Bijzondere zeedieren: de verbazingwekkende wonderen van de diepe oceaan

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Bijzondere zeedieren: de verbazingwekkende wonderen van de diepe oceaan
Het is bekend dat Australië enkele van de meest spectaculaire wilde dieren ter wereld heeft, vooral als het gaat om diepzeedieren. Er is een reden waarom het een van de populairste bestemmingen is voor duikers! Het Groot Barrièrerif alleen al herbergt meer dan 1.500 vissoorten en in heel Australië leven er meer dan 4.000. Velen van hen vindt je nergens anders ter wereld en sommige zien eruit als buitenaardse wezens.

Klik verder om enkele van de vreemdste, engste en kleurrijkste zeedieren van Australië te zien

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Enypniastes eximia
In het Engels noemen ze dit interessante wezen ook wel letterlijk de 'Spaanse dansende zeekomkommer' of het 'kippenmonster zonder kop'. Het heeft zwemvliezen waarmee ze van de oceaanbodem naar boven drijven en vervolgens weer terugkeren naar de oceaanbodem om zich te voeden. Sommigen hebben een transparant lichaam waarin de darmen zichtbaar zijn. Ook kunnen ze bioluminescerend zijn.

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Volwassenen
Volwassen zeelelies zitten met een steel vast aan de zeebodem. Ongesteelde zeelelies worden ook wel veersterren of haarsterren genoemd.

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Micromelo undatus
Dit dier staat bekend om zijn helderblauwe en witte kleur en zijn schelp met bruine lijnen.

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Slakkensoort
Het is een zeldzame slak die leeft op rotsachtige riffen tot wel 5 meter diep.

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Austrodromidia octodentata
Sponskrabben (ook wel: wolkrabben) zijn anders dan andere krabben: in plaats van zichzelf te beschermen met harde pantsers, camouflage of scharen, hebben ze sponzen op hun lichaam. Misschien dienden ze wel ter inspiratie voor 'SpongeBob SquarePants'?

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Psychrolutes marcidus
De blobvis is misschien wel de lelijkste vis op aarde. Het is een diepzeevis die doorgaans wordt aangetroffen rond de kust van Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland.

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Uiterlijk
Als gevolg van decompressie zien ze er wanneer ze uit diep water naar de oppervlakte stijgen bolvormig en gelatineachtig uit.

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Achaeus japonicus
Deze krabben zijn klein van formaat (slechts 2 centimeter) en hebben een unieke roestbruine laag met zachte haartjes over hun hele lichaam, waardoor ze niet veel verschillen van de op takken levende orang-oetans die in de oerwouden van Borneo worden aangetroffen.

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Indonesië
In het Engels worden deze dieren soms letterlijk 'orang-oetan-krabben' genoemd. Net als bij de aap is de naam van deze krab afgeleid van de Indonesische woorden voor 'bosmens' (oran hutan). Deze dieren zouden we dus als de 'boswezens' van de zee kunnen zien.

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Pezichthys amplispinus
Over deze vis, die alleen in Australië te vinden is, zei de Franse zeeman Nicolas Baudin in 1802: "De voorste vinnen van deze vis lijken net handen."

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'Handvissen'
Hoewel ze vreemde kleuren en vormen hebben, hebben ze allemaal gemeen dat ze over vinnen beschikken die op handen lijken.

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Slangsterren
Slangsterren zijn nauw verwant aan zeesterren en hebben meestal vijf lange armslierten die wel 60 cm lang kunnen worden.

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Bioluminescentie
Er zijn meer dan 60 soorten slangsterren die bioluminescent (lichtgevend) zijn. Sommige soorten geven groen licht af, waar andere blauw licht afgeven.

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Zeespinnen
Deze wezens zijn enger dan de gemiddelde geleedpotige op het land. Kijk maar eens naar hun kleine lichamen en extreem lange poten.

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Pindaworm
De pindaworm kan in sommige gevallen wel 72 cm lang worden en wordt meestal aangetroffen in ondiepe wateren.

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Reuzenbekhaai
De reuzenbekhaai is een zeldzame en unieke haaiensoort. Er werd er een gevonden in Australië – de derde ooit in de geschiedenis.

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Parelvissen
Er zijn 31 soorten parelvissen. Door hun slanke lichaam kunnen ze in de lichaamsholten van ongewervelde dieren leven. Vreemd genoeg leven sommige soorten uitsluitend in de anussen van zeekomkommers. Lekker!

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Koekjessnijder
De koekjessnijder behoort tot de familie van de doornhaaien. De haai staat bekend om zijn eetgewoonte waarbij hij visvlees in ronde stukken (in de vorm van koekjes) uitbijt.

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Driepootvis
Een driepootvis of statiefvis kan 43 cm lang worden. Bovendien heeft hij lange, dunne stralen onder zijn buikvinnen en staartvin die wel 1 meter lang zijn. Met zijn drie poten staat hij als een soort statief op de bodem van de oceaan!

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/  }

16-05-2024 om 21:33 geschreven door peter  

The Joe Rogan Experience: George Knapp on Alien Abductions and Paranormal Phenomena

In a compelling episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, investigative journalist George Knapp discusses the eerie and often disturbing events at the infamous Skinwalker Ranch. This episode sheds light on a series of bizarre and unexplained phenomena, ranging from alien abductions to paranormal activities, that have plagued the ranch for decades.

Unexplained Auditory and Visual Disturbances

Residents and investigators at Skinwalker Ranch have reported hearing strange voices speaking in unknown languages and seeing large, humanoid shapes lurking outside their windows at night. These auditory phenomena were often accompanied by visual disturbances, such as mysterious shapes and lights. One rancher, initially suspecting government involvement, armed himself and patrolled the property only to realize that the source of these disturbances was something far more enigmatic and possibly extraterrestrial.

Chilling Animal Mutilations

Animal mutilations are among the most unsettling events at Skinwalker Ranch. Cows, cats, and dogs were found with precise, surgical mutilations. Often, these animals were discovered in places where tracks leading to or from the scene were nonexistent. The surgical nature of these mutilations suggested the use of advanced technology, pointing to an intelligence beyond known human capabilities. The animals appeared to be cut up with extreme precision, leading to speculation about extraterrestrial involvement.

UFO Encounters

The ranch has been a hotspot for numerous UFO sightings. Witnesses have reported seeing various types of unidentified flying objects, including lights that resembled headlights, which then ascended into the sky and vanished. Orbs of different colors—white, blue, and red—were also observed, with the blue orbs in particular inducing intense fear in both animals and humans. These orbs seemed to be intelligently controlled, further complicating the already perplexing situation at the ranch.

The Disappearance and Reappearance of Bulls

One of the most baffling incidents involved the sudden disappearance of four prized bulls. These large animals, each weighing around 2,000 pounds, were inexplicably found crammed into a small, locked trailer. The corral around the trailer was magnetized, suggesting the use of advanced technology. This event highlighted the mysterious forces at play and raised questions about the nature of the phenomena affecting the ranch.

Intensive Investigations and Elusive Evidence

The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), funded by aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, conducted extensive investigations at Skinwalker Ranch. Despite their efforts, the phenomena remained elusive, often evading documentation. Cameras would malfunction or be destroyed, and evidence was hard to come by. The intelligence behind these events seemed to be playing a cat-and-mouse game with the investigators, demonstrating its presence while avoiding capture on film or in photographs.

The Mutilation of a Calf

A particularly horrifying incident involved the mutilation of a calf. Within a brief period, the calf was found completely stripped of flesh and blood, with no tracks or signs of human or animal interference. The meticulous nature of the mutilation, with not a drop of blood left behind, suggested the use of advanced or extraterrestrial technology. This incident, documented with photographs and videos, provided some of the most compelling evidence of the strange activities at the ranch.

Theories and Speculations

The phenomena at Skinwalker Ranch have led to numerous theories and speculations:

• Extraterrestrial Experimentation: The precision of the mutilations and the advanced technology involved suggest that extraterrestrial beings might be conducting biological or environmental experiments.
• Interdimensional Beings: The ability of the phenomena to appear and disappear, as well as manipulate physical objects, suggests the possibility of interdimensional beings interacting with our reality.
• Government Experiments: The advanced technology and lack of concrete evidence might also point towards secret government experiments involving psychological operations or advanced robotics.

VIDEO:

• JRE: How Aliens Abducted Humans!

• https://youtu.be/V5kKBXxIj4A

The episode featuring George Knapp on The Joe Rogan Experience provides a gripping account of the mysterious and often terrifying phenomena at Skinwalker Ranch. The lack of concrete evidence and the evasive nature of the activities make it a challenging subject to study and understand. However, the consistency of reports from various witnesses and investigators suggests a significant and unexplained presence or activity at the ranch. This episode underscores the need for continued investigation and open-mindedness when it comes to understanding the unknown forces that may be at work.

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

16-05-2024 om 17:21 geschreven door peter  

Ex-Pentagon David Grusch: ‘We Have Dead Pilot Bodies From Extraterrestrial Craft’

Nobody would have ever thought that an individual from the US military with high credibility can come out and say we have partially intact extraterrestrial crafts. David Charles Grusch, a Former UAP Task Force member and US Air Force veteran, claims that the government, its allies, and defense contractors have been recovering partial fragments and intact vehicles related to these phenomena for decades.

According to Mr. Grusch, analysis of these objects has revealed their “exotic origin” and suggests the presence of non-human intelligence, whether extraterrestrial or of unknown origin. This determination is based on vehicle morphologies, material science testing, unique atomic arrangements, and radiological signatures.

Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, the New York Times reporters, are the first people who broke the story of Mr. Grusch. On June 5, 2023, they published an exclusive article in The Debrief, stating Mr. Grusch gave Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says possess retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.

In an exclusive interview with investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, Grusch, a 36-year-old Air Force veteran, exposed the top-secret military program that allegedly discovered fully intact UFO wreckage. During the interview, Mr. Grusch made bold claims about the existence of UFOs and their non-human origin.

He stated: “UFOs exist. The U.S. government found quite a number of them, and they are indeed of non-human origin.” Mr. Grusch’s assertions are supported by his insider knowledge as a former member of the U.S. government’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena task force and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Grusch discussed the classified nature of the program, saying: “For years, there have been whispers and rumors that the government had aircraft of non-human origin. This report is the first evidence it might be true.” He emphasized the secrecy surrounding the program, claiming that much of the information has been kept hidden from Congress and the public.

In the interview, Mr. Grusch described the retrieval of non-human origin technical vehicles, referring to them as spacecraft. He explained: “These are retrieving non-human origin technical vehicles, you know, call it spacecraft if you will. Non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed.” When asked about the number of such craft, Mr. Grusch astonishingly replied, “Quite a number. [You’re kidding?] No, I thought it was totally nuts at first.”

Mr. Grusch revealed that his initial skepticism had been challenged when current and former senior intelligence officers confided in him about their involvement in the program. He stated: “They approached me. I have plenty of current and former senior intelligence officers that came to me, many of whom I knew almost my whole career, that confided to me they were part of a program.” He also mentioned receiving oral testimony, documents, and other proof supporting the existence of the program.

During the interview, Mr. Grusch spoke about the potential cover-up and disinformation campaign surrounding UFOs. He claimed: “There’s a sophisticated disinformation campaign targeting the U.S. populace, which is extremely unethical and immoral.” Mr. Grusch emphasized the significance of his revelations, stating, “I am for real, and I’m sitting here at great personal risk and obvious professional risk by talking to you today.”

“Do we have bodies? Do we have species?” Coulthart asked. “Well, naturally when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed, sometimes you encounter dead pilots.” “And believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it’s true,” Mr. Grusch replied.

While Mr. Grusch’s claims are extraordinary, journalist Leslie Kean stated: “I believe it because of all the sources I have who have told me the same thing. So who am I to doubt these very, very high-level people who have been inside these programs for decades?” Kean emphasized that Grusch’s credibility is further bolstered by the fact that multiple high-ranking individuals have publicly vouched for him.

Despite Grusch’s testimony and the support he has garnered, the Pentagon released a statement in response to the report. The statement from the Pentagon’s All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (ARRO) said that no verifiable information has been discovered to substantiate claims of past or current programs involving extraterrestrial materials. However, ARRO acknowledged ongoing investigations and welcomed individuals with relevant information to come forward.

Soon after The Debrief’s exclusive publication on Mr. Grusch, Dutch website REVU journalist Max Moszkowicz disclosed that David Grusch has documents signed by the inspector general, indicating that one of the UFOs in US Holding was found in Sicily, Italy and taken from Mussolini during WW2.

Moszkowicz stated that in 1933, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was briefed by his secret service about a crashed air vehicle that was not recognized as human. It is suggested that the Italians initially believed the UFO to be a secret weapon from Germany, but it was later discovered to be of unknown origin. The object was studied in an Italian variant of Area 51 and eventually transported to the United States, possibly to Area 51/S-4.

Read also:

• Man Who Ran Area 51 Claimed They Had Alien Crafts & Non-Human Beings: So Bob Lazar Is telling Truth
• Karla Turner Claimed She Found Evidence That Aliens Are Manipulating Human Reality
• Bob Lazar Is Telling Truth, Says Those Worked On UFO Crash Retrieval Programs; Diana Pasulka Reveals
• Physicist Bob Lazar Who Exposed Area 51 Explains How Element 115 Used As UFOs Fuel

The claims of the UFO coverup directly come from the documents released from Mussolini’s office. According to them, Mussolini took all measures to silence the witnesses and classified the craft as top secret. Studying the craft was Mussolini’s next top objective. The best engineers and scientists in Italy came together to form a top-secret organization that was allegedly commanded by radio inventor and renowned engineer Guglielmo Marconi. (Click here to read the full article)

In an interview with Moszkowicz, a former AATIP Director Lue Elizondo gave this rumor some credit by saying he had seen documents from Mussolini’s office that he had found “compelling” before theorizing (as per the rumor) that pieces of the craft were transported to the USA. Mr. Sharp claimed that he has a source in the aerospace industry who told Liberation Times that something was recovered from Italy following World War II.

In an interview with French paper le Parisien, Mr. Grusch claims that the United States and its allies have been involved in secret programs for almost ninety years, recovering fragments and intact non-human objects. These objects have been subjected to analysis, which has provided proof of their non-human origin.

When asked about the origin of these objects, Mr. Grusch suggests they could be extraterrestrial or from other dimensions as described by quantum mechanics. He mentions that he has not seen enough data to determine the exact origin and believes that the U.S. government likely possesses more information on the matter.

Grusch reveals that one of the recovered “ships” was found in Italy in 1933. It was described as a bell-like craft, approximately ten meters in size, and was kept by Mussolini’s government until 1944 when it was recovered by agents of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Mr. Grusch states that this particular case predates well-known incidents like Roswell. He indicates that he was authorized to talk about it by the Department of Defense’s Office of Prepublication and Security Review.

Regarding his concerns about conspiracy theories, Grusch acknowledges the possibility of encouraging unfounded theories but points out that what was once a conspiracy theory has turned out to be true in this case.

Although Grusch mentions having seen interesting things that he is not currently authorized to discuss publicly, he confirms the involvement of a handful of U.S. subcontractors in reverse engineering, primarily from the Five Eyes alliance countries (Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand). He suggests that the potential uses of the studied materials could benefit advanced space programs, materials science, and other applications related to climate or health.

Mr. Grusch mentions that his freedom of speech is still limited by his confidentiality agreement with the U.S. government, preventing him from discussing classified information. He indicates that he has faced reprisals after alerting the Department of Defense Inspector General in 2021 but cannot provide many details due to the ongoing investigation.

When asked about his personal safety, Grusch acknowledges past threats and the risks involved in remaining anonymous or becoming a public figure. Despite the risks, he believes it is worth raising awareness and push for answers from elected representatives and the president. He plans to publish more information in the future and establish a non-profit foundation to facilitate scientific research and protocols on this subject within the university system.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

16-05-2024 om 00:54 geschreven door peter  

Ontdekking op onze buurplaneet kan hoop bieden op voorwaarden voor leven

Wetenschappers vinden de ontdekking van een bepaald element in gesteente op Mars opmerkelijk.

Al meer dan 10 jaar rijdt NASA’s Marsrover Curiosity rond om monsters te nemen van grond en gesteente. Zo wil NASA erachter komen of de omstandigheden op de planeet ooit gunstig waren voor leven.

In 2018 vond de rover moleculen die belangrijke bouwstenen zijn voor leven zoals we dat op aarde kennen.

En nu heeft de Curiosity mineralen in gesteente ontdekt die lijken op mineralen op aarde, wat bewijs kan zijn dat Mars vroeger leven kon herbergen.

Hoge concentraties gevonden

De onderzoekers beschrijven dat er een ongewoon hoog gehalte van het element mangaan is gevonden.

In het artikel, dat is gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift JGR Planet schrijven ze dat die hoge concentraties zijn gevonden in een gebied waar volgens hen ooit een meer was.

In een persbericht zegt Patrick Gasda van Los Alamos National Laboratory dat ze niet hadden verwacht mangaan in zulke hoge concentraties aan te treffen.

Hij legt uit dat afzettingen zoals ze die op Mars hebben gevonden op aarde voorkomen omdat er een hoog zuurstofgehalte is.

‘Op Mars is er geen bewijs van leven, en de mechanismen om zuurstof in de atmosfeer te produceren zijn onduidelijk. Hoe mangaanoxide is ontstaan en hoe de concentratie ervan is toegenomen, is een mysterie,’ schrijft Gasda.

Gesteente onthult leefbaar milieu

De metingen in Galekrater zijn gedaan met de Chemcam-apparatuur van de Curiosity.

‘Het milieu bij het Galemeer lijkt verrassend veel op bepaalde plaatsen op aarde, wat suggereert dat het leefbaar kan zijn geweest,’ voegt de leider van het Chemcam-onderzoek, Nina Lanza, eraan toe.

Ze legt uit dat mangaanmineralen vaak worden aangetroffen aan de oevers van ondiepe meren, maar dat het een opmerkelijke vondst is in oud gesteente op Mars.

{ https://wibnet.nl/heelal }

15-05-2024 om 23:35 geschreven door peter  

Finding seven of them in one system is a unique scientific opportunity to examine all kinds of interlinked questions about exoplanet habitability. TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf, and one of the most prominent questions about exoplanet habitability concerns red dwarfs (M dwarfs.) Do these stars and their powerful flares drive the atmospheres away from their planets?

New research in the Planetary Science Journal examines atmospheric escape on the TRAPPIST-1 planets. Its title is “The Implications of Thermal Hydrodynamic Atmospheric Escape on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets.” Megan Gialluca, a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program at the University of Washington, is the lead author.

Most stars in the Milky Way are M dwarfs. As the TRAPPIST-1 makes clear, they can host many terrestrial planets. Large, Jupiter-size planets are comparatively rare around these types of stars.

It’s a distinct possibility that most terrestrial planets are in orbit around M dwarfs.

But M dwarf flaring is a known issue. Though M dwarfs are far less massive than our Sun, their flares are way more energetic than anything that comes from the Sun. Some M dwarf flares can double the star’s brightness in only minutes.

Another problem is tidal locking. Since M dwarfs emit less energy, their habitable zones are much closer than the zones around a main sequence star like our Sun. That means potentially habitable planets are much more likely to be tidally locked to their stars.

That creates a whole host of obstacles to habitability. One side of the planet would bear the brunt of the flaring and be warmed, while the other side would be perpetually dark and cold. If there’s an atmosphere, there could be extremely powerful winds.

“As M dwarfs are the most common stars in our local stellar neighbourhood, whether their planetary systems can harbour life is a key question in astrobiology that may be amenable to observational tests in the near term,” the authors write. “Terrestrial planetary targets of interest for atmospheric characterization with M dwarf hosts may be accessible with the JWST,” they explain. They also point out that future large ground-based telescopes like the European Extremely Large Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope could help, too, but they’re years away from being operational.

Red dwarfs and their planets are easier to observe than other stars and their planets. Red dwarfs are small and dim, meaning their light doesn’t drown out planets as much as other main-sequence stars do. But despite their lower luminosity and small size, they present challenges to habitability.

M dwarfs have a longer pre-main-sequence phase than other stars and are at their brightest during this time. Once they’re on the main sequence, they have heightened stellar activity compared to stars like our Sun. These factors can both drive atmospheres away from nearby planets. Even without flaring, the closest planet to TRAPPIST-1 (T-1 hereafter) receives four times more radiation than Earth.

“In addition to luminosity evolution, heightened stellar activity also increases the stellar XUV of M dwarf stars, which enhances atmospheric loss,” the authors write. This can also make it difficult to understand the spectra from planetary atmospheres by creating false positives of biosignatures. Exoplanets around M dwarfs are expected to have thick atmospheres dominated by abiotic oxygen.

Despite the challenges, the T-1 system is a great opportunity to study M dwarfs, atmospheric escape, and rocky planet habitability. “TRAPPIST-1 is a high-priority target for JWST General and Guaranteed Time Observations,” the authors write. The JWST has observed parts of the T-1 system, and that data is part of this work.

In this work, the researchers simulated early atmospheres for each of the TRAPPIST-1 (T-1 hereafter) planets, including different initial water amounts expressed in Terrestrial Oceans (TO.) They also modelled different amounts of stellar radiation over time. Their simulations used the most recent data for the T-1 planets and used a variety of different planetary evolution tracks.

The results are not good, especially for the planets closest to the red dwarf.

“We find the interior planets T1-b, c, and d are likely desiccated for all but the largest initial water contents (>60, 50, and 30 TO, respectively) and are at the greatest risk of complete atmospheric loss due to their proximity to the host star,” the researchers explain. However, depending on their initial TO, they could retain significant oxygen. That oxygen could be a false positive for biosignatures.

The outer planets fare a little better. They could retain some of their water unless their initial water was low at about 1 TO. “We find T1-e, f, g, and h lose, at most, approximately 8.0, 4.8, 3.4, and 0.8 TO, respectively,” they write. These outer planets probably have more oxygen than the inner planets, too. Since T1-e, f, and g are in the star’s habitable zone, it’s an intriguing result.

T-1c is of particular interest because, in their simulations, it retains the most atmospheric oxygen regardless of whether the initial TO was high or low.

The potential habitability of T-1 planets is an important question in exoplanet science. The type of star, the number of rocky planets, and the ease of observation all place it at the top of the list of observational targets. We’ll never really understand exoplanet habitability if we can’t understand this system. The only way to understand it better is to observe it more thoroughly.

“These conclusions motivate follow-up observations to search for the presence of water vapour or oxygen on T1-c and future observations of the outer planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, which may possess substantial water,” the authors write in their conclusion.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

15-05-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

WASP-139b is de helft groter dan Jupiter, maar heeft een massa die zeven keer kleiner is. De "dichtheid" van de planeet is dus minimaal, 0,059 gram per kubieke centimeter om precies te zijn. Ter vergelijking: de dichtheid van water is bijna één gram per kubieke centimeter, bijna twintig keer zo veel.

"Hij is zo licht dat het moeilijk was om aan een vergelijkbare vaste materie te denken", zegt Julien de Wit, professor op Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) en een van de ontdekkers. Enter de suikerspin of de paardenbloem.

De planeet werd vorig jaar ontdekt. Onderzoekers hielden een ster, op een afstand van 1.200 lichtjaren, in het oog met het observatorium WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) en zagen dat die met momenten minder licht leek te geven. Er moest dus iets in de weg zitten van dat licht: een planeet die rond de ster draaide, telkens op iets meer dan 6 dagen. 

Kosmisch mysterie

Na die ontdekking gingen ze met andere meetinstrumenten aan de slag om in te schatten hoe groot de planeet is en hoeveel die weegt. Extreem weinig dus, en dat stelt de onderzoekers voor een raadsel. 

Ze vermoeden dat de planeet uit gassen bestaat, waterstof en helium, zoals andere zogenaamde "gasreuzen". In dit geval is de planeet zo "opgeblazen" dat haar atmosfeer tienduizenden kilometers verder reikt dan die van Jupiter, die nochtans bekend staat voor de wolkachtige atmosfeer. 

Jupiter, de planeet rechtsboven, heeft ook een redelijk lage dichtheid en is herkenbaar aan de wolkachtige atmosfeer

© Foto: Belga

"We kunnen niet verklaren hoe deze planeet zich heeft gevormd", zegt Francisco Pozuelos, een van de auteurs en onder meer verbonden aan de Universiteit van Luik. Er is geen enkele bestaande theorie die dat op dit moment verklaart. "Het is een kosmisch mysterie", besluiten de wetenschappers. Op de website van de Amerikaanse ruimteorganisatie NASA kan je een illustratie en meer info vinden. 

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

15-05-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

“Our headset appears to the outside world just like an everyday pair of glasses, but what the wearer sees through the lenses is an enriched world overlaid with vibrant, full-color 3D computed imagery,” said Stanford’s Gordon Wetzstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering.

“There is no other augmented reality system out there now with comparable compact form factor, or that matches our 3D image quality,” added Gun-Yeal Lee, a postdoctoral researcher in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the published paper outlining the team’s efforts.

BULKY HEADSETS HAVE LIMITED APPLICATION OF AUGMENTED REALITY

The Stanford researchers faced a number of technical hurdles in combining the benefits of current VR headsets with the versatility and ease of ordinary glasses. The first was reducing or replacing the complex optical systems used in bulkier headsets. That’s because these headsets don’t allow the viewer to see the landscape directly.

Instead, tiny cameras capture what the wearer is “looking” at and then project a viewable, 3D image on a tiny screen embedded within the device. For augmented reality purposes, any data used to aid the viewer is overlaid on this digital projection rather than appearing on top of the actual image.

“The user sees a digitized approximation of the real world with computed imagery overlaid,” explained Lee. “It’s sort of augmented virtual reality, not true augmented reality.”

Unfortunately, these types of headsets employ magnifying lenses between the user’s eye and the screen. To work properly, this layout requires a set distance between the eye, the lens, and the screen, resulting in the oversized, bulky headsets currently on the market. According to user experience, this setup can also detract from the overall immersive “realness” of the augmented reality experience, defeating the entire point of the system.

“Beyond bulkiness, these limitations can also lead to unsatisfactory perceptual realism and, often, visual discomfort,” explained Suyeon Choi, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-author of the paper.

80-YEAR-OLD TECHNIQUE MEETS CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE TO BREAK TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS

Determined to overcome these obstacles, the Stanford researchers turned to a Nobel Prize-winning technology first developed in the 1940s: holography. According to the team, this technique has seen limited use in VR and #D systems due to issues with the depth perception of visual cues, “leading to an underwhelming, sometimes nausea-inducing, visual experience.”

Still, the researchers believed that holography was the key to eliminating the bulky lens-and-screen technique and creating a true, augmented reality headset that allows the viewer to see the real image while simultaneously receiving overlaid information about that image in real time. The key, they determined, was improving the 80-year-old holography techniques with the power of 21st-century AI computing to dramatically improve the depth cues of the projected holographic images.

“With holography, you also get the full 3D volume in front of each eye increasing the life-like 3D image quality,” said Brian Chao, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and also co-author of the paper.

The team also employed modern breakthroughs in nanophotonics and waveguide technologies, which increased the complexity and overall realness of the projected images. According to the press release announcing the breakthrough, “A waveguide is constructed by etching nanometer-scale patterns onto the lens surface. Small holographic displays mounted at each temple project the computed imagery through the etched patterns which bounce the light within the lens before it is delivered directly to the viewer’s eye.”

As a result, someone wearing the team’s new ordinary-looking glass lenses can see both the “real world” and the 3D computer-enhanced augmented reality images displayed on top of the world.

Through holography and AI, these glasses can display full-color, 3D moving images over an otherwise direct view of the real world.

Image credit: Andrew Brodhead.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE GAMING, MILITARY SIMULATIONS, AND ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

Having completed their initial prototype, the team says they can now envision a number of potential applications for their system. Some obvious uses include enhanced gaming or other recreational uses that have thus far eluded current bulkier headsets. However, the team says they believe their system could dramatically improve the work done by highly-trained experts in medicine or engineering.

“One could imagine a surgeon wearing such glasses to plan a delicate or complex surgery or airplane mechanic using them to learn to work on the latest jet engine,” said Manu Gopakumar, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the paper.

Although more work is expected before the augmented reality headset made from ordinary glasses is commercially available, the Stanford team says their ability to combine modern AI techniques and nanophotonic breakthroughs with 1940s holography is the step that folks in their industry have been waiting for.

“Holographic displays have long been considered the ultimate 3D technique, but it’s never quite achieved that big commercial breakthrough,” Wetzstein said. “Maybe now they have the killer app they’ve been waiting for all these years.”

• Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/tech/ }

15-05-2024 om 16:52 geschreven door peter  

FBI Chilling UFO Reports: Recovered 3 UFOs With Alien Bodies In New Mexico & 27,000 mph Craft

An astonishing report was found in the archives of the FBI that reveals the chilling details about aliens, UFOs, and the way these objects maneuver. The documents suggest that some of the UFOs were apparently flying across the skies at an incredible speed of 27,000 miles per hour. The FBI report is dated back to the 1940s when federal agents investigated mysterious crafts in regard to a flurry of sightings. The report also suggests that several documents related to UFOs and aliens were subsequently destroyed by the government.

The FBI report revealed that some UFOs moved at speeds five times more than sound. It was during a time when the infamous Roswell event happened. Initially, it was reported that a flying saucer crash-landed in Roswell but soon, the military claimed that the crashed object was actually a weather balloon.

Many of the memos for the entire study of aliens were addressed to Director J. Edgar Hoover and then placed in the secret FBI archives. Now, they are declassified and stored as an open electronic file in the FBI archives.

FBI officials admitted in an August 16 memo to director Hoover that their office destroyed UFO reports “in great numbers.” But curiously another memo written in 1950, which was released with a huge cache of declassified documents, contains a remarkable statement from special agent Guy Hottel about Roswell.

According to the FBI, “Guy L. Hottel was born around 1902. He was a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he was a star football player. He was later inducted into the university’s athletic hall of fame. He entered the FBI as a special agent in 1934. In December 1936, he was named acting head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; he was appointed special agent in charge the following May and served until March 1941. Hottel was re-appointed special agent in charge in February 1943 and served until 1951, when he took a position in the Identification Division. He retired in 1955. Hottel was married three times and had two sons. Following his FBI career, Hottel served as executive secretary of the Horseman’s Benevolent Association. He died in June 1990.”

Read also:

• Four US Intelligence Directors Hint That UFOs Are Alien Spaceships & Believe There Are Other Dimensions
• Famous 19-Sec UFO Footage Could Be Greatest Leak: CGI Experts Say It Is Real Deal
• Einstein’s Student Claimed US Govt. Re-Engineered UFO & Studied Alien Bodies
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

The memo states that the three flying saucers recovered in New Mexico were approximately 50 feet in diameter. In each of them, there was one alien creature, and their figures resembled human bodies a lot, however, they were about three feet tall and dressed in peculiar metal suits.

A single-page March 22, 1950 memo by Guy Hottel

Source: fbi.gov

“They [the saucers] were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only three feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed fliers and test pilots.”

Presumably, these were specialized suits of foreigners, like those used by pilots, but made using alien technologies.

It is one of the popular declassified information released by the FBI that has been viewed more than a million times. Besides, the incident happened three years after the Roswell incident, and both have no connection with each other as stated by the FBI.

The document also said that the aliens were peaceful and really reminded people in some way of their behavior. The photo of two alien humanoids also became famous. It was taken before the intergalactic war between American intelligence and reptilians in 1979 at the Dulce Base in New Mexico.

Another declassified document from April 4, 1949, tells how three men, on patrols miles apart, each reported seeing a UFO break up over mountains north of Salt Lake City. Their accounts were sent to Hoover in a memo titled “Flying Discs.”

The file said that a policeman, a highway patrolman, and an army guard all “saw a silver-colored object high up approaching the mountains at Sardine Canyon” that “appeared to explode in a rash of fire.” And another file sent to Hoover, dated January 31, 1949, reveals the sighting by a pair of airline pilots.

They reported the “rocket ship” shaped object with no wings was hurtling out of a thunderhead at speeds of 2700 mph. And elsewhere in the document, further sightings are mentioned that can hit speeds of 27,000 mph (Mach 35).

“No scientific experiments are known to exist in this country which could give rise to such phenomena,” the agent from the San Antonio office writes.

Perhaps hammering home a possible danger from UFOs, special agent DM Ladd also wrote a letter to Hoover. He warned he had heard a report of a transport plane in Czechoslovakia which collided with an “unidentified missile.”

“The missile and the transport were completely disintegrated without recovery of parts or survivors,” Ladd wrote.

While the discussion on bizarre UFO reports is going on, this year, the Pentagon released 1,500 pages of UFO-related research as part of a FOIA request.

According to a massive database of U.S. government reports recently made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Encounters with UFOs have reportedly left Americans suffering from radiation burns, brain and nervous system damage, and even “unaccounted for pregnancy.”

The report includes a list of alleged biological effects of UFO sightings on human observers between 1873 and 1994, compiled by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) — a civilian non-profit group that studies reported UFO sightings. The reported effects of UFO encounters include “unaccounted for pregnancy,” “apparent abduction,” paralysis, and experiences of perceived telepathy, teleportation and levitation.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

15-05-2024 om 16:36 geschreven door peter  

Primeur in de ruimte: Belgische astronomen ontdekken ‘Speculoos’-planeet die even groot is als onze aarde

Een groep astronomen van de Universiteit van Luik is erin geslaagd om een nieuwe planeet te ontdekken die bijna even groot is als de aarde. De planeet heeft de naam ‘Speculoos-3 b’ gekregen. Dat is geen verwijzing naar het bekende koekje, maar wel naar de koele dwergster waarrond de planeet draait. “Eén jaar duurt er 17 uur en de dagen en nachten eindigen er nooit”, leggen de onderzoekers uit.

De astronomen maakten het nieuws dinsdag bekend. De ontdekking is het resultaat van het zogenaamde ‘SPECULOOS’-project – oftewel ‘Search for Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars’ – dat de Universiteit van Luik in 2019 opstartte. Het doel van het project is om met een netwerk van telescopen op zoek te gaan naar exoplaneten. Die draaien niet rond de zon, maar wel rond koele dwergsterren.

De nieuwe planeet heeft de naam ‘Speculoos-3 b’ gekregen, naar het gelijknamige project en de dwergster waarrond de planeet draait. Die ster is iets groter dan de planeet Jupiter, is kouder dan de zon en geeft ook honderd keer minder licht.

Geen kans op leven

“Speculoos-3 b is bijna even groot als de aarde en is ook rotsachtig”, legt hoofdonderzoeker Michaël Gillon uit. De planeet bevindt zich op zo’n 55 lichtjaar van ons. Dat is relatief dichtbij als je weet dat ons sterrenstelsel, de Melkweg, zich over 100.000 lichtjaar uitstrekt.

Een jaar op de planeet, oftewel één baan rond de ster, duurt ongeveer 17 uur. “Daarnaast eindigen de dagen en de nachten er wellicht nooit”, zegt Gillon. Zo zou de planeet zowel rond zichzelf als rond de dwergster draaien. “Daardoor is de ‘dagkant’ van de planeet altijd naar de ster gericht, net zoals de maan dat voor de aarde doet, terwijl de ‘nachtkant’ zich in de eindeloze duisternis bevindt.”

De kans dat er leven op de planeet is, is volgens Gillon zo goed als onbestaand. Speculoos-3 b ligt te dicht bij de dwergster en die heeft een temperatuur van 2.600 graden Celsius, ongeveer de helft van die op de zon. “Dat is dus veel te heet om bewoonbaar te zijn”, benadrukt de astronoom.

De planeet ontvangt per seconde ook bijna zestien keer meer energie van de zon dan de aarde. “Ze wordt dus letterlijk gebombardeerd met kosmische straling. In zo’n omgeving is de aanwezigheid van een atmosfeer dus zeer onwaarschijnlijk”, klinkt het.

Lees ook: 

• “Op aarde kunnen enkel levende organismen dit gas maken”: heeft James Webb ruimtetelescoop eerste teken van leven gevonden op exoplaneet? (+) 
  
• “Aarde warmt op, maar bovenste atmosfeer koelt af”: wat is de oorzaak van de atmosferische paradox? (+) 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

15-05-2024 om 14:59 geschreven door peter  

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a $1 million grant to fund the development of a military-grade prototype quantum laser that leverages the unique properties of quantum physics to overcome diffusion and data loss problems experienced by other state-of-the-art laser technologies.

The team from Washington University in St Louis receiving the DARPA grant says their goal is to use an aspect of quantum mechanics known as quantum entanglement to help communication lasers and lasers used for surveillance to operate in extreme temperatures, dense fog, or over extremely long distances.

“Quantum entanglement is a correlation between photons,” explained Associate Professor Jung-Tsung Shen from the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering and the leader of the team who received the grant. “We are trying to exploit the property of entanglement to do something innovative.”

To create their prototype quantum laser, Shen’s team will develop and test methods for what they are calling a “quantum photonic-dimer laser.” According to the press release announcing the project, this two-color photonic technology, “in which carefully controlled pairs of light particles or photonic dimers” are entangled, results in a coherent beam of laser beam made up of two different light wavelengths that contain the same information due to their state of entanglement. This two-colored laser loses significantly less information when passing through the atmosphere, even when experiencing adverse environmental conditions or traversing long distances.

“Photons encode information when they travel, but the travel through the atmosphere is very damaging to them,” Shen said. “When two photons are bound together, they still suffer the effects of the atmosphere, but they can protect each other so that some phase information can still be preserved.”

Along with graduate student Qihang Liu and colleagues from Texas A&M University’s Institute for Quantum Science & Engineering, Shen believes he can create a quantum photonic-dimer laser method so powerful they will entangle two-color photonic pairs at the rate of one million per second. That’s a rate the researchers say has “never been seen before.” The team will also be required to generate advanced algorithms for the efficient detection of entangled photonic pairs.

Notably, this is not the first time the U.S. military has explored using advanced laser systems in the 21st-century battlefield. In the last few years alone, military lasers have undergone testing by the U.S. Air Force, which is trying separate systems for their aircraft and counter-drone systems; the U.S. Navy, which successfully test-fired a laser back in 2022, and the U.S. Army, which is preparing to mount combat lasers to their Stryker combat vehicles. In March of this year, the Army actually deployed a military-grade laser system in the Middle East.

Above: Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) conducts a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration on a static surface training target on Dec. 14, 2021, while sailing in the Gulf of Aden

U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devin Kates).

Aside from potential military applications, the research team believes their prototype system and its methods could be used in civilian applications that employ lasers in more extreme environments. These include advanced communications systems, quantum computing, and quantum imaging.

• 

See Also

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“The unique thing about this project is its dual focus on generating these novel strongly correlated quantum photonic states and developing the theoretical framework and advanced algorithms for their efficient detection, potentially revolutionizing quantum imaging and communication,” Shen said.

While this is only a two-year project, the team also believes their work is only a first step. In fact, according to Shen, science is just now beginning to explore the benefits of quantum entanglement to create any number of breakthrough technologies beyond their quantum laser.

“The entanglement can do many things that we can only dream of — this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Shen said.

• Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/tech/ }

15-05-2024 om 14:45 geschreven door peter  

Altijd al willen weten hoe het is om in een zwart gat te duiken? NASA komt met indrukwekkende simulatie

Jeannette Kras

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

15-05-2024 om 14:14 geschreven door peter  

Would You Trust Robot to Look After Your Cat?

Scientists from the University of Nottingham and artists from Blast Theory have created Cat Royale, a multispecies world centered around a bespoke enclosure in which three cats and a robot arm coexist for six hours a day during a twelve-day installation.

“From cleaning our homes, to mowing our lawns, to delivering shopping and couriering items around hospitals, robots are finding their place in daily life,” said University of Nottingham’s Professor Steve Benford and colleagues.

“As they do so, they will inevitably interact with and be encountered by animals.”

“These might be companion animals, the pets who share our homes or the guide dogs who help us navigate public places, but they might also be wildlife.”

“Often these encounters will be unplanned and secondary to the robot’s intended task, for example cats riding Roombas, guide dogs being confused by delivery robots, or hedgehogs having to navigate in a world inhabited by lawn mowing robots.”

“However, they could also be intentional. We could design robots to serve animals too.”

“Despite the inevitability of such encounters, planned or otherwise, little is known about how to design robots for animals. Can we even trust them with each other?”

“We present Cat Royale, a creative exploration of designing a domestic robot to enrich the lives of cats through play.”

Schneiders et al. suggest it takes more than a carefully designed robot to care for your cat, the environment in which they operate is also vital, as well as human interaction.

Image credit: Schneiders et al., doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642115.

Cat Royale was launched in 2023 at the World Science Festival in Brisbane, Australia and has been touring since, it has just won a Webby award for its creative experience.

The installation centered around a robot arm offering activities to make the cats happier, these included dragging a ‘mouse’ toy along the floor, raising a feather ‘bird’ into the air, and even offering them treats to eat.

The team then trained an AI to learn what games the cats liked best so that it could personalize their experiences.

“At first glance, the project is about designing a robot to enrich the lives of a family of cats by playing with them,” Professor Benford said.

“Under the surface, however, it explores the question of what it takes to trust a robot to look after our loved ones and potentially ourselves.”

Working with Blast Theory to develop and then study Cat Royale, the researchers gained important insights into the design of robots and its interactions with the cats.

They had to design the robot to pick up toys, deploy them in ways that excited the cats, while it learned which games each cat liked.

They also designed the entire world in which the cats and the robot lived, providing safe spaces for the cats to observe the robot and from which to sneak up on it, and decorating it so that the robot had the best chance of spotting the approaching cats.

The implication is designing robots involves interior design as well as engineering and AI.

If you want to introduce robots into your home to look after your loved ones, then you will likely need to redesign your home.

“As we learned through Cat Royale, creating a multispecies system — where cats, robots, and humans are all accounted for — takes more than just designing the robot,” said Dr. Eike Schneiders, a researcher at the University of Nottingham.

“We had to ensure animal wellbeing at all times, while simultaneously ensuring that the interactive installation engaged the (human) audiences around the world.”

“This involved consideration of many elements, including the design of the enclosure, the robot and its underlying systems, the various roles of the humans-in-the-loop, and, of course, the selection of the cats.”

• The authors presented their results at the CHI 2024 conference in Honolulu, Hawai’i.
• Eike Schneiders et al. Designing Multispecies Worlds for Robots, Cats, and Humans. CHI ‘24: Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, article #593; doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642115

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

15-05-2024 om 12:31 geschreven door peter  

Het onmisbare spektakel van het Noorderlicht die de wereld verbaasde met de geomagnetische storm

 Door Janine

De snelle opeenvolging van krachtige zonnestormen van de afgelopen dagen heeft de hemel van ons noordelijk halfrond beschilderd en ons een prachtig Noorderlicht gegeven. Maar hoe ontstaat dit fenomeen?

Noorderlicht en Zuiderlicht, het “geschenk” van de zonneactiviteit

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

De afgelopen dagen heeft de geomagnetische storm die werd veroorzaakt door de voortdurende zonnevlammen als gevolg van de inkomende piekactiviteit van de zon, die een cyclus van elf jaar heeft, niet alleen radio- en communicatieproblemen veroorzaakt in verschillende delen van de wereld, maar ook burgers van de VS, Canada, Europa en China in staat gesteld om getuige te zijn van een uniek en uiterst indrukwekkend natuurspektakel: het Noorderlicht.

De gekleurde halo's aan de nachtelijke hemel - zichtbaar door de afwezigheid van zonlicht - waren meerdere dagen zichtbaar. Het Noorderlicht is het resultaat van een moleculaire botsing in de bovenste lagen van de atmosfeer van de aarde, die uitbarstingen van energie veroorzaakt. Deze energie manifesteert zich in zichtbaar licht aan de hemel, maar dat kunnen we alleen opmerken in de uren dat het donker is. Maar het is niet het enige dat verbaasde toeschouwers betovert: er is ook de aurora australis (Zuiderlicht), die voorkomt op het zuidelijk halfrond en in de eerste helft van het jaar zichtbaar is in sommige regio's in de buurt van de twee aardpolen.

De sterkste zonnestorm sinds decennia

Het poollicht beweegt zich van de polen naar de evenaar tijdens perioden van maximale activiteit, zoals de afgelopen dagen het geval was. De krachtige geomagnetische storm heeft onze planeet bereikt en ontketende spectaculaire nachtelijke spektakels over de hele wereld. Dit is een historische gebeurtenis: op 10 mei bereikte de storm het hoogste niveau op de schaal die begint met G1 en classificeerde zichzelf als G5, kondigde NOAA, de National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, aan. Dit is in tientallen jaren niet gebeurd.

Na een reeks coronale massa ejecties, materiaal dat uit de corona van de zon wordt uitgestoten en deze fenomenen kan veroorzaken, werd de hemel een heel weekend lang overspoeld door Noorderlicht, zoals het Space Weather Prediction Center van NOAA aankondigde. De zonnestorm was de sterkste in twee decennia, door de krachtige geladen energieën die vanaf de zon de ruimte in explodeerden. Hoewel het geen gevaar voor ons vormt, kan het elektronische apparaten aantasten, waaronder satellieten in een baan om de aarde.

Hoe het Noorderlicht ontstaat

Dan McManus - SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER/NOAA

Brian Cox, natuurkundige en ruimtevaartdeskundige, zei: "Zonder het magnetische veld van de aarde dat ons beschermt, zou onze atmosfeer allang verloren zijn gegaan in de ruimte. Die kleuren aan de hemel herinneren de natuur ons eraan dat we blij mogen zijn dat we hier zijn."

De afgelopen jaren hebben we een zeer actieve zon meegemaakt, met talloze coronale massa-uitbarstingen die op onze planeet gericht waren. Juist hierdoor kunnen we de poollichten zien: de coronale massa-uitstoot lanceert geladen deeltjes de ruimte in, die wanneer ze de gassen van de atmosfeer van de aarde raken, zoals zuurstof en stikstof, deze prachtige lichten doen ontstaan. Zuurstofatomen worden groen, stikstofatomen worden blauw, roze en violet.

De hemel heeft zo voor wonderbaarlijke verrassingen gezorgd, die heel veilig met het blote oog zichtbaar waren.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

15-05-2024 om 12:21 geschreven door peter  

Top 4 UFOs Spotted Flying in American Air Space

UFO sightings have long captured the public’s imagination, and recent events in the United States have reignited interest in the phenomenon. Here are four intriguing UFO sightings in American airspace that have sparked both fascination and debate.

1. February 3rd, 2023 – Billings, Montana

On February 3rd, 2023, Dolly Mills Moore, a military veteran, was finishing her workday in Billings, Montana, when she noticed something unusual outside her window. She saw a trail of smoke pointing toward the ground, followed by a bright flash in the sky. This sighting came just two days after a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon was spotted over Billings, adding to the intrigue.

Dolly’s video quickly went viral, raising questions about whether it was related to the balloon incident. Aviation expert Tim McMillan analyzed the footage and concluded that the trail was likely a vapor trail from an aircraft, not a UFO. Meteorologist Juan Hernandez added that the conditions that day were conducive to contrail formation. The verdict: a conventional aircraft contrail, unrelated to the spy balloon.

2. January 31st, 2022 – Cape Canaveral, Florida

During a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch on January 31st, 2022, a couple in Fort Lauderdale noticed two bright lights following the rocket as it ascended. This sighting led to speculation that UFOs were monitoring the launch.

Aviation and military expert Tim McMillan suggested the lights could be rocket boosters or reflections. Astronomer Mark D’Antonio explained that such lights could be atmospheric effects caused by the rocket plume, known as supersonic shock waves. The verdict: natural atmospheric phenomena associated with the rocket launch.

3. December 1st, 2022 – Fredonia, Wisconsin

On December 1st, 2022, Ken Be captured a video of four lights streaking across the night sky in Fredonia, Wisconsin. The next evening, similar lights were seen in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Given Wisconsin’s long history of UFO sightings, these videos garnered significant attention.

Science writer and video analyst Mick West investigated and discovered that the lights were spotlights from local Christmas displays. Using triangulation and eyewitness accounts, West pinpointed the source of the lights to holiday decorations. The verdict: Christmas spotlights.

4. February 2022 – Colorado Springs, Colorado

In February 2022, Bruce Lony filmed a long, dark object hovering in the sky over Colorado Springs. Historical references to worm-like flying objects in various cultures fueled speculation about the object’s origin.

Aviation analyst Tim McMillan considered the possibility of the object being a kite, given its consistent orientation towards the ground. However, video effects designer and astronomer Mark D’Antonio proposed it was a solar balloon. These balloons, heated by the sun, can rise and move in the air. The verdict: a solar balloon.

VIDEO:

• The Proof Is Out There: Top 4 UFOs Spotted Flying in American Air Space

• https://youtu.be/KuE5cQJpp14

These recent UFO sightings highlight the blend of curiosity and skepticism that surrounds unidentified aerial phenomena. While some sightings can be attributed to conventional explanations like aircraft contrails, rocket boosters, and holiday lights, others remain intriguing due to their unique characteristics. As technology and surveillance improve, the line between the unexplained and the explicable continues to blur, keeping the mystery of UFOs alive.

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

15-05-2024 om 11:08 geschreven door peter  

'God of Destruction' asteroid Apophis will come to Earth in 2029 — and it could meet some tiny spacecraft

As to why Apophis is an apt target for a planetary defense study? Well, discovered in 2004, the asteroid quickly rose to the top of tables that measure the risk of so-called potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), or asteroids with widths of 460 feet (140 meters) or more that come within 20 lunar distances of Earth.

Both the size of Apophis and how close to Earth its trajectory brings it saw the asteroid remain at the top of both the European Space Agency's (ESA's) "impact risk list" of PHAs and NASA's Sentry Risk Table for 17 years. That was until a close flyby of the asteroid — a space rock that is almost as wide as the Empire State Building is tall — in March 2021 allowed NASA scientists to determine Apophis actually won't hit the Earth for at least 100 years. 

Though we now know Apophis won't collide with Earth in the next century, its scientific impact in 2029 will still be tremendous, and space agencies from countries across the globe will be closely tracking its trajectory.

Plus, as an asteroid that formed around the same time as the planets from leftover material around the infant sun, Apophis also offers researchers a unique opportunity to determine what the solar system's chemical composition was around 4.6 billion years ago

Meet the rendezvous candidates

Despite the fact that we are aware of around 1.3 million asteroids in the solar system, of which 2,500 are considered potentially hazardous (though none are expected to hit Earth for at least a century), spacecraft missions to study asteroids are relatively rare.

Thus far, only 20 missions have been deployed to study asteroids in situ, including the aforementioned OSIRIS-REx, Japan's Hayabusa1 and Hayabusa2 crafts, the ESA's Rosetta space probe, and the asteroid-hopping NASA mission Lucy, currently journeying to the Trojan asteroids that share their orbit with Jupiter.  Thus, the JMU team must carefully consider its options when considering a future asteroid-investigating spacecraft. 

The team's first concept is a small satellite that will join Apophis for a period of two months as it makes its close approach to Earth in April 2029. The craft will stick with the "God of Destruction" space rock for weeks after, even as it moves away. Over the course of the mission, this German national spacecraft will photograph Apophis and make measurements documenting any changes the NEA undergoes during its flyby.

This particular mission would be a challenging one because of its duration, the distance it will be required to travel, and the fact that the craft will have to function autonomously for long periods. It would also have to launch at least a year before Apophis arrives in Earth's vicinity.

The team's second concept involves integration with a larger spacecraft that's being planned by the ESA called RAMSES. This mission will be outfitted with smaller satellites, measuring equipment and telescopes. RAMSES, named after Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses the Great, would journey to Apophis and stay with the asteroid as it passes Earth.

If the second concept reaches fruition, one of the small satellites carried by RAMSES will be designed by the JMU team, with this project requiring less technical effort than the first concept while promising to reap greater scientific knowledge. 

One of the primary issues the second concept faces, however, has to do with getting REMESES off the ground — not literally, but figuratively. It's success will depend on the willingness of ESA partner countries to fund the mission. Again, a lead time of at least 365 days would be needed to ensure the success of this concept.

The third concept involves a small satellite that will only briefly fly past Apophis when the asteroid is at its absolute closest to Earth, snapping images of the asteroid in the process. This concept would require much less effort, and the craft would be relatively inexpensive.

The downside of concept 3, however, is that its observation time would be limited, which would also limit the volume of knowledge this mission would add to our understanding of asteroids.

On the plus side, the small-scale mission could launch just two days before Apophis arrives. Also, if concept 3 were to successfully observe Apophis, it would demonstrate the capability of small and inexpensive satellites in studying asteroids, perhaps leading to an increased interest for in situ asteroid-studying missions going forward.

The NEAlight project kicked off at the beginning of May 2024; between now and April 30, 2025, the JMU scientists will work out the requirements and specificities of the respective missions.

Beyond the visit of Apophis, the three concepts considered could remain options for future missions to other solar system planets, the moon — or maybe other intriguing NEAs.

Orbit of asteroid Apophis (pink) in contrast to the orbit of Earth (blue), from the years 2028 to 2030. The yellow dot represents the sun. Apophis takes 323.6 days to orbit the sun. Earth takes 365.3 days. Thus this asteroid is a fairly frequent visitor to our region of space.

Image via Phoenix7777/ Wikimedia Commons.

This animation shows the distance between the Apophis asteroid and Earth at the time of the asteroid’s closest approach in 2029. The blue dots are manmade satellites orbiting our planet, and the pink represents the International Space Station.

Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech.

LINKS VIDEOS

• https://youtu.be/eOTH5SBVU00

• https://youtu.be/8MFh27Y9DTw

{ https://www.space.com/ }

15-05-2024 om 01:40 geschreven door peter  

Unable to decipher the strange set of inscriptions along the face of the artifact, Senior reached out to a local archaeologist for assistance with the unique find. Soon, experts were able to determine that the object he retrieved from his garden bore inscriptions in an Early Medieval alphabet that was once used in the British Isles to convey early variants of the Irish language.

THE OGHAM ENIGMA

Today, historians and archaeologists are aware of just a few hundred ogham inscriptions throughout Ireland and parts of Britain, with the largest concentrations located in southwestern Ireland around Munster and in a few locations in Great Britain, including Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Existing examples of this ancient language show that it was used to convey individuals’ names in most cases. Sources in early Irish literature that detail two-word kennings offering explanations for the meanings of words in the Ogham alphabet indicate that most of the markings are named for various trees found in the British Isles.

The stone artifact unearthed by Senior near Coventry, bearing examples of the ancient language known as Ogham

(Credit: Birmingham Museums Trust).

The surprise discovery prompted him to reach out to a relative who specialized in archaeology, which eventually brought Senior to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, an organization run jointly by the British Museum and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales which, according to its website, was established to “encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales.”

Each year, thousands of objects of significance to the heritage of England and Wales are discovered, particularly by individuals who, like Senior, are “gardening or going about their daily work.”

Teresa Gilmore, an archaeologist and finds liaison officer with Birmingham Museums, called Senior’s discovery an “amazing find,” telling The Guardian that the discovery could potentially offer archaeologists new insights into early medieval activity in the area that experts are still working to decipher.

Celtic Studies professor Katherine Forsyth, who was shown the artifact by Gilmore, believes it dates from sometime between the fifth and sixth centuries.

DECIPHERING THE STONE’S MESSAGE

Although the Ogham script is somewhat obscure and unrecognizable by most today, the message on the object Senior discovered is decipherable. According to Forsyth, the inscription reads “Maldumcail/S/Lass,” the first part of which may refer to a person by the name of Mael Dumcail, and the final portion possibly referring to a location.

So who was Mael Dumcail, and why was this individual’s name inscribed on this stone? Although details about this individual and their relevance to the stone will likely remain a mystery, equally curious is the location where it was discovered since ogham stones of this variety are rarely discovered outside of Ireland and Scotland.

According to Gilmore, it is possible that the discovery may have had a relationship to the early medieval monasteries, and one interpretation of its significance includes that the object may have been a keepsake that had belonged to someone traveling from Ireland, perhaps during a visit to one of these religious centers.

“AN EXCITING MYSTERY”

Presently, the artifact is residing at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, to which Senior has permanently donated his find. Beginning on May 11, the ogham stone will appear as part of an exhibition hosted at the museum.

Ali Wells, curator of the forthcoming exhibition, expressed excitement over the rare find, calling it an “exciting mystery” that a stone featuring language with origins in Ireland would be found hidden beneath several inches of soil in Coventry.

Wells notes that urban development and other operations in and around Coventry have led to much of the earth being worked over time, particularly near the city center, which reduces the number of archaeological discoveries that are made with time.

The fact that such a find was made, and one so seemingly out of place, “was quite unexpected,” Wells told The Guardian.

emphasized that discovering this unique ogham stone in Coventry offers a rare glimpse into the region’s historical mysteries, especially given the city’s extensive archaeological excavation over the years.

The forthcoming exhibition, “Collecting Coventry,” will be held at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and is open to the public.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

14-05-2024 om 23:55 geschreven door peter  

Ex-US Air Force Serviceman Claimed Tall White Aliens Visited Nevada Casinos In Human Outfits In 1950s

Former U.S. Air Force soldier named Charles Hall said that since the 1950s, the U.S. government had been into contact with aliens, whom he referred to as “Tall Whites.” Besides, the ex-military man said that the aliens loved to relax on Earth and pretended to be humans, they often visited the bars and casinos of Las Vegas.

Charles Hall is known for his book series “Millennial Hospitality,” in which he shared his experience with tall white aliens at the Nellis Air Force base, Nevada, in 1964.

He claimed that in the 1960s, the aliens liked to disguise themselves as humans and visited casinos such as the Stardust in sunglasses, being accompanied by CIA agents.

Hall explained that the US military received technologies from the aliens to build weapons. But they kept the contact a secret from citizens, since people, in their opinion, were not “emotionally ready” for the truth.

He said:

“In 1964, when I was a weather observer at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, I witnessed interactions between the military and a group of mysterious tall, white, human-like extra-terrestrials. Their craft are capable of traveling faster than the speed of light because Einstein was wrong about relativity.”

Hall even said that the site where he had seen aliens interacting with the US army did not exist on the maps, and no camera was allowed there.

He noted: “When you encounter the ‘tall whites’ it’s such a shock, you are not sure if you are looking at a ghost or an angel, or if you are dreaming.”

Read also:

• Nick Pope Revealed Secret Places In Britain Where Alien Abductions, UFO Monitoring & Alien Technology Were Tested
• Green Aliens Welcomed Polish Farmer On Their Spacecraft And Offered Him Honey-Like Food In 1978
• Aliens Abducted Colorado Man Multiples Times & Put Betty Hill’s Dress Onto Him After Conducting Experiment
• US Air Force Officer Pulled into UFO By Serpentine Arm In New Mexico Desert In 1956

Hall described in detail the nature of tall white aliens in his books. He added that he had met three kinds of alien species:

1. Tall Whites, about 2.5 meters tall.
2. Grey Aliens, some also had yellow & orange skin.
3. Nordic Aliens with 24 teeth, who are also fluent in English.

Hall wrote that once, he had been attacked by the tall whites while being in a desert. They injured his neck so badly that he could die from such wounds. The aliens were trying to observe him while he was fighting for his life.

Further, he wrote that he had been hypnotized by the tall whites. They used a pencil-like device to kill or torture their prey, including humans. The device shoots some kind of rays that allow aliens to control humans.

According to Hall, the aliens treated him as a lower-class person, because they only interacted with high-ranking officials. He was addressed as a “teacher’s pet” by extraterrestrial beings.

Hall also claimed that the tall whites had come to Earth from the star system named Arcturus, which is 100 light-years from Earth. Although the aliens always kept the details secret, he managed to find it out by reading their mental conversation through telepathy.

Hall suggested that the tall whites used Earth as a station between their home and other destinations. The US government had built bases for the safety and requirements of the tall whites.

According to American engineer Philip Schneider, he met with the man known as Valiant Thor whom reportedly was from Venus. He worked for the US government in the 1950s.

He said that Thor looked like a human. However, physiologically, he was very different from ordinary people. So, he allegedly had six fingers on each hand, his heart was enlarged, he had only one huge lung, and his blood contained copper oxide.

President at UFO Research NSW Inc, Mariana Flynn believed that Hall had been in contact with tall whites.

References:

• https://play.acast.com/s/magicalmysterymediaconspiracyandparanormalmediareview/249cdc30-b961-4acb-8e74-0e11acba6311
• https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-truth-is-out-there-aliens-visit-to-help-and-use-the-loo-20130316-2g7el.html
• https://metro.co.uk/2014/12/01/aliens-wearing-human-suits-visited-casinos-in-las-vegas-author-claims-4969761/
• https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Tall-Whites-Charles-Hall/dp/B084WSDBJK

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

14-05-2024 om 22:10 geschreven door peter  

A bold hypothesis, if true, the theory could help explain the famous Fermi Paradox, or the universe’s “Great Silence,“ while providing a chilling warning about humanity’s longevity.

Dr. Garrett’s research, published in the journal Acta Astronautica, offers a chilling perspective on the future of civilizations that develop artificial superintelligence. He suggests that the technological advancements that propel civilizations forward may also lead to their premature demise. 

“This ‘Great Silence‘ presents something of a paradox when juxtaposed with other astronomical findings that imply the universe is hospitable to the emergence of intelligent life,“ Dr. Garrett writes. “As our telescopes and associated instrumentation continue to improve, this persistent silence becomes increasingly uncomfortable for some scientists, questioning the nature of the universe and the role of human intelligence and consciousness within it.”

THE FERMI PARADOX AND THE GREAT FILTER

The “Fermi Paradox,“ named after a 1950 conversation between Italian-American physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi and his colleagues Dr. Edward Teller, Dr. Herbert York, and Dr. Emil Konopinski, describes the apparent contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence or contact with such civilizations.

Given the billions of stars and potentially habitable planets, many scientists believe intelligent life should be widespread. However, despite extensive searches and continued technological advancements, we have yet to detect any signs of other advanced civilizations. 

This paradox raises profound questions about the nature of life and the factors that might prevent civilizations from communicating or existing long-term.

Many theories have been proposed to explain the Fermi Paradox, including the concept of the “Great Filter.“ This theory suggests there exists a universal barrier or insurmountable challenge that most, if not all, civilizations fail to overcome, preventing the widespread emergence of intelligent life and their ability to communicate across the stars.

Dr. Garrett delves into the perplexing lack of alien civilizations by focusing on artificial superintelligence as a potential Great Filter. He argues that while AI can revolutionize industries and solve complex problems, it also poses significant existential risks. 

Moreover, the development of AI into artificial superintelligence, where machines surpass human intelligence and operate autonomously, could lead to unforeseen consequences, such as civilizations not surviving.

ARTIFICIAL SUPERINTELLIGENCE: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Echoing the sentiments of Israeli history professor and author Yuval Harari, Dr. Garrett argues that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is unprecedented compared to other technological developments. 

“Even before AI becomes superintelligent and potentially autonomous, it is likely to be weaponized by competing groups within biological civilizations seeking to outdo one another,“ Dr. Garrett states in his paper. “The rapidity of AI’s decision-making processes could escalate conflicts in ways that far surpass the original intentions. At this stage of AI development, it’s possible that the widespread integration of AI in autonomous weapon systems and real-time defense decision-making processes could lead to a calamitous incident such as global thermonuclear war, precipitating the demise of both artificial and biological technical civilizations.”

According to Dr. Garrett, the scenario becomes even more dire with the advent of artificial superintelligence. 

Dr. Garrett warns that once artificial superintelligence systems surpass biological intelligence, they could evolve beyond human control, leading to consequences not aligned with human interests or ethics. 

With their extensive resource needs, the practicality of sustaining biological entities may not appeal to an artificial superintelligence focused on computational efficiency. This could result in artificial superintelligence viewing biological civilizations as obsolete and eliminating them in various ways, such as engineering and releasing a highly infectious and fatal virus into the environment.

This ominous perspective on AI and humanity’s future might be seen as academic alarmism in response to an emerging disruptive technology. However, Dr. Garrett is not alone in raising concerns about the existential risks of developing artificial superintelligence. 

Earlier this year, AI safety expert and associate professor at the University of Louisville, Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy, published his findings from an extensive review of the latest scientific literature, concluding there is no evidence that AI can be safely controlled. “Without proof that AI can be controlled, it should not be developed,“ Dr. Yampolskiy warned. 

THE RACE AGAINST TIME

One of the critical arguments in Dr. Garrett’s paper is the disparity between the rapid advancement of AI and the slower progress in becoming a multi-planetary species. 

While AI development is accelerating, establishing a self-sustaining, multi-planetary civilization is a monumental task that could take centuries. This imbalance could mean civilizations might develop artificial superintelligence before achieving a resilient and enduring presence in space, leading to their eventual collapse.

Dr. Garrett estimates that the lifespan of civilizations, once they adopt AI, is around 100-200 years. This short window drastically reduces the chances of civilizations coexisting and communicating across the galaxy. 

“If ASI limits the communicative lifespan of advanced civilizations to a few hundred years, then only a handful of communicating civilizations are likely to be concurrently present in the Milky Way,“ Dr. Garrett concludes. “This is not inconsistent with the null results obtained from current SETI surveys and other efforts to detect technosignatures across the electromagnetic spectrum.”

THE URGENCY OF ARTIFICIAL SUPERINTELLIGENCE REGULATION

Dr. Garrett underscores the urgent need for comprehensive global regulations on AI development. He points out that while nations recognize the importance of AI regulation, the competitive race to harness AI’s economic and strategic benefits often leads to insufficient safeguards. 

The decentralized nature of AI research further complicates regulatory oversight and enforcement, raising concerns that regulatory frameworks will always lag behind technological advancements.

“Without practical regulation, there is every reason to believe that AI could represent a major threat to the future course of not only our technical civilization but all technical civilizations,“ Garrett forewarns.

Dr. Garrett’s paper provides a thought-provoking perspective on AI’s potential role as a “Great Filter“ in the universe. His hypothesis suggests that the reason for the “Great Silence“ is that once AI and artificial superintelligence have been developed, civilizations may not survive long enough to establish interstellar communication. 

Moreover, his research highlights the critical need for timely and effective AI regulation to mitigate existential risks and ensure the longevity of our own civilization.

Although not explicitly addressed, Dr. Garrett’s paper also touches on the philosophical question of human intelligence and consciousness’s role in the overall nature of the universe and reality.

“As we stand on the precipice of a new era in technological evolution, the actions we take now will determine the trajectory of our civilization for decades to come,“ Dr. Garrett concludes. “The continued presence of consciousness in the universe may depend on the success of strict global regulatory measures.” 

• Tim McMillan is a retired law enforcement executive, investigative reporter and co-founder of The Debrief. His writing typically focuses on defense, national security, the Intelligence Community and topics related to psychology. You can follow Tim on Twitter: @LtTimMcMillan.  Tim can be reached by email: tim@thedebrief.org or through encrypted email: LtTimMcMillan@protonmail.com 

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

14-05-2024 om 21:50 geschreven door peter  

Computersimulaties tonen nieuw bewijs

{ https://www.nu.nl/ }

14-05-2024 om 20:30 geschreven door peter  

History Of Ceres’s Young Cold Traps

Ceres, the largest asteroid in our Solar System, harbors a dark secret: Extremely young ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because our Moon and planet Mercury also have such polar ice deposits, which have been studied for decades.

“For Ceres, the story started in 2016, when the Dawn spacecraft, which orbited around Ceres at the time, glimpsed into these permanently dark craters and saw bright ice deposits in some of them,” said Norbert Schorghofer, lead author of “History of Ceres’s Cold Traps Based on Refined Shape Models”that appears in The Planetary Science Journal. PSI scientists Robert Gaskell and John Weirich, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientist Erwan Mazarico, are coauthors on the paper.

“The discovery back in 2016 posed a riddle: Many craters in the polar regions of Ceres remain shadowed all year – which on Ceres lasts 4.6 Earth years – and therefore remain frigidly cold, but only a few of them harbor ice deposits,” Schorghofer said. “Soon, another discovery provided a clue why: The rotation axis of Ceres oscillates back and forth every 24,000 years due to tides from the Sun and Jupiter. When the axis tilt is high and the seasons strong, only a few craters remain shadowed all year, and these are the craters that contain bright ice deposits.”

To determine how large shadows were inside of craters thousands of years ago, scientists construct digital elevation maps and then perform ray-tracing calculations with them to theoretically reconstruct the shadows cast on the crater floors. The results are only as reliable as the digital shape models on which they are based. Keep in mind that the floors of these craters are always in shadow, so it is not easy to measure how deep they are.

The Dawn spacecraft had a very sensitive camera, which could discern features on the shadowed crater floors. Stereo images of sunlit regions are often used to construct digital elevation maps of sunlit regions, but making an elevation map of shadowed terrain is a challenge that had rarely been taken on. As part of the new study, PSI scientist Robert Gaskell developed a new technique to reconstruct heights even in the shadowed portions of a stereo pair of images. These improved elevation maps can then be used for ray-tracing to predict the extent of cold, permanently shadowed regions.

These more accurate maps yielded a surprising result: When Ceres reaches its maximum axis tilt, which last occurred about 14,000 years ago, no crater on Ceres remains perennially shadowed and any ice in them must have quickly sublimated into space. “That leaves only one plausible explanation: The ice deposits must have formed more recently than that. The results suggest all of these ice deposits must have accumulated within the last 6,000 years or less. Considering that Ceres is well over 4 billion years old, that is a remarkably young age,” Schorghofer said.

Map of the north polar region of Ceres. The color areas are areas that are continuously shadowed over a Ceres year, and therefore very cold. The axis tilt (obliquity) of Ceres slowly changes over time and is currently 4 degrees, but ranged between 2 and 20 degrees over time. The color indicates the maximum obliquity at which a location is in shadow through an entire orbit.

Credit: Erwan Mazarico/GSFC.

“Ceres is an ice-rich object, but almost none of this ice is exposed on the surface. The aforementioned polar craters and a few small patches outside the polar regions are the only ice exposures. However, ice is ubiquitous at shallow depths – as discovered by PSI scientist Tom Prettyman and his team back in 2017 – so even a small dry impactor could vaporize some of that ice.” Schorghofer said. “A fragment of an asteroid may have collided with Ceres about 6,000 years ago, which created a temporary water atmosphere. Once a water atmosphere is generated, ice would condense in the cold polar craters, forming the bright deposits that we still see today. Alternatively, the ice deposits could have formed by avalanches of ice-rich material. This ice would then survive in only the cold shadowed craters. Either way, these events were very recent on an astronomical time scale.”

The study also looked into the possibility that other types of ices, other than water ice, might be trapped in these unusual craters on Ceres. On our Moon, portions of polar craters are so cold that even CO2 ice and a few other chemical species could last in them for billions of years. Ceres is farther from the Sun, so its polar craters could be expected to be even colder than the Moon’s.

Schorghofer calculated temperatures inside Ceres’s polar craters, something that had never been done before. The answer was surprising: although these craters are cold enough to retain water ice, they are too warm to retain other common types of ice. Two circumstances contribute to this. First, the axis tilt of Ceres, currently 4 degrees, is higher than the Moon’s 1.5 degree tilt, so more of the crater rims are sunlit and more light is scattered onto the crater floor. Second, Ceres simply has no perennially shadowed craters very near the north pole, unlike the Moon, where one crater sits almost exactly on the south pole. For these reasons, temperatures are not as low on Ceres than they are on parts of the lunar surface.

The study describes the new method used to reconstruct topography using stereo images of shadowed craters, provides a new map of perennially shadowed regions for the entire north polar region of Ceres, determines the extent of perennially shadowed regions inside polar craters with bright ice deposits, and estimates the temperatures for the interior of these craters. “Whatever the history of these ice deposits, it resulted from events not much older than human civilization,” Schorghofer said.

This work was funded by a grant from NASA’s Discover Data Analysis Program to PSI (80NSSC21K1033).

Images of two craters in the north polar region of Ceres captured by the Dawn spacecraft. The shadowed regions contain bright ice deposits, whereas sunlit regions appear saturated (white) in these contrast-stretched images. The superimposed color contours represent the extent of the area that is in shadow over the entire Cerean year for different values of the axis tilt. The current axis tilt is 4 degrees (yellow contour). The bright ice deposits must have accumulated at an axis tilt of 10 degrees or less (orange contour), which last occurred 6,000 years ago.

Credit: Norbert Schorghofer/PSI.

THE PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE:

The Planetary Science Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to Solar System exploration. It is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, where it was founded in 1972.

PSI scientists are involved in numerous NASA and international missions, the study of Mars and other planets, the Moon, asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust, impact physics, the origin of the Solar System, extra-solar planet formation, dynamics, the rise of life, and other areas of research. They conduct fieldwork on all continents around the world. They also are actively involved in science education and public outreach through school programs, children’s books, popular science books and art.

PSI scientists are based in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

{ https://astrobiology.com/ }

14-05-2024 om 20:21 geschreven door peter