array of experiments undertaken by the TIDES program, which includes studies by Arizona State University scientist Cheryl Nickerson into the effects of lunar dust on the human intestine, as well as infectious disease risks, and investigations by NASA Ames researcher into how biological systems on the cellular level may be impacted by spaceflight and lunar regolith.
“Eleven investigators will conduct these Space Biology investigations from ten institutions in nine states,” the NASA statement reads. “Eight of these awards are to investigators new to the Space Biology Program.”
“When fully implemented, approximately $2.3 million will be awarded in fiscal years 2024-2027,” the agency said. More about NASA’s TIDES program can be found at the agency’s website.
A view of Mercury’s north polar chaotic terrain (Borealis Chaos) and the Raditladi and Eminescu craters where evidence of possible glaciers has been identified (Credit: NASA)
I have lost count of how many times I have given public lectures and explained the temperature differences between Mercury and Venus. How Mercury, surprisingly isn’t the hottest planet in the Solar System and how that badge goes to Venus, thick atmosphere blah blah blah. Mercury and its complex surface geology does of course get a good chunk of time but a recent paper has rather caught my attention and turned what I thought I knew about Mercury on its head! In short, a team of scientists have announced evidence for salt glaciers on Mercury!
Planetary Science Institute (PSI) scientists; Deborah Domingue, Bryan Travis, Jeffrey S Kargel, Oleg Abramov, John Weirich, Nicholas Castle and Frank Chuang are the co-authors of a paper that made the announcement. Their discovery of Mercurian glaciers (which are made of salt rather than the glaciers composed of water ice we are familiar with on Earth) are believed to have formed under the crust in Volatile Rich Layers (VRLs). The glaciers are then exposed by asteroid impacts. Salt glaciers are a rare phenomenon on Earth but have been seen in areas like the Zagros Mountains in Iran.
The irregular dark patches are the salt glaciers. Satellite image of the Zagros Mountains in Iran (Credit : U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey)
The team went on to suggest formation processes for these salt glaciers and the chaotic terrain that Mercury is well known for and at mechanisms that can explain the VRL formation? They studied the Borealis Chaos region near Mercury’s north pole, a region rich in chaotic terrain. Asteroid impacts have to all intents almost wiped out the craters in this region, many dating back to the early days of the formation of the planet. Underneath this layer lies ancient cratering that was discovered through analysis of localised gravitational fields. The placement of the two layers suggest perhaps that the VRLs may have in some way developed on top of an already solid terrain.
The chaotic terrain at the antipode of the Caloris Basin on Mercury (Credit : NASA)
Previous theories suggest the different layers formed through mantle differentiation where minerals separate out into layers but now a new theory is emerging. It seems the evidence points to some sort of global event, perhaps even from the collapse of Mercury’s fleeting hot atmosphere shortly after the formation of the planet. An alternative theory suggests that escaping volcanic gas may temporarily create pools of water or dense, highly salty steam which could have deposited salt. Significant amounts of the water would have swiftly been lost into space while some could have been trapped in minerals leaving behind a clay and salt rich layer.
The discovery of the glaciers on Mercury is in itself fascinating yet what has really captured my imagination is the impact this has on the potential for areas of habitability on Mercury – or any other planet for that matter.
On Earth, the existence of certain salt compounds in what would otherwise be inhospitable locations has given life a foot hold. We often talk of the Goldilock Zones around stars, the distance at which liquid water can exist and therefore has the potential for life. Yet the discovery of subsurface volatiles (which would ordinarily have evaporated out into space) suggests perhaps depth is also a key criteria for a hospitable environment. The surface of Mercury seems inhospitable to life but perhaps, life may get a foot hold underground. Okay this may seem far fetched but it does add an interesting dimension to the debate around a planets suitability for life.
'Ten aliens have been captured' by humans, claims ex-US intelligence officer
'Ten aliens have been captured' by humans, claims ex-US intelligence officer
US Air Force veteran and former intelligence officer David Grusch has made wild claims that aliens have been captured by humans and it has happened multiple times
Bombshell claims have been made that aliens have been captured on Earth (stock) (Image: Getty Images)
Humans have captured at least ten aliens, according to a former US intelligence officer.
US Air Force veteran David Grusch, a former member of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Reconnaissance Office, claims ET "pilots" were seized after a number of UFO crashes on Earth running into "double digits".
Though there had been some "interactions" with humans, most aliens were a "variety" of biological "entities" of which boffins had no understanding of the "physiology at all".
To read more stories about Space and beings from another planet, click here
David Grusch was on the Defense Department's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (file)(Image: CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Grusch stunned politicians when he claimed the US Government had been covering up UFO crashes for decades.
He claimed whistleblowers had told him they had worked on secret projects aimed at reverse-engineering recovered alien craft wreckage - and "non-human biologics" had been found at crash sites.And he's since appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast.
After the host asked him how many biological entities had been found, Grusch said there were "a variety and we have a certain number of different things".
Claims suggested at least 'ten aliens' have been caught (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
"But the total numbers of what’s interacting with us on earth, I mean nobody knows that," he said.
"I talk to people who are familiar with the biological analysis and everything. So we have some idea, not a complete picture because it’s like, you know, you’re looking at it, it’s like, well I don’t even understand the physiology at all, it’s like what the heck, it’s way different."
While he admitted he had not seen first-hand evidence of the craft or bodies he said he had spoken at length with dozens of senior intelligence and military officials who had come forward to him.
Grusch says is in possession of "double digit" numbers of crashes (file)(Image: Getty Images)
He claimed the US Government was in possession of "double digit" numbers of crashed UFOs but could not disclose the exact number.
Grusch told Rogan the number of retrieved ET bodies was "up there as well, just like with the retrievals".
Asked where they came from he said: "Nobody I talked to espoused any specific origin to me. We may know that but I’m not aware of anything."
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Former US intelligence officer David Grusch appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, providing additional details on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). A Pentagon whistleblower, Grusch shared more insights, revealing some harsh truths. Jesse Michels, among the first to interview Grusch after his story broke, asserts with 100% certainty that Grusch is not lying. Furthermore, Grusch has received support fromKarl E. Nell, a retired Army Colonel.
On the podcast with Joe Rogan, David Grusch makes a series of intriguing claims regarding UAPs and government involvement. He told Rogan a story about a high-ranking Navy officer who saw a strange triangular UFO above his car. Grusch highlighted that the officer is trustworthy. After the UFO encounter, the officer’s car paint changed to a milky white color, and there are photos of this. Grusch points out that there’s no normal explanation for why the paint changed so quickly.
When Rogan asked about the strange event and if there were pictures or a regular explanation, Grusch said he could not think of a normal airplane or technology that could cause this. He also mentioned that the incident happened in the continental U.S., where planes usually need special permission to fly at low altitudes. Grusch revealed that the witness kept the experience to himself for a couple of years before sharing it as the UAP Task Force was established.
Grusch discussed how he got into the UFO program. He said someone important in the intelligence community approached him and introduced him to a person with impressive academic qualifications and permissions. They met at a secret place and discussed a program about studying materials from unidentified flying objects that had crashed.
Grusch says that he and his colleagues, who had special access, confirmed this information by talking to about 40 people, including high-ranking officials. These people shared reports, documents, and their experiences, which Grusch checked with other sources. Everything matched, and Grusch became more sure that the program was real.
Grusch also talked about filing a complaint about facing negative consequences, keeping the identities of people who shared information safe, and how his claims about crashed UFOs became more credible and urgent. He explained that this complaint led to him giving classified testimony for about 11.5 to 12 hours before congressional staffers and lawyers in December 2022.
According to Grusch, the United States possesses a double-digit number of retrieved UAP crafts, with documented events dating back to the 1930s. He talked about an Italy UFO event that happened in 1933, called the Magenta case. A UFO with a disc shape crashed there and turned into a bell or acorn-shaped object. It was about 20 by 10 feet in size.
Grusch described there was nothing inside the UFO, and the Italians thought it might be a German experiment. They asked the Germans, but they said it was not theirs. The Pope and the Vatican got involved, secretly telling the U.S. through the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which later became the CIA.
Interestingly, Joe Rogan asked about technology connected to UFO stories, like the idea that fiber optics came from studying UFOs. Grusch neither confirmed nor denied this, saying it is classified. He talked about how he has to be careful about what he says, going through a review process by the Department of Defense’s Office of Pre-Publication and Security Review (DOPSR).
According to Grusch, $22 million was given to Bigelow Aerospace in a program called AATIP. This money was meant for studying buildings and equipment related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Grusch talked about how they tried to get access to materials from UFOs, and it seems they might have had to enter forcefully, but he does not give all the details. He said they got pieces of a hallway from the 1950s. Grusch mentions that Dr. James Lacatski, a retired DIA intelligence officer who set up the UFO program that ran from 2008 to 2010, shared similar information in his book and public talks.
Grusch said the program had problems with bureaucracy. The CIA did not allow UFO materials from Lockheed Martin to be transferred to the AATIP program. This caused the program to end. After that, AATIP focused on studying strange occurrences at Skinwalker Ranch to please the government.
When it comes to details about the UFO materials, like where they came from or where they are now, Grusch said he cannot share that information. He suggests asking people like Dr. Lacatski for more details. Grusch disclosed that he came across intelligence documents suggesting that a certain foreign adversary had knowledge of the U.S. program through stolen information. He emphasized the potential security risks associated with such breaches.
Phenomena is Ancient
Grusch continued to share his perspective on the UFO phenomenon. He wanted to make it clear that he was not trying to blame anyone. He thought it would be good for everyone to be more open and honest about UFOs. He believes that if we talk about it more, it could lead to more jobs, more research, and better education.
He talked about the fundamental questions related to UFOs, such as the existence of extraterrestrial life and the nature of human consciousness. Grusch asserted with confidence, based on conversations with high-level individuals like Harry Reid, that we are not alone, and the UFO phenomenon is real.
“You know for humanity. Are we alone or you know what happens when we die? Well, I don’t know about that, but are we alone? Well, the answer is we’re not alone. And I know that with 100% certainty, which as an Intel officer, you never say 100%, but all things pointed towards based on the people I talked to…The phenomenon is real. It’s been going on for thousands of years. People have been seeing strange things and not everybody’s mass hallucinating. So that’s kind of my long diatribe about what’s happening."
Rogan asked Grusch what the people he talked to think about these strange objects. Grusch said some people use words like “extraterrestrial,” but theSchumer amendmentuses “non-human intelligence” to cover more possibilities.
Grusch shared his thoughts and talked about Dr. Jacques Vallée‘s work on how UFO stories changed over time, such as people used to talk about witches, and now they talk about alien abductions. He touched upon the morphological similarities between historical accounts, such as the Foo Fighters in World War II and the more recent Tic Tac incident in 2004. Grusch discussed declassified Air Force reports from the 1950s describing flying objects with similar measurements to those observed in the Tic Tac incident, albeit labeled differently.
Grusch also mentioned Ezekiel’s Wheel and Vedic texts, highlighting ancient depictions of aerial battles and phenomena that resemble modern interpretations of UFO encounters. He suggested that there is a real and trippy phenomenon with an undetermined origin, presenting itself in various forms, including orbs and balls of energy. Grusch highlighted the idea of an interdimensional or shadow biome cryptocurrency, acknowledging the multitude of theories surrounding the nature of UFOs.
Grusch acknowledged the existence of a variety of entities but mentioned that the total number and the extent of their interaction with Earth are unknown. He highlighted the challenges in understanding these entities, particularly in terms of their physiology. Grusch mentioned that he had discussions with people familiar with biological analysis which implies that there is some understanding but not a complete picture.
Rogan then asked if there are different types of biological remains, and Grusch said yes, confirming that there are various retrievals. He further asked about interactions with these beings and if they share information or talk about human problems. Grusch replied it is a sensitive topic, and the people he talked to did not want to discuss it. He admitted there might be detailed records but said he does not know much about it.
Rogan further asked about possible interactions with live beings and when they happened. Grusch said he was told about specific events, but the details were classified. Some of those events go back a long time. They discussed alleged UFO stories such as President Eisenhower sending UFO wreckage to a military base. Grusch mentioned discussions about UFOs dating back to the late 1980s involving Senator Barry Goldwater.
Grusch brings up public statements by officials, like General Goldwater and Senator Barry Goldwater, supporting the idea that some people have known about UFOs for a long time. Grusch expresses hope for change and transparency, especially with current political figures in positions of influence. He mentioned individuals like Chuck Schumer, Jake Sullivan, and John Podesta, emphasizing the need for championing the disclosure of UFO information within the government. Grusch also brings up an interview with Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director, where Pompeo briefly mentions having seen the UFO file and states, “we have bigger problems.” Grusch suggests that Pompeo should clarify his statement for further understanding.
Consciousness
Grusch and Rogan further discussed human abilities and consciousness. Grusch mentioned the CIA Stargate program, which involved remote viewing. He shared a story about remote viewing involving a hostage situation and emphasized that there seemed to be a real feedback loop confirming the accuracy of the information obtained through remote viewing.
Grusch pointed out the work of Stanford professor Gary Nolan, who studied individuals with heightened abilities and observed increased activity in the caudate nucleus in their brains. They speculated on whether this part of the brain acts as a transceiver, allowing individuals to access information from higher spatial dimensions.
Rogan expressed his fascination with the idea that certain abilities could be emergent properties of human beings as they evolve. He noted that human communication goes beyond acoustic communication and discusses the limitations of verbal communication in conveying complex information.
Grusch added to this by mentioning experiences of alleged contacts where individuals reported receiving instant knowledge or nonverbal communication, such as QR code-like information. He referenced the work of Dr. John Mack, who studied people claiming alien encounters and mentioned the book “Proof of Heaven” by Dr. Eben Alexander, describing a near-death experience and the difficulty of expressing the acquired knowledge in human language.
Grusch talked about the 9-person presidential panel which would disclose the UAP story between 2024 and 2030. The bill has cleared the Senate but is threatened in the House by Mike Turner and Mike Rogers.
“As long as the house doesn’t kill the Schumer Amendment, which would be the greatest setback to humankind and US history literally. The presidential panel gets empaneled 90 days after the passage of the bill. If it doesn’t get killed, by Christmas, it will be in the National Security Act. The panel will be formed say February or March. Then they have a 300-day process to develop to process to develop an initial plan for the president, and I don’t know if Chuck Schumer and his staff are being crafty, but the 300 days if you do it out is the election. I don’t know if they want to make this an election issue.”
Now I was looking at an Iapetus moon map and noticed a face looking to the left, like a silhouette. Then realized there were not one, but three faces all looking the same direction. One species is clearly similar to humans, another at least half similar species, but the lower face to the right is that of a dog species. All show a different expression on the face, confusion, interest and the dog species is happy.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:Ruins, strange artifacts on other planets, moons, ed ( Fr, EN, NL )
Quote of the day, something to think about, UFO Sighting News.
Quote of the day, something to think about, UFO Sighting News.
“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicer, born January 15, 0106 BC
"Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it," It sounds a lot like those who are against the fact that aliens and UFOs are real. I wonder how long before we accomplish full alien disclosure?
Fast communications could speed up science on the asteroid mission.
Artist's impression of the Psyche spacecraft.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)
A NASA laser just fired successfully in a deep-space test.
On Nov. 14, NASA picked up a laser signal fired from an instrument that launched with the Psyche spacecraft, which is currently more than 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) from Earth and heading toward a mysterious metal asteroid. (The spacecraft is at more than 40 times the average distance of Earth's moon, and still voyaging afar.)
The moment marked the first successful test of NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) system, a next-generation comms link that sends information not by radio waves but instead by laser light. It's part of a series of tests NASA is doing to speed up communications in deep space, on different missions.
"Achieving first light is a tremendous achievement. The ground systems successfully detected the deep space laser photons from DSOC," Abi Biswas, the system's project technologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in an agency statement.
"And we were also able to send some data, meaning we were able to exchange 'bits of light' from and to deep space," Biswas added.
Other missions have tried out laser comms in Earth orbit or on the way to the moon and back, but DSOC gives laser communications its trickiest, most distant test yet. If it's successful, NASA officials expect that astronauts of the coming decades, bound for the moon or for Mars, may use laser light as their means of taking with ground control.
This DSOC test began in California, at JPL's Table Mountain Facility. There, in the hills outside Los Angeles, engineers switched on an uplink beacon, a near-infrared laser pointed in Psyche's direction. About 50 seconds later, a transceiver on Psyche received the laser and relayed its own laser signal back to Palomar Observatory, near San Diego.
The task requires astronomical precision, and automated guidance systems help aim Psyche's own laser. But should the test work out, the benefits are high: Because laser light has shorter wavelengths than radio waves, using optical light would allow space missions to send 10 to 100 times more information per unit time than they currently do.
The Nov. 14 test marked "first light" for DSOC, and engineers will continue to test the system as Psyche voyages to its namesake asteroid, which resides in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche should get there in 2029, then spend 29 months surveying the bizarre metallic world.
Exploring the Cosmos: NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Pioneers Laser Communication from the Depths of Space
Exploring the Cosmos: NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Pioneers Laser Communication from the Depths of Space
In a groundbreaking achievement that may revolutionize space exploration communication, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, on a pioneering mission to explore the asteroid belt, has successfully sent a laser-beamed message from a staggering distance of 16 million kilometers—far beyond the Moon’s orbit. This landmark event, a testament to human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, marks a new era in how we reach out to the vastness of space.
The Deep Space Optical Communications Breakthrough
At the heart of this revolutionary feat is the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) tool, a marvel of modern engineering. Onboard the Psyche spacecraft, DSOC accomplished what no other has done before: transmitting a near-infrared laser encoded with test data from a position about 40 times farther than the distance between the Moon and Earth. The message was successfully received by the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in California, proving the viability of laser communication over immense cosmic distances.
The Psyche Mission: A Journey to the Unknown
Psyche, an ambitious NASA mission, is not just a spacecraft; it’s a daring voyage to a metal-rich asteroid named Psyche, nestled in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This mission, however, is not just about reaching an asteroid; it’s a testbed for futuristic technologies that could shape the future of space exploration. The DSOC technology demonstration, riding along on this journey, is one such innovation, aiming to revolutionize how we communicate in the vastness of space.
Captured in December 2022: Psyche’s DSOC with Gold-Capped Laser Transceiver at NASA’s Astrotech Facility Image credit: NASA
Laser Communication: The Future of Deep Space Messaging
Traditional space communication has relied heavily on radio waves, which, while effective, have their limitations, especially when it comes to data transmission speed and volume. DSOC changes the game by using laser beams, tightly packed with data, to send information across the solar system. This method allows for the transmission of vast amounts of data at unprecedented speeds, a crucial feature for future deep-space missions, including potential manned voyages to Mars and beyond.
Overcoming Cosmic Challenges
However, this technological leap is not without its challenges. The further the distance, the more precision is required in pointing the laser beam. Additionally, the signal weakens over long distances, introducing communication lags. For instance, during the initial test, photons took around 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth, a duration that will only increase as the spacecraft ventures further into space.
The Implications of DSOC’s Success
The successful test of DSOC’s laser communication is more than a mere technical accomplishment; it’s a beacon of possibilities. It heralds an era where high-resolution scientific data, detailed imagery, and even live video streams from distant planets could become the norm. This technology promises to enhance our understanding of the cosmos, bringing distant worlds within our digital reach.
Looking Ahead: A New Dawn in Space Exploration
As NASA’s Psyche spacecraft continues its journey, carrying with it the DSOC technology, we stand on the brink of a new age in space exploration. This is not just about the exploration of distant celestial bodies, but also about how we connect with our robotic emissaries in the void. The success of DSOC’s laser communication is a pivotal step towards a future where the mysteries of the universe are just a laser beam away. With this incredible technology, we are rewriting the rules of space exploration, bringing the cosmos closer to Earth than ever before.
Wow. JWST Just Found Methane in an Exoplanet Atmosphere
This artist’s rendering shows the warm exoplanet WASP-80 b. When viewed with human eyes, the colour may appear bluish due to the lack of high-altitude clouds and the presence of atmospheric methane identified by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. That makes it similar to the planets Uranus and Neptune in our own solar system. Image credit: NASA.
Wow. JWST Just Found Methane in an Exoplanet Atmosphere
If there’s one chemical that causes excitement in the search for biosignatures on other worlds, it’s methane. It’s not a slam dunk because it has both biotic and abiotic sources. But finding it in an exoplanet’s atmosphere means that planet deserves a closer look.
Methane captures scientific attention mainly because of its short duration in a planetary atmosphere. Methane can’t withstand starlight for very long, at least not in terrestrial atmospheres. It succumbs to photodissociation and needs to be replenished continually to maintain its presence in an atmosphere.
If a rocky planet has a lot of methane, then the source has to be massive, making a biotic source likely. On Earth, biological activity creates an enormous amount of methane. Metabolically, methane is not difficult to make.
Methane is common in our Solar System, though not necessarily plentiful. As far as scientists can tell, it’s all abiotic. Processes like serpentinization could explain it. Serpentinization is a natural, abiotic process involving water, carbon dioxide, and the mineral olivine. Olivine is common on Earth and is the primary component of our planet’s upper mantle. We’ve also found it on the Moon, on Mars, and on some asteroids.
Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope detected methane in the atmosphere of WASP-80b, a gas giant about half as massive as Jupiter. WASP-80b orbits a K-type main sequence star about 1.5 billion years old. WASP 80 is about 162 light-years away, and WASP-80b is the only planet detected around the star so far.
This image shows the measured transit spectrum (top) and eclipse spectrum (bottom) of WASP-80 b from the JWST’s NIRCam. In both spectra, there is clear evidence for absorption from water and methane. During a transit, the planet passes in front of the star, and in a transit spectrum, the presence of molecules makes the planet’s atmosphere block more light at certain colours, causing a deeper dimming at those wavelengths. During an eclipse, the planet passes behind the star, and in this eclipse spectrum, molecules absorb some of the planet’s emitted light at specific colours, leading to a smaller dip in brightness during the eclipse compared to a transit. Image Credit: BAERI/NASA/Taylor Bell.
Since WASP-80b is a gas giant, then life is ruled out, barring some extreme sci-fi scenarios. But the serpentinization of olivine, the most well-known abiotic source of methane, is also ruled out since WASP-80b is not a rocky planet. But finding it is still interesting. That’s partly because we can now compare the exoplanet to the methane-containing atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune in our own Solar System. That can only help us understand future methane detections better.
WASP-80b is a warm Jupiter. Its temperature is about 550 Celsius (1,025 F; 825 K.) So it’s in between hot Jupiters like HD 209458 b (the first transiting exoplanet discovered) and cold Jupiters, like our Solar System’s largest planet. Our Jupiter is about 112 Celsius (235 F; 125 K.)
Three Jupiters: Our Jupiter (L) is a cool Jupiter. WASP-80b (M) is a warm Jupiter, and HD 209458 b is a hot Jupiter. Image Credits: Jupiter: By NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. WASP-80b: NASA. HD 209458 b: By JohnVanVliet – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87759452
The temperature is an important point. There’s a dearth of methane detections in exoplanet atmospheres, so at this stage of the game, each detection plays an important role in developing atmospheric theory and guiding follow-up research. WASP-80b’s temperature puts it in “an interesting transitional regime where equilibrium chemistry models predict that there should be detectable CH4 and CO/CO2 features in the planet’s transmission and emission spectra…” the authors of the research explain.
WASP-80b is really close to its red dwarf star and takes only three days to orbit. Because the planet is so far away and so close to its star, even the powerful JWST can’t actually see it. Instead, astronomers used the JWST to study the combined light from the star and the planet in transits and eclipses.
There haven’t been many methane detections in exoplanet atmospheres by telescopes like the Hubble and the Spitzer, which can both observe in infrared, though not like the JWST can. The lack of detections led scientists to develop theoretical explanations of how methane could be depleted in atmospheres. High metallicity, high interior heat flux, and other reasons were explored as methane depletion mechanisms.
Since the JWST has now detected methane, it raises an important question. “However, this definitive detection of methane throughout the atmosphere of WASP-80b with low-resolution, JWST spectroscopy raises the question to what extent past non-detections were affected by the sparse wavelength coverage and precision achievable with HST and Spitzer,” the authors write. So if astronomers keep detecting methane in more exoplanet atmospheres, we may have to change our thinking about methane as a biosignature.
This figure from the research shows the light curves from WASP-80b’s transit (L) and eclipse (R) observations with the JWST’s NIRCam instrument. One thing to note is that the error bars in panel c are smaller than the point size. That indicates a strong detection. Image Credit: Bell et al. 2023
“As we find methane and other gases in exoplanets, we will continue to expand our knowledge about how chemistry and physics work under conditions unlike what we have on Earth, and maybe sometime soon, in other planets that remind us of what we have here at home,” the authors wrote in a NASA blog post.
The researchers explain that finding exoplanets with methane in their atmospheres also helps us understand our own Solar System. “NASA has a history of sending spacecraft to the gas giants in our solar system to measure the amount of methane and other molecules in their atmospheres,” the authors write. “Now, by having a measurement of the same gas in an exoplanet, we can start to perform an “apples-to-apples” comparison and see if the expectations from the solar system match what we see outside of it.”
NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft captured these views of Uranus (on the left) and Neptune (on the right) during its flybys of the planets in the 1980s. Both planets have methane in their atmospheres which makes them appear blue. But they have different amounts. Uranus’ atmosphere contains about 2.3% methane, making it the third most common component. Neptune contains about 1.5% methane. While that may not seem like a huge difference, it could be a clue to how and where planets like these form, either in our Solar System or elsewhere. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech
The researchers also say that measuring methane alongside water helps define how and where a planet formed. “For example, by measuring the amount of methane and water in the planet, we can infer the ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms,” they write. “This ratio is expected to change depending on where and when planets form in their system.” Astronomers can use this data to determine if a planet formed close to its star or formed further away and then migrated inward.
The JWST likely isn’t done with WASP-80b. This data is from the space telescope’s NIRCam instrument. Future MIRI and NIRCam observations will probe the planet at different wavelengths, which should detect other carbon molecules like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. “Our findings lead us to think that we will be able to observe other carbon-rich molecules, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, enabling us to paint a more comprehensive picture of the conditions in this planet’s atmosphere,” the researchers explain.
While methane catches everyone’s attention because of its link to biology, this research shows us another side to methane. It can help us understand how and where some planets formed and if they migrated. Methane detections in exoplanets will help us build a better overall understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. They can even help us understand our own Solar System, about which we still have so many questions.
The JWST is poised to play a key role in building our knowledge of methane and atmospheres.
“One thing is clear: the journey of discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope is brimming with potential surprises,” the authors say.
What’s Going on With the Mars Sample Return Mission?
Anybody with a modicum of intellectual curiosity is looking forward to the NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return Mission. NASA’s Perseverance rover is busily collecting and caching samples for eventual return to Earth. While the technical and engineering challenges in getting those samples into scientists’ hands here on Earth are formidable, budgeting and funding might be the mission’s biggest headaches.
Budgetary wrangling between NASA and Congress is nothing new. During its development, the James Webb Space Telescope faced potential cancellation as lawmakers balked at its growing expense. Even the Apollo Program had its budget cut. But this time, it’s NASA itself that is curtailing its budget. NASA announced that it’s taking the unusual step of cutting its budget for the Mars Sample Return Mission
The MSR mission has struggled with ballooning costs. While initially estimated at $4 billion US, the expected cost has inflated to nearly $11 billion US. Compare that to the Perseverance mission, which cost about $2.4 billion to build and launch. Obviously, the MSR mission is more complicated, but a $7 billion price increase can be hard to rationalize, no matter what comparison is made.
In this case, NASA has decided to take action, possibly hoping to forestall governmental interference in the mission.
“It’s very unfortunate that we have to make this decision at this point.”
Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator for science at NASA
“It is our responsibility to spend American taxpayer funding responsibly. Significant reductions in spending must be implemented immediately, or the program will not have sufficient funds to last through the fiscal year,” Margaret Vo Schaus, NASA’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
The budget cuts stem from an independent review of the MSR mission. There’s nothing remarkable about it being reviewed; mission reviews are commonplace. And while a $7 billion jump from the initial $4 billion projection to $11 billion might seem shocking, it may be because the price was set too low to begin with.
“MSR was established with unrealistic budget and schedule expectations from the beginning,” the Independent Review Board (IRB) said in their report. “Technical issues, risks, and performance-to-date indicate a near zero probability of the mission launching on time,” they wrote.
“The projected overall budget for MSR in the FY24 President’s Budget Request is not adequate to accomplish the current program of record,” they stated.
The Perseverance has already collected and cached some of the sample tubes for eventual return to Earth. This photo montage shows each of the sample tubes shortly after they were deposited onto the surface by Perseverance, as viewed by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
That’s pretty damning. The report also criticizes NASA for its weak job of explaining the significance of the MSR mission. The IRB also says that NASA should reorganize the mission. “Alternate architectures should be examined under clear guidelines provided by NASA HQ for yearly budget constraints,” they write in their recommendations.
Is NASA being rash with their internal budget cutting?
Some lawmakers in California, where JPL is situated, think so. They’re decrying the cut and the effect it will have on people and the economy.
Six Californian lawmakers wrote a letter that said, “We write to express our strongest opposition to NASA’s recent unilateral and unprecedented decision to prematurely move forward with funding cuts to the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission before Congress has finalized its Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process.”
“This short-sighted and misguided decision by NASA will cost hundreds of jobs and a decade of lost science, and it flies in the face of congressional authority,” according to the letter. “We are mystified by NASA’s rash decision to suggest at this stage of the appropriations process that any cuts would be necessary.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called “Skinner Ridge” in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Perseverance gathered an important sample of sedimentary rock here. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
The lawmakers point out that the mission has assembled an elite team of people and that cutting the budget might drive some of them into the arms of the private sector. That would be difficult to reverse, they say.
“This talent represents a national asset that we cannot afford to lose, and if this uniquely talented workforce is lost to the private sector, it will be near impossible to reassemble,” they write.
The internal budget cut could also lead to cancelled contracts between NASA and different companies, adding to the economic fallout.
It’s also about American leadership in science, technology, and space exploration. America’s position is being challenged by China, who announced their own sample return mission to Mars named Tianwen 3 that should launch in 2028 and return samples by 2031. If China beats NASA and the ESA, that changes the space science landscape considerably.
A wireless camera took this ‘group photo’ of China’s Tianwen-1 lander and rover on Mars’ surface. China is only the third nation to execute a soft landing on Mars, after the USA and the USSR. The USSR’s space ambitions are in disarray, so they likely aren’t returning any time soon. But if China completes a Mars sample return mission before the US and the ESA, how will it change the space exploration landscape? Credit: Chinese Space Agency
“China is rapidly expanding its space program with a new space station, a goal of landing taikonauts on the moon by the end of this decade, a stated intention of being the first to return samples from Mars, and an aggressive vision for more ambitious endeavours,” the lawmakers write.
The IRB also recognizes China’s Mars ambitions and said in their report, “China is planning to return Mars samples on a similar timetable, but lack similar scientific rigour. MSR will bring back carefully selected samples that the international Mars science community has deemed are of the greatest value.”
NASA itself seems committed to leadership in space exploration, so from that perspective, the MSR budget cut appears confounding. “Interviews with NASA and ESA personnel reflected a strong commitment to a partnership of world leadership in Mars exploration and to mission success,” the IRB report says.
Politicians control the purse strings, so who knows what will come of this. If the six bi-partisan lawmakers who wrote the letter have enough influence, perhaps NASA will reverse its decision.
The committee behind the House appropriations bill that funds NASA had this to say: “The Committee supports consistent funding for the Mars Sample Return mission. The Committee directs NASA to allocate no less than $949,300,000 for this mission.” (Note that that figure is an annual figure.) “The Committee directs NASA to ensure that its fiscal year 2025 budget request includes the funding necessary to complete the mission launch no later than 2030,” the committee wrote.
So where does this leave the MSR mission?
NASA isn’t going it alone in the MSR mission. This artist’s illustration shows the ESA’s Mars Sample Return ascent module lifting off from Mars’ surface with the Martian soil samples. Image Credit: ESA
It seems like NASA is wary of the turmoil in Congress as the Republican majority struggles to work together. They get some of their funding from the Senate, which is confirmed, but the rest comes from the House, which is struggling to fund the government itself.
Sandra Connelly is the deputy associate administrator for science at NASA. She said that NASA is responding to a worst-case scenario that would see NASA only receive funding from the Senate while other funding might be stalled.
On November 13, she said, “It’s very unfortunate that we have to make this decision at this point. However, the intent is to enable sufficient funding to carry us throughout the year so we can continue working on and architecting this mission,” she said.
In a roundabout way, the letter from the six Californian lawmakers could be a shot across the bow of the House of Representatives and the dysfunction the Republicans in the House are struggling with.
In the end, it’s up to politicians to sort it out. The problem is many of the US’s politicians seem to be distracted with other issues at this point. Hopefully, they’ll sort it out before American space leadership is undermined.
Imagine you were just elected President of the United States. During one of your first classified briefings, you learn that the US military has recovered advanced extraterrestrial technology. You are told we’ve made only modest headway in understanding how this technology works, where it is from, or why these intelligently controlled machines are here. What would you do in that circumstance?
As President, your top priority is to keep the American people safe from all threats, both foreign and domestic. Hundreds of millions of people, including tens of millions of children, place their faith in you. Are you going to hold a press conference revealing that aliens are visiting planet Earth, but we don’t know where they’re coming from, why they are here, or whether we can defend ourselves from them?
It is hard for me to imagine any of the politicians I’ve worked for over the years leaping at that opportunity. The sudden, unexpected confirmation of an ET presence on Earth would not only unsettle but inevitably terrify millions—if not billions—of people. And for what purpose? What chance would you have as President of moving forward on other vital issues on your agenda, given the tumult that would result? What reason is there to believe the net effect for society would be positive rather than negative?
These are questions that need to be addressed by those advocating the release of information confirming an extraterrestrial presence on Earth. Such information has the potential to be a genuine Pandora’s box, and it is, therefore, vital we think this through carefully before proceeding.
This is a pressing issue, as various committees and members of Congress are seeking to determine whether the US government has incontrovertible proof of an extraterrestrial presence on Earth. Such a revelation would undoubtedly be the most shocking, profound, and transformative discovery in human history. Yet, despite the gravity of the issue, Congress has been proceeding without holding any hearings or requesting any studies to assess the impact of this potential bombshell. It appears that our legislators are failing to heed the maxim, “Don’t ask the question if you aren’t prepared for the answer.”
Strangely, there is little discussion of this critical issue among proponents of disclosure in the UAP community. Perhaps advocates of disclosure simply assume that truth and transparency are always for the better. Although I applaud the sentiment, the issue is not so simple for government officials bearing the weighty responsibility of governing. I therefore thought I would offer some thoughts from the standpoint of a former national security official because national security concerns are inescapably central to this discussion.
The first question that arises is, “How can we make a fair determination about the potential risks and benefits of disclosure without access to all the facts?” Suppose the US government recovered extraterrestrial technology decades ago. In that case, there has inevitably been some progress in assessing it and, hopefully, some insights gleaned regarding the nature and intent of its designers. However, no credible individuals purporting to have access to such information have provided any details. One of the only things we can say with certainty is that unless ETs prove to be angelic, which is not what our military is reporting, disclosure would undeniably frighten, if not terrify, large segments of the population.
Moreover, what if disclosure precipitated a change in the behavior of an alien civilization, given that they no longer had an incentive to remain elusive and clandestine? What is the risk potential that disclosure might cause some governments to overreact, precipitating fearful and aggressive interactions? If these risks are substantial, does it still make sense to release such disruptive information?
When I first became publicly involved in the UAP topic, the alleged recovery of ET technology was not an issue. My immediate goal was to alert policymakers to a dangerous intelligence failure, namely, the fact of serious and recurring intrusions into restricted DoD airspace by strange, unidentified aircraft. It was shocking to learn our vaunted multi-billion-dollar intelligence system was paralyzed by ineffable stigma, as effectively as any electromagnetic warfare (EW) weapon, placing US personnel and the nation at risk. This situation reminded me of both Pearl Harbor, where vital warning information was not forwarded up the chain of command, as well as 9/11, when intelligence agencies failed to share vital information that could have saved the lives of thousands of innocent civilians. Having survived the attack on the Pentagon myself, this was not a purely theoretical consideration.
Admittedly, I was also hoping to generate enough Congressional pressure to compel the DoD and the Intelligence Community to use their vast capabilities to study UAP. Knowing our technical intelligence systems well, I was tantalized by the prospect of what we might learn if these sometimes mind-boggling capabilities were brought to bear on the UAP mystery. Therefore, it was also an opportunity to potentially solve this fascinating and profound mystery.
At the time, the ET issue was present but remained unspoken for good reason; if we had approached Congress with an explicit focus on aliens, we would have quickly been shown to the exit. Many legislators were privately curious about UAP, but we needed to focus on the national security angle to provide a politically viable justification for engaging on the UAP issue. Nevertheless, as time passed and new information became available, Congressional interest expanded to include credible allegations of recovered extraterrestrial materials.
I confess I was partly responsible for this change of emphasis because I brought physicist Eric Davis to Capitol Hill to meet with oversight committee staff in October of 2019. This was, to my knowledge, the first time a Congressional oversight committee had been provided credible information on the issue of allegedly recovered non-human technology from an individual with knowledge of such operations. Later, I played a role in helping bring other witnesses forward, including whistleblower David Grusch. In doing so, I was forced to wrestle with the same simple but critical question that guides everyone in the national security community: “What is in the nation’s best interest?”
Eventually, members of Congress began to realize that the alleged recovery of off-world materials was a serious issue. Consequently, they enacted a provision requiring the All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which reports jointly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Director of National Intelligence, to investigate this sensational allegation. Congress understandably did so without deciding in advance whether to make the report’s findings public. Although it is true that some key members of Congress, such as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), have expressed support for releasing the facts, whatever they prove to be.
However, it is not clear how many of their colleagues agree. It is also conceivable their views might change if confronted by disturbing revelations in the event such allegations prove to be true. For example, Senator Gillibrand has young children, and it is conceivable that if sufficiently alarming information emerges, she might reconsider her admirable desire to share as much information as possible with the public.
At this point, it already seems clear that AARO will report that it found no credible evidence the US government has recovered alien technology or knows of any extraterrestrial activity. However, I don’t think this finding by AARO will satisfy key members of Congress or the public. This is entirely understandable because asking AARO to investigate this issue is roughly comparable to asking the Intelligence Community to investigate the Iran-Contra Affair. AARO has a clear conflict of interest in that it must protect this explosive information if directed to do so. Alternatively, AARO could also be denied access to the information. The only way for Congress to assure itself of the truth is to continue pressing ahead with its own investigation, as advocated by members of both parties in the House of Representatives.
In that regard, I want to challenge the recurring assertion that the UAP issue is primarily for scientists, not politicians or government officials. Although UAP deserves serious attention from the scientific community, as NASA itself recently acknowledged, national security considerations are inevitably paramount.
I say that partly because we are not dealing (at least not exclusively) with remote signals from deep space or an intangible interdimensional intelligence that seeks to subtly influence human affairs. For all we know, something along those lines could be happening, and it is a fascinating proposition, but what current intelligence collected by the US indicates is that our military is encountering intelligently controlled, solid objects invading restricted military airspace, sometimes even flying in formation, on an almost daily basis. Many of these objects are emitting radiation in the 1-3 and 8-12 gigahertz range. Multiple credible reports indicate that UAP has rendered segments of our nuclear deterrent inoperable; in other cases, they are jamming radars on fighter aircraft. We also have multiple cases of near-mid-air collisions and cases involving serious injuries to military and civilian personnel. Therefore, as much as we need and want scientific investigations, the government cannot be permitted to divest itself of the UAP issue.
Similarly, the government does not have the luxury of limiting itself to pristine scientific information. This is one of the areas in which I differ with Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the current Director of AARO, who claims there is no “credible” evidence of UAP demonstrating capabilities or doing things that violate our understanding of science. To my mind, the USSNimitz(CVN-68) aviators, radar operators, and technicians who encountered an anomalous craft during training exercises off the California coast in 2004 areeminentlycredible. The Intelligence Community prefers rigorous scientific information whenever possible. Still, it would be untenable—if not suicidal—for either the Intelligence or Law Enforcement communities to limit themselves to pristine, scientifically repeatable sensor data. We rarely have the luxury of having sensor information when facing the intentions of foreign leaders or the precise capabilities of adversary military forces. Hence, the Intelligence Community does its best with what it has in those circumstances, including reliance on human intelligence reporting.
Therefore, by its own standards, the Intelligence Community should consider the accounts of the Nimitz aviators and radar operators as highly credible evidence of intelligently controlled craft doing things we cannot emulate and simply don’t understand. For example, the “Tic Tac” UAP they encountered accelerated to supersonic speeds without producing a sonic boom; it overcame g-forces that would destroy anything built by man, and there was no evidence of the electrically charged plasma we would normally expect to see on manmade aircraft moving at hypersonic velocities. I realize the inherent limitations of human reporting. Still, I also see no reason to suddenly change the normal rules and standards the Intelligence Community relies on in cases that involve evaluating UAP.
I’m raising these issues to provide a reminder that the paramount question about UAP, both for government policymakers and the public, will undoubtedly be whether UAP poses an existential threat. I’m thrilled to be supporting investigations of UAP signatures, propulsion systems, metamaterials, and UAP effects on humans, but national security, rather than science, will be at the forefront in the minds of government officials assessing the potential costs and benefits of disclosure. In sum, we can’t dodge the national security issue when making the case for disclosure; we must address it head-on.
Admittedly, nothing as potentially ontologically shocking as UAP disclosure has probably ever occurred, certainly not in modern times. However, there are still some interesting historical precedents we can examine.
Consider the Sputnik issue that arose in 1957. Sputnik was merely a small satellite emitting tracking signals, not a weapons system. Yet the mere fact America was lagging behind the Soviet Union in space and missile technology immediately became a major political issue, reminiscent of the furor over the more recent Chinese spy balloon incident. It was not long before Congress and the White House responded, and the space race got underway. Thankfully, what began as a military competition with the Soviet Union eventually turned into a collaborative space exploration effort involving the Russians and many other nations. So, in that case, the initial fright and concern, which was a national security issue, ultimately led to major scientific and technological breakthroughs and laudable international cooperation. I would like to believe the UAP issue can follow that same path from national security to science.
Admittedly, other examples are tragic. When we look at the first contact between more technologically advanced civilizations and indigenous peoples, the consequences often proved catastrophic for the less technologically advanced. In part, this was due to the spread of lethal diseases for which indigenous peoples had no immunity. But it was much more than that; contact often proved psychologically and culturally devastating, as the leadership and cherished religious and cultural beliefs of many indigenous groups were eradicated without being replaced by a viable substitute. We all need psychological and cultural maps to navigate reality. For many indigenous people, those maps were destroyed but not replaced, leaving behind a devastating psychological and spiritual void that millions of people are still contending with as they seek to reconcile Western secular views with their traditional beliefs.
Note the difference between these two cases. In the case of Sputnik, we have an awareness of a potential threat; in the second instance, we have an actual invasion and occupation. So, a key question for us to ask ourselves (again, a national security issue) is whether disclosure might provoke hostilities. That seems highly unlikely; so, although the Sputnik case is far less shocking and provocative than disclosure would be, it may be a more appropriate model than the tragic cases involving European contact with pre-industrial indigenous societies.
I believe that a graduated process of disclosure would avert a crisis atmosphere while prompting new investments in technology, scientific research, and a rash of collaborative international meetings and initiatives. Processing this unsettling information would certainly take time, but danger and fear of the unknown have always been inherent in the human condition, and people would, as always, adapt. For example, few Americans are losing sleep over the fact they live in cities targeted by Chinese and Russian thermonuclear weapons. Similarly, if some UAP proves to be extraterrestrial, people would still get out of bed the next day, go through their morning wake-up rituals, and head to school or work.
Although it would be a much more disturbing provocation than Sputnik, I believe the inevitable ontological shock would eventually prove highly beneficial, stimulating immense creativity, investment, and research. Moreover, and most importantly, it could have a profound, positive, and desperately needed impact on mankind and international relations.
Earlier this year, I penned an article for Politico titled, “If the US Government has UFO Crash Materials It is Time to Reveal Them.” In the article, I made several points, including the following:
Democracy requires transparency.
The American people own any materials recovered by our government.
The public can handle disclosure.
The government cannot forever stifle the truth, so it is better to get ahead of it.
Secrecy stifles Science.
There is no evidence of an imminent threat.
If there is a threat, we need to know so we can prepare.
Finally, I argued that disclosure could transform international tensions, catalyzing desperately needed international collaboration. I’d like to expand on this last point as it is both the most important point and the least obvious.
In my view, both domestically and internationally, we are presently on an extremely dangerous trajectory that requires urgent intervention. Disclosure would undoubtedly alter the trajectory of our species, but almost certainly for the better.
It is obvious that our nation, our species, and the environment are in serious and growing jeopardy. If this were solely my view, it would be easy to dismiss, but unfortunately, that is not the case. I don’t have the time here to list all my concerns, nor all the ways our society is presently financing its own downfall through perverse incentives that have developed over many decades, nor is there space here to do justice to the growing dangers we face abroad. Hence, rather than attempt to make the case myself, I’ll offer the perspective of two renowned analysts of world affairs.
Ray Dalio is the ingenious billionaire who established the world’s largest hedge fund. Yuval Hariri is a dazzling Cambridge-trained historian and author. Their perspectives are as different as their occupations, but their analyses are complimentary and equally sobering.
Mr. Dalio’s views are available to us through his fascinating book Principles for Dealing with a Changing World Order. His argument, supported by myriad graphs and piles of data, is that the evolution of human societies runs in discernable cycles. It appears he has handsomely profited from understanding these cycles. In short, when a nation or civilization becomes debt-ridden and over-extended, wealthy but complacent, with massive disparities in wealth, dangerous internal fractures and civil strife emerge.
Today, the US is more deeply indebted than at any time since WWII, and the debt is rapidly growing even as interest rates rise, making repayment of this mountain of debt far more difficult. When interest on debt crowds out productive investments, the economy suffers. Eventually, economic hardship and disputes over how to share the pain of deficit reductions occur, leading to polarization and instability.
When this instability and economic stagnation occur simultaneously with challenges from a rising foreign power, as is the case with China today, history shows that war and disaster for the declining power usually follow. Regrettably, military confrontation between the US and China is a real and growing risk, especially in the South China Sea and Taiwan. Dangerous encounters between US and allied nations and Chinese forces are occurring with disturbing and growing frequency. Meanwhile, President Xi is moving China in the direction of North Korea, a state where an ambitious and intolerant dictator with near godlike status imposes his views at every level of society from the classroom to the boardroom. A fanatically nationalistic 1.5-billion-person version of North Korea, replete with AI security systems controlling Orwellian surveillance capabilities, is a daunting prospect.
For all these reasons, I share Mr. Dalio’s concerns about the prospect of tectonic and possibly catastrophic change occurring in the years immediately ahead. As Dalio states:
“The most reliable signs of an escalation to civil war are 1) the rules being disregarded; 2) both sides emotionally attacking each other; 3) blood being spilled.”
It’s not hard to see the relevance of these factors given the riots and demonstrations of recent years, the assault on the nation’s Capital, and the incredible partisan hatred gripping the nation, making it impossible to pass desperately needed legislation. To my knowledge, the US has never before failed to pass a defense bill at a time when the US military is under fire and already stretched to its limits supporting friends and allies. This growing crisis of government legitimacy is toxic and only getting worse; meanwhile, there are no efforts in sight to correct the massive fiscal imbalances that are undermining our children’s future.
Mr. Dalio also observes that when change comes, it is generally swift, devastating, and unanticipated. This conservative businessman sees a shocking 30% risk of civil war in America with what he characterizes as the “next big risk point” occurring around the time of the next Presidential election.
Dr. Harrari offers a very different perspective, one that focuses primarily on global existential challenges facing our species. He states:
“Each of these problems – nuclear war, ecological collapse, and technological disruption – is enough to threaten the future of human civilization. But taken together, they add up to an unprecedented existential crisis, especially because they are likely to reinforce and compound one another.”
Harrari later adds:
“If despite these common threats humans choose to privilege their particular national loyalties above everything else, the results may be far worse than in 1914 or 1939.”
Thankfully, there is a potential solution. As Dr. Harari further observes:
“A common enemy is the best catalyst for forging a coming identity…”
Suppose a common threat is the best recipe to achieve a desperately needed common bond. What could be more helpful or consistent with our long-term prosperity and survival than learning that one or more advanced civilizations are visiting our planet? It would be a shock, to be sure, and many would initially be frightened or even terrified—whether or not for good reason—but that fear would quickly subside if little change occurred in UAP activity. Regardless, we need a jolt to reframe international perspectives in order to manage issues such as AI, global warming, and WMD effectively.
Much as NASA recently demonstrated the ability to alter the trajectory of an asteroid, in the event we detect one on a collision course with Earth, we need a powerful ontological jolt to promote the collaboration required to manage these common global threats. This is why, in addition to democratic principles, I support UAP transparency and believe our nation and species would hugely benefit from an awareness that we are not alone.
And on the chance that a threat does exist, aren’t we better off knowing so we can take appropriate action? When has ignorance ever been a good national security strategy?
In conclusion, I’d like to cite a third figure quite different either from Mr. Dalio or Dr. Harriri: a former US President who had an extraordinary personal UAP sighting. Whether Ronald Reagan was prescient or speaking from an awareness of secret government information remains to be seen, but his statement to the UN General Assembly in 1987 is most apt:
“In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?”
For all the reasons above, I hope our elected officials will seek and reveal the truth of what our government knows about UAP. We need and deserve the truth, however unsettling it may be, and the sooner we are made aware, the better.
Christopher Mellon spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. Intelligence Community, including serving as the Minority Staff Director of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. He actively participates in Harvard’s Galileo Project and, in his free time, works to raise awareness regarding the UAP issue and its implications for national security. Follow him online at his official website and on X: @ChrisKMellon.
A version of this essay was originally presented at The Sol Foundation’s first annual symposium, held at Stanford University November 17-18, 2023.
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 73 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
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