Dit is ons nieuw hondje Kira, een kruising van een waterhond en een Podenko. Ze is sinds 7 februari 2024 bij ons en druk bezig ons hart te veroveren. Het is een lief, aanhankelijk hondje, dat zich op een week snel aan ons heeft aangepast. Ze is heel vinnig en nieuwsgierig, een heel ander hondje dan Noleke.
This is our new dog Kira, a cross between a water dog and a Podenko. She has been with us since February 7, 2024 and is busy winning our hearts. She is a sweet, affectionate dog who quickly adapted to us within a week. She is very quick and curious, a very different dog than Noleke.
DEAR VISITOR,
MY BLOG EXISTS ALREADY 13 YEARS AND 1 MONTH.
ON 06/07/2024 MORE THAN 2.101.500
VISITORS FROM 135 DIFFERENT NATIONS ALREADY FOUND THEIR WAY TO MY BLOG.
THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF 400GUESTS PER DAY.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HOPE YOU ENJOY EACH TIME.
The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
09-07-2024
Intelligence Agents Investigate UFOs in Roswell (7 JUL 1947)
Intelligence Agents Investigate UFOs in Roswell (7 JUL 1947)
Courtesy Photo | Maj. Jesse Marcel with debris at Fort Worth Army Airfield, 8 July 1947 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) see less | View Image Page
INTELLIGENCE AGENTS INVESTIGATE UFOS IN ROSWELL On 7 July 1947, Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) agents Lt. Col. Sheridan W. Cavitt, M. Sgt. Lewis S. Rickett, and Army Air Force intelligence agent Maj. Jesse A. Marcel investigated reports of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) that crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
The “Roswell Incident” occurred during the 1947 Flying Disc Craze, in which sixteen or more alleged sightings of UFOs were reported in the U.S. between May and July, many in the American Southwest. On 7 July 1947, a rancher named William “Mac” Brazel reported he had recovered “one of them flying saucers” on his ranch near Roswell. The investigation was turned over to Roswell Army Airfield, which assigned the case to Major Marcel.
During World War II, Jesse Marcel had attended the U.S. Army Air Force Intelligence School at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he trained as a combat photo interpreter. He graduated in late 1942 and became an instructor until deploying with the 5th Bomber Command to the Southwest Pacific. After the war, Marcel was assigned to the 509th Composite Group, 313th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Roswell Army Airfield (Walker Air Force Base since 1948) and deployed during Operation CROSSROADS, the U.S. nuclear weapons tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946. The unit was redesignated the 509th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, in July 1946 and attached to the Strategic Air Command at Roswell.
For the investigation, Major Marcel was joined by Colonel Cavitt, commander of the 700th Air CIC Detachment’s Roswell office, and Sergeant Rickett from Cavitt’s office. The three men traveled to Brazel’s ranch and collected numerous pieces of what Cavitt later described as bamboo sticks and a “reflective sort of material” like aluminum foil. The next day, 8 July 1947, the incident appeared in local newspapers with headlines proclaiming the Air Force had recovered the remains of a “flying disc.” The excitement was short-lived. That same day, Brig. Gen. (later Lt. Gen.) Roger Ramey, commander of the Eighth Air Force at Fort Worth Army Airfield, held a press conference announcing the discovered materials belonged to a weather balloon. The incident was quickly forgotten. The story resurfaced in 1978, when then-Lt. Col. Marcel claimed in an interview with ufologists (researchers of UFOs) that the materials were “extraterrestrial.” More witnesses came forward following publication of Marcel’s claims, and UFO enthusiasts grasped onto the story with a fervor, despite most “witnesses” providing only second- or thirdhand accounts. Even today, Marcel’s account remains the basis for conspiracists of a major military cover-up of extraterrestrial life at Roswell. Interestingly, shortly after the 1947 incident, Marcel’s personnel file noted his tendency to exaggerate. Contrary to Marcel’s remembrances, Colonel Cavitt later recalled, “I don’t think I even made a report to [700th CIC Headquarters], which I normally would if there was anything at all unusual.”
In 1994, an official U.S. Air Force investigation revealed the shredded remains of a UFO discovered in Roswell in July 1947 belonged to a prototype balloon for then-classified Project MOGUL. The project sought to “develop a technique capable of recording the sound of a nuclear detonation within the Soviet Union,” by placing “acoustic sensors (i.e. quasi-microphones) on balloons that operated at a steady state within the stratosphere.” In the summer of 1947, tests of these balloons were occurring at Alamogordo Army Airfield (Holloman Air Force Base since 1948), New Mexico, during which several balloons were lost. Project engineer Professor Charles B. Moore confirmed in 1994 that witness descriptions and photographs of the recovered Roswell UFO were consistent with the materials used in some of these balloons. MOGUL researchers reportedly used radio broadcasts of UFO sightings during the 1947 Flying Disc Craze to locate their lost balloons.
New issues of This Week in MI History are published each week. To report story errors, ask questions, or be added to our distribution list, please contact: TR-ICoE-Command-Historian@army.mil.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:ALIEN LIFE, UFO- CRASHES, ABDUCTIONS, MEN IN BLACK, ed ( FR. , NL; E )
Giant UFO with pulsating green lights filmed flying over Iran sparks TikTok frenzy
The giant green UFO reportedly flew through the night skies in Tehran, Iran
(Image: jakestaxxx/TikTok)
By Danny Gutmann
A gigantic UFO beaming from the bottom with pulsating green lights has been caught on camera in Iran.
And the apparent spaceship has sparked debate among viewers after footage showing it hovering ominously was shared on TikTok.
The craft, which appears to be flying quite low at certain junctures, looked to have four circular rows of bright pulsating green lights with one solid dot in the middle of its underside.
Zipping through the skies over the capital Tehran, it's picked up on camera by several people. Its speed and altitude appear to change as it continues its journey.
The clip was posted on the social media platform on May 30 by TikTok user @jakestaxxx. It has received more than half a million views, viewers divided on what it is exactly.
One TikTok user believes the images were made using CGI
( Image: jakestaxxx/TikTok)
One user, who claimed to have witnessed a UFO previously, seemed to take the TikTok post at face value, writing: "That's so cool, I've witnessed a real UFO close up but it was so fast coming down and it stopped only to do four circles around in the sky so fast then flew over us like that, awesome to witness."
But, for all those who were willing to believe it was in fact other worldly, there were others who disagreed, with some suggesting digital wizardry had been used.
One, though, was clear, saying: "Aliens just don't show up like that, there's galactic rules. If this was real it would have caused public unrest. I don't see any public unrest."
'Cigar-shaped UFO with red pulsating glow' in seaside town prompts BBC probe 47 years on
A number of sightings of UFO's were reported in south Wales at that time
(Image: Getty Images)
'Cigar-shaped UFO with red pulsating glow' in seaside town prompts BBC probe 47 years on
The BBC go back to the 1970's to try and get to the bottom of the sudden surge of UFO sightins in a small seaside Welsh town that left locals confused and scared
By Danny Gutmann
On a typically rainy February morning in a Brit seaside town more than four decades ago, a group of school boys saw something from the playground that they couldn't quite believe.
And now, 47 years after the baffling event in 1977, the BBC has investigated the reported UFO sighting in Broad Haven, Wales, as part of its new Paranormal series.
In the series, Sian Eleri travels to the town to try to uncover the truth behind what has become one of the most notorious UFO sightings ever in the UK.
David Davies was one of the boys who saw the 'craft', and he can still remember it clearly.
After hearing from other students in the school talking about seeing a UFO outside, he went to investigate for himself and to 'prove them wrong' – but he saw the same thing, a bus sized 'silver, cigar-shaped object' with a 'red pulsating glow' on top.
What was even more staggering was that the children were asked to draw a picture of what they had seen. And, spookily, they all depicted the same other worldly spaceship.
Children at the Broad Haven Primary School hold aloft their drawings of the UFO
( Image: BBC/Twenty Twenty Productions Ltd)
But, that's not all – during the four-part series, Sian goes on to uncover various other peculiar sightings in Wales.
Just two months later Rosa Granville, who owned the Haven Fort Hotel, described seeing a UFO, but this time there was something even more troubling about what had been captured.
Speaking to the BBC on the 40th anniversary in 2017, Rosa said 'faceless humanoid' creatures appeared from a 'upside-down saucer'.
Sian Eleri investigates the surge in UFO sightings in South Wales during the late 1970s
She said: "There was light coming from it and flames of all colours. Then (the creatures) came out of these flames, that's what I don't understand,".
Sian explores many different reasons for such a huge number of reported UFO sightings in the area, including the theory that the objects could have been RAF aircraft.
The RAF Museum states that between 1970 and 1990 there were five airfields in south Wales, which does support the possibility that the UFOs were in fact regular aircraft being used by the military.
NASA astronaut who saw 'beer can-shaped UFO' fly past craft solved mystery years later
Jim McDivitt was sure he had spotted a UFO during NASA's Gemini 4 mission
(Image: Getty Images)
NASA astronaut who saw 'beer can-shaped UFO' fly past craft solved mystery years later
The world watched on in anticipation as NASA sent astronauts to walk in space for the first time, but one of those on board spotted something that he just couldn't take his eyes off
By Danny Gutmann
On what was set to be remembered for being the very first space walk, an unusual sighting by astronaut Jim McDivitt means it will always be remembered for something very different.
Flying through the eerily black sky in June 1965 aboard NASA'sGemini 4 mission, astronaut Jim claimed he saw a mysterious 'beer can' like UFO flying past him.
So much so, even 10 years later he still couldn't let go of what he saw on that day.
Speaking to US television all those years later, he said: "At the time I saw it, I said there was something out in front of me or outside the spacecraft that I couldn't identify and I never have been able to identify it, and I don't think anybody ever will.
Jim paid close attention to the suspected UFO, noting it's every movement
(Image: NASA)
"We were in drifting flight and my partner, Ed White, was asleep. I couldn't see anything out in front of me except just the black sky.
"And it was rotating around, I noticed something out in front that was a white cylindrical shape with a white pole sticking it out of one corner of it - it looked like a beer can with a smooth pencil sticking out. I grabbed two cameras and took pictures of it.
"As the sun shone on the window, I could no longer see out and the thing just disappeared.
"They checked NORAD records to see what they had up on radar and there wasn't anything within very close range of us."
Jim's partner on board, Ed White was asleep at the time of the sighting
(Image: Getty Images)
But, unlike many UFO sightings that are told from anecdotal evidence alone, Jim had been careful to photograph what he had seen.
But, as the public eagerly awaited the release of the photos, they were ultimately underwhelming and became known as the 'tadpoles' thanks to their blurry complexion.
Jim said: "I've seen the photos that were released. I went back and went through each frame of all of the pictures that we took and there wasn't anything in there like what I had seen."
After further inspection and analysis, any hope that Jim had become one of the rare few to have spotted alien life were quashed completely after another explanation came to light.
Speaking in 1999 he said: "And really what it was, was a reflection of the bolts in the windows.
"The windows were made up of about three or four or five panes of glass, so that if one got broken we still had some pressure integrity.
"And these little things, when the Sun shined on them right, they’d multiply the images off the different panes. And I’m quite sure that that’s what this thing was."
AI Focuses Photo of Jupiter moon Amalthea, Looks Like Deathstar, UFO Sighting News. 4K video.
AI Focuses Photo of Jupiter moon Amalthea, Looks Like Deathstar, UFO Sighting News. 4K video.
Please hit subscribe friends. Guys I found this years ago and I used my original photo, the NASA link is going 404 error and was moved or deleted. However here is a similar photo of two different moons taken by Voyager 1 probe so maybe you can help me by finding this original photo on the NASA site if it still exists. This moon is a an alien space-station, thats why NASA took it down. Jupiter has 95 moons and some are artificially made. 100% proof that aliens exist in our solar system.
Massive Triangular UFO Over Puerto Rico: Eyewitness Accounts & Stunning Photos
Massive Triangular UFO Over Puerto Rico: Eyewitness Accounts & Stunning Photos
On May 15, 2005, a remarkable UFO sighting over Carolina, Puerto Rico, captured the attention of both locals and the broader UFO research community. Witnesses reported seeing an immense triangular object in the sky, an event that included unusual electromagnetic effects and has since sparked considerable discussion and analysis. This article delves into the details of that night, examining eyewitness accounts, photographic evidence, and the potential implications of this mysterious encounter.
The Sighting
The primary witness, Alfredo, provided a detailed account of his experience near the Los Angeles development in Carolina. Around midnight, Alfredo noticed a strange glow emanating from behind a hill, accompanied by the unsettling sounds of dogs barking and birds singing. When he stepped out of his van to investigate, he saw an enormous triangular object silently passing overhead.
Description of the UFO
Alfredo described the UFO as being as large as one or two ballparks. It moved very slowly and emitted a bright white light from its center, with no observable lights on its edges. Despite its size and proximity, the object made no noise, a characteristic often reported in other UFO sightings. The intense light from the UFO also emitted heat, which Alfredo could feel as it passed over him.
Electromagnetic Interference
One of the most striking aspects of the sighting was the electromagnetic interference caused by the UFO. As it passed over Alfredo’s van, the vehicle’s engine and lights abruptly failed, as did nearby streetlights. Despite this, Alfredo’s camera phone remained functional, allowing him to capture photographs of the object. This selective failure of electronic devices raises intriguing questions about the nature of the UFO’s electromagnetic effects.
Photographic Evidence
Alfredo managed to photograph the UFO by adjusting his camera phone’s light settings to compensate for the brightness. The images, taken in 2005, provide compelling visual evidence of the sighting, capturing the immense triangular shape and central light source. These photos have since been analyzed and remain a critical piece of evidence in this case.
Physical and Health Effects
Following the sighting, Alfredo’s van developed unusual red and mud-colored spots on its paint, which he was unable to remove. This type of physical effect on vehicles has been reported in other UFO cases, suggesting a potential interaction between the UFO and the vehicle’s surface. Additionally, Alfredo experienced health issues two weeks after the sighting, becoming bedridden with symptoms similar to a severe cold. Despite medical tests showing normal results, Alfredo felt watched and experienced disturbed sleep, adding a psychological dimension to his experience.
Wider Witness Testimony
Although Alfredo was the primary witness, other individuals, including administrative personnel at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, also observed the UFO. The sighting’s proximity to the airport raises the possibility that more people saw the object, especially given its size and the effects on local streetlights.
Analysis and Implications
The sighting in Puerto Rico shares common elements with other UFO encounters, including the silent, slow movement of the object, its immense size, and the electromagnetic interference it caused. The physical and health effects reported by Alfredo add another layer of complexity to the case. The selective failure of electronics, while the camera phone remained operational, is particularly intriguing and warrants further investigation.
VIDEO:
Chris Lehto – Massive Triangular UFO Over City: Eyewitnesses & Photographic Proof!
The May 15, 2005, UFO sighting over Carolina, Puerto Rico, remains a significant case in the study of unidentified aerial phenomena. The combination of eyewitness testimony, photographic evidence, and reported physical and health effects provides a rich source of data for researchers. As more witnesses come forward and additional analysis is conducted, this case continues to contribute valuable insights into the nature of UFOs and their potential impact on both technology and human health.
Enormous Crater 3x the Size of the Grand Canyon Discovered in U.S. There are various craters that have been discovered around the United States, thanks to giant asteroids and meteors from outer space crashing into Earth millions of years ago.
These craters can come in all shapes and sizes. Often, average Americans don’t even realize some of these enormous craters even exist — and can be found in their local areas. In fact, the largest crater ever discovered in the U.S. is about three times larger than the Grand Canyon.
What Are Impact Craters? Impact craters occur on the Earth’s surface after large space rocks, such as meteors or asteroids, hit the planet forcefully, leaving behind a changed landscape.
These so-called impact events occur over millions of years. As there can be different types of sizes of these space rocks, the types of craters they leave behind can vary.
Discovering Craters While you may think that it’s easy to spot a crater — after all, they can often appear to be giant holes in the ground — scientists have long explained that discovering craters can be quite difficult.
Scientists conduct many tests to fully understand if an impression on the Earth is from a meteor or asteroid — or if it’s from something else.
Uncovering Hidden Impact Craters There are many crater sites around the world that likely haven’t been discovered yet, as weathering and erosion can keep these sites from view.
In some cases, scientists have even stumbled upon impact craters without even realizing it, only learning the truth after some studies have been conducted on the region.
Understanding the Planet’s Age There are a variety of reasons why studying impact crater sites is so important. Scientists explain that these craters can help us better understand how old a planet is.
For example, Earth is a relatively newer planet than the Moon and Mercury, which have many noticeable craters. The Moon even has about 9,137 craters on its surface that scientists have recognized. More could be found in the future.
The Largest Crater Sites in the U.S. The largest crater site in the country can be found in none other than the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Crater was first discovered in the 1990s by C. Wylie Poag, quite by accident.
Poag was in the region for an offshore drilling project when this stunning discovery was made. The crater site was hidden beneath the Chesapeake Bay’s floor for centuries before Poag finally realized the truth of the Bay.
Larger Than the Grand Canyon Scientists have deemed the Chesapeake Bay Crater to be the most significant impact crater throughout the entire United States, as it’s enormous.
This crater site has a diameter of 53 miles. This makes it larger than the Grand Canyon, which has a widest point of about 18 miles.
How This Crater Site Formed According to scientists, this crater likely formed about 35 million years ago when a bolide — a very large crater-forming body — crashed into what is now known as Virginia’s Hampton Beach.
This 3 km long bolide traveled at 144,000 miles per hour before colliding with the planet, leaving a 1.3 km deep impact crater behind.
A Changed Region This collision left behind a completely different region, as scientists believe that the crater impact excavated coastal aquifers.
In our present day, a large reservoir filled with water 1.5 times saltier than seawater lies in the impact spot. Because this water is incredibly salty, it cannot be used for many purposes, such as for drinking water.
Changing the Rivers This crater also changed how the rivers flow in the area. For example, rivers like the Rappahannock flow to the Atlantic in a southeast direction.
Researchers believe that, after this collision, the York and James rivers changed their flow to head northeast to the crater.
Mars Express captured this view of the flank of an enormous volcano, shaped by millions of years of fire and ice.
Images of the Martian landscape often seem to show a dead planet, no longer teeming with life (if it ever was) and no longer animated by plate tectonics. But this one reveals what was once a landscape in constant motion — sometimes sudden and violent, sometimes slow and inexorable. The northwest flank of the giant Martian volcano Arsia Mons bears the remnants of ancient lava flows, the tracks of long-vanished glaciers, and a long, deep scar left by magma straining to escape the confines of its chamber beneath the mountain.
This image shows the northwestern slope of Arsia Mons. North is on the right-hand side of the image, for reasons known only to the European Space Agency. The huge crack in the surface is Aganippe Fossa, a crack formed when the ground stretched under pressure from upwelling magma millions of years ago.
WELCOME TO ARSIA MONS
The Martian volcano Arsia Mons looms nearly 6 miles above the surrounding landscape, but its peak lies off-camera in this image from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Orbiter. Instead, the image focuses on the volcano’s northwestern flank, which rises from the plain in a wide slope up toward the southeast (the lower left corner of the image).
To the southwest (the upper left of the image), the terrain is rough, with clusters of strangely-shaped mounds split by networks of valleys. As you move north, though, that rough terrain smooths out, giving way to a wide swath of gentle slopes and lobe-like cliffs. Ancient glaciers probably carved this terrain and wore it smooth — and left behind rocky debris in their wake. Farther east lie the remains of ancient, long-cooled lava flows, partially covered in zebra stripes of windblown sand and dust.
Off-screen to the lower left is the peak of Arsia Mons, home to a wide caldera. North is still on the right.
And curving northeast across the mountain’s lower slope is a 375-mile-long scar in the Martian ground known as Aganippe Fossa. This steep-walled trench is what geologists call a graben: an area where a planet’s crust is being stretched, creating cracks called faults. When the rock between the faults drops downward and creates the floor of a rift valley like Aganippe Fossa, it’s called a graben; the higher rocks on either side of the rift are called horsts.
Planetary scientists at ESA say Aganippe Fossa probably formed because a huge mass of magma beneath the feet of Arsia Mons was welling upward, stretching the planet’s rocky crust to its breaking point.
Aganippe Fossa is just part of a fascinating landscape once shaped by flowing lava and ice. Around Arsia Mons, satellite images show that the ceilings of some lava tubes (underground tunnels once filled with flowing magma) have collapsed inward, leaving these volcanic caves open to the Martian sky. And during the Martian autumn, an icy cloud wraps the top of Arsia Mons in a glittering shroud of ice droplets which can stretch hundreds of miles across the sky.
Archeologists Believe They've Located the Remains of Noah's Ark The story of Noah’s Ark is perhaps one of the most universally known Bible tales. The biblical patriarch used his enormous eponymous vessel to allow his family and a menagerie of animals to survive a great flood and repopulate the earth in its aftermath.
Researchers examining a peculiar geological formation in modern Turkey believe they may have in fact found the remains of Noah’s Ark, which would shine a whole new light on our understanding of the ancient world.
Biblical Flood The story of Noah’s Ark is one of the more memorable tales from the Bible. Ahead of a great flood, God chooses a man and instructs him to build an enormous boat and populate it with two of every animal, alongside his family.
The story goes that God observed man’s corruption, violence and weakness. Abhorred by the actions of his creation, God looked to wipe the slate clean with a cleansing flood and restore man’s goodness.
Hunt for the Ark The story is known all around the world. Many view it, along with other stories in the bible, as simple metaphor and myth, perhaps inspired by some natural calamity like a devastating flood of some kind.
Others believe the event occurred exactly as described in the Bible, and finding the remains of the Ark would prove their stance correct. Scholars, archaeologists and even amateur adventurers have tried, and failed, to locate the Ark over the years.
The Ark’s Location The Bible states that the Ark arrived on Turkey’s “mountains of Ararat” after the 150-day flood sent by God. Since 2021, archaeologists have been working at a geological formation in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı in eastern Turkey, which aligns well with the description in the Bible.
The Durofeiner formation looks, from above, to have a boat-like outline. Some suggest this could in fact be the fossilized remains of the Ark.
Noah’s Ark Research Team Many have believed Mount Ararat to be the Ark’s final resting place for some time now. Recent work at the Durofeiner site has been carried out by a collaboration between Turkish and American universities, the “Mount Ararat and Noah’s Ark Research Team.”
Researchers have taken samples from the rock formation, and tests revealed seafood, clay and marine materials. Some claim this as evidence of human activity in the region.
Age of the Site The 500-foot-high rock formation sits just 3 miles from the Turkey/Iran border. It’s composed primarily of limonite.
Researchers have determined that test samples from the site are around 3,500 to 5,000 years old. Biblical archaeologists and scholars put the time of the 150-day flood from the Noah’s Ark tale at around 3,000 BC, meaning the samples align well with this time frame.
Human Activity in the Region at the Time of the Flood Dr. Faruk Kaya of the Agri Ibrahim Chechen University claims the data gathered from the samples is proof of human activity in the area during the period following the biblical flood.
In her words: “According to the preliminary findings of our research, we believe that human activity occurred in this region during the Chalcolithic period (Stone and Copper Age), specifically between 5,500 and 3,000 BC.”
Too Early to Draw Conclusions Dr. Kaya was careful to stress that while these findings are promising for Ark hunters, they are far from conclusive, and it’s too early to tell whether they could lead to the discovery of Noah’s Ark.
In the same study, Dr. Kaya says: “Noah’s flood is believed to have taken place 5,000 years ago, and our findings indicate the presence of life in this region during that time. However, it is too early to draw definitive conclusions.”
Dispute of the Findings Not everyone supports the suppositions of the Mount Ararat team, and many geologists in particular have pushed back against their claims. Far from being evidence of human activity, they believe the formation at the Durofeiner site is simply ancient rocks.
It would take something far more substantial than the current findings to convince many in the geological community that researchers have found the fossilized remains of Noah’s Ark.
Flood Myths and Actual History Many ancient cultures share narratives of massive, cataclysmic floods. They likely represent a shared symbolic representation in mythical narratives of survival, rebirth and intervention of the divine.
These stories may indicate how ancient cultures responded to natural disasters. If we examine flood myths alongside geological evidence, we can start to get an idea of what actually happened and what is mythical embellishment.
Future Research Through multidisciplinary research of things like the Durofeiner site by archaeologists, Bible scholars and geologists working in tandem, we may be able to start to recontextualize the myth of Noah’s Ark into an established, historical narrative.
Researchers are far from done with the Durofeiner site and are planning excavations to conduct detailed analysis and hopefully uncover new artifacts. They hope to get greater insight into the history of the region, particularly ancient civilizations in the area, and hopefully firmly establish the existence of Noah’s Ark.
Transparency Is Key in Future Research Whatever the findings at the Durofeiner site ultimately mean, future research is probably warranted. It will be crucial to keep this research transparent, though, so that it’s properly framed.
Things can sometimes get contentious when science meets faith. Having a multidisciplinary team can help to give findings proper context without a skewed narrative one way or the other. If findings don’t completely support the myth of the great flood and Noah’s Ark, there is still meaningful significance to finding proof of human activity in an area of biblical importance.
Missie die leven op Mars simuleerde na meer dan jaar beëindigd
Een experiment waarbij vier vrijwilligers het leven op Mars hebben gesimuleerd, is na iets meer dan een jaar afgerond. De vier deelnemers hebben de simulator Mars Dune Alpha kunnen verlaten, zo heeft het Amerikaanse ruimtevaartagentschap Nasa zaterdag meegedeeld.
De eerste missie van het zogeheten Chapea-programma werd in juni vorig jaar opgestart. Dat programma moet het mogelijk maken om een toekomstige missie naar de rode planeet beter voor te bereiden.
In this image made from video provided by NASA, the crew members of the first CHAPEA mission, Kelly Haston, center, shakes hands with NASA Deputy Director Flight Missions Kjell Lindgren, second right, as other crew Ross Brockwell, emerges from their craft, July 6, 2024, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
NASA via AP
De vier deelnemers, twee mannen en twee vrouwen, hebben exact 378 dagen doorgebracht in de Mars Dune Alpha. Dat is een huis van 160 vierkante meter dat het leven op Mars moet nabootsen. De simulator staat opgesteld in het onderzoekscentrum van Nasa in Houston, in de Amerikaanse staat Texas.
De Mars Dune Alpha had onder meer een verticale boerderij om sla te laten groeien, een kamer voorbehouden voor medische procedures, een ontspanningsruimte en werkposten. Via een sas kwamen de bewoners terecht in een Marsachtge omgeving. Op het rode zand bevonden zich een weerstation, een toestel om bakstenen te maken, een kleine serre en een loopband, waarop de valse astronauten, opgehangen aan riemen, konden lopen. Het huis was gemaakt met een 3D-printer.
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Each mission will consist of four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat.
Bill Stafford/NASA
De deelnemers mochten de simulator niet verlaten. Ze konden met vrienden en familie communiceren, maar dat gebeurde dan wel in ‘Mars-tijd’. Het versturen van een kort tekstbericht naar de buitenwereld duurde daardoor meestal 22 minuten.
De prestaties en cognitieve capaciteiten van de deelnemers werden tijdens het experiment nauwlettend in het oog gehouden. Dat moest het mogelijk maken om “belangrijke dingen te leren over complexe systemen en het zal de reis naar Mars en terug veel veiliger maken”, zegt Julie Kramer van Nasa.
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Each mission will consist of four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat.
Bill Stafford/NASA
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Each mission will consist of four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat.
Bill Stafford/NASA
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Each mission will consist of four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat.
Bill Stafford/NASA
Ross Brockwell, een van de vier vrijwilligers, omschrijft zijn deelname aan het experiment als een geweldige ervaring. “Ik hoop echt dat we hierdoor een beetje dichter bij de realiteit van mensen op Mars kunnen komen.”
Nasa wil in 2025 en 2027 nieuwe Chapea-missies uitvoeren.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:HLN.be - Het Laatste Nieuws ( NL)
08-07-2024
UFOs target nuclear warheads and planes for alarming reason, experts warn
UFOs target nuclear warheads and planes for alarming reason, experts warn
Boffins have come up with a theory as to why UFOs are regularly seen near high-speed planes and nuclear warheads - and why they might be becoming more intrusive at US bases
The unconfirmed UFO appearance near Concorde - which has resurfaced on Reddit's UFOs subchannel, appears in a 1976 British Airways advert where an orb-like UFO can be seen darting toward the aircraft in an inquisitive way before accelerating away.
After the Fukushima lab disaster in Japan, witnesses told Netflix docuseries Encounters that UFOs saved them by lowering radioactivity levels.
Several glimmering white orbs could be seen above the plant after the nuclear disaster in 2011, and appeared to drop into the lab before emerging again.
Planes could also be a target of aliens(Image: Getty Images)
At the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the monarch was honoured with a presentation by nine fighter jets letting off streams of smoke in the Union Jack's red, white and blue colours.
Reddit users were quick to point out that an unidentified disc could be seen near the jets - but no clear answer has ever been given to explain what it was.
There have also been reports of UFOs being seen after rocket test-fires.
New research from retired US Air Force staff sergeant Larry Hancock, and Ian Porritt, a data analyst affiliated with Harvard's UFO-hunting Galileo Project, shows the unusual activity around nuclear weapons and facilities has shifted over the years.
A UFO can be seen in a British Airways advert for Concorde in the 70s(Image: Getty Images)
The studies suggest that at first the UFOs seemed interested in the production of nuclear weapons, but now pop up around silos and bomber bases.
When a new arsenal of ICMBs was built in the 1960s, UFOs became “much more intrusive” in their approach of ICBM bases, Porritt previously said, adding: “They're very low altitude, they penetrate the security perimeters of the base.”
There is also a theory that UFOs are actually “turning off” nuclear weapons - with several reports of this happening by the US military since the 60s.
There is a theory that UFOs are 'turning off' nuclear weapons(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
In the pair’s latest study, the research concludes: “Notable unidentified aerial phenomena loitering, military intrusions and weapons facility interference were documented in a series of incidents in 1967 (Malmstrom AFB) and 1975 (Loring AFB and Malstrom AFB), where at least one flight of 10 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) was officially recorded as having unexplainably gone off alert status.”
The study discusses how former US Air Force ICBM launch officer Robert Salas said he was asked by the AARO to gather information after he said an orange flying disc shut off 10 warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 1967.
Fukushima disaster witnesses told a Netflix docuseries that UFOs saved them by lowering radioactivity levels(Image: Zuma Press/PA Images)
He was later forced to sign an NDA on the matter by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Mr Salas is not the only one to have made such a claim. In 2000, US Air Force First lieutenant Robert Jacobs also said he witnessed this in 1964, but was told not to speak about the alleged encounter again.
And in June 2023, two Air Force veterans told DailyMail.com they had testified to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) that UFOs turned off their nuclear warheads.
The former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, Lue Elizondo, has previously said there “seems to be a lot of correlation” between UFO appearances and nuclear sites.
And independent researcher Robert Hastings said in 2010: “Declassified US government documents and witness testimony from former or retired US military personnel confirm beyond any doubt the reality of ongoing UFO incursions at nuclear weapons sites.'”
Als we een computer beschouwen als een mechanische rekenmachine, dan is de oudste tot nu toe gevonden computer het Mechanisme van Antikythera. Dit oude technologische wonder dateert van meer dan 2000 jaar geleden en is al lange tijd een mysterie dat moet worden opgelost. Terwijl sommige onderzoeken het in verband brachten met de Egyptische zonnekalender, heeft een recente studie aangetoond dat het mechanisme de Griekse maankalender volgt, en dat niet alleen. Aan de basis van de nieuwe ontdekking liggen in feite zwaartekrachtgolven: laten we eens kijken hoe dit mogelijk is!
Het Mechanisme van Antikythera
Als je hem vandaag de dag ziet, in zijn 82 fragmenten die zijn ondergebracht in het Nationaal Archeologisch Museum in Athene, in Griekenland, lijkt hij niet meer dan een vrijwel verwoeste vondst. In werkelijkheid wordt het Mechanisme van Antikythera beschouwd als 's werelds oudste computer, een machine die de astronomische bewegingen van de maan, zonsverduisteringen en de positie van de zon kon voorspellen, evenals die van de vijf destijds bekende planeten.
Het was in feite een geavanceerd astronomisch instrument, gebouwd tussen de derde en eerste eeuw voor Christus en samengesteld uit een complex systeem van tandwielen en tandraderen. In de loop der jaren hebben verschillende studies het Mechanisme van Antikythera diepgaander geanalyseerd en de interne tandwielen en gemechaniseerde werking van de structuur onthuld. Kortom, 's werelds oudste computer werd ontworpen om Babylonische astronomische cycli, Platonische wiskunde en Griekse astronomische theorieën te combineren. Het doel: de beweging van hemellichamen voorspellen op basis van de Egyptische zonnekalender. Of misschien niet?
Mechanisme van Antikythera en zwaartekrachtgolven: de nieuwe studie
Freeth et al./Scientific Reports - 2021
Een recent onderzoek door onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Glasgow heeft de heersende interpretatie over het gebruik van de Antikythera in twijfel getrokken. Met behulp van geavanceerde methoden die zijn ontwikkeld op het gebied van onderzoek naar zwaartekrachtgolven was het feitelijk mogelijk om te onthullen dat de component die verantwoordelijk was voor de kalender 354 of 355 gaten had, één voor elke dag van het jaar. Dus geen 365, zoals in de Egyptische zonnekalender, maar 354 of 355, zoals in de Griekse maankalender. Dit zijn de woorden van Graham Woan, een van de auteurs van het onderzoek:
De precisie van de plaatsing van de gaten zou extreem nauwkeurige meettechnieken en een ongelooflijk vaste hand vereisen om ze te maken. Het is een prachtige symmetrie dat we de technieken die we vandaag de dag gebruiken om het universum te bestuderen, hebben aangepast om een mechanisme beter te begrijpen dat mensen bijna twee millennia geleden hielp de hemel te volgen.
De oudste computer ter wereld, van meer dan 2000 jaar geleden tot nu
Marsyas/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0
De technieken die zijn ontwikkeld op het gebied van onderzoek naar zwaartekrachtgolven zijn, zoals we hebben gezien, gebruikt om het mysterie van het Mechanisme van Antikythera te ontrafelen. Wat echter opvalt is, afgezien van de feitelijke kalender die dit instrument meer dan 2000 jaar geleden moest meten, de realisatie ervan. Want om de 354 of 355 gaten te maken en de Griekse maankalender te meten was een vaardigheid nodig die de komende duizend jaar niet meer zou worden gezien. Voor een even nauwkeurige astronomische klok had men moeten wachten op het Astrarium van Giovanni Dondi, dat rond 1300 werd gebouwd.
Kortom, het Mechanisme van Antikythera blijft een buitengewone getuigenis van het vernuft van het oude Griekenland en het vermogen om kunst, wetenschap en vakmanschap te combineren in een uniek artefact. Wat voor velen de oudste computer ooit gevonden is, is daarom veel meer: het bewijs van een wereld die inmiddels ruim 2000 jaar verdwenen is, maar vandaag de dag levendiger is dan ooit.
Unlocking the Roswell Mystery: Science’s Next Frontier
Unlocking the Roswell Mystery: Science’s Next Frontier
The mystery surrounding the 1947 Roswell incidentcontinues to captivate the imagination of UFO enthusiasts and researchers alike. Nick Pope, a former investigator of UFO sightings for the British government, asserts that modern forensic technology should be utilized to revisit the site near Roswell, New Mexico. His stance is that the location, which the military initially claimed to have recovered a flying disc from before retracting the statement a day later, still holds significant scientific potential.
The Epicenter of UFO Mysteries
Nick Pope describes Roswell as the ground zero of modern UFO mysteries. Contrary to the common belief that the media or public first broke the story, it was actually the U.S. military that announced the recovery of a “flying disc.” This statement was quickly retracted and replaced with an explanation involving a weather balloon. Despite the retraction, the incident’s enduring power is evident as people continue to discuss and speculate about it nearly eight decades later.
The Call for Forensic Investigation
Pope advocates for the application of contemporary forensic methods to investigate the Roswell site thoroughly. He suggests that technologies like DNA analysis and other modern forensic tools could uncover new evidence about what truly happened in 1947. According to Pope, this isn’t just about anecdotal accounts of lights in the sky; there were credible reports of something crashing, which means there could be physical evidence to analyze. Conducting a forensic investigation could potentially yield new insights and perhaps even debris from the crash site.
Contemporary Theories on Extraterrestrial Presence
In addition to discussing Roswell, Pope also comments on a recent research paper exploring the hypothesis that aliens may already be present on Earth. This 42-page paper, authored by three researchers including two from Harvard University, proposes that these beings could be living underground or might even be time travelers. While the paper does not present these ideas as facts, it encourages the scientific community to consider them seriously and investigate rigorously.
The Shift in Scientific Discourse
Pope finds it refreshing that the scientific community is now more open to discussing unconventional theories about extraterrestrial life. He notes that a few years ago, such discussions would have been inconceivable. Now, with public hearings in Congress and academic papers on the subject, there is a growing willingness to ask “what if” questions. This shift represents a significant vindication for those who have long been marginalized for entertaining these ideas.
Military Sightings and Compelling Evidence
Reflecting on his time investigating UFO phenomena for the British government, Pope points to sightings by military pilots as some of the most compelling evidence. These sightings are often corroborated by radar data, infrared camera footage, and sometimes satellite data. Although much of this information remains classified, Pope is hopeful that more of it will be declassified and made available to the public in the near future.
The Public’s Right to Know
One of the central issues Pope addresses is the balance between national security and the public’s right to information. While there are valid concerns about causing public panic or giving adversaries an advantage, Pope believes that ultimately, people have the right to know the truth. He advocates for greater transparency and hopes that more classified information will be released to the public.
VIDEO:
UFO expert: ‘There is science to be done in Roswell’ | NewsNation Prime
Nick Pope’s insights highlight the enduring intrigue of the Roswell incident and the potential for modern science to shed new light on this historical mystery. His call for a renewed forensic investigation into the Roswell site underscores the importance of utilizing contemporary technology to explore unexplained phenomena. As scientific discourse evolves to include more open-minded investigations into extraterrestrial theories, the possibility of uncovering new truths about UFOs becomes ever more exciting.
To be honest, we’re tired of waiting. Where are they? Where on Earth are all the aliens?
Well, not on Earth, or anywhere near, that’s very much the point.
At a conservative estimate, there are 200 billion galaxies in the universe. Let’s say there are 100 billion stars in each. Even if only 1% of those stars had a single planet orbiting around them, that’s still 200 quintillion possible new Earths.
Then let’s assume a planet has a one in a trillion chance of having the magic combination of water, temperature and chemicals for that magic spark to happen.
That still means there should be life on a few hundred thousand planets.
Surely one of those should have said hello by now?
Of course, not all of those will be home to intelligent life. We don’t know what they’ll be home to. Microbes. Crustaceans. Alien birds that fly using their ears, Dumbo-style. Jellyfish that look like VHS tapes. Space dinosaurs.
But among all those planets, around all those stars, in all those galaxies, there absolutely has to be some other form of intelligent life.
1. The Drake equation
The outrageously basic maths above is a very simplified version of the Drake equation – the second-most famous formula in science after E=MC2.
Proposed by radio astronomer Frank Drake in 1961, it calculates the likelihood of intelligent, communicating civilisations based on the a range of factors, including number of planets, chances of life arising, and how likely that life is to be advanced.
It looks like this:
N = R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
So you can see why we did our own.
It isn’t a new conundrum. In fact, it has long had a name – the Fermi paradox.
Apparently, in 1950, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi and his colleagues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico were enjoying a lively discussion about flying saucers over lunch when he blurted out ‘Where is everybody?’.
Well, we feel the same, and decided to ask a few experts why we haven’t found anyone – or been found – yet.
Alien life and intelligent alien life are two very different things
There are, sadly, many reasons why we may not have yet discovered alien life out there.
One of these, the Great Filter theory, proposes that there are simply so many hurdles to get over for intelligent life to reach a point we could see it, it is highly improbable they will be able to clear each of them and reach the same point us, or even further.
Related video:
Why haven’t we found aliens? A physicist shares the most popular theories (Big Think)
Think about it. Very, very simply, we started as life in the ocean, crawled out, diversified, some crawled back in, huge numbers went extinct five separate times, the rest kept evolving, humans arrived, we developed societies, health care, and finally, started looking for others.
‘Just because a planet is capable of supporting life, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will form there,’ says Dr Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
‘It certainly doesn’t mean that that life will overcome the myriad barriers between simple single-celled lifeforms and intelligent life capable of communicating with other civilisations across space, or that those changes will happen in such a way that they are active at the same time as us.’
This similar hypothesis considers how hard it is even to create the right conditions for even most basic forms of life, never mind getting to the point we are now.
‘This is an idea I happen to agree with,’ says Dr Paul Byrne, associate professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St Louis. ‘That it’s perhaps not difficult for life to emerge, but it’s extremely difficult for life to be sustained.
‘For example, we know that Earth has had liquid water on its surface for virtually all of its lifetime. That’s a crazy long time for conditions on the surface to remain pretty much between 0C and 100C.
4. Maybe we're not worth bothering with?
We could be a disappointment to other civilisations
Astrophysicist Amri Wande suggested maybe there actually is loads of life out there, so advanced extraterrestrials capable of searching around the universe can take their pick – and won’t deem Earth worthy of a visit because we’re not intelligent enough ourselves.
Savage.
‘We also know that life emerged at least as far back as 3.4 billion years, and possibly longer. But we also know that it’s at least possible that Venus had oceans for a time, and so it, too, might have had truly Earth-like habitable conditions – and perhaps even life.
‘But if it did have oceans, something went wrong at some point in the past to push the planet into a runaway greenhouse, and those oceans boiled off into space. Today, Venus is sterile, at least at the surface.’
Likewise, Mars once had liquid water flowing across its surface, and both the Moon and Mercury had thick, moist atmospheres for a very short time.
‘So getting a habitable environment might not be all that difficult, and maybe so is making life from non-life – known as abiogenesis,’ says Dr Byrne.
‘But keeping things nice and amenable to life could be really, really hard. Perhaps Earth is the only place in the solar system that has successfully managed it.’
5. They’re only microscopic, and living in oceans
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, is one thing, but trying to confirm, 100%, that a planet has some microscopic wrigglies wriggling around is even more difficult.
But that doesn’t mean we’re not trying.
These gals would be pretty hard to spot from trillions of miles away (Picture: Getty)
Warwick University PhD researcher Faith Hawthorn says: ‘There is some potential precedent for this in our own solar system, as we think that some moons of Jupiter and Saturn – Europa and Enceladus in particular – have liquid water oceans underneath thick crusts of ice on their surfaces.
‘Given the right sources of energy and the water providing a medium for chemical reactions, it may be a suitable environment for microbial life to form.
‘However, this would be extremely difficult – if not impossible – to detect on exoplanets.’
Detecting the presence of non-intelligent life, in the sense that they won’t be sending out signals, is generally focused on biosignatures in the atmosphere, offering chemicals and clues to what is living within it.
This would still be unlikely in the case of, say, microscopic life at the bottom of an ocean.
An artist’s impression of the planet K2-18 b, one potential home of alien life (Picture: Nasa/CSA/ESA/J Olmsted/N Madhusudhan)
But in September last year, Nasa discovered the strongest evidence for life yet when detecting the presence of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the atmosphere of K2-18 b, an exoplanet 120 light-years away.
DMS is produced by life, primarily phytoplankton in oceans, rivers and lakes.
6. We’re missing their signals, either because of the wrong frequency or timing
This is a big one. Yes, the universe is vast, so you’d imagine there should be other life out there. But it’s also really, really old – more than 13 billion years (or double that, according to one recent study), so what are the chances of us all being around at the same time?
‘If we compress Earth’s evolutionary timeline into a 24-hour period, life emerges at 4am,’ says Dr Minjae Kim, an astrophysicist at the University of Warwick.
‘The extinction of dinosaurs occurs at 11:41pm. The history of human-like creatures, exemplified by species like Australopithecus afarensis, begins at 11:58:43pm.
‘Essentially, human-like life has existed for a mere 77 seconds in this analogy. Remarkably, the timeframe in which humans have developed technology capable of interacting with potential extraterrestrial life is significantly shorter – less than a single second. This possibly implies remarkably brief technological lifespans compared to the overall age of planetary systems.’
We’re looking… (Picture: Getty)
Dr Byrne agrees.
‘The most likely explanation in my opinion is that space is ****ing huge and time is really long,’ he says. ‘Even if a sentient species emerged on a planet close enough for us to detect their signals, a difference of only a few ten thousand years would mean we’d miss them if their civilisation only lasted for a few millennia.
We need to give it more time
We humans are famously impatient, and have only been able to properly search the vastness of space for a few decades.
And while we know for sure there aren’t Martian-built canals on the Red Planet or a man on the Moon, there is still much more to explore.
‘We’re still continuing to develop higher-resolution spectrographs and instruments,’ says Ms Hawthorn. ‘These include those on the James Webb Space Telescope that would be able to sensitively detect biomarkers in the atmospheres of planets, so the next few years could start to be a game-changer for this.’
We’re also discovering new exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system – all the time.
7. The dark forest hypothesis
This is by far the scariest reason we haven’t found aliens yet.
The basis for the theory is that aliens are out there, but they are both silent and hostile. They keep quiet working on the assumption that other civilisations will be hostile too, and they don’t want to get wiped out in a massive interstellar war.
Fun.
Dr Paul Strøm, assistant professor at the University of Warwick, adds: ‘One natural step forward is to try to estimate the number of life-bearing planets and look for good candidates of favourable life hosting environments.
‘There are several examples of how this is being done currently – looking for life on the moons of Jupiter, listening out for radio signals and looking for other planets which may have the right conditions for life to emerge to mention only a few.
‘Just 25 years ago, the idea of detecting the composition of atmospheres of planets outside of our own solar system domain was only found in [theoretical] science. Today it is a reality. We can detect the composition of these exoplanets, and even monitor their weather patterns. How exciting!’
We’re waiting… (Picture: Getty)
The big question
‘So where is everybody?’ asks Dr Byrne.
‘They’re dead, or they haven’t come to be yet, or they’re too far away.
‘This, to me, is by far the most likely explanation for the seeming contradiction between there being loads of planets and zero evidence for alien civilisations. It’s a space and time numbers game.
‘Which doesn’t make it any less depressing, mind.’
Huge Asteroid Incoming It's no secret that asteroids pass close to Earth from time to time. There are currently around 1,000 asteroids that cross Earth's orbit on a regular basis.
Range of Sizes Asteroids range in size from 329 miles across to just 33 feet. 329 miles is the distance from New York to Augusta, while 33 feet is the length of a roll of wallpaper or two giraffes stacked on top of one another.
How Much Damage Can They Do? Most rocks that hit earth's atmosphere burn up on impact, which is how we get shooting stars and meteor showers. For a rock to hit the ground, it would have to be huge to begin with because so much would be lost in the atmosphere. Even a meteor the size of a tennis court failed to make it to the ground in 2013. Although it still caused damage because it exploded in the air and released more energy than a nuclear bomb.
Depends on the Location How much damage an asteroid could do would depend on the location where it hit. If it were in an isolated place, the damage would be less significant. But if one were to explode over a city such as London or New York, the damage could be widespread even if it didn't hit the ground. There would be heat damage and blast damage to buildings and people.
Asteroid 2024 MT1 8th July The asteroid which is passing Earth on the 8th July 2024 is 260 feet long. That's as big as the Statue of Liberty. It was detected and tracked by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program which keeps an eye on anything that might be a threat.
Unlikely to do Damage 2024 MT1 is unlikely to hit Earth or cause any damage. It will pass us around 933,000 miles away which is about four times the distance from us to the moon. It is travelling at a staggering 40,600 miles per hour - hence the need for it to be monitored.
NASA's Observations Program NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program observes and tracks objects that approach the Earth from space. It uses telescopes and radar to detect objects from the ground. Although the tracking of 2024 MT1 has now passed over to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. This provides data such as the asteroid's position, speed and distance from Earth.
Ground-Based Strategies NASA has a Planetary Defense Coordination Office which works on strategies to combat any potential damage from asteroids hitting Earth. Although no impact or damage is expected from 2024 MT1, there are still strategies in place just in case. One of the possible actions could be to try and deflect the asteroid by crashing a space craft into it.
An End to Civilisation? We know that the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid. Could that happen to us? Thankfully not at any time in the next century thanks to early warning systems that can track the orbits of larger asteroids decades ahead of time. Smaller asteroids that can cause catastrophic regional damage are harder to track and these are the ones to watch out for.
Exciting for Some The close approach of 2024 MT1 isn't a scary prospect for everyone. Many astronomers and space enthusiasts are excited at the chance to catch a glimpse of the asteroid and it is hoped that much can be learnt from its composition and structure.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc America's most famous UFO case is still producing more evidence as scientists and civilians are on a mission to prove that the Roswell crash was not of this world. The 1947 incident made headlines when the U.S. Army Air Force issued a press release stating that it had recovered debris from a 'flying disc' — only later to reverse course, claiming that the material had really just belonged to a downed weather balloon.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc Geologist Frank Kimbler (pictured) is among the many experts who have challenged the military's official version of what crashed on the outskirts of this New Mexico town, where he has scoured the alleged UFO's crash site with a metal detector since 2010. Kimbler has since uncovered over 20 unusual scraps of metal material, most no bigger than a fingernail, and has now submitted one uniquely odd metal for testing to the Discovery Channel's new series 'Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction.'
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc Testing revealed that the metal was '100-percent pure aluminum,' which experts said was 'compelling evidence' that could prove aliens crashed in the area decades ago. 'I was really trying to champion truth throughout,' the new series' cohost, Chrissy Newton, told DailyMail.com, adding that she was not afraid to debunk a few celebrated UFO cases, if that's where the facts led. 'I want to prove that it's identifiable,' Newton said, 'not everyone's gonna like that.' Nevertheless, Newton found the tests on the pure aluminum mystery metal to be compelling, she said, in part because a former Pentagon UFO investigator has told her that 'pure aluminum has been connected to multiple other UFO crash sites.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc While Newton did not name her Pentagon source, she described them as 'a source formerly from AATIP,' the U.S. military's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program , which from 2007 to 2012 had been tasked (in part) with studying UFOs. Kimbler, who teaches earth sciences and geology at the New Mexico Military Institute, told Newton and her cohost that he had pulled this particular metal fragment, roughly a quarter-inch long, from an ant hill within the Roswell debris field. Testing ant hills for ant-harvested metals, the geologist noted, has been a common tactic for gold prospectors, mining geologists, and metal detector hobbyists alike.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc
The insect colonies are known for collecting sturdy and sometimes buried materials for to build their tunnel systems, according to Jim Davis of Utah's geology survey. 'Thanks to the ant's undertakings, prospectors have discovered rich lodes of gold, copper, nickel, turquoise, diamonds, and many other minerals,' Davis said. Over the years, Kimbler has been open that many of the metal fragments he's recovered from the infamous crash site might have a more earthbound explanation. 'Some of it could be trash, camper trash,' he told KRQE in 2018 after the Bureau of Land Management caught wind of his hobby, 'but some of it could be interesting.'
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc To confirm what Kimbler actually found, the new Discovery Channel series sent the metal sample for chemical testing via mass spectrometry to independent experts at the Texas-based firm Cerium Labs , which specializes is aluminum metallurgy. Dr Tom Hossain, chief scientist at Cerium Labs, reported that the aluminum metal fragment was not only unusual for its purity, but it also differed from the typical industrial-grade aluminum used in manufacturing. 'Most Al [aluminum] in use are anodized Al,' Dr Hossain said. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable and corrosion-resistant finish known as an anodic oxide. It protects the metal underneath that finish from corroding in reactions with the oxygen molecules present in both air and water. 'This is not an alloy,' Dr Hossain wrote. 'This is pure aluminum.'
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc Kimbler's find joins a growing body of eyewitness testimony, and even declassified government records, that appear to indicate that the Roswell crash included some form of exotic metal materials. More than 40 witnesses to the Roswell crash mentioned that a metal-like material from the site could 'remember itself' when folded or physically altered, according to UFO researcher Anthony Bragalia. Bragalia obtained over 150 pages from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2021 via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which he said included telling new evidence about where this 'memory metal' may have ended up.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc The records included pages that repeatedly mention 'advanced technology reports' surrounding Nitinol, described as a shape recovery alloy. Nitinol had similar properties to the 'memory metal' found near the Roswell crash site, according to Bragalia. Pages from the FOIA reply indicate that the Pentagon was exploring whether Nitinol could be integrated into the human body for the improvement of health, the researcher wrote at his blog, UFO Explorations . 'Although much of the reports' details are redacted, what can be gleaned is that these technologies represent a literal quantum leap beyond the properties of all existing material known to man,' Bragalia said. 'Based on the documentation received,' he added, 'it appears that the retrieved debris exhibits other extraordinary capabilities.' 'In addition to 'remembering' their original form when bent or crushed, some of these futuristic materials have the potential to make things invisible, 'compress' electromagnetic energy, and even slow down the speed of light,' Bragalia said.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc Today, even the lead author of the Air Force's official 1994 report, Colonel Richard Weaver, that revisited the Roswell case has come forward to caution that the military's current official explanation is by no means conclusive. 'Did we say it was 100-percent? Col. Weaver said on a 2020 podcast . 'No way. We didn't say that.' Col Weaver also alluded ominously to 'politics and a lot of manipulation going on behind the scenes' of his 1994 inquiry, but added he is still confident in his report's explanation - that a secret military spy balloon was what crashed at Roswell. Not every case to come to the hosts of Discovery's new 'Alien Encounters' reaches this level of fascinating physical evidence and documentation, however, as the show examines each submitted 'alien encounter' to the same high investigative standards.
Geologist unearths mystery metal at Roswell UFO crash site in new doc The show's premiere included two other cases: one proved to be explainable and the other appeared to remain a genuine mystery. Posting up at The Variety, a long-standing local watering hole in Roswell, New Mexico, Newton interviewed multiple self-described UFO and alien 'experiencers' on camera to more thoroughly vet their stories. Her cohost in this process, occult scholar and author Mitch Horowitz, called Kimbler an 'inspiration' for the local geologist's willingness to ask 'pure questions' and for taking a proactive approach to investigating these unexplained events. 'Along with Mitch, we both state our opinion, if we think it is a UFO or not,' Newton told DailyMail.com. 'But looking at the facts, [sometimes] there's not strong enough data to even make a conclusion.' 'Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction' premieres tWednesday, June 19 at 10PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. Soon after, the series will be streaming on Max.
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De stad Varginha werd beroemd In januari 1996 vond in de gemeente Varginha, in de Braziliaanse deelstaat Minas Gerais, een ufo-gerelateerd voorval plaats. Er zouden naar verluid buitenaardse wezens in de stad zijn geweest.
Ufologie in Varginha Het vredige stadje werd wereldberoemd door meldingen van waarnemingen van buitenaardse wezens en trok de aandacht van ufologen uit de hele wereld.
In een documentaire In 2022 kwam de zaak weer tot leven door de Amerikaanse documentaire 'Moment of Contact', geregisseerd door James Fox, met daarin getuigenissen van getuigen uit die tijd en van andere betrokkenen.
Hoe het allemaal begon De feiten begonnen bekendheid te krijgen toen sommige mensen beweerden dat ze vreemde wezens in de regio hadden gezien. In een interview vertelde één van deze getuigen alles tot in de kleinste details.
(Op de foto één van de getuigen, Valquíria Silva, 14, TV Alterosa).
Getuigenis over de buitenaardse wezens van Varginha "Het was bruin. Het hurkte, maar was kort. Ik had de indruk dat het iets heel zachts was, het zag eruit alsof het ging barsten, met een gladde huid en rode ogen. Het keek naar ons", zei Kátia Xavier in een interview met EPTV Sul de Minas, in 2006.
Andere getuigen De vermeende waarneming vond plaats op 20 januari 1996. Kátia was 22 jaar oud en werd vergezeld door twee vriendinnen, Valquíria en Liliane. Door hun getuigenissen werden er ook
Nog een getuigenis van een ufo-waarneming Op dezelfde dag beweerde het echtpaar Eurico (foto) en Oralina een object te hebben gezien dat over het terrein van hun huis vloog, met dezelfde kenmerken als die de zakenman had gemeld. Volgens hen gaf het rook af, maar maakte het geen geluid.
Verklaringen van de dierenarts van de dierentuin Volgens een verslag van G1 zei dierenarts Marcos Mina, nu directeur van de dierentuin, dat er donker slijm werd aangetroffen in de maag en darmen van de dode dieren, hoewel ze allemaal ander voedsel hadden gekregen.
De vreemde dood van een politieagent Een andere opzienbarende gebeurtenis was de dood van de militaire politieagent Marco Eli Cherese (foto) uit Varginha. Destijds werd zijn dood toegeschreven aan een virus dat zou zijn overgedragen door de vermeende buitenaardse wezens.
Wat was de echte doodsoorzaak? De toenmalige commandant van het 24e Militaire Politiebataljon van Varginha, Maurício Antonio Santos, verklaarde volgens het tijdschrift IstoÉ echter: "De doodsoorzaak was een ernstige ziekenhuisinfectie, die het gevolg was van een operatie".
En de Braziliaanse overheid? Hetzelfde tijdschrift wees erop dat de ufolologische gemeenschap destijds het idee koesterde dat het Braziliaanse leger, de militaire politie en de brandweer twee buitenaardse wezens hadden gevangen en naar ziekenhuizen in Campinas, in de staat São Paulo, hadden gebracht om daar een necropsie op hen uit te voeren.
De versie van ufologen Volgens ufologen verborgen Braziliaanse instellingen deze buitenaardse wezens, om te voorkomen dat informatie de bevolking bereikte.
De overheid ontkent betrokkenheid Bovendien ontkende de Braziliaanse overheid elke betrokkenheid bij de gebeurtenissen en de officiële versie is dat er geen bewijs is voor buitenaards leven.
De resultaten van het onderzoek van de militaire politie Volgens luitenant-kolonel Lúcio Carlos Pereira, hoofd van de militaire politie, was wat Kátia Xavier en haar vrienden zagen in werkelijkheid een man die in de volksmond 'Mudinho' werd genoemd. Hij hurkte voorover, in een houding die leek op wat ze in hun verslagen beschreven, en had waarschijnlijk een mentaal probleem, aldus IstoÉ.
Het buitenaardse ervaring van Varginha De zaak werd een cultureel fenomeen en genereerde veel speculaties en samenzweringstheorieën. Er werden zelfs monumenten in de stad geplaatst ter ere van de buitenaardse ervaring van Varginha.
De ufo-vormige watertoren in Varginha In Brazilië nam de belangstelling voor ufologie hierdoor aanzienlijk toe. Varginha kwam bekend te staan als 'ufo-stad' en het voorval trok de aandacht van de internationale media en het toerisme.
BIJKOMENDE INFO DOOR PETER2011
An artist’s rendition of the alien life form allegedly spotted in Varginha, Brazil.
Sketches drawn of the Varginha alien.
Newspaper reports about the alleged Varginha alien encounters.
The International Space Station (ISS) has long been a place that has inspired some of the best of humanity. Over the past 23 years, the football field-sized space structure has represented a beacon of peace as well as the epitome of human exploration. But the ISS cannot last forever. Last year, NASA announced that the space laboratory would be decommissioned by the end of 2030, at which point the floating lab will crash into the ocean.
While the ISS was never meant to last forever — many a space exploration professional, and NASA, argue — what comes next is far less certain. What is certain is that there will be no next gen ISS. The next era of space stations will be owned by private companies, many of which are currently vying for contracts with NASA. But with these budding new stations, the space agency itself won’t be calling all the shots. They’ll be an anchor client, for sure, but a customer nonetheless. Finally, the crowning achievement of the ISS — it’s the largest peacetime international project ever, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman tells Inverse — will fall to the wayside.
“It’s the most complex and largest engineering exercise we’ve ever accomplished as human beings. It’s also the largest international project, according to a variety of metrics, that’s been done in peace time,” Reisman says.
As we look to the future of space travel, what will be lost when the ISS is gone? A lot, many experts argue. The ISS is home to the longest-inhabited platform in space of all time. Continuous, non-stop occupation in space will be essential to getting humans to loftier destinations, like Mars. Astronauts like Frank Rubio and the Kelly twins have demonstrated the brink of human endurance in microgravity, and that’s barely scratching the surface about what we need to learn to venture farther away, Don Platt, associate professor of aerospace at the Florida Institute of Technology, tells Inverse.
The International Space Station, as seen from Space Shuttle Discovery, in March 2009.
For NASA to split the costs of human space exploration in space, they’ll pay for access to these private space stations. Axiom, Blue Origin, Long Beach-based Vast Space, Nanoracks and Voyager Space are some of the companies striving to get the coveted NASA low-Earth orbit contracts through the agency’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD) program. NASA astronauts will then have to share the stations with other customers, either private citizens with a lot of disposable income to buy seats into space, or projects like Inspiration4 that sent an all-civilian crew to space, or astronauts from other space agencies or nationalities seeking to place one of their own some 250 miles high above Earth.
But to share the space practically, future stations must be much more automated. And smaller. They’ll need to be easier to maintain and use. All of this reduces their size.
The ISS is a massive collaboration of many space agencies around the world. NASA and Roscosmos lead the pack. But Japan, Europe, Canada and others have greatly contributed by way of modules, robotic arms, experiments and astronauts. The ISS is possible because there are control centers across the world, employing hundreds of people, to keep tabs on the gigantic craft. There’s no company that could hope to match this scale, Reisman says.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide of the ISS Expedition 32 flight took this picture during an extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, in September 2012.
When it comes time to say goodbye, the ISS may require two years to fully be brought down.
The Space Shuttle, now retired, and its massive cargo space was essential to carrying segments of the ISS up to space. It’s unclear if the SpaceX Starship, currently in testing, will be ready in time for the ISS retirement procedures.
Reisman is thrilled by the progress and pace of development. Reisman is currently on the advisory board with Vast Space, and worked with SpaceX for seven years as its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule were getting ready to carry their first humans to space. Reisman was too young to be a part of Apollo, but thinks perhaps the pace of current low-Earth orbit technological development offers a taste of what that iconic chapter in history must have been like.
Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Oleg Novitskiy, of ISS Expedition 33, monitor data at the manual docking system controls in the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS during approach and docking operations of the unpiloted ISS Progress 49 resupply vehicle. NASA astronaut Suni Williams appears at the top.
But the ISS, Reisman’s home for a little more than three months over the course of two Space Shuttle missions in 2008 and 2010, embodies something unique. He says it was a more peaceful time, and its cultural role and its place in history as an incredible logistical accomplishment, may never happen again. He says we’ve moved away from that charmed period.
“There won’t be a government to government partnership. It won’t be the head of Roscosmos meeting regularly with the head of NASA, and the head of ESA and JAXA. That element won’t exist. I think that’s a shame. The ISS in its peak was really this beacon of hope. This Star Trek future, where we all get along,” Reisman says.
Editor’s Note:
This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Garrett Reisman is an ongoing advisor for Vast Space. A previous version of the story stated that he had left that position.
The Grand Canyon is known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Credit: Matthew Lachniet
The Grand Canyon's valleys and millions of years of rock layers spanning Earth's history have earned it a designation as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. But, according to a new UNLV study, its marvels extend to vast cave systems that lie beneath the surface, which just might hold clues to better understand the future of climate change—by studying nature's past.
(Credit: sumikophoto/Shutterstock)
A research team—led by UNLV paleoclimatologist and professor Matthew Lachniet—pulled an ancient stalagmite from the floor of an undisturbed Grand Canyon cave. By studying the mineral deposits' geochemistry, they were able to analyze precipitation patterns during the rapidly warming period following the last Ice Age to improve understanding about the potential impact of future climate change on summer monsoon rains in the U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico.
Their findings, published Oct. 2 in Nature Geoscience, revealed that increasing levels of water seeped into the cave between 8,500 and 14,000 years ago, during a period known as the early Holocene when temperatures rose throughout the region. Using a paleoclimate model, the researchers determined that this was likely caused by intensified and expanded summer rainfall stemming from atmospheric impacts on air circulation patterns that more quickly melted the winter snowpacks and sped up the evaporation process that fuels monsoon rains.
Recent photograph of Grand Canyon from Walhalla Plateau, with the red line showing the Great Unconformity between the metamorphic Proterozoic basement complex and the Paleozoic sediment strata.
ANNIE SCOTT/USGS
This is significant, authors say, because most of the water currently infiltrating through the bedrock and into caves and aquifers—and contributing to groundwater recharge—comes from winter snowmelt. During the early Holocene, however, when peak temperatures were only slightly warmer than today, both summer and winter moisture contributed to groundwater recharge in the region.
The authors suggest that future warming, which could cause temperatures to rise above those of the early Holocene, may also lead to greater rates of summer rainfall on the high-elevation Colorado Plateau and an intensifying North American monsoon, the pattern of pronounced and increased thunderstorms and precipitation that typically occur between June and mid-September.
UNLV professor Matthew Lachniet holds a stalagmite retrieved from a Grand Canyon cave. Credit: Laura Sangaila
"What was surprising about our results is that during this past warm period, both the summer monsoon and infiltration into the cave increased, which suggests that summer was important for Grand Canyon groundwater recharge, even though today it is not an important season for recharge," said Lachniet, who personally retrieved the stalagmite from a cave in the Redwall Formation on the South Rim of eastern Grand Canyon in 2017. "While we still expect the region to dry in the future, more intense summer rainfall may actually infiltrate into the subsurface more than it does today."
Stalagmites are common cave formations that act as ancient rain gauges that record historic climate change. They grow as mineral-rich waters seep through the ground above and drop from the tips of stalactites on cave ceilings. Calcite minerals from tiny drops of water accumulate over thousands of years, and much like tree rings, accurately record the rainfall history of an area. Three natural forms of oxygen are found in water, and the quantity of one form decreases as rainfall increases. This information is locked into the stalagmites over time.
Because of the distinct difference in the oxygen isotope composition between summer and winter precipitation, it is possible to estimate the relative contributions from each season. Variation in uranium-234 isotope and changes in the growth thickness of stalagmite give indication of the change in the amount of precipitation.
"We were able to validate the oxygen record with the growth data, with the uranium isotope data to confirm that in fact, we see significant increases in summer moisture during this warm period, which we attribute to the monsoon," said the University of New Mexico professor Yemane Asmerom. "Unfortunately, effective moisture is the balance between precipitation and evaporation. Unlike the more temperate Grand Canyon climate, the dry southern part is likely to be drier, as a result of the increased temperatures."
The research team used stalagmite samples to reconstruct groundwater recharge rates—or, the amount of water that penetrates the aquifers—in the Grand Canyon area during the early years of the Holocene period. High groundwater recharge rates likely occurred on other high-elevation plateaus in the region, too, they said, though it's unclear how the activity applies to hotter, low-elevation deserts.
UNLV paleoclimatologist Matthew Lachniet retrieved the stalagmite from an undisturbed Grand Canyon cave in 2017. Credit: Laura Sangaila
What is clear is that ongoing human-caused climate change is leading to hotter temperatures throughout southwestern North America, including the Grand Canyon region. Alongside population growth and agricultural pressures, this warming can reduce the infiltration of surface water into groundwater aquifers. Groundwater recharge rates also depend on the frequency and intensity of summer rains associated with monsoon season.
Though summer infiltration isn't a significant contributor to groundwater recharge in the region today, these latest findings suggest that could change in the future as the climate warms and monsoonal moisture increases. What's unknown is how a projected decrease in winter precipitation and snowpack could impact overall groundwater reserves.
In addition to Lachniet and Asmerom, the following researchers collaborated on the report: Xiaojing Du and Sylvia G. Dee of Rice University; Victor Polyak of the University of New Mexico; and Benjamin W. Tobin of the University of Kentucky.
An alleged UFO sighting at a farm near McMinnville, Oregon, 1950. Picture: SCIENCE HISTORY IMAGES/ALAMY
As the new series of the BBC’s Paranormal looks into alleged UFO sightings, one aerospace expert says accessible, modern technology puts us in a stronger position than ever to work out what’s going on in the skies above us.
It was a rainy day in Pembrokeshire (Wales) in February 1977 when a group of pupils from Broad Haven Primary School claimed to see an unidentified flying object (UFO) outside.
David Davies, who was just 10 at the time, remembers his fellow students coming inside throughout the day “trying to alert the headmaster that there was something strange going on”.
The schoolboy was sure there was a logical explanation for what they had seen. “My intention was to go out there and completely prove them wrong,” David says.
But when he went to investigate, he says he saw a “silver, cigar-shaped object” about the size of a bus, with a domed upper section and a “red pulsating glow” on top.
“I had this overwhelming urge to run away,” David says of the sighting that lasted about 10 seconds.
This event in south-west Wales is explored in the latest series of the BBC’s Paranormal. Across four episodes, host Sian Eleri investigates alleged UFO sightings in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
It comes as claims about extraterrestrial life have captured the public imagination yet again. Last year, the US Congress convened a landmark panel on the topic, mysterious monoliths continue to appear in the UK and around the world, and social media is home to viral trends about “alien bodies”.
On TikTok, for example, there are more than a million posts with the hashtag “UFO”.
And one aerospace expert tells the BBC that in 2024, thanks to everyone having a phone in their pocket and many people using apps to follow air traffic, we are in “a much stronger position to be able to track what’s known and what’s unknown”.
So is there a simple explanation for why we see UFOs? And should they be investigated?
‘A lot of UFO hunting’
UFOs have held our attention for decades, ever since reports of alleged extraterrestrial debris in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, the movie The Flying Saucer being released three years later and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union gaining steam throughout 1950s.
And stories about alien life would go on to influence popular culture in the years to come, from Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning E.T. in 1982, to The X Files first airing in 1993 and even recent additions like Jordan Peele’s 2022 film Nope feeding into the cultural obsession.
Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe – the head of the school of human and social sciences at Buckinghamshire New University — says there was also a “huge peak of interest” in UFO sightings around the 1980s that resulted in “a lot of UFO hunting”.
Reported sightings were covered by media around the world – and the alleged sighting at Broad Haven Primary School was picked up by publications as far as New Zealand.
The Broad Haven incident was one of a wave of sightings in the area in 1977 – dubbed the Dyfed Triangle. In the past, a number of theories have been put forward to explain them, including the work of a “local prankster”.
While sightings like the one in Broad Haven captured mass attention, Dr O’Keeffe says there may be plausible explanations.
“The key fundamental psychological explanation for what’s going on is around eyewitness testimony,” says Dr O’Keeffe, who also consults on the BBC’s Uncanny, adding that eyewitness testimony can be prone to errors.
“The nature of the interviewing of an eyewitness can distort the memory of the event significantly,” he adds, especially if the questioning of a witness is poor. For example, leading questions and exposure to media coverage of an event can be distorting factors.
However, the UFO sighting at Broad Haven Primary School was not just one eyewitness, it was a group of pupils. Here, Dr O’Keeffe explains the idea of “contagion” and group conformity could be behind a mass UFO sighting.
“Contagion is this idea that thoughts, feelings and behaviours can spread amongst a group of people,” Dr O’Keeffe says.
However, David feels he can “rule out” these psychological explanations for the 1977 sighting after the children reportedly drew near identical images of the UFO they had seen.
Before the incident, David adds, he did not have a “big interest in Sci-Fi”. But in the years that followed, he would spend thousands of pounds on books and research materials to understand what happened.
‘Not always publicised’
Dr Ryan Marks, an aerospace engineer who appears in Paranormal, says air traffic in the sky could also offer plausible explanations for UFO sightings, particularly around built-up areas where there are airfields.
According to the RAF Museum, between 1970 and 1990 there were five airfields in south Wales, with one being used as a missile testing range.
“There’s a huge amount of air traffic at any one time and that’s obviously increased over the last 40 years,” Dr Marks explains, adding that there is “always a level of military activity” in the sky and that “not all of this is always publicised”.
In March this year, for example, a US government report concluded that UFO sightings in the US in the 1950s and 1960s were caused by tests of advanced spy planes and space technology.
Around the mid-1970s to early 1980s, Dr Marks says developments were taking place in the UK exploring hot air balloons and airships – and some “would resemble traditional UFOs”.
He notes, however, these were “small-scale” experiments that did not get outside of the air hangar.
Today, Dr Marks says, “a lot of air traffic movements are recorded,” with free-to-download apps able to identify a plane, where it has come from and its destination. This “digital fingerprint” makes it a lot easier to track what is going on in the sky, he explains.
For his part, David remains confident in his UFO sighting.
“Unless somebody can explain to me what type of aircraft was flying at that time, that was 45-feet long, cigar-shaped and silver – I have no explanation for it,” he says, adding that believing in UFOs can sometimes be “like you’re banging your head against a brick wall, against society”.
“It’s still being dismissed as nonsense,” he says.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) closed their UFO desk in 2009 after saying it served no defence purpose and was taking staff away from more valuable defence-related activities.
In a statement, an MOD spokesperson added: “In over 50 years, no sightings of extraterrestrial intelligence, Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena reported to us indicated the existence of any military threat to the United Kingdom.”
Shola Lee is a journalist based in Tenterden, United Kingdom, with a focus on local news. She writes for BBC News, BBC Mundo, and Cigalah Group, and her work has also been featured in Yahoo News, 65twenty, Tyla, and UNILAD. Shola covers a wide range of topics, including community events, environmental issues, crime, and human interest stories.
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 73 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
