What the UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 Means For UFO Sightings

In July 2023, military veterans testified about UFO sightings before Congress, sparking debates and investigations into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

(Credit: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock)

In July 2023, three military veterans testified before the U.S. Congress about their experiences with UFOs. A navy fighter pilot described seeing a dark, cube-like spacecraft near the coast of Virginia in 2014. The pilot was flying an F-18 in hurricane-force winds and was stunned to see the dark object hovering, unbothered by the gusts.

Another navy pilot reported how he saw an aircraft near San Diego that resembled a Tic Tac. The apparent UFO was smooth, without wings or rotors. And when the navy pilot tried to get close, the other aircraft zipped from sight.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability also heard from a former member of the Pentagon’s task force on UFOs. He testified the government had extraterrestrial spacecraft in its possession, and he knew exactly where they were hidden. 

So, what has happened since that bombshell testimony? 

The Department of Defense and other government agencies prefer the term Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), and the 2023 testimony was part of an increasing interest from Congress to have intelligence agencies share what they know about UAPs.

In 2022, the Department of Defense established the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)to serve as the go-to agency regarding extraterrestrials.

Since then, the office has received hundreds of reports of UFO sightings from the public. But this year, AARO has made it clear they haven’t been impressed.

In late February, AARO released a report stating they saw no evidence of UAPs. The report is meant to be the first of two public investigations.

The report’s investigators say they reviewed all evidence collected since 1945, interviewed witnesses, and analyzed archives.

The following week, Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, released a statement saying there had been “no verifiable evidence” that the UFO sightings were legit. The statement also denied there was any evidence that the government or private groups had access to “extraterrestrial technology” (AKA flying saucers), which they were able to study or even reverse-engineer.

Government intelligence agencies might not give credence to UFO sightings, but some members of Congress still want transparency with the American public. In May, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the Intelligence Authorization Act, which included a section on UAPs.

Then in July, Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota proposed to Congress the UAP Disclosure Act of 2024. If passed, the Act would establish oversight, a review board, and a public disclosure plan for the next seven years.

Read More: 

• What Does UAP Mean, and Is This the New Term For UFO Now?

Like most bills introduced into Congress, The UAP Disclosure Act will be subject to debate, both among politicians and citizens with strong opinions. While some people don’t believe in extraterrestrial life, others not only believe in UFOs but they also say they have had some sort of encounter. 

People who say they have seen a UFO have become of interest to scientists who want to know about these encounters as well as the personality traits believers might share. 

In a March 2024 article in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, an international research team from the U.S. and U.K. sought to identify shared personality traits among people who say they have seen UFOs. 

Of the 206 participants, half said they had seen a UFO. The participants took several questionnaires measuring their personality traits as well as their belief in ETs. Those who said they had seen UFOs also described their encounters. Most said they saw strange, undefined lights or orb-like spacecraft. 

The study’s authors noted that while most people assume UFO witnesses are neurotic or odd, their study found that most witnesses fell into a personality category in which they scored high on openness, agreeableness, and extraversion. This group also scored lower on neuroticism and schizotypy traits. 

The study's lead author, Daniel R. Stubbings, said the participants in his study had encounters similar to those of the Congressional hearing witnesses. Yet, he says many people aren’t taken seriously when they tell others about their experiences.

“The wider reason for the research is that the topic of UAP is being considered seriously at the highest levels of the USA government; that is an intriguing turn of events,” says Stubbings, a principal lecturer in clinical psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales. 

Stubbings says the current public interest in UFOs is a prime research opportunity. If the sightings are eventually disproven, there is an opportunity to study the event from a mass hysteria or misinformation perspective. And if the sightings are proven correct, then scientists also have out-of-this-world research possibilities. 

“It is one of the few topics in science that is a win-win, but we need to collect the data and inspire other scientists to apply their skills, rather than add to the conjecture, speculation or belief,” Stubbings says.

Read More:

•  Fact or Fiction: What Is The Truth Behind Alien Conspiracy Theories?

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

• Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency

• All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). About AARO

• The Department of Defense All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office. Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)

• U.S. Department of Defense. Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder on the Historical Record Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, Volume 1

• U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence. Legislation: Intelligence authorization act fiscal year 2025 reported june 3 2024

• Congress.gov. Amendment: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025

• Journal of Scientific Exploration. Who Sees UFOs? The Relationship Between Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Sightings and Personality Factors

• Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, "A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy," releases October 3, 2023 from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.

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29-07-2024 om 21:17 geschreven door peter  

It was 1993 when I was first contacted by London businessman Ray Santilli. It was l995 when Santilli’s controversial ‘Alien Autopsy Film’ was released around the world. I have covered events surrounding this film in many publications around the world and in my new book ‘ROSWELL ALIEN AUTOPSY – The Truth Behind the Film That Shocked the World’ so forgive me if I don’t cover old ground here. All the relevant details of my previous research can be located on my website at: www.beyondroswell.com.

On June 22^nd 2007, I travelled by train to London to meet up with Ray Santilli and his business partner Gary Shoefield. We had a pleasant lunch together and Ray Santilli showed me some frames of film encased in a type of perspex material. Santilli claimed these were original vintage 1947 frames of film from the alien autopsy. As they came with no official seal of approval or had been authenticated by anyone they were useless.

Within a couple of days of this meeting my friend and colleague Russel Callaghan, editor of UFO DATA magazine, had a phone call from a man by the name of Spyros Melaris. This man claimed he had lead the team that faked the whole alien autopsy film. He was a magician and filmmaker and he was now ready to spill the beans. He gave Russel a run down of the who, what, why and where of the whole affair. Because of my involvement in this affair Russel was soon on the phone to me with the details. It wasn’t long before I spoke to Spyros Melaris myself and he was telling me things in great detail. During the next few weeks I had several telephone conversations with Spyros Melaris and also put him in contact with US TV producer Robert (Bob) Kiviat at his request. Spyros was considering the best way to go public with his story, he had a book planned and thought that a TV documentary might also be a good idea.

Along with my colleagues Russel Callaghan, Michael Buckley and Steve Johnston, I was one of the co-organisers of the UFO DATA annual conference. It just so happened, that the 2007 conference had a loose Roswell theme to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the Roswell Incident. My colleagues and I discussed the possibility of asking Spyros Melaris to make his first public statement on this whole thing at our conference and eventually he agreed. The conference itself was held over the weekend of October 20^th & 21^st 2007 in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. A packed audience saw Spyros take the stage on Sunday October 21^st. I had met him in person for the first time the night before at the hotel and I made loose arrangements to formally interview him at his home later in the year. As promised, Spyros took to the stage and told of his involvement in the making of the alien autopsy film. A small few members of the audience were rather upset to hear this but the vast majority were fascinated by what he had to say.

I made arrangements to visit the home of Spyros Melaris on November 16^th 2007 and I drove to his house in Hertfordshire with my partner Christine. Before the formal audio-taped interview began we had lunch with Spyros and his lovely wife Anne. Over lunch Spyros showed us some of the documentary evidence he has to support his claims. This included his diary from l995, hand drawn sketches of the alien, a full list of hand painted story board images of the whole alien autopsy film, original fax messages from Kodak in the USA providing copies of l947 fill canister labels, and a large portfolio of research material. This was mainly of vintage (l940’s) US military vehicles and some vintage US military medical photographs. The interview itself lasted around two hours and we only touched the tip of the iceberg. The full interview can be located online at: http://www.outtahear.com/beyond_updates/index.html (Alien Autopsy Information section). I would like to thank my colleague Steve Johnston for transcribing this interview in full. The following is based on that interview.

Who is Spyros Melaris?  

As the name might give it away Spyros was originally born in Cyprus. As a boy he was taught a magic trick by his grandfather and his love of magic was born. The other passion as a boy growing up in the UK was film making. At school he told his careers officer that he wanted to be an actor but this was discouraged. A proper job was what he should have. So a proper job he took and after leaving school became an apprentice trained motor mechanic. However, his love of magic and film making eventually won over and he eventually became a magician and a filmmaker. He now owns his own TV studio in London and makes TV shows for all the major networks in the UK and independent production companies alike. In short, in his owns words, we make programmes for “anyone who books us.”

How He Met Ray Santilli

In January 1995 he was to attend the MIDEM music industry event in Cannes, France. He was taking a film crew there and had some spare time on his hands so he sent fax messages to 4 production companies picked at random from a media directory. He basically asked them if they wanted to hire him and his crew while in Cannes. One of these happened to be the Merlin Group owned by Ray Santilli. Spyros and Ray Santilli had a few telephone conversations but did not meet and arranged to meet in Cannes. By pure chance they bumped into each other at a restaurant in Cannes and it was here that Ray Santilli fist told Spyros Melaris that he had obtained film footage of an alien. Holding back a smirk Spyros asked Santilli if he was serious and he replied he was, not only that, he wanted Spyros to make a documentary from this footage. They eventually agreed to meet at Ray Santilli’s office back in London. A few days later Spyros kept his appointment with Santilli at his office in London. Here he met an almost distraught Ray Santilli who told him he’d bought this film but it had turned out to be very poor quality. Spyros was shown what has become known as the ‘tent footage’ and he immediately recognised it as been shot on video. The tape he was shown was on VHS format. Santilli seemed surprised that he had recognised it as being shot on video so quickly and he realised the game was up. Again in Spyros’s own words “If I can’t get it past this guy, I’m not going to get it past anyone else. He realised it was game up. That’s when the meeting ended. I thought the guy’s mad. He’s trying a fast one. I thought it was over at that point.”

So How Did The Idea of a Fake Film Come About?

 Melaris met up with his friend and colleague John Humphreys. Humphreys is a Royal Academy trained sculptor whose work had sometimes overlapped into film and TV special effects. Melaris and Humphreys had known each other for a long time and had worked on a number of things together in the past. Melaris simply put the idea to Humphreys, “John, do you fancy sculpting an alien?” Melaris told Humphreys of his meeting with Santilli and basically came up with the idea of making it. They talked things over from a legal point of view and how it might help them break into other projects, even Hollywood. The idea was to make it, release it to the world, and then make a second programme shortly after showing how they did it. Humphreys agreed and Melaris pitched the idea to Santilli. Santilli looked like a man reborn and agreed. The budget put forward by Melaris was about £30,000 and it was Santilli’s business partner and friend Volker Spielberg who put up the money. The funding was in place, contracts and a confidentiality agreement were signed and the ball was rolling.

The Team Behind The Making of The Film 

First off there was Spyros Melaris. He designed and directed the film, instructed and paid the rest of the team, made the autopsy table along with many of the other props, he also made the ‘contamination suits’ as well as obtain the props and cameras. The main researcher behind it all was Spyros’s then girlfriend Geraldine. She was the one who checked the medical books, spoke with surgeons and pathologists and she even played the part of the nurse in the film. Geraldine is not her real name as she wishes to remain anonymous. John Humphreys of course made the alien’s bodies. The mould was actually made from John’s ten year-old son who was quite tall. As a trained sculptor Humphreys had also studied anatomy so he was the man who played the surgeon in the film. Another friend of Spyros’s was Greg Simmons. He was seen occasionally in the film in one of the contamination suits and he also played the part of the soldier in the Debris Footage. Gareth Watson, a colleague of Santilli’s and Shoefield’s was the man in the surgical mask behind the glass, and finally Spyros’s brother Peter helped behind the scenes. The set was built in Geraldine’s house in Camden in London. The property was in the process of being converted into three flats (apartments) at the time and was therefore empty. The props were obtained from someone Spyros knew in the USA. She was not told what they were for and were all ordered separately and delivered to different addresses so as not to arouse suspicion. The camera’s were obtained by Spyros; one bought and one borrowed from a friend.

Why There Are Two Separate Autopsy Films 

According to Spyros the first ‘Alien Autopsy’ film went pretty much as planned. However, upon completion Geraldine noticed that a few of the medical procedures were not correct. They therefore had to make another creature and film another one. Apparently Santilli was ready for packing it all in at this point as there was no more money in the budget to film it again. They persevered and made another one at Spyros’s cost the very next day. This too was not without problems. The foam latex used to fill the dummy had not worked right and an air bubble had left a hollow space in the creature’s leg. Humphreys was despatched to the local butchers by Spyros to get a leg joint of a sheep. This was inserted into the hollow part in the alien’s right leg, a few other things were added, the outside of the leg was gently burnt with a blowtorch and hey presto, the leg wound. Some of the inner organs were manufactured by Melaris, and animal organs were also used for the alien’s innards, although altered with a scalpel and coated with latex. The alien’s brain was actually made from three sheep’s brains and part of a pig’s brain cast in gelatine. This is how there came to be two separate autopsy films one of which was shown in its entirety, while the second one made, has only ever been released in part.

The Wreckage and I-beams

These were all designed by Spyros himself. At the October 2007 UFO DATA conference Spyros showed me how he had designed the ‘writing’ on them and what it said. The wreckage was then manufactured by John Humphreys, Spyros and his brother Peter. He told me that he based it on Greek lettering, a bit of ancient Egyptian stylising and some artistic license. On the main large beams, if translated correctly, reads ‘FREEDOM’. Spyros thought this a fitting name for an alien spacecraft. While designing the letters which spell the word ‘FREEDOM’, Spyros noticed that if the word is turned upside down, the word ‘VIDEO’ could be seen. He adjusted some of the letters to better facilitate this, so the piece would throw a little red herring into the mix. The translation of the smaller beam is being held back for Spyros’s book.

The Cameraman’s Home Video Interview 

According to Melaris, Ray Santilli was put under a lot of pressure by various parties to arrange an interview with the fictitious cameraman he allegedly bought the film from. Of course, according to Melaris, there was no such person, so he came up with the idea of creating this aspect of the whole affair as well. The basic scenario is that Melaris flew to Los Angeles and met up with Santilli’s partner Gary Shoefield. Melaris wanted to find an eighty year old tramp on the streets of L.A., pay him a few hundred dollars, put him in front of a camera and ask him to read from a script. Santilli and Shoefield were nervous, and not sure this would work but Spyros was confident he could pull this off, and went ahead. He found an old guy living rough on the street, offered him $500 and a night in the hotel and he duly agreed. Again, by pure chance the chap had been an actor many years ago. Melaris took his name and the name of a movie he had appeared in. These details will be released in his book. He cleaned him up, gave him a shave, and added a bit of make up and a false prosthetic nose and chin and the job was done. The man himself did not know what he was reading or where it was going to be used. There was little chance that he would see the broadcast either. No one would recognise him in a thousand years. And they never did. This film was delivered in person in New York to US TV producer Bob Kiviat by Gary Shoefield and a man claiming to be the cameraman’s son. Eventually the film in question was broadcast on TV in Japan only and from there it was copied and distributed to UFO researchers around the world. The trick worked, no one has identified the man in question, and Melaris claims he is the only one who can do this.

The Crash Site 

There are a number of people who believe the alien autopsy film is authentic, not because of the film itself but because of the crash site. Ray Santilli released details, supposedly from his cameraman, as to where the incident took place in the desert. How did this come about? Well, according to Spyros this was quite simple. In l995, he flew to Roswell. Here he interviewed many local people including Loretta Proctor. Mrs. Proctor was the neighbour of rancher Mac Brazel and it was she who suggested that Mac take some of the UFO debris into town after he found it. Spyros also met and hired private pilot Rodney Corn. He asked corn to fly him over the UFO crash site, to which he replied “which one.” There are in fact at least three such sites. So, Spyros flew over all three of them, filming as he went. Rodney Corn was able to show Spyros a great deal from the air, far better than would have been possible on foot. This included small dirt roads and long forgotten landmarks. Before the interview took place Spyros also informed me that he obtained both old and new maps of the area. All of this information was handed to Ray Santilli and it was Santilli, not Spyros, who then put it all together to make a location for a nonexistent crash site.

The Grand Plan 

I asked Spyros what was the grand plan. The research was done, the film was made, so what next. Apparently it was a rather simple plan. To release the film to a broadcaster, ask them to investigate and see what happens. They were confident that it would not be exposed as a fake. Then, after a few months the plan was to hold their hands up and tell all. The reason this didn’t happen was money. Spyros had signed a confidentiality agreement with Ray Santilli and Santilli was still adamant that he needed to recoup his initial investment allegedly paid for the tent footage. Santilli told Melaris that he had invested a lot of money on this film and he must recoup that before they were to go public. Santilli reminded Spyros that he was bound by the confidentiality agreement and he was not to say or do anything until Santilli said so. Apart from a cheque for about £10,000, which Spyros split with his team, no royalties were ever paid. Santilli told him that due to the fact that he had stated publicly that it was a military film, that it had simply been copied by third parties without permission and used without payment as the people who were using the film believed that the copyright was vested with the US Military and not with Santilli. Eventually time went on and Spyros just got on with life. He was constantly working on other projects with Santilli and earning a living and the alien autopsy film was all but forgotten.

Going Public

The one thing that I first asked Spyros was why was it that he had decided to go public with this information now. It was twelve years since the alien autopsy film hit the headlines. Melaris stuck to his confidentiality agreement. From a legal point of view if he broke it he could have been sued. However, in 2005 he was approached by Santilli and Shoefield to be involved in the movie version of this whole affair. He asked both if they would now tell the true story and reveal that it was all a fake but they said no, they were going to maintain that they really did have original film. Again, Santilli and Shoefield stated that there was no money in it and that they were doing it for “a bit of fun” when pressed they admitted that both Santilli and Shoefield would get paid a percentage of the profits, there was no such offer for Melaris. Melaris declined their offer. He left that meeting under the impression that the movie was not going to be made. However, the movie was made and distributed by Warner Bros and so Melaris felt that he was now able to speak as the story was now in the public domain.

The Doubters

To round off the interview I asked Spyros Melaris what he had to say to the doubters out there, those that believe the alien autopsy film is the genuine article. I’m not going to paraphrase this; instead I will use his words in full:

PM: Time’s against us, Spyros. I’ll ask one last question. There are those out there who believe in this film and Santilli 100% and they think that you’re some kind of pathological liar, playing devil’s advocate here, so please don’t be offended.

SM: No. Go ahead.

PM: What would you say if you could say one thing to the doubters out there? Is there any one thing that you can say that would say to them Spyros Melaris is who he says he is and has made this film?

SM: I don’t think that there’s any doubt that somebody made it today. That’s fair to say that somebody made the film and even Santilli said it’s a fake, but it was made from original film. I think that’s really the question. The question isn’t whether I made it because I can prove I made it. John Humphries will tell you I made it. Ray would probably tell you I made it! He couldn’t deny it. There’s too much evidence. The question is did I make it from original film? And the simple answer to that is no. There was never any original film other than the tent footage. I’ve never seen any other film. Ray maintains that he’s got original film. My question to Ray is how would that film marry with what I made? It can’t. I haven’t actually seen the film. Now you may say, “Maybe you’re lying and you did see the film and you made it.”

The story’s a bigger story if there was a real film. There would be more money in it. There wouldn’t be a reason for me and Ray to be parted. Why would we fall out? The common sense has got to come into the argument. I’m part of something as big as real film of a real alien. Why would I jeopardise being part of that and go off on my own? There’s no reason to. That’s the first thing.

The second thing. I promise you, something happened in Roswell. I’m not an easy person… I’m a sceptic. I’m not an easy person to convince. Thirty people that I talked to out there, clever people, doctors, lecturers, all sorts of people tell me they saw something. And I believe them. Something happened. A lot of ordinary people. Something happened. So, I don’t think there’s dispute about whether or not something happened in Roswell or other sightings or whether or not everything’s fake. No, I don’t think everything’s fake. I do know this is. I also know that if Ray had original film, he’d be jumping through hoops to let you test it. I’m sorry, but that’s what you would do. You would say, “Give me billions of pounds for this.” That’s what you would say. You would say, “I’ve got nothing to worry about. The cameraman doesn’t want to speak, but look at the film.” That’s what you’d do! That’s what you would do.

PM: Say no more.

[END OF INTERVIEW]

Once again I would like to reiterate that this is only part of what Spyros Melaris had to tell me. The full-unedited interview can be found in the alien autopsy section of our web site at: http://www.outtahear.com/beyond_updates/index.html.

Checking The Facts

So how do we check that what Spyros Melaris is telling us is correct? It is no easy task I can assure you. The documentary material shown to me by Spyros is intriguing but not proof positive. My colleague Mark Center in the USA checked the private pilot Rodney Corn for me and he does exist. Mark spoke to him on the phone but he has no recollection of being hired by Spyros Melaris. This could be because he was hired by Geraldine, and we are talking about an event which happened over 12 years ago.

At the UFO DATA conference in October 2007 was German researcher Michael Hesemann. Michael was also one of the speakers that weekend. Michael investigated the alien autopsy film from l995 through to l997 and believes it to be authentic. After the conference when Michael was back home in Germany he sent me an email that quite frankly left me stunned. He admitted for the first time that in l996 someone sent Michael an email telling him that Spyros Melaris was the hoaxer. Hesemann had never shared this information with anyone. I asked him what he did with it and he simply told me that he phoned Ray Santilli and asked him if he knew this man to which Santilli replied he did not. Michael told me he left it at that.

However, Spyros Melaris independently informed me that in l996 he had received a phone call from someone with a German accent asking him if he was the hoaxer and he of course denied it. He did not know who the caller was until he met Hesemann at our conference. I pressed Michael about this and eventually he admitted he did phone Spyros back in l996. Why Michael Hesemann never shared this information with anyone else is beyond me. In his defence, Michael has stated that there were others mentioned at the time and he did not want to spread false rumours, but these others names were circulated and eliminated. I have to be honest and say here and now that I cannot understand why Hesemann sat on this information and never told anyone. I leave it to you to make up your own mind.

A colleague of mine who is a veteran TV and movie special effects artist also took a look at the interview with Spyros. In his considered opinion the techniques and materials used by Melaris and his team to make the fake alien creature are 100% correct. There is no question in his mind that the dummies were made in the way described. He does have a few questions he’d like to ask, but these are purely little points of clarification and there is nothing wrong with what Melaris has had to say.

The other main person involved in all of this is of course US TV producer Bob Kiviat. Several years back my colleague Tim Mathews and I were tipped off about John Humphreys, Humphreys was part of the team and he made the dummies. Bob tried for years to get Humphreys on camera and make a TV documentary but all to no avail. Eventually, Bob did make a TV show for Channel 5 but without Humphreys in it. This was never broadcast. Both Humphreys and Melaris have spoken at length to Bob Kiviat about their involvement in this whole affair so I took the opportunity to ask Bob a few questions on December 4^th 2007. This mini question and answer session is reproduced here in full:

Q: How many times did you speak with UK sculptor John Humphreys?

A: Once before the Ant & Dec movie came out. In approximately 2003. Once after that.

Q: Did Humphreys tell you on what he based the design for his alien creatures?

A: Yes, just on his own research, books and such. No other help.

Q: Did Humphreys ever see any original film, stills or otherwise?

A: No, never. He claimed it all came from his creative efforts and book research.

Q: During your conversations with Humphreys did he ever mention the name Spyros Melaris?

A: Yes. He said Spyros was the one who hired him for Santilli, who he met perhaps twice and came to the set once. All the money came through Spyros. Also, Spyros was the cameraman.

Q: Did Humphreys provide the names of anyone else involved. If yes what are those names?

A: No other names.

Q: Why was Humphreys looking to work with you on a documentary?

A: Yes, Humphreys wanted me to get him a network TV show based on his revelations that he made the autopsy footage, with Spyros acting as money man and cameraman, who he believed was working for Santilli.

Q: Was Humphreys going to tell all and sink the stories put out by Ray Santilli?

A: Yes, but until I got a commitment from a TV network and guaranteed money for his exclusive he kept much close to his chest.

Q: Did you speak to Humphreys agent/advisor?

A: Yes, his business manager was my main contact for all of 2003 and 2004, and it was he who informed me John was going to do the Ant & Dec movie, without giving me the details. There would also be a companion documentary “that would be my worst nightmare,” he said.

Q: If you did, what did he tell you about Humphreys involvement and reasons for wanting to spill the beans?

A: Instead of Humphreys spilling the beans to me, his manager clearly implied John had lost patience and saw a payday elsewhere – the movie, etc.

Q: You made a TV documentary for Channel 5 in 2006 in which I appeared, could you tell us why it was never broadcast?

Channel 5 was rushing instructions to my productions offices in L.A. from England telling me how the show needed to be styled, and they also wanted to move the airdate up to an almost impossible deadline. We were working around the clock already to appease the Channel 5 executive in charge when one of the top people at 5 actually listed the show in a TV guide of some sort. That’s when Gary Shoefield contacted 5 and falsely claimed Ray Santilli was involved in the ownership of my original Fox show, which the new 5 show was jumping off from. It was an outright fabrication, for my company has the only US copyright to the show AND THE ALIEN AUTOPSY FOOTAGE ITSELF!

While we were sorting through this false claim, we interviewed you. When the 5 executives saw you naming Humphreys as the guy who made the dummy and who was the key pro behind the footage, they wanted confirmation so they ILLEGALLY contacted Humphreys through a consulting producer. Humphreys freaked out, told them he wanted nothing to do with the 5 show and said he had to contact Warner Bros. Ultimately 5 reneged on their agreement with my distributor, my distributor did not fight for the airing, and this is how things were left. I’m still debating what course of action I can take to recover my substantial losses and damage!

Q: You have spoken on the telephone at length with Spyros Melaris. Are you convinced he is telling the truth?

A: For the most part, I can’t find any outlandish things that make his story unbelievable. But I do wonder how he could have been so naïve about the amount of money Santilli was making around the world. This part seems odd, as if he was playing dumb. On the contrary, he seems very bright. And if Ray gave him just enough work to keep him quiet afterward, I still wonder why he let all the other money go into Ray’s pocket without him demanding his share. This doesn’t add up, literally, pound for pound.

Q: You have been involved with the Alien Autopsy film since 1995, you have interviewed or spoken to most if not all the main players in it all, so what now is your conclusion?

A: I’m going to need more time to answer that question. Spryros’ actions or non actions in court will have a lot to do with this, and I’m looking into another intriguing angle that could impact my conclusions.

Robert Kiviat. End of interview.

It is clear from this brief interview with Bob Kiviat that there are slight differences between what John Humphreys says about his role in the faking of the film and what Melaris says. However, Humphreys does state quite clearly that it was Spyros Melaris who was the money man, it was Melaris who hired him on behalf of Santilli. Humphreys also confirms without any doubt that there never was any original film. It was a complete and utter fabrication.

I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. In l996, Spyros Melaris was outlined as the hoaxer to German researcher Michael Hesemann. In 2003, US TV producer Bob Kiviat spoke with UK sculptor John Humphreys who confirmed that Spyros was the man in charge and that there was no original film. In 2007, Spyros Melaris goes on the record for the first time and tells how it was all made. Well, perhaps not all. Spyros is holding back certain things for his book, which was supposed to be available in early 2008. And as for Ray Santilli, well he’s pretty quiet at the moment but I doubt if he will ever own up as he is quite simply in it too deep.

The long awaited book by Spyros Melaris ‘ALIEN AUTOPSY: The Myth Exposed’ comes with an accompanying DVD. It was originally scheduled to be released in 2008, but for a variety of reason it has been delayed with no firm date yet for its release.

• ROSWELL ALIEN AUTOPSY – The Truth Behind the Film That Shocked the World is published by RoswellBooks.com where it can be purchased, and is avail via Amazon.com.
• You can find information about recent developments regarding Melaris and Santilli’s Alien Autopsy shenanigans here.

{ https://openminds.tv/ }

29-07-2024 om 21:01 geschreven door peter  

AI Focused "Clearest ever UFO photo chased by fighter jet" UAP Sighting News.

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

29-07-2024 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

28-07-2024 om 23:56 geschreven door peter  

28-07-2024 om 23:34 geschreven door peter  

What is this 2.5 mile object on Planet Mercury? UFO Sighting News. Video.

Hey all, I found an interesting anomaly at the center of a crater on planet Mercury. The object measures 2.5 miles tall and 1.5 miles wide. It's super reflective as if it's made of a metallic alloy and it doesnt seem to fit into the surrounds. To me, this is proof of ancient aliens existing on Mercury. But for many, believing that aliens could exist...it's a horrifying thought...so much so that they will deny any possibility of it entering their mind. 

Scott C. Waring

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

28-07-2024 om 22:31 geschreven door peter  

Ai focused 20 Mile Structures On Europa, Moon of Jupiter! NASA Link, UFO Sighting News.

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

28-07-2024 om 22:28 geschreven door peter  

Perseverance vindt nieuw mogelijk bewijs van leven op Mars: “het is iets wat we nog nooit eerder hebben gezien”.

Door Janine

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Wikimedia commons -

Public domain / ESA & MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA/Wikimedia commons - CC BY-SA 3.0 igo

NASA's Perseverance rover zet zijn missie op Mars voort op zoek naar bewijs dat de oude aanwezigheid van buitenaards leven op de rode planeet zou kunnen onthullen: er komt een opzienbarende nieuwe ontdekking.

Perserverance vindt een pijlvormige rots op Mars

Een vreemde rots, waarvan de vorm lijkt op de punt van een pijl, heeft de aandacht getrokken van NASA's Perseverance rover, op een missie naar Mars om te zoeken naar tekenen van buitenaards leven. Hoewel het bestaan van marsmannetjes nog niet is aangetoond, zijn er wel elementen naar voren gekomen die hun aanwezigheid op de rode planeet miljarden jaren geleden zouden kunnen bewijzen.

De Amerikaanse ruimtevaartorganisatie maakte dit bekend nadat Perseverance een rots had ontdekt die bedekt was met vlekken en rijk was aan “aderen”. Wetenschappers hebben deze rots een speciale naam gegeven, Cheyava Falls, naar een van de watervallen van de Grand Canyon. Maar wat is er zo bijzonder aan en waarom zou het bewijs kunnen leveren van buitenaards leven op Mars, dat ooit bewoonbaar kan zijn geweest?

Gesteente op Mars bedekt met vlekken: mogelijke sporen van fossiel leven

Cheyava Falls lijkt organische verbindingen te bevatten en dit zou kunnen wijzen op sporen van microbieel leven uit de tijd dat er water was op Mars. Perseverance vond de rots in het noordelijke deel van de Neretva-vallei, waar in het verleden een rivier stroomde die uitmondde in de Jezero-krater. "Deze “luipaardvlekken” op een rots op Mars zijn aanwijzingen voor waarschijnlijk de beste tekenen van oeroud microbieel leven die we tot nu toe op Mars hebben gevonden. Om het zeker te weten, moeten we het gesteente bestuderen in laboratoria op aarde", staat te lezen in het X-profiel van NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

De route van de rover, zoals uitgelegd door de Associate Administrator voor het Directoraat Wetenschapsmissies, Nicola Fox, was ontworpen om ervoor te zorgen dat hij de gebieden van Mars kan bereiken waar zich vermoedelijk de meest interessante wetenschappelijke monsters bevinden. "Deze reis door de rivierbedding van de Neretva Vallis heeft zijn vruchten afgeworpen, omdat we iets hebben ontdekt dat we nog nooit eerder hadden gezien en dat onze wetenschappers veel te bestuderen zal geven."

Nieuw bewijs van leven op Mars: verzamelde monsters

Perseverance van zijn kant "verklaarde" op zijn X-profiel: "Ik kwam naar Mars met een taak om uit te voeren: het vinden en bemonsteren van de beste rotsen voor toekomstige studies in laboratoria op Aarde. Ik zal deze speciale rotskern, en de andere in mijn collectie, veilig bewaren totdat er een toekomstige missie komt om ze naar de Aarde te brengen voor verdere studie."

De rots, die 90 cm bij 60 cm meet, verschilt van andere roodgekleurde rotsen die op Mars zijn gevonden door de vele zwarte en witte vlekken die erop zitten. De zwarte delen bevatten fosfaat en ijzer, net als aardse gesteenten waarop gefossiliseerd microbieel leven is gevonden. Juist dit heeft de hoop van wetenschappers aangewakkerd om misschien het leven van microben op Mars te kunnen bevestigen, hoewel we voor een definitief antwoord zullen moeten wachten tot de monsters over een paar jaar naar onze planeet terugkeren.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

28-07-2024 om 22:21 geschreven door peter  

Night of Terror: The Chilling Pascagoula UFO Encounter of 1973″

On a quiet night in October 1973, the lives of two friends, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker, were forever changed by a series of events that remain one of the most compelling UFO incidents in history. Fishing on the Pascagoula River in Mississippi, they encountered a mysterious craft and beings that would haunt them for decades. This article delves into the details of their experience, the aftermath, and possible explanations for what occurred that fateful night.

The Encounter

On October 11, 1973, Charles Hickson, 42, and Calvin Parker, 19, were fishing off a pier after a long day at their shipyard jobs. As they cast their lines into the water, a large, oval-shaped craft with blue lights appeared in the sky. It hovered about 40 feet long and 10 feet high, emitting a strange buzzing sound.

Three creatures emerged from the craft, floating just above the ground. These beings, about five feet tall, had pale, wrinkled skin and grotesque faces with pointed protrusions instead of noses and ears. Their hands ended in crab-like claws, and they moved with an eerie, robotic motion. The beings paralyzed Hickson and Parker, rendering them unable to move or cry for help.

The creatures lifted them off the ground and carried them into the craft. Inside, they were subjected to invasive procedures. Hickson remained conscious, his mind racing in terror as he was examined by the beings. Parker fainted but later recalled being examined by a more humanoid female alien who communicated telepathically, attempting to reassure him.

Aftermath

Hickson and Parker woke up back on the riverbank, disoriented and terrified. Although it felt like hours had passed, they realized only 20 minutes had elapsed. Determined to report the incident, they contacted the Air Force, who directed them to the local police.

At the police station, the officers, initially skeptical, secretly recorded Hickson and Parker’s conversation. The recording, later known as the “secret tape,” captured their genuine fear and consistent recounting of the incident, lending credibility to their story. Multiple witnesses also reported seeing strange lights in the sky that night, corroborating their account.

Psychological Explanations

While Hickson and Parker’s story is compelling, some suggest it could be explained by psychological phenomena. Hypnagogic hallucinations, vivid experiences that occur between wakefulness and sleep, might account for their vivid memories. Sleep paralysis, where one is awake but unable to move, often accompanied by hallucinations and a sense of a threatening presence, could explain their paralysis and sense of fear.

Subsequent Encounters and Public Reaction

In the years following the incident, Hickson reported multiple additional encounters with various alien beings. He claimed to have received messages about environmental concerns and nuclear weapons and even described receiving an implant. These stories, while controversial, kept him in the public eye within the UFO community.

Parker, on the other hand, initially shied away from the spotlight, struggling with PTSD. He later began speaking publicly about the incident, publishing a book recounting his experiences. Their accounts, though occasionally evolving over time, remained consistent in their core details.

Broader Context and Impact

The Pascagoula incident is one of many reported alien abductions, each sharing common elements such as paralysis, telepathic communication, and invasive procedures. Notable cases include the 1961 abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, the 1975 Travis Walton case, and Whitley Strieber’s 1985 experience. These stories have significantly contributed to public fascination with extraterrestrial encounters and have sparked numerous debates about their validity.

VIDEO:

• The Why Files – The Pascagoula UFO Incident | When Nightmares Come True

• https://youtu.be/IAEsS4IOrBk

The Pascagoula UFO incident remains a fascinating and controversial event. While some believe Hickson and Parker were genuinely abducted by extraterrestrial beings, others attribute their experience to psychological phenomena such as hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis. Regardless of the true nature of their encounter, the trauma they experienced was real, and their story continues to captivate and intrigue those who hear it. The incident has not only left an indelible mark on the lives of Hickson and Parker but has also significantly influenced the broader narrative of UFO sightings and alien abductions.

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

28-07-2024 om 22:08 geschreven door peter  

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover finds possible signs of ancient Red Planet life

By Sharmila Kuthunur

"On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface."

NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered a rock on Mars that may have once hosted microbial life. The rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls, has chemical compositions and structures that could have been formed by ancient life, although non-biological processes cannot yet be ruled out. 

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

NASA's Perseverance rover may have found signs of ancient life in a rock on Mars; the mission team's scientists are ecstatic, but remain cautious as further analysis is needed to confirm the discovery. 

The rover has come across an intriguing, arrowhead-shaped rock that hosts chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by microbial life billions of years ago, when Mars was significantly wetter than it is today. Inside the rock, which scientists have nicknamed "Cheyava Falls," Perseverance's instruments detected organic compounds, which are precursors to the chemistry of life as we know it. Wisping through the length of the rock are veins of calcium sulfate, which are mineral deposits that suggest water — also essential for life — once ran through the rock.

The rover also found dozens of millimeter-sized splotches, each surrounded by a black ring and mimicking the appearance of leopard spots. These rings contain iron and phosphate, which are also seen on Earth as a result of microbe-led chemical reactions.

"These spots are a big surprise," David Flannery, an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, said in a statement. "On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface."

Related: 

• 'An oasis in the desert': NASA's Curiosity rover finds pure sulfur in Martian rocks

"We've never seen these three things together on Mars before," Morgan Cable, a scientist on the Perseverance team, said in a video NASA posted to YouTube today (July 25).

Cheyava Falls sits at the edge of an ancient, 400-meter-wide (437-yard-wide) river valley named Neretva Vallis. Scientists suspect this ancient channel was carved out long ago due to water gushing into Jezero Crater; Neretva Vallis runs along the inner wall of this region. In one possible scenario, mud that already possessed organic compounds got dumped into the valley and later cemented into the Cheyava Falls rock, which Perseverance sampled on July 21. A second episode of water oozing into the formed rock would have created the object's calcium sulfate veins and black-ringed spots the team sees today.

To be clear, the rock's visible features aren’t irrefutable evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars — not yet, at least. It is possible, for instance, that the observed calcium sulfate entered the rock at uninhabitably high temperatures, perhaps during a nearby volcanic event. However, whether such non-biological chemical reactions could have resulted in the observed black-ringed spots is an open question, the scientists say.

"This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something we've never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study," Nicola Fox, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in the statement.

"We have zapped that rock with lasers and X-rays and imaged it literally day and night from just about every angle imaginable," Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist of Caltech in California, said in the statement. "Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing more to give."

RELATED STORIES:

• Little Mars 'snowman' spotted by NASA's Perseverance rover (photo)
• Perseverance rover's Mars rock sample may contain best evidence of possible ancient life
• Perseverance Mars rover digs into intriguing 'Bright Angel' rock formation (photo)

To fully grasp what really unfolded in the ancient river valley billions of years ago, scientists are keen to get the Cheyava Falls sample to Earth, where it can be scrutinized with powerful instruments that Perseverance’s limited suite doesn't have. 

The complex Mars Sample Return effort, however, has run into many snags in recent months after its costs spiked to $11 billion. In its current form, the program requires multiple launches to Mars to place a vehicle on the Red Planet, after which either Perseverance will travel to the vehicle and drop off its collected samples, or pop those samples over to a retrieval helicopter that can complete the handoff. Then, an ascender would launch the samples into orbit, where a spacecraft would collect them and return them to Earth.

NASA assessed various simpler alternatives from industry and academic groups and awarded $1.5 million contracts to seven companies looking into the endeavor; three of the agency's own research centers are carrying out studies as well.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

{ https://www.space.com/ }

28-07-2024 om 01:41 geschreven door peter  

Telescopes Shooting Lasers, Assembling Telescopes in Space, Growing Plants on Mars | Overtime Q&A 2

What are those lasers shooting out from telescopes? Can we build a space elevator? Could we grow plants in Mars regolith? Why not assemble telescopes in space? Answering all these questions and more in this week's Overtime Q&A.

• https://youtu.be/CB5JBkDqmu0

{ https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain }

28-07-2024 om 01:12 geschreven door peter  

Earth is wobbling and days are getting longer — and humans are to blame

However, human-caused climate change is another factor that can alter the length of our days, and scientists are just starting to realize how much this will affect our planet's spin in the coming years.

Over the past few decades, the rate of ice loss from Earth's polar regions, particularly Greenland and Antarctica, has been increasing rapidly due to global warming, leading to rising sea levels. Most of this extra water accumulates near the equator, causing our planet to bulge slightly around the middle. This, in turn, slows the planet's spin because more weight is distributed farther away from the planet's center — similar to how spinning figure skaters slow down by moving their arms away from their bodies.

In the new study, published July 15 in the journal PNAS, researchers used an advanced artificial intelligence program that combines real-world data with the laws of physics to predict how the planet's spin will change over time.

Related: 

• Everything you need to know about planet Earth

The results back up a similar study published in March, which suggested that Earth's days will get longer in the future. However, the new program offered much more precise estimates of how days will lengthen over time.

The same research team behind the new paper also released another study, published July 12 in the journal Nature Geoscience, which showed that the increased water near the equator is moving Earth's axis of rotation. This is making the magnetic poles wobble farther away from the axis every year.

Scientists previously found that this effect has likely been happening for at least the past three decades. However, the new study suggests the axis will move even farther from its current position than previous studies predicted.

"We humans have a greater impact on our planet than we realise," Benedikt Soja, a geodesist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland who was a co-author on both the new studies, said in a statement. "And this naturally places great responsibility on us for the future of our planet."

Spinning slower

Earth's days have always varied in length. Around 1 billion years ago, our planet likely took only 19 hours to complete a single rotation, before slowing to the 24 hours we experience today.

It also changes on shorter timescales. For example, in 2020, Earth was spinning more quickly than at any point since records began in 1960. In 2021, the planet's rotation began to slow down again even though we experienced the shortest-ever recorded day in June 2022.

But in general, Earth's rotation has been slowing for millennia, mainly due to a process known as lunar tidal friction, in which the moon's gravitational effect on our oceans pulls water away from the poles. At the moment, this effect is lengthening our days by around 2.3 milliseconds every century.

The new studies show that climate change is currently lengthening our days by around 1.3 milliseconds every century. However, based on current global temperature models, the researchers predict that this could increase to 2.6 milliseconds per century by the end of the 21st century, which would make climate change the biggest influence on our planet's spin.

Potential impacts

One of the most likely effects of longer days would be the need to introduce negative leap seconds — where we'd occasionally lose a second from some future days to accommodate the lengthening days, similar to how leap years work.

The March study suggests that this may need to start happening as soon as 2029, mainly to accommodate for how much the days have already lengthened over the past few millennia.

In the past, scientists have suggested this introduction could mess with the timekeeping of computers and smartphones. However, not everyone is convinced this will be a major issue.

The researchers of the new studies also noted that future changes could impact space travel.

"Even if the Earth's rotation is changing only slowly, this effect has to be taken into account when navigating in space — for example, when sending a space probe to land on another planet," Soja said. It is therefore important to monitor these changes closely, he added.

The team also warned that the changes to Earth's rotational axis could alter the rotation of Earth's inner core, which could further increase how fast days lengthen. However, this potential interaction is still largely unknown.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

28-07-2024 om 01:06 geschreven door peter  

Donkere zuurstofbron ontdekt op de bodem van de oceaan: het zou de oorsprong van het leven kunnen verklaren

Door Janine

ROV KIEL 6000, GEOMAR/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 4.0

Zonder zuurstof zou er geen leven op aarde zijn, althans niet al tweeënhalf miljard jaar. We weten nu dat de eerste organismen die zuurstof produceerden blauwalgen waren en dat na verloop van tijd planten zich specialiseerden in de productie ervan door middel van fotosynthese. Om zuurstof te krijgen heb je zonlicht nodig, en daarom zijn er geen algen in de diepe zee die dit kunnen produceren, toch? Nou, ja en nee: het klopt dat er geen planten zijn in de diepten van de oceaan, maar tegelijkertijd hebben onderzoekers een productie van donkere zuurstof ontdekt uit bepaalde mineralen op de zeebodem. Laten we eens kijken hoe dit proces plaatsvindt en wat het betekent voor de oorsprong van het leven op aarde.

Zuurstofproducerende mineralen ontdekt op 5000 meter diepte

Anaëroob leven, dat wil zeggen leven zonder zuurstof, is zeker niet onbekend: het wordt bijvoorbeeld aangetroffen in sommige diepten in de zee, zoals de verloren stad van Lost City. Kortom, op de bodem van de oceaan is het vreemder om zuurstofproducerende mechanismen te vinden dan planten. Toch heeft een internationaal team van onderzoekers ontdekt dat er speciale metaalmineralen in de oceaanbodem zitten die zeewater kunnen splitsen in waterstof en zuurstof. Dit zijn de woorden van Andrew Sweetman van de Scottish Association for Marine Science:

Zuurstof was noodzakelijk om het aerobe leven op aarde te laten ontstaan, en we zijn er altijd van uitgegaan dat deze toevoer begon met fotosynthetische organismen. Maar nu weten we dat er zuurstof wordt geproduceerd in de diepten van de zee, waar geen licht is.

Kortom, het zou een “donkere zuurstof” zijn, juist omdat het niet wordt geproduceerd dankzij de fotosynthese van chlorofyl en zonlicht, maar door andere chemische processen die letterlijk plaatsvinden daar waar de zon niet schijnt.

De “geobatterijen” verborgen op de oceaanbodem

Goodfon

Zoals het team wetenschappers opmerkt in het onderzoek dat is gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Geoscience, zijn het speciale polymetaalknollen die zich vormen op de oceaanbodem die zuurstof produceren. Deze formaties bevatten metalen zoals nikkel, koper, kobalt, lithium en mangaan, oftewel materialen die veel worden gebruikt bij de fabricage van elektrische batterijen. En het zijn precies “geobatterijen” waar Sweetman en zijn collega's het over hebben, nu ze zuurstofproductie hebben ontdekt in de Clarion-Clipperton-zone in het midden van de Stille Oceaan.

De onderzoekers ontdekten namelijk hoe de combinatie van roest en zout water elektriciteit kan opwekken. En er is slechts 1,5 volt nodig om zeewater te scheiden in waterstof en zuurstof, zoals werd aangetoond in een experiment: in de praktijk de spanning van een klassieke AA-batterij. De metaalknollen in de diepten van de oceaan fungeren als batterijen, of beter gezegd “geobatterijen”, voor de productie van zuurstof.

Oorsprong van aëroob leven en mijnexploitatie: de vooruitzichten op ontdekking

De ontdekking van de onderzoekers wijst in twee verschillende richtingen. De eerste is het verleden, en meer dan tweeënhalf miljard jaar geleden, het ontstaan van aeroob leven. Als rotsen inderdaad ook zuurstof kunnen produceren, wie zegt dan dat ze niet ook verantwoordelijk zijn voor het ontstaan van het leven op aarde zoals we dat nu kennen?

Tegelijkertijd is de tweede richting die van de toekomst en mijnexploitatie. Polymetaalknollen die donkere zuurstof produceren zouden tientallen jaren lang batterijen op wereldschaal van energie kunnen voorzien, maar is dat wel een goed idee? Enerzijds werd het onderzoek deels gefinancierd door het bedrijf The Metals Company, dat de metaalknollen wil extraheren. Aan de andere kant heeft diepzeemijnbouw tot verschillende problemen voor oceaanecosystemen geleid. Waaronder één die de zuurstof wil produceren die we al heel lang inademen.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

27-07-2024 om 23:50 geschreven door peter  

Het iconische zeedier dat een schaal in de vorm van een taco had: een nieuwe studie onthult zijn “geheimen”

Door Janine

The Burgess Shale - Royal Ontario Museum

Vijfhonderd miljoen jaar geleden leefde er een zeedier in de vorm van een “taco” in de wateren van de aarde. Een ongekende fossiele analyse heeft iets nieuws ontdekt over dit merkwaardige uitgestorven dier.

Odaraia alata, het vreemde zeewezen uit het Cambrium

In het Cambrium, toen het leven op aarde dramatisch explodeerde, leefde een vreemd wezen dat op een garnaal leek in de eerste oceanen die zich op onze planeet vormden. Landdieren die worden gedefinieerd als geleedpotigen met onderkaken of tangkaken bestaan voor ongeveer 70% uit krabben, bijen, duizendpoten en garnalen. 

Daartoe behoorde de Odaraia, waarvan de specifieke schaal hem beschermde tegen mariene gevaren, in de prehistorie, ongeveer 508 miljoen jaar geleden. De Odaraia bewoog zich in ondiep water, was bijna twintig centimeter lang en door zijn taco-vormige schaal, de beroemde Mexicaanse tortilla, kon hij zowel in normale houding als ondersteboven voortbewegen in zee.

De Odaraia had kaken: het is bevestigd

Ghedoghedo/Wikimedia commons - CC BY-SA 3.0

Onderzoekers van het Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, hebben het eerste concrete bewijs geleverd dat dit schepsel was uitgerust met onderkaken, waarmee het zich voedde in open zee en niet alleen op de zeebodem. Door het analyseren van fossielen is het mogelijk geweest om enkele gaten in de evolutie van geleedpotigen op te vullen, en de Odaraia heeft in dit geval meer dan honderd jaar lang twijfels opgeroepen onder paleontologen.

In 1912 en 1981 werd de hypothese geopperd dat dit grote waterinsect in staat was om voedsel door zijn kaken te filteren, net als moderne garnalen. De beschikbare fossielen waren echter niet voldoende om deze theorie te bevestigen. De nieuwe studie, onder leiding van paleontoloog Alejandro Izquierdo López, heeft eindelijk wat duidelijkheid gebracht: na onderzoek van 150 exemplaren uit het Royal Ontario Museum die tot nu toe nog niet bestudeerd waren, koos het team 24 van de best bewaarde exemplaren uit om in detail te analyseren. De fossielen in kwestie waren gevonden in de rotsformatie Burgess Shale, waar de conservering van vondsten doorgaans buitengewoon goed is.

Ontdekt hoe de Odaraia zich voedde

Qohelet12/Wikimedia commons - CC BY-SA 4.0

De ongelooflijke staat van bewaring, zelfs van de zachte delen van het lichaam, maakte het mogelijk om te ontdekken dat de Odaraia doorzichtige kaken had, uitgerust met kleine tandjes. Tussen de kaken stond een enkele tand, die waarschijnlijk diende om voedsel beter te kunnen kauwen. Izquierdo López verklaarde dat “het lijkt op een drietand. Het is iets dat nog nooit bij een ander dier uit het Cambrium is gezien."

Verder bleek uit het onderzoek dat de 30 paar kleine poten van de Odaraia bedekt waren met talloze stekels en honderden kleine puntjes, die er samen uitzagen als een soort visnet voor de jacht op plankton. Een dier dat “deels filtervoeder, deels roofdier” was, met voor die tijd bijzonder grote ogen. Na meer dan een eeuw is het geheim van de bizarre Odaraia dus eindelijk onthuld en het helpt om de evolutie van de kaak bij de oude geleedpotigen van onze planeet te begrijpen.

Odaraia alata is portrayed swimming upside down. You can see its large eyes and mandibles, or pincers, at the front near its mouth.  

Artist's reconstruction of Odaraia alata. It has now been classified as a mandibulate, and rsearchers believe it could have swum upside down to gather food with the help of the many spines along its legs. Less 

ILLUSTRATED BY DANIELLE DUFAULT. COURTESY ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

27-07-2024 om 22:35 geschreven door peter  

Are Aliens Future Humans? Exploring Dr. Michael P. Masters’ Groundbreaking Theory

In a recent episode of “Reality Check,” journalist Ross Coulthart sat down with Dr. Michael P. Masters, a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Tech University, to explore a fascinating and unconventional theory: Could UFOs and extraterrestrial beings be future humans? This theory, though unconventional, offers a unique perspective on the longstanding mystery of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and the beings associated with them.

Dr. Michael P. Masters: A Profile

Dr. Michael P. Masters is not your typical scientist dabbling in speculative ideas. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from The Ohio State University, where he specialized in hominin evolutionary anatomy, archaeology, and biomedicine. His academic background provides a robust foundation for his research, which posits that the beings we often refer to as aliens might actually be our descendants from the future. This hypothesis is detailed in his books, including “Identified Flying Objects: A Multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon” (2019), “The Extratempestrial Model” (2022), and his novel “The Future Human Past” (2023).

The Future Human Hypothesis

The crux of Dr. Masters’ theory is the idea that UFOs and their occupants are not visitors from distant planets but time travelers from our own future. This hypothesis stems from his observations of the consistent humanoid descriptions of extraterrestrial beings. According to Masters, the anatomical features of these beings—such as their upright posture, bilateral symmetry, and advanced cognitive abilities—mirror the evolutionary trends observed in humans.

In his discussions, Masters elaborates on how these beings’ physical characteristics align with the trajectory of human evolution. He points out that the bipedalism, brain size, and facial anatomy of these so-called aliens show a continued evolution of traits that have defined our species for millions of years. He also touches on the improbability of similar evolutionary paths occurring independently on other planets, given the unique environmental pressures and conditions on Earth.

Personal Encounters and High Strangeness

An intriguing aspect of the interview was Dr. Masters’ personal experiences with the paranormal, which began intensively in 2022. These experiences include seeing multiple UFOs near his home in Montana and engaging in what he describes as telepathic communications with an advanced consciousness. These encounters, particularly one involving a deep trance mediumship session with two individuals, have profoundly influenced his views on the phenomenon. Masters describes these experiences as wake-up calls, pushing him to pay closer attention to the mysteries surrounding UAPs.

The Crypto-Terrestrial Hypothesis

In addition to his future human theory, Dr. Masters is also a proponent of the crypto-terrestrial hypothesis. This idea suggests that advanced beings might be hiding on Earth, possibly remnants of ancient civilizations that have advanced alongside us. This hypothesis aligns with various archaeological anomalies and ancient texts that hint at advanced knowledge and technology predating known human history.

For instance, the discovery of interlocking wooden pieces at Zambia’s Kalambo Falls dating back half a million years and a fossilized wheel imprint in a Ukrainian coal mine suggest the presence of advanced civilizations in Earth’s distant past. These findings challenge conventional timelines and suggest that humanity might not be the first technologically advanced species on this planet.

Cultural and Mythological Connections

Masters and Coulthart also delve into the cultural and mythological aspects of the phenomenon. They discuss how various ancient cultures, from the Sumerians to Native American tribes, have legends of great floods and advanced beings. These stories, preserved in oral histories and ancient texts, often depict encounters with superior entities that could be interpreted as future humans or remnants of advanced ancient civilizations.

Mainstream Media and Scientific Openness

Despite the unconventional nature of these theories, there is a growing openness in mainstream media and scientific communities to explore these ideas. This shift is partly due to the increasing number of credible UFO sightings and the acknowledgment by government agencies of the need to investigate these phenomena seriously.

Dr. Masters’ recent Harvard research paper, though briefly taken down due to a minor grammatical error, has sparked significant interest and discussions. This paper, co-authored with other researchers, explores various hypotheses, including the possibility of extraterrestrial or crypto-terrestrial origins of these beings. The goal is to foster a scientific dialogue that transcends traditional boundaries and considers all plausible explanations.

VIDEO:

• Ross Coulthart and Dr. Masters ask: Are aliens future humans? | Reality Check

• https://youtu.be/75MEePSaAbs

The conversation between Ross Coulthart and Dr. Michael P. Masters offers a thought-provoking perspective on the nature of UFOs and their occupants. By considering the possibility that these beings are future humans, we are invited to rethink our understanding of time, evolution, and the cosmos. As scientific and public interest in UAPs continues to grow, such interdisciplinary and open-minded approaches may bring us closer to unraveling one of humanity’s greatest mysteries.

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

27-07-2024 om 15:38 geschreven door peter  

Beneath the skin of Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system, expect the unexpected. Reaching out across the cosmos with this fascinating revelation is a new study that points to a 9-mile-thick layer of diamonds concealed beneath the planet's surface.

While instance of such valuable encrustation might sound tantalizing, turning these precious stones into fashionable jewelry remains an impossibility due to their inaccessible location deep within the planet.

Mercury, seen in this false-color image, may have a deep layer of inner diamonds, new research finds. 

(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)

However, these gems could hold the key to unraveling some of the big unanswered questions circling around Mercury' composition and its rather curious magnetic field.

The scientist leading the charge is Yanhao Lin, a staff scientist based out of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Beijing.

Mercury's hidden diamond

Oddly enough, for a planet its size, Mercury has a magnetic field. It is weaker than its Earth counterpart, but is still intriguing considering the planet's overall inactivity in geological terms.

What truly sparked Lin's interest, however, were the unusually dark patches on the surface of Mercury that were identified as graphite by NASA's Messenger mission.

This revelation triggered exploration into the possibility of something unique brewing within the planet's interior.

Birth of Mercury's diamond layer

Utilizing a team comprised of Chinese and Belgian researchers, Lin sought to explore the possibility of diamond formation deep in Mercury's core.

The team began by creating chemical mixtures that replicated Mercury's magma ocean. The concoction included iron, silica, and carbon, elements similar to certain kinds of meteorites, and was subjected to crushing pressures and extreme temperatures.

The team's rigorous experiments and computer simulations confirmed that Mercury's mantle would indeed be conducive to forming diamonds, especially under the revised conditions that the team established.

If these diamonds do exist, they could form a 9-mile average thick layer at the core-mantle boundary of Mercury, which is approximately 300 miles below the surface.

A diagram showing the proposed layer of diamond at Mercury's core-mantle boundary. 

(Image credit: Dr. Yanhao Lin and Dr. Bernard Charlier)

Mercury's magnetism

The hypothesized existence of this layer of diamonds is more than just an intriguing fact. It could potentially explain the origin of Mercury's magnetic field.

These diamonds may facilitate heat transfer between the core and mantle, thereby creating temperature differences and causing liquid iron to circulate – a process that would kickstart the creation of a magnetic field.

Implications for future research

The discovery of a potential diamond layer within Mercury opens new avenues for planetary research and composition studies not only of Mercury but also of other celestial bodies.

Understanding the unique geological characteristics of Mercury could provide deeper insight into the formation and evolution of the solar system.

Future missions to Mercury may focus on directly exploring its interior structure through advanced geophysical measurements and remote sensing techniques to verify the existence of this diamond layer and its impact on the planet's magnetic field.

Planetary formation and Mercury's diamonds

This revelation also prompts a reconsideration of the processes involved in planetary formation.

Diamonds are typically associated with high-pressure environments, suggesting that similar conditions may exist in other distant rocky exoplanets and moons within our solar system.

Lin and his team's findings underline the importance of studying extreme planetary conditions, which can reveal not only the composition of these bodies but also the historical processes that formed them, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of geology across the cosmos.

Evolution of exoplanets

The potential discovery casts a new light on the evolution of carbon-rich exoplanets. According to Lin, the process that led to the formation of a diamond layer on Mercury could also be at play on other planets, possibly leaving similar traces.

The arrival of the BepiColombo spacecraft, a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in 2025 will provide better opportunities to delve deeper into this intriguing discovery.

Mercury, it seems, continues to dazzle us with new surprises, keeping the scientific community and general public on their toes.

Who'd have thought that this small, seemingly quiet planet could hold such vast volumes of precious stones deep within its confines?

• The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

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27-07-2024 om 15:23 geschreven door peter  

NASA has snagged a chunk of rock on Mars that could someday prove to be the first clear evidence of alien life.

To be clear, NASA is not declaring that it's discovered Martian life. Rather, its Perseverance rover has drilled a sample from a rock with attributes that could have come from ancient microbial activity, the agency announced Thursday.

To confirm their suspicions, scientists would need to bring the rock sample to Earth and study it in more detail.

"This is exactly the kind of sample that we wanted to find," Katie Stack Morgan, a lead scientist on the Perseverance mission, told Business Insider.

3 key features could point to alien life

"Cheyava Falls" (left) shows the dark hole where NASA's Perseverance took a core sample. The white patch directly beside the hole is where the rover abraded the rock to investigate its composition.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS© NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

The rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls, has three critical features:

However, both the organic material and the leopard spots could have come from non-biological processes. That's why scientists need to study the sample more closely on Earth to know for sure.

The rover has reached the limit of what it can learn about the rock.

"We're not saying there's life on Mars, but we're seeing something that is compelling as a potential biosignature," Stack Morgan said.

Related video: 

• Over 5000 Alien Worlds Have Been Discovered Outside Our Solar System (Dailymotion)

A biosignature is any feature that points to the presence of life.

"This is a very significant discovery," she added.

It's a much-needed win for the space agency. In recent months, NASA has taken hit after hit from budget limitations and technical errors across missions.

NASA needs this win

Earlier this year, the agency's first attempt to return to the moon since 1972 failed. The NASA-funded Peregrine moon mission, by the company Astrobotic suffered a fuel leak shortly after launch, forcing it to return to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. (The next attempt, a mission by the company Intuitive Machines, also funded by NASA, successfully landed on the moon.)

Then, new budgeting decisions came down. NASA's budget proposal for 2025 effectively defunds the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which is still a highly productive and functional mission.

And just last week, NASA officials announced they were scrapping the VIPER moon rover that the agency has already spent $450 million to build. NASA plans to disassemble it and reuse some of the parts for future moon missions.

Meanwhile, two astronauts have been stuck on the International Space Station for 51 days because the NASA-funded Boeing spaceship that carried them there is leaking helium and having thruster malfunctions.

Even Perseverance wasn't spared. In April, NASA announced it was canceling its $11 billion plan to send a follow-up mission, called Mars Sample Return, to collect the rover's tubes of Martian rock and carry them back to Earth. That was the plan that could've brought scientists the Cheyava Falls rock sample.

Instead, NASA is asking companies to step in and propose their own cheaper, faster versions of the mission.

The Cheyava Falls rock especially needs the extra studying.

"This rock is also one of the most complex rocks we've seen on the surface of Mars. There is a lot going on in this rock," Stack Morgan said.

Is it aliens? Check the CoLD scale

For now, this discovery is just a "step one" on the seven-step "confidence of life detection" (CoLD) scale.

The CoLD scale is a rough rating of scientific confidence in any potential alien-life discovery.

"We've taken us up to the start of that scale, and I think that's what the rover was sent to Mars to do," Stack Morgan said.

A possible biosignature can climb to higher levels of confidence as evidence builds. For example, if scientists can confirm that known non-biological processes didn't create the leopard spots, the Cheyava Falls rock might ascend to step two or three.

But they need to get the sample to Earth first. And NASA needs to figure out how to do that.

"We're hoping that our most recent sample can play into the conversation about whether this effort is worth it," Stack Morgan said. "And we believe that it is."

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.

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27-07-2024 om 14:59 geschreven door peter  

Mysterieuze sporen in Lage Landen: UFO's geland?

Vanuit de lucht zagen mensen plots vreemde sporen op Belgische bodem.

Het gaat hier om kronkelende paden die verschenen in een veld genesteld in de Kempen, een streek aan weerszijden van de grens tussen Nederland en België. En volgens het Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos (ANB) "zijn het zeker geen wandelpaden". Wat is er aan de hand?

Maar het gaat hier om een recent fenomeen waar eigenlijk niets mysterieus aan is. De verklaring is dan ook ontnuchterend, meldt het Belgische mediakanaal Sudinfo. 

De ANB legt uit: "We hebben de stroken (die zichtbaar zijn vanuit de lucht) gemaaid en het is de bedoeling dat de nieuwe heidevegetatie daar groeit. Het klinkt inderdaad vreemd, maar we werken strook per strook en punt per punt zodat de oude heide op dit perceel de kans krijgt om te verjongen. We herhalen deze operatie elke twee of drie jaar om de variatie verder te vergroten. Hoe meer leeftijdsvariaties er zijn in een heideveld, hoe rijker de structuur, hoe meer soorten er opduiken en hoe robuuster de heidehabitat".

Geen UFO's dus, maar zorgvuldig natuurmanagement!

• (FVDV and AsD for Tagtik/Source: Sudinfo/Illustration: Unsplash)

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27-07-2024 om 00:28 geschreven door peter  

Er is mogelijk nog veel meer pure zwavel aanwezig, want in de buurt liggen nog verschillende gelijkaardige stenen. Dat stelt wetenschappers voor vragen, want ze dachten niet dat er zich op die plek op Mars ooit zwavel zou hebben gevormd.

"Een veld vinden met stenen gemaakt uit puur zwavel, is zoals een oase in de woestijn vinden", vertelt Ashwin Vasavada van de NASA. "Het zou daar niet moeten liggen, dat veld, dus nu moeten we proberen om een verklaring te vinden. Het ontdekken van onverwachte en rare dingen maakt het verkennen van de ruimte zo opwindend." 

De ontdekking gebeurde in het kanaal van Gediz Vallis, een bedding aan de voet van de 5 kilometer hoge Mount Sharp. Ooit moet daar water door gestroomd hebben, zeggen specialisten. Maar er is nog veel onderzoek nodig om te begrijpen hoe het landschap er zich precies heeft gevormd. De jongste ontdekking maakt die uitdaging nog wat groter. 

Curiosity maakte een close-up van een witte steen, gelijkaardig aan degene die onlangs openbarstte. Er ligt in de buurt een heel veld.

© Foto: NASA/JPL - Caltech/MSSS

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27-07-2024 om 00:22 geschreven door peter  

Venus is known for being really quite inhospitable with high surface temperatures and Mars is known for its rusty red horizons. Even the moons of some of the outer planets have fascinating environments with Europa and Enceladus boasting underground oceans. Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope show that Ariel, a moon of Uranus, is also a strong candidate for a sub surface ocean. How has this conclusion been reached? Well JWST has detected carbon dioxide ice on the surface on the trailing edge of features trailing away from the orbital direction. The possible cause, an underground ocean!

Uranus is the seventh planet in the Solar System and has five moons. Ariel is one of them and is notable for its icy surface and fascinatingly diverse geological features. It was discovered back in 1851 by William Lassell who funded his love of astronomy from his brewing business! The surface of Ariel is a real mix of canyons, ridges, faults and valleys mostly driven by tectonic activity. Cryovolcanism is a prominent process on the surface which drives constant resurfacing and has led to Ariel having the brightest surface of all Uranus’ moons. 

Studying Ariel closeup reveals that the surface is coated with significant amounts of carbon dioxide ice. The trailing hemisphere of Ariel seems to be particularly coated in the ice which has surprised the community. At the distance of Uranian system from the Sun, an average of 2.9 billion kilometres, carbon dioxide will usually turns straight into a gas and be lost to space, it’s not expected to freeze!

Until recently, the most popular theory that supplies the carbon dioxide to Ariel’s surface is interactions between its surface and charged particles in the magnetosphere of Uranus. The process known as radiolysis breaks down molecules through ionisation. A new study just published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests an intriguing alternative, the carbon dioxide molecules are expelled from Ariel, possibly from a subsurface liquid ocean!

A team of astronomers using JWST have undertaken a spectral analysis of Ariel and compared the results with lab based findings. The results revealed that Ariel has some of the most carbon dioxide rich deposits in the solar system. The deposits are not just wisps and trace amounts instead adding up to about 10 millimetres across the trailing hemisphere. Furthermore, the results also showed signals from carbon monoxide too which should not be there given the average temperatures. 

It is still possible that radiolysis is responsible for at least some of the deposits but the replenishment from the subsurface ocean is thought to be the main contributor. This hypothesis has been supported by the discovery of signals from carbonate minerals, salts that can only be present due to the interaction between rock and water. 

The only way to be absolutely sure is for a future space mission to Uranus. Such a mission will undoubtedly explore the moons of Uranus. Ariel is covered in canyons, fissures and grooves and it is suspected these are openings to its interior. A robotic explorer in the Uranian system will be able to uncover the origin of the carbon oxides on Ariel. Without such a mission we are still somewhat in the dark given that Voyager 2 only imaged around 35% of the moon’s surface. 

Source : 

• Carbon Oxides on Uranus’ Moon Ariel Hint at Hidden Ocean, Webb Telescope Reveals

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

26-07-2024 om 18:47 geschreven door peter