Robotische “derde duim” gemaakt om de grenzen van het menselijk lichaam te overwinnen en de bewegingsmogelijkheden te vergroten

Door Janine

Zijn twee duimen niet genoeg? Daar zorgt robotica voor

Dani Clode Design / The Plasticity Lab

Tien vingers in totaal, waarvan slechts twee duimen, is misschien niet genoeg, zelfs als we ons daar niet van bewust zijn. Gedreven door de overtuiging dat “meer beter is” wilden wetenschappers van de Universiteit van Cambridge de menselijke hand een extra verlengstuk geven. Robotisch natuurlijk. Deze sector wordt steeds populairder en ontwikkelt een reeks gemotoriseerde draagbare apparaten. Het doel? Door de grenzen van de menselijke anatomie te overwinnen en de motorische vaardigheden te implementeren die we nodig hebben om de prestaties te verbeteren, en om ondersteuning te bieden aan mensen met bewegingsproblemen.

Tamara Makin van de Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit van de Medical Research Council aan de Universiteit van Cambridge legt uit: “De technologie verandert onze definitie van wat het betekent om mens te zijn, waarbij machines steeds meer een onderdeel van ons dagelijks leven worden. Deze technologieën bieden opwindende nieuwe mogelijkheden waar de samenleving profijt van kan hebben, maar het is van cruciaal belang om te overwegen hoe ze alle mensen in gelijke mate kunnen helpen."

De robotiche derde duim: hoe werkt het

University of Cambridge/Youtube screenshot

De Derde Duim, de specifieke naam van het apparaat, is ontwikkeld door Dani Clode, die meewerkt in het laboratorium van Makin. Het gaat om een extra robotische duim die de bewegingsmogelijkheden vergroot, waardoor zowel het grijpvermogen van de hand als de last die deze kan tillen en dragen toeneemt. Met andere woorden: het maakt het mogelijk om handelingen uit te voeren die met één hand moeilijk of onmogelijk zijn.

Het apparaat wordt aan de andere kant van de hand gedragen dan de natuurlijke duim en wordt bestuurd door een druksensor die onder de grote tenen wordt aangebracht. Druk van de rechterteen verlengt de robotische duim, terwijl druk van de punt van de linker grote teen deze dichter bij de vingers brengt. De kracht van de druk bepaalt de bewegingssnelheid, evenals de terugkeer van het apparaat naar zijn oorspronkelijke positie. Wetenschappers testten de Derde Duim in 2022 tijdens de Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, waarbij enkele leden van het publiek betrokken waren die de kans hadden om het uit te proberen.

Inclusieve robotische duim: geschikt voor iedereen en eenvoudig in gebruik

University of Cambridge

592 deelnemers in de leeftijd van 3 tot 96 jaar waren in staat om de sensor gedurende vijf dagen te bewegen. Slechts vier deelnemers hadden hier echter moeite mee, omdat het prototype dat op de tentoonstelling werd gepresenteerd niet geschikt was voor de handgrootte van kleine kinderen, noch voor de sensor. In de overgrote meerderheid van de gevallen lukte het de proefpersonen om de duim te bewegen tijdens de minuut die beschikbaar was om hem te testen, geleid door de instructies van het team. De test bestond uit het oppakken van voorwerpen met alleen de Derde Duim, inclusief het oppakken van pinnen van een geperforeerd paneel en deze één voor één in de mand te verplaatsen, om er zoveel mogelijk te verzamelen binnen 60 seconden. Meer dan de helft van de deelnemers slaagde daarin.

Uiteindelijk was 98% van de deelnemers in staat om de objecten naar tevredenheid te verplaatsen, ongeacht verschillen in achtergrond en geslacht. Kinderen en ouderen toonden een vergelijkbaar vaardigheidsniveau, waarbij oudere volwassen deelnemers minder vaardigheid vertoonden vanwege hun leeftijd. Zoals Dani Clode uitlegde: "Gezien de diversiteit van lichamen is het cruciaal dat de ontwerpfase van draagbare technologie zo inclusief mogelijk is, zodat deze apparaten toegankelijk en functioneel zijn voor een breed scala aan gebruikers."

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

04-06-2024 om 17:20 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers Stumbled Upon A Rare Chance To Capture Just How Fast A Supermassive Black Hole Spins

One unlucky star brought fortune to these astronomers.

BY DORIS ELÍN URRUTIA

 

Back in 2020, astronomers noticed some strange activity. Using the Zwicky Transient Facility in California, they detected telltale signs that a star was going through what scientists call a tidal disruption event, in which an intense field of gravity rips a star apart. Tidal disruption events really only come from one thing: monster black holes. They realized what they were witnessing was a big black hole feasting on a star.

Astronomers observed the black hole in detail using the International Space Station’s NICER telescope, which is short for Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer. They found a few interesting details. Every 15 days, the supermassive black hole experienced a shift in X-ray intensity, and this pattern remained steady for the entirety of the four months they studied it.

From this, they were able to estimate the spin speed of the black hole. Finding such a specific detail about an object lurking roughly a billion light-years away is impressive. But the researchers say this new technique might be able to help solve some riddles about how the universe came to be. Specifically, how the hearts of galaxies evolved from Cosmic Dawn to today.

The supermassive black hole of the new study behaves somewhat like a kid swaying their hips to move a hula hoop. From the motion of the toy — in this case, the ring of shredded gas from the victim star — helped astronomers observe how the object’s intense gravity warps space-time to affect the disk. Black holes are so dense that not even light can escape them. But accretion disks around the black holes do emit light. They trace the path of this space-time warp. The black hole creates a drag called Lense-Thirring precession, and from this, astronomers deduced the spin speed.

This isn’t the first time that astronomers have derived the spin measurements of supermassive black holes and smaller black holes. But according to the lead author of the new study, MIT research scientist Dheeraj Pasham, this was the first time that the black hole’s warp of the space-time, paired with the luminosity of the accretion disk of an otherwise invisible object, led to finding the black hole’s spin speed.

The team owe much of their accomplishment to this black hole being a great candidate for study. It helped that the black hole was tilted towards Earth, letting astronomers investigate the X-rays clearly. NICER also has an easier job if it’s targeting objects in the direction of Earth’s poles, where the Sun can’t obstruct. The black hole is in the polar part of our sky, fortunately.

The spin speed of the black hole is a fingerprint. An abundance of slow-spinning black holes would mean frequent chaotic mergers between black holes — and the galaxies they reside in. “You’re dumping angular momentum in random orientations, and essentially spinning down the remnants,” Pasham tells Inverse.

“The other scenario is, let’s say you find most of the black holes are fast-spinning as close to the speed of light, that means they grew by accretion. Like a spinning top,” Pasham added. Over time, the balls of gas pulled in towards the black hole sped it up a little more.

This new research, along with discoveries emerging from a myriad of new telescopes taking flight soon, the universe’s history may not stay so hidden for long.

• https://youtu.be/yXIRhYBRtRE

• https://youtu.be/O0xHA0unJaw

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

04-06-2024 om 17:04 geschreven door peter  

This Dwarf Planet Is Basically A Sweet Red Snow Cone

Please do not lick the science.

BY KIONA SMITH

NASA

A recent study found that Arrokoth, a weirdly-shaped dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, gets its distinctive reddish coloration from complex hydrocarbon molecules, which form when cosmic rays and solar wind bombard the tiny world’s frozen methanol surface. The same chemical reactions that spawn those hydrocarbons also produce sugars like glucose and glycerol, which means that if you licked Arrokoth, it would probably taste sweet, but also a little like soap. (Please don’t try this, because methanol is poison, and also you shouldn’t open your spacesuit helmet in a vacuum. Safety first!)

University of Hawai’i at Manoa chemist Chaojiang Zhang and colleagues published their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

LAB-GROWN DWARF PLANETS

Zhang and colleagues froze a slab of methanol and carbon monoxide to around -390° Fahrenheit, or about 40 Kelvin, in their lab, then blasted it with high-energy electrons to simulate a couple billion years of cosmic rays.

The simulated cosmic rays triggered a series of chemical reactions in the ice, which produced complicated molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — the chemicals that stain Arrokoth’s surface a distinctive reddish color. Those same chemical reactions also produced sugars like glucose (the stuff that sweetens honey, berries, nuts, grains, and even potatoes), glycerol (the backbone of fatty acids called lipids, which make up part of our cell membranes, among other things), and ribose (and important part of DNA and RNA).

And the hydrocarbon molecules that give Arrokoth its color are built benzene, a chemical that is a ring of six carbon atoms with six hydrogen atoms on the outside. That ring structure is the basis for most organic chemistry, including some of the most important molecules for life: the “nucleobases” that make up the genetic code, as well as the amino acids that combine to form proteins.

In other words, the surface of Arrokoth is probably laden is with the chemical building blocks for life — and that’s pretty sweet, too.

“SUGAR WORLDS” MEET WITH EARTH

Some of the ribose in your DNA right this moment may once have been locked in frozen ice on the surface of a world like Arrokoth.

“Sugar worlds” like Arrokoth may have played a role in giving Earth its starter kit of life-building molecules, like sugars and benzene-based hydrocarbon rings. Some of the comets that bombarded early Earth around 4 billion years ago may have come from tiny Kuiper Belt worlds like Arrokoth. And Zhang and colleagues’ experiment suggests those comets may have carried more than just water ice to our young planet.

Different Kuiper Belt worlds may have supplied different organic chemicals to early Earth, according to Zhang and colleagues. Pluto’s dancing partner, Charon, and another dwarf planet called Orcus, have water and ammonia frozen on their surfaces; others have carbon dioxide. Zhang and colleagues want to do more experiments in their lab to simulate how cosmic rays change the chemistry on each of those worlds to learn what’s out there — and how it got here

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

04-06-2024 om 16:48 geschreven door peter  

Look! NASA’s Lucy Mission Stumbled Upon An Asteroid With Planet-Like Features

Dinkinesh is a tough half-mile-wide rock.

BY DORIS ELÍN URRUTIA

NASA/GSFC/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab/Brian May/Claudia Manzoni

The Lucy mission, named after the famous 3 million year old hominid fossil, is slated to visit the Trojans, a swarm of asteroids stuck in Jupiter’s orbit that may be relics of the Solar System’s formation. But the spacecraft made a pitstop at asteroid Dinkinesh on November 1, 2023 for what was meant to be a simple test subject for the spacecraft's navigational systems.

The asteroid, however, turned out to have plenty of science to offer, including new information about how planets form, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Dinkinesh, and its surprise mini-moon Selam, might also contain clues about how the planets formed billions of years ago, the study reveals.

HELLO DINKINESH

Dinkinesh is a rough half-mile-wide rock.

Lucy’s images show that Dinkinesh, located in the inner edge of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has a trough and a ridge, and is shaped like a spinning top.

Researchers think the ridge formed when a large chunk of rock dislodged from Dinkinesh. When the rock got knocked out, it broke into tiny pieces. These bits then settled to form the ridge. Some rock pieces might also have been lofted into space and then rained back down to add to the ridge.

“Basically, the planets formed when zillions of smaller objects orbiting the Sun, like asteroids, ran into each other. How objects behave when they hit each other, whether they break apart or stick together, has a lot to do with their strength and internal structure,” Lucy mission principal investigator Hal Levison said in the announcement.

Dinkinesh's terrain suggests it has a sturdy interior. This would have been an essential trait during the formation of the planets billions of years ago. The researchers think that the rock dislodged when an earthquake-like event occurred. During these types of events, there's a gradual buildup of stress that culminates as a swift release. If a celestial body experiences this type of event, that suggests it has a compact composition. If Dinkinesh's rocks were more loosely gathered together, the stress may not have built up, but instead, created gradual changes to the terrain, similar to the way a sand dune shape shifts.

The dislodged rock event could also explain how Dinkinesh’s tiny moon, Selam, formed. Over millions of years, the Sun’s thermal radiation caused Dinkinesh’s spin to accelerate. This created a centrifugal force. As material pooled near the center, or flew off into nearby space, Selam gained its raw ingredients.

In keeping with the moniker theme of the Lucy mission, Selam is a greeting meaning “peace” in the Amharic language. It’s spoken in Ethiopia, where the Lucy fossil was discovered. Dinkinesh is another Amharic word, meaning “marvelous.”

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

04-06-2024 om 16:42 geschreven door peter  

The Alien Abduction of the Century: The Unbelievable Story of Linda Napolitano

In the realm of UFO encounters and alien abductions, few stories are as compelling and mysterious as that of Linda Napolitano. Her extraordinary experience on the night of November 30, 1989, has been dubbed “the alien abduction case of the century” by experts in the field. This article delves into the intriguing details of her encounter and its broader implications for our understanding of extraterrestrial phenomena.

The Initial Encounter

Linda Napolitano, an ordinary housewife from New York City, had her life turned upside down in the early hours of a cold autumn night. At around 3 a.m., she was awakened by an unsettling presence at the foot of her bed. What she saw defied all rational explanation: a small, skeletal-bodied creature with a large head and completely black eyes. This being, along with two similar figures, would soon transport her into an experience that remains one of the most detailed and disturbing accounts of alien abduction to date.

Linda described a powerful blue light flooding her bedroom, paralyzing her and lifting her out of her bed. She floated through her apartment window, high above the streets of Manhattan, towards a massive UFO suspended in the sky. The craft was oyster-shaped and adorned with colorful lights. Inside, she found herself subjected to strange and invasive procedures by her captors.

The Aftermath and Hypnosis

Following the incident, Linda’s memories of the abduction were fragmented and hazy. Desperate for answers, she reached out to Budd Hopkins, a well-known ufologist. Hopkins, who had extensive experience with abduction cases, conducted several sessions of regressive hypnosis with Linda. Through these sessions, they managed to piece together the details of her ordeal, from the moment she was lifted from her bed to the invasive procedures performed aboard the UFO.

Eyewitness Accounts

What sets Linda Napolitano’s case apart from other abduction stories is the corroborative eyewitness testimony. Two men, Richard and Dan, who initially claimed to be police officers, later revealed they were security agents assigned to an important political figure. They reported seeing Linda and the three alien beings floating in the sky and entering the UFO. Their accounts added a significant layer of credibility to Linda’s story.

In total, 24 witnesses came forward, describing bright lights in the sky, strange flying beings, and an unidentified flying object. This multitude of testimonies makes Linda’s case one of the most well-documented and witnessed UFO encounters in history.

Government Involvement and Threats

As Hopkins and Linda delved deeper into the case, it became apparent that there were broader implications. Richard and Dan’s initial friendly demeanor turned sinister as they began to harass and threaten Linda. They forced her into their car, interrogated her, and even subjected her to bizarre and invasive examinations. Their behavior suggested a deeper, more troubling connection to government agencies and possible cover-ups.

Hopkins received a letter from a third party, referred to as the “third man,” who warned him to cease his investigations. This mysterious figure hinted at ecological dangers, geopolitical implications, and the involvement of extraterrestrial forces in global affairs. Hopkins speculated that this third man might have been Javier Perez de Cuellar, the then-Secretary-General of the United Nations, who allegedly witnessed the abduction.

Theories and Implications

One of the most compelling aspects of Linda’s case is the possible explanations and theories that emerged from it. Professor Corrado Malanga, an Italian chemist and ufologist, proposed a groundbreaking theory based on his extensive research and regressive hypnosis sessions with abductees. Malanga suggested that aliens were interested in the human soul, a component of our being that they lacked.

According to Malanga, aliens performed intricate procedures to extract and utilize this soul component, which is timeless and immortal. This theory posits that humans are used as a source of life force by these extraterrestrial beings. Malanga’s findings suggest that the abduction phenomenon might be far more complex and sinister than previously thought.

VIDEO:

• THE ALIEN ABDUCTION OF THE CENTURY : LINDA NAPOLITANO STORY – ORIGINAL V MOVIES

• https://youtu.be/j2kzDJX7CRU

Linda Napolitano’s story remains one of the most fascinating and well-documented cases of alien abduction. With multiple eyewitnesses, government involvement, and credible research by experts like Budd Hopkins and Corrado Malanga, her experience continues to intrigue and challenge our understanding of extraterrestrial encounters. As ufology advances, the case of Linda Napolitano stands as a pivotal moment in the ongoing quest to uncover the truth about alien abductions and their implications for humanity.

LINKS VIDEOS

• https://youtu.be/dpoHdjDxCwQ

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

04-06-2024 om 16:13 geschreven door peter  

Tom Delonge Has UFO Secrets That Kept Him Up For 3 Nights: ‘These Beings Have Been Around Forever’

There are many things happening within the UAP phenomenon. With the recent Mexican UAP hearings, the entire world has come to learn about how governments worldwide are earnestly investigating this phenomenon. It is not solely about alien objects flying at supersonic speeds; the UAP phenomenon is intricately connected to our reality. Such like-minded individuals as Jacques Vallee and Michio Kaku propose the existence of other dimensions, also known as parallel universes, coexisting alongside our own reality. Within these dimensions, it is plausible that there are beings or entities living alongside us, despite our inability to perceive them.

Interestingly, Tom DeLonge, the former lead vocalist and guitarist of the popular band Blink-182, has always had a keen interest in UFOs. He has spent many years researching and studying the topic. He has even formed a company, To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science (or To The Stars) to investigate and promote research on UFOs and other related phenomena.

DeLonge even paid a visit to Rome with former Pentagon UFO official Luis Elizondo, where they discovered shocking details about the 2004 Sicily UFO attack. His “To The Stars” is behind publishing the three footages (captured in 2004 and 2015 by the US Navy) that were released in 2017 and 2018. They depict UFOs and include audio recordings of the pilots. These videos gained a lot of attention when they were released.

Tom’s fondness for UFOs began at a young age. As a child, he was fascinated by stories of alien encounters and sightings. He used to spend hours reading books and watching documentaries about unidentified flying objects and was particularly interested in the 1947 Roswell crash. Furthermore, his research led him to conclude that UFOs are not only real but that they have alien origins. He believes that there is a wealth of evidence to support this conclusion, including reports of sightings and encounters, as well as physical evidence such as radar tracks and photographs.

In this podcast with Dr. Brian Keating, Tom DeLonge shared several insights and personal experiences related to his involvement in UFO research. He was asked by TOE host Curt Jaimungal what it was that kept him up for three days.

DeLonge at first hesitates to delve into this topic but continues to talk about his communication with Jim Semivan (who is a co-founder of TTSA) and their unique way of thinking. Tom notes that Semivan and others have taught him how to analyze information more critically and avoid jumping to conclusions. They emphasize the importance of forming patterns and analyzing data over time.

Tom then touches on the idea of not fully grasping the stakes involved in the UAP phenomenon. He explains that initially, he struggled to accept the reality of it, despite encountering videos and books on the subject. He emphasizes the importance of verifying the authenticity of such evidence, especially when it comes to videos with a chain of title traced back to the Department of Defense (DOD).

“That’s why it was so important with the ones we brought out had chain of title all the way back to the DOD. So we knew those were real, it wasn’t just like it was on YouTube and leaked. So it’s, it’s the idea of bringing for things that you know, where they come from, and and you really take it from that point forward, and start getting really good data and evidence on people’s encounters, and the stakes that come with that. And that when when I’ve talked about this, as a threat, you know, this, that’s just my words, right? I mean, I would never know the way that government treats that that’s not my zone, obviously.

But for me, in my own personal research, if something’s been here for a long period of time, and it really is showing up in people’s bedrooms, or in front of an F 18, or on a petroglyph wall, or in an ancient text down in archives of the Vatican, or whatever it might be, it’s obviously doing something. And it’s obviously having an influence, and it might only be an influence on where we end up as mankind, or it might be an influence, to keep us suppressed in a weird way to where they can take advantage of something, who knows, um, but it’s here for a reason. And it’s not really being, you know, forward about its intent. But we do know that we’ve been dealing with it for a long period of time.”

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

04-06-2024 om 00:48 geschreven door peter  

The study, conducted by a collaboration of scientists from Northwestern University, New York University, Rutgers University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Georgetown University, offers new insights into the dynamics of interstellar interactions.

“CosmoAgent leverages large language models (LLMs) to simulate complex interactions between human and extraterrestrial civilizations,” the researchers explained. Employing mathematical models and state transition matrices, our approach quantitatively evaluates civilizations’ development trajectories, offering insights into future decision-making at critical points of growth and saturation.” 

In a preprint published on ArXiv, researchers explain that the novel “CosmoAgent” framework draws inspiration from the late Dr. Stephen Hawking’s cautionary advice about trying to haphazardly initiate contact with extraterrestrial species. 

In the latter part of his career, Dr. Hawking became an outspoken critic of attempts to contact intelligent alien life, warning that encountering advanced extraterrestrials could lead to the end of humanity.

“We don’t know much about aliens, but we know about humans,” said Dr. Hawking at a 2015 event. “If you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced.” 

“A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us. If so, they will be vastly more powerful and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.”

Inspired by Dr. Hawking’s warnings, researchers sought to explore the potential consequences of human policies toward extraterrestrial life and devise strategies to mitigate risks associated with first contact scenarios.

Employing large language models (LLM) to model diverse ethical paradigms, CosmoAgent simulates interactions between entities with distinct moral principles. This approach addresses the Earth-centric bias inherent in current AI designs by incorporating varied cosmologies, ethical codes, and worldviews that might be held by alien civilizations.

CosmoAgent’s simulations allow civilizations to choose between hiding, fighting, or collaborating based on their characteristics and decision-making processes. 

These choices are evaluated in a dynamic environment that examines potential outcomes, including alliances, rivalries, adherence to specific rules or agreements, and responses to unexpected threats or opportunities.

One key aspect of the study is the use of a Multi-Agent System (MAS) framework to model interactions among various civilizations. The framework allows for detailed exploration of different scenarios, such as civilizational alliances or rivalries, the effects of asymmetric information, and the development of novel cultures or technologies.

“Our simulations investigate potential interactions among different civilizations, including alliance formations, competitive relationships, and responses to unknown threats or opportunities,” researchers wrote. “By simulating these interactions, we gain insights into the mysteries of extraterrestrial existence, communication, conflict, and cooperation, potentially uncovering significant behavioral patterns and contributing valuable knowledge on diversity and order in the universe.”

The study addresses several key research questions, including the risks and benefits of human policies toward aliens, by using state transition matrices to simulate development levels and decision-making modes. Additionally, the model examines the management of asymmetric information and the impact of different moral views on civilizational interactions.

With the release of CosmoAgent’s code and datasets, researchers hope the model can provide a foundation for future studies and spur further academic investigation into the intriguing outcomes of “first contact” between humans and intelligent extraterrestrials. 

“This study marks a pivotal advancement in computational social science. It shows how we can leverage the latest artificial intelligence technologies, especially LLMs, to mimic complex social phenomena.,” the researchers emphasized. “These models serve as the foundation for multi-agent systems, enabling the creation of detailed and varied behaviors and interactions within civilizations.” 

“This research not only broadens the scope and realism of simulations but also opens a new area for investigation within computational social science: the study of civilizations in the universe.” 

CosmoAgent could also offer astronomers a fresh perspective and tool for exploring and understanding civilizations beyond Earth. By simulating how different civilizations develop and make decisions, the study could aid in forecasting and spotting the distinct characteristics of intelligent alien civilizations. 

Moreover, the study opens a novel platform for philosophical exploration, addressing the existence, communication, conflicts, and collaborations among civilizations in the universe. Through simulations of ethical viewpoints and behavior patterns of diverse cultures, it exposes the moral variety and intricacy within the universe’s civilizations.

As humanity continues to explore the cosmos, the insights gained from CosmoAgent could prove invaluable in shaping our approach to potential encounters with extraterrestrial life, ensuring that we are prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities of interstellar communication and cooperation.

Finally, by integrating diverse ethical paradigms and simulating interactions between human and alien civilizations, researchers believe their innovative approach can expand our perspective and provide valuable insights for future decision-making and conflict resolution.

“This innovative research provides a new way to understand complex inter-civilizational dynamics, expanding our perspective while pioneering novel strategies for conflict resolution,” researchers concluded. “These strategies are key to avoiding interstellar conflicts and broaden our understanding of inter-civilizational relations.” 

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

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

04-06-2024 om 00:28 geschreven door peter  

Ex-Defence Minister: E.T.s From Andromeda & Saturn’s Moon Visiting Earth For Thousands Of Years

There are already dozens of claims in favor of extraterrestrial visitation. Today, numerous astronauts and government officials support the UAP phenomena, and some are highly positive that they could have an alien origin. The Honorable Paul Hellyer (1923-2021), former Canadian Minister of Defense said extraterrestrials have been visiting our planet for thousands of years and it is likely that at least two of them are working with the U.S. government and sharing their highly-advanced technologies with humans.

In the 1960s, Paul Hellyer, a high-ranking official during the Cold War, asserted that he had discovered with certainty about the existence of aliens while serving in the military. He said that people from other worlds had been coming to Earth for a very long time. He insisted that a lot of the stuff that makes up our high-tech gadgetry had been gifted to us by overly-advanced ETs.

Hellyer had long expressed his views on extraterrestrials in public. He testified at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in May 2013 in Washington, DC. Five former members of U.S. Congress and one former U.S. senator listened to more than thirty hours of testimony from government officials, military personnel, researchers, and witnesses.

Huffington Post Canada described that, as part of his testimony, Hellyer stated that “aliens are living among us and that it is likely at least two of them are working with the U.S. government.” More specifically, Hellyer announced that at least four species of extraterrestrials had been visiting Earth for thousands of years. According to Huffington Post Canada, he also stated that some extraterrestrials originate from the “Zeta Reticuli, the Pleiades, Orion, Andromeda, and Altair star systems” and “may have different agendas.”

He first spoke openly about his belief governments are covering up an alien presence back in 2005, saying UFOs are as plentiful in our sky as airplanes. “Much of the media won’t touch it, so you just have to keep working away at it and we will get a critical mass and one day they will say Mr. President or Mr. Prime Minister, we want the truth and we want it now because it affects our lives.”

In 2013, Hellyer appeared on the RT interview show SophieCo with Sophie Shevardnadze to discuss extraterrestrials and UFOs. Shevardnadze asked Hellyer, “Why do you say that UFOs are as real as airplanes flying over our heads?” Hellyer replied, “Because I know that they are. As a matter of fact, they’ve been visiting our planet for thousands of years.” He further stated military action had brought down UFOs, and humans had adapted alien technology for use on Earth. (Source)

Read also:

• Head of Canada UFO Program: Ancient Races From Elsewhere Colonized Earth Many Times
• Ex-US Air Force Lt. Col. Testified He Saw Two UFOs With Grey Beings Underwater
• Ex-Pentagon Agent Claims UFOs Changed Witnesses’ Brain, Unlocked Sixth Sense
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

He said: “As far as technology is concerned, they are light years ahead of us, and we have learned a lot of things from them. A lot of the things we use today we got from them, you know – led lights and microchips and Kevlar vests and all sorts things that we got from their technology and we could get a lot more too, especially in the fields of medicine and agriculture if we would go about it peacefully. But, I think, maybe some of our people are more interested in getting the military technology, and I think that’s wrong-headed, and that’s one of the things that we are going to have to change, because we’re going to have to work together, all of us, everywhere on the planet.”

Shevardnadze asked: “Have you ever had your own encounter with aliens?” Hellyer replied: “Not encounter with aliens, no. I’ve seen a UFO, about 120 miles north of  Toronto, over Lake Muskoka, where I have a cottage. Two years ago, at Thanksgiving, which is October, [my wife?] said that she wanted to go out and look at the stars, so… I’m not much of a night man… but I put on my cap and went out with her and she looked into the eastern sky and said, ‘There’s a star,’ and I turned the other way and said, ‘Oh, there’s a much brighter one over here,’ and she looked there and we watched it until our necks almost broke for about 20 minutes, and it was definitely a UFO because it could change position in the sky by three or four degrees in three or four seconds.”

Shevardnadze further asked Hellyer if shooting down those UFOs was risking an interstellar war, and, if so, “should we be creating a Star Wars force to defend ourselves from possible invasion or something like that?”

Hellyer said: “I think it’s a possibility, but it’s a possibility especially if we shoot down every UFO that comes into our airspace without asking who they are and what they want. Right from the beginning, we started scrambling planes, trying to shoot them down, but their technology was superior enough that we weren’t able to get away with it, certainly not for a long while.”

He continued: “During that period of time they could have taken us over without any trouble if they wanted to, so I think, rather than developing our own Star Wars to protect ourselves against them, we should work with the benign species that are of a vast majority and work together, and rely largely on them, of course, and cooperate, so that we would be contributing something at the same time; I don’t think there’s any point in us developing a galactic force that would tempt us to ride on our own and get into mischief, which is one of the things that some of them are.

On countering physicist Stephen Hawking’s assertion that any alien visitors to Earth would likely be malevolent, Hellyer argued that not only have aliens already visited Earth but that they have helped contribute to humanity’s technological progress. He said earthlings owe a lot to their alien friends. “Even that computer screen on your desk,” he said, “can trace its origins to spaceships. Microchips, for example, fiber-optics, they are just two of the many things that allegedly — and probably for real — came from crashed vehicles,” Hellyer added. (Source)

Hellyer was not the only one speaking of a partnership between humans and extraterrestrial intelligence. The former head of the Israeli space security program and retired general Haim Eshed also claimed that a sort of agreement had been made between aliens and the US government to keep silent on their experiments on Earth and secret bases on Mars.

Mr. Eshed said that aliens and “Galactic federation” do exist and have been working with the US and the Israel government for years, but they keep it a secret to avoid mass hysteria. According to him, President Trump was aware of it and has already been in contact with space aliens. He further said that the aliens have been waiting for humans to evolve and reach a certain stage to actually understand space and spaceships. Besides, they signed a contract with humans to do experiments on Earth and also research with them to learn the fabric of the universe.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

03-06-2024 om 23:46 geschreven door peter  

How many people saw the Phoenix Lights?

Several thousand people reportedly witnessed the Phoenix Lights, with a 1997 Rocky Mountain Poll indicating that up to 10 percent of Arizonans saw it.

Why did so many people see it?

Shane Hurd, assistant state director of the Arizona chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, told Phoenix New Times in 2022 the sighting occurred on a clear moonless night, which aided visibility. Many people were already watching the skies because Comet Hale-Bopp was highly visible to the naked eye at the time because of its brightness.

Actor Kurt Russell may have been the first pilot to officially report the Phoenix Lights.

Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr

Did any celebrities see the Phoenix Lights?

Yes. In 2017, actor Kurt Russell told BBC's “The One Show” he was flying his stepson Oliver Hudson into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport that night and spotted the V formation while landing and reported it to air-traffic controllers. The actor joked that might have made the first official report of the sighting.

03-06-2024 om 22:55 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/ }

03-06-2024 om 22:37 geschreven door peter  

Venus had oorspronkelijk hetzelfde water als de aarde: eindelijk is ontdekt waarom het zo droog werd

Door Janine

Venus, onze dorre buur, was ooit rijk aan water. Maar waar is al het water gebleven? Een nieuwe studie heeft het antwoord gevonden.

Waarom is Venus een warme, droge planeet als er water is?

Waarom Venus van een planeet met water, zo warm en droog is geworden, is voor wetenschappers een mysterie. De oeroude aanwezigheid van water zou de planeet heet en vochtig moeten maken, maar toch is er geen spoor van waterdamp te vinden. Dit werd ontdekt door planeetwetenschappers van de University of Colorado Boulder en werpt een licht op waarom deze hete en onbewoonbare planeet is geworden wat hij nu is.

Men denkt dat Venus oorspronkelijk een vergelijkbare hoeveelheid water had als de aarde. Er is echter nog maar een honderdduizendste van over, volledig ingesloten in de atmosfeer, in plaats van verspreid in de oceanen, zeeën, ijs en lucht zoals op onze planeet. Dus waar is al het water gebleven? Een echt mysterie dat eindelijk ontrafeld lijkt te zijn.

De verantwoordelijke voor de dorre toestand van Venus

NASA/JPL/Wikimedia commons - Public domain

Eryn Cangi, co-hoofdauteur van het onderzoek en onderzoeker aan het Space and Atmospheric Physics Laboratory, legt uit: "Water is echt belangrijk voor leven. We moeten de omstandigheden begrijpen die vloeibaar water in het heelal ondersteunen en die mogelijk de huidige droge staat van Venus hebben veroorzaakt." Als we al het water op aarde op het oppervlak van onze planeet zouden gieten, zouden we een vloeibare laag hebben van ongeveer 3 kilometer. Als we hetzelfde zouden doen op Venus, zou de diepte slechts 3 centimeter zijn. Dat komt omdat de droge planeet 100.000 keer minder water heeft dan de aarde, ook al is hij even groot.

In wezen heeft het turbulente broeikaseffect van Venus het water letterlijk gekookt, waardoor stoom ontsnapte. Door middel van computersimulaties ontdekten de onderzoekers dat de waterstofatomen in de atmosfeer van Venus de ruimte in vliegen door “associatieve recombinatie”, een proces dat ervoor zorgt dat de planeet twee keer zoveel water verliest als eerder werd voorspeld. Met behulp van computermodellen stelden wetenschappers zich Venus voor als een enorm scheikundelaboratorium, waar ze reacties in de atmosfeer observeerden. Een molecuul genaamd HCO+, een ion dat bestaat uit een waterstof-, koolstof- en zuurstofatoom en dat wordt aangetroffen in de bovenste atmosfeer van de planeet, zou verantwoordelijk kunnen zijn voor het ontsnappen van water van Venus.

Dit is hoe Venus zo anders werd dan de aarde

NASA

Daarom kan deze ontdekking volgens Cangi onthullen waarom Venus zo anders werd dan de aarde, ook al waren de twee planeten oorspronkelijk bijna identiek: "We proberen te begrijpen welke kleine veranderingen zich op elke planeet voordeden om ze in deze zeer verschillende toestand te brengen." Volgens de wetenschappers veroorzaakten de machtige wolken koolstofdioxide in de atmosfeer een ongekend broeikaseffect in het hele zonnestelsel, waardoor de temperatuur steeg tot ongeveer 480°. Water werd stoom en het meeste daarvan kwam in de ruimte terecht. De rest verdween door HCO+, gevormd door de interactie tussen water en koolstofdioxide in de bovenste atmosferen van de planeet.

Dezelfde molecule kan ook een belangrijke rol hebben gespeeld bij het verdwijnen van water van Mars. Op Venus wordt de molecule continu geproduceerd, maar de ionen leven niet lang: de elektronen splitsen ze in twee delen, waarvan er één door de ruimte raast. Waarschijnlijk is de hoeveelheid van de molecule nooit gedetecteerd bij gebrek aan geschikte apparatuur.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

03-06-2024 om 22:28 geschreven door peter  

The China National Space Administration said the lander used its onboard camera during its powered descent to detect obstacles autonomously and select a safe landing site. Chang’e-6 captured video imagery during the final phase of the lander’s descent and transmitted the views back to Earth. One video frame shows the shadow of the lander itself moments before touchdown.

Chang’e-6 is built to collect samples using a drill and a robotic arm. It’s also expected to gather scientific data about its surroundings using a radon detector, a negative-ion detector and a mini-rover. During surface operations, data and telemetry are being relayed between Chang’e-6 and Earth via China’s Queqiao-2 satellite.

Up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of lunar samples will be stowed inside the lander’s “ascender” stage. The rocket-powered ascender will then lift off from the surface and transfer the samples to the Chang’e-6 orbiter, which is currently in lunar orbit. Following the model set by Chang’e-5, the orbiter will head back toward Earth and release the sample capsule for atmospheric re-entry and touchdown in Inner Mongolia.

The moon’s south polar region is of particular interest because it’s thought to harbor reserves of water ice that could support lunar settlement. Studying fresh samples from the South Pole-Aitken Basin could help scientists and mission planners learn more about the region’s resources.

Chang’e-6 is the latest spacecraft in an international armada of moon landers — including Russia’s Luna 25, iSpace’s Hakuto-R and Astrobotic’s Peregrine, which were unsuccessful, plus more fruitful missions such as India’s Chandrayaan-3, Japan’s SLIM and Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus.

Coming attractions include NASA’s VIPER rover, which is currently due to be delivered to the moon late this year; and China’s Chang’e-7 mission, which features a hopping probe and is set for launch in 2026. Looking further ahead, China aims to send astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030 — not long after NASA’s Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing, currently scheduled for 2026.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

03-06-2024 om 20:47 geschreven door peter  

Admiral Tim Gallaudet, a retired Navy Admiral and oceanographer, has an extensive and distinguished career in both military and civilian sectors. His expertise spans across oceanographic research, national security, and, more recently, unidentified submerged objects (USOs) and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). This article delves into Gallaudet’s insights on underwater alien bases, UFO psyops, and the potential for weather manipulation weapons.

Career Background

Gallaudet’s military career included pivotal roles aboard several naval vessels, such as the USNS Harkness, USS Peleliu, and USS Kitty Hawk. He participated in numerous operations, including Operations Southern Watch, Provide Promise, Sharp Guard, Deny Flight, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Beyond his naval service, Gallaudet contributed significantly to environmental research and management as the Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Today, he is the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, a firm specializing in ocean exploration, including the study of USOs.

Underwater Alien Bases and USOs

Gallaudet’s exploration into USOs has revealed intriguing possibilities about underwater alien bases. He recounts an incident involving the USS Omaha, which captured video evidence of a UAP entering the water. This, coupled with classified information and various anecdotal reports, suggests that underwater phenomena may be more common than previously acknowledged.

One particularly fascinating case involves a feature off the Southern California coast. This area, often referred to as an undersea mesa, has been speculated to be an alien base due to its unnatural appearance in Google Earth imagery. However, Gallaudet clarifies that such features often appear man-made due to data processing and resolution discrepancies in mapping technologies.

UFO Psyops and Government Disinformation

Gallaudet discusses the complex issue of government disinformation related to UAPs and USOs. He references historical cases such as the Project Beta, where the Air Force allegedly deceived a civilian researcher into believing in an imminent alien invasion, leading to his mental breakdown. This case exemplifies the lengths to which government entities might go to obscure the truth about UAPs.

Moreover, Gallaudet criticizes the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) for its inadequate report on UAPs, which he believes deliberately omits significant information. He argues that the government’s reluctance to disclose the full extent of UAP activities is partly due to national security concerns and the potential public panic it might cause.

Weather Weapons and Geoengineering

The concept of weather manipulation as a weapon has also been explored within military circles. Gallaudet touches upon the history and potential of geoengineering to influence weather patterns. Although the technology to create typhoons or manipulate weather on a large scale remains underdeveloped, research in this field continues, driven by both defense and climate change mitigation interests.

For instance, Gallaudet mentions a theory about using space weather monitoring to predict earthquakes, a concept that has faced resistance from traditional geological institutions. He advocates for a multidisciplinary approach to studying such phenomena, similar to how weather forecasting has evolved to include oceanographic data for better accuracy.

VIDEO:

• Admiral Tim Gallaudet – Underwater Alien Base, UFO Psyops and Weather Weapons | SRS #113

• https://youtu.be/2NVDCtSxIac

Admiral Tim Gallaudet’s contributions to oceanographic research, national security, and the study of UAPs provide a comprehensive view of the unexplored frontiers beneath our oceans and in our skies. His advocacy for transparency and scientific inquiry into USOs, UAPs, and potential weather manipulation technologies underscores the need for an open-minded and multidisciplinary approach to these enigmatic subjects. As Gallaudet continues to push for more rigorous exploration and understanding, his work reminds us of the vast unknowns that still lie within our reach, waiting to be discovered.

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

03-06-2024 om 20:37 geschreven door peter  

China lands Chang'e 6 sample-return probe on far side of the moon, a lunar success (video)

China has landed on the moon's mysterious far side — again.

The robotic Chang'e 6 mission touched down inside Apollo Crater, within the giant South Pole-Aitken basin, at 6:23 a.m. Beijing Time on Sunday (June 2) , according to Chinese space officials. It was 6:23 p.m. EDT (2223 GMT) on June 1 at the time of the landing. The probe "successfully landed in the pre-selected area," China's space agency said.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) now has two far-side landings under its belt — this one and Chang'e 4, which dropped a lander-rover combo onto the gray dirt in January 2019. No other country has done it once.

newspress collage ovcjawo88 1717320280587

© Provided by The UBJ

• Read more:
  The space race for the moon's water
  What you need to know about NASA and China's space race

And Chang'e 6 will make further history for China, if all goes according to plan: The mission aims to scoop up samples and send them back to Earth, giving researchers their first-ever up-close looks at material from this part of the moon.

"The Chang'e-6 mission is the first human sampling and return mission from the far side of the moon," CNSA officials said in a translated statement. (To be clear: Chang'e 6 is a robotic, not crewed, mission.) "It involves many engineering innovations, high risks and great difficulty." 

• Related: China's Chang'e 6 mission has a big lunar mystery to solve

Sampling a new environment

Chang'e 6 launched on May 3 with a bold and unprecedented task: haul home samples from the moon's far side, which always faces away from us. (The moon is tidally locked to Earth, completing one rotation on its axis in roughly the same amount of time it takes to orbit our planet. So observers here on Earth always see the same side of our natural satellite.)

Every lunar surface mission before Chang'e 4 targeted the near side, largely because that area is easier to explore. It's harder to communicate with robots operating on the far side, for example; doing so generally requires special relay orbiters, which China launched ahead of both Chang'e 4 and Chang'e 6. China's newest moon relay satellite, called Queqiao-2, aided the Chang'e 6 landing, CNSA officials said.

Chang'e 6 arrived in lunar orbit about four days after liftoff. It spent the next few weeks scrutinizing its planned landing site and gearing up for today's big event, which went according to plan: Chang'e 6's lander came down softly in Apollo Crater, leaving the mission's orbiter, with its attached Earth-reentry module, circling the moon.

The lander will spend the next few days studying its surroundings and collecting about 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar dirt and rock. Some of these samples will be scooped from the surface and some will be dug from up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) underground, using Chang'e 6's onboard drill.

This material will then be launched into lunar orbit by a rocket that rode down with the lander. The sample container will rendezvous with the Chang'e 6 orbiter, then make the long trek back to Earth, eventually touching down here under parachutes on June 25.

Chang'e 6 is also carrying a tiny moon rover and has a variety of scientific experiments onboard the lander.

Scientists will study the returned material in detail, seeking insights about the moon's history and evolution and clues about why the lunar far side is so different than the near. The dark volcanic seas known as maria are common on the near side, for example, but are rare on the far side, for reasons that remain mysterious.

Researchers will doubtless compare the Chang'e 6 material to the samples collected on the moon's near side by Chang'e 5, which came down to Earth in December 2020. (Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 are sister missions, with virtually identical architectures.)

• Related: The moon: Everything you need to know

Big lunar dreams

{ https://www.space.com/ }

03-06-2024 om 01:41 geschreven door peter  

the Monthly MUFON UFO Sighting Statistics

COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD UNITED STATES 407 FRANCE 25 UNITED KINGDOM 20 CANADA 18 ITALY 7 AUSTRALIA 5 GERMANY 5 COLOMBIA 5 BRAZIL 4 SPAIN 3 SOUTH AFRICA 3 POLAND 2 SWEDEN 2 IRELAND 2 INDONESIA 2 INDIA 2 BELGIUM 1 NETHERLANDS 1 NORWAY 1 COSTA RICA 1 SAUDI ARABIA 1 SLOVAKIA 1 SWITZERLAND 1 BAHAMAS 1 ALBANIA 1    TOTAL: 521 SHAPE Sphere 88 Circle 85 Other 47 Unknown 36 Oval 33 Triangle 33 Star-like 27 Disc 27 Cigar 19 Square/Rectangular 14 Diamond 12 Tic Tac 11 Fireball 8 Bullet/Missile 8 Cylinder 7 Boomerang 6 N/A 4 Egg 3 Saturn-like 3 Teardrop 2 Blimp 1 Cross 1 Cone 1 Flash 1 Chevron 1 STATES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA California 49 Arizona 30 Florida 24 Michigan 19 Texas 18 Washington 15 Colorado 13 Maryland 13 Pennsylvania 13 Ohio 13 North Carolina 13 Illinois 12 Oregon 12 New York 11 Missouri 10 Georgia 10 Tennessee 9 Kentucky 8 Indiana 8 New Jersey 8 Wisconsin 8 New Mexico 7 Virginia 7 Alabama 6 Idaho 6 Connecticut 6 Nevada 5 Oklahoma 5 South Carolina 5 Vermont 4 Massachusetts 4 Maine 4 Arkansas 4 Nebraska 3 Louisiana 3 Kansas 3 Iowa 3 Utah 3 Montana 2 South Dakota 2 Minnesota 2 Rhode Island 1 New Hampshire 1 Mississippi 1 West Virginia 1 District of Columbia 1 Wyoming 1 DISTANCE < 100 ft 60 1 01-500 ft 55 501 ft - 1 Mile 87 Over 1 Mile 102 Unknown 60 NO VALUE 12 Most impressively there were 8 Landings, Hovering, or Takeoffs reported and 20 Entities observed.

{ https://mufon.com/ }

03-06-2024 om 01:19 geschreven door peter  

There was a time when maps of the Moon were created from telescopic observations and drawings. Indeed Sir Patrick Moore created maps of the Moon that were used during the historic Apollo landings. Now researchers have enhanced a technique to create accurate maps from existing satellite images. Their approach uses a technique called ‘shape-from-shading’ and involves analyzing shadows to estimate the features and shape of the terrain. Future lunar missions will be able to use the maps to identify hazards on the surface making them far safer. 

Researchers at the Brown University in Rhode Island have helped refine a process used to map the surface of the Moon making it more accurate than ever before. In their paper, published in the Planetary Science Journal and authored by Benjamin Boatwright and team details the enhancements to the mapping technique. It can generate detailed models of the Moon’s surface to highlight craters, ridges and slopes from composites of 2D images. 

Highly detailed maps are of crucial importance to lunar missions and help the planners to identify the safest place to land. They can also use them to identify areas of particular interest that require further study enabling the whole mission to be far more efficient. Missions such as the Artemis project will benefit when it heads for the south pole of the Moon, an area which is not well mapped. High resolution maps of the area will aid the autonomous landing systems to avoid hazards. 

Creating the maps is a time consuming job and is difficult to be accurate when lighting levels on target area are poor. The interpretation of shadows has been less than effective until now with the team addressing the issues. In their paper, the team explain how advanced computer algorithms can automate a lot of the process and improve the resolution of the generated models. Their new software gives lunar astronomers the necessary tools and information to create larger more detailed maps of the surface. 

To allow lunar scientists to create a map from images requires at least two images of the same area. Each image must be perfectly aligned with its counterpart so that features in one are in exactly the same place in the other. Until now, the technology has not been able to take multiple images of an area and create a perfect map. Boatwright said ‘We implemented an image alignment algorithm where it picks out features in one image and tries to find those same features in the other and then line them up, so that you’re not having to sit there manually tracing interest points across multiple images, which takes a lot of hours and brain power.’

Along with the image alignment algorithm, the researchers created quality control algorithms and filters to remove poor quality images from the alignment process. By only inputing good quality images to the process means the output will be of far higher quality. It is a similar model that astronomical imaging employs when processing multiple images through stacking and alignment techniques. 

To evaluate the accuracy of their work, the team compared the output from existing maps of the Moon to look for errors. To their delight, they found that maps created using their enhanced ‘shape-from-shading’ technique was more precise compared to those acquired during traditional techniques. 

Source : 

• New technique from Brown University researchers offers more precise maps of the Moon’s surface

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

03-06-2024 om 01:01 geschreven door peter  

EXCLUSIVE - Have people really been 'killed by aliens?' Expert weighs in on fatalities linked to UFOs

• READ MORE Book explores strange SEXUAL encounters with UFOs 

By ROB WAUGH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Many reports of untimely deaths in the US have been linked to aliens, sparking theories that these individuals may have been murdered by the third kind.

They include a US Air Force pilot who died shortly after claims he witnessed a flying object and a Brazilian man who was 'zapped in the head by an extraterrestrial.'

Nigel Watson has written about the cases in a new bookazine, the UFO Files, which includes a chapter Death By UFO dealing with these mysterious deaths.

UFO believers are on a missions to prove that aliens were behind many high-profile murders in the past few decades

Watson has spent years researching UFO reports worldwide and published several books and reports about his findings.

Fatal encounter in the skies

One of the cases explored in the book is the death of U.S. Air Force Captain Thomas Mantell who was asked to investigate a silvery, conical flying object in 1948.

Reports have claimed that Mantell, who was a 25-year-old Second World War hero, and three other pilots were conducting training exercise when the request came in to investigate a high-flying silvery object tipped with red. 

'It appears to be a metallic object or possibly the reflection of the sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size,' Mantell reported as he flew in the skies above Fort Knox in Kentucky.

The three planes soared 22,000ft into the air to intercept the object. 

Captain Thomas Mantell died after he followed a mysterious metallic object in his jet

At 2.45pm, Mantell radioed the tower that he had spotted the object.

'The object is directly ahead of me and above me now, moving at about half my speed,' he said. 

He provided another update 30 minutes later: 'It appears to be a metallic object or possible reflections of sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size. I’m still climbing. The object is above and ahead of me moving at my speed or faster. I’m trying to close in for a better look.'

Shortly after, the two other planes had to aborted the mission due to a lack of oxygen supplies.

Mantell, however, continued soaring higher and higher - reaching around 25,000ft.

But at 5pm, debris from his plane was discovered in Shelby County, south-east of Louisville.

The U.S. Air Force first claimed he was chasing the planet Venus, but then said the object was a secret CIA-sponsored Skyhook balloon launched in Southern Ohio.

UFO believers still maintain that Mantell met his demise at the hands of a murderous UFO, Watson said - with the Skyhook explanation not being revealed until the late 1960s.

Zapped by 'death ray'

Brazilian man Inacio de Souza and his wife were returning to their home in August 1967 when they saw an object shaped like an inverted wash basin - and three men wearing skin-tight clothes.

Souza reflexively shot one of the men with his rifle It seemed to have no effect, but a green ray of light shot out at Souza's head from the UFO.

De Souza fell unconscious and suffered numbness and tremors in his head and hands.

A doctor suggested that Souza had merely suffered hallucinations - and a few days later was diagnosed as having leukemia. The illness progressed quickly and he died on 11 October 1967.

Watson wrote: 'While some ufologists think the encounter and de Souza's illness are simply a tragic coincidence, others prefer to believe that the green light from the UFO was an intense beam of deadly radiation.'

'Heavy rain' from a UFO

In 1947, Harold A Dahl along with his son Charles and two crewmen were in a tugboat off Maury Island in Puget Sound between Seattle and Tacoma.

The men said they saw six golden and silver doughnut-shaped objects above them - with one 'wobbling' before releasing a rain of thin metallic strips and black lumps.

Harold Dahl was in a tugboat with his sons when he saw mysterious golden and silver objects above them

One struck the boy's arm, burning it, and their dog died.

Dahl's boss Fred Lee Crisman visited the site and claimed some of the debris.

Dahl was then confronted by a dark-suited man driving a black sedan who drove him to a diner in Tacoma and warned him to keep silent.

Kenneth Arnold - who had spotted 'flying saucers' just days earlier - asked for help from Air Force Intelligence.

On 31 July 1947, Captain William Davidson and Lieutenant Frank M Brown were dispatched to Tacoma, but found no evidence of a rain of molten lead, and thought the sample fragments were slag from a smelting plant.

Davidson and Brown died when their B-25 crashed on their way back to base - and many of the samples and photographs associated with the case vanished.

Watson writes: 'To many, this all smacked of a military-intelligence cover-up. When, in October 1968, District Attorney Jim Garrison brought Clay Shaw to trial for his suspected involvement in the assassination of John F Kennedy, a Fred Lee Crisman was subpoenaed to attend.

Kenneth Arnold, who saw the first 'flying saucers'

A B-25 bomber aircraft similar to the one the men rode in

'Garrison believed Shaw and Crisman were long-standing CIA employees involved in a range of dubious activities including the JFK killing.

'As they were returning to their base at Hamilton Field, California, the port engine of their B-25 aircraft caught fire and they were killed when he crashed near Kelso, Washington State. An anonymous caller to the local newspaper, named the victims before the crash was made public and claimed the aircraft was shot down by a 20mm cannon because it was carrying fragments of a flying saucer.'

'When Kenneth Arnold took off from Tacoma, his engine failed and he had to make a crash landing. On checking his aircraft, he found that his fuel valve had been switched off. Paul Lance, a reporter for the Tacoma Times, who covered this story, died suddenly two weeks later of meningitis.'

'Many of these stories sound outlandish and many of these deaths do have credible explanations. So they don't go much beyond the UFO community. Government agencies or the notorious Men in Black, could be at work but it seems very extreme to murder people, especially over decades, when there are easier ways to discredit UFO researchers..'

'Frozen' near a UFO

New York UFO researcher Jennifer Stevens was contacted by two boys in February 1968 who claimed to have seen a 'glowing fireball' over the Mohawk River.

The boy's friend thought he saw a white-suited humanoid in bushes.

Another 16-year-old boy's body was found nearby after leaving a note with his grandparents to say he was going for a walk.

Watson writes: 'The coroner's verdict was death from exposure, but Stevens was convinced that his death was connected to UFO activity in the area. She noted that the boy's tracks in the snow indicated he had been running at first, then it seemed as if something had dragged him from above.'

After the sighting, Stevens husband was accosted by a man who said, 'People who look for UFOs should be very careful.'

When her husband died suddenly, Stevens gave up her UFO investigations.

• The UFO Files bookazine by Fortean Times is available here.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

02-06-2024 om 23:48 geschreven door peter  

Experts say they've identified 'hairy UFO' that crash landed in North Carolina

• READ MORE: Nine never-before-seen UFOs over California, Utah and Nevada

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Space experts believe they have identified the bizarre 'UFO' debris discovered by a North Carolina groundskeeper and his coworker at a luxury campsite.

Justin Clontz found the three-foot-wide panel, fuzzed with burnt and frayed carbon fibers, in the middle of a trail in the town of Canton last week.

And now an astronomer has told DailyMail.com that the mangled metal is likely pieces of a storage trunk from one of Elon Musk's SpaceX spacecraft.

'The debris matches the expected location of these reentries,' Smithsonian astrophysicist Dr Jonathan McDowell told DailyMail.com, adding that he was 'very confident' in this assessment. 

Astronomer Dr Jonathan McDowell has told DailyMail.com that the bizarre 'UFO' crash debris discovered by a North Carolina groundskeeper at a luxury campsite has been determined to be pieces of a storage trunk from one of SpaceX 's reusable Cargo Dragon spacecraft (above)

Justin Clontz (above) was working grounds maintenance at Glamping Collective, a luxury campsite in Haywood County, North Carolina when he made the bewildering discovery. he had to tow the 'UFO' out of the area with a riding lawnmower because it was so massive and heavy

The charred black, metal object also resembles two pieces of debris found in Canada and Australia, which are now known to be from SpaceX Dragons. 

'We have coincidence in time and place. They look similar to each other and to the Australia debris which is confirmed to come from a Dragon trunk,' Dr McDowell said. 

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

The career groundskeeper and landscaper told local news 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 debris' carbon fiber looked almost like some kind of weird fur, as initial reports described the now very likely identified mystery object. 

'We don't know what it is,' Clontz told local news earlier this month. 'We just know that it's not from up here.'

Although this piece of SpaceX debris fell safely about a half-mile down a remote trail on Glamping's property, Dr McDowell noted that both governmental and private space programs have become dangerously lax with their space junk in recent years.

Although this piece of SpaceX debris fell safely about a half-mile down a remote forest trail, Dr McDowell noted that both governmental and private space programs have become notably lax with their space junk in recent years. Above, the open trunk of a SpaceX Cargo Dragon craft

SpaceX's Dragon 'trunk' has storage space of over 350 cubic-feet internally, with an extender option that expands its capacity to over 1200 cubic-feet of storage space. This cargo container comes with mounted radiators that help it regulate the temperature of sensitive items

'The risk to life and property is fairly small — because the Earth is a big target and is mostly not covered with people — but it's not tiny,' Dr McDowell wrote via email. 

'We have seen some close shaves,' he said. 

Dr McDowell's work, which involves collecting and analyzing data from NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope observatory and other space-based astronomy platforms, often includes paying some attention to space traffic in Earth's orbit.

'The government is also taking unwarranted risks,' noted Dr McDowell, who publishes a monthly newsletter on space launches, 'as shown by the incident in Florida earlier this year when a bit of ISS came through the roof of someone's house.'

That incident, this March, involved a 5,800-pound battery pallet plunging into a Florida home. The heavy metal object was later confirmed to have been discarded by the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021.

'The risk to life and property is fairly small - because the Earth is a big target and is mostly not covered with people - but it's not tiny,' Dr McDowell wrote via email about the SpaceX crash

Dr McDowell's work, which has involved NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope observatory and other space-based astronomy platforms, often includes paying some attention to the space traffic in Earth's orbit. Above, another close-up of the SpaceX debris in North Carolina

Naples homeowner Alejandro Otero was on vacation when he received a call from his son, saying he heard a 'tremendous sound' and there were gaping holes in the ceiling and floor. Otero's son reportedly told him that whatever fell almost hit him.

SpaceX has not yet confirmed whether the object found in Canada earlier this year, or the object found in North Carolina, were debris from their spacecraft.

But, ground tracking of the SpaceX Dragon 'trunk' that made its re-entry this February would indicate that both of these crash debris objects came from the trunk as it burned up in the hot friction of its descent back towards Earth.

Dr McDowell told Space.com that the most likely sites for debris from this descent could include US states from Tennessee through Virginia and West Virginia, but North Carolina was certainly within the realm of possibility.

Clontz had to improvise to tow this apparent hull panel from the SpaceX Dragon's trunk out of off the trail because it was so massive: 'I just tied a rope to it and drug it out with a lawn mower'

Above, more detail from the futuristic SpaceX trunk panel, fuzzed with burnt and frayed carbon fibers, bolted between heavy metal plates

SpaceX's Dragon 'trunk' has storage space of over 350 cubic-feet internally, with an extender option that expands its capacity to over 1200 cubic-feet. 

This cargo container comes with mounted radiators — electrical and fluid connections that allow it to regulate its storage space's internal temperature to accommodate a variety of sensitive payloads, including small satellites that can be released in orbit.

Clontz had to improvise to tow this apparent cargo hull panel from the SpaceX Dragon's trunk out of his trail area, just because it was so massive. 

'I just tied a rope to it and drug it out with a lawn mower,' as Clontz explained to WLOS. 

He added that the 'UFO' had landed perfectly in the middle of the trail and that none of the trees or leaves looked like they had caught fire in the crash.

Nobody had even heard the object land, he told reporters, which surprised him, given its size and weight.

'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,' he told the local news team, 'but it just happened to land on the trail.' 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

02-06-2024 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

Top Secret UFO Files to be Released by October 2024: Daniel Sheehan Reveals Groundbreaking Details

In an enlightening discussion on the Freedom Pact Podcast, esteemed attorney Daniel Sheehan unveiled critical information regarding the U.S. government’s clandestine UFO programs. Known for his notable legal career involving high-profile cases like the Pentagon Papers and Iran-Contra, Sheehan provides a unique and credible perspective on the impending release of classified UFO documents.

The Testimony of Colonel David Grusch

Central to the revelations is the testimony of Colonel David Grusch before the House Oversight Committee. Grusch, a former senior official in the National Reconnaissance Office and the Global Intelligence Center, declared under oath that the U.S. is in possession of an extraterrestrial spacecraft and non-human biologics. His credentials, including his access to top-secret satellite data and involvement in the Pentagon’s special UFO task force, lend significant weight to his claims.

Grusch’s testimony highlighted two critical programs: a UFO crash retrieval program and a back-engineering initiative aimed at developing weapon and propulsion systems from recovered extraterrestrial technology. His disclosures, approved by the Department of Defense Office of Pre-publication Security Review, underscore the authenticity and seriousness of these programs.

Government Actions and Legislative Developments

Following Grusch’s eye-opening testimony, the Senate Intelligence Committee took decisive action by unanimously approving a 64-page bill. This bill acknowledges the U.S. government’s extensive knowledge of UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) and non-human intelligence. Although the bill was later condensed to 24 pages, it retained crucial provisions and was signed into law by President Biden.

The enacted law mandates that all U.S. military services, intelligence agencies, and defense department entities compile and digitize every piece of information they possess regarding UAPs. This comprehensive collection process must be completed by October 18, 2024. The law also stipulates that all information older than 25 years must be made publicly accessible. This encompasses historical incidents such as Roswell, Aztec, and Project Blue Book, marking a significant shift towards transparency.

Implications of the Upcoming Disclosure

The October 2024 deadline for the release of classified UFO files represents a monumental moment in the pursuit of transparency regarding extraterrestrial phenomena. For decades, UFO enthusiasts and researchers have speculated about government cover-ups and hidden evidence. This mandated disclosure is poised to provide unprecedented access to information that could reshape public understanding of extraterrestrial life and the government’s involvement in studying and managing UAPs.

Sheehan emphasized the importance of this legislative milestone, noting that despite the initial disappointment over the reduction of the bill’s length, the remaining provisions are extraordinary in their scope and impact. The law requires all relevant agencies to report their UAP-related documents, ensuring that oversight is maintained and that the public gains access to critical information.

VIDEO:

• Top Secret UFO Files to be Released by October 2024 | Sheehan Explains

• https://youtu.be/4wOOI2Hzgbk

As the October 18, 2024, deadline approaches, anticipation builds around the potential release of top-secret UFO files. Daniel Sheehan’s insights and the legislative actions taken by the Senate and House underscore a significant move towards greater transparency and public awareness. The forthcoming disclosure promises to shed light on long-standing mysteries and provide a clearer picture of the U.S. government’s knowledge and handling of extraterrestrial phenomena. This historic event is set to redefine our understanding of UAPs and potentially unveil truths that have been hidden for decades.

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

02-06-2024 om 21:14 geschreven door peter  

The Sun's Magnetic Field Starts Just Beneath the Surface, New Study Reveals

The Sun's magnetic field, which drives solar storms and solar wind, doesn't originate deep within the Sun after all.

BY KIONA SMITH

Handout/Getty Images News

University of Edinburgh mathematician Geoffrey Vasil and his colleagues published their work in the journal Nature.

SHALLOW, NO DIVING

Vasil and his colleagues used a computer simulation to model how plasma flows in the outer layers of the Sun, called the convective zone: a 124,000-mile-deep sea of roiling plasma, heated from below by the Sun’s thermonuclear core. Specifically, they were interested in what happened in the top 20,000 miles or so of the plasma.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology mathematician Keaton Burns, a coauthor on the study, designed the program, called the Dedalus Project, to be very good at simulating how fluids flow, from the movements of liquid inside a cell to the circulation of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. And the Sun, although we tend to picture it as a big ball of fire, is actually a big ball of super-hot gas.

Physicists know that the magnetic field is driven by an enormous dynamo: physical mass in motion, whose mechanical energy becomes electrical energy.

“One of the basic ideas for how to start a dynamo is that you need a region where there’s a lot of plasma moving past other plasma, and that shearing motion converts kinetic energy into magnetic energy,” explains Burns in a recent statement.

Most astrophysicists are convinced that process happens more than 125,000 miles deep inside the Sun, at the very bottom of the convection layer. That explanation makes sense in a lot of ways, but simulations based on it don’t actually produce results that look much like the churning, roiling plumes of plasma in the Sun’s outer layers — or the pattern of sunspots (dark, relatively cool patches of the Sun’s surface, where magnetic field lines meet and tangle) that astronomers actually see on the Sun’s surface. The real Sun is much more turbulent than most simulations suggest. And in simulations of a magnetic field coming from deep within the Sun, sunspots tend to gather near the Sun’s poles; on the real Sun, most sunspots form near the equator.

Knowing more about how the Sun’s magnetic field works could help scientists make predictions about the kinds of solar activity that produced stunning auroras — and briefly stalled spring planting on some farms by disrupting navigation systems on tractors and other equipment — earlier in May.

JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE SUN

Vasil and his colleagues’ simulations showed that the Sun’s outermost reaches are made of layers of plasma, which normally rotate past each other (picture an onion; now picture an onion 865,000 miles wide and made of super-hot gas with a giant thermonuclear reactor running at its center). But tiny changes in how one layer flowed past the next — like a little plume or a slight eddy — could create an instability that fed on itself and rapidly grew into major turbulence.

“It doesn’t take much to trigger an instability! If a system is unstable, it is like a pencil balanced on its point — any slight breeze is enough to knock it over,” co-author Daniel Lecoanet, an assistant professor of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University, tells Inverse. “The outer part of the Sun is convective, which is kind of like it is boiling. These roiling motions are definitely enough to seed the instability.”

Most of the instabilities that eventually formed got their start thanks to powerful winds in the interior of the Sun, which move at different speeds depending on how deep into the Sun you go. As you sink deeper into the Sun, the winds get stronger — until about 21,000 miles below the outer edge, when they suddenly slow down.

“The difference in wind speed at the surface vs. deeper into the Sun is a source of energy that can drive instability,” says Lecoanet. That energy is eventually converted into the Sun’s magnetic field.

And in Vasil and his colleagues’ simulations, those instabilities in the outer layers of the simulated Sun eventually produced a pattern of magnetic field lines and sunspots that looked remarkably like the real thing.

“Our work provides strong evidence that the solar cycle starts near the surface of the Sun in the equatorial region,” says Lecoanet.

PREDICTING SOLAR STORM SEASONS

Eventually, Vasil and his colleagues hope their work will help astrophysicists forecast how active the next solar cycle will be, similar to the way that meteorologists predict how active the coming hurricane season will be.

“This work is not trying to make predictions about individual solar storms,” says Lecoanet.

At the moment, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center can predict the severity of a solar storm a few days in advance, around the time a huge belch of plasma called a coronal mass ejection leaves the Sun’s surface. But we don’t have a good way to predict what the next few years hold; some solar cycles are more active than others, and knowing what’s coming could help us prepare.

“We want to forecast if the next solar cycle will be particularly strong, or maybe weaker than normal,” says Lecoanet. “The previous models (assuming the solar magnetic field is generated deep within the Sun) have not been able to make accurate forecasts of if the next solar cycle will be strong or weak. We are hoping to make predictions of if a cycle will have a lot of solar storms or not a lot.”

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

02-06-2024 om 01:14 geschreven door peter