“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has undertaken, and it is critical that we carry it out more quickly, with less risk, and at a lower cost. I’m excited to see the vision that these companies, centers and partners present as we look for fresh, exciting, and innovative ideas to uncover great cosmic secrets from the Red Planet.”

The MSR mission represents the culmination of decades of efforts to learn more about the early history of Mars. NASA had originally hoped that the first crewed mission (planned for 2033) would retrieve the samples and transport them back to Earth. However, delays and budget concerns have led to growing concerns that a crewed mission will not reach Mars until 2040 (at the earliest). As a result, NASA and the European Space Agency adopted a joint mission architecture consisting of multiple robotic elements that would return the samples by 2031.

This included the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL), two Sample Recovery Helicopters (SRH), the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), and the Earth Entry System (EES). However, the current budget environment forced NASA to announce that the 15-year MSR mission architecture (which would cost $11 billion) was too expensive and that waiting until 2040 was impractical. As a result, NASA has adopted a revised plan that leverages current technology and will return the Mars samples by the 2030s. As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the time:

“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken. The bottom line is, an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and a 2040 return date is too far away. Safely landing and collecting the samples, launching a rocket with the samples off another planet – which has never been done before – and safely transporting the samples more than 33 million miles back to Earth is no small task. We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable timeframe.”

In addition to the NASA-led studies, seven aerospace companies have been selected to develop sample-return concepts. They include NASA’s regular commercial partners, such as Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman, as well as relative newcomers Quantum Space and Whittinghill Aerospace. A total of $10 million has been awarded to these companies to develop their concepts, the full list of which can be found here.

Once again, NASA is facing a budget crunch and has reached out to its commercial partners to develop cost-effective alternatives. This is in keeping with NASA’s long history of collaborating with the commercial sector to develop key mission concepts. However, the need to outsource major elements of its Moon to Mars program highlights the agency’s ongoing budget problems. As independent experts have concluded, a budget increase is necessary if NASA is to realize its ambitious goals for the future.

Further Reading: 

• NASA

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-06-2024 om 01:25 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-06-2024 om 01:14 geschreven door peter  

 BY MATT WILLIAMS

Don't Get Your Hopes Up for Finding Liquid Water on Mars

In the coming decades, NASA and China intend to send the first crewed missions to Mars. Given the distance involved and the time it takes to make a single transit (six to nine months), opportunities for resupply missions will be few and far between. As a result, astronauts and taikonauts will be forced to rely on local resources to meet their basic needs – a process known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). For this reason, NASA and other space agencies have spent decades scouting for accessible sources of liquid water.

Finding this water is essential for future missions and scientific efforts to learn more about Mars’s past, when the planet was covered by oceans, rivers, and lakes that may have supported life. In 2018, using ground-penetrating radar, the ESA’s Mars Express orbiter detected bright radar reflections beneath the southern polar ice cap that were interpreted as a lake. However, a team of Cornell researchers recently conducted a series of simulations that suggest there may be another reason for these bright patches that do not include the presence of water.

The research team was led by Daniel Lalich, a research associate at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS). She was joined by Alexander G. Hayes, a Jennifer and Albert Sohn Professor, the Director of CCAPS, and the Principal Investigator of the Comparative Planetology & Solar System Exploration (COMPASSE), and Valerio Poggiali, a CCAPS Research Associate. Their paper that describes their findings, “Small Variations in Ice Composition and Layer Thickness Explain Bright Reflections Below Martian Polar Cap without Liquid Water,” appeared on June 7th in the journal Science Advances.

When the first robotic probes began making flybys of Mars in the 1960s, the images they acquired revealed surface features common on Earth. These included flow channels, river valleys, lakebeds, and sedimentary rock, all of which form in the presence of flowing water. For decades, orbiters, landers, and rovers have explored Mars’ surface, atmosphere, and climate to learn more about how and when much of this surface water was lost. In recent years, this has led to compelling evidence that what remains could be found beneath the polar ice caps today.

The most compelling evidence was obtained by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument aboard the Mars Express orbiter. This instrument was designed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to search for water on the Martian surface and down to depths of about 5 km (3 mi). The radar returns indicated that the bright patches could be caused by layered deposits composed of water, dry ice, and dust. These South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) are thought to have formed over millions of years as Mars’ axial tilt changed.

Subsequent research by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) revealed dozens of other highly reflective sites beneath the surface. The implications of these findings were tremendous, not just for crewed missions but also for astrobiology efforts. In addition to being a potential source of water for future missions, it was also theorized that microbial life that once existed on the surface might be found there today. However, the findings were subject to debate as other viable explanations were offered.

While the same bright radar reflections have detected subglacial lakes on Earth (such as Lake Vostok under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet), Mars’s temperature and pressure conditions are very different. To remain in a liquid state, the water would need to be very briny, loaded with exotic minerals, or above an active magma chamber – none of which have been detected. As Lalich said in a recent interview with the Cornell Chronicle:

“I can’t say it’s impossible that there’s liquid water down there, but we’re showing that there are much simpler ways to get the same observation without having to stretch that far, using mechanisms and materials that we already know exist there. Just through random chance you can create the same observed signal in the radar.”

In a previous study, Lalich and his colleagues used simpler models to demonstrate that these bright radar signals could result from tiny variations in the thickness of the layers. These variations would be indiscernible to ground-penetrating radar and could lead to constructive interference between radar waves, producing reflections that vary in intensity and variability – like those observed across the SPLD. For their latest study, the team simulated 10,000 layering scenarios with 1,000 variations in the ice thickness and dust content of the layered deposits.

Their simulations also excluded any of the unusual conditions or exotic materials that would be necessary for liquid water. These simulations produced bright subsurface signals consistent with observations made by the MARSIS instrument. According to Lalich, these findings strongly suggest that he and his colleagues were correct in suspecting radar interference. In essence, radar waves bouncing off of layers too close together for the instrument to resolve may have combined, amplifying their peaks and troughs and appearing much brighter.

The team is not prepared to rule out the possibility that future missions with more sophisticated instruments could find definitive evidence of water. However, Lalich suspects that the case for liquid water (and potential life) on Mars may have ended decades ago. “This is the first time we have a hypothesis that explains the entire population of observations below the ice cap, without having to introduce anything unique or odd. This result where we get bright reflections scattered all over the place is exactly what you would expect from thin-layer interference in the radar. The idea that there would be liquid water even somewhat near the surface would have been really exciting. I just don’t think it’s there.”

If so, future missions may be forced to melt polar ice deposits and permafrost to get drinking water or possibly chemical reactions involving hydrazine (a la Mark Watney). In addition, astrobiology efforts may once again be placed on the back burner as they were when the Viking Landers failed to find conclusive evidence of biosignatures in 1976. But as we’ve learned, Mars is full of surprises. While the results of the Viking biological experiments were disappointing, these same missions provided some of the most compelling evidence that water once flowed on Mars’ surface.

Moreover, scientists once suspected that the Red Planet was geologically dead, but data obtained by NASA’s InSight Lander showed that it is actually “slightly alive.” This included evidence that hot magma still flows deep in the planet’s interior and that a massive magma plume still exists beneath the Elysium Planitia region, which may have caused a small eruption just 53,000 years ago (the most recent in Martian history). Perhaps the same will hold true for briny patches of liquid water around the poles and the equatorial region.

With any luck, some of these patches may even house countless microorganisms that could be related to life on Earth. How cool would that be?

Further Reading: 

• Cornell Chronicle, 
• Science Advances

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-06-2024 om 00:58 geschreven door peter  

Unfortunately, astronomers lost track of the spot. Nobody saw the GRS for 118 years until astronomer S. Schwabe observed a clear structure, roughly oval and at the same latitude as the GRS. Some think of that observation as the first observation of the current GRS and that the storm formed again at the same latitude. But the details fade the further back in time we look. There are also questions about the earlier storm and its relation to the current GRS.

New research in Geophysical Research Letters combined historical records with computer simulations of the GRS to try to understand this chimerical meteorological phenomenon. Its title is “The Origin of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot,” and the lead author is Agustín Sánchez-Lavega. Sánchez-Lavega is a Professor of Physics at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. He’s also head of the Planetary Sciences Group and the Department of Applied Physics at the University.

“Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) is the largest and longest-lived known vortex of all solar system planets, but its lifetime is debated, and its formation mechanism remains hidden,” the authors write in their paper.

The researchers started with historical sources dating back to the mid-1600s, just after the telescope was invented. They analyzed the size, structure, and movement of both the PS and the GRS. But that’s not a simple task. “The appearance of the GRS and its Hollow throughout the history of Jupiter observations has been highly variable due to changes in size, albedo and contrast with surrounding clouds,” they write.

“From the measurements of sizes and movements we deduced that it is highly unlikely that the current GRS was the PS observed by G. D. Cassini. The PS probably disappeared sometime between the mid-18th and 19th centuries, in which case we can say that the longevity of the Red Spot now exceeds 190 years at least,” said lead author Sánchez-Lavega. The GRS was 39,000 km long in 1879 and has shrunk to 14,000 km since then. It’s also become more rounded.

The historical record is valuable, but we have different tools at our disposal now. Space telescopes and spacecraft have studied the GRS in ways that would’ve been unimaginable to Cassini and others. NASA’s Voyager 1 captured our first detailed image of the GRS in 1979, when it was just over 9,000,000 km from Jupiter.

Since Voyager’s image, the Galileo and Juno spacecraft have both imaged the GRS. Juno, in particular, has given us more detailed images and data on Jupiter and the GRS. It captured images of the planet from only 8,000 km above the surface. Juno takes raw images of the planet with its Junocam, and NASA invites anyone to process the images, leading to artful images of the GRS like the one below.

Juno also measured the depth of the GRS, something previous efforts couldn’t achieve. Recently, “various instruments on board the Juno mission in orbit around Jupiter have shown that the GRS is shallow and thin when compared to its horizontal dimension, as vertically it is about 500 km long,” explained Sánchez-Lavega.

Jupiter’s atmosphere contains winds running in opposite directions at different latitudes. North of the GRS, winds blow in a westerly direction and reach speeds of 180 km/h. South of the GRS, the winds flow in the opposite direction at speeds of 150 km/h. These winds generate a powerful wind shear that fosters the vortex.

In their supercomputer simulations, the researchers examined different forces that could produce the GRS in these circumstances. They considered the eruption of a gigantic superstorm like the kind that happens, though rarely, on Saturn. They also examined the phenomenon of smaller vortices created by the wind shear that merged together to form the GRS. Both of those produced anti-cyclonic storms, but their shapes and other properties didn’t match the current GRS.

“From these simulations, we conclude that the super-storm and the mergers mechanisms, although they generate a single anticyclone, are unlikely to have formed the GRS,” the researchers write in their paper.

The authors also point out that if either of these had happened, we should’ve seen them. “We also think that if one of these unusual phenomena had occurred, it or its consequences in the atmosphere must have been observed and reported by the astronomers at the time,” said Sánchez-Lavega.

However, other simulations proved more accurate in reproducing the GRS. Jupiter’s winds are known to have instabilities called the South Tropical Disturbance (STrD). When the researchers performed supercomputer simulations of the STrD, they created an anti-cyclonic storm very similar to the GRS. The STrD captured the different winds in the region and trapped them in an elongated shell like the GRS. “We therefore propose that the GRS generated from a long cell resulting from the STrD, that acquired coherence and compactness as it shrank,” the authors write.

The simulations show that over time, the GRS would rotate more rapidly as it shrank and became more coherent and compact until the elongated cell more closely resembled the current GRS. Since that’s what the GRS appears like now, the researchers settled on this explanation.

That process likely began in the mid-1800s when the GRS was much larger than it is now. That leads to the conclusion that the GRS is only about 150 years old.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-06-2024 om 00:48 geschreven door peter  

Are Plants Really Intelligent?

The tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), a North American species of goldenrod in the family Asteraceae, can perceive other plants nearby without ever touching them, by sensing far-red light ratios reflected off leaves. When goldenrod is eaten by herbivores, it adapts its response based on whether or not another plant is nearby. Is this kind of flexible, real-time, adaptive response a sign of intelligence in plants?

Plant induced responses to environmental stressors are increasingly studied in a behavioral ecology context. This is particularly true for plant induced responses to herbivory that mediate direct and indirect defenses, and tolerance. These seemingly adaptive alterations of plant defense phenotypes in the context of other environmental conditions have led to the discussion of such responses as intelligent behavior. In their paper, Kessler & Mueller consider the concept of plant intelligence and some of its predictions for chemical information transfer in plant interaction with other organisms.

Image credit: Becky.

“There are more than 70 definitions that are published for intelligence and there is no agreement on what it is, even within a given field,” said Professor André Kessler, a chemical ecologist at Cornell University.

“Many people believe that intelligence requires a central nervous system, with electrical signals acting as the medium for processing information.”

“Some plant biologists equate plant vascular systems with central nervous systems, and propose that some kind of centralized entity in the plant allows them to process information and respond.”

But Professor Kessler and his colleague, Cornell University doctoral student Michael Mueller, disagree with that idea.

“There is no good evidence for any of the homologies with the nervous system, even though we clearly see electrical signaling in plants, but the question is how important is that signaling for a plant’s ability to process environmental cues?” Professor Kessler said.

To make their argument for plant intelligence, the authors narrowed their definition down to the most basic elements: the ability to solve problems, based on the information that you get from the environment, toward a particular goal.

As a case study, Professor Kessler points to his earlier research investigating goldenrod and its responses when eaten by pests.

When leaf beetle larvae eat goldenrod leaves, the plant emits a chemical that informs the insect that the plant is damaged and is a poor source of food.

These airborne chemicals, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are also picked up by neighboring goldenrod plants, prompting them to produce their own defenses against the beetle larvae.

In this way, goldenrod move herbivores on to neighbors, and distribute damage.

In 2022, Professor Kessler and co-authors ran experiments to show that Solidago altissima can also perceive higher far-red light ratios reflected off leaves of neighboring plants.

When neighbors are present and goldenrods are eaten by beetles, they invest more into tolerating the herbivore by growing faster yet also start producing defensive compounds that help the plants fight off insect pests.

When no neighbors are present, the plants don’t resort to accelerated growth when eaten and the chemical responses to herbivores are markedly different, though they still tolerate quite high amounts of herbivory.

“This would fit our definition of intelligence. Depending on the information it receives from the environment, the plant changes its standard behavior,” Professor Kessler.

“Neighboring goldenrod also exhibit intelligence when they perceive VOCs that signal the presence of a pest.”

“The volatile emission coming from a neighbor is predictive of future herbivory.”

“They can use an environmental cue to predict a future situation, and then act on that.”

“Applying the concept of intelligence to plants can inspire fresh hypotheses about the mechanisms and functions of plant chemical communication, while also shifting people’s thinking about what intelligence really means.”

“The latter idea is timely, as artificial intelligence is a current topic of interest. For example, artificial intelligence doesn’t solve problems toward a goal, at least not yet.”

“Artificial intelligence, by our definition of intelligence, is not even intelligent. It is instead based on the patterns it identifies in information it can access.”

“An idea that interests us came from mathematicians in the 1920s who proposed that perhaps plants functioned more like beehives.”

“In this case, each cell operates like an individual bee, and the entire plant is analogous to a hive.”

“What that means is, the brain in the plant is the entire plant without the need of central coordination.”

“Instead of electrical signaling, there is chemical signaling throughout the superorganism.”

“Studies by other researchers have shown that every plant cell has broad light spectrum perception and sensory molecules to detect very specific volatile compounds coming from neighboring plants.”

“They can smell out their environment very precisely; every single cell can do it, as far as we know.”

“Cells might be specialized, but they also all perceive the same things, and they communicate via chemical signaling to trigger a collective response in growth or metabolism.”

“That idea is very appealing to me.”

• The team’s paper was published in the journal Plant Signaling and Behavior.
• André Kessler & Michael B. Mueller. Induced resistance to herbivory and the intelligent plant. Plant Signaling and Behavior, published online April 30, 2024; doi: 10.1080/15592324.2024.2345985

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

17-06-2024 om 23:31 geschreven door peter  

UAP Over Agua de Castilla, Departamento de Potosí, Bolivia, June 10, 2024, UFO Sighting News.

Credit: 

• https://nuforc.org/

 Now check this out, this glowing object is moving back and forth and seems to be playing with the observing. Who's watching who here? Many UFOs in the old MJ12 file reports were glowing lights that seem to follow the observer, I believe this is one such UFO. 

Scott C. Waring 

 

Eyewitness states: 

A flying object with flashes of various colors was spotted at about 10,000 feet and was descending until it disappeared behind a hill. Its trajectory was towards the north. The sighting location is 2 hours away from the Salar de Uyuni. 

 

 Original report in Spanish:

Un objeto volador con destellos de varios colores, se lo avisto a unos 10000 pies y iba en desenso hasta quedarse atrás de un cerro, su trayectoria era hacia el norte, la ubicación del avistamiento es a 2 horas del salar de uyuni

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

17-06-2024 om 21:03 geschreven door peter  

UFO over Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia on June 8 and 9, 2024, Photos, UAP Sighting News. 

Source: https://nuforc.org 

 

 I have seen these kinds of UFOs and they are reported worldwide. This is a great photo of one in Russia this week. Absolutly mind blowing detail. If you add light to the photo, you can eve see the trees in the background. Have you see this UFO lately? 

Scott C. Waring 

 

 Eyewitness states: 

The object was spotted during the night of June 8th to 9th at 1:22 AM. It was moving at a high speed and had been previously observed in this area. The movement of the object was against the wind. The sphere appeared as a fireball, initially hovering in the air, and then it flew (right to left, observed at 12 o'clock).  

 

Original report in Russian: 

Объект был замечен в ночь с 8 на 9 июня в 1:22 (н.). Движение происходило с большой скоростью. Ранее наблюдался на этой территории. Движение объекта происходило против ветра. Сфера представляла собой огненный шар, который сначала висел в воздухе, а после полетел (Дв, справа на лево. Наблюдение на 12 часов).

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

17-06-2024 om 20:49 geschreven door peter  

Former Defense Minister Paul Hellyer Confirms UFOs: Unveiling Extraterrestrial Encounters

In an extraordinary revelation, Paul Hellyer, the former Canadian Minister of National Defence, has unequivocally confirmed the existence of UFOs. Hellyer, known for his significant contributions to Canadian defense and transportation, has become a vocal advocate for UFO disclosure. His testimony sheds light on extraterrestrial encounters, government secrecy, and the broader implications for humanity.

Paul Hellyer: A Brief Background

Paul Hellyer, born in 1923, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1949 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He began his political career in the early 1950s, serving in various roles, including as Minister of National Defense for Canada from 1963 to 1967 under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. During his tenure, Hellyer oversaw the unification of the Canadian Army, Navy, and Air Force into a single entity, the Canadian Forces.

After leaving active politics, Hellyer became known for his outspoken views on UFOs and extraterrestrial life. In the early 2000s, he gained international attention for advocating full disclosure of alleged government knowledge about UFOs and extraterrestrial encounters.

Paul Hellyer, believer.

Russia Today/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

A Turning Point: Hellyer’s UFO Revelation

In a 2013 symposium at the University of Toronto, Hellyer made a groundbreaking statement: “UFOs are as real as the airplanes flying overhead.” This declaration marked him as the first person of cabinet rank in the G8 group of countries to confirm the existence of UFOs unequivocally.

Hellyer recounted an incident from the 1960s when a flotilla of UFOs headed south, crossing into NATO territory in Europe. The commander-in-chief of the Supreme Allied Headquarters in Europe was alarmed, fearing they were Russian aircraft. However, before the panic button was pushed, the flotilla turned around and headed back north. An investigation concluded that at least four species had been visiting Earth for thousands of years.

Extraterrestrial Species and Government Secrecy

Hellyer emphasized that these extraterrestrial visitors are not a homogenous group; they consist of different species with potentially different agendas. He mentioned that, according to reports, there are live extraterrestrials currently on Earth, some possibly working with the U.S. government. One of the species Hellyer highlighted is the “Tall Whites,” who allegedly collaborated with the United States Air Force at Indian Springs in Nevada.

Hellyer advocates for near-total disclosure of government-held information on UFOs, believing that the public has the right to know. However, he cautions that a small percentage of information might not yet be suitable for public release.

The Broader Implications of UFO Disclosure

Hellyer argues that the revelation of extraterrestrial life could profoundly impact humanity. He believes that the knowledge of not being alone in the cosmos could unify humanity, encouraging cooperation on global issues such as climate change and renewable energy. Hellyer envisions a future where advanced technologies and renewable energy sources could create a utopian society, provided humanity chooses to use this knowledge for the greater good.

However, he also warns that the secrecy surrounding UFOs is maintained by a “cabal” comprising international banking and oil cartels, intelligence organizations, and select military members. This group, according to Hellyer, aims to establish a world government accountable to no one.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/R-mK80_x4xY

Paul Hellyer’s testimony is a powerful call for transparency and openness regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial life. His insights challenge us to reconsider our place in the cosmos and the potential for a unified, cooperative global society. As more whistleblowers come forward, the push for UFO disclosure continues to gain momentum, promising to unveil one of humanity’s greatest mysteries.

In a world filled with uncertainties, Hellyer’s revelations provide a compelling argument for why we must embrace the truth about UFOs and work together to build a better future for all.

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

17-06-2024 om 20:36 geschreven door peter  

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to make amazing discoveries. This time in the constellation of Pictor where, in the Beta Pictoris system a massive collision of asteroids. The system is young and only just beginning its evolutionary journey with planets only now starting to form. Just recently, observations from JWST have shown significant energy changes emitted by dust grains in the system compared to observations made 20 years ago. Dust production was thought to be ongoing but the results showed the data captured 20 years ago may have been a one-off event that has since faded suggesting perhaps, an asteroid strike!

Beta Pictoris is a young star located 63 light years away in the constellation Pictor. It has become well known for its fabulous circumstellar disk of gas and dust out of which a new system of planets is forming. It has been the subject of many a study because not only does it provide an ideal opportunity to study planetary formation but one of those planets Beta Pictoris b has already been detected. 

Wind the clock back 20 years and the Spitzer infra-red observatory was observing Beta Pictoris. It was looking for heat being emitted by crystalline silicate minerals which are often found around young stars and on celestial bodies. Back in 2004-2005 no traces were seen suggesting a collision occurred among asteroids destroying them and turning their bodies into find dust particles, smaller even than grains of sand and even powdered sugar. 

Radiation was detected at the 17 and 24 micron wavelengths by Spitzer, the result of significant amounts of dust. Using JWST, the team studied radiation from dust particles around Beta Pictoris and were able to compare with these Spitzer findings. They were able to identify the composition and size of particles in the same area around Beta Pictoris  that was studied by Spitzer. They found a significant reduction in radiation at the same wavelengths from 20 years ago. 

According to Christine Chen, lead astronomer from the John Hopkins University ‘With Webb’s new data, the explanation we have is that, in fact, we witnessed the aftermath of an infrequent, cataclysmic event between large asteroid-sized bodies, marking a complete change in our understanding of this star system.’

By tracking the distribution of particles across the circumstellar disk, the team found that the dust seems to have been dispersed outward by radiation from the hot young star. Previously with observations from Spitzer, dust surrounded the star which was heated up by its thermal radiation making it a strong thermal emitter. This is no longer the case as that dust has moved, cooled and no longer emits those thermal features. 

The discovery has adjusted our view of planetary system formation. Previous theories suggested that small bodies would accumulate and replenish the dust steadily over time. Instead, JWST has shown that the dust is not always replenished with time but that it takes a cataclysmic asteroid impact to seed new planetary systems with new dust. The team estimate the asteroid that was pulverised was about 100,000 times the size of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs!

Source : 

• WEBB TELESCOPE REVEALS ASTEROID COLLISION IN NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEM

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

17-06-2024 om 01:33 geschreven door peter  

(Credit: NIKHEF)

EINSTEIN TELESCOPE TO USHER NEW ERA IN ASTROPHYSICS WITH OBSERVATIONS OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES

MICAH HANKS

The Einstein Telescope will build on the 2015 discovery of gravitational waves and observations in 2017 produced by the collision of two neutron stars. This unprecedented achievement marked the first time such events were detected both optically and as a spacetime-rippling gravitational wave.

The remnants of burnt-out stars, neutron stars, are relatively small but extremely dense objects that weigh slightly more than the Sun. When these celestial objects collide, they are so powerful that atomic nuclei are ripped apart, resulting in the ejection of large amounts of mass that produce heavy atoms like gold.

Professor Achim Stahl, an astrophysicist from RWTH Aachen University, says that when compared to the mass of the neutron stars themselves, very little gold is created by comparison, comparable in mass to the size of Earth’s moon. Yet most of the gold in the universe was likely produced by such explosions.

In other words, the gold rings, necklaces, and other jewelry we wear probably have origins that would have allowed them to witness events in galactic history.

GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION

The recent dawn of gravitational wave detection has opened a new chapter in astrophysics. Created when extremely massive objects orbit each other and eventually collide, the resulting “ripples” in spacetime provide us with a once unimaginable way to perceive distant cosmic events.

The initial gravitational wave detected in 2015 was very short, lasting slightly more than 0.2 seconds. However, subsequent detections like the one logged in 2017 lasted 100 seconds, revealing the collision of two neutron stars and the first simultaneous observation of both gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals.

Such advancements are significant since most of the history of astronomy has relied on observations that were limited only to the visible spectrum. However, predictions first made by Einstein more than a century ago revealed the theoretical existence of gravity waves, which only became detectable and able to be measured with the help of laser interferometry, a process that allows movements smaller than the diameter of an atom to be registered.

THE EINSTEIN TELESCOPE

The new Einstein Telescope, representing the third generation of gravitational wave detectors, will be ten times as sensitive as any current detector.

“We want to examine an area that is a thousand times larger than what is possible today for gravitational waves,” Professor Stahl said in a statement. “This also applies to heavier objects that emit gravitational waves at lower frequencies.”

Comprised of a trio of nested detectors, each possessing 10-kilometer arms and built 250 meters belowground to provide shielding from electromagnetic interference, the observatory will represent the pinnacle of multi-messenger astronomy, a nascent approach in astronomy that collects and interprets information from a variety of different signals produced by different astrophysical processes, which include gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, as well as particles like neutrinos, and cosmic rays.

Measurements obtained by the Einstein Telescope will rely on international cooperation due to their complexity and will form a network in conjunction with the U.S. Cosmic Explorer, with the project included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap in 2021. Currently, construction of the new telescope could begin as early as 2026, and observations may begin as soon as 2035.

New laser technologies are also being developed for the new telescope, which is being produced by a team that includes engineers from RWTH Aachen University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT. Such technologies could be beneficial beyond the detection of gravity waves, potentially extending to areas that include quantum and medical technologies.

“With gravitational waves, we can look much further into the universe than with normal telescopes,” Professor Stahl said in a recent statement. Once it enters operation sometime in the next decade, the Einstein Telescope will mark a new horizon in observations of distant galaxies and their formation, as well as glimpses at some of the first stars in the universe as it peers deeper into universal history than optical telescopes can allow.

“In astrophysics, looking further into the universe means – above all – looking back in time,” Stahl said. “With the Einstein Telescope, we will receive signals from the time when the galaxies and the first stars were formed. This goes back further than is possible with optical means.

“And we will hear cosmic explosions live with the gravitational waves before we see them,” Stahl added.

• Picture of staff and #telescope - Albert Einstein Yerkes Observatory ...

Along with expanding our perspective of the universe and its formation, the telescope will also help scientists perform systematic measurements of cosmic events and yield other exciting developments for the future of astrophysics.

• 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://youtu.be/siDAJbHmd6M

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

17-06-2024 om 01:23 geschreven door peter  

Something 'kicked' this hypervelocity star racing through the Milky Way at 1.3 million miles per hour (video)

Related: 

• 'Vampire stars' explode after eating too much — AI could help reveal why

To crack the secrets of this hypervelocity star, University of California, San Diego Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Adam Burgasser turned to the W.M. Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii, aiming to observe its infrared spectrum. 

This investigation revealed that the star belongs to a class of the oldest stars in the Milky Way: L subdwarfs. These stars are very rare and remarkable because of their highly low masses and relatively cool temperatures. 

The team's spectral data was combined with a new set of atmospheric models created specifically to study L subdwarfs. This revealed J1249+36's position and velocity through the Milky Way. "This is where the source became very interesting," Burgasser said in a statement. "Its speed and trajectory showed that it was moving fast enough to potentially escape the Milky Way."

The question is, what launched this subdwarf star on its rapid escape trajectory? Well, that brings us to our two suspects.

Is this star running from a white dwarf vampire? 

In the first scenario used to explain the hypervelocity nature of J1249+36, Burgasser and colleagues hypothesized that the low-mass star was once the stellar companion of a type of a "dead" star called a white dwarf.

White dwarfs are born when smaller stars like the sun exhaust the hydrogen supply in their cores. When that happens, a star's nuclear fusion ceases. This cuts off the outward flow of energy that supports the star against the inward pressure of its own gravity. While this ends the lives of lonely, isolated stars like the sun, however, white dwarfs in binary systems can return from the grave by cannibalistically feeding on stellar material stripped from a nearby "donor" star.

This material piles up on the white dwarf until that stellar remnant's mass exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit of around 1.4 times the mass of the sun, above which a star can go supernova. This results in a type of cosmic explosion called a "Type Ia supernova" that completely obliterates the white dwarf.

"In this kind of supernova, the white dwarf is completely destroyed, so its companion is released and flies off at whatever orbital speed it was originally moving, plus a little bit of a kick from the supernova explosion as well," Burgasser explained. "Our calculations show this scenario works. However, the white dwarf isn’t there anymore, and the remnants of the explosion, which likely happened several million years ago, have already dissipated, so we don’t have definitive proof that this is its origin."

Could twin black holes have something to do with it?

The second scenario considered by the team sees this hypervelocity star begin life in a globular cluster, a dense and compact conglomeration of stars bound together by gravity. These spherical clusters can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of stars.

The stars are concentrated toward the center of globular clusters, where scientists theorize that black holes of varying masses also lurk. These black holes can come together and form binaries that are adept at launching any stars that venture too close to them out of their home systems.

"When a star encounters a black hole binary, the complex dynamics of this three-body interaction can toss that star right out of the globular cluster," Kyle Kremer, an incoming Assistant Professor in UC San Diego's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, said. 

Simulations generated by Kremer revealed that, on rare occasions, these kinds of interactions can kick a low-mass subdwarf out of a globular cluster and put them on trajectories similar to what's observed with J1249+36.

The team also traced the trajectory of this hypervelocity star back to an extremely crowded region of space, which could indeed be the location of a currently undiscovered globular cluster — or, perhaps. more than one.

The team will now look at the elemental composition of J1249+36 in an attempt to determine which of these ejection scenarios is the correct one. Composition could be a possible indication of origin because when white dwarfs "go nova," they pollute the stars they kick away. In addition to this, stars born in globular clusters have distinct chemical compositions. 

Whatever the origins of this star are, its discovery offers scientists the unique opportunity to investigate hypervelocity stars as a whole. And it's all very cool.

Burgasser presented the team's results at a press conference on Monday (June 10) during the 244th national meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Madison, Wisconsin.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

17-06-2024 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

Boeing’s Starliner Will Attempt A First-Of-Its-Kind Landing For A U.S. Capsule

Watch out for Starliner’s unique landing as early as next week.

BY DORIS ELÍN URRUTIA 

Boeing

Two astronauts will break from American spaceflight tradition next week, when their capsule drops down onto land, instead of splashing at sea.

As early as next Tuesday, the Boeing Starliner will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) with two astronauts inside. Instead of landing in the ocean, as their fellow NASA Commercial Crew Program partner, SpaceX, has been successfully doing with its Crew Dragon at least twice each year since 2020, Starliner will become the first and only American orbital crew capsule to touch down on land.

Capsules of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs landed in the ocean. The Space Shuttles touched down on land, but they coasted onto a runway, a much different approach.

Fortunately, most modern astronauts have experience with soft landing in capsules on land. When the Space Shuttle retired in 2011, and up until Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 mission in 2020 restarted the launch of astronauts from American soil, the U.S. would pay for seats onboard Russian Soyuz capsules to get their astronauts to and from space. Soyuz would and still does touch down on land, over open terrain in Kazakhstan.

Soon it will be Starliner’s turn to utilize this approach. It is in the midst of its Crew Flight Test, which got underway when NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore successfully launched inside a Starliner called Calypso on June 5. The duo are now onboard the ISS, but as early as June 22, they’ll reboard Calypso to come home.

The Boeing Starliner is important because it provides dissimilar redundancy — a backup plan, in essence — for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. If SpaceX has a problem, or vice versa, the other company offers a different way for astronauts to continue visiting low-Earth orbit.

One difference is how their astronauts come home. Crew Dragon’s latest return from space for the Crew-7 mission in March delivered four astronauts to the calm waters off the coast of Florida. Teams on boats mobilized to fish the capsule out of the water, and onto a ship, where the hatch was successfully opened roughly 42 minutes after splashdown.

Both Starliner and Crew Dragon begin their descents with parachutes to slow them down.

When Calypso is about 3,000 feet off the ground, the heat shield on its base will jettison. This exposes the Starliner’s airbags. They’ll absorb the initial force of landing at touchdown.

According to NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who is part of the Starliner Commercial Crew Program, the Starliner can deploy an extra airbag if an emergency water landing must be made.

Boeing will only use this for emergencies, he adds. Salt water is abrasive. This makes refurbishing the capsule tough to do after exposure to the ocean. Landing on land is one way Boeing aims to have the reusable Starliner capsules ready on time with a six-month turnaround.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

16-06-2024 om 21:39 geschreven door peter  

One of the odd looking corpses is said to look pregnant as the mysterious 'mummified' finds could soon finally be tested by experts after being discovered in Peru years ago

Some unusual looking corpses that have been compared to mummified aliens are soon to be tested 

(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A set of infamous Nazca 'alien mummies' are set to undergo tests in attempts to finally get to the bottom of what they really are and where they have come from.

The discovery of the unusual mummified corpses with three fingers and elongated skulls in Peru has long been shrouded in mystery with scientists declaring they could be very real and need further examination.

Now those very corpses, one of which is said to look pregnant, are finally being tested in attempts to to prove their authenticity. It's as a UFO expert claims they are proof of extraterrestrial life and could be hybrids.

READ MORE: 

• Uri Geller claims 'aliens are tuned in 24/7' after revealing 'unexplained' footage

The unusual figures were discovered in Peru's Nazca region but have stumped the world since gaining significant media attention last year and mass speculation about their origins.

Jaime Maussan, journalist and UFO researcher, says there is a possibility they are alien-human hybrids.

He gained significant attention when presenting the mummies. found in Palpa and Nazca in Peru to the Mexican Government in 2023.

They were purportedly found by local farmers in 2017 and subsequently brought to the attention of researchers but for years they weren't professionally examined.

A team of experts was later put together to change that. The team includes Dr James Caruso, chief medical examiner and coroner of the city and county of Denver, Dr William Rodriguez, a forensic anthropologist and Maryland State medical examiner.

Elsewhere, Dr John McDowell, a retired professor at the University of Colorado and forensic odontologist, rounds off the team

Maussan now claims there is an ongoing legal battle with Peru to get the "mummies" to more advanced labs in the US for further testing which could prove their authenticity once and for all.

A man named Jois Mantilla too said he believed he'd made a breakthrough with the mummies' DNA.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/ }

16-06-2024 om 21:14 geschreven door peter  

A study at a top university reckons aliens could be visiting Earth to see alien friends that are already blending in, disguised among us without anyone even knowing

Research from one of the world's top unis says aliens could be disguised among humans - and we don't even know it 

(Image: Getty Images)

UFOs could be coming to Earth so that aliens can visit their pals already living secretly among us, say researchers at one of the world's best universities.

According to the study, conducted at Harvard University, extraterrestrials could very possibly be living as one with humans already - with us none the wiser. It says this could be underground or on the Moon.

As part of the deep dive, the people behind the research also suggest UFOs might be alien spaceships that are visiting to meet their otherworldly friends living here on Earth - expertly disguised among us.

READ MORE: 

• 'Pregnant' aliens mummies found in Peru set to be tested to ‘prove authenticity’

As part of the research paper, they mention the idea that UFOs - also referred to as UAPs - could be spaceships visiting Earth-based "alien friends".

The paper also states that the author is aware of the depth of evidence and theory that supports another extraterrestrial explanation. That is the ''crypto terrestrial” hypothesis (CTH), linking UAP activity to the action of hidden non-human entities.

Put together by Harvard University's Human Flourishing Programme, which researches the factors that contribute to human well-being and flourishing, the paper has since been taken down from ResearchGate, where it was published. But it can still be accessed using Internet Archive.

In other extraterrestrial news, a set of infamous Nazca 'alien mummies' are set to undergo tests in attempts to finally get to the bottom of what they really are and where they have come from.

The discovery of the unusual mummified corpses with three fingers and elongated skulls in Peru has long been shrouded in mystery with scientists declaring they could be very real and need further examination.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/ }

16-06-2024 om 20:43 geschreven door peter  

Do you have a burning desire to spend all your money to travel to distant jungles to strike up convos with screeching monkeys in trees?

I’m not dressing up posts with header images anymore. Clean and simple. But, for this one, I’ll make an exception. It’s funny, and it drives the point home.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been intrigued by the sudden government-sanctioned “limited hangouts” on UFOs. Some folks, like Tucker Carlson, have latched onto them, prompting me to shake my head in disbelief. Here’s the deal: for 35 years, I’ve held firm that there are no UFOs, never have been, and never will be. Logic is on my side, and I’ll outline why below.

I’m giving out #31 of my 114 No-Pill Advantages. Originally drafted 35 years ago, it has undergone a few revisions, but the core logic and conclusion remains unchanged. As you read through this, keep in mind it was written decades ago. Ask yourself: has anything fundamentally changed? Are there actual bodies now? Artifacts like a phaser or some tricorder gadget? An actual spacecraft dissected? Nope, just the same old grainy photos and blurry videos.

… In an age where everyone has had a phone in their pocket for 20 years, and high-resolution cameras for at least the last decade, where are the clear photos? Modern phones excel even in low-light conditions, yet I’ve never seen a decent, high-res shot of a supposed UFO. Not one.

What gives rise to this post is that I got wind of an article in The Hill. It’s a ridiculous piece, based on a so-called “Harvard study” that I can’t even find. It’s just a bunch of nonsense, really. I don’t even want to dignify it. What it screams to me is the same old pattern in society: blind deference to so-called authorities.

… You know why people really have a problem with totalitarian regimes? What’s the chief distinction between the U.S. government or the EU, or whoever, and a totalitarian regime? The chief distinction is that a totalitarian regime doesn’t have a “God,” doesn’t have a higher authority. People bristle at the idea that there’s no imaginary-friend-personally-looking-out-for-you check on their government’s authority.

So, in the case of the U.S., we have a secular check, which is the Constitution and the separation of powers. It kinda works—except when it usually doesn’t. But then you have the church, right? You can’t really be a successful politician in America without making your obeisance to some form of God. For America, that pretty much has to be Jehovah or Jesus. In countries like where I live, Thailand, you gotta be a Buddhist.

But here’s the kicker: the UFO thing represents a kind of backup authority. Governments need people who have faith in a higher power, higher intelligence, or higher knowledge. If God or whatever manifestation of God isn’t working out quite as well as they’d hoped, they roll out the space aliens. Eventually, they’ll reveal themselves. And of course, since they could get here, they must know everything. They know where we came from. They know the origin story. They’ll be able to tell us all sorts of stuff. Just have faith in that.

They’re looking out for us.

It’s the same faith as religion. Exactly the same on fundamental levels. And that’s what I keep harping on: the lack of agency among individual human beings. People are supposed to be their own authority. Their job in life is to look around, assess what’s real, and distinguish it from what’s not real. Act accordingly. Make mistakes, learn from them, and go forth to do better and better. Be a little less wrong about everything every day, rather than holding up a book written 2000 years ago and claiming it’s right about everything.

OK, enjoy this piece. Keep in mind it was drafted 35 years ago. Ask yourself: Does anything we currently think we know about UFOs make anything said here false? If you’re honest, you’ll say no, it doesn’t. So what’s the big hullabaloo all about?

As with all forms of mysticism, the acceptance of myths ranging from astrology and UFOs to religion and the concept of God can have detrimental effects on an individual’s thinking and integration processes. In fact, this acceptance can severely hinder a person’s personal power, productive competence, financial well-being, psychuous pleasures, and long-range happiness.

When one embraces mysticism, they often surrender critical thinking and rationality in favor of beliefs that lack empirical evidence or logical reasoning. By doing so, they limit their ability to objectively analyze and understand the world around them. This impaired thinking can prevent individuals from making informed decisions, solving problems effectively, and adapting to new situations.

Moreover, the integration processes of a person, which involve synthesizing different aspects of their life and experiences, are also compromised. The acceptance of myths can create cognitive dissonance and conflicts within an individual’s belief system, leading to a fragmented sense of self and difficulty in establishing coherent values and principles. This lack of integration can hinder personal growth and development, as well as negatively impact relationships and social interactions.

Furthermore, embracing mysticism can have adverse effects on an individual’s personal power and sense of agency. By relying on external forces such as astrological predictions or supernatural entities, people may feel disempowered and dependent on factors beyond their control. This can lead to a sense of helplessness and passivity, preventing individuals from taking charge of their own lives and pursuing their goals with determination.

In addition, the acceptance of myths can impede productive competence. Instead of focusing on acquiring practical skills, knowledge, and expertise, individuals may invest their time and energy in pursuits that lack a solid foundation in reality. This diversion of resources can hamper professional growth, limit career opportunities, and hinder financial well-being.

Moreover, the pursuit of psychuous pleasures, which encompass both physical and emotional gratification, can be compromised by the acceptance of myths. By attributing supernatural or cosmic significance to experiences, individuals may overlook the genuine sources of joy and fulfillment in their lives. This can lead to a perpetual search for external validation or transcendent experiences, neglecting the simple pleasures and meaningful connections that can bring long-lasting happiness.

Ultimately, the acceptance of myths in various forms of mysticism can have far-reaching consequences. It can cripple an individual’s thinking and integration processes, limiting their personal power, productive competence, financial well-being, psychuous pleasures, and long-range happiness. By embracing critical thinking, rationality, and evidence-based beliefs, individuals can open themselves up to a world of possibilities, empowering themselves to live a more fulfilled and successful life.

Many popular myths rely on so-called “scientific” evidence to create an illusion of credibility. Supporters of astrology argue that the incredibly weak celestial forces that interact with humans have an impact on their thoughts, actions, behavior, and fate. They use the example of how the moon’s gravitational forces cause ocean tides as “proof.” However, facts and rational thinking demonstrate that humans are solely responsible for their own destiny. A person’s mind has the ability to overpower all the forces of nature combined. In a society that values freedom, an individual’s conscious mind has much more control over their future than all the obvious, direct influences of nature, government, and religion combined.

One’s destiny is primarily determined by their own choices rather than their surroundings. With the exception of natural disasters or oppressive totalitarian regimes, the impact of nature and social environment on an individual’s long-term future is minimal or negligible when compared to the power of the rational conscious mind.

To allow one’s future to be impacted by natural forces like the weather, wind, or rain would diminish the power of their mind and actions. However, astrologers take it a step further by suggesting that even the faintest celestial forces from outer space can influence human beings and their minds. This perspective undermines the potential of the human mind, eroding confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, those who allow themselves to be controlled or influenced by nonexistent forces like the God myth face even more serious consequences in their confidence and self-esteem.

There is a common misconception among many individuals that the authority of government and religion surpasses their own power. This belief is understandable, given the historical destructive impact these forces have had on humanity. However, it is important to recognize that government and religious influences, although often destructive, do not have to control an individual’s present or future. By employing critical thinking and rational decision-making, one can typically evade or reduce the impact of government and religion on their personal lives, enabling them to live independently, productively, and happily.

Sometimes, the devastating impacts on individuals can be caused by various entities such as the government, religion, or even natural occurrences like earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes. The government has the power to seize or exploit someone’s belongings, as well as imprison or unjustly kill innocent individuals. Religion has the potential to harm a person’s mental well-being and overall happiness. Additionally, when the church wields direct political influence, it has historically inflicted torture and death upon countless innocent people, exemplified by instances like the Dark Ages, Inquisitions, Jonestown, Ayatollah Iran, Witch Trials, and the crusades. However, none of these potential or actual forces essentially govern or determine the course of human lives or destiny. The human mind, in conjunction with the choices made throughout an individual’s life, ultimately shapes the life and future of a productive person, unless they are directly incapacitated or destroyed by government or religious forces.

Believing in “scientific” myths like UFOs, which are unidentified flying objects from intelligent outer space, can have negative effects on a person’s self-esteem and their ability to experience pleasure and happiness. Similar to astrology and other forms of “scientific” mysticism[1], UFO advocates use a scientific-sounding foundation to create the illusion of credibility. They often take the valid hypothesis that there are millions of Earth-like planets in outer space with advanced civilizations and technology beyond our own. These civilizations would likely be capable of communication or even traveling across vast distances to reach Earth, as their conscious beings would have achieved biological immortality a long time ago.

The aforementioned hypotheses hold statistical validity and are likely factual. Based on statistical data, it is plausible to conclude that there are millions, if not billions, of Earth-like planets harboring intelligent life forms across the universe. It is highly probable that a significant number of these civilizations, being far more advanced than ours, have the capability to establish contact with Earth. However, logical reasoning and statistical evidence suggest that these civilizations would not think to contact Earth or any number of other millions of civilizations on par with Earth’s advancement, or more primitive.

The primary rationale for holding the belief that Earth has never been contacted by any extraterrestrial civilization is the lack of any compelling evidence suggesting such an encounter. Any purported evidence that has surfaced thus far has been deemed dubious, fraudulent, or scientifically invalid. Had there been actual contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life, the proof would have been both instantaneous and overwhelmingly convincing. Take, for instance, the highly sophisticated artifacts that would inevitably be left behind by any civilization devoid of mysticism, yet possessing the necessary technological prowess and energy to establish contact with Earth.

Surely, numerous highly sophisticated civilizations within the cosmos possess the technology to reach and communicate with Earth. However, using the following rationale, it is unlikely that they would make contact. The advancement of any civilization is directly proportional to the amount of energy it can harness. This energy capacity is a direct reflection of scientific knowledge and technological development. The energy necessary for interstellar communication and travel far outweighs Earth’s total energy capacity, given our current technological state. Therefore, a civilization capable of reaching us would be significantly more advanced. This implies that such a civilization would have surpassed the Nuclear-Decision Threshold. This critical juncture is one that every advanced civilization must navigate successfully to ensure survival. Currently, our civilization is at this threshold. The Nuclear-Decision Threshold represents the stage at which a civilization’s energy, knowledge, and technology have evolved to the extent that they can produce enough artificial energy (such as nuclear energy) to obliterate all life on their planet. From this point, all civilizations must select one of two paths:

(1) Follow a philosophical system that is irrational, altruistic, and Platonistic, where authoritarian initiatory force persuades others to back “higher” mystical causes that support the deceptive livelihoods of parasitical elites. Such systems will ultimately result in either complete nuclear warfare[2] or a regression to an anti-technological Dark Ages where the majority of knowledge and technology are lost. Regardless of the outcome, the majority of the world’s population will perish and civilization will be destroyed due to the manipulation of pointless mysticism to provide false power and deceptive livelihoods to those who destroy value.

(2) Adopt or transition to a rational, business-oriented, Aristotelian philosophical system that excludes the use of initiatory force. This system enables civilization to securely progress past the Nuclear-Decision Threshold.

Therefore, any civilization that has significantly surpassed this threshold would naturally exist in a logical Aristotelian society (logic: 1+1=2; identity: A is A). This would imply a free-market business society where initiating force is eliminated as it’s uncompetitive, powerless, and immoral. In such a progressed society, all forms of mysticism would naturally have been discredited and abandoned as foolish and harmful. This business-oriented society would be devoid of politicians, theologians, mooching leaches, oppressive governments, quasi-state fascistic Big Corp, and other exploiters and parasites. Actions would be grounded in reality-based logic exercised by free individuals living harmoniously and competitively in line with their sensible best interests.

In a highly advanced society, there would be no logical rationale or discernible advantages to justify the excessive time and energy needed to communicate with Earth or comparable extraterrestrial civilizations. Such an endeavor would neither be scientifically intriguing nor profitable for a civilization possessing such advanced knowledge and technology.

In other words, once a civilization reaches a point of technological progress where it can communicate with other civilizations, the incentive or desire to do so, along with the advantages gained from it, may decrease. This is because such societies would naturally be reasonable and self-serving. People within these societies would be capable of satisfying all their material, emotional, and developmental needs within a reasonable geographic boundary, even though they have the capacity to explore further into space. In addition, these developed civilizations could have access to an imagined universal interstellar computer network. Such a network would manage and provide all crucial knowledge for sharing among developed, advanced civilizations. It would require no access keys. Attaining the advanced knowledge to detect it would, in itself, be the access key.

To sum up, it’s likely that thousands or even millions of highly advanced civilizations exist in the cosmic realm, equipped with the technology to reach out to Earth. However, due to their non-altruistic, profit-driven nature, these societies would lack a rational reason or incentive to invest their time and energy in such contact.[3]

Our civilization would need to transition from our present Platonistic/altruistic philosophical foundation to an Aristotelian/rationally self-interested, business-like philosophical foundation to significantly progress beyond our existing Nuclear-Decision Threshold.

Interestingly, our current stage of civilization allows us to reap substantial economic, technological, and scientific rewards from studying outer space and venturing beyond our solar system. By transitioning to a rational and logical society, our civilization will significantly surpass the Nuclear-Decision Threshold. This will result in our knowledge, technology, and well-being advancing at such a rapid and extensive pace that when we have the energy capacity to communicate with civilizations in distant outer space, the logical reasons or incentives for such contact (economic, social, scientific) will become less relevant. This is because within such an advanced and benevolent society, each individual’s potential can be fully realized, representing the total creative power available in the universe. Upon reaching this potential, there is no need for anything more from outer space, especially once our scientists, driven by business interests, learn to tap into the universal interstellar computer.

The answer, therefore, to the outer-space UFO question reduces to:

1. It’s likely that numerous highly developed civilizations across the universe possess the ability to reach out to, and even visit Earth.
2. However, there has never been any credible scientific proof demonstrating that any communication or encounters with extraterrestrial intelligence have taken place on our planet.
3. It’s logical to assume that these advanced civilizations, equipped with the technology needed to contact Earth, would lack any economic, social, or scientific motivation to do so. This is because once such a civilization has thoroughly explored, understood, and utilized a certain area of space, the urge and incentive to continue probing further and deeper into space, incurring greater costs, would gradually vanish.

[1] “Scientific” mysticism often stems from the desire to find external forces or “authorities” that can relieve the human mind from the task of thinking. Mystics yearn for an effortless guide to knowledge and life, steered by forces beyond their control. However, such an effortless guide does not exist. No external force can replace the work of an individual’s mind. Instances such as the U.S. president relying on astrology or the U.S.S.R. government funding research into ESP, psychokinesis, PK, and other pseudosciences, highlight the intellectual inadequacy of these governments and their leaders. In truth, these governments appear foolish and their leaders are merely jesters. They are gradually becoming obsolete due to the global exposure of their many incompetencies.

[2] Ironically, unilateral peace and disarmament movements, often championed by professional mystics and looters, are not just dishonest and mystical, but they also push the world towards nuclear annihilation. On the other hand, a well-prepared and rational society can not only effectively guard against nuclear war but also thrive in the future. This is because self-protection is a fundamental moral duty. Therefore, developing an efficient Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star-Wars” defense system is the most logical and ethical action any country could take to safeguard its citizens and their property. (Refer to No-Pill Advantage #110 for an in-depth discussion on the inherent right to self-defense.)

[3] The only plausible reason for a highly advanced civilization to communicate beyond their immediate star system might be the imminent death of their sun, their primary energy source, through a cataclysmic event or eventuality. Such a civilization would likely seek to explore and colonize planets in nearby star systems. Given the ever-shifting positions of stars within our Milky Way galaxy, Earth could, at certain instances, become a “nearby” star system (for instance, less than a hundred light years away) to a civilization needing to abandon their own solar system due to an impending solar detonation or other disaster. Under such circumstances, Earth could become a target for exploration or even colonization from space. However, statistically, the chance of such a convergence of events is extremely low.

{ https://freetheanimal.com/ }

16-06-2024 om 20:20 geschreven door peter  

Their study, published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, examines the big five personality traits: extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, along with schizotypy traits (behaviors that resemble schizophrenia), to help determine if UAP experiencers could be distinguished from those who had not reported seeing a UAP.

THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS: WHAT ARE THEY? 

In the 1970s, two research teams—one led by Paul Costa and Robert R. McCrae of the National Institutes of Health and the other by Warren Norman and Lewis Goldberg of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of Oregon—found that most human character traits can be explained by five dimensions. Surveys of thousands of individuals uncovered these mostly distinct traits:

• Neuroticism: Emotional stability; individuals with high scores are characterized by anxiety, inhibition, moodiness, and lower self-assurance.
• Extroversion: Encompasses cheerfulness, initiative, and communicativeness.
• Openness: Fond of innovation and displays of creativity. 
• Agreeableness: Dictates how they interact with others. Other traits include being friendly, empathetic, and warm.
• Conscientiousness: Gauges a person’s level of organization. Individuals with high scores are motivated, disciplined, and trustworthy.

THE FINDINGS

Dr. Stubbings’ experiment involved 206 participants, including 103 who said they had witnessed or self-reported seeing a UAP. The team analyzed personality traits to see how participants naturally grouped together.

The study consisted of three groups. Group one had average traits, whereas the second group, designated the Neurotic/Schizotypy group, was high on neuroticism and schizotypy traits. The last controlled group, labelled O-ACE, was found to have high openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion but low neuroticism and schizotypy traits. 

“These were the groups that ‘emerged’ out of the data analysis,” Dr. Stubbings told The Debrief. “The latent profile analysis demonstrated these three patterns of personality profiles. Prior research looked at correlation and regression (predictive patterns) but not a latent (underlying) profile.”

“This was a new finding,” Stubbings told The Debrief.

The study concluded that the third group, O-ACE, was more likely to see UAPs. Over the years, stigma and stereotypes have helped create narratives that people who see UAPs are more than likely emotionally reactive; in other words, they may display neurotic behavior and are prone to perceptual and cognitive abnormalities.

However, the recent data does not appear to support this narrative. Instead, Dr. Stubbings and his coauthors state in their paper that the “descriptive UAP accounts by the general public were similar to the descriptions provided by military witnesses.” 

Stubbings, when asked why people with high conscientiousness see UFOs, said it is difficult to answer such a question based on the current data in-hand.

“Our data indicates that there is a small statistical relationship, but further research should explore why that relationship exists,” Stubings told The Debrief. “But my guess is that people who are high in conscientiousness might be more willing to admit to themselves that they have seen something and believe it is the right thing to do to admit it.” 

However, Stubbings notes that conscientiousness alone is probably not everything in this equation, but instead, combinations of other variables—specifically low scores in Neuroticism and higher scores in Openness, also contribute.

“We need further research to explore the nuances of these personality factors in the emergence of both belief and experience.”

Dr. Stubbings also noted that “only 28 percent of participants reported their sightings anywhere, and 14 percent used a UFO reporting organization, which suggests that events are vastly underreported.” His paper also suggested that stigma and a lack of proper reporting avenues were the main obstacles impacting their willingness to report their sightings.

Dr. Stubbings initiated his research by referencing an older academic paper on UAPs published in the Applied Cognitive Psychology Journal in 2011, which found that certain personality factors were predictors of an individual’s belief in UFOs. 

“This is relevant to the UFO topic more broadly because what people perceive and recall tends to be in line with their beliefs,” Stubbings told The Debrief. “If beliefs can be predicted by personality factors, then it supports the notion that it is a particular kind of person who is more prone to belief in UAPs, and in turn, they end up seeing and recalling what they believe to be true.” 

“In other words, people see UAP not because they are there but because of the conviction of their beliefs, which are influenced by their personality dispositions. 

“So the idea was born to change the dependent variable of ‘belief’ to ‘have you had a sighting.’ Those who believe in UFOs/UAP might not have the same characteristics [as] those that report to have seen what they believe to be a UAP.”

Fundamentally, Stubbings says that in addition to understanding the kinds of personality traits and psychological drivers that may contribute to a person’s likelihood of observing and reporting UAP, scientists need to be engaging in dialogue about the assessment, diagnosis, formulation, and treatment of mental health distress in individuals who claim to have observed UAP or even had direct contact with purported NHI. 

“This topic is one of the most fascinating areas,” Stubbings told The Debrief, “and I believe other scientists from around the world need to help address this mystery.”

Stubbings and his colleagues Sophie Ali and Alexander Wong’s new paper, “Who Sees UFOs? The Relationship Between Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Sightings And Personality Factors,” appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of the Journal of Scientific Exploration.

• Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.

{ https://thedebrief.org/ }

16-06-2024 om 20:00 geschreven door peter  

Story by Elisha Sauers

If looking at this Mars vista conjures up childhood memories of the song, "One of these things is not like the others," NASA scientists are right there with you. 

Perseverance, a car-size lab on six wheels, traveled into the Red Planet's Neretva Vallis last week. Though this region may look like a barren desert, it was once an ancient river channel that fed into the Jezero crater billions of years ago. 

As Perseverance traversed the inlet, the rover came upon a hill covered in boulders, with one in particular attracting the science team's attention: a light speckled rock amid a sea of dark lumps. 

"Every once in a while, you'll just see some strange thing in the Martian landscape, and the team is like, 'Oh, let's go over there,'" Katie Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, told Mashable. "This was like the textbook definition of (chasing) the bright, shiny thing because it was so bright and white."

The boulder is so exceptional, scientists have said it's in a league of its own. Closer analysis with the rover's instruments shows it is likely an anorthosite, a rock type never seen before while exploring Mars, Stack Morgan said, though there have been signs such rocks should exist. Not even the Curiosity rover, which has observed more variety in Gale Crater, has seen one quite like this.

The Perseverance rover found an exceptional boulder on Mars, thought to be an anorthosite.

© Provided by Mashable

Though such anorthosite rocks are on the moon and in mountain ranges on Earth, they're generally considered rare in the solar system. True Martian examples have eluded researchers, including within our planet's inventory of Red Planet meteorites that traveled through space to get here. 

Related video: 

• NASA prepares to examine samples from Mars (FOX News)

This discovery could bolster the idea that Mars' early crust was way more complex than once thought — and perhaps similar to Earth's original crust. Understanding the ancient Martian crust also could help unlock secrets about the evolution of Earth and how life emerged here. 

"This was like the textbook definition of (chasing) the bright, shiny thing."

The rover team named the special boulder, about 18 inches wide and 14 inches tall, "Atoco Point" after a landmark in the Grand Canyon. 

Perseverance has been exploring Jezero crater, an ancient dried delta on Mars, since 2021.

© Provided by Mashable

"Seeing a rock like Atoco Point is one of these hints that, yes, we do have anorthosites on Mars, and this might be a sampling of that lower crust material," Stack Morgan said. "If we see it later on in the context of other rocks, it can give us a sense for how the earliest crust of Mars kind of came to be."

Anorthosites are predominantly made of feldspar, a mineral linked to lava flows. Feldspars are more rich in silica than basalts and some of the last stuff to crystallize out of magma. On the other hand, basalts, dark volcanic rocks rich in iron and magnesium, are ubiquitous on Mars' surface. 

Many of Perseverance's scientists think magma below the surface made the minerals in Atoko Point, and that a giant impact on Mars may have excavated the rock to the surface, a chunk later falling from the crater rim to its present site. Others think the boulder was made somewhere else far away and a gushing ancient river carried it there.

The NASA team hopes to discover many more rocks like Atoco Point in a couple of months when Perseverance reaches the crater rim.

© Provided by Mashable

Whether scientists will ever get their hands on this rock or one like it remains to be seen. Perseverance has been collecting samples from Jezero crater since 2021. The region, an ancient dried delta, is one where scientists think microscopic organisms might have existed long ago. But the plan to fly rocks and dust grains to Earth, a complex mission called Mars Sample Return, is in jeopardy. Its rising costs have led to layoffs and warnings of cancellation from Congress. The agency is now making a desperate plea for ideas to save the mission.

Perhaps surprisingly, the rover team chose to drive away from Atoco Point without even taking a sample, despite its significance. That's because the team hopes to discover many more like it in a couple of months when the rover reaches the crater rim. Finding examples from its original location could provide the scientists with a lot more context. 

"We said, 'OK, let's keep this rock in mind,'" Stack Morgan said. "'Maybe we'll come back here if we don't find this elsewhere in the crater rim.'"

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/  }

16-06-2024 om 01:44 geschreven door peter  

Private space-junk-inspection probe spots discarded rocket in orbit up close (photo)

ADRAS-J, which is short for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan, launched into orbit atop Rocket Lab's Electron rocket on Feb. 18. By April the 330-pound (150-kilogram) probe had used its onboard cameras and successfully maneuvered within a few hundred meters of its target — the upper stage of the Japanese H-2A rocket that launched the GOSAT Earth-observation satellite back in 2009. This striking photo released late April memorialized the achievement.

ADRAS-J - Astroscale, Securing Space Sustainability

Related: 

• Wow! Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit

In an update posted today (Friday, June 14), Astroscale wrote that ADRAS-J had completed a safe and controlled approach to the rocket, which spans 36 feet long by 13 feet wide (11 by 4 meters). The latest image is one of many ADRAS-J captured while holding a fixed position relative to the upper stage, the company said, adding that the mission will soon try snapping additional pictures of the target through various close approach operations.

Spaceflight historian Gunther Krebs previously noted that ADRAS-J is not the first mission to capture close-up images of space junk. In 2003, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's XSS-10 satellite had photographed the used upper stage of a Delta II rocket; those tasks were less complex than ADRAS-J's.

Following the successful safe and controlled approach of the dead rocket, in late April, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) chose Astroscale for the second phase of the mission, which will progress onto capturing and removing the rocket body using a robotic arm that is lighter version of the one on the International Space Station.

"This next phase holds significance in addressing the space debris issue and laying the foundation for a sustainable environment for future generations," Eddie Kato, the president of Astroscale Japan, said in a previous statement.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

16-06-2024 om 01:31 geschreven door peter  

The 4 most convincing UFO sightings in Florida history

{ https://floricuanews.com/ }

16-06-2024 om 00:26 geschreven door peter  

UFOs May Be Evidence Of "Cryptoterrestrials" Secretly Living Among Us

Scientists say there's a one-in-10 chance that these advanced creatures actually exist.

BENJAMIN TAUB

Freelance Writer

Penned by researchers from Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and Montana Technological University, the wild study – as yet not peer-reviewed – delves into the slightly insane world of "cryptoterrestrials", which encompasses a bizarre cast of “intelligent beings concealed in stealth here on Earth (e.g., underground), and/or its near environs (e.g., the moon).” According to the authors, these clandestine Earth-dwellers may in fact be responsible for many of the unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) that are typically attributed to intergalactic visitors.

Jumping down the rabbit hole, the researchers present their first category of potential UFO pilot, which they call “human cryptoterrestrials”. These are described as “a technologically advanced ancient human civilization that was largely destroyed long ago (e.g., by flood), but continued to exist in remnant form.” 

Possibly lurking in volcanoes or deep beneath the ocean, these few surviving ancient superhumans were apparently exposed by Albert Einstein’s former assistant Dr Shirley Wright, who claimed that she and her famous boss were invited to inspect the “biological entities” recovered from the supposed Roswell UFO crash in 1947. Speaking in 1993, Wright said the pilots were “just humans, but an advanced form,” and that their species “reside underground on our planet.” 

Other subtypes of cryptoterrestrials may include highly-advanced non-human primates or reptiles that store their aircraft beneath mountains. For instance, the Popocatepetl volcano in central Mexico and California’s Mount Shasta are both UFO sighting hotspots, and have therefore been identified as possible residences for these secret yet highly intelligent beings.

Navy personnel reports of Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs) traveling at incredible speeds, meanwhile, have fuelled speculation that some of these cryptoterrestrials may in fact reside in the ocean. In one such report from 1987, a New Zealand frigate was supposedly followed by a 243-meter-long (800 foot) USO that traveled at a top speed of around 4,800 kilometers per hour (2,980 miles per hour).

The authors also cite wild claims by the highly controversial Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb - who, surprisingly, had nothing to do with the study - that the Moon may in fact be a cryptoterrestrial base, and houses many of these strange creatures and their incredible spacecraft. Finally, the researchers say that the engineers behind most UFOs could be hiding in plain sight, and may just be aliens that have mastered the art of blending in as humans.

Admittedly, this all pretty fanciful stuff, and much of the rationale for these claims comes from sources even more dubious than Loeb – including podcaster Joe Rogan and believers in the sunken realm of Atlantis.

Recognizing the many flaws in their proposals, the authors explain that “although this idea is likely to be regarded sceptically by most scientists, such are the nature of some UAP that we argue this possibility should not be summarily dismissed.” They also admit that they themselves consider the existence of cryptoterrestrials to be “unlikely” – but not impossible.

Based on all the available evidence regarding UFOs, the researchers rate the possibility of cryptoterrestrials actually existing as 10 percent. Most observers will probably see that figure as pretty generous.

The study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Philosophy and Cosmology, is currently available as a preprint.

{ https://www.iflscience.com/ }

15-06-2024 om 23:19 geschreven door peter