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 13 YEARS AND 2 MONTH.
ON 06/08/2024 MORE THAN 2.161.100
VISITORS FROM 135 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...
04-03-2024
NASA Tests the New Starship Docking System
SpaceX and NASA recently performed full-scale qualification testing of the docking system that will connect SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) with Orion and later Gateway in lunar orbit during future crewed Artemis missions. Based on the flight-proven Dragon 2 active docking system, the Starship HLS docking system will be able to act as an active or passive system during docking. Image Credit: SpaceX
The Apollo Program delivered 12 American astronauts to the surface of the Moon. But that program ended in 1972, and since then, no human beings have visited. But Artemis will change that. And instead of just visiting the Moon, Artemis’ aim is to establish a longer-term presence on the Moon. That requires more complexity than Apollo did. Astronauts will need to transfer between vehicles.
All of that activity requires a reliable spacecraft docking system.
When Artemis astronauts blast off from Earth, they’ll be in the four-seat Orion spacecraft. Orion will take them to lunar orbit, where two will transfer into the Starship HLS, and two will remain in Orion. Starship HLS will deliver them to the lunar surface. In the future, the Lunar Gateway will be in orbit around the Moon, and astronauts will move from Orion to the Gateway to the Starship HLS.
These transfers are complicated and risky maneuvers. The docking system that will make this work is called SpaceX’s Starship HLS docking system. It’s based on SpaceX’s successful Dragon 2 docking system. The Dragon 2 system allows the Dragon 2 spacecraft to dock with the ISS so crew and equipment can be transferred. It’s been in use since 2020.
NASA and SpaceX are busy testing the new Starship HLS docking system. They recently completed ten days of testing at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. They conducted more than 200 different docking scenarios involving different speeds and angles. The results from this full-scale testing will feed into ongoing computer models of the system, which will, in turn, feed into future testing and design.
This graphic shows the Artemis III Concept of Operations. Docking and crew transfers are a critical stage in the missions. Image Credit: NASA
The system has both an active and a passive mode. When two spacecraft dock, one is active, and the other is passive. The active one is called the chaser, and the other is the target.
During this round of tests, NASA and SpaceX demonstrated the soft capture procedure. In passive capture, the chaser extends its soft capture system (SCS) while the target spacecraft’s system remains retracted. The chaser does all the work, employing latches and other mechanisms to grab the target spacecraft and complete the docking.
HLS requirements state that there must be redundancy in crew egress/ingress. The soft capture procedure seems to address this if the docking system works while one docking system remains retracted.
This is just the latest round of tests. SpaceX has already reached a series of important milestones for the Starship HLS. Those milestones involved power generation, communications, guidance and navigation, propulsion, life support, and space environments protection.
While watching powerful rockets being tested and launched takes up a lot of attention, there’s far more to successful missions than just launch vehicles. According to NASA, “the Human Landing System program is at the center of Artemis, designed to yield groundbreaking science, develop and utilize lunar surface resources and leverage what we learn at the Moon for future Mars missions.” Docking systems might not garner much attention, but they’re obviously a critical part of success.
Through that lens, any progress on Artemis is good news because, on other fronts, the news is not always good. Artemis was initially scheduled to launch in 2025. But it’ll be at least a year late, and NASA says that SpaceX will need to perform more launches before the Artemis mission is given the go-ahead.
How Startups on Earth Could Blaze a Trail for Cities on Mars
If future explorers manage to set up communities on Mars, how will they pay their way? What’s likely to be the Red Planet’s primary export? Will it be Martian deuterium, sent back to Earth for fusion fuel? Raw materials harvested by Mars-based asteroid miners, as depicted in the “For All Mankind” TV series? Or will future Martians be totally dependent on earthly subsidies?
In a new book titled “The New World on Mars,” Robert Zubrin — the president of the Mars Society and a tireless advocate for space settlement — says Mars’ most valuable product will be inventions.
“We’re talking about creating a new and potentially extremely inventive branch of human civilization, which will benefit humanity as a whole enormously,” he says in the latest episode of the Fiction Science podcast. “But moreover, we’ll play from that strength to make money.”
Zubrin isn’t waiting until humans step foot on Mars to get started.
“We are in the process of drawing up business plans for two major initiatives — one in the artificial intelligence area and the other in the synthetic food production area,” he says. “And the idea is, fairly soon we’re going to be presenting these business plans to investors, with the idea of starting companies devoted to these two different technological ideas that we have put together.”
Zubrin says it’s too early to reveal exactly what these companies would do, but he claims the ventures have the potential to become extremely profitable. The AI concept could be “a billion-dollar idea,” he says.
“They’re both addressing critical questions for Mars that have tremendous terrestrial spin-off potential,” Zubrin says.
Income from the ventures would be split between investors and the Mars Society, which would use the funds to support a Mars Technology Institute. “We just did a fundraising drive and raised $150,000 to get this thing started,” Zubrin says.
Robert Zubrin is the founder and president of the Mars Society. (Credit: Mars Society CC BY-SA 3.0)
Once things get rolling, Zubrin envisions setting up a headquarters for the institute — perhaps in the Pacific Northwest or in Colorado (where the Mars Society is currently based).
The concept of using earthly ventures to support off-Earth adventures is by no means new. Back in 2015, when SpaceX founder Elon Musk was recruiting engineers for the Starlink satellite internet network, he said the profits from Starlink would go toward funding a city on Mars.
“Looking in the long term, and saying what’s needed to create a city on Mars — well, one thing’s for sure: a lot of money,” Musk told an audience of about 400 techies (including prospective employees) in Seattle. “So we need things that will generate a lot of money.”
Zubrin says the challenge of establishing settlements on Mars will promote invention in the same way that the challenges facing pioneers in the United States led to innovations ranging from steamboats to light bulbs to iPhones.
“Mars is even going to be much more technologically selective in terms of who goes there, and also a much more challenging environment,” he says. “It’s going to be America to the third power in terms of what it will be able to invent.”
He argues that settlers will be forced to innovate when it comes to developing nuclear fission and fusion plants for energy, finding ways to conserve and recycle resources for sustaining Martian communities, and maximizing food production amid the planet’s harsh conditions. All those innovations can then be exported back to Earth.
Zubrin has laid out the case for Mars settlement in a series of books that goes back to, well, “The Case for Mars” in 1996. He also wrote a fictional account of a crewed mission to Mars, titled “First Landing.” And he has appeared in more than a dozen TV shows about Mars and space exploration, including “Mars,” a National Geographic series that blends science fiction and science fact.
“The New World on Mars” deals with thematic territory that spreads out much more broadly than what was covered in “The Case for Mars.” And Zubrin says SpaceX’s rise is the reason why.
For years, Musk and his team have been focusing on development of a reusable super-heavy-lift launch system known as Starship. The next test flight could take place within weeks — and it’s likely to be only a matter of time before Starship offers a reliable way to get to Earth orbit and beyond. Musk envisions building a fleet of the rockets to send thousands of settlers to Mars, in line with his long-term ambition to make humanity a multiplanet species.
“The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet” by Robert Zubrin. (Diversion Books)
Zubrin assumes that Starship or something like it will be a success — which means there’s less need to dwell on the nuts and bolts of interplanetary transport in “The New World on Mars.”
“This book essentially says, ‘Look, it’s soon going to be possible for humans to go to Mars,’” he says. “So the key question is not how do we do that, but what do we do when we get there?”
Zubrin goes into great detail about how Mars’ harsh realities could affect every aspect of daily life, from energy production and terraforming to marriage and parenthood. For example, he suggests that Martians might clean their clothes simply by airing them out in the Red Planet’s low-pressure, bacteria-killing environment.
Zubrin went so far as to test the technique by stuffing dirty clothes into a laboratory vacuum chamber. “The only downside is that stains are not removed, so they don’t look clean. One remedy for this would be to use camo coloration for clothes, as it does not show stains,” he writes. “I predict this will be the style.”
“The New World on Mars” is more optimistic about Red Planet settlement than “A City on Mars,” a book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith that was featured on Fiction Science last November. That book argues that the drive to create space settlements is premature — and that a host of uncertainties need to be cleared up first. For example, the Weinersmiths say that much more research should be done on the potential effects of Mars’ reduced gravity on human reproduction and development. They also raise concerns about the potential international conflicts over property rights in space.
As you’d expect, Zubrin strongly disagrees with such views — in his book, on the podcast, and in a book review published by Quillette. “They say there’s no point going into space. There’s nothing to be gained from it, and therefore, there should be laws to stop it, which makes no sense whatsoever,” he says.
In Zubrin’s view, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty’s prohibition on claims of national sovereignty won’t tie the hands of Mars settlers. Instead, it would make it easier for them to stake their own claims. “If a Martian colony is set up, and declares property rights within its vicinity, [governments on Earth] have no jurisdiction to contradict it,” Zubrin says. “They have explicitly signed away their rights to interfere with Mars settlement.”
And what about the health effects of living on Mars? “OK, so yeah, we don’t know about the long-term effects of one-third gravity on people, but we’ll find that out,” Zubrin says. “When we send our first exploration missions to Mars, I believe it’ll be OK.”
The way Zubrin sees it, the main attraction for Mars settlers won’t be deuterium, or asteroid riches, or shiny red obsidian. It’ll be something money can’t buy: the freedom to create.
“I believe that there’s nothing more powerful than the creative power of life,” he says. “The grass finds a way to break through the pavement. Life finds a way. … And freedom is going to find a way.”
US Government Researched About UFOs Disguised As Clouds, UFO Sighting News.
US Government Researched About UFOs Disguised As Clouds, UFO Sighting News.
Now here is an interesting situation. The US Gov department of defense and the USAF both considered that UFOs could be cloaking within disk shaped clouds and did research recording the craft in the once top secret UFO report call the Condon Reports.
Some Intelligent Civilizations Will Be Trapped on their Worlds
With thousands of exoplanets discovered so far, astronomers are learning how different planets can be. What if intelligent alien civilizations arise on extremely different habitable worlds? Some civilizations could develop space exploration technologies, but others would be trapped underwater, under ice, or in enormous gravity wells. How could they escape? Image Credit: DALL-E
Some Intelligent Civilizations Will Be Trapped on their Worlds
Evolution has produced a wondrously diverse variety of lifeforms here on Earth. It just so happens that talking primates with opposable thumbs rose to the top and are building a spacefaring civilization. And we’re land-dwellers. But what about other planets? If the dominant species on an ocean world builds a technological civilization of some sort, would they be able to escape their ocean home and explore space?
We have no way of knowing if other Extraterrestrial Intelligences (ETIs) exist or not. There’s at least some possibility that other civilizations exist, and we’re certainly in no position to say for sure that they don’t. The Drake Equation is one of the tools we use to talk about the existence of ETIs. It’s a kind of structured thought experiment in the form of an equation that allows us to estimate the existence of other active, communicative ETIs. Some of the variables in the Drake Equation (DE) are the star formation rate, the number of planets around those stars, and the fraction of planets that could form life and on which life could evolve to become an ETI.
In his new research article, Quiroga comes up with two new concepts that feed into the DE: the Exoplanet Escape Factor and Fishbowl worlds.
Planets of different masses have different escape velocities. Earth’s escape velocity is 11.2 km/s (kilometres per second), which is more than 40,000 km/h. The escape velocity is for ballistic objects without propulsion, so our rockets don’t actually travel 40,000 km/h. But the escape velocity is useful for comparing different planets because it’s independent of the vehicle used and its propulsion.
“It could therefore be the case that an intelligent species on these planets would never be able to travel into space due to sheer physical impossibility.”
Elio Quiroga, Universidad del Atlántico Medio
Super-Earths have much greater masses and much higher escape velocities. While there’s no exact definition of a Super-Earth’s mass, many sources use the upper bound of 10 Earth masses to define them. So, an ETI on a Super-Earth would be facing a different set of conditions than we do here on Earth when it comes to space travel.
This simple graph from the research article shows how escape velocity rises with planetary mass. The x-axis shows Earth masses, and the y-axis shows the required escape velocity. Image Credit: Quiroga, 2024.
In this work, Quiroga implements the Exoplanet Escape Factor (Fex) and the Exoplanet Escape Velocity (Vex.) By working with them, he arrives at a sample of escape velocities for some known exoplanets. Note that the composition of the planets isn’t critical, only their masses.
This figure from the research shows how easy or difficult it would be to reach space from some known exoplanets. Green indicates that escape is possible, orange indicates likely problems, and red indicates the practical impossibility of space travel. Image Credit: Quiroga 2024.
Quiroga points out that a planet with a Fex value of <0.4 would struggle to hold onto any atmosphere anyway, making life unlikely. Conversely, a Fex value of >2.2 would make space travel unlikely. “Values of Fex > 2.2 would make space travel unlikely for the exoplanet’s inhabitants: they would not be able to leave the planet using any conceivable amount of fuel, nor would a viable rocket structure withstand the pressures involved in the process, at least with the materials we know (as far as we know, the same periodic table of elements and the same combinations of them govern the entire universe).”
“It could, therefore, be the case that an intelligent species on these planets would never be able to travel into space due to sheer physical impossibility,” Quiroga writes. In fact, they may never conceive of the idea of any type of space travel at all. Who knows?
Of course, space exploration isn’t a one-way street. Astronauts have to return from space, and a planet’s mass affects that. Re-entry imposes its own difficulties on a Super-Earth ten times more massive than our planet. The atmospheric density also plays a role. A spacecraft needs to control its velocity and frictional heating when re-entering, and that’s more difficult on a more massive planet, just as escaping is.
Quiroga also talks about the idea of the Fishbowl Worlds. These are the planets above Fex 2.2 from which escape is physically impossible. What could life for an intelligent species be like on a Fishbowl world?
Artist’s impression of the surface of a “Hycean” world. According to Quiroga, if a civilization arose on an ocean world, it could end up being a Fishbowl World where the inhabitants have no chance of ever exploring space. Image Credit: University of Cambridge
In his research article, Quiroga invites us to be speculative with a nod to science fiction. Imagine an ocean world that’s home to an intelligent species. In a fluid environment, unaided communication travels much further than in an atmosphere like Earth’s. Unaided signals could travel for hundreds of kilometres. In an environment like that, “… communication between individuals could be feasible without the need for communication devices,” Quiroga explains. So, the impetus to develop communication technologies might not be there. In that case, Quiroga says, the technology may not have developed and the civilization might not be considered “communicative” at all, one of the keys to the definition of an ETI.
“Telecommunications technology might never emerge on such a world, even though it could be home to a fully developed civilization,” Quiroga writes. “Such a civilization would not be “communicative” and would not be contemplated in the Drake equation.”
Other circumstances could effectively trap civilizations on their homeworlds. On a planet with continuous, unbroken cloud cover, the starry sky would never be visible. How would that affect a civilization? Can you wonder about the stars if you can’t see them and don’t know they’re there? Of course not. A similar thing is true in a binary star system with no nighttime. Stars would never be visible and would never be objects and sources of wonder.
Ocean worlds present a similar conundrum. On ocean worlds or moons with warm oceans and frozen ice shells kilometres thick, any inhabitants would have extremely limited views of the Universe they inhabit. It’s difficult to imagine a technological civilization arising in an ocean under several kilometres of ice. But we’re in no position to judge whether that’s possible or not.
Jupiter’s moon, Europa, has a warm ocean under a thick icy shell. Are there other worlds out there like Europa? What would it be like for intelligent creatures that lived in a world like this? They would never see the stars in the sky, their own stars, or any other planets in their solar systems. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Galileo spacecraft)
Quiroga’s Exoplanet Escape Factor (Fex) can help us imagine what kinds of worlds could host ETIs. It can help us anticipate the factors that prevent or at least inhibit space travel, and it brings more complexity into the Drake Equation. It leads us to the idea of Fishbowl Worlds, inescapable planets that could keep a civilization planet-bound forever.
Without the ability to ever escape their planet and explore their solar systems, and without the ability to communicate beyond their worlds, could entire civilizations rise and fall without ever knowing the Universe they were a part of? Could it happen right under our noses, so to speak, and we’d never know?
The Search for an Alien Base Off the California Coast
The Search for an Alien Base Off the California Coast
In recent years, the quest to understand the unknown has taken researchers to the depths of the ocean, particularly off the California coast, where an extraordinary discovery has sparked widespread intrigue. This area, often compared to the infamous Bermuda Triangle for its mysterious electromagnetic anomalies, has become the focal point of investigations into unidentified submerged objects (USOs) and potential extraterrestrial activity.
The Investigation Begins
Led by researcher Ben Hanson, a team embarked on a daring exploration to uncover the secrets hidden beneath the waves. Their journey took them to the Farallon Trench, a deep-sea canyon on the southwest side of Catalina Island, known for its unusual electromagnetic signatures. The trench, reaching depths of over a mile, lies within a dozen miles of numerous USO sightings, suggesting a connection between the location and unexplained phenomena.
Diving into the Unknown
Hanson and his team planned a dive to 120 feet below the surface to observe the trench’s abrupt descent. The objective was to explore the possibility of an underwater alien base in these waters. Equipped with diving gear and communication devices, they ventured into the depths, aiming to gather evidence and document their findings.
Encountering Anomalies
As they approached the undersea ledge, the team encountered unexpected challenges. Communication with the surface became sporadically unavailable, and Hanson reported a significant deviation in his compass readings—a 45-degree shift, an anomaly nearly three times stronger than that caused by a lightning strike. Such a drastic change in magnetic orientation is rare, with the largest known natural magnetic anomaly on Earth, located in Russia, affecting compasses by only 15 degrees.
The Magnetic Hotspot
Further analysis revealed that the area they were exploring was one of the most intense electromagnetic hotspots on the planet, marked by a small red dot on the backside of Catalina Island. This discovery raised questions about whether these anomalies were natural or indicative of something more extraordinary.
Speculations and Theories
The investigation proposed that extraterrestrial visitors might utilize the area’s natural magnetism to conceal their activities. The presence of military facilities nearby added to the intrigue, suggesting that the location’s geological features could be strategically advantageous for hiding advanced technology or bases.
Broader Implications
The findings from Hanson’s exploration contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting that our planet may host more secrets than we realize. The idea of an alien base off the California coast, while speculative, opens the door to fascinating discussions about extraterrestrial life, advanced technology, and the mysteries lying in the depths of our oceans.
VIDEO:
UFO Investigation Exposes “Mini Bermuda Triangle” Off California Coast | UFO Witness
Watch this video created by "Fade to Black" radio host Jimmy Church about the Malibu underwater anomaly.
The search for an alien base off the California coast has unveiled a “mini Bermuda Triangle” marked by intense electromagnetic anomalies and unexplained phenomena. While definitive evidence of extraterrestrial activity remains elusive, the investigation into this mysterious region challenges our understanding of the natural world and the possibility of otherworldly visitors. As research continues, the quest for answers only deepens the mystery of what lies beneath the waves.
A mysterious black ring filmed in the sky moving slowly from side to side over Argentina had some locals wondering if a UFO was visiting their town.
The footage, taken from a farm in Argentina’s Tucuman province, had many area residents stumped as they tried to guess what it was that they were seeing.
A mysterious black ring filmed in the sky moving slowly from side to side over Argentina had some locals wondering if a UFO was visiting their town.
The footage, taken from a farm in Argentina’s Tucuman province, had many area residents stumped as they tried to guess what it was that they were seeing.
Some believed it was some sort of smoke ring. Others thought it may have had something to do with the weather. Another hypothesis was that it was some sort of swarm of insects. A few even thought perhaps it was a signal from aliens.
The strange black ring was estimated by some to measure over 1,600 feet in size.
Then it vanished without a trace.
There was good reason for concern because Argentina has been a bit of a hotspot for UFO and alien rumors over the past few years.
This also isn’t the first time that a mysterious black ring has appeared in the sky over Argentina.
In 2019, a construction worker was working in Buenos Aires when he and his crew spotted a similar black, circular UFO in the sky.
It also happened in 2015 when a giant black, circular ring appeared in the sky above Puertos del Fruto.
That particular black ring was eventually blamed on a fireworks display that was set off during a performance at the Parque de la Costa amusement park for a performance called “Zombie Invasion.”
While some plausible explanations have been given for all of these sightings, one man in Argentina named Werner Jaisli constructed a “landing strip” for UFOs called the “Star of Hope.”
He built the UFO monument in the middle of the Argentinian desert between 2008 and 2012, but shortly after it was built he disappeared. It was eventually learned that he had passed away in December 2021 without ever seeing the aliens who he says telepathically ordered him to create the ovniport.
Miniature Cyprinid Fish Can Produce Sounds over 140 dB, Ichthyologists Say
Miniature Cyprinid Fish Can Produce Sounds over 140 dB, Ichthyologists Say
Danionella cerebrum, a translucent fish species of only 12 mm length, produces high amplitude sounds exceeding 140 dB (re. 1 µPa, at a distance of one body length) — comparable to a jet engine during take-off in 100 m distance.
Danionella cerebrum has a pair of extrinsic, indirect sonic muscles that house the drumming cartilage. When a sonic muscle contracts, the fifth rib is pulled anteriorly and builds tension as it pulls the cartilage. The sudden release of the cartilage causes it to rapidly strike the swim bladder, producing a short, loud pulse. A burst of pulses is generated with either bilaterally alternating or unilateral muscle contractions. In sum, this mechanism enables loud and stereotyped sounds that can be elicited in structured sequences, making it a unique solution for acoustic communication and ultrafast skeletal motion in vertebrates surpassing the limitation of muscle contraction speed. Image credit: Ralf Britz, Senckenberg Natural History Collections.
“The snapping shrimp can generate a popping sound of up to 250 dB with its claws,” said Dr. Ralf Britz, an ichthyologist at the Senckenberg Natural History Collections.
“The mating calls of the flightless kakapo reach 130 dB, and elephants can produce noise of up to 125 dB with their trunks.
“Fishes, on the other hand, are generally considered to be rather quiet members of the animal kingdom.”
“However, there are certain fish species that can be surprisingly loud. For example, the male plainfin midshipman fish attracts its females with an audible vibrato of around 100 Hz and 130 dB.”
In the new study, Dr. Britz and his colleagues examined Danionella cerebrum, a miniature teleost fish with the smallest known vertebrate brain.
“This tiny fish can produce sounds of over 140 dB at a distance of 10 to 12 mm — this is comparable to the noise a human perceives of an airplane during take-off at a distance of 100 m and quite unusual for an animal of such diminutive size,” Dr. Britz said.
“We tried to understand how the fish manages this and what mechanisms are responsible for this achievement.”
Using a combination of high-speed video, micro-computed tomography, gene expression analysis, and finite difference methods, the researchers found that Danionella cerebrum males possess a unique sound-generating apparatus that includes drumming cartilage, a specialized rib, and a fatigue-resistant muscle.
“This apparatus accelerates the drumming cartilage with a force of over 2,000g and shoots it against the swim bladder to produce a rapid, loud pulse,” Dr. Britz said.
“These pulses are strung together to produce calls with either bilaterally alternating or unilateral muscle contractions.”
Due to its small size and lifelong optical transparency, Danionella cerebrum is an emerging model organism in biomedical research.
The species is native to shallow and turbid waters of Myanmar.
“We assume that the competition between the males in this visually restrictive environment contributed to the development of the special mechanism for acoustic communication,” Dr. Britz said.
The study’s results challenge the conventional notion that the speed of skeletal movement in vertebrates is limited by muscle movement.
“Understanding the extraordinary adaptation of Danionella cerebrum expands our knowledge of animal locomotion and highlights the remarkable diversity of propulsion mechanisms in different species,” the authors said.
“This contributes to a broader understanding of evolutionary biology and biomechanics.”
“The sounds produced by other Danionella species have not yet been studied in detail; it would be interesting to learn how their mechanism of sound production differs and how these differences relate to evolutionary adaptation.”
“In combination with its lifelong transparency, the genus Danionella offers a unique opportunity to compare the neural mechanisms underlying the sound generation between the different species.”
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Verity A.N.O. Cook et al. 2024. Ultrafast sound production mechanism in one of the smallest vertebrates. PNAS 121 (10): e2314017121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2314017121
Laurent Palka is a microbiologist at France's National Museum of Natural History.
Just over five years ago, on 22 February 2019, an unmanned space probe was placed in orbit around the Moon. Named Beresheet and built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was intended to be the first private spacecraft to perform a soft landing. Among the probe’s payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to survive in even the harshest climates.
The mission ran into trouble from the start, with the failure of “star tracker” cameras intended to determine the spacecraft’s orientation and thus properly control its motors. Budgetary limitations had imposed a pared-down design, and while the command center was able to work around some problems, things got even trickier on 11 April, the day of the landing.
On the way to the Moon the spacecraft had been travelling at high speed, and it needed to be slowed way down to make a soft landing. Unfortunately during the braking manoeuvre a gyroscope failed, blocking the primary engine. At an altitude of 150 m, Beresheet was still moving at 500 km/h, far too fast to be stopped in time. The impact was violent – the probe shattered and its remains were scattered over a distance of around a hundred metres. We know this because the site was photographed by NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) satellite on 22 April.
So what happened to the tardigrades that were travelling on the probe? Given their remarkable abilities to survive situations that would kill pretty much any other animal, could they have contaminated the Moon? Worse, might they be able to reproduce and colonize it?
Tardigrades are microscopic animals that measure less than a millimetre in length. All have neurons, a mouth opening at the end of a retractable proboscis, an intestine containing a microbiota and four pairs of non-articulated legs ending in claws, and most have two eyes. As small as they are, they share a common ancestor with arthropods such as insects and arachnids.
Most tardigrades live in aquatic environments, but they can be found in any environment, even urban ones. Emmanuelle Delagoutte, a researcher at the CNRS, collects them in the mosses and lichens of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. To be active, feed on microalgae such as chlorella, and move, grow and reproduce, tardigrades need to be surrounded by a film of water. They reproduce sexually or asexually via parthenogenesis (from an unfertilised egg) or even hermaphroditism, when an individual (which possesses both male and female gametes) self-fertilises. Once the egg has hatched, the active life of a tardigrade lasts from 3 to 30 months. A total of 1,265 species have been described, including two fossils.
Tardigrades are famous for their resistance to conditions that exist neither on Earth nor on the Moon. They can shut down their metabolism by losing up to 95% of their body water. Some species synthesise a sugar, trehalose, that acts as an antifreeze, while others synthesise proteins that are thought to incorporate cellular constituents into an amorphous “glassy” network that offers resistance and protection to each cell.
During dehydration, the tardigrade’s body can shrink to half its normal size. The legs disappear, with only the claws still visible. This state, known as cryptobiosis, persists until conditions for active life become favourable again.
Depending on the species of tardigrade, individuals need more or less time to dehydrate and not all specimens of the same species manage to return to active life. Dehydrated adults survive for a few minutes at temperatures as low as -272°C or as high as 150°C, and over the long term at high doses of gamma rays of 1,000 or 4,400 Gray (Gy). By way of comparison, a dose of 10 Gy is fatal for humans, and 40-50,000 Gy sterilises all types of material. However, whatever the dose, radiation kills tardigrade eggs. What’s more, the protection afforded by cryptobiosis is not always clear-cut, as in the case of Milnesium tardigradum, w
An image of a tardigrade as seen under a microscope. (Image credit: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images)
Lunar life?
So what happened to the tardigrades after they crashed on the Moon? Are any of them still viable, buried under the moon’s regolith, the dust that varies in depth from a few metres to several dozen metres?
First of all, they have to have survived the impact. Laboratory tests have shown that frozen specimens of the Hypsibius dujardini species travelling at 3,000 km/h in a vacuum were fatally damaged when they smashed into sand. However, they survived impacts of 2,600 km/h or less – and their “hard landing” on the Moon, unwanted or not, was far slower.
The Moon’s surface is not protected from solar particles and cosmic rays, particularly gamma rays, but here too, the tardigrades would be able to resist. In fact, Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber, professor at the University of Kiel in Germany, and his team have shown that the doses of gamma rays hitting the lunar surface were permanent but low compared with the doses mentioned above – 10 years’ exposure to Lunar gamma rays would correspond to a total dose of around 1 Gy.
But then there’s the question of “life” on the Moon. The tardigrades would have to withstand a lack of water as well as temperatures ranging from -170 to -190°C during the lunar night and 100 to 120°C during the day. A lunar day or night lasts a long time, just under 15 Earth days. The probe itself wasn’t designed to withstand such extremes and even if it hadn’t crashed, it would have ceased all activity after just a few Earth days.
Unfortunately for the tardigrades, they can’t overcome the lack of liquid water, oxygen and microalgae – they would never be able to reactivate, much less reproduce. Their colonising the Moon is thus impossible. Still, inactive specimens are on lunar soil and their presence raises ethical questions, as Matthew Silk, an ecologist at the University of Edinburgh, points out. Moreover, at a time when space exploration is taking off in all directions, contaminating other planets could mean that we would lose the opportunity to detect extraterrestrial life.
40 Mile alien base on planet Mars, absolute proof of alien civilization, UFO Sighting News.
40 Mile alien base on planet Mars, absolute proof of alien civilization, UFO Sighting News.
Guys I found this alien base on Mars and made this short video for you to inspect. The building itself is over 40 miles long and 4 miles wide or more. On most maps this object does not exist and yet it was over looked on this particular map that I used.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:Ruins, strange artifacts on other planets, moons, ed ( Fr, EN, NL )
Ukrainian soldier who filmed UFO 'bigger than the Empire State Building' over warzone in Donetsk tells DailyMail.com it sat deathly still against winds and was 'hotter than anything I've ever seen'
Ukrainian soldier who filmed UFO 'bigger than the Empire State Building' over warzone in Donetsk tells DailyMail.com it sat deathly still against winds and was 'hotter than anything I've ever seen'
Ukrainian troops recorded a 'very hot' 1300-ft-long UFO over Donetsk battlefield
Unit drone pilot says he and his battalion have 'never seen things like this before'
A disc-shaped object longer than the height of the Empire State Building emerged from the horizon of Ukraine's embattled Donetsk province last Friday, hovering eerily still a mile off the ground, a soldier has told DailyMail.com
That soldier, a drone operator, had cautiously guided his infrared quadcopter 500-feet for a reconnaissance mission, struggling against high winds, when he suddenly spotted the flat, 1,300-foot-long UFO, which stood motionless despite those winds.
In an interview from the warzone, the soldier, who is with the Ukrainian army's 406th Battalion, said he and his fellow servicemen had 'never seen things like this before.'
Initially, I thought that it was something new invented by the Russians,' he added, 'but then I understood... 'No! It might be [a] UFO.''
The 'craft' was 36 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than any other object this 406th drone pilot says he has ever tracked in the warzone — ruling out atmospheric phenomena, balloons and known enemy aircraft, he claimed.
'Why isn't it moving?' troops with the Ukrainian's 406th Battalion can be heard debating as they witness a large UFO hovering, deadly calm, over their warzone
The 'craft' was 36 to 54 degrees hotter in Fahrenheit than any other object the Ukrainian military drone operator (above) has tracked in the warzone — ruling out atmospheric phenomena, balloons and known enemy aircraft, as he told DailyMail.com via an interpreter
'We were surprised, very surprised,' the soldier, whose first name is Vadym, recalled via an interpreter.
But Vadym told DailyMail.com that this 'surprise' was not quite fear, because he and his fellow soldiers have had to learn to suppress those emotions amid their effort to defend Ukraine from a now two-year-long invasion by Russia.
'We got scared on the 24th of February 2022,' Vadym said. 'After that, we aren't scared of anything.'
The 406th's drone pilot said he'd gotten his craft about 'a few kilometers' into its recon mission before spotting the UFO.
'I looked right and saw this,' Vadym said.
'After 30 seconds, we decided to film it. All the emotions we had at that moment, they're in the video... You you can hear it.'
As Vadym and his fellow 406th unit members scrambled to make sense of the apparent object, their confusion is palpable in the 17-second video, shared exclusively with DailyMail.com this week.
In between the swearing ('Holy s***') and the excitement ('What the f*** is this?'), one member of the battalion asks: 'Why isn't it moving?'
Another wonders: 'Why can't he fire missiles at us? What do you mean?'
Aside from the object's unusual heat signature, it appeared to more readily withstand the strong wind, but Vadym told DailyMail.com that no other extreme weather could help explain the unusual sighting.
'There was a very strong wind,' Vadym said. 'The wind was flowing into the same direction as we were flying basically.'
'But it [the UFO] just stayed at the same place — and the sky was clear,' he said. 'So no clouds, nothing.'
'We were surprised, very surprised,' the soldier, whose first name is Vadym, recalled - adding that this 'surprise' was not quite fear: he and his fellow soldiers (above) have had to learn to suppress those emotions while defending Ukraine from a now two-year-long Russian invasion
Ukrainian's 406th Battalion (right) was gifted their commercial, DJI brand Mavic 3T thermal-imaging drone (left) via the fundraising efforts of the DeepInspire Foundation, war correspondent Joe Lindsley, who runs Lviv Lab media center, and other humanitarian activists
'I use this [infrared, heat vision] filter very often,' the unit drone operator said, 'and just got experience so I can differentiate how bright an object should be according to what temperature.'
Based on that experience, Vadym stated that the UFO 'was very hot. I'm guessing 20 to 30 degrees [Celsius] hotter than other objects.'
Vadym estimated that the roughly 1,300 ft (400 meters) long UFO was also about 328 feet (100 meters) tall.
The apparent object, craft or phenomena, was caught on the camera of a commercial DJI brand Mavic 3T thermal-imaging drone on February 23, 2024.
The UFO, spotted around 9:02pm local time, appeared to be approximately 37 to 40 miles away from the soldiers, he said, in the direction of Donetsk Oblast, the southeastern Ukrainian province that has been most dominated by Russia's forces.
Vadym requested that his last name and other key details of the encounter not be disclosed for reasons of operational security amid the Ukrainian Armed Forces' (UAF) effort to repel the Russian invasion.
A spokesperson for Mavic's manufacturer DJI told DailyMail.com that, while it could not help in explaining what is present in the UFO footage, an equipment error could have played a role - but Vadym doubted this
But he noted that, while 'it's hard to count' just how many times he has personally flown his unit's Mavic 3T, it was probably 'more than 10,000 times.'
'We've seen different things [in the skies],' he said, adding, 'We've never seen things like this before.'
One potential explanation for the UFO was the well-known optical illusion phenomena called 'Fata Morgana,' a mirror-like atmospheric mirage produced by a 'temperature inversion' of hot air in the upper atmosphere.
But Vadym is adamant that what he saw was real.
'It wasn't a mirage,' Vadym told DailyMail.com, 'because in thermal vision you can't see a mirage. You can see it only with your naked eye.'
He continued to explain that the object did not ripple, shimmer or otherwise alter its shape, which would have been a tell-tale sign of a Fata Morgana mirage.
'Often, a Fata Morgana changes rapidly,' as the flight safety guide SKYbrary notes. 'The mirage comprises several inverted (upside down) and erect (right side up) images that are stacked on top of one another.
But according to Vadym, 'The object was in a stable form. It wasn't moving.'
That said, the UFO, whatever it was, wasted no time leaving its perch above Donetsk.
'At another position, we had another drone and put it up in about three minutes,' Vadym said, '[but] they didn't see it [the UFO] at that moment.'
'When we returned to the same position later, there was nothing there.'
The 406th unit member also relayed his recollection that the UFO did not ripple, shimmer or otherwise alter its shape, which would have been a tell-tale sign of a Fata Morgana mirage
In one photographic case of Fata Morgana (above), the Anthem of the Seas cruise ship, an 168,000-tonne Royal Caribbean liner, looked like it was hovering above the water
This past Tuesday, a spokesperson for Mavic's manufacturer DJI told DailyMail.com that, while it could not help in explaining what is present in the 406th's UFO footage, an equipment error could have played a role.
UFOs are 'not of human origin,' US Representative Anna Paulina Luna from Florida told Grant Mitterlehner this week on his podcast. She described government obstruction as she investigated UFOs.
But Vadym noted that he was confident the Mavic 3T's systems were functioning normally at the time of the encounter.
The red 'warning' or 'error' bar visible in the upper left-hand portion of the drone's display, he said, related to the consumer-grade drone's GPS navigation.
'It is a warning that we were flying without satellites on 100 percent manual controls,' Vadym told DailyMail.com.
'Because Russia does everything they can to deny Ukrainians the ability to fly over and understand [...] their plans.'
Vadym noted that similar combat-specific issues prevented the battalion from storing a recording of their UFO thermal-imaging footage directly on the Mavic drone itself.
'We remove the memory cards from the drones when we are doing flights over enemy territories,' Vadym said.
'There is a risk that if we lose a drone because of enemy electronic countermeasures, they could pick up the drone, they could pick up the card, and read what's there.'
When pressed again on how he and his fellow 406th Battalion members felt about the UFO, Vadym said, 'The best I could say would be that for this video to have never happened, for us [the Ukrainian military] to never have to do the work we do.'
In a better world, Vadym said, the Russian invasion of February 2022 'never happened' and 'we just use civilian drones to film weddings.'
Al tien jaar onopgelost: MH370 'grootste mysterie uit moderne luchtvaart'
Al tien jaar onopgelost: MH370 'grootste mysterie uit moderne luchtvaart'
Artikel door RTL Nieuws
Tien jaar geleden verdween vlucht MH370 van de radar met 239 mensen aan boord. Een van de grootste zoekacties in de geschiedenis van de luchtvaart mocht niet baten: nog altijd blijft de toedracht van de verdwijning een mysterie, dat velen tot op de dag van vandaag bezighoudt. "Als je veel geld en tijd hebt, is niets onmogelijk."
Tot nu toe zijn enkel onderdelen van het toestel teruggevonden
Dit weekend komen de families van de nabestaanden samen voor een herdenking in de Maleisische hoofdstad Kuala Lumpur. Nog altijd zitten zij vol vragen over het verdwenen toestel.
Vlucht MH370 van Malaysia Airlines vertrok op zaterdag 8 maart 2014 even na middernacht van de internationale luchthaven van Kuala Lumpur. Aan boord van de Boeing 777 zaten 2 piloten, 10 bemanningsleden en 239 passagiers. Zij kwamen uit 14 verschillende landen.
Het gros van de passagiers kwam uit China (153 personen) en Maleisië (50 personen). De enige Nederlandse inzittende was de 50-jarige Surti Dahlia uit Amsterdam. Zij hoopte in Maleisië haar grote liefde te ontmoeten.
De bestemming van de vlucht, de Chinese hoofdstad Peking, is nooit bereikt. Het toestel maakte 38 minuten na het opstijgen voor het laatst contact met de luchtverkeersleiding. De piloot wenste hen een goede nacht.
Uit koers
Wat er vervolgens precies is gebeurd in de cockpit, weet niemand. Achteraf is uit satellietgegevens gebleken dat het toestel van koers is gewijzigd en uiteindelijk - vermoedelijk zonder brandstof - in een zeer afgelegen deel van de Indische Ocean is neergestort.
"De plek waar het toestel verdween, is zo uitgestrekt en onmetelijk groot", zegt luchtvaartdeskundige Joris Melkert, die de zaak al die jaren is blijven volgen. "Er komt bijna niemand in dit deel van de oceaan, omdat er niets te halen valt. Ten tijde van het ongeluk was alleen een Noors vrachtschip in de omgeving. Waarvan ook nog de vraag was wat dat schip daar nu precies deed."
Al tien jaar onopgelost: MH370 'grootste mysterie uit moderne luchtvaart'
Het betreffende gebied wordt door zeevaarders de 'roaring forties' genoemd. Dit vanwege de ligging op de veertigste breedtegraad en de krachtige, onstuimige westenwind die er de dienst uitmaakt. Diezelfde wind en metershoge golven hebben de zoektocht vanaf het begin erg moeilijk gemaakt. Net als de diepte van het water: de Indische Oceaan is er op sommige plekken wel 4 kilometer diep.
Er zijn door de jaren uiteenlopende theorieën gevormd over de toedracht van de vermoedelijke crash in zee. Er zou misschien brand of een gebrek aan luchtdruk zijn ontstaan aan boord, waarop de piloten de dichtstbijzijnde luchthaven hebben willen bereiken. Dat dit niet is gelukt, zou mogelijk komen doordat beide piloten hun bewustzijn hebben verloren. Ook is gespeculeerd dat de piloot het toestel bewust liet crashen.
'Erger dan speld in hooiberg'
Alle denkbare middelen zijn bij het zoeken ingezet, van vliegtuigen en helikopters, tot onderzeeërs, drones en duikers. Het vermoedelijke crashgebied is zo'n 120.000 vierkante kilometer groot, legt Melkert uit. "Dat is drie keer het grondgebied van Nederland en dat is echt gigantisch. Dit is nog erger dan zoeken naar een speld in een hooiberg en de reden dat het complete wrak nooit is gevonden."
Door de jaren heen spoelden wel losse brokstukken aan, onder meer bij het Franse eiland Réunion, Madagaskar en Tanzania, maar de zwarte doos is nooit aangetroffen. Dat was al snel buitengewoon lastig: de batterij van zo'n 'flightdatarecorder' in een Boeing 777 is na dertig dagen leeg en zendt dan geen signalen meer uit.
De hoop is altijd blijven bestaan dat de romp van het toestel zou worden gevonden. Zoals gebeurde bij de verdwenen vlucht AF447 van Air France. Daarbij werd in 2011 (bijna twee jaar na de ramp) met behulp van robotduikboten op vierduizend meter diepte alsnog de romp van het toestel gevonden voor de kust van Brazilië.
In september vorig jaar werd via een nieuwe techniek, met behulp van radiogolven, een kleiner gebied van zo'n 130 bij 74 kilometer groot vastgesteld waarbinnen het wrak zich ergens moet vinden. Dat gebied ligt op ruim 1500 kilometer ten westen van Australië.
'Het kan nog altijd'
Want de zoektocht is nog altijd niet opgegeven. Familieleden en een groepje experts hopen dat het maritieme bedrijf Ocean Infinity, gespecialiseerd in zeebodemonderzoek, binnenkort een nieuwe poging waagt en zo eindelijk het mysterie oplost. Maar volgens sommige critici heeft de Maleisië overheid daar geen trek in omdat het teveel geld zou kosten.
Volgens Melkert kan het wrak na al die jaren nog altijd worden gevonden. "Het toestel bestaat grotendeels uit aluminium dat onder water afgesloten van zuurstof nog eeuwen kan blijven liggen. Wellicht dat het bedolven ligt onder sediment, maar als je veel geld en tijd hebt, is niets onmogelijk. Het wrak zal niet snel vergaan en moet er nog zijn. De vraag is nog altijd: waar?"
Investigation of History’s Largest UFO Mass Sightings
Investigation of History’s Largest UFO Mass Sightings
On a quiet evening in late November 2009, the serene atmosphere of a small town nestled in the shadows of the Andes mountains in northernArgentinawas shattered by an event that would etch its name into the annals of unexplained phenomena. The town of J V Gonzalez, located in the province of Salta, became the epicenter of what is considered one of the most significantUFO sightingsin recent history. This incident, characterized by the mass witness of an unidentified flying object, has since puzzled experts and enthusiasts alike, sparking debates and investigations into its origins and implications.
The Night That Changed Everything
It was approximately 15 minutes past midnight on November 25, 2009, when the tranquility of J V Gonzalez was disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious object in the sky. Described by over 30 witnesses as cigar-shaped, this object was not just another celestial body gracing the night sky. It hovered about 300 meters above the town, emitting a sparkling glow that captivated the onlookers. What made this sighting particularly noteworthy was the unanimity among the eyewitnesses regarding what they saw, a rare occurrence in mass sighting events.
VIDEO:
Experts Investigate One of History’s Largest UFO Mass Sightings | The Unexplained Files
As quickly as it appeared, the object began moving southward, and then, as if by some unseen command, it vanished into the night. Almost immediately after its disappearance, the town was plunged into darkness due to a sudden power outage, leaving the residents in a state of bewilderment and fear. It wasn’t until several hours later, the following morning, that power was restored, but the questions and the mystery surrounding the night’s events only deepened.
Seeking Answers
In the aftermath of the sighting, local journalist Daniel Barbosa made attempts to shed light on the incident by contacting the electric company, seeking a rational explanation for the blackout. Was it merely a coincidence, or had the UFO been responsible for the town’s sudden loss of electricity? Despite his efforts, and the undeniable experience shared by more than thirty individuals, official explanations were conspicuously absent, leaving the community to speculate and form their own theories.
The event prompted connections to be drawn to another peculiar occurrence in the same area 14 years prior, involving unexplained explosions and a subsequent search that led nowhere. Tony Galvano, a local resident, believed that these events were not only related but were indicative of something far beyond the ordinary.
The Quest for Understanding
The lack of concrete evidence or official acknowledgment has not deterred the pursuit of answers. The incident in J V Gonzalez stands as a testament to the enduring fascination and intrigue surrounding UFO sightings. It raises important questions about the nature of these phenomena, the existence of extraterrestrial life, and the challenges inherent in seeking truth in the face of the unexplained.
As investigations continue and theories abound, the 2009 mass UFO sighting in Argentina remains a compelling narrative, inviting us to explore the boundaries of our understanding and to consider the possibilities that lie beyond the known confines of our world. Whether viewed through the lens of skepticism or belief, the incident serves as a reminder of the mysteries that still await unraveling, encouraging a deeper inquiry into the unknown.
One fishing influencer posted a video of the clouds from below on TikTok, set to the theme music from Netflix's horror hit 'Stranger Things.' But, in reality, a well-known flying object was the cause: airplanes.
Captured from above late this January, by NASA's Terra satellite, the 'Cavum clouds' are 'so odd that people sometimes argue they are signatures of flying saucers,' according to the US Space Agency, which released the overhead image this week.
The true source of Cavum clouds, sometimes called 'hole-punch clouds' and 'fallstreak holes,' had eluded scientists for nearly 70 years, until meteorologists finally cracked the case in 2010.
The strange shapes, they found, are produced when aircraft fly through 'altocumulus clouds' — patchy banks of small clouds that form between 7,000 and 23,000 feet up.
BlacktipH, an online saltwater fishing show whose YouTube channel boasts over 1,000,000 subscribers, posted its own video of the clouds from below as they occurred. The fishing influencer set its TikTok video to the theme music from Netflix's horror hit ' Stranger Things'
A bizarre chain of clouds north of the Florida Keys looks like a giant floating jellyfish. Captured in January, by NASA 's Terra satellite, these 'Cavum clouds' (above) are 'so odd that people sometimes argue they are signatures of flying saucers,' according to the US Space Agency
Scientists with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages the National Science Foundation's center for atmospheric research, led the 2010 and 2011 studies that solved the riddle of the Cavum clouds.
These middle-altitude 'altocumulus clouds,' UCAR's team found, are comprised of unusually pure water vapor that is 'supercooled,' which means it has not transformed into ice, despite these floating droplets' chilly temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
But as the plane's wings or its propellers' movements change the pressure around these droplets, a process called 'adiabatic expansion' occurs in the ensuing vortices of turbulent air breaking the delicate conditions that kept the vapor liquid.
'Ice crystals beget more ice crystals as the liquid droplets continue to freeze,' as NASA Earth Observatory's Adam Voiland wrote in a statement.
A global network of astronomers keeps its eyes on the skies to warn the public about potential asteroids that could strike the planet. If one is spotted, they will jump into action to warn us. Lindley Johnson, the Lead Program Executive for the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office, explained how this would happen.
'The ice crystals eventually grow heavy enough that they begin to fall out of the sky, leaving a void in the cloud layer.'
The 'adiabatic' cooling produced by these pressure and volume changes, UCAR found, effectively drops the supercooled water vapor down another 36 degrees Fahrenheit, creating a spontaneous freeze or 'homogeneous ice nucleation.'
Although these newly formed ice crystals frequently fall, leaving the eerie 'hole punch' effect, sometimes they don't.
'The falling ice crystals are often visible in the center of the holes as wispy trails of precipitation that never reach the ground,' Voiland at NASA noted, 'features called virga.'
Latin for 'rod' or 'branch,' virga is the term meteorologists use to describe the streaks, wisps or tendrils of precipitation that fall from a cloud but evaporate in mid-air before ever reaching the ground.
While these descriptions of the behavior of the supercooled droplets that make up altocumulus clouds may sound exotic, the phenomenon is actually not rare.
At any given time, altocumulus clouds cover about 8 percent of Earth's surface.
The UCAR team's work that finally explained the atmospheric mechanism that produces 'hole punch clouds' combined data from aircraft flights, satellite observations and weather models to develop a robust theory of the process.
As first published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in 2010, UCAR scientists were able to show that the angle at which a plane passed through the altocumulus cloud bank changed the features of the Cavum 'hole punch.'
When planes passed through at a sharp angle, the researchers reported, smaller and more circular Cavum were produced.
But, if the craft punched through the cloud bank at a more gradual and shallow angle, a longer sister phenomenon, called 'canal clouds,' with more lengthy virga trails, were produced instead.
Above, a representative of the NASA Earth Observatory identified key parts of their stunning January 30, 2024 satellite image of the Cavum cloud and its trailing 'Canal cloud'
NASA's Earth Observatory detected both kinds in the unique formation off the coast of the Florida Keys on January 30, 2024.
The space agency labeled both this week, when they posted the satellite photo as their Image of the Day.
But, even with this aerial mystery solved, it's easy for many in the moment to be awed by the unusual voids and arresting blue gaps of a Cavum cloud formation.
BlacktipH, an online saltwater fishing show whose YouTube channel boasts over 1,000,000 subscribers, posted their own complimentary video of the clouds from below as they occurred in the final days of January.
'Has anyone seen clouds like these before? We were fishing off Key West #strange #weather #clouds,' BlacktipH asked on TikTok.
One fan, who goes by Edit Profile, replied: 'I've seen enough Alien invasion movies to know exactly what those are.'
This incredible photograph shows a supernatural-looking sunrise with clusters of purple clouds resembling UFOs floating in the sky.
The stunning purple and orange display was captured by gardener Adrian Sparrowhawk, 50, who said the sky was a 'spooky' sight.
The golden morning light streaked through the dark purple clouds which dappled the sky above Tetbury, Gloucestershire, with six clusters of thicker clouds floating underneath, like flying objects from a sci-fi movie.
Adrian said he stopped to photograph the sunset as he set to work at 6.40am on Monday morning, as he had 'never seen anything like it before'.
He said: 'I just thought I had to capture it, it was absolutely wonderful. I've never seen anything like it. It looked really spooky at that time in the morning.'
He added that he has since been told the cloud formations are known as 'hole-punch clouds'. Also known as a 'fallstreak hole', hole-punch clouds are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below freezing, but the water, in a supercooled state, has not yet frozen.
Experts say that the bizarre shapes are caused by aircraft. They form when part of the cloud layer forms ice crystals which are large enough to fall into water droplets - water below 0°C but not yet frozen.
These water droplets need a tiny particle to freeze or to be cooled below -40 °C. Aircraft punching through this cloud layer can cause air to expand and cool as it passes over the aircraft wings or propeller.
This change in temperature can be enough to encourage the supercooled droplets to freeze and fall from the cloud layer in this distinctive pattern.
Sometimes the holes in fallstreak formations can expand up to 30 miles (50 km) across within an hour of appearing. When ice particles form quickly, it causes a domino effect as the water droplets connect with the crystals.
These get heavier and then start to fall all of a sudden - leaving a large hole in the cloud. The wispy clouds that form in the centre of the hole are the water particles falling.
Passing aircraft are thought to be the reason behind the formation of these clouds, since a drop in pressure caused by their wings or propeller tips cools the air quickly.
Rainbows are sometimes seen with fallstreak clouds, thanks to light refracting off the water droplets.
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows an area close to Mars’ north pole. The image comprises data gathered by Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on April 14, 2023.
Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.
Mars’ permanent north polar ice cap is a stack of water ice and dust layers up to 3 km thick and approximately 1,000 km in diameter.
These are divided into four stacked ‘packets’ of different thicknesses, which in turn are made up of finer layers
These layers contain information about the climate dating back several million years in the history of Mars.
The deposits were formed by atmospheric precipitation of dust and water ice and by direct frost formation.
They consist mainly of water ice, with fine dust sediments making up between 10 and 15% of the total.
They probably reflect changes in the orbit of Mars and the inclination of the planet’s axis of rotation, whose orientation is much more unstable than that of the Earth.
It varies in several cycles with periods ranging from a few thousand to a few million years.
The varying solar radiation results in a strongly varying climate, especially at the poles. It is assumed that the north polar ice cap is currently growing.
“The terrain surrounding Mars’ north pole, known as Planum Boreum, is fascinating,” said members of the Mars Express team.
“The pole itself is covered in layers and layers of fine dust and water ice; these stack several km thick and stretch out for around 1,000 km.”
“While most of this material is not visible here, you can see the beginnings of Planum Boreum to the right of the frame, with some subtle wrinkling showing where layers of material are starting to build up.”
“Ground has also built up more starkly in steps, as is most clearly visible in the topographic view of this region below.”
“The lowest altitude regions are blue/green and the highest are red/white/brown.”
“These layers formed as a mix of dust, water ice and frost settled on the Martian ground over time.”
“Each layer holds valuable information about Mars’ history, telling the story of how the planet’s climate has changed over the past few million years.”
“In Martian winter, the layers are topped by a thin cap of carbon dioxide ice a couple of meters thick. This cap completely disappears to the atmosphere each Martian summer.”
The left part of the image is dominated by a vast, elongated swathe of rippled sand dunes, stretching out for more than 150 km within this frame alone.
This wrinkled, turbulent appearance is highly at odds with the smooth and more pristine terrain visible to the right.
This smooth region lacks clear signs of erosion and has avoided being hit by incoming rocks from space — an indicator that the surface is very young, likely rejuvenating every year.
“Between these two extremes sit two semicircular cliffs, the larger of which is around 20 km wide,” the researchers said.
“Within the curves of these cliffs sit frost-covered sand dunes.”
“The grand scale of the cliffs is clear from the dark shadows they cast on the surface below — their steep, icy walls tower up to a kilometer high.”
“These two cliffs are located at a so-called polar trough, a feature created as wind pushes into and wears away the surface.”
“These show up as rippled ridges in the terrain and are common in this region, creating the distinctive spiral-like pattern of the polar plateau.”
In the realm of the unexplained and the mysterious, the subject of alien activity has long fascinated and perplexed humanity. For years, whispers and rumors have suggested that physical evidence of extraterrestrial encounters exists, hidden away from public scrutiny. This evidence, if brought to light, could revolutionize our understanding of the universe and our place within it.
The Roswell Enigma and Beyond
One of the most iconic incidents in the annals of UFO lore is the Roswell incident of 1947. Initially reported as a recovered “flying disc,” the military’s subsequent retraction and declaration of a weather balloon did little to quell the storm of speculation. This event marked the beginning of a series of claims regarding the recovery of extraterrestrial technology and encounters with unknown entities. Such incidents have fueled ongoing debates about the existence of secret research programs and the possibility of reverse-engineered alien technology.
The Mystery of Area 51
Area 51, a name synonymous with secrecy and conspiracy, stands as a testament to the enduring intrigue surrounding alien activity. Rumored to be a site for the examination of extraterrestrial artifacts and possibly even non-human beings, this highly classified Air Force facility epitomizes the intersection of fact and fiction. The lore surrounding Area 51 underscores the public’s hunger for answers about what the government may be hiding.
Wright Patterson Air Force Base: A Repository of Secrets?
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, with its legendary Hangar 18, is another focal point for speculation. Alleged to be the final resting place for remnants of the Roswell incident and other extraterrestrial recoveries, the base is enveloped in tales of advanced technology and alien biology. These stories persist, fueled by the government’s opaque stance on UFO investigations and the cloak of secrecy surrounding military research.
The Call for Transparency
Amidst these tales and theories lies a growing demand for transparency. The recent acknowledgment by officials of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) has reignited calls for the declassification of information relating to extraterrestrial encounters. Advocates argue that understanding these phenomena is crucial for national security and scientific advancement.
The Vatican and Extraterrestrial Life
Even the Vatican has been drawn into discussions about extraterrestrial life, highlighting the profound implications such discoveries could have on theology and human belief systems. The possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth challenges our most fundamental understandings of existence and our place in the cosmos.
A New Era of Disclosure?
The landscape of alien disclosure is changing. With former intelligence officers and government officials hinting at the existence of non-human biologics and advanced technologies, the once-firm line between science fiction and science fact is blurring. As the public’s appetite for knowledge grows, the question remains: will the future bring a new era of openness, or will the shadows continue to hold their secrets?
VIDEO:
Alien Activity – Physical Evidence Hidden For Years | Alien Disclosure Files 2024 | S1E11
In conclusion, the quest for evidence of alien activity transcends mere curiosity; it touches on the very essence of human inquiry. Whether through hidden artifacts or whispered accounts, the pursuit of truth remains a driving force in our collective imagination. As we stand on the brink of potential disclosures, the mysteries of the universe beckon with the promise of revelations yet to come.
Amerikaanse maanlander Odysseus stuurt (wellicht) laatste foto vanop de maan:
Amerikaanse maanlander Odysseus stuurt (wellicht) laatste foto vanop de maan: "Slaap zacht, Odie"
Artikel door Wim De Maeseneer
"Slaap zacht, Odie. We hopen nog van je te horen." Op het socialemediakanaal X heeft het Amerikaanse bedrijf Intuitive Machines de (wellicht) laatste foto gepost die zijn maanlander Odysseus heeft kunnen maken vanop de maan.
"Voor de stroom helemaal leeg was, kon Odysseus nog een passend afscheid verzenden", schrijft het bedrijf bij de foto. "Deze foto, van 22 februari (de dag van de landing, red.), die we vandaag hebben ontvangen, is een subtiele herinnering aan de aanwezigheid van de mensheid in het heelal."
Intussen is de nacht aangebroken op de maan en krijgen de zonnepalen geen stroom meer. De kans dat het ruimtetuig na de lange maannacht, die 14 dagen duurt, opnieuw ontwaakt, is klein. Het ruimtetuig is niet ontworpen om de extreem ijskoude temperaturen te overleven. Op de zuidpool van de maan kan het tot min 230 graden Celsius worden.
Maar het is ook niet helemaal uitgesloten. De Japanse maanlander, die op 19 januari op het maanoppervlak landde, heeft zijn eerste maannacht verrassend genoeg wel overleefd. Met dat verschil dat het Japanse ruimtetuig dichter bij de evenaar geland is, waar het 's nachts zo'n 100 graden minder koud wordt.
Intuitive Machines hoopt in elk geval dat Odysseus over 3 weken, wanneer de zon hoog genoeg staat, opnieuw zal ontwaken. Het bedrijf heeft gisteren nog software in de maanlander kunnen programmeren, zodat hij zelf een teken geeft wanneer hij terug ontwaakt.
Gebroken landingspoot
Odysseus zal de geschiedenis ingaan als de eerste maanlander van een privébedrijf die erin geslaagd is om te landen op de maan. De eerdere pogingen van andere bedrijven waren telkens mislukt. Het is ook de eerste Amerikaanse maanlanding in meer dan 50 jaar.
De landing zelf liep nochtans niet van een leien dakje. Enkele uren voor de afdaling ontdekte het team dat er iets fout was met de hoogte- en snelheidsmeters.
Er werd een oplossing gevonden, waardoor de maanlander uiteindelijk toch zacht kon landen, maar niet helemaal zoals gehoopt. Het toestel kwam harder neer dan gepland en 1 van de landingspoten brak af, waardoor Odysseus op zijn zij kantelde.
Eerst werd gedacht dat de missie daardoor enkele dagen minder lang zou duren. Uiteindelijk heeft Odysseus het toch uitgehouden tot de laatste zonnestralen op de zonnepanelen vielen.
Op deze foto is te zien hoe één van de landingspoten afbreekt tijdens de landing op het maanoppervlak
Intuitive Machines is 1 van de bedrijven die in opdracht van de Amerikaanse ruimtevaartorganisatie NASA meewerkt aan het uiteindelijke doel om opnieuw astronauten op de maan te zetten. Het bedrijf sloot in 2019 een contract om voor 118 miljoen dollar (ruim 108 miljoen euro) een maanlander te bouwen en 6 NASA-experimenten mee naar de maan te vervoeren.
Alle 6 de instrumenten hebben intussen ook wetenschappelijke gegevens kunnen verzamelen en verzenden. NASA spreekt daarom van een geslaagde missie.
Tijdens de vlucht naar de maan is ook voor de eerste keer met succes een raketmotor op vloeibare methaan en zuurstof ontstoken in de ruimte. Dat is ook de technologie in de motoren van de (voorlopig nog experimentele) Starship-raket die SpaceX naar de maan én naar Mars hoopt te sturen.
Methaan past in de langetermijnstrategie om ooit mensen naar Mars te brengen, omdat er methaan kan worden aangemaakt op de rode planeet. Op die manier zouden astronauten op Mars zelf hun brandstof kunnen maken om terug naar de aarde te vliegen.
Soldiers in Ukraine recently captured a disc-shaped UFO on video hovering in the sky, leaving them completely perplexed as to what they had just witnessed.
While doing some a reconnaissance with one of their thermal imaging quadcopter drones, the soldiers of the 406th Battalion in the Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) spotted something they didn’t recognize.
“What the f— is this? Why isn’t it moving?” one of the soldiers can be heard saying in Ukrainian.
In 2022, astronomers in Ukraine reported seeing dozens of “phantom” UFOs that they claimed “cannot be scientifically identified.” Was this one of those?
“I’m telling you, it’s a UFO, for sure,” a soldier can be heard saying. “It’s standing still. Zoom in more, it’s standing still. Do you see?”
“Can’t see anything on the thermal cameras. Maybe ram it?”
Based on the thermal-imaging drone’s temperature range, the UFO was warmer than its surroundings (“black hot”), although a red “error message” on the drone’s control interface leaves key details unresolved, as experts toldDailyMail.com.
Viewers of the video have speculated that the mysterious UFO could be anything from the “Baghdad Phantom” to Fata Morgana (a complex form of superior mirage which significantly distorts the object or objects on which they are based).
Strange UFOs have been seen witnessed all over the region around Russia and Ukraine over the past year.
Last January, Russia claimed local military forces shot down another mysterious UFO over the village of Sultan Sala in the Myasnikovsky district. A Telegram channel even published a video showing a shiny object flying in the sky then exploding in the sky.
A NASA satellite recently spotted a series of bizarre "fallstreak holes" in clouds above Florida. The circular cloud gaps have been previously (and incorrectly) linked to paranormal phenomena.
The strange, circular holeswere captured by NASA's Terra satellite above the Gulf of Mexico on Jan. 30.
(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison/MODIS)
A cluster of eerily circular holes recently appeared in the clouds above Florida, a stunning new NASA image shows. The rare occurrence, which has previously (and incorrectly) been linked to UFOs, has a surprisingly simple explanation — but it took scientists more than 60 years to figure it out.
NASA's Terra satellite photographed the bizarre voids, known as fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds, above the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's west coast on Jan. 30. NASA's Earth Observatory revealed the striking image on Feb. 26.
Unusual, circular holes like these ones first began to appear in the 1940s, sparking wild theories that they were the result of UFOs, according to the Earth Observatory. However, they are actually created by airplanes flying through the clouds.
There are two types of clouds in the new photos: cavum clouds, which are large, circular holes; and canal clouds, which have a more oblong shape. Both types most commonly occur in altocumulus clouds — supercooled bands of water vapor that float in the sky between 7,000 and 18,000 feet (2,100 and 5,500 meters) above the surface, much higher than most rain clouds.
Altocumulus clouds can be as cold as around 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius) without their water droplets freezing. This is because there are fewer small particles, such as dust and pollen, at that altitude, which are needed for ice crystals to form in the air.
However, when air moves around the wings or past the propellers of airplanes, it can further cool the surrounding water vapor by as much as 36 F (20 C). At these extremely low temperatures, the droplets freeze even without particles to form around and begin to fall below the holes, creating wispy strands of cloud, known as virga.
These wispy clouds often hang below the holes they fell from and can be seen at the heart of the misty voids when viewed from above.
From below, fallstreak holes can look especially strange. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The holes in the new image were all created by planes taking off from Miami International Airport, according to the Earth Observatory.
Cavum and canal clouds can also form naturally when specific regions of the atmosphere cool down, but this is rare.
Scientists only discovered what was causing the more frequent artificially created holes within the last 15 years. In a 2011 study, researchers used satellite images and flight data to prove that planes were responsible.
Cavum clouds (circled in red) and canal clouds (circled in yellow) are both caused by airplanes ascending or descending through the clouds. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison/MODIS)
The study also showed that the angle at which planes rise and descend through the clouds affects which type of hole will appear: A steep angle will create the more circular cavum clouds, while a more shallow angle will create stretched canal clouds.
Cavum and canal clouds normally last around one hour before they close up, but their lifespan can be impacted by other factors such as temperature, cloud density and wind speeds, the study found.
The holes pose no threat to people on the ground but they can slightly increase the amount of precipitation that occurs in the areas surrounding airports, the study showed.
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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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