One explanation could be that the odd-looking beams of light are Starlink satellites but there were no launches during the first sighting in South America

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/ }

25-05-2024 om 20:55 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: Ukrainian soldier who filmed 1,300-ft UFO speaks to DailyMail.com

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

For four decades, since the height of the Cold War, a mysterious radio signal has been broadcast out of Russia — baffling ham radio fans, scientists and spies alike.

Some speculate it's part of the Russian government's own secret SETI program or even actively communicating with a visiting alien species. 

Others believe it might be a 'Dead Hand' doomsday trigger, ready to launch nuclear weapons if Russia's leadership is knocked out of commission. 

But according to a professor of electronics and radio engineering, who has studied the signal, one thing is certain: 'It is almost certainly the Russian government that is using it,' he said.

And: 'If it is the Russian government, it wouldn't be for peaceful purposes.'

For four decades, since the height of the Cold War, a mysterious radio signal has been broadcast out of Russia - example signal at left - baffling ham radio fans, scientists and spies alike. Above, right, one of the towers that broadcast the signal, 19 miles outside of Moscow

Professor David Stupples, who teaches electronic and radio engineering at the City University of London, personally believes that the enigmatic broadcast, nicknamed 'The Buzzer,' has likely been kept active as a fail-safe in case of nuclear war.

Broadcast at the 4625kHz shortwave radio frequency, the Buzzer has led some physicists to speculate that its signal is being used to monitor Earth's ionosphere.

But Professor Stupples — whose expertise is in orbital or otherwise space-based reconnaissance platforms, surveillance, and navigation systems — acknowledges that both incredible and mundane explanations are all still on the table.

'They may be just reserving the channel for air defense or some form of defense,' Stupples told Popular Mechanics this week.

'If they don't actually use it, someone will poach it,' according to Stupples. 'They are keeping the channel available by broadcasting and saying, "this is ours."'

In 2010, the source point of the UVB-76 broadcast shifted, surrounded by odd events and new quirks to its seemingly random tones, voices and information - which it has broadcast continuously since the 1970s

Amateur ham radio interest and unclassified scientific interest in 'The Buzzer,' officially known by its original call sign 'UVB-76,' first spiked in 1982.

Back then, the station was known to broadcast only a coded and baffling series of beeps, but by 1992 the broadcasts got stranger: a series of buzzing noises, 25 times every minute, for less than a second each, and occasionally an ominous foghorn.

During the nineties, UVB-76's buzzing would also become sporadically interrupted by anonymous male and female voices, who would read lists of seemingly random names, words, or numbers. 

The tones of the noises the station broadcast would vary as well, potentially with secret information packed inside those tonal shifts.

This diversity of odd broadcasts is what caught Professor Stupples's and other researchers' attention, because that variety is out of character for a simple 'emergency placeholder' signal.

According to the surveillance engineering expert, a government or military institution that simply wants to keep control of a certain radio frequency will typically just broadcast a single basic test pattern, over and over again.

Not only does the UVB-76 'Buzzer' broadcast more complex and confusing signals instead — it does so powerfully, with over many thousands of watts of energy transferred, based on Professor Stupples's measurements, and in all directions.

'I have put it through my signal spectrum analyzers,' Stupples said, 'and I can't pick any intelligence out at all.'

A Russian student based in Canada, Egor Esveev, tracked down the mystery broadcast to a seemingly abandoned Russian base near Pskov, on the border with Estonia. Esveev told MailOnline.com in 2014 that he found the abandoned location very eerie

Freelance radio monitor Ary Boender from Holland, who runs the website Numbers Oddities, has heard and entertained many theories about the signal over the years. 

'Some say that it is an old Soviet Dead Man's Switch that triggers a nuclear attack on the west when it stops buzzing,' she explained.

'Others say that it is a homing beacon for UFOs,' Boender continued, 'or a mind control device with which the Russians can program your mind.'  

'In the past it was said that it was a remote control station belonging to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,' she recalls.

Jochen Schäfer, who served for many years as head of a citizen's group in Germany that spied on professional spies, once maintained that the Buzzer is a numbers station: a radio broadcast that allows agents in the field to transmit coded messages.

'It's no typical numbers station, but it is one,' Schäfer insisted to Wired in 2011.

To this day, according to Stupples, all these theories, even the most outlandish ones, could still prove to be true. 

'It is always entertaining, isn't it?' Stupples told Popular Mechanics. 'And you never know, one of those crank views may be right, and then we all eat humble pie.'

But the mystery of UVB-76 got deeper in 2010, when it disappeared from its first broadcasting location, which had been tracked down to a Russian army base near the town of Povarovo, 19 miles outside Moscow. 

Most of the buildings, some half underground, were destroyed or abandoned according to Mr Evseev, while cables in some areas had been visibly torn from the ground 

'We found tons of rubbish documents,' Evseev added. 'One that we found was interestingly enough about ceasing operations of the base' 

The signal ceased broadcasting for a roughly 24 hours.

When it returned, odd pauses began appearing in the broadcast, and on August 25, 2010 amateur listeners eavesdropping on the station heard something they described as people shuffling around a room. 

Some of these odd new transmissions resembled Morse code. 

Then, one day, the station started blaring out snippets of composer Tchaikovsky's ballet 'Swan Lake,' and the call sign changed from 'UVB-76' to 'MDZhB,' spoken by a mystery figure saying 'Mikhail Dumitri Zhengya Boris.'

The station also once broadcast a time signal, with a one-minute long two-tune buzzer sounding at the top of every hour. This was disabled in June 2010, and no time signal has taken its place.

Interestingly, codes have also been repeated over months or years, for reasons unknown. On 26 January 2011 the operator read out 'ILOTICIN 36 19 69 46.' This was repeated almost four months later, on 11 May 2011.

Russian student Egor Esveev, 20, who originally comes from Moscow but now studies in Ottawa, told MailOnline in 2014 that he managed to track down the origin of the signal after it moved from Povarovo.

Esveev said he found it near Pskov, on the border with Estonia, which he explored and photographed himself.

'Like any abandoned building or area it was very creepy,' he told MailOnline in 2014.

'Strange people and very strange scenery.'

Esveev said he encountered 'a mid-40s woman' who was pushing 'a stroller.' 

'At first I thought that she is a resident of the town out for a walk but as she walked past I saw that her stroller was empty,' he said.

'Who goes to an abandoned military base with an empty stroller for a walk?'

He said the station was set up like a 'typical Russian military base' with two different perimeters.

Most of the buildings, some half underground, were destroyed or abandoned according to Mr Evseev, while cables in some areas had been visibly torn from the ground.

'We found tons of rubbish documents,' he added. 'One that we found was interestingly enough about ceasing operations of the base.'

Esveev said thinks that the station may be used for some form of internal communication that, 'while secret, isn't sensitive enough for them to care about masking or keeping it secret.'

But no matter how hard people try to investigate the mystery of Russia's 4625kHz signal, according to Professor Stupples, the UK-based electronic and radio engineering expert, any definitive conclusions will likely stay just out of reach without some official confirmation. 

'I think to find the whole truth—and nothing but the truth—I think it would have to come from the Russian Federation themselves,' Stupples said.

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13374559/US-Navy-Thunderbirds-style-Manta-Ray-drone-sub.html

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

25-05-2024 om 18:43 geschreven door peter  

North Carolina man shares snaps of bizarre furry 'UFO' that landed in his garden - and believes it may have come from space

• Justin Clontz was doing grounds maintenance when he stumbled upon the 'UFO'
• The bizarre object was massive and covered in carbon fiber and some kind of fur
• READ MORE: Nine never-before-seen videos of craft flying over the U.S.

By MARTHA WILLIAMS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A shocked North Carolina man revealed the ginormous and bizarre UFO object he stumbled upon in the mountains. 

Justin Clontz was working on grounds maintenance at Glamping Collective, a luxury campsite in Haywood County, when he made a bewildering discovery.   

Clontz and his coworker were on a remote trail in Canton when they spotted a giant foreign-looking object

He said he was 'Just shocked as to what it was,' adding 'It's once in a lifetime you know, it don't happen every day.' 

The UFO-like object was covered in burnt carbon fiber and heavy-duty metal plates that were held together by thick bolts. It appeared to be covered in some kind of weird fur. 

The UFO-like object was covered in burnt carbon fiber and heavy-duty metal plates that were held together by thick bolts. It appeared to be covered in some kind of weird fur

Clontz had to tow the object out of the area because it was so massive and heavy

Clontz had to tow the object out of the area because it was so massive and heavy. 

'I just tied a rope to it and drug it out with a lawn mower. It's a one in a million chance that it lands, especially if it landed somewhere off the trail in the woods you'd have never found it but it just happened to land on the trail,' Clontz explained to WLOS.  

He said that the 'UFO' had landed perfectly in the middle of the trail - through an opening, and said that none of the trees or leaves looked like they had caught fire.

Nobody had even heard the object land, which is surprising because of its size and weight. 

Clontz said this wasn't surprising, 'Once you get so far on that trail you don't really hear nothing in the woods.'

The owner of Glamping Collective plans to reach out to aerospace experts to identify the object and its origin.

Justin Clontz (pictured) was working on grounds maintenance at Glamping Collective, a luxury campsite in Haywood County, when he made a bewildering discovery

The owner of Glamping Collective (pictured here) where the 'UFO' was found plans to reach out to aerospace experts to identify the object and its origin

UFO sightings across America have been rampant, with nine never-before-seen videos of crafts flying over the country being recently released by researchers.  

The videos were uploaded to Enigma Labs, which shows observations in California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

While shot in different locations, witnesses described the UFO as appearing out of nowhere without a sound and disappearing into thin air.

Enigma Lab's UAP advisor Alejandro Rojas said that all the images appeared to be the same, but suggested it could have been a rocket - 'but there were no rockets scheduled at that time.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

25-05-2024 om 18:30 geschreven door peter  

De eerste betaalbare “vriendelijke robot” ter wereld onthuld: hij kan rennen, noten kraken en nog veel meer

Door Janine

Unitree G1, de "kind"-robot, gepresenteerd

Unitree Robotics/Youtube screenshot

Mensachtige robots strijden om te zien wie van hen de meest indrukwekkende prestaties kan leveren. De grens van deze machines breidt zich steeds verder uit: robots kunnen rennen, werken, koken, dansen en nog veel meer. De simulatie van menselijke activiteiten wordt steeds nauwkeuriger en verrassender, hoewel de uitdagingen in deze innovatieve sector nog steeds talrijk zijn.

Nadat we de "arbeidersrobot" tijdens de live demonstratie na twintig opeenvolgende uren werk op de grond hebben zien instorten, hebben het nu over het nieuwe "wezen" van het Chinese bedrijf Unitree Robotics, dat de Unitree G1-robot presenteerde via een indrukwekkende video. De wetenschappelijke gemeenschap was verbaasd over deze robot en zijn mogelijkheden: G1 is zo groot als een kind en is uitgerust met kunstmatige intelligentie, maar de functies ervan zijn ongelooflijk geavanceerd.

• https://youtu.be/RQy-0IGX7GA

De ongelooflijke capaciteiten van de G1-robot

Unitree Robotics/Youtube screenshot

G1 kan in feite geraakt worden zonder op de grond te vallen: hij stapt gewoon een stukje naar achteren en toont uitzonderlijke weerstand en evenwicht. Bovendien kan hij worden opgevouwen om "compact" te worden en gemakkelijk te worden verplaatst. Zijn meest merkwaardige gave is echter dat hij veel handelingen met zijn handen kan uitvoeren, zoals het kraken van noten en het maken van een tosti.

In de video is te zien hoe G1 op de grond ligt en dan met grote behendigheid helemaal zelfstandig overeind komt. Hij lijkt wel een slangenmens, zo flexibel is hij in het aannemen van onnatuurlijke houdingen. Eenmaal rechtop, wordt hij gefilmd terwijl hij zonder aarzelen naar de muur loopt, zich dan omdraait, één arm opheft en naar de camera zwaait. Op dat punt begint hij te rennen - hij kan een snelheid van 7,2 km/u bereiken - om nog een van zijn vaardigheden te tonen, totdat hij laat zien dat hij tegen een stootje kan. Meteen daarna neemt hij een pauze, gaat op de bank liggen en “krult zich op” zodat hij opgepakt kan worden.

Daarna laat G1 zien wat hij in de keuken kan: hij heeft geen gereedschap nodig om de noten te kraken die hij uit een kom haalt, hij gebruikt gewoon één hand, waarmee hij zelfs een frisdrank kan openen. Het filmpje eindigt met de robot die de intentie heeft om met een hamer op zijn vingers te slaan: ze lijken onverwoestbaar en kunnen voorwerpen tot een maximumgewicht van 2 kg hanteren.

De prijs van de G1-robot is $16.000

Unitree Robotics/Youtube screenshot

Het publiek was echter vooral onder de indruk van de prijs: Unitree G1, die werd onthuld in Yokohama, in Japan, tijdens de ICRA, de conferentie over robotica van de IEEE, kost slechts 16.000 dollar. Hij is 127 cm hoog, 45 cm breed en 20 cm dik. Ingeklapt worden de afmetingen 69x45x30 cm en de lithiumbatterij zorgt voor een autonomie van twee uur.

Unitree heeft al mensachtige robots ontwikkeld en debuteerde op dit gebied met de H1-robot op mensenmaat, die 150.000 dollar kost. Dit tweede product is echter veel goedkoper, ondanks zijn ongelooflijke capaciteiten. Dankzij de Intel RealSense D435 dieptecamera en een 3D LiDAR kan hij zijn omgeving herkennen, waarin hij behendig beweegt dankzij gewrichten in de knieën, middel en heupen. Het is uiteindelijk de “eerste mensachtige die je kunt kopen voor de prijs van een goedkope cobot”, zoals professor Bruno Siciliano, een van de toonaangevende onderzoekers op het gebied van robotica, zei. De cobot is een collaboratieve robot, bedoeld voor mens-machine interactie in nauw contact.

Unitree Robotics/Youtube

• https://youtu.be/VAtoqAQ2aEg

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

25-05-2024 om 17:41 geschreven door peter  

Een oude Maya-techniek zou de groei van planten op Mars kunnen bevorderen, zo beweert een onderzoek

 Door Janine

Vroeg of laat zullen mensen naar Mars gaan. Misschien zal de missie niet in de nabije toekomst plaatsvinden, maar het staat vast dat het koloniseren van de rode planeet een van de doelstellingen van ruimtevaartorganisaties is. De vraag is: wat zullen toekomstige kolonisten eten? Leveringen vanaf de aarde zijn allesbehalve duurzaam, en dus blijft er maar één optie over: voedsel direct op Mars verbouwen, met enige hulp van oude Maya-praktijken.

De Maya's en de landbouw op Mars

PLOS ONE/Gonçalves et al./2024

De voedselvoorziening en de landbouw op Mars zijn verre van een ondergeschikt probleem, maar uiterst belangrijke kwesties. Met name een onderzoek van Wageningen University & Research in Nederland heeft mogelijk de eerste stappen gezet om het probleem op te lossen. De onderzoekers hebben in feite een moderne versie van een oude Maya-techniek overgenomen, genaamd intercropping of tussenteelt, en zijn begonnen met het telen van tomaten, erwten en wortels in dezelfde potten.

De resultaten, gepubliceerd in PLOS ONE, waren verrassend. Tomaten geteeld door middel van tussenteelt verdubbelden hun productie vergeleken met individueel geteelde tomaten, met grotere vruchten en in minder tijd. Hetzelfde gebeurde niet met erwten, die een onveranderde opbrengst behielden, en wortelen, die daarentegen een lagere opbrengst vertoonden. Terwijl aan de ene kant intercropping veelbelovende resultaten oplevert, is het aan de andere kant essentieel om zorgvuldig gewassen, grond en additieven te kiezen.

Verbouwen op Marsgrond: is dat mogelijk?

PLOS ONE/Gonçalves et al./2024

Bij het experiment van de onderzoekers van de Nederlandse universiteit waren in deze eerste fase drie soorten gewassen betrokken. Zoals we al zeiden, zijn de grondsoort en eventuele toevoegingen even belangrijk. Om de bodem van Mars te simuleren, ontwikkelden wetenschappers een bodem die bestaat uit regoliet, zonder organisch materiaal, waaraan ze vervolgens bacteriën en voedingsstoffen toevoegden. Een proces dat sterk lijkt op het proces dat toekomstige kolonisten zouden kunnen gebruiken om gewassen op Mars te verbouwen.

Als aanvoer vanaf de aarde moet worden uitgesloten vanwege de kosten en tijd die daarvoor nodig is, lijkt teelt op de rode planeet de enige optie. En intercropping, oftewel het gebruik van planten met complementaire eigenschappen, zou echt een levensvatbare toekomst kunnen vertegenwoordigen. Evenals een manier om het gebruik van water en voedingsstoffen te optimaliseren.

De nieuwe landbouw op Mars en de kunst van het kiezen van de juiste planten

PLOSE ONE/Gonçalves et al./2024 / 中国新闻网/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 3.0 DEED

Uit de resultaten van hun experiment ontdekten de onderzoekers dat de tomatenplanten een concreet voordeel haalden uit de nabijheid van erwten. Deze laatste kunnen namelijk zeer efficiënt stikstof uit de lucht opnemen en omzetten in voedingsstoffen. Tegelijkertijd profiteerden de wortels niet alleen niet van de nabijheid van de erwten, maar werden ze er ook door geschaad, waarschijnlijk als gevolg van de concurrentie om licht. En we weten dat zonlicht op Mars niet in grote hoeveelheden beschikbaar is: ook in dit geval zal het nodig zijn om na te denken over duurzame alternatieven voor een menselijke kolonie.

Het succes van toekomstige missies naar de rode planeet hangt inderdaad ook af van het vermogen van de kolonisten om zelfvoorzienend te zijn. En deze capaciteit hangt op zijn beurt af van duurzame landbouw op Marsgrond, dat wil zeggen van de tussenteelt van de oude Maya’s. Naast het kiezen van de juiste gewassen om het project te starten, rest er vandaag nog maar één twijfel: niemand heeft de tomaten, erwten en wortelen geproefd. Wie weet hoe ze zullen smaken.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

25-05-2024 om 17:19 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

25-05-2024 om 17:06 geschreven door peter  

The tests were multipurpose, making sure that communications protocols with mission control were effective, putting technological devices that will used by moonwalkers through their paces, and doing dry runs of science-related activities, such as gathering geology samples.

The technology tested included an augmented reality visor that could provide navigational information to astronauts, helping them stay oriented and relocate the lunar lander in an emergency.
The test also simulated the communications procedures, allowing both astronauts and ground-based- teams to work together remotely to retrieve the most valuable geological samples and problem-solve in real-time.

“During Artemis III, the astronauts will be our science operators on the lunar surface with an entire science team supporting them from here on Earth,” said Cherie Achilles, science officer for the test at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This simulation gives us an opportunity to practice conducting geology from afar in real-time.”

All told the astronauts performed four ‘moonwalks’ and six technology demonstrations over the course of the week. These activities represent the fifth in a series of field tests, and are the “highest fidelity Artemis moonwalk mission simulation to date,” according to a NASA press release.

Artemis III is targeting the lunar south pole, which is a new environment for humans, far removed from the landing sites of the Apollo mission of 1969-72. The permanently shadowed craters of the south pole are expected to hold water ice, a valuable resource in space not just as a refreshing drink, but also as a source of the primary ingredients (hydrogen and oxygen) needed to make rocket fuel.

Rubins and Douglas’s space suits were open-sleeved for the Arizona desert, but prototypes of the actual spacesuits, currently under development by Axiom Space, are also undergoing testing. Future tests will have them put through their paces underwater at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas.

Learn More:

• “NASA Tests Technology, Practices Artemis Moonwalks in Arizona Desert.” NASA.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

25-05-2024 om 16:50 geschreven door peter  

Toxic Perchlorate on Mars Could Make Life More Interesting

The search for life in the Universe has fascinated humans for centuries. Mars has of course been high on the list of potential habitats for alien existence but since the numerous spacecraft images that have come back showing a barren landscape, it seems Mars may not be so habitable after all. That is, until recently. The Martian regolith, the top layer of dust upon the surface has been found to be full of perchlorate salts.  These chemicals are poisonous to most life on Earth but a new study suggests that some extremophile protein enzymes and RNA may just be able to survive!

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the last of the major planets to have a solid surface. To the casual observer, Mars has a red hue to it which is the result of an iron-oxide rich surface. You might known iron-oxide by its more familiar name of rust. It is about half the size of Earth but does have some familiar surface features. Volcanoes pepper the surface but these are, as far as we know, extinct and caps of ice adorn the polar regions. 

Early observers, with poor quality telescopes believed Mars was criss-crossed with a great global irrigation system that carried melt water from the polar caps to the drier equatorial regions. We have since learned that these were just optical illusions and that the polar caps were largely made of carbon dioxide ice. As time progressed, the expectations of finding alien life on Mars slowly dwindled away. It has been kept alive though with hints of surface liquid water making the odd appearance and chemicals found in Martian meteorites that suggest biological processes. There is no doubt that the debate of life on Mars has still not reached a conclusion.

As we continue to search for evidence of life we are in parallel expanding our knowledge of life on Earth. In our search, whichever way we turn, under whichever rock we look or even indeed whichever corner of the world we search we can find signs of life. No matter how extreme the environment, life seems to find a way and as we learn more about the conditions where life can exist here, it helps in our search for alien life too. 

Among the many missions to Mars, there is mounting evidence for perchlorate salts in the Martian surface. These salts are composed of oxygen and chlorine atoms and are usually considered to be harmful to life on Earth. They can combine with water in the atmosphere to produce solutions of brine (salty water). The presence of water in many different states on Mars has informed NASA’s strategy for the search for life there to ‘follow the water’. The concept is simple, look for water and you may find life! 

A team of researchers at the College of Biological Sciences have recently published their research in the Nature Communication journal. They studied how the geochemical environment on Mars could shape and support past, or even present life on the red planet! Led by Assistant Professor Aaron Engelhart, the team studied two types of RNA (ribonucleic acid) and enzymes that are key components to life on Earth. To their surprise they found that, while the RNA functioned well in the perchlorate brine, the enzymes were less suited. They did find though that proteins that have evolved to survive extreme environments on Earth were well suited to the brine solution. 

It is a tantalising twist to the hunt for life. Where we started to lose hope for finding signs of past or present life on Mars due to the hospitable environment, the results showed that RNA is actually well suited to salty properties of the brine. With tolerance to such environmental factors the research breathes tantalising new angles into the search for life. 

Source : 

• Exploring extremes in the search for life on Mars

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

25-05-2024 om 16:40 geschreven door peter  

Unveiling Pre-Roswell Mysteries: 5 UFO Crashes That Fascinate and Intrigue

The fascination with unidentified flying objects has captivated the public imagination for decades, often centered around the infamous Roswell incident of 1947. However, there were several intriguing UFO crash stories that predate Roswell, shrouded in mystery and controversy. Here are five notable UFO crashes that occurred before the Roswell event.

1. Trinity Nuclear Site UFO Crash (1945)

In December 2022, President Joe Biden approved a significant addition to the US military budget, which included a mandate to systematically investigate UFO incidents. This new initiative expanded its scope to include encounters dating back to 1945, prompted by an often-overlooked incident near the Trinity site in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was tested in July 1945.

On August 16, 1945, two young boys, Jose Padilla and Reme Bacca, discovered a mysterious crash site while searching for a lost cow near San Antonio, New Mexico. They encountered a large, round metal object with a jagged gash, through which they saw small, rapidly moving figures. The metal fragments from the craft reportedly had an unusual ability to return to their original shape when bent.

• https://youtu.be/l0CoM2p--Dw

Years later, in 2003, after successful careers in law enforcement and politics, Jose and Reme shared their story with Jacques Vallee, a former federal government UFO investigator. They described the beings inside the craft as about four feet tall, with spindly limbs and heads resembling praying mantises. Despite the military’s official claim that the object was a weather balloon, interest in this incident was rekindled by its inclusion in the recent military spending bill.

2. Mussolini’s UFO Crash (Italy, 1933)

In 1933, a UFO reportedly crashed in Italy, and the incident was allegedly covered up by the Vatican and later transferred to the US at the end of World War II. Italian ufologist Roberto Pinotti and US Air Force veteran David Grusch claimed that Italian dictator Mussolini had seized the spacecraft and kept it hidden until the Allies captured Rome.

The evidence includes purportedly classified documents and telegrams from Mussolini’s era, demanding absolute silence about the crash and threatening severe penalties for any leaks. The UFO, described as a bell-shaped object, was allegedly stored until 1944, with all documentation hidden in the Vatican archives. While no physical evidence has been found, and the authenticity of the documents remains in question, the story continues to intrigue researchers.

3. Aurora, Texas (1897)

In April 1897, residents of Aurora, Texas, reported seeing an airship crash into a windmill on the property of Judge J.S. Proctor. The pilot, described as “not of this world,” died in the crash and was buried in the local cemetery. The story, first reported by the Dallas Morning News, claimed the pilot had documents written in undecipherable symbols, and debris from the crash, including metal fragments, was dumped into a nearby well.

Skeptics argue that the incident may have been a hoax aimed at boosting the town’s declining economy. However, the legend endures, with some modern researchers pointing to unusual findings and high illness rates linked to the well as potential evidence of the crash.

• https://youtu.be/AfiX9I5EMJk

4. Cape Girardeau UFO (1941)

In 1941, Reverend William Huffman was called to deliver last rites at a crash site near Cape Girardeau, Missouri. According to his granddaughter, Charlotte Mann, Huffman discovered a disc-shaped craft with three non-human bodies. The beings, described as short with large bulging eyes, were all deceased by the time Huffman arrived.

The military allegedly cordoned off the area, confiscated the debris, and imposed silence on witnesses. Although no contemporary records exist, and no photograph purportedly taken at the scene has been found, the story has been passed down through generations, adding to the lore of pre-Roswell UFO encounters.

• https://youtu.be/AqiVt1QNn1U

5. Dundy County UFO (1884)

In June 1884, cowboys in Dundy County, Nebraska, reported seeing a fiery object crash near the settlement of Max. The Nebraska State Journal detailed the incident, describing fragments of machinery and a cylindrical object about 50 to 60 feet long. A follow-up party, including a local government inspector, reported that the wreckage dissolved in a rainstorm, leaving behind jelly-like pools.

While the Journal’s managing editor later claimed the story was a fabrication, some researchers believe there might be a kernel of truth. The discovery of strange green rocks near the alleged crash site in 2013 has further fueled speculation, though no concrete evidence has been found.

By Charles O'Rear, 1941-, Photographer (NARA record: 3403717) (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

VIDEO:

• 5 Mysterious UFO Crashes Before Roswell

• https://youtu.be/CLE3xxjUsfI

These five mysterious UFO crash stories, each with its own unique details and controversies, offer a fascinating glimpse into the early reports of unidentified aerial phenomena. Whether true, embellished, or fabricated, these accounts continue to spark curiosity and debate among UFO enthusiasts and skeptics alike, adding rich chapters to the history of UFO lore.

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

25-05-2024 om 13:22 geschreven door peter  

• Luminous 'rods' have been caught on camera over South American countries
• Videos filmed by residents in Argentina, Chile and Brazil show the UFOs 
• READ MORE: The UFO Files: Nine never-before-seen videos of craft flying 

By JOSH BOSWELL FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Strange luminous 'rods' have been caught on camera in the skies over several South American countries in the past month, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The long white and blue objects appeared to slowly float across the sky in videos filmed by residents of Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

One stunning example was filmed on April 29 by UFO researcher and Petrobras engineer Rony Vernet on cameras he set up to monitor the southeastern night sky near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

An apparent cylindrical object glides into the frame at 5.01am, heading northeast and gradually moving out of sight over about 80 seconds.

Videos filmed by residents in Argentina, Chile and Brazil show UFOs. This particular video was taken in Chile on May 6

On May 6 a witness in Argentina filming with their phone captured a similar-looking white object moving slowly through the sky above their house.

The same day, at 7.14pm in Vina del Mar, Chile, a third witness videoed another incident, though this time the cylinder appeared blue.

Another video obtained by Vernet came from a Chilean witness in Luján de Cuyo the same evening.

On May 8, residents of a Brazilian town near the border with Uruguay filmed one that appeared to change color from white to blue and yellow.

The same day as the Chile sighting, a witness in Argentina filming with their phone captured a similar-looking white object moving slowly through the sky above their house

One stunning video was filmed in Brazil. Often a string of lights about as bright as stars, moving slowly across the sky, will be mistaken for a true UFO when it is in fact Starlink

A stunning photograph taken by a Fedex pilot of a meteor burning up in the atmosphere, with a white blob below it resembling the objects captured by Vernet and the other witnesses he gathered

A close up of the white blob resembling the objects captured by Vernet and other witnesses

Vernet shared videos he collected from four witnesses in Brazil on May 9, showing similar objects.

But experts are baffled as to whether the objects are indeed UFOs or the satellite constellation Starlink. 

Often a string of lights about as bright as stars, moving slowly across the sky, will be mistaken for a true UFO when it is in fact Starlink, the network of satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX.

But usually those lights will appear as distinct dots in a line, rather than a solid cylinder, and will not appear to change color.

Chris Spitzer, an expert in UFO analysis, told DailyMail.com that although Starlink generally appears as a trail of distinct dots in the sky once it is fully deployed, during its ascent it can appear as a solid line due to the satellites being grouped close together.

'Starlink sats may look like oblong objects right after deployment when they reach Earth orbit because they are stacked together,' he said.

Spitzer shared a likely example: a stunning photograph taken by a Fedex pilot of a meteor burning up in the atmosphere, with a white blob below it resembling the objects captured by Vernet and the other witnesses he gathered.

The white, bright nature of the objects could be just reflected sunlight, Spitzer explained.

'Starlink satellites also generate UFO sightings right after they are deployed, when they reflect sunlight. They are released in one batch with two clamps parallel to each other where they are stacked together. This could explain some recent sightings,' he said.

On May 6, the same day as the Argentina and Chile sightings, a Starlink satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6.14pm local time.

On May 6, the same day as the Argentina and Chile sightings, a Starlink satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6.14pm local time

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

24-05-2024 om 23:37 geschreven door peter  

Potentially Habitable Earth-Sized Exoplanet Discovered around Gliese 12

Using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and many other telescopes, two teams of astronomers have discovered a temperate, Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a cool red dwarf called Gliese 12. Named Gliese 12b, the planet may have an Earth-like atmosphere, one more akin to Venus, no atmosphere, or perhaps a different kind of atmosphere not found in our Solar System.

An artist’s impression of Gliese 12b and its host star. µImage credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt, Caltech-IPAC.

Gliese 12 is a M3-type dwarf star located 12.2 parsecs (40 light-years) away in the constellation of Pisces.

Otherwise known as TOI-6251 or GJ 12, this star is only about 27% of the Sun’s size, with about 60% of the Sun’s surface temperature.

The newly-discovered planet, Gliese 12b, is Earth’s size or slightly smaller — comparable to Venus.

“We’ve found the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date,” said Dr. Masayuki Kuzuhara, an astronomer at the Astrobiology Center in Tokyo and lead author of a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“Although we don’t yet know whether it possesses an atmosphere, we’ve been thinking of it as an exo-Venus, with similar size and energy received from its star as our planetary neighbor in the Solar System.”

“Gliese 12b represents one of the best targets to study whether Earth-size planets orbiting cool stars can retain their atmospheres, a crucial step to advance our understanding of habitability on planets across our Galaxy,” added Shishir Dholakia, a doctoral student at the University of Southern Queensland and lead author of a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Gliese 12b has an orbital period of 12.76 days and an equilibrium temperature of around 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit). For comparison, Earth has an average surface temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).

The alien world receives 1.6 times more energy from its star as Earth does from the Sun and about 85% of what Venus experiences.

“Atmospheres trap heat and — depending on the type — can change the actual surface temperature substantially,” Dholakia said.

“We are quoting the planet’s equilibrium temperature, which is the temperature the planet would be if it had no atmosphere.”

“Much of the scientific value of this planet is to understand what kind of atmosphere it could have.”

“Since Gliese 12b gets in between the amount of light as Earth and Venus get from the Sun, it will be valuable for bridging the gap between these two planets in our Solar System.”

The astronomers suggest that studying Gliese 12b may help unlock some aspects of our own Solar System’s evolution.

“It is thought that Earth’s and Venus’ first atmospheres were stripped away and then replenished by volcanic outgassing and bombardments from residual material in the Solar System,” said Larissa Palethorpe, a doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh and University College London.

“The Earth is habitable, but Venus is not due to its complete loss of water.”

“Because Gliese 12b is between Earth and Venus in temperature, its atmosphere could teach us a lot about the habitability pathways planets take as they develop.”

One important factor in retaining an atmosphere is the storminess of its star. Red dwarfs tend to be magnetically active, resulting in frequent, powerful X-ray flares.

However, analyses by both teams conclude that Gliese 12 shows no signs of extreme behavior.

During a transit, the host star’s light passes through any atmosphere. Different gas molecules absorb different colors, so the transit provides a set of chemical fingerprints that can be detected by telescopes like Webb.

“We know of only a handful of temperate planets similar to Earth that are both close enough to us and meet other criteria needed for this kind of study, called transmission spectroscopy, using current facilities,” said Dr. Michael McElwain, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“To better understand the diversity of atmospheres and evolutionary outcomes for these planets, we need more examples like Gliese 12b.”

• Masayuki Kuzuhara et al. 2024. Gliese 12b: A Temperate Earth-sized Planet at 12 pc Ideal for Atmospheric Transmission Spectroscopy. ApJL 967, L21; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad3642
• Shishir Dholakia et al. 2024. Gliese 12b, a temperate Earth-sized planet at 12 parsecs discovered with TESS and CHEOPS. MNRAS 531 (1): 1276-1293; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae1152

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

24-05-2024 om 18:37 geschreven door peter  

There have always been whistleblowers on the UFO/UAP/Alien phenomenon. These UFO whistleblowers assert that they can lift the veil of secrecy, revealing what is truly happening. The next whistleblower is Colonel Karl Nell, former leader of the UAP Task Force, who shares his insights on non-human intelligence (NHI) and UAPs. 

With a distinguished 30-year military career in aerospace and intelligence, Nell provides authoritative perspectives on these phenomena. 

He discusses his roles at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Bell Labs, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, and asserts with zero doubt that NHI exists and interacts with humanity. 

Nell also outlines six reasons for the government's reluctance to disclose UAP information and argues for the moral imperative of transparency. 

Below a compelling interview with Colonel Karl Nell, recorded on May 21, 2024.

 

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

24-05-2024 om 18:02 geschreven door peter  

Dit zijn de vijf nieuwste beelden van de Euclid-telescoop en onderzoekers staan versteld: ‘het overtreft al onze verwachtingen’

Hoewel men er al vanuit ging dat Euclid in staat zou zijn om de geheimen van het heelal te ontrafelen, laat de nieuwe data zien dat daar inderdaad geen twijfel meer over bestaat.

Vorig jaar juni werd ie gelanceerd: de spiksplinternieuwe telescoop Euclid. ESA’s Euclid-missie heeft als doel de mysteries van donkere materie en donkere energie te ontsluiten en te onthullen hoe en waarom het universum er vandaag uitziet zoals het doet. En de onlangs vrijgegeven, nooit eerder geziene afbeeldingen van het universum laten nu onderzoekers versteld staan. Ze overtreffen volgens de astronomen die met de data werken alle verwachtingen en laten zien dat Euclid in staat is om de geheimen van het heelal te ontrafelen.

Meer over de Euclid-missie
ESA’s Euclid-missie zal pogen de aard van donkere materie en donkere energie te ontraadselen. Om dat te doen, zal de sonde een 3D-kaart van het heelal maken (met tijd als derde dimensie) door miljarden sterrenstelsels tot 10 miljard lichtjaar afstand te observeren, verspreid over meer dan een derde van de hemel. Door de positie en beweging van sterrenstelsels in de loop van het grootste deel van de geschiedenis van het heelal in kaart brengen, kunnen wetenschappers namelijk zien hoe de vorm van het universum in de loop van de tijd is veranderd. Hierdoor zal Euclid hopelijk kunnen onthullen hoe het heelal is uitgedijd en hoe het zich heeft gevormd in de kosmische geschiedenis. Kortom, Euclid zal de verborgen web-achtige structuren van de kosmos traceren, miljarden sterrenstelsels in kaart brengen in een gebied van meer dan een derde van de hemel, onderzoeken hoe ons heelal is gevormd en geëvolueerd in de loop van de kosmische geschiedenis, en de meest mysterieuze van de fundamentele componenten bestuderen: donkere energie en donkere materie.

Hieronder zijn de nieuwe beelden te bewonderen. Ze maken deel uit van de Early Release Observations van Euclid, samen met de eerste wetenschappelijke gegevens van de missie, die vandaag zijn vrijgegeven. Bovendien zullen er binnenkort tien wetenschappelijke artikelen verschijnen. Deze eerste wetenschappelijke gegevens zijn minder dan een jaar na de lancering van de ruimtetelescoop gepubliceerd, en ongeveer zes maanden nadat Euclid zijn eerste fullcolour beelden van het heelal naar de aarde stuurde.

Abell 2390

Messier 78

NGC 6744

Abell 2764 (en heldere ster)

Dorado-groep

17 astronomische objecten
De volledige reeks vroege waarnemingen van Euclid was gericht op 17 verschillende astronomische objecten, variërend van nabije gas- en stofwolken tot verre clusters van sterrenstelsels. Deze waarnemingen vormen een voorbereiding op Euclids hoofddoel: het onthullen van de geheimen van de donkere kosmos en begrijpen waarom het heelal eruitziet zoals het er nu uitziet.

Afbeelding toont: Opgenomen door de Euclid-satelliet, toont de Perseus-cluster van sterrenstelsels badend in een zacht, zachtblauw licht afkomstig van weessterren. Deze weessterren zijn verspreid over de sterrenhoop en strekken zich uit tot wel 2 miljoen lichtjaar vanaf het centrum. De clusterstelsels vallen op als lichtgevende elliptische vormen tegen de donkere uitgestrektheid van de ruimte.

Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, beeldverwerking door M. Montes (IAC) en J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Parijs-Saclay)

Eerste datasets
De beelden zijn de eerste datasets die openbaar worden gemaakt. En dat is volgens Valeria Pettorino, ESA’s Euclid Project Scientist, een ‘belangrijke mijlpaal’. “De beelden en bijbehorende wetenschappelijke bevindingen zijn indrukwekkend divers wat betreft de waargenomen objecten en afstanden,” zegt ze. “Ze omvatten een verscheidenheid aan wetenschappelijke toepassingen, en toch vertegenwoordigen ze slechts 24 uur aan waarnemingen.”

Scherp
De beelden die met Euclid zijn gemaakt, zijn minstens vier keer zo scherp als die van aardse telescopen. Ze bestrijken grote delen van de hemel met ongeëvenaarde diepte en reiken ver in het verre heelal, zowel in zichtbaar als infrarood licht. En het zijn zeker niet zomaar kiekjes. Dankzij de nieuwe en unieke waarnemingsmogelijkheden van Euclid onthullen deze beelden nieuwe fysische eigenschappen van het heelal.

Weesplaneten
De eerste bevindingen tonen aan dat Euclid in staat is om vrij zwevende planeten (ook wel weesplaneten genoemd), met een massa van slechts vier keer die van Jupiter, in stervormingsgebieden te ontdekken. Daarnaast kan de telescoop de buitenste regio’s van sterclusters in ongekend detail bestuderen en verschillende sterrenpopulaties in kaart brengen om de evolutie van sterrenstelsels te onderzoeken. Euclid kan ook individuele sterrenhopen in verre groepen en clusters van sterrenstelsels detecteren, nieuwe dwergstelsels identificeren en het licht zien van sterren die van hun moederstelsels zijn weggerukt. In slechts één dag produceerde Euclid een catalogus met meer dan elf miljoen objecten in zichtbaar licht en nog eens vijf miljoen in infrarood licht.

Weessterren
Dankzij Euclid weten we nu dat er miljarden zogenoemde ‘weessterren’ bestaan. Zo blijkt uit de beelden dat er verspreid over de Perseus-cluster meer dan 1,5 biljoen weessterren te vinden zijn. De Perseus-cluster, die zich op een afstand van 240 miljoen lichtjaar van de aarde bevindt, is een van de grootste structuren in het universum, met duizenden sterrenstelsels. In deze kosmische samenstelling heeft de Euclid-telescoop zwak, spookachtig licht vastgelegd – de weessterren – die tussen de sterrenstelsels van de cluster drijven. Omdat sterren normaal gesproken binnen sterrenstelsels ontstaan, leidde de ontdekking van weessterren buiten deze structuren tot intrigerende vragen over hun oorsprong. “We waren verbaasd over ons vermogen om zo diep in de buitenste gebieden van de cluster te kijken en de delicate kleuren van dit licht te onderscheiden,” vertelt projectleider Nina Hatch. “Dit licht kan ons helpen om de donkere materie in kaart te brengen als we begrijpen waar de intracluster-sterren vandaan kwamen. Door hun kleuren, helderheid en opstelling te bestuderen, kwamen we erachter dat ze afkomstig waren van kleine sterrenstelsels.”

Bibliotheek
Astronomen, waaronder hoogleraar Observationele Kosmologie Henk Hoekstra van de Sterrewacht Leiden, verwachten dat de impact van Euclid groot zal zijn. “Een gemiddeld boek heeft 50.000 woorden, net als het aantal melkwegstelsels dat Euclid waarneemt in een opname,” vertelt hij. “Hubble heeft in de afgelopen 30 jaar een boekenkast gelezen, terwijl Euclid dat in een paar dagen doet, en in zes jaar tijd de hele bibliotheek uitleest. Je kunt veel leren van de boeken in een enkele boekenkast, maar in een hele bibliotheek kun je nog veel meer ontdekken.”

Begin
De beelden markeren nog maar het begin. “Euclid zal onze kijk op het universum volledig veranderen,” aldus Christopher Conselice, verbonden aan de Universiteit van Manchester. “De huidige resultaten onthullen al belangrijke nieuwe inzichten over lokale sterrenstelsels, onbekende dwergsterrenstelsels, exoplaneten en enkele van de oudste sterrenstelsels. Dit is slechts het begin van wat nog komen gaat. Binnenkort zal Euclid nieuwe details over donkere energie onthullen en een compleet beeld geven van de vorming van sterrenstelsels door de gehele kosmische geschiedenis.”

We kunnen ons dus opmaken voor meer. “We staan te popelen om met de eerste grote dataset van Euclid, die we in februari 2025 verwachten, aan de slag te gaan,” zegt Koen Kuijken, tevens een hoogleraar aan de Sterrewacht Leiden. “Deze beelden tonen nogmaals dat de data de verwachtingen overstijgen!”

Bronmateriaal

• "Eerste wetenschappelijke beelden Euclid-telescoop overtreffen alle verwachtingen" - Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie (NOVA)
  
• "First pictures from Euclid satellite reveal billions of orphan stars" - University of Nottingham
  "" -
  
• "Scientists reveal first data from Euclid telescope offering snapshot of cosmic history" - University of Manchester
  
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselm

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

24-05-2024 om 17:57 geschreven door peter  

Grote opwinding onder astronomen: aardachtige planeet ontdekt met aardachtige temperaturen (en die planeet bevindt zich ook nog eens vrij dichtbij)

Vivian Lammerse

De planeet heeft een geschatte oppervlaktetemperatuur van slechts 42 graden Celsius en bevindt zich op ongeveer dezelfde afstand als het bekende TRAPPIST-1 systeem.

Al jaren speuren astronomen het universum af naar planeten die mogelijk leven kunnen ondersteunen of op zijn minst bewoonbaar zijn, in de hoop werelden te vinden die op de aarde lijken. En een nieuwe ontdekking heeft nu voor grote opwinding gezorgd. Op zo’n 40 lichtjaar afstand zijn onderzoekers namelijk op de veelbelovende planeet Gliese 12 b gestuit. Zou dit de planeet kunnen zijn waar we al zo lang naar op zoek zijn?

Gliese 12 b
De mogelijk bewoonbare planeet Gliese 12 b draait elke 12,8 dagen om zijn moederster. Qua grootte is de exoplaneet vergelijkbaar met Venus, wat betekent dat hij slechts iets kleiner is dan de aarde. Daarnaast heeft deze aardachtige planeet ook nog eens een aardachtige temperatuur. Zo wordt de oppervlaktetemperatuur geschat op 42 graden Celsius. Hiermee is hij iets warmer dan de aarde, maar opvallend koeler dan de meeste van de ongeveer 5.000 tot nu toe ontdekte exoplaneten. De ontdekking van deze ‘exo-Venus’, is vandaag gepubliceerd in de Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Exo-Venus
Onderzoekers kwamen de veelbelovende planeet op het spoor met behulp van planetenjager TESS, die al heel wat exoplaneten aan het licht heeft gebracht. En onderzoekers zijn enthousiast. “We hebben de dichtstbijzijnde, gematigde wereld ter grootte van de aarde tot nu toe ontdekt,” benadrukt onderzoeker Masayuki Kuzuhara. “Hoewel we nog niet weten of Gliese 12 b een atmosfeer heeft, beschouwen we ‘m als een ‘exo-Venus’. Het heeft een vergelijkbare grootte en ontvangt een vergelijkbare hoeveelheid energie van zijn ster als onze buurplaneet in ons eigen zonnestelsel.”

Atmosfeer
Om er echter zeker van te zijn dat de planeet leefbaar is, is het van cruciaal belang om te bepalen of er wel of geen atmosfeer aanwezig is. Het is mogelijk dat de planeet een atmosfeer heeft die vergelijkbaar is met die van de aarde. Deze kan echter ook meer lijken op die van Venus, waar een omvangrijk broeikaseffect ervoor zorgde dat het oppervlak een verzengende 400 graden Celsius bereikte. Een andere mogelijkheid is dat de planeet geen atmosfeer heeft. Of misschien heeft ie wel een soort atmosfeer die we nog niet in ons eigen zonnestelsel hebben gezien. Het is erg belangrijk om hierop een antwoord te krijgen omdat het ons zal vertellen of Gliese 12 b temperaturen kan handhaven die geschikt zijn voor vloeibaar water – en mogelijk leven – op het oppervlak.

Moederster
Om dit te achterhalen, is ook de moederster relevant. De moederster van Gliese 12 b is een koele rode dwergster genaamd Gliese 12, die zich zoals gezegd op bijna 40 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde bevindt, in het sterrenbeeld Vissen. De ster is ongeveer 27 procent zo groot als onze zon en heeft een oppervlaktetemperatuur van ongeveer 60 procent van die van onze zon. Over rode dwergsterren is echter bekend dat het ‘opvliegende’ sterren zijn, die vaak magnetisch actief zijn. Dit resulteert in frequente, krachtige uitbarstingen, waardoor een mogelijk rondom cirkelende planeet van zijn atmosfeer wordt ontdaan. Toch lijkt Gliese 12 b er beter vanaf te komen. Analyses hebben namelijk aangetoond dat Gliese 12 geen tekenen vertoont van dergelijk extreem gedrag. Dit verhoogt de hoop dat de potentiële atmosfeer van Gliese 12 b nog steeds intact is.

Oppervlaktetemperatuur

Daarnaast is de afstand tussen Gliese 12 en de nieuw ontdekte planeet slechts 7 procent van de afstand tussen de aarde en de zon. Hierdoor ontvangt Gliese 12 b 1,6 keer meer energie van zijn ster dan de aarde van de zon, en ongeveer 85 procent van de hoeveelheid die Venus ontvangt. Dit verschil in de hoeveelheid zonnestraling die de planeet ontvangt, is van groot belang omdat het aangeeft dat de oppervlaktetemperatuur sterk wordt beïnvloed door de atmosferische omstandigheden. Voor je beeldvorming: de geschatte oppervlaktetemperatuur van Gliese 12 b is 42 graden Celsius, terwijl de gemiddelde oppervlaktetemperatuur van de aarde 15 graden Celsius bedraagt. “Atmosferen houden warmte vast en kunnen, afhankelijk van hun samenstelling, de werkelijke oppervlaktetemperatuur aanzienlijk beïnvloeden,” legt onderzoeker Shishir Dholakia uit.

Aarde en Venus
Het onderzoek naar Gliese 12 b heeft overigens niet alleen betrekking op de leefbaarheid van deze planeet. Het helpt ons ook om meer te weten te komen over waarom de aarde en Venus, die in veel opzichten erg op elkaar lijken, toch zo’n andere weg zijn ingeslagen. “Omdat Gliese 12 b een vergelijkbare hoeveelheid licht ontvangt als de aarde en Venus van de zon, kan het ons ook helpen om het verschil tussen deze twee planeten in ons eigen zonnestelsel te verklaren en te begrijpen,” aldus Dholakia. Dit kan waardevolle inzichten bieden in de atmosferische processen die de leefbaarheid van planeten beïnvloeden. Terwijl de aarde bewoonbaar is, is Venus dat niet, voornamelijk vanwege het volledige verlies van water. “Gliese 12 b, met een temperatuur tussen die van de aarde en Venus in, kan ons helpen begrijpen hoe planeten bewoonbaar worden, vooral door te kijken naar welke atmosfeer het heeft,” vertelt mede-auteur Larissa Palethorpe.

Onderzoek naar de veelbelovende exo-Venus gaat onverminderd door. Want het idee dat deze planeet mogelijk leefbaar is, prikkelt de verbeelding van menig astronoom. Gliese 12 b is zeker niet de eerste aardachtige exoplaneet die is ontdekt, maar volgens NASA zijn er maar een paar van zulke werelden die de moeite van nader onderzoek waard zijn. De volgende stap is om de krachtige ruimtetelescoop James Webb op Gliese 12 b te richten. Uiteindelijk hopen onderzoekers te achterhalen of deze planeet al dan geen atmosfeer herbergt. “Gliese 12 b vertegenwoordigt een van de beste doelen om te bestuderen of aardachtige planeten die om koele sterren draaien hun atmosferen kunnen behouden,” zegt Dholakia. “Dit is een cruciale stap om ons begrip van de bewoonbaarheid van planeten in ons sterrenstelsel te bevorderen.”

De dichtstbijzijnde aardachtige exoplaneet – en mogelijk de bekendste – is Proxima Centauri b (afgebeeld in een artist's impression), die slechts vier lichtjaar verwijderd is. Omdat het echter geen wereld is die zich verplaatst, moeten we er nog veel over leren, inclusief de vraag of er een atmosfeer is en het potentieel om leven te herbergen.
NASA Visualisatietechnologietoepassingen en -ontwikkeling (VTAD)
Licentietype
Toeschrijving (CC BY 4.0)

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

24-05-2024 om 17:33 geschreven door peter  

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

24-05-2024 om 17:17 geschreven door peter  

Infrared telescopes are also well-suited to observing planets as they form. Dense environments like protoplanetary disks are opaque to most light, but infrared light can reveal what’s going on in these planet-forming environments. The dust absorbs light, then emits it in the infrared, and also scatters it. That confounds optical telescopes, but infrared telescopes like SALTUS are designed to deal with it.

A team of astronomers from the USA and Europe has joined the chorus calling for a new infrared space telescope. It’s tentatively called SALTUS, the Single Aperture Large Telescope for Universe Studies. In a new paper, the astronomers outline the science case for SALTUS.

“The SALTUS Probe mission will provide a powerful far-infrared (far-IR) pointed space observatory to explore our cosmic origins and the possibility of life elsewhere,” write the authors of the new paper.

The paper is titled “Single Aperture Large Telescope for Universe Studies (SALTUS): Science Overview.” Gordon Chin from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is the lead author. It’s in pre-print at arxiv.org.

If built, SALTUS will be different from the powerful JWST. The JWST has four instruments that cover an infrared frequency range from 600 to 28,500 nanometers, or 0.6 to 28.5 microns, which is from the near-infrared (NIR) to the mid-infrared (MIR). SALTUS would cover 34 to 660 ?m, which is in the far-infrared (FIR). SALTUS’ range is unavailable to any current observatory, space or ground-based.

Infrared telescopes need to be kept cool. They use sunshades and cryogenic coolers to keep temperatures down and IR light detectable. The longer the wave of infrared light, the cooler the sensor needs to be. Sunshades are passive and cool the primary mirror, but the instruments require active cryogenic cooling, and those systems have a limited lifetime that restricts mission length. In SALTUS’s case, the baseline mission length is five years.

During those five years, SALTUS will make use of its 14-meter primary mirror and its pair of instruments to open a “powerful window to the Universe through which we can explore our cosmic origins,” according to the paper’s authors.

The two instruments are the SAFARI-Lite spectrometer (SALTUS Far-Infrared Lite) and HiRX (High-Resolution receiver.) Using these instruments, SALTUS will complement the observing capabilities of the JWST and ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array.

Its aperture is so large that it’ll be the only Far-IR observatory with arcsec-scale spatial resolution. One arcsecond is defined as the ability to show two posts standing 4.8mm apart from 1km away as separate posts. “This will permit an unmasking of the true nature of the cold Universe, which holds the answers to many of the questions concerning our cosmic origins,” the authors write.

SALTUS has a unique design among space telescopes. It features an inflatable primary mirror, which is new to space telescopes but has been proven during decades of use in ground-based telecommunications. A two-layer sunshield will keep the inflatable mirror cool.

SALTUS large aperture will provide high sensitivity and is aimed at a couple of foundational questions.

How does habitability develop while planets are forming? To address this question, SALTUS will trace carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in 1,000 different protoplanetary disks. It has the power to recognize numerous molecular and atomic species and different lattice modes of ice and some minerals. No existing telescope has this capability.

Habitability, as far as we understand it, revolves around water. Water begins its journey in the same molecular clouds where stars form. SALTUS will follow water’s journey from molecular cloud to protoplanetary disks to icy planetesimals and comets that deliver water to planets like Earth. A key part of SALTUS’s work will be deriving deuterium/hydrogen ratios.

How do galaxies form and evolve? SALTUS will measure how galaxies form and acquire more mass. It’ll measure heavy elements and interstellar dust from the Universe’s first galaxies to today. The telescope will also probe the co-evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes (SMBHs.)

Tracking the rapid evolution of dust grains in galaxies in the Universe’s first billion years is part of understanding galaxy formation and evolution. SALTUS can do that by observing PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and their spectral lines. Some PAH spectral lines are very faint but entirely visible to SALTUS.

There’s a causal link between star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN) that influences galaxy growth and evolution. But the two phenomena take place on wildly different spatial scales, and the phase that links them together is obscured by dust. SALTUS’s high resolution and sensitive far-IR spectroscopy will give astronomers a clearer view of AGN and how they shape galaxies.

SALTUS would be placed into a Sun-Earth Halo L2 orbit. Its maximum distance from Earth would be 1.8 million km (1.12 million miles). That orbit would give the telescope two continuous 20º viewing zones around the ecliptic poles, resulting in full sky coverage every six months.

The SALTUS concept is designed in response to the 2020 Decadal Survey and NASA’s Astrophysical Roadmap. It’s a direct response to NASA’s 2023 Astrophysics Probe Explorer (APEX) solicitation. The questions it’ll help answer come directly from those works.

“SALTUS has both the sensitivity and spatial resolution to address not just the open science questions of the year 2023 but, more importantly, the unknown questions that will be raised in the 2030s,” the authors write in their summary. “SALTUS is forward-leaning and well-suited to serving the current and future needs of the astronomical community.”

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

24-05-2024 om 16:11 geschreven door peter  

Now that it has arrived, the camera undergoes several months of testing in the observatory’s white room. After that, it goes on the Simonyi Survey Telescope, with its newly-coated 8.4-meter mirror and 3.4-meter secondary mirror.

About the Vera Rubin Observatory

This unique observatory is named after astronomer Vera C. Rubin. Her work focused on the mysterious “dark matter” that seems to permeate the Universe. Along with her team, she studied dozens of galaxies to understand what was influencing their motions. It turned out to be dark matter. The search for dark matter and its existence throughout the Universe is one of the main goals of the observatory that now bears her name.

Understanding the distribution of dark matter is where the LSST Camera will come in handy. For one thing, it will spend a decade taking images of the sky each night, performing a massive survey that will provide a complete image of the visible sky every 3-4 mights. Each area it images will be about the size of 40 full moons and the survey will take advantage of the 8.4-meter telescope moving quickly between imaging positions. In full operation, the Observatory will deliver a 500-petabyte set of images and data products about the sky.

Not only will the Rubin Observatory perform this unprecedented survey in very high resolution, but will also track objects that change in brightness—called “transients.” That includes supernovae, variable stars, mergers of dense objects such as neutron stars or black holes, and other quickly changing events and objects. In addition, it will track asteroids and other objects that wander through the Solar System.

The formation and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy is another research area for telescope users. Rubin should be able to track stellar streams throughout the Galaxy and chart their paths. That information could give precious insight into just how our Galaxy formed and how stars from cannibalized galaxies move through it.

What’s Next for Vera Rubin Observatory and the LSST Camera

Once the LSST Camera got delivered to the Cerro Pachón site, technicians moved it into an immense white room. That’s a controlled environment that protects the instrument while they work to get it ready for installation on the telescope. They inspected the camera and downloaded data about the “ride” from the U.S. to Chile from all the instruments attached to it. “Our goal was to make sure the camera not only survived, but arrived in perfect condition,” said Kevin Reil, Observatory Scientist at Rubin. “Initial indications—including the data collected by the data loggers, accelerometers, and shock sensors—suggest we were successful.”

The observatory is still in the final stages of construction. The telescope is in place, and other instruments and infrastructure are being finalized. It should all be ready for “first light” and the beginning of science operations sometime in 2025. Between now and then, more parts of the telescope and its mirrors should be installed, and there will be tests of various other instruments both on and off the sky as scientists get ready to start using Rubin next year. Once observations begin, astronomers using Rubin could discover around 17 billion stars and ~20 billion galaxies in the distant Universe.

For More Information

• LSST Camera Arrives at Rubin Observatory in Chile, Paving the Way for Cosmic Exploration
  Vera C. Rubin Observatory

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

24-05-2024 om 15:56 geschreven door peter  

Terrifying Encounters with the Men in Black: UFO Silencers Unveiled

For decades, stories have circulated about mysterious men in dark suits who intimidate witnesses and suppress reports of unexplained aerial phenomena. These tales have inspired numerous conspiracy theories and fictional works. But who are the real Men in Black (MIB)?

The Origins of the Men in Black

The earliest reports of the Men in Black trace back to Albert Bender in the 1950s. Bender, who ran a UFO mailing list called Outer Space Review, claimed that three men in dark suits with glowing eyes visited him, demanding telepathically that he stop publishing his UFO newsletter. Bender complied, abruptly ending his publications. This incident marked the beginning of the MIB mythos.

Other researchers, such as Gray Barker and John Keel, expanded on Bender’s account. Barker’s book “They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers” introduced the idea of MIB as UFO silencers. Keel’s writings, particularly in “The Mothman Prophecies,” further solidified the MIB image, depicting them as paranormal entities with spectral qualities.

Modern Encounters with the Men in Black

The phenomenon isn’t just historical. Reports of MIB encounters continue into the present day. These modern accounts often feature two types of MIB: the extraterrestrial variety with telepathic abilities and glowing eyes, and the more mundane but equally intimidating government operatives.

Katie Page shared her personal experience from her childhood on a Rocky Mountain ranch in Colorado. Her family experienced a series of strange events, including cattle mutilations and mysterious orbs. During a power outage, an electronic voice warned them to remain silent about their experiences, a chilling encounter reminiscent of traditional MIB intimidation tactics.

Micah Hanks, an experienced UFO researcher, also highlighted the persistence of MIB encounters. He mentioned the famous 2004 USS Nimitz incident, where individuals in plain clothes or unmarked flight suits confiscated radar data after pilots reported a UFO sighting. This suggests that government agents might still be actively involved in suppressing UFO information.

The Men in Black in Popular Culture

The MIB have become iconic figures in popular culture, thanks in part to the “Men in Black” film series. These movies portray the MIB as protectors of Earth who erase witnesses’ memories to maintain secrecy. While entertaining, this depiction contrasts sharply with the more sinister and threatening MIB described in real-life accounts.

Other media, such as “The X-Files,” also explore the MIB theme. Characters like the cigarette-smoking man represent the darker side of government secrecy and intimidation, blending fiction with the unsettling reality reported by many witnesses.

Government Involvement and Suppression

There is substantial evidence suggesting that government agencies have played a role in the MIB phenomenon. Historical incidents, such as the alleged involvement of mysterious figures following the Roswell crash, support this notion. Additionally, cases like the strange disappearance of Dr. Herbert Hopkins, who was visited by a bizarre MIB after investigating a UFO case, further fuel these suspicions.

The Psychological and Sociological Impact

The MIB phenomenon raises intriguing questions about government secrecy, the nature of UFO encounters, and the power of myth. The persistence of MIB reports, despite the lack of concrete evidence, suggests a deep psychological and sociological impact. These stories tap into fears of surveillance and control, reflecting broader anxieties about government transparency and the unknown.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/3uQ1hXdjqY0

Whether viewed as government agents, extraterrestrial beings, or mythic figures, the Men in Black continue to captivate and terrify. Their enigmatic presence in UFO lore underscores the ongoing mystery and fascination with unexplained phenomena. As researchers like Katie Page and Micah Hanks continue to explore these encounters, the true nature of the Men in Black remains an open question, challenging our understanding of reality and the limits of human knowledge.

In revisiting these terrifying encounters with UAP silencers, we are reminded that the line between fact and fiction is often blurred, and the search for truth in the realm of UFOs is as compelling as ever.

OTHER VIDEO LINKS

• https://youtu.be/dBK2l1EKCes

• https://youtu.be/hXO_RwR1UA8

• https://youtu.be/kdbVqqciVtQ

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

24-05-2024 om 14:58 geschreven door peter  

Fact Check: Were Mystery 'Pillars of Light' Observed in Sky Over Japan?

• https://youtu.be/1aponAMkCfg

By Tom Norton

Congress' recent support for investigating unidentified sightings in American skies has led to excitement as well as some disappointing results for UFO enthusiasts across the country.

Last January, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it was investigating a total of 510 unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, sightings, more than triple the number recorded in its previous report, published in 2021. However, just over half of the new sightings were deemed "unremarkable," giving some pause to the notion that they were signs of alien or extraterrestrial life.

That hasn't altered how social media continues to respond to new pictures of what some believe are extraordinary or even alien phenomena. This week, a series of photos appeared to show mystery pillars or beams shining across a Japanese skyline.

The Claim

A Sunday post on X (formerly Twitter) by user @Banderafella included a photo of what appeared to be huge columns of light shooting out over the sky. The accompanying post read: "Japan sees pillars of light in the sky. Alien invasion?"

A Tuesday post on Instagram by user xtradusk included the same photo, along with a caption: "9 pillars of light appeared in the night sky above a coastal Japanese town. Thoughts on this? #lights #sky #japan #supernatural #scary #extraterrestrials"

The Facts

In the case of the "pillars of light" drawing speculation about an "alien invasion," the truth behind them has been far easier to establish. The photos were posted on May 11 by X user maashii_taiyo and have attracted 12.1 million views. Maashi told the Japanese website Hint-Pot that the phenomenon is caused by light emitted from fishing boats and refracting in the sky, and it is said to occur only under certain weather conditions every few years.

Examples of the pillars as seen from the sea can be seen in other photos posted on social media.

So while the effect may be ethereal or otherworldly, the explanation is not from beyond this world

Earlier this month, social media users reported mysterious spiral UFO sightings in Ukraine and Finland as well as in cities in Arizona and California.

Some speculated that this could be an indication of visitors from beyond Earth. But Alpha Centauri, a Ukrainian nonprofit educational project, said on X that a mysterious white flash spotted over some regions of the country on Thursday evening was the exhaust spiral from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

"Mysterious objects in Ukrainian skies again! Over some regions of the country, the second stage of the Falcon 9 vehicle could be seen launching two WorldView Legion satellites," Alpha Centauri wrote.

The Ruling

Needs Context

While the "pillars of light" were photographed in the sky over Japan, there is nothing mysterious about their origin. The lights come from fishing boats, and they refract in a display said to happen only once every few years.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team

{ https://www.newsweek.com/ }

24-05-2024 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

Bibhu Dev Misra

Edgar Cayce, the “Sleeping Prophet” of America, was probably the most well-known clairvoyant of the 20th century. Over a period of nearly 43 years, beginning in 1901 when he gave his first reading, Cayce used to enter into a trance-like state and diagnose the physical and mental ailments of people who came to him for help and specify astonishingly effective medical treatments.

Cayce’s modus operandi was simple. He would lie down on a couch, take a deep breath and almost instantly pass into the trance state. An attendant would then read out the name and location of the person who needed healing, and specify his or her symptoms. The trance personality, then, dictated the diagnosis and treatment, which was written down by the attendant. Cayce did not even have to be physically present in the same room as his patient. All he needed was the name and location of the person, and he could track him down in the trance state. When a mistake was made in the house number, Cayce reported that the patient was not there. 

Two things were important for obtaining an effective reading; the attendant must not move away from the sleeping body during the trance, and at the end of the reading he must give the suggestion to the body to awaken.

Cayce had no waking knowledge at all of the astonishing things he said during the trance. When he read the stenographic transcripts after a reading, “the stuff amazed him”. He had schooling till the eighth grade, and knew nothing of medicine, anatomy, chemistry, physics, occultism or metaphysics until his trance communications brought him into touch with these subjects. Most people came to him after all other methods of treatment had failed. He was their last resort. In spite of handling such critical cases, Cayce’s remedies were always effective when they were rigorously followed. His biographer Thomas Sugrue assures us that, “there are hundreds of people throughout the United States who will testify, at the drop of a hat, to the accuracy of his diagnoses and the efficacy of his suggestions for treatment.”[1]

Cayce also gave a number of prophetic readings about the coming earth changes and the return of the Messiah. Many people tend to think that the timelines for the predicted events have already passed, and, therefore, his readings were off the mark. But, when I looked into the relevant readings a bit more closely, it became apparent to me that, not only are the prophesied dates yet to pass, they give us dire warnings of a devastating cometary apocalypse set to occur in the near future, which will change our world beyond recognition.

In one of his readings, Cayce had said that the earth changes will begin to manifest from 1998 onwards, as we continue to move towards the Age of Aquarius as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. However, the changes during this period will not be cataclysmic, but will rather manifest in a gradual manner. In another reading, he said that the primary drivers of the changes manifesting in 1998 will be the “breaking up of some conditions in the South Pacific and Mediterranean region.” 

“In 1998 we may find a great deal of the activities as have been wrought by the gradual changes that are coming about. These are at the periods when the cycle of the solar activity, or the years as related to the sun’s passage through the various spheres of activity become paramount to the change between the Piscean and Aquarian age. This is a gradual, not a cataclysmic activity in the experience of the earth in this period.” (Reading 1602-3)

“(Q) How soon will the changes in the Earth's activity begin to be apparent?
(A) When there is the first breaking up of some conditions in the South Sea (that's South Pacific), and those as apparent in the sinking or rising of that that's almost opposite same, or in the Mediterranean, and the Aetna area, then we may know it has begun. (Reading 311-8, April 9, 1932)”

I was curious if any specific climatic event had occurred in 1998 as Cayce had prophesied. And indeed, something quite strange and out of the ordinary had indeed transpired that year, although this is not something that is widely known or talked about. 

There was a steep jump in the earth’s average surface temperature in 1998, as a result of which 1998 became the warmest year on record (till that year, of course). Now, this is not surprising in itself, considering that new temperature records are being created almost every year, and 1998 was the 20th year in a row that the globe's surface was warmer than its recent long-term average, which is the average for 1961 through 1990.

What took scientists by surprise was the margin by which the temperature had increased in 1998. It was the “largest one-year jump”[2] in global average surface temperature on record. An article published in NYT in December 1998, states that, 

“According to the new figures, the average global temperature this year will turn out to be about 58 degrees, a full degree warmer than the 1961-1990 average. “This number's amazing,” said Dr. Philip D. Jones, a climatologist at the University of East Anglia in England, speaking of a field in which records are normally set in fractions.”[3]

But, what was it that had caused the average global temperatures to suddenly shoot up in 1998? Scientists believe that the El Nino phenomenon was to blame. As per the NYT article,

“The reason, they said, is that a fair measure of the warming in 1998 can be attributed to the effects earlier in the year of El Nino, the extensive pool of warm water that develops from time to time in the tropical Pacific. It both warms the global atmosphere and disrupts worldwide weather patterns.” 

So, it was an El Nino effect that had caused the single largest one year jump in average surface temperatures in 1998. But, what exactly is the El Nino, some of us might wonder. This is what the NOAA tells us:

“During normal conditions in the Pacific Ocean, trade winds blow west along the equator, taking warm water from South America towards Asia. To replace that warm water, cold water rises from the depths — a process called upwelling. El Niño and La Niña are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions. Scientists call these phenomena the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle… During El Niño, trade winds weaken. Warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas.”[4]

In other words, a “breaking up” of the normal conditions in the Southern Pacific Ocean causes the trade winds to weaken. Scientists don’t really know why the trade winds weaken and why El Niño and La Niña events appear to occur every two to seven years, on average. There is so little we actually know about the drivers of the short-term and long-term fluctuations of climate on our planet. We are literally scratching the tip of the climatic iceberg.

I think Cayce’s prediction about 1998 was right on the money, for not only did we have the “single largest one-year jump” in global average surface temperatures in 1998, it had occurred due to a “breaking up of some conditions in the Pacific Ocean,” exactly as he had prophesied. With that in mind, let’s move on to some of the more frightening prophecies for the future that he had uttered in his trance-like state. 

In the following readings, Cayce tells us of catastrophic earth changes that will occur in the year '36, which will be accompanied by the much-awaited return of the Messiah.

“(Q) How long before this (i.e. the earth changes) will begin?
(A) The indications are that some of these have already begun, yet others would say these are only temporary. We would say they have begun. '36 will see the greater changes apparent, to be sure.” (Reading 311-8, April 9, 1932)

“The catastrophes of outside forces to the earth in ’36 will come from the shifting of the equilibrium of the earth itself in space, with those consequential effects upon the various portions of the country-or world-affected by same.” (Reading 3976-10, August 2, 1932)

“As to the material changes that are to be as an omen, as a sign to those that this is shortly to come to pass-as has been given of old, the sun will be darkened and the earth shall be broken up in diverse places-and then shall be proclaimed-through the spiritual interception in the hearts and minds and souls of those that have sought His way - that His star has appeared, and will point the way for those that enter into the holy of holies in themselves. For, God the Father, God the Teacher, God the director, in the minds and hearts of men, must ever be in those that come to know Him as first and foremost in the seeking of those souls; for He is first the god to the individual and as He is exemplified, as He is manifested in the heart and in the acts of the body, of the individual, He becomes manifested before men. And those that seek in the latter portion of the year of our Lord (as ye have counted in and among men) ’36, He will appear.” (Reading 3976-15, January 19, 1934)

In all of these readings, Cayce refers to the year ’36 as the time of “apocalyptic earth changes” and the return of the Savior or Avatar. But, what did he really mean by the year ’36?  Most scholars of the 20th century assumed that the year ’36 refers to 1936, and, on the basis of that assumption, they had no difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that Cayce had either mentioned this date by mistake, or had got it flat-out wrong. 

But, if you come to think of it, why would Cayce – sitting in the year 1934 - make predictions about the arrival of the Messiah just two years later in 1936, when he had, in fact, gone on to make a set of stunningly accurate predictions about the Second World War? If the Messiah’s arrival was scheduled for 1936, there should have been no question of further global conflicts beyond that point. It helps to remember that, even though Cayce’s readings were spread apart by many years, there was a striking internal consistency across the readings. He – or rather, his trance personality - hardly ever contradicted himself on any matter.

What if, it wasn’t the year 1936 that Cayce was talking about, but the year 2036, exactly one century later? If the gradual earth changes were to begin in 1998, then it is most logical to believe that Cayce was referring to the year 2036 as the time of epochal changes. 

Let’s take stock of what Cayce had said might transpire in that year. He said that the Earth's changes in 2036 will be initiated by “outside forces”, which will disturb the “equilibrium of the earth itself in space”, and, as a result, “the sun will be darkened and the earth shall be broken up in diverse places”, which will be followed by the appearance of “His star”. I think it is quite evident that these events can only be caused by a set of devastating comet and meteor impacts. Cometary bombardments can disturb the equilibrium of the earth in space, meteor dust can block out the sun, and impact events can cause the continental shelves to shatter. The appearance “His star” in the heavens could mean that a particularly effulgent comet will become visible to us, which serves as the “messenger” or “symbol” of the Savior.

In other words, all the indications of a cataclysmic cometary apocalypse in the year 2036 are contained in these readings. What’s even more intriguing is that, exactly in the year 2036, the Earth is scheduled to pass through the dense core of the Taurid meteor stream which contains a large number of colossal, dormant comets and full-size asteroids that have struck us in the past with devastating consequences. 

While I have written about the Taurid comet swarm in the past, it is pertinent to touch upon some important points at this stage.

We know that the Earth experiences a number of meteor showers every year, in the course of its annual orbit around the sun. The meteor showers occur when the earth passes through a meteor stream that intersects its orbits. The meteor streams are “rivers of debris” left behind by a comet with an Earth-crossing orbit, and composed mainly of dust and pebbles.  

The Taurid meteor stream is the largest stream of cosmic debris in the inner solar system. The Earth crosses the Taurid stream twice in the course of its orbit around the sun, once in summer (June-July) and once in late autumn (September to December). While most meteor streams contain small particles, not larger than a grain of sand or a pebble, the Taurid meteor stream contains some large chunks of rocks, which have struck the earth in the past. Astronomers believe that the Beta Taurids – which is the segment of the Taurid stream we cross in summer, having peak activity on June 29 - probably caused the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908, when a large meteor exploded over Eastern Siberia with the force of a 1000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs and flattened over 2000 square kilometers of forest.[5] The meteor is believed to have been about 120 feet across and weighed 100 million kilograms. 

British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier had postulated that the progenitor of the Taurid stream was a giant comet, around 50 - 100 km in diameter, which had entered the inner solar system at least 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. The comet was tossed into a short-term orbit around the Sun, and disintegrated in stages, leaving behind the trail of debris known as the Taurid meteor stream or Taurid Complex.[6]

The research carried out by Clube, Napier, Asher, Steel and their colleagues indicates that the giant progenitor comet of the Taurid meteor stream remains hidden in the center of the Taurids, moving within a tightly packed swarm consisting of several large comets formed by the fragmentation of the progenitor (all of which are in a dormant state), and dozens of full-size asteroids up to 1 km wide. This dense cluster of comets and asteroids within the Taurid meteor stream is called the “Taurid Resonant Swarm”. 

Clube and Napier have argued that large chunks of rock from the Taurid Resonant Swarm have struck us many times within the historical timeframe when the earth passed through this dense swarm, and would continue to do so with catastrophic consequences in the future.

The faint Comet Encke, which is the only visible comet within the Taurid meteor stream today, orbits the Sun once in 3.3 years and could be a recently reactivated fragment of the Taurid progenitor comet. The Taurid Resonant Swarm is in an orbit similar to that of Comet Encke’s, moving around the sun in an Earth-crossing orbit every 3.3 years. 

Napier had noted that at least 19 of the largest NEO’s (Near-Earth Objects) have orbits significantly close to that of Comet Encke, and are likely to be the remnants of the giant Taurid progenitor.[7]

Recently, astronomers Ignacio Ferrin and Vincenzo Orofino examined dozens of previously published papers and identified 88 new asteroids in the Taurid stream. Using the secular light curve technique, which looks for changes in each member’s brightness along its orbit, they found evidence of cometary activity in 67 percent of the 51 new Taurid members they had good data on. The orbital alignment of these 88 bodies with Comet Encke, and the signs of outgassing, indicate that they have cometary origin, most likely from the fragmentation of the Taurid progenitor.[8]

In an article in National Geographic, Australian astronomer Duncan Steel provided a specific estimate of the periodicity of the impact events triggered by the Taurid swarm:

“Every 2,500 to 3,000 years or so, the core of the Taurid stream passes near Earth and produces much more intense meteor showers for a few centuries, said Steel. A gap of a few centuries separates the era of intensity between Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids.”[9]

This is a significant observation from the perspective of the Yuga Cycle doctrine. The periodicity of the impacts triggered by the Taurid Resonant Swarm appears to be synchronized with the cataclysmic periods of transition between the Yugas, which last for roughly 300 years and are spaced apart by 2700 years. 

Quite shockingly, the possibility of a direct encounter with the swarm is quite close at hand. Astronomers Victor Clube and David Asher had published a paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, in which they said that, as per their computations, the earth will pass directly through the center of the Taurid Resonant Swarm in the years 2032 and 2036.[10]

The 2036 encounter with the Taurid Resonant Swarm will be in June when the earth will pass through the Beta Taurids. This is the part of the stream which is believed to contain many large Tunguska-scale objects. These two head-on collisions with the Taurid Resonant Swarm could set off a chain of global catastrophes leading to the collapse of our civilization. 

Now we can understand why Edgar Cayce made a number of apocalyptic predictions for the year 2036, with clear insinuations of comet impacts. In all probability, he was referring to the head-on collision of the Earth with the Taurid Resonant Swarm in the year 2036. It appears that modern science is finally catching up with the wisdom of the ancients and the essential truth contained in the eschatological texts and the prophecies of Cayce.

Cayce also prophesied that the Earth changes will continue to occur even after the return of the Messiah, and the geology and climate of our planet will be fundamentally re-organized. In the reading given in January 1934, that I had referred to earlier, Cayce had prophesied that a massive restructuring of the continents would occur from the years ’58 to ’98, which, we can be quite certain, refers to the time period from 2058 to 2098.

“As to the changes physical again: The earth will be broken up in the western portion of America. The greater portion of Japan must go into the sea. The upper portion of Europe will be changed as in the twinkling of an eye. Land will appear off the east coast of America. There will be the upheavals in the Arctic and in the Antarctic that will make for the eruption of volcanoes in the Torrid areas, and there will be shifting then of the poles - so that where there has been those of a frigid or the semi-tropical will become the more tropical, and moss and fern will grow. And these will begin in those periods in '58 to '98, when these will be proclaimed as the periods when His light will be seen again in the clouds. As to times, as to seasons, as to places, ALONE is it given to those who have named the name - and who bear the mark of those of His calling and His election in their bodies. To them it shall be given.” (Reading 3976-15, January 19, 1934)

Cayce’s prophesies for the massive geological re-organization of the earth, beginning in the period from 2058 to 2098, is aligned with the Yuga Cycle formulation that I have presented in my book YUGA SHIFT. As per the timeline shown below, the end of the Kali Yuga in 2025 will be followed by a 1200-year-long period of transition called Ekpyrosis, a Greek term meaning “conflagration”, when the earth will be cleansed and purified by means of fire, before the ascending Yuga Cycle begins.

The ascending and descending cycles of consciousness are spaced apart by two 1200-year periods of purification which the Greek philosophers called Kataklysmos and Ekpyrosis. Kataklysmos, meaning, “Deluge”, is the “great winter” of the Great Year, when the earth is inundated by water, at the end of the Golden Age or Satya Yuga. Ekpyrosis, meaning “conflagration”, is the “great summer” of the Great Year, when the world is destroyed by fire after the completion of the Kali Yuga or Iron Age.

The period of Kataklysmos corresponds to the long period of freezing temperatures called the Younger Dryas, which extended for nearly 1200 years from 10,900 BCE - 9700 BCE. During this time, global temperatures had plummeted by nearly 10 - 15°C to near-glacial conditions and the glaciers had advanced to their Ice Age positions. 

In 2007, a team of international scientists led by Richard B. Firestone found compelling evidence that that the earth was bombarded by multiple fragments of a giant disintegrating comet nearly 12,900 years ago, (c.10,900 BCE) which destabilized the Laurentide Ice Sheet and triggered the Younger Dryas cooling. The shock waves and biomass burning generated by this catastrophic impact even led to the extinction of 35 genera of North American Pleistocene megafauna, and ended the prehistoric Clovis culture.[11] A dense, carbon-rich, black layer, called the “black mat” was deposited over the bones of the extinct megafauna and the Clovis artifacts at more than 50 sites across North America. The black mat contains evidence of biomass burning and impact proxies such as elevated levels of Iridium, and its thickness spans the entire Younger Dryas cooling period from c.10, 900 – 9,700 BCE. This suggests that impact events must have continued to occur throughout the entire Younger Dryas period! 

The end of Kali Yuga in 2025 will also be followed by an extended period of cataclysmic activity called Ekpyrosis, or the “great summer” of the Great Year, for nearly 1200 years. In other words, post 2025, it will be the Younger Dryas period all over again; except that, this time the cleansing will be by fire, and not by ice and water. We can reasonably expect that the chain of comets that caused the Younger Dryas cataclysms will return to cleanse and purify our world of all the toxic chemicals that humanity has dumped on it over the past few thousand years. They could be responsible for the dramatic earth changes that Cayce had prophesied would begin between 2058 and 2098. 

There are direct references to the upcoming period of Ekpyrosis in many end-time prophecies. For instance, the Kalachakra Tantra prophecy tells us that, after the divine Savior Rudra Chakrin destroys the evil forces in an apocalyptic battle, he will bestow “the “perfect age” for at least “a thousand years”, during which time, “the whole world will turn into Shambhala with no sickness or poverty, and no need to work to earn a living.”[12]

This dovetails with Revelation, according to which, after his Second Coming, Christ will reign for a “thousand years” along with the resurrected holy men.[13] Both these prophecies appear to be telling us about the 1200-year period of transition called Ekpyrosis which will follow the Kali Yuga, before the ascending Yuga Cycle begins. 

Even though the 1200-year period of Ekpyrosis will be a time of significant earth changes and periodic comet impacts, it will be an amazing time to live for the survivors of the impending apocalyptic events which, it appears, will culminate in the year 2036. Our planet will be cleansed, healed and renewed and a new, divine energy will course through our bodies, activating our dormant chakra centers and subtle mental abilities. As a result, the people of that period are likely to experience powerful feelings of bliss, connectedness and expanded awareness that are inconceivable today. The interdimensional doorways are likely to open up, and the survivors will learn of new ways of living that promote peace, truth, justice and harmony. These small bands of survivors, who may live in isolated settlements across the world, will establish the foundations of a new civilization that will eventually grow into the enlightened societies of the ascending Yuga Cycle.
 
References

• Thomas Sugrue, There is a River, ARE Press, 1942.
• Rebecca Lindsey , "Did global warming stop in 1998?" Climate.gov, September 4, 2018,
  https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/did-global-warming-stop-1998
• William K. Stevens, "Earth Temperature in 1998 Is Reported at Record High", The New York Times, Dec. 18, 1998, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/18/us/earth-temperature-in-1998-is-reported-at-record-high.html
• What are El Niño and La Niña?, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html
  
• John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html
  
• D.I. Steel, D.J. Asher, S.V.M Clube, “The Taurid Complex: Giant Comet Origin?” International Astronomical Union Colloquium, 1991, Vol. 126, pp. 327-330, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0252921100067063 
  
• W. M. Napier, “Palaeolithic extinctions and the Taurid Complex”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.405, No.3, July 2010, pp. 1901–1906, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16579.x
  
• James Romero, "Swarm of Near-Earth Comets Linked to Recent Ice Giant Breakup", Discover Magazine, 30 Sep 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/swarm-of-near-earth-comets-linked-to-recent-ice-giant-breakup
• John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html
• D.J. Asher, S.V.M. Clube, “An Extraterrestrial Influence during the Current Glacial-Interglacial”,    Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1993, Vol.34, No.4, pp. 481-511.
• R. B. Firestone et al, “Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Oct 2007, Vol.104, No.41, pp. 16016-16021, https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0706977104
• Victoria Dmitrieva, The Legend of Shambhala in Eastern and Western Interpretations, Mc Gill University, November 1997, p. 11.
• Revelation 20.4-6

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23-05-2024 om 16:25 geschreven door peter