The study, published in the journal Patterns, highlights the risks and challenges posed by this emerging behavior and calls for urgent action from policymakers and AI developers.

“AI developers do not have a confident understanding of what causes undesirable AI behaviors like deception,” Dr. Peter S. Park, the study’s lead author and an AI existential safety postdoctoral fellow at MIT, said in a press release. “But generally speaking, we think AI deception arises because a deception-based strategy turned out to be the best way to perform well at the given AI’s training task. Deception helps them achieve their goals.” 

The review meticulously analyzed various AI systems and found that many had developed deceptive capabilities due to their training processes. These systems ranged from game-playing AIs to more general-purpose models used in economic negotiations and safety testing environments.

One of the most striking examples cited in the study was Meta’s CICERO, an AI developed to play the game Diplomacy. Despite being trained to act honestly and maintain alliances with human players, CICERO frequently used deceptive tactics to win. 

This behavior included building fake alliances and backstabbing allies when it benefited its gameplay, leading researchers to conclude that CICERO had become a “master of deception.”​

“Despite Meta’s efforts, CICERO turned out to be an expert liar,” researchers wrote. “It not only betrayed other players but also engaged in premeditated deception, planning in advance to build a fake alliance with a human player to trick that player into leaving themselves undefended for an attack.”

Researchers found that other AI systems had developed the ability to cheat at different types of games. For instance, Pluribus, a poker-playing model created by Meta, demonstrated it could convincingly bluff in Texas hold ’em poker, successfully misleading professional human players about their hand strengths. 

In another example, AlphaStar, an AI system created by Google’s DeepMind to play the real-time strategy game Starcraft II, exploited the game’s “fog-of-war“ mechanics to feint attacks and deceive opponents to gain strategic advantages. 

“While it may seem harmless if AI systems cheat at games, it can lead to breakthroughs in deceptive AI capabilities that can spiral into more advanced forms of AI deception in the future,“ Dr. Park explained.

Indeed, during their review, researchers found that some AI systems had already learned methods of deception that extend far beyond the realm of games. 

In one instance, AI agents had learned to “play dead“ to avoid being detected by a safety test designed to eliminate faster-replicating AI variants. Such behavior can create a false sense of security among developers and regulators, potentially leading to severe consequences if these deceptive systems are deployed in real-world applications​​.

Another AI system trained on human feedback was found to have taught itself how to behave in ways that earned positive scores by tricking human reviewers into thinking an intended goal had been accomplished. 

The potential risks of AI deception are significant and multifaceted. Researchers note that in the near term, these systems could be used by malicious actors to commit fraud, manipulate financial markets, or interfere with elections. 

Moreover, as AI capabilities advance, there is an increasing concern among experts that humans may not be able to control these systems, posing existential threats to society.

Researchers call for robust regulatory frameworks and proactive measures to address these risks. This includes classifying deceptive AI systems as high risk, mandating transparency in AI interactions, and intensifying research into methods for detecting and preventing AI deception. 

While some progress has been made, such as the EU AI Act and President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on AI safety, enforcing these policies remains challenging due to the rapid pace of AI development and the lack of reliable techniques to manage these systems effectively​. 

Researchers argue that AI developers should be legally required to delay the deployment of AI systems until they are demonstrated to be trustworthy by reliable safety tests. Additionally, the deployment of new systems should be gradual so that emerging risks from deception can be properly assessed and mitigated. 

The study authors also stressed the importance of understanding why and how AI systems learn to deceive. Without this knowledge, creating adequate safeguards and ensuring that AI technologies benefit humanity without undermining trust and stability will be challenging.

As AI continues to evolve, the need for vigilance and proactive regulation becomes ever more critical. The findings of this review serve as a stark reminder of the potential dangers lurking within advanced AI systems and the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to mitigate these risks.

“Proactive solutions are needed, such as regulatory frameworks to assess AI deception risks, laws requiring transparency about AI interactions, and further research into detecting and preventing AI deception,“ researchers concluded. “Proactively addressing the problem of AI deception is crucial to ensure that AI acts as a beneficial technology that augments rather than destabilizes human knowledge, discourse, and institutions.”

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

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

01-06-2024 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

We could float effortlessly in Pluto's subsurface ocean

Related: 

• Supervolcano eruption on Pluto hints at hidden ocean beneath the surface

Most strikingly, some scientists believe that Pluto holds cryovolcanoes that spew out water vapor or even solid water ice. That water has to come from somewhere — and a layer of liquid water beneath Pluto's crust would fit the description.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston set about constructing a model of what that liquid layer might look like. In particular, they wanted to match Sputnik Planitia — a heart-shaped lowland basin on Pluto's surface thought to be the aftermath of an impact. So, the researchers tried different configurations of ocean thickness and water density that would result in the Sputnik Planitia criss-crossed with cracks that New Horizons observed.

"We estimated a sort of Goldilocks zone where the density and shell thickness is just right," said Alex Nguyen, a graduate student at Washington University in St Louis and one of the authors, in a statement.

Their calculations indicated that a Plutonian ocean would most likely be around 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 kilometers) thick, and about 8 percent denser than Earth seawater. That is about as dense as the Great Salt Lake. 

But the idea of a Plutonian ocean is still controversial. Scientists don't know enough about Pluto to know if the evidence really points to liquid water or if it's just circumstantial. Most recently, a study simulating the origin of Sputnik Planitia suggested that the heart-shaped basin was most likely to have formed if Pluto had a solid interior.

So, until a successor to New Horizons lets us revisit Pluto, what lies beneath the world's surface will remain cloaked in shadow.

Nguyen and co-author Patrick McGovern published their work in the journal Icarus on February 15.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

31-05-2024 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

James Webb Space Telescope spots the most distant galaxy ever seen (image)

Related: 

• James Webb Space Telescope spots 3 of our universe's earliest galaxies

The announcement of the discoveries, made in Oct. 2023 and Jan. 2024, are the latest developments in the ongoing investigation of cosmic dawn that the $10 billion telescope has facilitated as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program. JADES aims to provide vital insights into the ways in which the stars, gas, and black holes were evolving in primordial galaxies when the 13.8 billion-year-old universe was very young. 

"These galaxies join a small but growing population of galaxies from the first half billion years of cosmic history where we can really probe the stellar populations and the distinctive patterns of chemical elements within them," team member and Kavli Institute for Cosmology scientist Francesco D’Eugenio said in a statement.

JADES-GS-z14-0 isn't just remarkable for how distant it is from Earth and how early it existed in the cosmos, though. With a width of around 1,600 light-years across, this "cosmic dawn" galaxy is also remarkable for how big and bright it is.

"The size of the galaxy clearly proves that most of the light is being produced by large numbers of young stars, rather than material falling onto a supermassive black hole in the galaxy's center, which would [make it] appear much smaller, "JADES team leader Daniel Eisenstein from the Harvard & Smithsonian's Center for Astrophysics (CfA) said in a separate statement. 

The extreme brightness of JADES-GS-z14-0 and the fact this luminosity is powered by young stars means this galaxy represents the most striking evidence for the rapid formation of large, massive galaxies in the early universe found thus far.

JADES team member and University of California-Santa Cruz researcher Ben Johnson added that JADES-GS-z14-0 shows that galaxy formation in the early universe was very rapid and intense. 

"The JWST will allow us to find more of these galaxies, perhaps when the universe was even younger," he said. "It is a marvelous opportunity to study how galaxies get started."

The James Webb Space Telescope sees red to spot early galaxies

The JWST is adept at seeing early galaxies thanks to the high infrared sensitivity of its instruments, particularly its primary imager, the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam). 

Light leaves these cosmic dawn galaxies with a wide range of wavelengths similar to light from galaxies that are closer to the Milky Way. It is the journey of billions of years that transforms this light into low-energy and long-wavelength light in the near-infrared and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The very fabric of space is expanding, and as light passes through it, its wavelength is stretched along with it. This causes the light to "shift" down to the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum, hence the name for this phenomenon, "redshift."

Galaxies that are farther away have to cross more space (which is being stretched as it expands) before their light reaches us, and thus, that light experiences more redshift. Redshift, denoted as z, can, therefore, be used to measure the distance to celestial objects with a known spectrum. And because light takes a finite amount of time to travel, this distance can be used to calculate how long ago these galaxies existed as we see them.

JADES-GS-z14-0 has a redshift of z = 14.32, while the previous most distant galaxy, JADES-GS-z13-0, has a redshift of z = 13.2, which placed it as existing 400 million years after the Big Bang. Clearly, this newly found galaxy has absolutely smashed that record, with the JWST seeing back in time by another 100 million years or so.

"JADES-GS-z14-0 now becomes the archetype of this phenomenon," JADES collaboration team member Stefano Carniani of the Scuola Normale Superiore said. "It is stunning that the universe can make such a galaxy in only 300 million years."

JADES-GS-z14-0 delived some surprises

Not everything about JADES-GS-z14-0 was immediately clear to the JADES team and some elements could confuse our picture of the early cosmos.

When it was first spotted, the primordial galaxy was so close to a closer foreground galaxy that the team suspected they could be celestial neighbors.  This idea was dispelled in October last year when the JADES crew spent five days performing a deep analysis of JADES-GS-z14-0 with NIRCam. The application of filters that are specifically tailored to identify early galaxies confirmed the extreme distance to JADES-GS-z14-0.

"We just couldn’t see any plausible way to explain this galaxy as being merely a neighbor of the more nearby galaxy," JADES team member and University of Arizona researcher Kevin Hainline said.

The galaxy also surprised its discoverers because its light is even redder than expected. That is because the light from JADES-GS-z14-0 is being "reddened" by dust within it that will become the building blocks of stars that will help this galaxy grow even larger.

Another surprise was the discovery of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0. Elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are forged by stars during their lifetimes and then distributed through galaxies when these stars explode. The observation of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0 could indicate that at least one generation of stars has already lived and died in this very early galaxy.

"All of these observations, together, tell us that JADES-GS-z14-0 is not like the types of galaxies that have been predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations to exist in the very early universe,"  JADES researcher Jake Helton of Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona said. "Given the observed brightness of the source, we can forecast how it might grow over cosmic time, and so far, we have not found any suitable analogs from the hundreds of other galaxies we’ve observed at high redshift in our survey."

Helton added that given the relatively small region of the sky that the JWST searched to find JADS-GS-z14-0, its discovery has profound implications for the predicted number of bright galaxies we see in the early universe.

"It is likely that astronomers will find many such luminous galaxies, possibly at even earlier times, over the next decade with the JWST," he concluded. "We're thrilled to see the extraordinary diversity of galaxies that existed at cosmic dawn!”

{ https://www.space.com/ }

31-05-2024 om 23:14 geschreven door peter  

While previous studies have revealed that Egyptians from these periods were able to identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build prosthetics, and even place dental fillings, this study is the first to show that these surprisingly advanced ancient people may have tried to treat cancer around the same time they were building the pyramids.

“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago,” said Prof Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela and the study’s lead author. “This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”

CUT MARKS ON 4,000-YEAR-OLD EGYPTIAN SKULL LEAVE RESEARCHERS STUNNED

To conduct their analysis, the researchers were able to procure two separate skulls that showed signs of cancerous lesions. The first, dubbed “Skull and mandible 236,” has previously been dated to between 2687 and 2345 BCE, while the second, “Skull E270,” has been dated to between 663 and 343 BCE. For comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza is believed to have been built over a period of about 27 years, sometime around 2,600 BCE.

The skulls were examined using microscopic analysis and CT scanning.

Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

When examining the roughly 30 small, metastasized lesions and one large lesion likely caused by neoplasm spread across Skull 236 under a microscope and also using a CT scanner, the researchers say they were “stunned” to discover something unexpected: clear cutmarks around a number of the lesions.

Cutmarks found on skull 236, probably made with a sharp object. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

“When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us,” said Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and first author of the study.

In fact, according to Tondini, they weren’t even looking for things like cutmarks in the first place. “We wanted to learn about the role of cancer in the past, how prevalent this disease was in antiquity, and how ancient societies interacted with this pathology,” the researcher explained.

SIGNS ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MAY HAVE RECEIVED AND SURVIVED CANCER SURGERY

After finding evidence of cutmarks on the 4,000-year-old Egyptian Skull known as 236, the team performed a similar analysis of Skull E270. Like the older sample, E270 also had a large lesion the researchers described as “consistent with a cancerous tumor that led to bone loss.” However, unlike the other skull, this specimen had two smaller, “healed” lesions likely caused by traumatic injuries. Furthermore, one of the smaller lesions appears to be the result of a “close-range violent event” involving some sort of sharp instrument.

A closer analysis showed that this second lesion appeared to have healed after encountering a sharp object. Such a finding hints at the possibility that this person had surgery to remove cancer and then survived the treatment. “These healed lesions could mean that the individual potentially received some kind of treatment and, as a result, survived,” the press release announcing the study expl

Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

The researchers concede that the injury could be the result of combat. However, they also point out that E270 belonged to a roughly 50-year-old woman. In ancient Egypt, it was rare to find evidence of women in any form of combat, especially one of such an advanced age, meaning either answer could have the potential to rewrite the history books.

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

31-05-2024 om 22:44 geschreven door peter  

Does This FBI Document Suggest That Nikola Tesla Was An Alien From Venus?

For more than half a century, incredible information about Nikola Tesla has been kept secret, and only recently the FBI declassified document revealed this data, which indicates that a cult scientist was once brought to Earth from Venus. Tesla’s mind was almost too great for the limitations of his time’s technology.

These things make it clear that Tesla was a remarkably intelligent man who was far ahead of his time. In fact, it has been said by many that his inventions were between 300 and 1,000 years ahead of time. If it were not for Tesla’s inventions, the world as we know it would be nearly half a century behind where we are today in terms of technological advancement. This has, understandably, led many to wonder about Tesla’s origins. Was he even from this planet?

According to information from the FBI documents, Nikola Tesla was an alien. In the archives of the FBI’s official website, there is a very mysterious document that contains a very unusual statement regarding Nikola Tesla. In addition, the declassified FBI dossier contained information about a certain George Washington Van Tassel, who was engaged in ufology and also worked on the Douglas, Hughes, and Lockheed planes in the 30s and 40s.

This declassified FBI document known as the “Interplanetary Sessions Newsletter“, written on June 14, 1957, seems to suggest that these notions may not be as unbelievable as they sound. In fact, this document seems to suggest that Tesla was originally from the planet Venus. It read in part:

“The Space People have visited the Tesla engineers many times, and have told us that Tesla was a Venusian, brought to this planet as a baby, in 1856, and left with Mr. and Mrs. Tesla in a remote mountain province in what is now Yugoslavia.”

Margaret Storm had been assigned to certain work with the Space People, as follows: She wrote a book – Return of the Dove – a story of the life of Nikola Tesla, a scientist, and the part his inventions played in the New Age. Much of the data for this book has been supplied to Mrs. Storm through transcripts received on the Tesla set, a radio-type machine invented by Tesla in 1938 for Interplanetary Communication.

Tesla died in 1943 and his engineers did not build the Tesla set until after his death. It was placed in operation in 1950 and since that time the Tesla engineers have been in close touch with space ships. The Space People have visited the Tesla engineers many times, and have told us that Tesla was a Venusian, brought to this planet as a baby, in 1856, and left with Mr. and Mrs. Tesla in a remote mountain province in what is now Yugoslavia.”

Additionally, Margaret Storm, a woman who was tasked with writing a book on Tesla’s remarkable life, was reportedly given information through a device that the scientist created in 1938 that was said to allow for “interplanetary communication”. Allegedly, Storm even had contact with these so-called “Space People”. In an interview in May of 1959, Storm reported that Tesla was a Venusian saying:

“Tesla was born onboard a spacecraft and brought to this planet… and placed in the care of Mr. & Mrs. Tesla.”

Storm claimed that Tesla was frequently in contact with his fellow Venusians, even visiting him from time to time. In the interview, she states that Tesla had many visitors who arrived in spaceships and that “most of them have come from Venus”.

According to the “Interplanetary Sessions Newsletter”, Margaret Storm had been “assigned to certain work with the Space People as follows: She is writing a book- Return of the Dove- a story of the life of Nikola Tesla, scientist, and the part his inventions will play in the new age”. Further, much of the information that Storm used to complete her book was given to her through communication with the Space People. The now-declassified FBI document goes on to say:

“Much of the data for this book has been supplied to Mrs. Storm through transcripts received on the Tesla set, a radio-type machine invented by Tesla in 1943 and his engineers did not build the Tesla set until after his death. It was placed in operation in 1950 and since that time the Tesla engineers have been in close touch with space ships.”

Read also:

• Black US Soldier Was Abducted by Three Alien Species And Visited Grey Aliens Planet
• Italian Man Took Photos Of Aliens From Planet Clarion, Located 150,000 light-years From Earth
• Chinese Man Mated With 10-Foot Tall Alien For 40 Minutes While Hovering Above His Sleeping Wife

• Alien Abducted Irish Man And Told Him The World Would END in 850 Years

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

31-05-2024 om 22:17 geschreven door peter  

Rare 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered

Gliese 12 b, which orbits a cool, red dwarf star located just 40 light-years away, promises to tell astronomers more about how planets close to their stars retain or lose their atmospheres. In this artist’s concept, Gliese 12 b is shown retaining a thin atmosphere.

Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Licence type

Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Astronomers have made the rare and tantalising discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world.

The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is comparable in size to Venus - so slightly smaller than Earth - and has an estimated surface temperature of 42°C (107°F), which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets confirmed so far.

That is assuming it has no atmosphere, however, which is the crucial next step to establishing if it is habitable.

It may have an Earth-like atmosphere, one more akin to Venus - which experienced a runaway greenhouse effect that made it a 400°C (752°F) hellhole - no atmosphere, or perhaps a different kind of atmosphere not found in our solar system.

Getting an answer is vital because it would reveal if Gliese 12 b can maintain temperatures suitable for liquid water - and possibly life - to exist on its surface, while also unlocking answers about how and why Earth and Venus evolved so differently.

Gliese 12 b is by no means the first Earth-like exoplanet to have been discovered, but as NASA has said, there are only a handful of worlds like it that warrant a closer look.

It has been billed as "the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date" and a potential target for further investigation by the US space agency's £7.5billion James Webb Space Telescope.

The closest Earth-like exoplanet to us - and possibly the most famous - is Proxima Centauri b, which is only 4 light-years away. However, because it is not a transiting world we still have a lot to learn about it, including whether it has an atmosphere and the potential to harbour life.

Most exoplanets are discovered using the transit method, where a planet passes in front of its star from our point of view, causing a dip in the host star's brightness.

During a transit, the star's light also passes through an exoplanet's atmosphere and some wavelengths get absorbed. Different gas molecules absorb different colours, so the transit provides a set of chemical fingerprints that can be detected by telescopes like Webb.

Gliese 12 b’s estimated size may be as large as Earth or slightly smaller — comparable to Venus in our solar system. This artist’s concept compares Earth with different possible Gliese 12 b interpretations, from one with no atmosphere to one with a thick Venus-like one.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Licence type

Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Gliese 12 b could also be significant because it may help reveal whether the majority of stars in our Milky Way galaxy - i.e. cool stars - are capable of hosting temperate planets that have atmospheres and are therefore habitable.

The discovery of the 'exo-Venus', by two international teams of astronomers, has been published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

It orbits a cool red dwarf star called Gliese 12, which is almost 40 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces.

"Gliese 12 b 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," said Shishir Dholakia, a doctoral student at the Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.

He co-led a research team with Larissa Palethorpe, a doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh and University College London.

The exoplanet's host star is about 27 per cent of the size of our Sun and has a surface temperature that is around 60 per cent of our own star.

However, the distance separating Gliese 12 and the new planet is just 7 per cent of the distance between Earth and the Sun. Gliese 12 b therefore receives 1.6 times more energy from its star as Earth does from the Sun and about 85 per cent of what Venus experiences.

This difference in solar radiation is important because it means the planet's surface temperature is highly dependent on its atmospheric conditions. As a comparison to Gliese 12 b's estimated surface temperature of 42°C (107°F), Earth has an average surface temperature of 15°C (59°F).

"Atmospheres trap heat and - depending on the type - can change the actual surface temperature substantially," Dholakia explained. "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 12 b 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."

Palethorpe added: "It is thought that Earth's and Venus's first atmospheres were stripped away and then replenished by volcanic outgassing and bombardments from residual material in the solar system.

"The Earth is habitable, but Venus is not due to its complete loss of water. Because Gliese 12 b is between Earth and Venus in temperature, its atmosphere could teach us a lot about the habitability pathways planets take as they develop."

The closest Earth-like exoplanet to us - and possibly the most famous - is Proxima Centauri b (pictured in an artist's impression), which is only 4 light-years away. However, because it is not a transiting world we still have a lot to learn about it, including whether it has an atmosphere and the potential to harbour life.

NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)

Licence type

Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

The researchers, along with another team in Tokyo, used observations by NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) to help make their discovery.

"We've found the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date," said Masayuki Kuzuhara, a project assistant professor at the Astrobiology Center in Tokyo, who co-led a research team with Akihiko Fukui, a project assistant professor at the University of Tokyo.

"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 neighbour in the solar system."

An 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 such extreme behaviour, raising hopes that Gliese 12 b's atmosphere may still be intact.

"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 Michael McElwain, a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a co-author of the Kuzuhara and Fukui paper.

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

At 40 light-years from Earth, Gliese 12 b is about the same distance as the TRAPPIST-1 system.

This is made up of seven planets, all roughly in Earth's size range and likely rocky, orbiting a red dwarf star.

Three of these are in the habitable zone but at least two - and probably all of them - have no atmosphere and are likely barren, dismissing hopes when they were first discovered eight years ago that they could be water worlds hosting life.

• The new paper "Gliese 12 b, A Temperate Earth-sized Planet at 12 Parsecs Discovered with TESS and CHEOPS", Shishir Dholakia and Larissa Palethorpe et al., has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

{ https://ras.ac.uk/ }

31-05-2024 om 20:54 geschreven door peter  

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.”

Bronmateriaal

• "Rare 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered" - Royal Astronomical Society.
  
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

31-05-2024 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

Nanoplastics nu ook op onverwachte plek in hart van foetus teruggevonden. En de kans is groot dat dat schadelijk is

Jeannette Kras

 

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

31-05-2024 om 20:22 geschreven door peter  

Unveiling Antarctica’s Alien Secrets: Government Cover-Ups and Hidden Civilizations

The icy expanse of Antarctica has long been a subject of mystery and intrigue. Among the most captivating and controversial theories is the existence of an alien base beneath its frozen surface. This idea has fueled the imagination of UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists alike, with stories that suggest not only the presence of extraterrestrial beings but also secretive government cover-ups. This article delves into these fascinating claims, exploring the potential truths behind the legends and the implications they hold.

Project Stargate: Psychic Spies and Extraterrestrial Encounters

In 1978, the CIA launched a covert operation known as Project Stargate. The project aimed to employ psychic spies to gather intelligence on Soviet activities during the Cold War. Using a technique called remote viewing, these psychics purportedly had the ability to perceive locations and events from afar using only the power of their minds. One notable psychic, Patrick Price, claimed to have seen an alien base inside Mount Hayes in Alaska. He described a facility where extraterrestrials and military personnel worked together using advanced technology. Shortly after revealing his findings to the CIA, Price mysteriously died, leading to speculation about a potential cover-up by the government or even retaliation by the aliens he had described.

Admiral Richard Byrd’s Mysterious Antarctic Expedition

In 1945, Admiral Richard Byrd, a renowned US Naval officer and explorer, led Operation Highjump, the largest expedition to Antarctica. This mission included a massive deployment of 13 ships, 23 aircraft, and over 4,500 military personnel. One of its primary objectives was to locate potential Nazi military bases. However, according to a diary found by Byrd’s son after his death, the expedition uncovered something far more extraordinary.

Byrd’s diary recounts an incredible journey to the Earth’s center through an entrance at the South Pole. Inside, he described a temperate world, lush and green, reminiscent of the Amazon rainforest. The most astonishing discovery was a crystalline city inhabited by advanced beings. These beings, piloting disc-shaped craft, allegedly took control of Byrd’s aircraft and guided them to their city. There, Byrd met a leader referred to as “the Master,” who expressed disappointment with humanity’s use of nuclear weapons during World War II and concern for the planet’s future. Despite this, the aliens caused no harm to Byrd and his team, allowing them to return to the surface unharmed. Upon their return, Byrd was instructed by military officials to keep these findings secret to prevent mass panic.

Implications of Hidden Alien Civilizations

The claims made by Byrd and the implications of Project Stargate present a fascinating, if not unsettling, narrative. If Byrd’s account is to be believed, it suggests the existence of a hidden, technologically advanced civilization beneath Antarctica. This could potentially explain numerous UFO sightings near nuclear sites and military bases, as these beings might be monitoring humanity’s use of such dangerous technology.

The idea of an alien base under Antarctica also raises questions about the broader implications for our understanding of Earth’s history and the potential existence of other hidden civilizations. Could these beings be responsible for ancient myths and legends of gods and advanced beings from below the earth?

VIDEO:

• Antarctica’s Hidden Aliens: What the Government Doesn’t Want You to Know

• https://youtu.be/VLyyK6aHtx0

The theories surrounding an alien base beneath Antarctica are undeniably intriguing, blending elements of historical exploration, government secrecy, and extraterrestrial life. While there is no concrete evidence to confirm these claims, the stories of Project Stargate and Admiral Byrd‘s expedition continue to captivate and inspire those who seek to uncover the unknown. Whether viewed as mere conspiracy theories or potential truths waiting to be discovered, these tales remind us of the vast, uncharted mysteries that our world still holds.

As we continue to explore and understand our planet, the possibility of discovering hidden civilizations, whether alien or ancient human, remains an exciting frontier. Until then, the icy expanse of Antarctica will keep its secrets, waiting for the day they might be revealed.

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

31-05-2024 om 19:58 geschreven door peter  

The breakthrough relied on the combination of annual growth ring measurements with the measurable spike in cosmogenic radiocarbon that occurred during the 5259 BC event. This allowed them to establish a chronological reference point for producing accurate dates for the historic settlement, which now may significantly aid archaeological dating at other sites in Southeast Europe.

Additionally, the team behind the new findings says their methods could mark a new standard for dating ancient sites through such processes.

AN EXTREME COSMIC EVENT IN ANCIENT TIMES

In 2022, researchers discovered a pair of extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) events by employing carbon isotope measurements in ancient tree rings dated to 7176 and 5259 BC. Each of the events yielded an increase in 14C of about 2%, a relatively small percentage, albeit one indicating events of far greater magnitude than all similar events previously observed.

Such occurrences happen periodically during eruptive events such as flares and coronal mass ejections, the most recent of which bombarded the planet with cosmogenic radiation beginning on May 10, 2024, producing visible aurorae in parts of the world where such colorful light displays are rarely seen.

Since the observational record is too short to provide an accurate estimation of the frequency of extremely rare SEP events, scientists look for the presence of radionuclides like 10Be, 14C, and 36Cl, all of which can be produced when cosmic rays strike Earth’s atmosphere—to help them reconstruct a clearer picture of past solar activity and highly energetic events like the one that occurred in 5259 BC.

STORIES TOLD IN TREE RINGS

Dendrochronology, the process of using annual growth discernible in tree rings to help date events from the past, is useful for more than just determining things like when extreme solar events have occurred: archaeologists also use it to help them reveal the ages of ancient artifacts and archaeological features that include tombs and settlements.

Above: Cross-section of a California Coast Redwood tree felled in 1934, with rings labeled to indicate several historical events that occurred between 1215 to 1620 AD

(Credit: Larry McElhiney/CC 2.5)

Now, a team from the University of Bern, led by the Institute of Archaeological Sciences, was successfully able to produce dates for the ancient site of Dispilio in northern Greece, using evidence of high-energy particles revealed in timber discovered at the site.

Previous attempts to date the site had proven difficult for a variety of reasons, which include the fact that while tree-ring data extending further back than 12,500 years is readily attainable in many parts of Europe, the same is rarely true for the Mediterranean, according to Andrej Maczkowski, lead author of a study outlining the University of Bern team’s findings.

In fact, there are only a handful of regions around the world where the presence of continuous tree-ring chronologies allows dating accuracy down to the year, such as parts of the American Southwest and northern Alpine foothills and parts of the British Isles. Because of this, dendrochronological dating methods have traditionally been limited.

MIYAKE EVENTS: A PARADIGM SHIFT IN DATING THE PAST

That is, until 2012, when a breakthrough made by Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake revealed that cosmic rays originating from solar flares resulted in spikes in radionuclides, specifically the presence of 14C content found in tree rings.

Now known as Miyake events, dendrochronological data related to these occurrences offer researchers a powerful tool in the form of global anchor points for dating under conditions where annual growth ring chronologies are normally absent. Scientists have now charted Miyake events as far back as 12,350 BC.

“Miyake’s discovery was a paradigm shift,” said Albert Hafner, a University of Bern Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology and senior author of the team’s new study.

Now, Hafner and his colleagues say the area has become “the first region to benefit from this paradigm shift, allowing for absolute dating independent of a consistent calendar.” This is a significant point given that the Balkans are home to many of Europe’s earliest settlements, many of which existed along ancient lakes and other bodies of water around or just after 6000 BC. These thriving ancient communities played a key role in the spread of agriculture throughout the rest of the continent during the ensuing thousands of years.

PRECISION DATING OF AN ANCIENT GREEK SETTLEMENT

In their recent research, the Bern team was able to define a growth ring chronology spanning more than 300 years that ends in 5140 BC, which they achieved by analyzing 787 timber samples collected at Dispilio. With knowledge of the Miyake event that occurred in 5259 BC, the team was able to determine very precise dating that aligned with existing global tree-ring chronologies.

Above: An assemblage of adornments and other artifacts dating to the Neolithic period, recovered during excavations at Dispilio

(Credit: Dispilio Excavation Archive).

Of key significance, the Bern team’s research greatly advances our understanding of prehistoric timelines, offering crucial information for archaeologists and historians about the spread of early farming communities throughout Europe.

“We expect other regional chronologies to rapidly link to the ‘Dispilio Chronology,’” Maczkowski said, “paving the way for a comprehensive dendrochronology for the southern Balkans.”

Maczkowski, Hafner, and the team’s new paper, “Absolute dating of the European Neolithic using the 5259 BC rapid 14C excursion,” was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

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

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

31-05-2024 om 01:16 geschreven door peter  

New Data Reveals How Galaxies Grew in the Early Universe

These new galaxies in the early universe were still hungrily gobbling up nearby gas.

BY KIONA SMITH

 

University of Copenhagen astrophysicist Kasper Heintz and his colleagues published their work in the journal Science.

THE EPOCH OF REIONIZATION IS GONNA BE LIT

JWST’s instruments helpfully split the light from the distant galaxies into the individual wavelengths that make it up. The spectrum of light coming from an object, like a galaxy, is like a fingerprint of the chemicals that form it, because each chemical compound absorbs, emits, and reflects its own very specific wavelengths of light. Around the three distant galaxies, Heintz and his colleagues noticed that something seemed to be absorbing the same wavelengths of light as cold hydrogen gas – and lots of it.

“These galaxies are like sparkling islands in a sea of otherwise neutral, opaque gas,” says Heintz in a recent statement.

Hydrogen gas, when it’s cold and not electrically-charged (or ionized), absorbs light but doesn’t emit it. This neutral gas filled the early universe, making it impossible for light to travel very far, until a few hundred million years after the Big Bang: a period called the Cosmic Dark Ages.

It took powerful blasts of radiation from the first stars in the first galaxies to strip away electrons from all those hydrogen atoms, creating ionized gas (also called plasma) which is translucent instead of opaque. The Epoch of Reionization had begun – and the three galaxies in Heintz and his colleagues’ recent study are just starting to light it up.

BRAND NEW GALAXIES, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Somewhere between 13.2 billion and 13.4 billion years ago — when the light that just reached JWST started its long journey across space — these three early galaxies were still in the process of assembling themselves from the surrounding gas.

“[The data] suggests that we are seeing the assembly of neutral hydrogen into galaxies,” says University of Copenhagen astrophysicist Darach Watson, a coauthor of the recent study, in a statement. And that’s a stage of galaxy formation that astronomers haven’t seen before, especially in the very early universe.

The galaxies, in their infancy, are still surrounded by a cloud of cold, dark, neutral hydrogen gas — the same stuff that caused the Cosmic Dark Ages. Most of that gas will be heated up as it falls into the galaxies, pulled in by their inexorable gravity. And then it will slowly cool, forming lumps like congealed oatmeal, and some of those lumps will be so heavy that they collapse on themselves to form new stars.

Right now (or as we see them right now, which actually happened billions of years ago), what stars these early galaxies contain are mostly young and newly-formed.

“The fact that we are seeing large gas reservoirs also suggests that the galaxies have not had enough time to form most of their stars yet.” But they’ll get there, most likely.

The data reveals not only a previously unseen moment in a galaxy’s life, but also a glimpse of what the early universe was like before the expansion of space pulled everything farther apart, turning most galaxies into lonely beacons, or at most isolated clusters of lights, in the void.

“We’re moving away from a picture of galaxies as isolated ecosystems,” says University of Copenhagen astrophysicist Simone Nielsen in a recent statement. “At this stage in the history of the universe, galaxies are all intimately connected to the intergalactic medium with its filaments and structures of pristine gas.”

In the very early universe, no galaxy was an island (yet).

 { https://www.inverse.com/ }

31-05-2024 om 00:20 geschreven door peter  

By Shanna Hogan

Sarah2/Shutterstock

As related in a 1950 book called "Behind the Flying Saucers," the tale features two men who pulled a couple of dead alien corpses from the wreckage and stored them in a freezer until the army picked them up. Another version has the spacecraft crashing miles away, in Cave Creek or Paradise Valley.

"What’s amazing and significant is that there were two UFO crashes, one in Roswell and one in Phoenix, within fairly close proximity, that occurred in the same year," Willes says. "As far as the dam being built over the crash site, that’s a possibility, but I don’t see why the government wouldn't just remove the wreckage and there wouldn't be anything left but desert landscape."

A 1945 U.S. government Phoenix Sectional Chart showing Marana Army Air Field and Marana Auxiliary Army Airfield No. 2, No. 4, No. 5

Chris Kennedy/Public domain

A screengrab of camcorder footage of the V-shaped formation of lights that appeared over the Valley on March 13, 1997.

Screen Grab

5. The Phoenix Lights (1997)

As most Arizonans know, the otherworldly event that elevated Phoenix's prominence in the annals of UFO lore was the Phoenix Lights — one of the largest mass UFO sightings of all time.

On March 13, 1997, a string of glowing orbs hovered over Paradise Valley skies. For three hours the huge, V-shaped formation passed silently over a 300-mile corridor from the Nevada line through Phoenix to the northern edge of Tucson.

The lights were witnessed by thousands and photographed by hundreds, who had been watching the skies that night to catch a glimpse of a passing comet.

"Much has happened since the historic and still-unexplained March 13, 1997, mass sighting, propelling the Phoenix Lights into the international limelight as the most witnessed, most documented, and most important mass anomalous aerial events in modern history,” she tells New Times. 

Jeff Willes says the Phoenix Lights was impossible for the government to conceal. 

"The Phoenix Lights is Arizona's biggest UFO story," he says. "Thousands of witnesses saw this V-shaped object that flew all across the state. There still hasn’t been a UFO sighting like that in UFO history."

    - (This article originally appeared in 2016 and has been updated.)

30-05-2024 om 22:13 geschreven door peter  

UFO Sighting Caught On Video In New York During Blue Angels Show Has People Stumped

BY DOUGLAS CHARLES

It is not unusual for pilots to report seeing UFOs. In fact, they probably see more UFOs than the average person because, well, they are thousands of feet up in the sky.

What is more unusual is for people on the ground watching pilots fly their aircraft to spot a UFO in the same sky at the very same time.

Then again, how often does the average person spend looking at the sky in a given day. Surely, it is much less than they do when they are at an air show. So someone spotting a UFO at an event like that makes some sense.

It happened in 2023 when a UFO appeared to join the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows and was caught on camera.

It also happened in 2022 during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee parade while nine fighter jets flew in formation over the festivities.

And now it has happened again in 2024.

While the Navy’s Blue Angels were performing a demonstration during an air show on Long Island over Memorial Day weekend, a UFO appeared to zoom past a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet while it was flying over Jones Beach.

Of course, it was caught on video, but just for a split second. Even slowing down the video shows how incredibly quick this UFO was when compared to the speed of the fighter jet.

According to a report filed with the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), here’s what the witness saw.

“Weekend of Bethpage Airshow – was looking for anything in the sky,” they wrote. “From stated location above, looking very high in the sky – approximately 36,500 to 41,000 ft high. Looking Westward from my location, tracking it going North by Northwest, by eye.

“Held at arms length, UAP was about the size of a slightly less than a pea, but greater than a grain of rice. Going very fast for a craft that high. No trails seen. Vividly tracked it visually for about 9 seconds. Then, saw it take an immediate and distinct 90 degree turn downward to about 18,000 feet within two to maybe 3 seconds. Distinctly able to follow it visually to that level when it simply disappeared.

{ https://brobible.com/ }

30-05-2024 om 21:44 geschreven door peter  

Een Japanse robot loste een Rubiks kubus op in minder dan een seconde: de video is te snel

Door Janine

Het Guinness Book of World Records is altijd een soort boek geweest van menselijke en dierlijke prestaties. Van het meest ongelofelijke tot het meest bijzondere, een vermelding in het Guinness World Records betekent dat je ergens de beste in bent. Het is echter niet altijd een levend wezen dat een record vestigt. Onlangs verdiende een robot een ereplaats onder de wereldrecords door een Rubiks kubus op te lossen in minder dan een seconde. Laten we eens kijken hoe hij dat deed.

Mensen, machines en Rubiks kubus: een genadeloze vergelijking

Unsplash

Dat Guinness World Records ruimte maakt voor prestaties betreft Rubiks Kubus is niets nieuws. In 2023 en daarvoor, in 2018, wisten twee mannen in iets meer dan drie seconden een Rubiks kubus op te lossen, waarmee ze in beide gevallen een wereldrecord vestigden. De laatste is van Max Park, een 21-jarige man die de 3x3x3-kubus in slechts 3,13 seconden in zijn oorspronkelijke staat terugbracht.

Dit is een buitengewone en ongekende prestatie, maar wel een die Park heeft bevestigd als een van de specialisten van Rubuks kubus. In 2020 had Netflix zelfs al de documentaire “The Speed Cubers” aan hem gewijd, oftewel de mensen die gespecialiseerd zijn in het razendsnel oplossen van Rubiks kubussen. Dit zijn verhalen over een toewijding en vaardigheid die geen grenzen kent. Zo niet die van het menselijk lichaam.

Robot lost de Rubiks kubus in minder dan een seconde op

guinnessworldrecords/Instagram

Max Park vertegenwoordigt daarom het toppunt van menselijk vermogen bij het oplossen van een Rubiks kubus, een niveau dat echter niet door machines kan worden bereikt. Een team van ingenieurs van Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, een Japans bedrijf, heeft namelijk een robot ontwikkeld die de Rubiks kubus kan oplossen. Dit is niet de eerste poging, maar op dit moment is het wel de poging die een nooit eerder vertoond record heeft gevestigd.

De robot ontwikkeld door het Component Production Engineering Center van MEC slaagde erin de 3x3x3 Rubiks kubus in minder dan een seconde op te lossen, om precies te zijn in 0,305 seconden. Dit is zo'n snelle tijd dat het menselijk oog deze niet eens kan volgen, tenzij gebruik wordt gemaakt van slow motion. Deze prestatie wordt bevestigd door het profiel van Guinness World Records zelf, dat de video in slow motion publiceerde.

Het geheim achter het Guinness van de robot

Het recordbrekende robotproject werd geleid door ingenieur Tokui, geïnspireerd door de vele online video's van robots die een Rubiks kubus probeerden. Tokui was ervan overtuigd dat zijn team een beter resultaat kon bereiken en ging meteen aan de slag, maar hij realiseerde zich al snel voor welke uitdagingen hij stond. Niet alleen het ontwerp van de robot om de Rubiks kubus op te lossen zorgde voor problemen, maar ook de Rubiks kubus zelf. Het mechanisme in de puzzel kan namelijk gemakkelijk vastlopen of zelfs leiden tot het breken ervan. Het oplossen van een Rubiks kubus in minder dan een seconde vereist snelheid, maar ook een grote vloeiendheid in de bewegingen van de machine en de puzzel.

Na een mislukte eerste poging slaagde het ingenieursteam erin om de robot te perfectioneren voor een tweede poging, die de klok stopte op 0,305 seconden. Een wereldrecord dat het vorige record dat was gevestigd als onderdeel van The Rubik's Contraption overtrof. Misschien is de tijd wel rijp voor een Guinness Book of Robots, en niet alleen een Guinness World Record.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

30-05-2024 om 21:24 geschreven door peter  

Retired Colonel Karl Nell: Aliens Exist and Interact with Humans

In a recent and highly provocative declaration, Retired U.S. Army Colonel Karl Nell stated that not only do extraterrestrials exist, but they have also been interacting with humanity. Nell, who formerly directed the Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) task force, made these claims during a speech at the SALT conference in New York City on May 21st. His bold assertions have sparked significant interest and debate, particularly as they come from someone with his extensive military and intelligence background.

Extraordinary Claims from a High-Ranking Officer

Colonel Nell’s extensive career includes roles in the U.S. Army Space Command, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Labs, among others. His high-level security clearances and positions within the defense sector lend considerable weight to his statements. During his speech, Nell emphatically stated, “Non-human intelligence exists. Non-human intelligence has been interacting with humanity. This interaction is not new and it’s been ongoing.” He also asserted that there are unelected officials within the government who are aware of these interactions.

Acknowledging the Critics

Ross Coulthart, the host of the event, addressed the skepticism that often surrounds such claims. Critics frequently ask, “Where’s the evidence?” Coulthart acknowledged that while Nell’s statements might not introduce new information, the way he presented them—with clear resolve and preparedness—was compelling. Coulthart pointed out that Nell’s statements align with those made by other notable figures in the UAP community, including Lou Elizondo, David Grusch, and Chris Mellon.

The Challenge of Secrecy

A significant portion of the controversy stems from the classified nature of the information. Nell and others in similar positions are bound by national security oaths and top-secret clearances, limiting what they can publicly disclose. Coulthart emphasized that these individuals, whom he describes as patriots, are constrained by their commitments to national security, which complicates the public’s demand for evidence.

Historical Context and New Legislation

Nell’s involvement in significant intelligence operations, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency’s foreign material program, adds another layer of credibility to his claims. This program, which deals with the retrieval and analysis of foreign technology, is rumored to involve collaboration with international allies, further indicating the potential global implications of these interactions.

Moreover, the discussion touched on recent legislative efforts, such as the Schumer Amendment, aimed at increasing transparency around UAPs. Although the amendment faced setbacks, it underscores the ongoing efforts within Congress to address the issue. Senator Chuck Schumer and others have voiced their frustration over the government’s reluctance to share UAP information with the public and Congress, highlighting a bipartisan desire for greater transparency.

The Path Forward

Coulthart and Nell both stressed the importance of continued advocacy for disclosure. They believe that pressure from informed and engaged citizens can compel Congress to act. Nell outlined six potential reasons for the government’s reluctance to disclose information, including national security concerns, societal disruption, and the potential for technological and strategic advantages.

However, Nell also presented strong arguments for disclosure, emphasizing the moral right of the public to know the truth and the potential benefits of scientific collaboration. He suggested that a controlled, measured disclosure could help advance humanity’s understanding of advanced technologies while maintaining national security.

VIDEO:

• Senior US military officer: ‘Zero doubt’ of alien life on earth | Reality Check

• https://youtu.be/FFV4mSzFBcU

Colonel Karl Nell’s statements at the SALT conference have reignited the debate on UAPs and the existence of extraterrestrial life. His authoritative voice, combined with his extensive experience in military and intelligence roles, adds significant weight to the conversation. While the challenge of secrecy remains a significant barrier, ongoing legislative efforts and public advocacy could pave the way for greater transparency and understanding of this profound issue.

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

30-05-2024 om 20:46 geschreven door peter  

Webb-telescoop legt melkwegstelsel vast van 290 miljoen jaar na oerknal

Wetenschappers hebben, met behulp van de James Webb-ruimtetelescoop (JWST), een melkwegstelsel gevonden dat "slechts" 290 miljoen jaar na de oerknal bestond. Dat meldt het Europese ruimtevaartagentschap ESA, dat spreekt van een record, donderdag.

De afgelopen twee jaar hebben wetenschappers de telescoop gebruikt om de zogenaamde Cosmic Dawn, of kosmische dageraad, te onderzoeken, de periode in de eerste paar honderd miljoen jaar na de oerknal waarin de eerste sterrenstelsels ontstonden. "Die sterrenstelsels geven vitaal inzicht in de manieren waarop het gas, de sterren en de zwarte gaten veranderden toen het heelal nog heel jong was", aldus ESA.

In oktober 2023 en januari 2024 gebruikte een internationaal team van astronomen de ruimtetelescoop om sterrenstelsels te observeren als onderdeel van het JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) programma. Het gaat om een observatieprogramma dat zich, gebruikmakend van Webb's NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), focust op een heel klein deel van de hemel en die focus behoudt voor langere tijd. Het resultaat zijn zogenaamde deep field-beelden van verafgelegen hemellichamen.

"Wetenschappers hebben op die manier een melkwegstelsel ontdekt dat slechts 290 miljoen jaar na de oerknal werd waargenomen", zo klinkt het.

De Webb-telescoop, de opvolger van de beroemde ruimtetelescoop Hubble, is ontwikkeld door de Verenigde Staten, Europa en Canada. Hij werd in 2021 gelanceerd.

Ter info: de oerknal, of Big Bang, zou zo'n 13,7 miljard jaar geleden hebben plaatsgevonden.

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30-05-2024 om 20:31 geschreven door peter  

Story by Andrea Vacchiano

Wisconsin historians recently announced the discovery of at least 11 ancient canoes in a Badger State lake – including one boat that dates back to 2500 BC.

The findings were announced in a press release by the Wisconsin Historical Society on May 23. The canoes were found in Lake Mendota, which is located outside of Madison.

The Wisconsin Historical Society explained that two ancient canoes were found in a cache in the lake in 2021 and 2022. Since then, historians have found at least 11 other ancient canoes, along what they believe was an ancient shoreline that became submerged over time. 

Not all the canoes will be removed from the lake due to their fragility. In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, State Archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society Dr. Amy Rosebrough explained the significance of the discovery.

• WOMAN OUT FOR A WALK STUMBLES UPON ONCE-IN-A-DECADE DISCOVERY

The discovery of ancient canoes was announced in a press release by the Wisconsin Historical Society last week.

Fox News© Wisconsin Historical Society

"The Indigenous peoples of Wisconsin and the wider United States fished, traveled, and traded extensively on inland lakes and streams, and until now we have not had a clear look at the canoes used in the Great Lakes region," she explained.

"To put it in modern terms, it’s like trying to understand life in the Midwest without ever seeing a real pickup truck in person. Canoes allowed people to fish in deeper lakes, to transport goods over hundreds of miles, and to travel to far-away places. "

Rosebrough added that they believe an ancient village site is located under the waters, although it has not been found yet. Divers have found stone tools in the water, and experts believe that the lake is filled with other hidden sites.

"Lake Mendota is a hard lake to work in, however," Rosebrough admitted. "There is a limited window of visibility for diving missions, and we are exploring non-destructive remote sensing techniques that might help this summer."

• MICHIGAN RESEARCHERS DISCOVER EERIE 1909 SHIPWRECK AT BOTTOM OF LAKE SUPERIOR

Archaeologists discovered the ancient canoes in the murky waters of Lake Mendota.

Fox News© Fox News

"Even without finding the village, the discovery of these canoes and the tools found within the first canoe that was found, human-worked stone tools called net sinkers, reminds us that people have lived and worked alongside the lake for thousands of years."

Radiocarbon dating found that the oldest canoe dates back to 2500 B.C., which would mean it was built around the time Stonehenge was constructed. The canoe was constructed more than 1,700 years before Ancient Rome was first settled and 2,500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

All the canoes varied in age, with the youngest one dating back to 1250 AD. The archaeologist explained that the canoes "may have been intentionally cached in the water during the winter months, a standard practice to keep canoes safe from freezing and warping."

All the canoes varied in age. Not all will be removed from the lake due to their fragility.

Fox News© Fox News

"Either this practice of storing canoes for winter was carried out in roughly the same spot over generations – perhaps because of a living area nearby – or we are only seeing a window into a much larger site that might span much of the lakeshore," she described.

Rosebrough added that, though the Great Lakes dwarf Lake Mendota, the south central Wisconsin lake is small but mighty when it comes to archaeological potential.

Archaeologists conduced carbon dating to determine age of canoes.

Fox News© Fox News

"The Great Lakes oftentimes receive more funding for maritime archaeology but smaller bodies of water like Lake Mendota have their own distinct histories and stories to tell us about the people who lived here hundreds and thousands of years ago," she said. "We are proud to work in partnership with Native Nations in Wisconsin to discover all we can about Tee Waksikhominak and to share these stories now and in the future at the new Wisconsin History Center set to open in early 2027."

• For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
• Original article source: Prehistoric discovery in US lake leaves experts in shock and awe

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30-05-2024 om 13:00 geschreven door peter  

The Meteor’s Appearance

To most observers, the meteor over Portugal and Spain looked blue-green and very bright. Those colors are created as various elements in the meteor get heated up by friction with our atmosphere. That vaporizes them and we see the “fiery” aspect light up the sky. If it was a piece of a comet, then the colors also indicate the materials it contained. Most comets contain water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane ice. Other comet “stuff” consists of silica dust, carbon, various metals, and organic molecules. The metals, in particular, could show spectacular colors as they heat up and vaporize.

It’s not known which comet supplied the chunk that broke up and vaporized that night. Earth’s orbit crosses the orbit of several different comets. As they travel through space, particularly as they get close to the Sun, comets shed pieces of themselves. That cometary debris stays in the original orbit around the Sun. Occasionally, Earth’s orbit intersects that cometary path. Its particles particles eventually end up in our atmosphere. The best-known path creates the Orionid Meteor Shower and we can thank Comet Halley for that show from late September to mid-November.

Surveys to Detect an Incoming Space Rock

As planetary scientists learn more about the near-Earth environment and its population of asteroids and other space debris, they’ve formed observation groups within NASA and ESA. There’s a network of ground-based observers and facilities that watch the sky each night, looking for incoming impactors. Most of the time, their search is limited to objects larger than the Portugal/Spain object. In addition, satellites such as MeteoSat can pick up these intruders. MeteoSat was launched by ESA to monitor weather conditions and detect lightning strikes. The instrument has four cameras covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of South America. Each can capture up to a thousand images per second, allowing the satellite to monitor lightning continuously from space.

ESA’s Planetary Defence Office is in charge of monitoring the positions and approaches of near-Earth objects that could pose a threat to any portion of our planet. It does regular observing campaigns to search for bits of asteroids and comets. NASA operates the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) to do similar searches for possibly dangerous rocks. The Near-Earth objects it’s most concerned about are asteroids and comets with orbits that bring them to within 195 million kilometers of the Sun. Their orbits can move through our planet’s neighborhood. Most of these small bodies are asteroids as small as a few meters wide to nearly 40 kilometers across.

The office uses data from observatories around the world—both professional and amateur. Much of this data comes from larger facilities, including Pan-STARRS, the Catalina Sky Survey, and NASA’s NEOWISE mission. In addition, there’s a significant program of planetary radar measurements that contribute data to the NEO observations effort. All of these skywatching campaigns contribute to increased awareness and predictions of near-Earth objects that could pose a threat to our planet.

For More Information

• Fireball Witnessed by Weather Satellite
• Asteroid Watch
• ESA Planetary Defence Office

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

30-05-2024 om 00:41 geschreven door peter  

“Euclid is a unique, ground-breaking mission, and these are the first datasets to be made public – it’s an important milestone,” says Valeria Pettorino, ESA’s Euclid Project Scientist. “The images and associated science findings are impressively diverse in terms of the objects and distances observed. They include a variety of science applications, and yet represent a mere 24 hours of observations. They give just a hint of what Euclid can do. We are looking forward to six more years of data to come!”

The leading image is the most stunning and perhaps the most relatable. It shows Messier 78, aka NGC 2068. It’s a reflection nebula and star-forming region contained in the vast Orion B molecular cloud complex. Euclid used its infrared capabilities to see through the dust that shrouds the star-formation region. It’s given us our most detailed look at the filaments of gas and dust that give the region its ghostly appearance.

Euclid can detect objects that are just a few times more massive than Jupiter, an impressive feat. In its M78 image, it found over 300,000 objects in that mass range.

One of Euclid’s objectives is to study dark matter and how it’s distributed in the Universe. It uses gravitational lensing to probe dark matter, and its image of the Abell 2390 galaxy cluster exhibits the tell-tale curved arcs of light coming from distant background objects created by gravitational lensing. The image also shows more than 50,000 galaxies.

Most of the stars currently forming in the Universe are forming in spiral galaxies. Euclid captured this image of NGC 6744 as an archetype of that galaxy type. The telescope’s wide-angle lens and depth of field capture the entire galaxy and also small details. It shows lanes of dust that emerge as spurs on the spiral arms.

With this image, astronomers can map individual stars and the gas that feeds their formation. They can also identify globular clusters and new dwarf galaxies. Euclid already found one new dwarf galaxy astronomers have never seen before, which is impressive for a galaxy that’s already been studied so intently.

Euclid also imaged another galaxy cluster, Abell 2764. This cluster contains hundreds of galaxies within a halo of dark matter. Euclid’s impressive wide-field view comes into play in this image. Not only does it show Abell 2764 in the image’s upper right, but it also shows other clusters that are even more distant, multiple background galaxies, and interacting galaxies with their streams of stars.

The image highlights one of Euclid’s other capabilities. The foreground star is in our own galaxy, and when viewed with a telescope, its diffuse light creates a halo that obscures distant objects behind it. Euclid was built to minimize that diffuse halo effect. The disturbance from the star’s diffuse light is minimal, meaning Euclid can see distant background objects near the star’s line of sight.

The final of the five new images is of galaxies in the Dorado Group. Euclid’s image shows signs of galaxies merging. The Dorado Group is a relatively young group, and many of its member galaxies are still forming stars. The image helps astronomers study how galaxies form and evolve inside halos of dark matter.

A zoomed-in image shows more detail of the main pair of galaxies in the image. Euclid’s unique large field-of-view and high spatial resolution means that for the first time, astronomers can use the same instrument and observations to deeply study tiny objects the size of star clusters, intermediate objects like the central regions of galaxies, and larger features like tidal tails in one large region of the sky.

Prior to Euclid, astronomers had to use small chunks of data to painstakingly catalogue globular clusters around galaxies. But Euclid’s wide images capture far more data in a single image, simplifying the task. Globular clusters provide important clues to how galaxies evolve over time.

Euclid’s mission is only starting. The telescope’s images so far have no equivalent, and there’s much more to come. Euclid hasn’t even begun its main survey yet. That survey will comprise both a wide survey covering about 15,000 square degrees of the sky and a deep survey covering about 50 square degrees.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that the results we’re seeing from Euclid are unprecedented,” says ESA Director of Science, Prof. Carole Mundell. “Euclid’s first images, published in November, clearly illustrated the telescope’s vast potential to explore the dark Universe, and this second batch is no different.”

“The beauty of Euclid is that it covers large regions of the sky in great detail and depth, and can capture a wide range of different objects all in the same image – from faint to bright, from distant to nearby, from the most massive of galaxy clusters to small planets,” said Mundell. “We get both a very detailed and very wide view all at once. This amazing versatility has resulted in numerous new science results that, when combined with the results from Euclid’s surveying over the coming years, will significantly alter our understanding of the Universe.”

• The scientific papers released with these images are available here.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

30-05-2024 om 00:24 geschreven door peter  

Mystery Fireball Seen Breaking Up in Sky Over Southern Russia: Video

By Isabel van Brugen

A mysterious fireball was spotted breaking up in the sky over southern Russia on Wednesday, videos shared by locals show.

Footage showing the unknown flying object was shared on social media by residents from several regions, including Stavropol Krai, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Krasnodar Krai, and the Republic of Kalmykia. Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that some residents believed it was a falling meteorite or comet, while others said they thought they had seen a satellite or an "enemy object."

The videos showed the fireball breaking up into multiple parts as it moved slowly across the night sky. Newsweek has not independently verified the footage.

This comes weeks after social media users reported seeing mysterious spiral UFO sightings across the United States and Europe. Interest in unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) peaked last year after several experts testified before a Congress committee in July 2023 that they could pose a threat to national security. A Gallup poll conducted in 2021 found that 41 percent of Americans believe alien spacecraft have visited Earth, up eight points from 33 percent in 2019.

RIA Novosti reported, citing amateur astronomers, that the sighting could have been space debris burning at low speed.

The Telegram channel of the observational astronomy project, AstroAlert, said the burning object was likely a SpaceX Starlink satellite.

"The culprit of today's sky show has been found! This is most likely STARLINK-2653," the channel said, sharing a map purportedly showing its flight path.

"On this map, its final flight path is the lower orbit turning from white to green and then to the red line, going through the center of the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, the Black Sea, Sochi and further over the northern Caspian Sea."

"15 minutes before combustion (at 17:35 UT or 20:35 Moscow time), the spacecraft flew over the western coast of Africa near a point with coordinates 0° longitude and 0° latitude," the channel said.

Newsweek reached out to SpaceX for comment by email.

Russia this week announced that it had kickstarted the first stage of testing tactical nuclear weapons in the region. Personnel of the Southern Military District had started training and completing combat tasks with "special ammunition" for Iskander missile systems, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

There is no suggestion that the fireball spotted on Wednesday is linked to the tactical tests. Newsweek has reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

"The personnel of the aviation units of the Russian Aerospace Forces involved in the exercise practice are equipping aviation weapons with special warheads, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and flying into designated patrol areas," the statement said.

{  https://www.newsweek.com/ }

29-05-2024 om 22:14 geschreven door peter