David Bowie was right - there are spiders on Mars! European Space Agency's spacecrafts snap mysterious arachnid shapes on the Red Planet 

• Although not actual spiders, 'araneiforms' are dark cracks in the Martian soil
• READ MORE: Mars has two miles of water buried at its equator, experts say

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE 

David Bowie famously christened his backing band 'The Spiders from Mars' in the early 1970s.

But the rock legend surely had no idea that this describes a real phenomenon on our neighbouring red planet. 

Although not actual spiders, 'araneiforms' are dark cracks in the Martian soil, completely different to anything on Earth. 

Clustered around Mars' south pole, they're known as 'spiders from Mars' because they have a distinctive arachnid-like shape.  

New images from two European Space Agency probes – the Mars Express and the Trace Gas Orbiter – show the curious formations in incredible detail. 

In this new Mars Express image, small, dark features known as 'spiders' can be seen on the surface. These form as carbon dioxide gas warms up in sunlight and breaks through slabs of overlying ice

A slice of the Martian surface is shown here, captured by ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. A rounded segment of an eroded crater basin is visible to the right. Note the numerous dark spots with tendrils that are eerily reminiscent of spiders. These are visible in large numbers to the left, and scattered irregularly across the rest of the image

The scientific name for these features – 'araneiforms' – literally means 'shaped like a spider' in Latin. 

They form when spring sunshine falls on layers of frozen carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet's surface. 

The sunlight causes CO2 ice at the bottom of the solid layer to turn into gas, which subsequently builds up and bursts upwards through slabs of overlying ice. 

The emerging jets of gas, laden with dark dust, shatters through layers of ice up to three feet (one metre) thick before falling back down and settling on the surface. 

This creates characteristic 'spider-shaped' dark spots of between 150 feet and 3,000 feet across that can be seen in space probe images. 

'The carbon dioxide jet process that forms 'spiders' is a completely un-Earthly phenomenon,' said Dr Meg Schwamb, astronomer at Queen's University Belfast.

'The jet process is linked to the Martian seasons and is returning carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.' 

'By studying these spiders and jets we're learning more about how Mars differs from Earth.' 

According to Dr Schwamb, the only other body suspected of having these jets is Neptune's moon Triton, which is known to be geologically active. 

David Bowie played with his backing band the Spiders from Mars during the Ziggy Stardust era (1972). The singer recruited the band but named them after a line in his song 'Ziggy Stardust'

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, with a 'near-dead' dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. This image of the planet was acquired using the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, November 10, 2023

READ MORE: 

• Mars has 'two miles of WATER at its equator'

Fresh data from Mars Express reveals identity of mysterious subsurface deposits 

Araneiforms were first observed more than 20 years ago, but it was only in 2021 that astronomers proved how exactly they form.

The researchers at Trinity College Dublin recreated the Martian process in the lab by lowering and lifting blocks of frozen CO2 onto beds of gravel. 

Experiments showed that the spider patterns are carved by the direct conversion of dry ice from solid to gas, known as 'sublimation'.  

Such a process occurs on Mars because the planet has an atmosphere comprised mostly of CO2 – around 95 per cent. 

On Earth, meanwhile, only about 0.04 per cent of the atmosphere is CO2; instead the majority is made up of nitrogen (78 per cent) and oxygen (20 per cent). 

According to the ESA, araneiforms are especially clustered at the outskirts of a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City. 

More formally known as Angustus Labyrinthus, Inca City was discovered in 1972 by NASA's Mariner 9 probe – the same year Bowie and the Spiders from Mars released their landmark album. 

Mars is shown here in tones of brown and tan. To the left, two key features can be seen - a raised network of linear, grid-like ridges and walls known as Inca City, and a scattering of dark spots that indicate the presence of features known as 'spiders'

David Bowie performs with The Spiders From Mars on the first night of the Ziggy Stardust Tour at Borough Assembly Hall in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire on January 29, 1972. From left, Trevor Bolder, David Bowie, Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey and Mick Ronson

Bowie recruited the band but gave them a new name, taken from a line in his song 'Ziggy Stardust' which features on the album. 

As araneiforms were not known about 50 years ago, Bowie actually took inspiration from another source – a UFO sighting in October 1954. 

An Italian stadium crowd thought they had witnessed Martian spacecraft that cast off a thin filament material – hypothesised to be webs from migrating spiders. 

Meanwhile, title of one of Bowie's most famous hits – 'Life on Mars' from 1971 – was allegedly inspired by intense media coverage of the race to reach the planet between the US and the Soviet Union. 

As for whether there's life on Mars, scientists generally think the answer is likely no largely because of its lack of atmosphere and freezing temperatures. 

The possibility that there was life on Mars is more promising, as it's thought the planet was once covered with a lush liquid ocean. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

25-04-2024 om 23:48 geschreven door peter  

• A woman claimed she saw a 'flying cylinder' in the skies over New York City
•  Michelle Reyes was flying in a passenger plane when she spotted the object
• READ MORE:  UFO spotted shooting  over Texas during the solar eclipse

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A woman has claimed that she witnessed a possible UFO while flying in a passenger airplane over New York City.

Michelle Reyes shared the video online, which she capture from the window seat, showing a 'flying cylinder' whizz by as she traveled over LaGuardia Airport.

She told NewsNation that she observed the black object moving at high speeds - much faster than the airplane - and that another passenger had also witnessed it.

A UFO expert analyzed the clip, determining no evidence that the video was fake or a hoax - but some have suggested the object was a drone. 

Michelle Reyes spoke NewsMax 's Ashleigh Banfield about the mysterious object she spotted while flying over New York City

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'The first thing I did was email the FAA to let them know what I saw,' Reyes told NewsMax's Ashleigh Banfield, noting she has yet to receive a response.

She also sent the footage to Enigma Labs and the National UFO database.

Reyes also shared the clip with her father, a former member of the US Navy, who speculated the object could be a drone - but he said the close proximity to the airplane was very surprising.

Ben Hansen, who hosts Discovery's UFO Witness, appeared on NewsNation to weigh in on what could have been captured in the video.

'I found no evidence that she faked this or hoaxed it,' said Hansen.

'I didn't from the beginning, but we had to run it through the proper data analysis.

She told NewsNation that she observed the black object moving at high speeds - much faster than the airplane - and that another passenger had also witnessed it

'It's there, it's very clear, which is unusual.'

He continued to suggest that the object was not that far from the airplane.

Viewers of the video had suggested it was nothing more than an insect caught on camera, but Hansen noted that the airplane had to be flying at more than 200 miles per hour because it had recently taken off from the airport.

'It passes at a seventh of a second and is present in five frames of the video,' he explained.

Reyes also told NewsNation that another passenger had also noticed the object.

'It's a little nerve-wracking that someone else saw what I saw,' she said. 

Reyes had shared the video on her social media last month, but it appeared to have been 'stolen' and reposted by others as if they were her friend.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

25-04-2024 om 23:32 geschreven door peter  

UFO-spotting Las Vegas teen traumatized by eight-foot-tall 'demon creature' he claims he saw in his backyard

• Angel Kenmore, 17, spoke out about the mysterious encounter on April 30, 2023
• The Las Vegas teenager said he has since been traumatized and paranoid 
• Kenmore and his family have stood by their account despite numerous threats

By DOLORES CHANG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A Las Vegas teenager who claimed to have witnessed an 'eight-foot-tall demon creature with big shiny eyes' in his backyard last year said he was traumatized by the close encounter.

Angel Kenmore, 17, spoke out about the mysterious incident that he says took place on April 30, 2023, offering additional details about the 'giant creature' that he believes may have been a 'demon.'

Kenmore described the experience as 'traumatizing,' and he has since been plagued by paranoia, struggling to make sense of what he saw and constantly replaying the eerie encounter in his mind

'We were in the backyard, and then, out of nowhere, we just saw a big light fall down,' he said in an interview with NewsNation.

'[It] basically crashed in the backyard. And a couple of seconds later, I saw the big giant creature in front of me,' he added.

The frightening encounter with the 'non-human being' prompted Kenmore to call 911. Bodycam footage shows a strange blue ball of light flashing across the sky at about 11:50 pm on April 30 

The frightening encounter with the 'non-human being' prompted Kenmore to call 911, and officers with the Metro Las Vegas Police Department were dispatched. 

Bodycam footage shows a strange blue ball of light flashing across the sky at about 11:50 pm on April 30. 

Approximately 39 minutes after the first call, another resident dialed 911, saying that there were two unknown entities in his backyard after he saw an object fall from the sky.

In the latest interview, Kenmore said he remembered the creature was growling in his backyard, 'like a dog.' 

'It was moving and breathing. It was pissed off, like it wanted to do something looking at me.' Kenmore said. 

At the moment, he felt the supernatural being had control over his body, as he said, 'I couldn't move.'

Despite facing numerous threats and questionings, Kenmore and his family have remained steadfast in their account of the experience from last year. 

'They can think whatever they want. If I was doing it for fame, I would be on YouTube, making videos.' 

'I made no money off this. I don't need money. It was a really bad and traumatizing experience.' 

In a YouTube video posted last year, Kenmore presented details about the alleged 'UFO crash' and the creatures that he called '100 percent not human.' 

'I hear something fall from the sky. I turn around. The only thing I see is a big light falling from the sky, and moments later I feel a big impact and a bang,' he said.  

In his video, Kenmore also revealed new ring camera footage, allegedly from a neighbors security camera, which clearly shows a bright light with the sound of a massive bang.

Kenmore described the experience as 'traumatizing,' and he has since been plagued by paranoia, struggling to make sense of what he saw and constantly replaying the eerie encounter in his mind

Officers with the Metro Las Vegas Police Department were dispatched to Kenmore's backyard

In a YouTube video posted last year, Kenmore presented details about the alleged ' UFO crash' and the creatures that he called '100 percent not human' 

'When that happened, the only thing I can see in the backyard is a tall creature. Probably around eight, ten feet tall. Very thin,' he further added.

'So, I call my dad. He went to backyard, and he saw the same creature I saw. He told me to go inside the house. At this point, we're all freaking out me and my family.'

Kenmore described the figure he supposedly saw as a 'tall, skinny, lengthy creature, and greyish green in color.'

'When I looked at it in the eyes, my body just froze. like the same experience of having sleep paralysis.' 

'I'm staring at him and I'm looking at his whole body and he has weird looking feet and a big face and eyes and you could see a big mouth,' he added.

'I could hear his loud deep breathing and I could see his stomach moving. He would just stare at me, seconds later I could start moving again. That's when I called 911,' he said, before playing the previously shared police call.

His video, posted June 8, has already reached nearly a million views and more than 10,000 comments - with many skeptical of his story, while other thanking him for sharing the experience. 

The clip, called 'I had aliens in my backyard part 1' is the first video on his YouTube account 'Angle las vegas.'

While he hasn't yet shared a part two, in a short video posted last month, Kenmore said that he would be revealing more about 'the crazy experience' in his backyard. 

With two nearby Air Force Bases - Creech and Nellis - there is a theory that a piece of aircraft may be behind the crash. 

An 8 News NOW report which originally broke the story, shared the theory but the Air Forces Bases have denied being involved. 

The report also mentions a possible equipment malfunction, which the government collects.   

Another theory suggests that a meteor may have caused the streak in the night sky, with the American Meteor Society confirming 21 reported sightings of it stretching across California, Nevada, and Utah. 

'We're certain it was a meteor because of the duration of the event,' said Robert Lunsford, of the American Meteor Society. 

'Most everybody reported it lasted between two and five seconds, and that's much too fast to be a reentering satellite or a rocket,' he added.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

25-04-2024 om 23:10 geschreven door peter  

Mars Express Spots ‘Spiders’ at Outskirts of Martian ‘Inca City’

ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft have spotted the telltale traces of ‘spiders’ scattered across the southern polar region of Mars.

This image of the Martian Inca City was captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera onboard ESA’s Mars Express orbiter on February 27, 2024.

Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

“Rather than being actual spiders, the Martian ‘spiders’ form when spring sunshine falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited over the dark winter months,” members of the Mars Express team said.

“The sunlight causes carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the layer to turn into gas, which subsequently builds up and breaks through slabs of overlying ice.”

“The gas bursts free in Martian springtime, dragging dark material up to the surface as it goes and shattering layers of ice up to a meter thick.”

“The emerging gas, laden with dark dust, shoots up through cracks in the ice in the form of tall fountains or geysers, before falling back down and settling on the surface.”

This creates dark spots of between 45 m and 1 km (148-3,280 feet) across.

This same process creates characteristic ‘spider-shaped’ patterns etched beneath the ice — and so these dark spots are a telltale sign that spiders may be lurking below.

“The dark spots can be seen all over the Mars Express image. However, most can be seen as small spots in the dark region to the left, which sits just at the outskirts of a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City,” the researchers said.

“The reason for this name is no mystery, with the linear, almost geometric network of ridges being reminiscent of Inca ruins.”

More formally known as Angustus Labyrinthus, Inca City was discovered in 1972 by NASA’s Mariner 9 probe.

“We’re still not sure exactly how Inca City formed. It could be that sand dunes have turned to stone over time,” the scientists said.

“Perhaps material such as magma or sand is seeping through fractured sheets of Martian rock. Or, the ridges could be ‘eskers,’ winding structures related to glaciers.”

“The ‘walls’ of Inca City appear to trace part of a large circle, 86 km (53.5 miles) in diameter.”

The researchers suspect that Inca City sits within a large crater that itself formed as a rock from space crashed into the planet’s surface.

“This impact likely caused faults to ripple through the surrounding plain, which were then filled with rising lava and have since worn away over time,” they said.

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

25-04-2024 om 22:54 geschreven door peter  

UFO historian Michael Schratt joins Richard during the second half of this special episode, which was sparked by a powerful statement from Christopher Mellon on April 22. 

On his substack page, Mellon shared a redacted and annotated screenshot of an exchange he had on Signal with a senior government official from around 2020. This official discussed access to a U.S. alien technology recovery and exploitation program. 

The official also mentioned that progress was being made in accessing a classified program related to a UAP that landed in Kingman, Arizona, in the 1950s. In addition, he referred to the program's management, security controls, and the recovery process for landed or crashed UAPs. 

Finally, he mentioned a classified memo from the 1950s by a Secretary of the USAF as as still being in effect to maintain secrecy this matter. All of this is new information. Most importantly, it is supported by longstanding UFO research into the matter, an abundance of which is provided by Michael Schratt. 

We are talking about the 1953 UFO Kingman incident. 

The UFO flew through an experimental high powered radar range, and was forced to land South of Kingman. This craft was in perfect condition. 

A group of 40 people (15 specialists and 25 scientists) boarded a General Motors Model 3301 bus (with blackout windows) in Phoenix, and made a four hour trip to the site where the craft had come down. 

After arriving at the site the bus parked approximately 50 feet from the object, the team members were told that they were here to examine a secret Air Force vehicle that had come down. 

Not one but three UFOs came down at the same time. 

Over the course of a decade-long investigation, Historian and researcher Harry Drew meticulously sifting through archival materials, newspapers, and records, came to the conclusion that actually three unidentified crafts crashed near Kingman. 

One craft met its demise upon crashing into the mountainside near Kingman, igniting a fierce blaze. Another was discovered fully intact amidst the desert terrain, while the third craft endured a turbulent landing, scraping against rocky terrain before coming to rest near a small reservoir. 

Military personnel swiftly secured the crash sites, guarding them until a specialized recovery team could transport the unidentified crafts to a Nevada base. 

Drew asserts that his research not only illuminates the details of the crashes themselves but also unveils the covert operations involved in transporting the crafts to Nevada. The preservation of one of the machines, largely intact, offering a tantalizing glimpse into alien technology.

  

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

25-04-2024 om 22:33 geschreven door peter  

In the vast and vibrant landscapes of Brazil, where the lush Amazon meets bustling metropolises, lies a narrative not just of natural wonders but of cosmic intrigue. Over the decades, Brazil has emerged as a fascinating chapter in the global anthology of UFO sightings, distinguishing itself with an official stance that marries curiosity with transparency. This tale is not merely about unidentified flying objects in the conventional sense but a profound journey into how a nation confronts the unknown.

A Night to Remember: The Official Night of the UFOs

The saga of UFOs in Brazil reached its zenith on a memorable night in May 1986, an event that would etch itself into the annals of ufology as “The Official Night of the UFOs.” On this extraordinary evening, the Brazilian Air Force found itself in an unprecedented pursuit of 21 unidentified flying objects. These were not fleeting shadows in the night sky but luminous entities, witnessed by hundreds across four states, their presence affirmed by both eye and radar

The response was swift and decisive. Lieutenant General Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima, then head of the Brazilian Air Force, mobilized five fighter jets in a daring attempt to intercept the mysterious visitors. Despite their efforts, the luminous objects eluded capture, demonstrating maneuvers and speeds beyond human comprehension. This event alone could fuel countless tales, but it was Brazil’s response that truly set it apart.

Transparency and Investigation: A Public Archive

In an era where UFO sightings are often shrouded in secrecy, Brazil took a path less traveled. The nation not only acknowledged these encounters but promised a detailed investigation. This commitment materialized in the form of a comprehensive report, eventually made accessible to all through the National Archives of Brazil. Herein lies the heart of Brazil’s unique approach: transparency. The archives, a repository of over 20,000 pages spanning reports, drawings, and even audio recordings from 1952 to 2016, stand as a testament to Brazil’s open-minded investigation into the 743 incidents recorded by its military.

SIOANI: Systematic Monitoring of the Unexplained

Amidst the backdrop of the Cold War and national curiosity, Brazil established the Unidentified Aerial Object Investigation System (SIOANI), under the leadership of Commander Gilberto Zani de Mello. From 1969 to 1972, this unit embarked on a systematic quest to understand the unexplained. Through interviews, sketches, and bulletins, SIOANI epitomized an organized approach to UFO phenomena, a rare endeavor within the military frameworks of the time.

Cultural Context and Global Recognition

Brazil’s engagement with the unexplained is not merely a governmental or military venture but deeply interwoven with the cultural fabric of the nation. A country where spirituality and the supernatural find a harmonious existence, Brazil’s open-mindedness towards UFOs mirrors its broader acceptance of the unknown and the unexplainable. This cultural backdrop, coupled with official endeavors like SIOANI and the public archives, positions Brazil as a pioneer in the global dialogue on UFOs.

In recent years, the conversation around UFOs has gained momentum, with entities like NASA adopting methodologies to study unidentified anomalous phenomena. Brazil’s historical and ongoing efforts in this realm, underscored by its policy of transparency, offer valuable insights and set a precedent for global approaches to these mysteries.

Looking Up and Beyond

Brazil’s story in the context of UFO sightings is more than a series of isolated incidents; it’s a narrative about how a nation confronts the unknown with an open heart and mind. The Official Night of the UFOs, the establishment of SIOANI, and the accessibility of comprehensive archives illustrate a journey of curiosity, skepticism, and openness. As the world continues to look up at the skies with wonder and intrigue, Brazil’s bold approach to UFO sightings stands as a beacon of transparency, urging us to explore the unexplained with courage and openness.

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

25-04-2024 om 21:54 geschreven door peter  

De mysterieuze stad die wetenschappers al jaren verbijstert

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De mysterieuze stad die wetenschappers al jaren verbijstert

In een afgelegen gebied van de westelijke Stille Oceaan ligt een verbluffend en spookachtig onopgelost mysterie: de ruïnes van de oude stad Nan Madol. Gelegen naast de oostelijke oever van het Micronesische eiland Pohnpei, bestaat deze ooit zo grote, prehistorische stad uit bijna 100 geometrisch gevormde kunstmatige stenen eilanden, en het is de enige oude stad die bovenop een koraalrif is gebouwd.

Niemand is zeker van de oorsprong, noch waarom iemand een stad zou willen bouwen op deze desolate plek. Rond de ruïnes hangt een zweem van mysterie, legendes en spookverhalen. Klik verder en ontdek deze vreemde

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Het Venetië van de Stille Oceaan
De ruïne bestaat uit 92 kunstmatige eilandjes gebouwd bovenop koraalriffen, die verbonden zijn door een netwerk van kanalen, waardoor het de bijnaam 'Venetië van de Stille Oceaan' heeft gekregen.

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De betekenis van de echte naam
'Nan Madol' betekent 'de ruimte ertussen', wat verwijst naar de kanalen. Echter doet het ook een beroep op de geschiedenis van de stad en de reputatie van het huisvesten van geesten.

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De hamvraag
Waarom zou iemand een stad bouwen in het midden van de oceaan, zo ver weg van een andere bekende beschaving?

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Een ding is zeker
Het is een technisch wonder, volledig gebouwd van gigantische basaltplaten in een tijd waarin gereedschappen zoals we die kennen, nog niet bestonden.

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Indrukwekkende schaal
De massieve basaltmuren zijn naar verluidt op sommige plaatsen 7,6 meter lang en 5 meter dik.

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Megalithische architectuur
Koolstofdatering geeft aan dat sommige van de structuren ongeveer 900 jaar oud zijn, maar de eilandjes zelf dateren nog verder terug: naar de 8e en 9e eeuw n.Chr.

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Mensen waren daar al eerder
Bewijs van de vroegste menselijke activiteit dateert volgens Atlas Obscura uit de eerste of tweede eeuw voor Christus. Er is weinig bekend over het oude ras dat het gebied bewoonde.

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Waar komt al dat basalt vandaan?
De basaltstenen zijn naar verluidt afkomstig van de andere kant van Pohnpei, van een vulkanische plug waar magma was uitgehard in de opening van een actieve vulkaan.

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Hoe werd het vervoerd?
Moderne archeologen hebben geen idee hoe de massieve stenen van de ene kant van Pohnpei naar de andere zijn verplaatst en vervolgens zo hoog zijn gestapeld, gezien de primitieve technologie die destijds beschikbaar zou zijn geweest.

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Het wedijvert met het werk van de piramides
De inspanning die nodig was om de megalithische structuren te bouwen, zou die van de Egyptische piramides hebben geëvenaard, aangezien de rotsen een geschat totaal gewicht hadden van 750.000 ton.

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Theorieën over transport
Experts hebben gesuggereerd dat vlotten kunnen zijn gebruikt om de enorme rotsen naar het rif te transporteren, maar hoe ze oorspronkelijk uit hun verre steengroeven werden getakeld of hoe ze tot die indrukwekkende structuren zijn gemaakt blijft tot op de dag van vandaag onduidelijk

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De locatie alleen al is verbijsterend
Waarom zou iemand een locatie zo ver van de bewoonde wereld kiezen, ergens op een koraalrif, om al die gigantische rotsen naar toe te slepen?

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De vreemde eilandjes
De 92 eilandjes lijken erg op elkaar en zijn geometrisch gevormd, maar niemand weet waarom

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Mythologie komt om de hoek kijken
Mythe vult de kloof, waar de wetenschap geen antwoord op weet. De Pohnpeiaanse legende zegt dat de stad werd gebouwd door twee tovenaarsbroers, Olisihpa en Olosohpa.

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Een plek voor aanbidding
De broers wilden een plek om een altaar te bouwen zodat ze Nahnisohn Sahpw, de god van de landbouw, konden aanbidden, wat enigszins ironisch is omdat de eilanden niet geschikt zijn voor landbouw.

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Hoe hebben ze de stenen verplaatst?
De legende zegt dat de broers rituelen uitvoerden en de hulp van een vliegende draak gebruikten om het massieve basalt te vervoeren, om daarmee de eilandjes van Nan Madol te creëren.

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Natuurlijk waren zij de heersers van de stad
Olosohpa werd uiteindelijk de eerste Saudeleur en markeerde het begin van een dynastie die tot ongeveer 1628 over Nan Madol regeerde.

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Tovenarij
De meeste inwoners van Pohnpei geloven naar verluidt nog steeds dat de oude stad het werk van tovenarij was, aangezien er geen andere levensvatbare theorie is opgedoken voor hoe mensen 750.000 ton basalt hebben verplaatst.

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Een heilige plek
Hoe het ook is ontstaan, het wordt erkend als een heilige plaats gesticht door de Saudeleur-dynastie, die ooit werd bevolkt door stamhoofden en priesters, evenals gewone mensen om hen te dienen. Afgebeeld is het graf van de Saudeleur-dynastie.

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Politieke zetel van macht
De Saudeleur-heersers gaven lokale stamhoofden het mandaat om in Nan Madol te verblijven, zodat ze hun activiteiten konden volgen en de controle konden behouden.

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Verschillende toepassingen voor de eilandjes
Hoewel de meeste eilandjes woonwijken waren, waren sommige speciaal gewijd aan voedselbereiding, kokosolieproductie of kanobouw.

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Het had een vrij aanzienlijke populatie
Er wordt geschat dat de bevolking van Nan Madol meer dan 1.000 bedroeg in een tijd dat de hele bevolking van Pohnpei amper 25.000 bereikte.

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Geen eten of water
De onderworpen inwoners moesten voedsel en water naar de stad brengen, omdat er geen middelen waren om gewassen te verbouwen of zoet water op het rif op te slaan.

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Een logistiek probleem om te overleven
Dit probleem heeft mogelijk geleid tot het verlaten van deze indrukwekkende stad.

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Verschillende verhalen over hoe het eindigde
Er zijn veel verhalen over hoe het bewind van Saudeleur eindigde, maar ze schrijven het allemaal toe aan de legendarische krijger Isokelekel in de 15e eeuw, die naar verluidt een nieuw systeem van stamhoofddom implementeerde.

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Het wordt soms 'de spookstad' genoemd
Het mysterie van de oorsprong en het doel van de oude stad heeft natuurlijk heel wat legendes geïnspireerd over geesten. Sommigen zijn bang om te bezoeken, terwijl anderen juist voor de paranormale ervaring gaan.

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Geïnspireerde HP Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was een beroemde Amerikaanse schrijver wiens fictieve verzonken stad R'lyeh, te zien in zijn Cthulhu-mythos, blijkbaar was geïnspireerd door Nan Madol.

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'Roep van Cthulhu'
Zijn korte verhaal vermeldt het echte eiland Pohnpei en gebruikt de mythologie van Nan Madol in zijn beschrijving van 'De nachtmerrieachtige lijkstad van R'lyeh', die 'in onmetelijke eeuwen achter de geschiedenis werd gebouwd'.

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Het wordt nog maar net als 'beschermd gebied' behandeld
In 2016 werd Nan Madol toegevoegd aan de lijst van UNESCO-werelderfgoederen.

©Shutterstock

Maar het wordt ook bedreigd
De ruïnes worden bedreigd door klimaatverandering, stijgende zeespiegels, oprukkende mangroven en het temperamentvolle weer in de Stille Oceaan, waardoor het ook een plaats krijgt op de Werelderfgoedlijst van bedreigde plekken.

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25-04-2024 om 21:39 geschreven door peter  

Watch 4 solar flares erupt from the sun at nearly the same time in extremely rare event 

25-04-2024 om 00:30 geschreven door peter  

US Congressman Says Revealing UFO Technology Is a Threat to Energy Sector: It Can Disrupt World Economy

A thought-provoking interview has recently been conducted between Project Unity host Jay Anderson and the U.S. Congressman Andy Ogles. The discussion focused on the implications of complete UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) disclosure. Anderson asked serious questions to Rep. Ogles about UFOs, revealing that the release of extraterrestrial technology could potentially disrupt the world economy and energy sector.

Rep. Andy Ogles spoke about the difficulty in gathering information due to the compartmentalization of special access projects, emphasizing the need for a methodical and persistent approach to uncover the truth. In the interview, he expressed his concern about UAPs operating in both military and commercial airspace, raising questions about the potential national security threats. He said, “I’m not going to assume I know what it may or may not be. What I do know is there’s a national security issue here.”

He considers various possibilities, including the involvement of experimental aircraft, joint ventures, or foreign adversaries. He emphasizes the importance of avoiding predetermined conclusions and encourages an open-minded investigation to determine the true nature of the UAP phenomenon.

When asked about his personal understanding of UAPs, Rep. Ogles talks about the hope that it might be advanced technology possessed by the United States. He says, “My hope would be… some new technology that we possess… puts us that next generation above our adversaries.” However, he acknowledges the mysterious aspects of UAPs, saying they seem to “defy physics.”

Rep. Ogles then considers the energy implications of the advanced propulsion technology displayed by UAPs. He wonders about the amount of energy needed for such rapid movements and how it could impact the energy sector.

He says, “That being said, these UAPs seem to defy physics. They seem to have some sort of propulsion technology that’s unknown to man as we understand it. So, what does that do to the energy sector? If there’s a new way of thinking about the amount of energy it takes to take a craft that’s hovering and suddenly it’s going Mach one in a matter of seconds – the human body can’t sustain that as we understand it, right? So that craft would have to have next-level technology to protect tissue, if you will, or it’s an unmanned type of craft. Again, there are just a lot of questions that have to be probed. But, if there is this propulsion technology out there and this energy capability out there, not only are we in a renaissance when it comes to aircraft, but we’re in a renaissance in terms of propulsion and energy production consumption. So, again, huge implications across the economic scale, both domestically and internationally.”

He mentions his inquiries in committee about the DOE (Department of Energy), suggesting it could be an ideal place to house top-secret technologies. He says, “If you’re going to house a top-secret Next Level technology, what better place to have it and house it than… nuclear facilities.”

“Everybody knows about Area 51. It’s a testing area… You’ve got this super top-secret, super secure facility that, again, would be ideal to have and to house some new technology, emerging technology that we want to fully master for ourselves and quite frankly control. Because again, as you look at that next generation of warfare, it’s not just tanks and planes. It’s drones. It’s unmanned aircraft. It’s economic. There’s a lot that’s about to happen as we go forward as a superpower and our competitive edge on the global stage.”

Later in the interview, Jay Anderson brings up Congressman Burchett’s positive impression of David Grusch’s testimony during classified briefings. Rep. Ogles says that credible sources have vouched for Grusch’s reliability. He suggests believing what Grusch said, thinking about it carefully, and not trying to say it is wrong without some good proof. Ogles says it is important to keep an open mind, focus on getting answers, and not to try finding faults without good reasons.

Rep. Ogles explains that it does not require unanimous congressional support but rather the speaker’s will to initiate action. He emphasizes the bipartisan interest in addressing the issue and expresses the need for a select committee to ensure transparency and accountability in the investigation. He, along with Congressman Burchett, acknowledges the likelihood of a multi-decade cover-up or compartmentalization due to the secretive nature of special access programs (SAPs) and classified information related to national security.

When asked about evidence suggesting reverse engineering or more exotic propositions, Rep. Ogles mentions the classification of such information and the need for careful consideration. He discusses questions about the origin of technology, whether it is our own creation or recovered from elsewhere, and the potential for reverse engineering.

Read also:

• Ex-US Marine Saw Massive UFO Being Loaded With Weapons By Secret Military In Indonesia Jungle
• US Congressmen Claim Bible Has ‘Pretty Clear’ Evidence of UFOs: Vatican Knows Aliens Are Here

Stephen Bassett, the only registered lobbyist of Washington and founder of Paradigm Research Group, shares the same UFO disclosure concerns that will pose serious implications for the world’s economy.

The PRG researchers claim they have known the reasons why the US authorities were hiding information about UFOs. According to them, disclosing UFO data would lead to the collapse of the entire world economy. Bassett added that all so-called “flying saucers” do not use oil, gasoline, gas, or coal. “They have a different energy system. Without a doubt, a much more complex and deep system based on anti-gravity,” he said.

“Some programs have been removed from the jurisdiction of the White House and Congress and are working somewhere very, very deep, in a ‘hidden mode,'” the researcher emphasized. “I assure you, when the head of state finally officially admits this fact and presents evidence, people will start to worry and want to know more.” But even if the economy stops developing in the current way, it will have new opportunities, Bassett believes.

During an interview with uInterview, he said that UFOs are not unidentified flying objects, as the acronym suggests, but rather alternative energy and propulsion devices. The technology behind UFOs was heavily studied by a team headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and by 1954, they had developed what is known as “gravity control” and “zero-point energy.”

[Editor’s note] In January 2015, former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell sent an email to Podesta, asking him to have an urgent meeting to discuss Disclosure and Zero Point Energy (ZPE). He was concerned about the peace in space. Mitchell wrote: “My Catholic colleague Terri Mansfield will be there too, to bring us up to date on the Vatican’s awareness of ETI. Another colleague is working on a new Space Treaty, citing involvement with Russia and China. However, with Russia’s extreme interference in Ukraine, I believe we must pursue another route for peace in space and ZPE on Earth.” (Click here to read the full article)

However, Dr. Greer stated that the secrecy surrounding this technology went off the rails and became deeply entrenched in compartmented intelligence operations, even causing President Eisenhower to become frustrated with being denied information on the projects.

“The problem became to be, and this is what President Eisenhower warned us about, the secrecy became so enmeshed and compartmented in intelligence operations, that even he as president lost control over it,” Dr. Greer said.

He further stated: “One of our military witnesses, he was a young man working at the White House – which I’m looking at from my place here in Washington, he told us, Mr. Lubkin, who is an attorney, said that Eisenhower was very frustrated that he was being denied information on the projects controlling this issue. So the secrecy went off the rails into these unacknowledged special access projects.”

 { https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

24-04-2024 om 23:59 geschreven door peter  

Earth's weird 'quasi-moon' Kamo'oalewa is a fragment blasted out of big moon crater

Kamo'oalewa, which means "an oscillating celestial object" in Hawaiian, was later found to orbit the sun in synchronization with Earth and is spinning extremely fast for an asteroid. These puzzling characteristics led scientists to investigate the quasi-moon's origins. In 2021, research revealed that Kamo'oalewa's composition is similar to rocks recovered from the moon, hinting at its lunar origin. The question was, Where exactly on the moon did it come from?

Related: 

• A 'quasi-moon' asteroid companion of Earth may actually be a moon relic

"Our major findings are that Kamo’oaelewa originated from the moon, and not from the asteroid belt, contrary to the majority of asteroids belonging to the NEO population," Patrick Michel, team member and senior researcher at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France's state research agency, told Space.com. 

"Like detectives, we used all known information regarding this Kamo‘oalewa and the lunar surface to derive a scenario for the origin of this object, starting from the impact that produced the Giordano Bruno crater," Michel said.

Robert Lea

Senior Writer

Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

24-04-2024 om 17:04 geschreven door peter  

But one possible savior could be the private aerospace sector, whose biggest player is SpaceX.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH MARS SAMPLE RETURN?

On our planet, the samples would reveal untold secrets about the big “if” in space science: Are we alone in the universe? Over the last several decades, robotic explorers have gleaned from the reddish landscape that life may have had the right conditions to flourish on the fourth rock from the Sun. Scientists might be able to prove this tantalizing possibility if they can get ahold of these rocks. The Voyager golden records, the myriad of international missions that have orbited Mars, and the host of upcoming missions to the possibly aquatic moons in the outer Solar System, would win an incredible endorsement.

Extending the mission timeline is what makes the most sense to preserve the MSR plan as it currently exists, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at the non-profit The Planetary Society, told The New York Times on Monday.

But NASA leadership does not want to wait until 2040. “That is unacceptable to wait that long. It’s the decade of the 2040s that we are going to be landing astronauts on Mars. It’s also unacceptable at $11 billion,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

NASA will ask for proposals from the private sector to find solutions that would offset costs and maintain the project’s integrity. In addition to that, NASA will develop “a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology,” according to their published announcement.

WHAT COULD PUT MARS SAMPLE RETURN BACK ON TRACK?

NASA has historically leveraged its partnerships with the private sector to save on costs. For its Artemis program, which marks NASA’s first major crewed return to the Moon since Apollo, the agency has already issued contracts for companies to launch instruments for studying the lunar environment in preparation for crews and has selected proposals for crewed Moon rovers.

MSR’s architecture shares some similarities with that of Artemis III, of which SpaceX will play a key role.

NASA is now building upon the success, and resolving issues, from 2022’s Artemis I mission. For Artemis II, four astronauts are currently in training to fly around the Moon and back as early as September 2025. Then on Artemis III, the program scales up in a whole new way.

SpaceX holds the contract to build the Starship human landing system for NASA, which would ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface, and then carry them back up there.

The vehicle will reach the Moon before the four Artemis III astronauts set sail there, according to NASA. Soon after the Orion capsule arrives with the crew, it will rendezvous with the SpaceX lander, and two brave explorers will get onboard to become the first people to descend to and walk on the Moon’s surface since 1972. When the week of the surface expedition ends, Starship would ferry the duo up to meet the orbital Orion capsule, which would then exit the Moon’s environment and fly the crew back to Earth

Artemis III’s sequence resembles, in part, what must happen on Mars Sample Return. Titanium tubes containing the Red Planet samples would be placed on a spacecraft that could launch them into Martian orbit. Here, another spacecraft would jet off to Earth, carrying the samples to their new home.

“The challenges of getting off the surface of the Moon have been demonstrated already through the Apollo missions,” Dianne DeTurris, an aerospace engineer at California Polytechnic State University, tells Inverse in an email. “A vehicle got off the surface with people onboard successfully 6 times. The issues for getting on and off of Mars are similar, but the distance to travel to get there is much greater, and with that, there is a greater signal lag due to the time difference. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be done? Very likely. The technology exists already, it is just about finding a cost-effective way to execute the task.”

In February, Dreier wrote a column for The Planetary Society arguing that Starship likely wouldn’t come to MSR’s rescue. Among several reasons he cited, a November 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says the Starship human landing system for Artemis III is running into delays.

“NASA remains responsible for its own destiny,” Dreier wrote. For now, MSR and the first modern human landing seem so close — but just out of reach.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

24-04-2024 om 16:46 geschreven door peter  

Voyager 1 Just Sent Its First Coherent Message Back to NASA In Months

A clever programming fix has cured the spacecraft's electronic aphasia.

BY KIONA SMITH

 

NASA/JPL

“In the last decade, I have learned from Voyager that there is (almost) always a way around a problem, no matter how dire it is,” Voyager mission assurance manager Bruce Waggoner told Inverse in March. “You just have to think ‘outside the box’ when people tell you not to do so.”

FLIPPED BITS AND ELECTRONIC GIBBERISH

Back in November, a passing cosmic ray hit one of Voyager 1’s three onboard computers, and it “flipped a bit” (or altered a tiny unit of data) in the spacecraft’s Flight Data Subsystem. This unit of data happened to be a key piece of the code that tells Voyager 1 how to package up science and engineering data, including information about its own condition, before sending the message to Earth.

Like the robot version of a person recovering from a stroke, Voyager 1 could receive and understand messages from home, and it could gather data to send back. But when it tried to “speak,” its data came out as a gibberish of random 0s and 1s.

Engineers at NASA realized that to fix the problem, they needed to reprogram Voyager 1 with the correct code. However, there wasn’t enough data storage space on the Flight Data Subsystem computer to hold it all. The programmers had to split the code into sections, which could be tucked into Voyager 1’s computer wherever there was room. Then include instructions about where to find each one.

On April 18, Voyager 1’s team transmitted the new code to the distant spacecraft. Then they waited. It took 22.5 hours for the data, moving at the speed of light, to cross more than 15 billion miles of space to reach Voyager 1, and then it took another 22.5 hours for Voyager 1’s response to cross the vastness of space and reach NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But after a tense 45 hours, on April 20, the team downloaded Voyager 1’s message: a clear, understandable status update declaring that all was well with the intrepid space robot.

The Voyager 1 team will spend the next few weeks reworking the code that packages science data, and they expect Voyager 1 to return to sending back reports from the edge of the Solar System — ones its human operators can actually read.

Meanwhile, Voyager 2, a well-behaved space robot that hasn’t been in the news lately, is still cruising out of the Solar System on its own trajectory. NASA says it hopes to keep both missions gathering data and calling home until around 2035.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

24-04-2024 om 16:34 geschreven door peter  

Unveiling the Sky: A Closer Look at The UFOs of Soesterberg Documentary

In a world brimming with tales of the unknown, The UFOs of Soesterberg emerges as a beacon of rationality, casting a refreshing light on the enigmatic phenomenon of UFO sightings. Directed by Bram Roza, this documentary delves into a notable event in 1979, where military personnel in the Netherlands reported an unexplained aerial object. Unlike typical sensationalist narratives, Roza’s film stands out for its sober, scientific scrutiny, intertwined with a dash of dry humor, providing a compelling narrative that appeals to skeptics and believers alike.

Roza, with a background in documentary filmmaking, approaches the subject of UFOs with a unique blend of skepticism and open-mindedness. Through The UFOs of Soesterberg, he navigates the fine line between dismissing the unexplained and indulging in fantastical theories. His previous work, including the documentary about the Dutch horror movie The Johnsons, showcases his ability to engage audiences with intriguing subjects, making him a respected figure in the documentary filmmaking community.

What sets this documentary apart is not just its focus on a historical sighting by credible witnesses but also its commitment to demystifying the phenomenon. Roza’s methodical investigation, coupled with his initiative to set up a hotline for UFO sightings, exemplifies a dedication to uncovering the truth behind these mysterious occurrences. The film’s tagline, “Close Encounters of the Dutch Kind,” hints at the numerous sightings in the region, inviting viewers to explore the plausibility of each account.

The UFOs of Soesterberg refuses to offer easy answers or engage in speculation, treating its subjects—both the witnesses and the skeptics—with dignity and respect. The use of animations and drawings for re-enactments adds a visual richness to the documentary, steering clear of the talking-heads format that plagues many documentaries in this genre.

As the documentary tours the Netherlands, captivating audiences with sold-out screenings, it’s clear that Roza has struck a chord. His work not only provides a “glass of water for sane people” amidst the sea of sensationalism surrounding UFOs but also ignites a conversation about the importance of approaching the unexplained with both curiosity and critical thinking.

In the landscape of UFO-related content, The UFOs of Soesterberg stands as a testament to the power of documentary filmmaking that respects its subjects and its audience. Bram Roza’s work is a crucial addition to the discourse on UFO sightings, offering a balanced perspective that is sorely needed.

VIDEOS

• https://youtu.be/sYfI_LpKN-s
• https://youtu.be/m9_k3slyuF4

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

24-04-2024 om 16:19 geschreven door peter  

Na reis van 8 miljard jaar bereikte het zonet onze aarde

Een enorme flits van radiogolven werd in 2022 aan de hemel van onze planeet gedetecteerd, en dit na een reis die maar liefst acht miljard jaar duurde. Dat blijkt uit een onlangs gepubliceerd wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Dit fenomeen, door wetenschappers een ‘snelle radio-uitbarsting’ genoemd, werd voor het eerst waargenomen in 2007 en blijft nog steeds grotendeels een mysterie.

Volgens een studie die op 19 oktober in het tijdschrift Science werd gepubliceerd, had geen van de eerder waargenomen ‘snelle radio-uitbarstingen’ (of FRB’s) een zo verre oorsprong of een kracht die vergelijkbaar is met deze die in 2022 werd bestudeerd door het ASKAP-radiotelescoopnetwerk, gevestigd in West Australië.

Ondanks de beperkte duur van slechts minder dan een milliseconde, zou deze explosie van elektromagnetische golven die acht miljard jaar geleden plaatsvond, volgens CNN een hoeveelheid energie hebben vrijgemaakt die equivalent is aan de energie die onze zon over een periode van dertig jaar heeft uitgestraald.

Sinds hun eerste detectie in 2007 zijn er ongeveer duizend FRB’s gesignaleerd, maar de precieze oorsprong van deze signalen blijft vaak onbekend. Voor de FRB die in 2022 werd gedetecteerd, gebruikten wetenschappers de European Very Large Telescope (VLT) vanuit de Atacama-woestijn in Chili. Ze slaagden erin de bron van de emissies te lokaliseren in een groep van twee of drie sterrenstelsels midden in het proces van fusie, interacties en vorming van nieuwe sterren.

Deze ontdekking lijkt de huidige theorieën te bevestigen dat snelle radio-uitbarstingen afkomstig zouden kunnen zijn van magnetars (een zeldzaam type neutronenster) of andere extreem energetische astronomische objecten die het gevolg zijn van exploderende sterren.

FRB's zijn van groot belang voor astronomen omdat hun onderzoek zou kunnen helpen bij het oplossen van andere mysteries van het universum, waaronder die van 'ontbrekende materie'.

• (FVDV and LpR for Tagtik/Source: Courrier International/Illustration picture: Pixabay via Pexels)

 { https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

24-04-2024 om 15:59 geschreven door peter  

Asteroids have also been known to “photobomb” images acquired by Hubble of distant cosmic objects like UGC 12158 (see image above). By knowing Hubble’s position when it took exposures of asteroids and measuring the curvature of the streaks they leave, scientists can determine the asteroids’ distances and estimate the shapes of their orbits. The ability to do this with large samples allows astronomers to test theories about Main Asteroid Belt formation and evolution. As Martin said in a recent ESA Hubble press release:

“We are getting deeper into seeing the smaller population of main-belt asteroids. We were surprised to see such a large number of candidate objects. There was some hint that this population existed, but now we are confirming it with a random asteroid population sample obtained using the whole Hubble archive. This is important for providing insights into the evolutionary models of our Solar System.”

According to one widely accepted model, small asteroids are fragments of larger asteroids that have been colliding and grinding each other down over billions of years. A competing theory states that small bodies formed as they appear today billions of years ago and have not changed much since. However, astronomers can offer no plausible mechanism for why these smaller asteroids would not accumulate more dust from the circumstellar disk surrounding our Sun billions of years ago (from which the planets formed).

In addition, astronomers have known for some time that collisions would have left a certain signature that could be used to test the current Main Belt population. In 2019, astronomers from the European Science and Technology Centre (ESTEC) and the European Space Astronomy Center’s Science Data Center (ESDC) came together with the world’s largest and most popular citizen-science platform (Zooniverse) and Google to launch the citizen-science project Hubble Asteroid Hunter (HAH) to identify asteroids in archival Hubble data.

The HAH team comprised 11,482 citizen-science volunteers who perused 37,000 Hubble images spanning 19 years. After providing nearly two million identifications, the team was given a training set for an automated algorithm to identify asteroids based on machine learning. This yielded 1,701 asteroid trails, with 1,031 corresponding to previously uncatalogued asteroids – about 400 of which were below 1 km (~1090 ft) in size. Said Martin:

“Asteroid positions change with time, and therefore you cannot find them just by entering coordinates, because they might not be there at different times. As astronomers we don’t have time to go looking through all the asteroid images. So we got the idea to collaborate with more than 10,000 citizen-science volunteers to peruse the huge Hubble archives.”

This pioneering approach may be effectively applied to datasets accumulated by other asteroid-hunting observatories, such as NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Once the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has accumulated a large enough dataset, the same method could also be applied to its archival data. As a next step, the HAH project will examine the streaks of previously unknown asteroids to characterize their orbits, rotation periods, and other properties.

Further Reading:

• ESA Hubble, 
• Astronomy & Astrophysics

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

23-04-2024 om 23:42 geschreven door peter  

The TRAPPIST-1 system has been the focal point of attention ever since astronomers confirmed the presence of three exoplanets in 2016, which grew to seven by the following year. As one of many systems with a low-mass, cooler M-type (red dwarf) parent star, there are unresolved questions about whether any of its planets could be habitable. Much of this concerns the variable and unstable nature of red dwarfs, which are prone to flare activity and may not produce enough of the necessary photons to power photosynthesis.

With so many rocky planets found orbiting red dwarf suns, including the nearest exoplanet to our Solar System (Proxima b), many astronomers feel these systems would be the ideal place to look for extraterrestrial life. At the same time, they’ve also emphasized that these planets would need to have thick atmospheres, intrinsic magnetic fields, sufficient heat transfer mechanisms, or all of the above. Determining if exoplanets have these prerequisites for life is something that the JWST and other next-generation telescopes – like the ESO’s proposed Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) – are expected to enable.

But even with these and other next-generation instruments, there is still the question of what biosignatures we should look for. As noted, our planet, its atmosphere, and all life as we know it have evolved considerably over the past four billion years. During the Archean Eon (ca. 4 to 2.5 billion years ago), Earth’s atmosphere was predominantly composed of carbon dioxide, methane, and volcanic gases, and little more than anaerobic microorganisms existed. Only within the last 1.62 billion years did the first multi-celled life appear and evolve to its present complexity.

Moreover, the number of evolutionary steps (and their potential difficulty) required to get to higher levels of complexity means that many planets may never develop complex life. This is consistent with the Great Filter Hypothesis, which states that while life may be common in the Universe, advanced life may not. As a result, simple microbial biospheres similar to those that existed during the Archean could be the most common. The key, then, is to conduct searches that would isolate biosignatures consistent with primitive life and the conditions that were common to Earth billions of years ago.

As Dr. Jake Eager-Nash, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Victoria and the lead author of the study, explained to Universe Today via email:

“I think the Earth’s history provides many examples of what inhabited exoplanets may look like, and it’s important to understand biosignatures in the context of Earth’s history as we have no other examples of what life on other planets would look like. During the Archean, when life is believed to have first emerged, there was a period of up to around a billion years before oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved and became the dominant primary producer, oxygen concentrations were really low. So if inhabited planets follow a similar trajectory to Earth, they could spend a long time in a period like this without biosignatures of oxygen and ozone, so it’s important to understand what Archean-like biosignatures look like.”

For their study, the team crafted a model that considered Archean-like conditions and how the presence of early life forms would consume some elements while adding others. This yielded a model in which simple bacteria living in oceans consume molecules like hydrogen (H) or carbon monoxide (CO), creating carbohydrates as an energy source and methane (CH₄) as waste. They then considered how gases would be exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere, leading to lower concentrations of H and CO and greater concentrations of CH₄. Said Eager-Nash:

“Archean-like biosignatures are thought to require the presence of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor would be required as well as the absence of carbon monoxide. This is because water vapor gives you an indication there is water, while an atmosphere with both methane and carbon monoxide indicates the atmosphere is in disequilibrium, which means that both of these species shouldn’t exist together in the atmosphere as atmospheric chemistry would convert all of the one into the other, unless there is something, like life that maintains this disequilibrium. The absence of carbon monoxide is important as it is thought that life would quickly evolve a way to consume this energy source.”

When the concentration of gases is higher in the atmosphere, the gas will dissolve into the ocean, replenishing the hydrogen and carbon monoxide consumed by the simple life forms. As biologically produced methane levels increase in the ocean, it will be released into the atmosphere, where additional chemistry occurs, and different gases are transported around the planet. From this, the team obtained an overall composition of the atmosphere to predict which biosignatures could be detected.

“What we find is that carbon monoxide is likely to be present in the atmosphere of an Archean-like planet orbiting an M-Dwarf,” said Eager-Nash. “This is because the host star drives chemistry that leads to higher concentrations of carbon monoxide compared to a planet orbiting the Sun, even when you have life-consuming this [compound].”

For years, scientists have considered how a circumsolar habitable zone (CHZ) could be extended to include Earth-like conditions from previous geological periods. Similarly, astrobiologists have been working to cast a wider net on the types of biosignatures associated with more ancient life forms (such as retinal-photosynthetic organisms). In this latest study, Eager-Nash and his colleagues have established a series of biosignatures (water, carbon monoxide, and methane) that could lead to the discovery of life on Archean-era rocky planets orbiting Sun-like and red dwarf suns.

Further Reading: 

• arXiv

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

23-04-2024 om 23:31 geschreven door peter  

POSTED BY NANCY ATKINSON

Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life

Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other worlds. The most common idea has been to search for evidence of plants that use the green pigment chlorophyll, like we have on Earth. However, a new paper suggests that bacteria with purple pigments could flourish under a broader range of environments than their green cousins. That means current and next-generation telescopes should be looking for the emissions of purple lifeforms.

“Purple bacteria can thrive under a wide range of conditions, making it one of the primary contenders for life that could dominate a variety of worlds,” said Lígia Fonseca Coelho, a postdoctoral associate at the Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) and first author of “Purple is the New Green: Biopigments and Spectra of Earth-like Purple Worlds,” published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

According to NASA’s Exoplanet Archive, 5612 extrasolar planets have been found so far, as of this writing, and another 10,000 more are considered planetary candidates, but have not yet been confirmed. Of all those, there are just over 30 potentially Earth-like worlds, planets that lie in their stars’ habitable zones where conditions are conducive to the existence of liquid water on surface.

But Earth-like has a broad meaning, ranging from size, mass, composition, and various chemical makeups. While being within a star’s habitable zone certainly means there’s the potential for life, it doesn’t necessarily mean that life could have emerged there, or even if it did, the life on that world might look very different from Earth.

“While oxygenic photosynthesis gives rise to modern green landscapes, bacteriochlorophyll-based anoxygenic phototrophs can also colour their habitats and could dominate a much wider range of environments on Earth-like exoplanets,” Coelho and team wrote in their paper. “While oxygenic photosynthesis gives rise to modern green landscapes, bacteriochlorophyll-based anoxygenic phototrophs can also colour their habitats and could dominate a much wider range of environments on Earth-like exoplanets.”

The researchers characterized the reflectance spectra of a collection of purple sulfur and purple non-sulfur bacteria from a variety of anoxic and oxic environments found here on Earth in a variety of environments, from shallow waters, coasts and marshes to deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Even though these are collectively referred to as “purple” bacteria, they actually include a range of colors from yellow, orange, brown and red due to pigments  — such as those that make tomatoes red and carrots orange.

These bacteria thrive on low-energy red or infrared light using simpler photosynthesis systems utilizing forms of chlorophyll that absorb infrared and don’t make oxygen. They are likely to have been prevalent on early Earth before the advent of plant-type photosynthesis, the researchers said, and could be particularly well-suited to planets that circle cooler red dwarf stars – the most common type in our galaxy.

That means this type of bacteria might be more prevalent on more and a wider variety of exo-worlds.

On a world where these bacteria might be dominant, it would produce a distinctive “light fingerprint” detectable by future telescopes.

In their paper, Coelho and team presented models for Earth-like planets where purple bacteria might dominate the surface and show the impact of their signatures on the reflectance spectra of terrestrial exoplanets.

“Our research provides a new resource to guide the detection of purple bacteria and improves our chances of detecting life on exoplanets with upcoming telescopes,” the team wrote.

“We need to create a database for signs of life to make sure our telescopes don’t miss life if it happens not to look exactly like what we encounter around us every day,” said co-author Lisa Kaltenegger, CSI director and associate professor of astronomy at Cornell University, in a press release from Cornell.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

23-04-2024 om 23:06 geschreven door peter  

A ‘World-Changing’ Underwater UFO—Caught on Video—Is a Legit Threat, Says Ex-Navy Officer

Geraint Rowland Photography//Getty Images

The Omaha Incident

One incident to which Gallaudet points in particular is a July 19, 2019 encounter between the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Omaha and a so-called transmedium UAP. In the incident, the crew of the Omaha (sailing off the coast of San Diego) used their AN/KAX-2 electro-optical sensor to record a spherical UAP hovering just over the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The AN/KAX-2 is a stabilized sensor turret built for maritime environments that includes a digital video camera, night vision camera, and laser rangefinder.

The video, seen here, is a recording of a screen showing the output of the AN/KAX-2. The video appears to have been taken with the night vision camera, which uses imaging infrared to record objects in darkness. The object seemingly moves, tracked by the sensor operator, and then stops to hover. The object stops and hovers a short distance above the surface of the ocean. At the end, the object disappears, with sailors remarking that it made a splash as it entered the water. Meanwhile, one sailor off camera radios the other ships in the area—the guided missile destroyers Pinckney, Kidd, and Rafael Peralta—asking for a MH-60 helicopter to be launched as soon as possible.

The video was leaked to UFO investigator Jeremy Corbell Lockyer, and was later verified as genuine by the Navy. A search of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (the Pentagon’s web site for releasing official photos and video) shows three of the warships in the encounter—Pinckney, Kidd, and Omaha—in formation in the Eastern Pacific six days later, on July 25.

Sightings in Puerto Rico and Elsewhere

Gallaudet also references another sighting from 2013, spotted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol personnel. The sighting—which took place near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico—was filmed using a similar imaging infrared camera. The video, shown here, depicts another spherical object appearing to enter the water and then re-emerge without losing any speed. The retired admiral writes, “Over three minutes, the object appears to fly at speeds between 40 and 120 miles per hour, enter and exit the Atlantic Ocean without any significant deceleration, reach a maximum underwater velocity of 95 miles per hour, and at one point split into two parts before entering the water again.”

Other possible evidence cited by the admiral includes an incident in 2022, in which the NOAA underwater exploration ship Okeanos Explorer discovered an unusual series of holes on the North Atlantic seafloor at a depth of 1.6 miles. The centimeter-sized holes were in an unusually straight line and scientists are apparently at a loss to explain their origin.

No Ordinary UAP Advocate

NOAA Ocean Exploration

NOAA image of the holes found in 2022 in the North Atlantic. NOAA states: "A close look at the sublinear sets of holes in the sediment observed during Dive 04 of the second Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition. These holes have been previously reported from the region, but their origin remains a mystery. "

Gallaudet entered the U.S. Navy in 1989 after attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Gallaudet, according to his official biography, received “masters and doctoral degrees in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1991 and 2001 respectively.” He served with a number of naval oceanography and meteorology commands, and was superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory. He assumed command of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command in 2014, and served as Oceanographer of the Navy from 2016 until retirement in 2017.

After his Navy career, Gallaudet served for two years as acting administrator in charge of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Today, he sits on the advisory board for Americans for Safe Aerospace, which describes itself as a “nonprofit organization dedicated to aerospace safety and national security with a focus on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).” ASA is led by Ryan Graves, a former U.S. naval aviator who reports having his own UAP sighting on active duty in 2014. In a 2023 op-ed published in The Hill, Gallaudet called UAPs the “story of the century,” and clearly did not rule out an extraterrestrial cause for them.

It’s rare for a high-ranking U.S. military officer to directly address UAP issues, even in retirement, and the incidents Gallaudet calls attention to are unusual, to say the least. Barring flat-out hoaxing by military and civilian government personnel, the videos and photographic evidence are not easily explained. Whether this will result in greater research to the same extent as the UFO/UAP issue remains to be seen.

• KYLE MIZOKAMI

  Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.

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

23-04-2024 om 22:54 geschreven door peter  

The Alien Reactor: Insights from Bob Lazar’s Discussion with Joe Rogan

In an eye-opening episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Bob Lazar, a figure notorious for his claims about advanced technology and extraterrestrial elements, delves into the existence of what he describes as an “alien reactor.” His detailed conversation with host Joe Rogan sheds light on the mysterious technology that supposedly defies the fundamental laws of physics as we understand them today.

Understanding the Alien Reactor

Bob Lazar, who first came into the public eye in the late 1980s after claiming to have worked on reverse engineering extraterrestrial technology at a site called S-4 (near the infamous Area 51), discusses his experiences with a technology that seems to originate from beyond our world. According to Lazar, the reactor operates on an unknown element, which later discussions in the scientific community would relate to the hypothetical Element 115, ununpentium. This element purportedly enables the reactor to generate power without the byproduct of heat, contradicting the first law of thermodynamics which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, and that heat is a typical byproduct of energy conversion.

Zero-Heat Emission and Its Implications

The absence of heat emission from the reactor is a profound anomaly. In traditional physics, any device that utilizes energy—like the simplest electrical device to complex industrial machinery—inevitably produces heat as a form of energy waste. Lazar’s claim that the alien reactor remains at ambient temperature regardless of the power it exerts is particularly fascinating because it suggests a form of energy efficiency completely unknown to current technological capabilities.

Testing the Boundaries of Known Science

During the podcast, Lazar describes how he and his colleagues conducted numerous tests to understand the reactor’s capabilities. From attempting to measure magnetic fields that were non-existent to using infrared cameras that required liquid nitrogen for cooling due to their sensitivity, the tests consistently demonstrated the extraordinary nature of the reactor. Lazar reflects on how these tests not only challenged his understanding of physics but also left him perplexed about the fundamental operating principles of the device.

The Stealth of Advanced Technology

Lazar also recounted observations of the reactor’s operational tests, including how the craft, powered by the reactor, could lift off the ground silently, only producing a faint corona discharge—a type of electrical discharge—accompanied by a subtle hissing sound that ceased once the craft was airborne. This capability suggests a technology capable of controlled, noiseless flight, which is a stark contrast to conventional propulsion systems that are typically loud and produce significant physical disruptions such as air displacement and heat.

Broader Implications and Continuing Mysteries

The discussion on Joe Rogan’s podcast not only revisits Lazar’s claims but also reignites interest in the broader implications of such technology. If true, the existence of an alien reactor and the technology surrounding it could revolutionize our understanding of energy, propulsion, and perhaps the very fabric of physical laws. Moreover, it raises questions about the origins of such technology, its custodians, and the purposes for its use, whether past or present.

VIDEO

• https://youtu.be/fHqYinYGRMg

Bob Lazar’s account, controversial and debated, continues to stir both skepticism and fascination. Whether one views his claims as a peek into covert technological marvels or as fanciful tales, they undeniably enrich the ongoing dialogue between science and the speculative realms of UFOlogy and extraterrestrial technology. As science advances and our capabilities to test and understand unknown materials improve, perhaps the truth behind Lazar’s claims will one day come to light, offering new insights into a universe that remains profoundly mysterious.

23-04-2024 om 22:14 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious Aerial Phenomena Over Langley Air Force Base: New Insights from Exclusive Footage

In a recent and unprecedented event, new video footage has surfaced, showing unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) swarming over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. This footage, obtained exclusively by NewsNation, highlights a significant and baffling aerial display that took place in December last year, capturing the attention of military and aviation experts, as well as the public.

The video was introduced to the public on NewsNation’s morning show “Morning in America,” where Ross Coulthart, a special correspondent, discussed its implications. The footage was captured by Jonathan Butner, a local observer, who managed to film what appeared to be multiple drone-like objects hovering over one of the United States’ most critical military installations.

Analysis of the UAP Footage

The objects captured in the footage resemble drones but display characteristics that are not typical of conventional drone technology. According to Butner, the objects were approximately the size of a car, lacked visible propulsion systems, and moved with precision over the base. This has led to intense speculation about the technology behind these objects, as well as their origin and purpose.

Ryan Graves, a former Navy pilot and the founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace, was also featured in the broadcast. He emphasized the need for a systematic approach to reporting such sightings, especially to understand better and mitigate any potential threats these UAPs might pose to national security.

Government and Military Response

The incident at Langley has not gone unnoticed by U.S. government officials. It has been the subject of congressional hearings, with questions directed towards military leaders about the security of sensitive airspace and the capabilities in place to monitor and respond to such intrusions. Senator Mark Kelly, in one such hearing, probed the adequacy of current defense measures and the apparent ease with which these UAPs infiltrated a highly secure military zone.

Broader Implications

The appearance of UAPs at Langley is part of a larger pattern of similar incidents at key military installations across the United States. The discussion around these events has moved beyond simple curiosity and entered realms of national security, technological assessment, and international relations. The speculation ranges from advanced adversarial surveillance technology to domestic or even unknown entities testing the boundaries of current aerospace capabilities.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/xX2RH-LPNf4

As the authorities work to understand the nature and origin of these UAPs, the incident underscores the need for advancements in aerospace monitoring and defense technologies. It also highlights the importance of creating a supportive environment for pilots and military personnel to report their observations without fear of retribution or stigma.

This ongoing situation presents a complex puzzle that combines elements of technology, security, and policy. As more information becomes available, it will be crucial to address these phenomena with a comprehensive strategy that ensures the safety and security of national airspace. The development of such strategies will likely be a topic of robust discussion and action in the coming months, as the U.S. government and military seek to reassure the public and safeguard the nation’s interests.

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

23-04-2024 om 21:55 geschreven door peter