NASA spots mysterious object moving 1million mph through space

• READ MORE: Massive rogue planet glowing aurora spotted wandering the galaxy

By Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

A rogue, hyper-speed object — over 27,306 times the size of Earth — is hurtling so fast through our galaxy that it might break free of the Milky Way, according to NASA.

Scientists determined the mysterious object was cruising at a breakneck one million miles per hour when they spotted it more than 400 light years from Earth - one light-year is equal to six trillion miles.

While experts have not determined what the newfound celestial body is, they speculated it is a 'brown dwarf,' a star which is larger than a planet but lacks the mass to sustain long-term nuclear fusion in its core like Earth's sun.

If the object confirmed as a brown dwarf, it would be first-ever to be documented in a chaotic, hyper-speed orbit capable of breaking free from our home galaxy. 

A rogue, hyper-speed object - over 27,306 times the size of Earth - is hurtling so fast through our galaxy that it might break free of the Milky Way, according to NASA. The fast-moving object (NASA artist's image above, right) is estimated to be cruising at  1 million miles-per hour

A coalition of citizen-scientists with NASA's 'Backyard Worlds: Planet 9' project were the first to spot the celestial body, the US space agency confirmed this week.

'I can't describe the level of excitement,' German citizen-scientist Martin Kabatnik, a long-time member of NASA's Backyard Worlds program, said in statement. 

'When I first saw how fast it was moving,' the Nuremberg-based researcher confessed, 'I was convinced it must have been reported already.' 

Backyard Worlds citizen-scientists Martin Kabatnik, Thomas P. Bickle and Dan Caselden were the first to spot this million mph object a few years ago, earning the hyper-speed object the catalogued name CWISE J124909.08+362116.0.

According to astronomer Dr Kyle Kremer, who has collaborated with them on better understanding the object, several astrophysics theories could explain how the object, CWISE J1249 for short, could have gotten to its incredible speed. 

In one theory, CWISE J1249 rocketed out of a two star or binary star system after its 'white dwarf' sister star died off — collapsing in an explosive runaway nuclear fusion reaction called a supernova.

Another viable theory has it that CWISE J1249 originated inside a tight cluster of starts called a 'globular cluster' where it was flung free via the pull of a black hole. 

'When a star encounters a black hole binary,' Dr Kremer said in a NASA statement on the discovery, 'the complex dynamics of this three-body interaction can toss that star right out of the globular cluster.'

The volunteers who make up NASA's 'Backyard Worlds' work with interstellar image data taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) - a huge 'all sky' survey that ran from 2009-2011 and again from 2013-2024. Above, the WISE telescope (artist's concept)

NASA's WISE telescope scans led to the discovery of thousands of minor planets in our galaxy and the first Earth 'trojan asteroid,' a rock that orbits the same ring around the sun as our own planet. Above, a WISE mosaic 'the Heart and Soul nebulae' about 6,000 light-years from Earth

A host of university academics and government scientists, including members of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, have now drafted up a report on these volunteer citizen-scientists' observations, awaiting peer review at Cornell's arXiv site. 

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

Extraordinary row breaks out between Harvard, Johns Hopkins scientists over origin of mystery object that came from outer space 

These experts, including an astronomer from the University of Leicester and an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, have made their own case that the object is a 'hypervelocity L subdwarf.' 

That would make it among the smallest objects to qualify as a brown dwarf ever documented.

The international group of volunteers who make up NASA's 'Backyard Worlds' work with interstellar image data taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) — a huge 'all sky' survey that ran from 2009-2011 and again from 2013-2024.

NASA's WISE telescope scans led to the discovery of thousands of minor planets in our galaxy, multiple star clusters and the first Earth 'trojan asteroid,' meaning a rock that orbits the same ring around the sun as our own planet.

It has been NASA's hope that members of the general public, like Backyard Worlds' team, will make even more discoveries with this vast haul of outer space data.

The researchers tested 100 scenarios to see where high-speed CWISE J1249 might go next. The team found multiple scenarios (straight grey lines above) where this L subdwarf is likely to fling itself out of the Milky Way (the blue-dotted circle is the boundary of our Milky Way)

According to NASA, scientists plan to train further equipment on CWISE J1249 in an effort to get a better sense of its chemical make-up or 'elemental composition.'

The chemistry of this high-speed object could hold 'clues about which of these scenarios is more likely,' whether it was flung by a black hole or a collapsing white dwarf, whether it is a gas giant or a burning brown dwarf. 

Using open source software for modeling galactic orbits of celestial bodies, called galpy, these researchers tested '100 random initial conditions' alongside the identifying data they already know about CWISE J1249 to see where it might go next.

As published in their arXiv paper, which is awaiting peer-review with the Astrophysical Journal Letters, the team found multiple scenarios where this suspected 'hypervelocity L subdwarf' is likely to fling itself out of the Milky Way.

'Given the uncertainties in the inferred velocities and potential models,' the team wrote in their study, 'we find that [WISE] J1249+3621 has a significant probability of being unbound to the Milky Way.' 

'17 percent of our simulated orbits are unbound over 10 gigayears,' they added, meaning that the object could eject itself into the unknown in about 10 billion years.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

20-08-2024 om 21:48 geschreven door peter  

Astronomers Just Discovered A Low-Mass Object Flying At a Million Miles Per Hour

A team of citizen scientists first discovered the object while they were working on NASA’s Backyard Worlds Planet 9 project.

by Doris Elín Urrutia

 

W.M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko

What is the object?

Right now, researchers at NASA believe the fast-flung object, which they’ve called CWISE J124909.08+362116.0, once lived alongside another celestial body, as binary pairs are common in the Milky Way. The object also likely has a low-mass and could be a small star or a brown dwarf, an object larger than a gas giant planet, but lacking the necessary nuclear fusion to be a certifiable star. It’s possible that it was a partner to a white dwarf that went supernova. If it finally teetered over the edge towards self-annihilation and exploded, the resulting force could have given the runaway object its extraordinary speed.

Where did it come from?

Another explanation places CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 in a sea of many more companions.

Data obtained with the W. M. Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii showed that the fast-flying object is very old. NASA officials write it is “likely from one of the first generations of stars in our galaxy.”

This fits the description of a globular cluster, a spherical collection of hundreds of thousands to millions of stars that can be very old. Perhaps CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 lived in such a packed community, only separated by an average distance of just one light-year apart. A “chance meeting” with a pair of black holes, NASA says, may have been enough to send it on a one-way trip into intergalactic space.

“When a star encounters a black hole binary, the complex dynamics of this three-body interaction can toss that star right out of the globular cluster,” Kyle Kremer, a member of the research team and incoming assistant professor in UC San Diego’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, said in NASA’s statement.

More data on the runaway’s elemental composition could finally answer why it’s so out of this world.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

20-08-2024 om 21:34 geschreven door peter  

Firsts for ESA

JUICE marks several firsts for space exploration and ESA. JUICE is the first non-NASA solo mission to the outer solar system, as well as the first ESA mission to Jupiter. The mission also follows in the footsteps of NASA’s Juno mission, utilizing enormous solar panels instead of a nuclear-powered MMRTG for power.

In another first, JUICE will perform the first-ever twin Earth-Moon flyby for this upcoming boost. This is a challenging ‘thread the needle,’ sort of maneuver, as the Moon flyby sets up the spacecraft for the Earth flyby. The maneuver is termed a ‘LEGA,’ or Lunar-Earth Gravitational Assist. JUICE fired its engines for 43 minutes last year to set it up for this month’s Earth-Moon flyby. A series of four smaller course correction burns were recently carried out, starting with a 31-second maneuver on July 22^nd.

The big test for the spacecraft will come in 2031, when JUICE fires up its main engines for orbital insertion around Jupiter. The trick during any engine burn for the spacecraft is to not induce any unwanted wobbles in the enormous cruciform-shaped solar panels.

The double flyby is the fortuitous result of the launch window back in 2023. The first Moon flyby gives engineers a chance to tweak the Earth pass shortly before closest approach if needed. The total delta-V maximum for the spacecraft is 2,700 meters per second or 6,000 miles per hour.

JUICE was even briefly mistaken for an incoming Potentially Hazardous Asteroid early this month. The spacecraft poses no hazard to the Earth-Moon system.

Previewing the Flyby

Here are the specifics for the encounter:

The closest Moon approach occurs on Monday, August 19^th at 21:16 Universal Time (UT), 700 kilometers from the lunar surface.

Closest Earth approach occurs about 24 hours later on Tuesday, August 20^th at 21:57 UT. At its closest, JUICE will pass 6,807 kilometers from the surface of Earth over northeastern Asia and the Pacific. This encounter happens in the daytime. Australia and southeast Asia have the best shot at seeing JUICE inbound just before closest approach in the pre-dawn sky.

For Europe and North America, the circumstances are less favorable. These locales will see the spacecraft farther out when it’s highest in the sky. For example, Paris will see the spacecraft at around 23:20 UT at a range of 220,000 miles/354,000 kilometers out. Boston will see JUICE at a range of 150,000 miles/241,000 kilometers away around 6:20 UT in the predawn sky.

The southeastern U.S. gets another shot around 1:00 UT on August 21^st (9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time August 20^th). This low to the horizon opportunity occurs at dusk, as the spacecraft is then about 30,000 miles distant.

ESA’s ESOC (European Space Operations Centre) and the worldwide Estrack network will track JUICE throughout the flyby. This will also give mission controllers a chance to test key instruments, which will be switched on during the pass. Of special concern is the RIME (Radar for Icy Moons Exploration) instrument. RIME seems to be getting interference from other spacecraft instruments. Controllers will operate it in both solo and tandem mode along with other onboard instruments during the lunar flyby, in an effort to troubleshoot RIME. RIME is crucial to probing the interior of Jupiter’s icy moons.

Spotting JUICE

The key to spotting JUICE is knowing just where and when to look. JUICE is 27 meters across from the tip of one solar panel to another, and will pass Earth within range of the ring of geostationary satellites. A good specular glint of the Sun off of one of the large solar panels could temporarily raise JUICE in range of naked eye brightness.

Getting a precise position on JUICE is tricky, as most planetarium programs won’t include the deflection of the spacecraft due to the gravity of the Earth and the Moon. Generating ephemerides with JPL Horizons is your best bet, as it’ll give you a precise position in the sky in Right Ascension (RA) and Declination to point and conduct a search. Simply watch at the appointed time, and attempt to ‘ambush’ JUICE as it glides past. Much like a satellite, JUICE will look like a moving ‘star’ drifting across the field of fixed background stars.

JUICE is spacecraft ID -28 in the JPL Horizons System.

Astronomer Gianluca Masi caught sight of JUICE during a Virtual Telescope session on August 9^th:

Heavens-Above may post tracking maps for JUICE. They’ve done so in the past… we’ll note these here this weekend if they turn up.

Next up, JUICE will flyby Venus next August. It will then make two more Earth flybys, one in 2026 and a final one in 2029.

Good luck and clear skies, on your quest to nab JUICE on this historic Earth-Moon flyby.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

20-08-2024 om 21:26 geschreven door peter  

Humans have always been captivated by the star-studded skies. Much like an orchestra thrills its audience with each instrument, our universe continues to astound us with each new revelation, including this recent discovery of CWISE J1249 by NASA citizen scientists of an unknown object moving at incredible speed.

One such incredible discovery was recently made by an exceptional group of astronomical enthusiasts, the citizen scientists of NASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project.

Their keen eyes spotted an object moving at an astonishing speed of 1 million miles per hour, a rarity in the tranquil orbits of the Milky Way. This sensational find marks the first detection of such a fast and compact celestial object.

Understanding the Backyard Worlds project

NASA's "Backyard Worlds" is a fun citizen science project that invites everyone to help find new celestial objects.

This initiative aids in the analysis of huge amounts of data from NASA's NEOWISE mission to spot elusive brown dwarfs, rogue planets, and other cosmic gems that might have slipped past automated searches.

• https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x94btmk

• https://youtu.be/4jbDHeG1M5Q

Participants, called "citizen scientists," get to analyze images online, hunting for moving objects that could lead to exciting discoveries.

It's a fantastic opportunity for people from all walks of life -- no matter their scientific background -- to pitch in on real astronomical research.

Those involved in Backyard Worlds have played a key role in spotting several brown dwarfs -- objects that are too big to be planets but not quite large enough to become stars.

CWISE J1249 and the NEOWISE mission

The Backyard Worlds

From 2009 to 2011, WISE diligently mapped the sky, capturing images in infrared light, before being reactivated as NEOWISE in 2013.

This project, which was retired in 2024, played a crucial role in this discovery.

A few years back, dedicated citizen scientists, Martin Kabatnik, Thomas P. Bickle, and Dan Caselden, noticed a faint and fast-moving object on their screens, which was later titled CWISE J124909.08+362116.0.

Follow-up observations confirmed the discovery and allowed the scientists to characterize the object, earning these citizen scientists co-authorship in the study documenting this discovery.

Mysteries of CWISE J1249

• https://youtu.be/wNFsdBh7wrs

"I can't describe the level of excitement. When I first saw how fast it was moving, I was convinced it must have been reported already," said Kabatnik, hailing from Nuremberg, Germany.

Yet, the unique attributes of this object didn't stop at its extraordinary speed.

The low mass of CWISE J1249 makes it a difficult object to categorize -- it could either be a low-mass star or a brown dwarf, a celestial body somewhere between a gas giant planet and a star.

Despite being rare, planet-searching volunteers have already identified over 4000 brown dwarfs. However, none of these objects are on a galactic getaway like CWISE J1249.

Secrets of an ancient star

The intrigue doesn't end there.

Data from the W. M. Keck Observatory shows that CWISE J1249 possesses a different composition, with markedly less iron and other metals than other stars and brown dwarfs.

This unique composition indicates that CWISE J1249 might be quite ancient, possibly from one of the first generations of stars.

The object's breakneck speed has led to theories about its origin. Some speculate that it was part of a binary system with a white dwarf, which exploded as a supernova.

Alternatively, it might have been part of a globular cluster, a tightly bound cluster of stars, and a fortuitous encounter with a pair of black holes could have flung it off its path.

Collective effort in discovering fast-moving star

To further investigate these theories, scientists plan to examine the elemental composition of CWISE J1249 more closely.

The discovery was a collective endeavor, involving a medley of participants-volunteers, professionals, and students.

Kabatnik mentions Melina Thévenot and Frank Kiwy, whose efforts significantly contributed to this finding.

This study was led by Adam Burgasser, a professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), along with co-authors Hunter Brooks and Austin Rothermich, who both commenced their astronomical careers as citizen scientists.

These scientific triumphs demonstrate how the collective power of curious minds can unravel the most profound mysteries hiding in the depths of our fascinating universe.

Future of citizen science

The discovery of CWISE J1249 is not just a remarkable achievement for those involved, but also a testament to the growing potential of citizen science in modern astronomy.

With access to ever-expanding data from missions like WISE and NEOWISE, citizen scientists are increasingly contributing to groundbreaking discoveries.

Projects like Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 demonstrate how the collaborative efforts of enthusiastic volunteers, armed with the right tools and guidance, can lead to significant scientific advancements.

As technology continues to evolve, the future holds even greater possibilities for citizen scientists to play an active role in unraveling the mysteries of our universe.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

20-08-2024 om 21:05 geschreven door peter  

Artikel door Zeleb.es

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Zijn mythen gewoon fantasieverhalen?
Mensen hebben een grote verbeeldingskracht. Toch ontstaan verhalen, mythen en legendes niet altijd simpelweg uit de creativiteit van een bevoorrechte geest.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Wat als het waar is?
In het geval van oude legendes en mythen is het mogelijk dat de verbeelding met de werkelijkheid speelde. Fenomenen en gebeurtenissen die destijds niet zo gemakkelijk te verklaren waren, werden anders geïnterpreteerd. Laten we samen uitzoeken wat de wetenschappelijke en historische basis is achter enkele (zeer bijzondere) legendes uit de oudheid.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De zondvloed
Niet alleen in de Bijbel, maar ook in tal van andere mythische tradities in het Oosten en de klassieke wereld, waren er verhalen over een vreselijke storm die de aarde 40 dagen lang hevig deed schudden.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Hoe verklaart de wetenschap het?
Dit verhaal is het onderwerp geweest van verschillende hypothesen. De meest erkende is dat het verwijst naar een overstroming die in 5000 voor Christus het gebied trof dat overeenkomt met de huidige Zwarte Zee.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De ark van Noach
De zondvloed, volgens de bijbelse traditie, werd door God gestuurd om mensen te straffen. Slechts één van hen kon worden gespaard, Noach. Dankzij Gods wil, bouwde hij een groot schip waarin hij een mannetje en een vrouwtje van alle levende dieren verzamelde. Die zouden de planeet opnieuw bevolken zodra de vloed voorbij was.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Wat zit er achter dit verhaal?
Mensen gaven zichzelf in die tijd verklaringen voor dingen die ze nog niet konden begrijpen. Bijvoorbeeld voor de ontdekking van visfossielen op hoge bergtoppen. In de oudheid kon dit alleen maar het werk van een god zijn geweest. Wie weet kwamen mensen daarom met het verhaal van Noach op de proppen?
Nu weten we echter dat het vinden dan visfossielen op bergtoppen het resultaat is van aardplaten tektoniek.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De Chimaera
De Ilias is een epos dat wordt toegeschreven aan de Griekse dichter Homerus. Hierin werd ook de de mythe van de Chimaera vereeuwigt. Een vuurspuwend monster met een slangenstaart en een leeuwenkop. Het monster werd verantwoordelijk gehouden voor de periodieke verwoesting van de kusten van het huidige Turkije.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De realiteit die waarschijnlijk op deze mythe is geïnspireerd
Achter de mythe van een vuurspuwend monster, kunnen volgens sommige geleerden de eeuwige vuren schuilgaan die vandaag de dag nog steeds te zien zijn op de berg Chimera in Turkije.
De vuren worden aangedreven door methaangas dat uit de rotsen gutst vlakbij de archeologische opgravingen van Yanartaş. Hoogstwaarschijnlijk werden de vuren in de oudheid door zeelieden gebruikt als oriëntatiepunt. Als ze dit vanaf hun boten zagen, zou dit hebben bijgedragen aan het ontstaan van de mythe.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Orakel van Delphi
Pythia was de priesteres die verantwoordelijk was voor het reciteren van de antwoorden van het orakel van Delphi. Ze kon dit alleen doen toen ze een staat van mystieke extase bereikte. Dit werd veroorzaakt door de dampen die uit een rots ontsnapten, althans dit is wat de Griekse historicus en filosoof Plutarchus ons vertelt.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De meest erkende hypothese over de oorsprong van de 'zoete dampen'
De 'zoete dampen' die Plutarchus noemde, zijn het onderwerp geweest van talrijke studies en verhitte debatten. Wat bekend is, is dat de tempel gewijd aan Apollo in Delphi zich in een actief seismisch gebied bevindt. Er zijn twee breuklijnen onder gevonden. De meest erkende hypothese is dat een aardbeving langs de breuklijn de gassen veroorzaakte waarnaar de Griekse auteur verwijst.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Maar wat voor gas?
Wat voor soort gas het was en of het hallucinogene eigenschappen had, daar zijn wetenschappers het niet over eens. Degenen die de aardbevingshypothese ondersteunen, geloven dat deze gassen de gassen waren die normaal in deze gevallen worden uitgestoten, zoals koolstofdioxide en zwavelzuur. Andere wetenschappers spreken van een mix van methaan en ethyleen.

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Foto: Hansuan Fabregas / Pixabay

De mythe van Atlantis
Volgens de mythe, 'achter de Zuilen van Hercules' (die voor de Grieken het einde van de wereld vertegenwoordigden) werd een legendarisch eiland bewoond door zeer machtige halfgoden: Atlantis. Het einde van dit koninkrijk zou echter op één dag komen. Het zou vernietigd worden door een catastrofe nadat het tevergeefs had geprobeerd de stad Athene binnen te vallen.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Wat zou de inspiratie zijn voor deze legende?
Velen zijn het erover eens dat dit verhaal geboren zou kunnen zijn na de uitbarsting van een vulkaan, Thera, in het gebied waar Santorini tegenwoordig staat.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Van Griekenland naar Hawaï
Volgens de mythe werd de Kilauea-vulkaan bewoond door de vuurgodin Pele. Een onstuimige, opvliegende en wraakzuchtige godheid. Wraak zou het motief zijn geweest voor een van haar meest extreme acties: een heel bos in brand steken en een man in de vulkaan gooien, omdat hij niet voor haar koos, maar haar zus. De zus van de godin Pele was wanhopig en groef onvermoeibaar in de vulkaan om haar geliefde te vinden terwijl ze de lucht vulde met vonken en vulkaansteentjes.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Foto: Mandy Beerley / Unsplash

De gevolgen van de uitbarsting van Thera
Deze natuurramp, die ongeveer 3500 jaar geleden plaatsvond, was verantwoordelijk voor de ineenstorting van een deel van het eiland. Het veroorzaakte verschrikkelijke tsunami's en een gaswolk die hoogstwaarschijnlijk leidde tot het verval van de Minoïsche beschaving van het nabijgelegen Kreta.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Uitleg
De historische hypothese en het ontstaan van deze oude 'soapserie' verwijst naar de eindeloze uitbarsting in de 15e eeuw. Uiteindelijk werd 430 vierkante kilometer bos op het eiland getroffen en duurde het 60 jaar. Het wanhopige graven van Pele's zus zou de verklaring zijn die mensen zichzelf gaven over de vorming van de Kilauea-caldera vulkaan

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Namazu, de aardbevingsmeerval
Een populaire Japanse legende betreft een gigantische meerval genaamd Namazu. Hij ligt verborgen onder de oppervlakte van Japan. Vastgehouden door de god Kashima, dankzij een gigantische steen op zijn kop. De gewelddadige aardbevingen die Japan doen schudden, zouden plaatsvinden wanneer, Namazu fladdert en zijn vinnen schudt als hij wil ontsnappen aan de controle van Kashima.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Wat is de wetenschappelijke basis van de legende?
Het is bekend dat Japan op de verbindingslijn van verschillende tektonische platen ligt. Het land heeft talrijke vulkanen en wordt doorkruist door breuklijnen met een hoge mate van seismische activiteit. De meerval zou, volgens de populaire traditie, een dier zijn dat in staat is aardbevingen te voorspellen. Al deze oorzaken hebben hoogstwaarschijnlijk geleid tot het ontstaan van de legende.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Het meer dat doodt
Een Kameroenese legende zegt dat, tijdens een tijdperk waar veel mensen het land verlieten, de mensen van de Bamessi besloten om andere mensen te verwelkomen. Mensen van de Kom, een andere stam die ze voor een periode bij hen lieten wonen. De mensen van de Kom waren echter te vruchtbaar. Na verloop van tijd waren er te veel. Daarom overtuigde de koning van de Bamessi zijn volk ervan dat ze een bedreiging vormden. Ze smeedden een complot om alle mannetjes van de Kom te doden.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De wraak van de koning en de betovering
Uit wraak zei de leider van de Kom tegen zijn zus dat hij zelfmoord zou plegen. Zijn bloed zou een meer vol vissen vormen. Hij waarschuwde dat de mensen van de Kom daar uit de buurt moesten blijven. De mensen van de Kom verlieten het land. Het meer bleef bij de Bamessi. Op de visdag explodeerde het meer en doodde de mensen die in de buurt waren.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Kratermeer in Oregon (VS)
Een andere legende over een meer is die van Crater Lake. Een vulkanisch meer gelegen in de caldera van Mount Mazama. Volgens de mythe zou dit het toneel zijn geweest van een bloedige strijd tussen de god van de onderwereld, Llao, en die van de lucht, Skell. Het gevecht tussen de twee goden zou, na aanvallen met stenen en vlammen, geëindigd zijn met het instorten van de vulkaan en de val van Llao. Dankzij de daaropvolgende regens zou het huidige meer zijn gevormd.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De realiteit
Als we de strijd tussen de goden buiten beschouwing laten, wordt in de legende herhaalt wat er bijna 8000 jaar geleden gebeurde: er was een angstaanjagende vulkaanuitbarsting, de krater van de vulkaan stortte in en de regen vulde het bassin.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

De legende van Rapuanate
Volgens een legende op de Salomonseilanden werd een jongeman genaamd Rapuanate smoorverliefd op een vrouw van het eiland Teonimanu. Helaas werd zijn broer ook verliefd op haar en koos ze voor hem. Om wraak te nemen, stortte Rapuanate het land van zijn geliefde met een spreuk in zee.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Historische waarheden
Het was een aardbeving die het eiland Teonimanu deed zinken. Het is een van de vele verzonken eilanden in dit deel van de Stille Oceaan. Door de aardbeving zou het eiland in de oceanische diepte van de Filipijnen zijn verdwenen. Toch is het verhaal van de familie-soap misschien interessanter om door te geven.

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20-08-2024 om 19:04 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

20-08-2024 om 17:47 geschreven door peter  

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20-08-2024 om 17:39 geschreven door peter  

Posted by Evan Gough

Ancient Rocks in Mars’ Jezero Crater Confirm Habitability

According to NASA’s Perseverance rover, ancient rocks in Jezero Crater formed in the presence of water. These sedimentary rocks are more than 3.5 billion years old and may predate the appearance of life on Earth. When and if these samples are returned to Earth, scientists hope to determine if they hold evidence of ancient Martian life.

In 2022, the Perseverance Rover worked its way along Jezero Crater’s western slope and sampled rocks from a feature called the ‘fan front.’ Scientists hypothesized that some of the rocks in this region were formed in the ancient lakebed when the crater was filled with water. Perseverance analyzed the rocks’ chemistry and captured images of their surroundings. Members of the Perseverance science team studied this data and have published their results.

“These rocks confirm the presence, at least temporarily, of habitable environments on Mars.”

Professor Tanja Bosak, MIT

Their work is titled “Astrobiological Potential of Rocks Acquired by the Perseverance Rover at a Sedimentary Fan Front in Jezero Crater, Mars.” It’s published in the journal AGU Advances, and the lead author is Tanja Bosak, professor of geobiology in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).

“These rocks confirm the presence, at least temporarily, of habitable environments on Mars,” said lead author Bosak. “What we’ve found is that indeed there was a lot of water activity. For how long, we don’t know, but certainly for long enough to create these big sedimentary deposits.”

Perseverance collected seven samples from the fan front. Each of the samples is of a sedimentary rock, and some of them may predate life on Earth. “The samples include a sulphate- and clay-bearing mudstone and sandstone, a fluvial sandstone from a stratigraphically low position at the fan front, and a carbonate-bearing sandstone deposited above the sulphate-bearing strata,” the authors explain.

Sulphates and clays typically form in the presence of water, and so do carbonates. Depending on the types of sulphates, it reveals clues about the ancient water’s chemistry, temperature, and acidity. Carbonates are similar and can also reveal things about Mars’ atmosphere when they formed, like how much carbon dioxide it contained.

“The hydrated, sulphate-bearing mudstone has the highest potential to preserve organic matter and biosignatures, whereas the carbonate-bearing sandstones can be used to constrain when and for how long Jezero crater contained liquid water,” the authors explain.

While the samples were placed in sealed tubes for eventual return to Earth, Perseverance also abraded the rock next to each sample location, allowing the rover to analyze the mineral content of the rocks.

Mars rovers have found other rocks that were deposited by water, but none this old. These ancient Martian rocks are the oldest sedimentary rocks ever studied, and they likely formed when the Jezero Crater was a habitable lake. Because they’re sedimentary rocks, they could hold ancient organic matter. But that determination will have to wait until they make it safely to labs on Earth.

“These are the oldest rocks that may have been deposited by water, that we’ve ever laid hands or rover arms on,” said co-author Benjamin Weiss, the Robert R. Shrock Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT. “That’s exciting, because it means these are the most promising rocks that may have preserved fossils, and signatures of life.”

Most sedimentary rock has two components: grains, which are like the building blocks for sedimentary rock, and cement, which are mineral deposits that come along later and bind the grains together. Over time, pressure forces cement into the rock pores, filling them and creating solid rock in a process called lithification. The researchers think that both the grains and the cement in the fan front sedimentary rocks likely formed in aqueous environments. During lithification, organic matter from ancient life could’ve been trapped in the rock.

The fan front is a prime place to search for evidence of ancient life. “We found lots of minerals like carbonates, which are what make reefs on Earth,” Bosak says. “And it’s really an ideal material that can preserve fossils of microbial life.”

Though sulphates form in the presence of water, the water tends to be very salty, which isn’t necessarily great for life. But it could work out for the best because of salt’s preservative effect. If the brine was restricted to the lake bottom, life could’ve persisted in the upper portions of the ancient lake. When lifeforms died, they could’ve sunk to the bottom. In this case, the brine would’ve acted to preserve signs of ancient life.

“However salty it was, if there were any organics present, it’s like pickling something in salt,” Bosak says. “If there was life that fell into the salty layer, it would be very well-preserved.”

It’s fairly well-established that Mars was once warm and wet. The next question is, did life ever exist there? To answer that, we need to find organic matter. But even that can be tricky since some organic matter can be produced geologically without life. The Curiosity Rover found organic carbon in Gale Crater, but scientists showed that UV fractionation is responsible.

Previously, Perseverance also found evidence of organic matter on the floor of Jezero Crater. Subsequent analysis showed that it could be matter that had no connection to life. This is a cautious reminder of the rovers’ limitations. Though they’re powerful, and it’s an amazing feat to have them roam around on another planet studying rocks, they can’t do the same science that’s possible in labs here on Earth.

That’s why the Mars Sample Return is so critical. Only by finally bringing pieces of Mars back to Earth can we fully understand the evidence that Perseverance is collecting.

“On Earth, once we have microscopes with nanometer-scale resolution, and various types of instruments that we cannot staff on one rover, then we can actually attempt to look for life,” Bosak says.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

20-08-2024 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

De rode planeet: prachtige foto's van Mars, genomen vanuit de ruimte

Foto: Justin Cowart - Tharsis and Valles Marineris - Mars Orbiter Mission / Wikimedia

De rode planeet
Mars is de planeet in ons zonnestelsel die de eigenschappen van de aarde het dichtst benadert. Daarom is het de favoriete bestemming van NASA-ruimtemissies. Kijk met ons mee naar de mooiste beelden van deze fascinerende planeet!

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona

Danielson-krater
Danielson is een inslagkrater met een diameter van ongeveer 67 kilometer, gelegen in het zuidwesten van de regio Arabia Terra. Deze foto, die gemaakt is door het ruimtevaartuig Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, toont het zand en de sedimentaire rotsen die de krater vormen.

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Een prachtig kleurencontrast
Op deze foto zien we geulen die gevuld zijn met glimmend ijs, dat in contrast staat met de rode aarde van Mars. De foto is genomen bij de seizoensgebonden poolkappen van de planeet.

Foto: NASA/JPL/LaRC

Een zonsopgang op Mars
Deze indrukwekkende zonsopgang op Mars is vastgelegd op 14 juni 1978 door de verkenningssonde Viking 2.

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Een lentelawine
Hier zie je een lawine die is vastgelegd door de HiRISE-camera, vlak bij de noordpool van Mars. Elke lente schijnt de zon op dit deel van de planeet. Door de hitte van de zonnestralen vallen er blokken ijs naar beneden. Als de ijsblokken de bodem van de klif bereiken, die meer dan 500 meter hoog is, veroorzaken ze een stofwolk bij het neerkomen op de grond.

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Rotsformaties
Deze foto is in december 2018 gemaakt door de Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. De rimpels die te zien zijn in het zand vertellen ons in welke richting de wind om deze rotsformaties heeft bewogen.

Foto: NASA, ESA, en Z. Levay (STScI)

Phobos
Phobos is een van de twee natuurlijke satellieten van Mars. Deze kleine maan staat ten westen van Mars en cirkelt in de loop van een Marsdag, die ongeveer 24 uur en 40 minuten duurt, drie keer om de rode planeet.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona

Een zeer jonge inslagkrater
Dit opmerkelijke beeld toont ons een inslagkrater die is gevormd tussen juli en september 2018. Deze inslag vond plaats in de seizoensgebonden zuidelijke ijskap en heeft deze zichtbaar doorboord, waardoor een ongelooflijk inslagpatroon ontstond.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHUAPL

Krater Jezero
De Jezero-krater is een inslagkrater met een doorsnede van 49 kilometer waarvan wordt aangenomen dat hij ongeveer 3,7 miljard jaar geleden is ontstaan. Hij ligt ten westen van Isidis Planitia, een reusachtig inslagbekken dat zeer oude landschappen laat zien en interessant is voor wetenschappelijke studie. De Jezero-krater is door NASA uitgekozen als landingsplaats voor de Mars 2020-missie, die op 30 juli 2020 van start ging en momenteel bezig is.

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Steile duinen
Hier zijn duinen gefotografeerd op de hellingen van Nectaris Montes, in de kloven van Valles Marineris. De zandduinen die deze reusachtige kloven vormen kunnen indrukwekkend groot zijn, met schijnbaar zeer steile hellingen, zoals op deze foto te zien is.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Mount Sharp
Deze foto is gemaakt door de ruimterover Curiosity die sinds 2012 op Mars staat, op Mount Sharp, een berg die midden in de Gale-krater staat. In het midden van de afbeelding zie je kleirotsen die NASA-wetenschappers graag willen bestuderen.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Selfie van Curiosity
Curiosity nam een kleine selfie op Mars! Deze machine van 899 kg werd in 2012 gelanceerd voor de verkenningsmissie Mars Science Laboratory. Een van zijn doelen is het verkennen van de Gale-krater, waarop hij is geland. De missie Mars Science Laboratory is nog steeds gaande.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech

De ravijnen van Valles Marineris
In het midden van dit mozaïek, dat een compilatie is van beelden die zijn gemaakt door het ruimtevaartuig Viking Orbiter 1, is een breder beeld te zien van de ravijnen van Valles Marineris. Ze zijn meer dan 3000 kilometer lang en 600 kilometer breed.

Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona

Aram Chaos-krater
Op deze afbeelding zijn blokken lichtgekleurde lagen te zien die grotendeels bestaan uit hematiet en door water verweerde silicaten. Deze elementen vertellen ons dat de Aram Chaos-krater ooit een meer bevatte. De diameter is ongeveer 284 kilometer.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona

Crisp-krater
De Crisp-krater ligt in de Sirenum Fossae. Volgens NASA-wetenschappers zou deze krater relatief recent zijn, omdat de rand nog erg scherp is en omdat blijkbaar de ejecta nog bewaard zijn gebleven.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona

Spinvormige scheuren
Deze spinvormige scheuren bevinden zich in het oppervlak van het zuidpoolgebied van Mars. Ze zijn veroorzaakt door de verdamping van koolstofdioxide in de atmosfeer.

Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Een zonsondergang op Mars
Deze zonsondergang is vastgelegd door InSight-lander van NASA op 25 april 2019 om 18:30 uur lokale Marstijd.

Foto: NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (PSI), CM Lisse (JHU/APL), en het Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Het passeren van een komeet bij Mars
De Hubble-ruimtetelescoop heeft de Siding Spring-komeet en de planeet Mars vastgelegd toen ze elkaar passeerden op 19 oktober 2014. Op die dag bewoog de komeet op ongeveer 140.000 kilometer van de rode planeet. Dit is een compositiefoto, omdat de komeet en Mars ten opzichte van elkaar bewogen en daarom niet gelijktijdig in één opname konden worden gefotografeerd.

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

20-08-2024 om 17:23 geschreven door peter  

Three different technologies would enable this weight and cost to drop. First would be the solar electric propulsion (SEP) system initially designed for use on DART. The second would be a micro in-situ resource utilization (µISRU) system, and the third would be a power-beaming system between the lander and an orbiter.

Let’s first look at the overall mission architecture to understand how each contributes. In NIMPH, a combined orbiter lander will use an Atlas V rocket to get into Earth orbit. Then, a solar electric propulsion system (SEP) was initially designed for use on the DART asteroid redirect test. Although it was not used during the DART mission, the NEXT ion thruster was part of the spacecraft that launched, and, despite suffering from some technical challenges, it could have allowed the spacecraft to reach its destination. A similar, lightweight SEP system could get NIMPH to the Jupiter system, but it could also get the sample back to Earth after the lander collected it.

Just how the lander can get that sample back off the icy moon is the focus of the next major technological step – the µISRU system. NIMPH’s architecture would require using the local ice as a propellant. A lander would literally sublimate the ice under its feet, suck up the resultant water vapor, electrolyze it to split it into oxygen and hydrogen, and then liquefy it to store it for use in getting a 1 kg ice core sample back into orbit.

To do all of this requires power, though, and a lander with a radioisotope thermal generator or similar commonly used power generation system would be prohibitively heavy. So, why not utilize the massive solar array required for the SEP system and beam some of that power down to the lander? That is the concept behind the power beaming system, estimated to produce around 2 kW of power in the Jovian system, about 1.8  kW of which could be beamed directly to a lander. 

After the core has been collected and safely launched back into space using a specially designed LOx-LH2 engine that uses the water collected by the µISRU system, the lander meets up with the orbiter. The SEP system kicks back on and delivers the lander back to Earth orbit, where it once again detaches and rides back to Earth’s surface inside a standard reentry module.

There are some nuances to this entire mission architecture. For example, the SEP system wouldn’t work at full capacity in the Jovian system, so a much smaller LOx / Methane propulsion system is needed to maneuver the orbiter into position. Additionally, the lander would likely have to leave its legs embedded in the Europan ice, as the sublimation process it uses to collect fuel would likely embed them in place. 

Plenty of development work on all these systems must be completed before any such mission is ready for launch. And most likely, some of the need for the scientific understanding would be met by the Europa Clipper mission set to launch later this year for $4.25 billion – not far off the 10x times expense that was the original impetus for the more capable NIMPH mission design. And while NIMPH did receive a Phase II NIAC grant, it hasn’t been selected for further development as far as we have found. So, as of now, this novel combination of mass-saving technologies will not be delivering an icy Europan sample any time soon – but maybe someday it will.

Learn More:

• ExoTerra Resource / Michael VanWoerkom – Nano Icy Moons Propellant Harvester Final Report
• UT – Europa Might Not Be Able to Support Life in its Oceans
• UT – We Might Find Life Just Under the Surface on Europa
• UT – Europa Clipper Could Help Discover if Jupiter’s Moon is Habitable

Lead Image:

• Depiction of the NIMPH mission architecture.
  Credit – Michael VanWoerkom

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

20-08-2024 om 16:31 geschreven door peter  

Experts have proposed a startling theory explaining why UFOs are often sighted near nuclear sites and high-speed aircraft. Scientists have scrutinized numerous UFO sightings over the years and believe they've identified an intriguing pattern.

The suggestion is that extraterrestrial beings might be concerned about our defensive capabilities and the potential threat of nuclear annihilation. UFO researchers have highlighted a possible link between sightings at nuclear sites and several instances have been cited to support this theory - including an orb-like object seen near Concorde and an unidentified disc that seemed to trail a squadron of fighter jets, reports the Daily Star.

The unverified UFO sighting near Concorde - which has re-emerged on Reddit's UFOs subchannel, features in a 1976 British Airways advert where an orb-like UFO can be observed darting towards the aircraft curiously before speeding away. Following the Fukushima lab disaster in Japan, witnesses told Netflix docuseries Encounters that UFOs saved them by reducing radioactivity levels, while another expert said UFOs prevented nuclear war.

Several shimmering white orbs were spotted above the plant after the nuclear catastrophe in 2011 and appeared to descend into the lab before reappearing. At the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the monarch was celebrated with a display by nine fighter jets releasing streams of smoke in Union Jack's red, white, and blue colors

Reddit users were quick to spot an unidentified disc near the jets, but no clear explanation has ever been provided. Reports of UFO sightings following rocket test-fires have also surfaced.

Retired US Air Force staff sergeant Larry Hancock and Ian Porritt, a data analyst associated with Harvard's UFO-hunting Galileo Project, have conducted new research showing that unusual activity around nuclear weapons and facilities has evolved over time.

The studies indicate that initially, UFOs appeared interested in nuclear weapon production, but now they are frequently seen around silos and bomber bases.

When a new arsenal of ICMBs was constructed in the 1960s, UFOs became "much more intrusive" in their approach to ICBM bases, Porritt previously stated, 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.

In their latest study, the pair conclude: "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 delves into the account of former US Air Force ICBM launch officer Robert Salas, who was tasked by the AARO to gather information after he reported an orange flying disc disabling 10 warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 1967.

He was subsequently made to sign a non-disclosure agreement on the incident by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Salas isn't the only one making such claims. In 2000, US Air Force First Lieutenant Robert Jacobs also claimed to have witnessed this in 1964 but was instructed not to discuss the alleged encounter again.

Moreover, in June 2023, two Air Force veterans told DailyMail.com that they had testified to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) about UFOs deactivating their nuclear warheads.

Lue Elizondo, the former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, has previously stated that there "seems to be a lot of correlation" between UFO sightings and nuclear sites.

Independent researcher Robert Hastings echoed these sentiments in 2010, stating: "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."

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

20-08-2024 om 01:34 geschreven door peter  

Luis Elizondo, who headed the US Government's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program - aka AATIP - launched in 2007 to investigate UFOs, said he had personally handled one of the 'slimy' implants

Elizondo, 52, said it also has material from crashed 'non-human' spaceships 

(Image: Getty Images)

Aliens secretly implanted microchips inside folk who have experienced close encounters, according to a former US defence department counter-intelligence expert.

Luis Elizondo, who headed the US Government's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program - aka AATIP - launched in 2007 to investigate UFOs, said he had personally handled’ one of theslimy' implants recovered from a member of the American armed forces.

In a bombshell new book published on Tuesday the defence intelligence chief said the US Government has alien microchip-style implants in its possession.

Elizondo, 52, said it also has material from crashed 'non-human' spaceships. The revelations are set to debunk US defence department claims they have so far found no evidence aliens exist.

In his book called 'Imminent' Elizondo alleged foreign biological implants had been found in military personnel who had encountered UFOs - aka Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena or UAPs.

He said: "I once handled one of these implants myself, provided to me by a hospital in the Department of Veterans Affairs, where it had been removed from a US military service member who had encountered a UAP.

"The material, no longer or wider than a joint of one of your fingers, looked more like a microchip encapsulated by a slimy semi-translucent casing of tissue.

"Under a microscope it was still moving somehow.’"

He said AATIP had also 'obtained photographs of these sorts of tiny objects from living foreign military pilots'.

Elizondo claimed samples were sent to the 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and a US Army research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland'.

Defence chiefs have so far refused to comment on what was one of a number of other jaw-dropping claims in Elizondo’s book.

He claimed Donald Trump had been briefed on the US Government’s UFO program during his presidency

In 2016 Elizondo said he and colleagues hatched a plan to catch a UFO in the ocean after a series of close encounters reported by US military personnel.

He revealed three years earlier a dramatic saucer had been sighted at the secretive Los Alamos missile test range in Mexico.

Laser-precise holes had been cut through armoured tanks in the Kuwaiti desert in 2003. And a giant craft had been discovered beneath the waters of Puerto Rico in 1999.

Some sections of the book were redacted by the Pentagon, which reviewed it before publication to prevent unauthorised spilling of secrets.

Defence officials stressed their review did not mean they were vouching for Elizondo’s claims - despite his credentials.

Before he took over the Government’s UFO probe he served in Afghanistan running anti-terror missions against ISIS, al-Qaeda and Hezbollah before playing a major role running terrorist jail Guantanamo Bay in the 2010s.

But when top rocket scientist James Lacatski (corr) called him in for a meeting in 2008 Elizondo said he discovered something altogether stranger.

"He looked over his glasses at me and he said, 'What do you think about UFOs?’'" the defence expert said.

"I paused for a moment and I said, 'I don’t have the luxury to think about them. I’m too busy chasing bad guys'.

"He said to me: 'Don't let your own personal bias get the best of you because what you learn here may challenge any preconceived notions'.

"That’s really when I first learned what this program was about.’"

Lacatski recruited Elizondo to manage security for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program - a £20m defence initiative that chased down service members’ reports of UFOs and researched ways to replicate their unearthly technology.

When funding ran out in 2012 he switched to AATIP.

In his memoir Elizondo described some of the strange incidents he investigated while in Government.

He said scientists were testing a classified device at the White Sands missile test range in Los Alamos, New Mexico in 2013, when ‘witnesses spotted several mysterious and luminous orbs moving over a nearby ridge’.

"The orbs moved toward the test site, hovered over the device as if scanning it for intel, then zipped away, brashly flying over the heads of bewildered scientists,’’ the ex-official wrote.

"Later, several eyewitnesses saw a formation of disc-shaped objects that seemed to know precisely where the device being tested was located. This occurred several times over a few days.’’

In 1999 a Navy chopper flew over Puerto Rican waters to retrieve a dummy cruise missile they were test-launching.

"As the frogman dangled from his hoist, a large, circular object the size of a small island began to rise to the surface,’’ Elizondo wrote.

"The pilot told me that it was black as the devil and the water began to churn and roll like a witch’s brew. The crew panicked.

"As the helicopter rose, the pilot noticed the missile getting sucked underwater.’"

While serving with the US Army in Kuwait in 2003 Elizondo said military police told him a Bedouin goat herder saw a 'brilliant green flash' over tanks stationed at the remote desert base of Arifjan one night.

When Elizondo investigated they showed him a heavily armoured M1 battle tank – designed to withstand a direct missile hit – with a small hole punched through the armoured side’ that wasperfectly round, no rough edges.’

"The tank next to it showed precisely the same sabotage,’’ Elizondo wrote.Whatever caused this seemed to penetrate the sides of two of our best tanks with one clean hole through both.

"It was as if someone had used a super sharp cookie cutter to take a core sample of the vehicle.

"The energy required to do such a thing would have been enormous.’"

Elizondo and his colleagues’ ultimate goal was to get access to an alleged long-standing program hidden by defence contractors working with the Pentagon, that had recovered crashed UFOs – some dating back to the infamous reported flying saucer crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.

He claimed his team got a meeting with this shadowy program’s administrators.

"We were told by the people who had the material,’’ he said.

"They sat there and said: 'We’re happy to have this conversation with you. There’s some things you’re going to need to do if you want more access to it. But we’re happy to give this stuff to you’'.

"That’s a holy cow moment. That’s a seismic revelation.

"There are countless examples of this type of material being collected, that when analysed and scrutinised by scientific experts – I'm talking about US government top secret-cleared scientists – substantiate that what we're dealing with is something that was not made by us.’’

But he said these `gatekeepers’ tied his team up in red tape and ultimately failed to open their books – or secret bunkers – to the Pentagon team.

His claims echo those of Pentagon whistleblower David Grusch, a former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency official, who told Congress in a public hearing last year that the government is covering up a UFO crash retrieval program that has half a dozen spacecraft and even alien bodies.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

20-08-2024 om 01:16 geschreven door peter  

AI Focused! UFO Abducts guy, teaches, returns him May 1988, Puerto Rico, UAP Sighting News. 

Date of contact: 1988 

Location of contact: Puerto Rico 

 

This is a sighting...that pushing me in the back of my mind. It's inspiring to know that aliens abducted many individuals from many location and taught them together about the future fate of the world. None of the other abductees have ever been identified, and probably tried to hide the experience from all others, but not this brave guy in Puerto Rico. He not only reported it, he got some great photos of military jets making fly bys of the UFO when he got off. Check out his video below...it will change how you see things. Scott C. Waring

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

19-08-2024 om 21:51 geschreven door peter  

Nieuw onderzoek helpt het mysterie op te lossen van de asteroïde die leidde tot het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs

door Janine

Freepik

Nieuwe informatie over het hemellichaam dat 66 miljoen jaar geleden op onze planeet neerstortte en het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs veroorzaakte. Een studie heeft ontdekt wat het werkelijk is.

Artistic representation of the impact 

(Image: Dona Jalufka / Universität Wien)

Chicxulub impactor, de ware oorsprong

Wat het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs veroorzaakte, was een ruimtesteen die op de aarde viel, maar waarover altijd een groot mysterie heeft geheerst. Het hemellichaam, de Chicxulub impactor genaamd, heeft al langer twijfels doen rijzen onder wetenschappers, die altijd hebben geloofd dat het een asteroïde of een komeet was. Recent onderzoek heeft echter de hypothese bevestigd dat het rotsblok van meer dan 9 kilometer breed deel uitmaakte van een familie van asteroïden die hun oorsprong vonden na de baan van Jupiter en die zeer zelden in contact komen met de aarde.

Een nieuwe studie, geleid door onderzoeker Mario Fischer-Gödde van de Universiteit van Keulen, Duitsland, heeft in dit opzicht verder bewijs opgeleverd, waarbij ruthenium werd aangetroffen in de geologische overblijfselen van de oude inslag. Dit is een element dat in zeer kleine hoeveelheden in de aardkorst voorkomt, maar juist zeer aanwezig is in asteroïden.

Een koolstofhoudende asteroïde veroorzaakte het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs

Pixabay

Op zoek naar soorten ruthenium in de Chicxulub-inslag onderzochten wetenschappers de wereldwijd verspreide laag puin na de inslag, de zogenaamde “Krijt-Paleogeen grens”, waarbij uniform elementen werden gevonden die behoren tot koolstofhoudende asteroïden, die grote hoeveelheden koolstof bevatten. Zoals Fischer-Gödde uitlegde: "de isotopische signatuur van ruthenium die we meten kan niets anders zijn dan een koolstofhoudende asteroïde."

Hoewel eerdere studies chemische kenmerken hebben ontdekt die verband houden met een koolstofhoudende asteroïde van het C-type, concentreerde het team zich op ruthenium. Omdat het zo zeldzaam is op aarde, zijn kleine hoeveelheden voldoende om dit soort ruimtegesteente te traceren. Wetenschappers hebben dit element gemeten bij vijf verschillende inslagen veroorzaakt door asteroïden van 541 miljoen jaar geleden tot nu: in alle gevallen werden de gebeurtenissen in verband gebracht met kiezelhoudende asteroïden, een groep hemellichamen die hun oorsprong vinden tussen Mars en Jupiter. Veel dichterbij dus dan koolstofachtigen. Dat is de reden waarom, zo merkte Fischer-Gödde op, "Chixulub tot nu toe een uniek en zeldzaam geval lijkt te zijn van een asteroïde van het koolstofhoudende type die de aarde raakt. Het ruthenium dat we in deze laag vinden, is voor bijna 100% afkomstig van de asteroïde."

De monsters van de onderzochte laag zijn afkomstig uit Spanje, Italië en Denemarken en hebben allemaal dezelfde samenstelling ruthenium, die verschilt van die van de aarde en daarom niet, zoals eerder werd aangenomen, afkomstig is van de uitbarstingen van de vulkanen van de Deccan Trappus. Bovendien verschillen de rutheniumisotopen in de onderzochte monsters van die in komeetfragmenten.

The 66-million-year-old Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer at Stevns Klint in Denmark. This boundary layer contains the globally distributed fallout produced by the asteroid impact at Chicxulub.

Credit...Philippe Claeys

Asteroïde die het tijdperk van de dinosauriërs beëindigde: meer vragen

Maar hoe stortte een koolstofhoudende asteroïde van deze omvang op de aarde? Het antwoord op deze vraag is nog steeds twijfelachtig, hoewel er wordt getheoretiseerd dat het, hoewel het zich na de baan van Jupiter heeft gevormd, mogelijk naar de buitenrand van de asteroïdengordel tussen Mars en Jupiter is geduwd, waar zich nu een groep koolstofhoudende asteroïden bevindt. Destijds kan de instabiliteit van de zwaartekracht van een jong zonnestelsel deze verplaatsing hebben veroorzaakt.

Hoe dan ook zijn er nog steeds veel open vragen over de impact van Chicxulub: een voorbeeld is hoe het de opkomst van nieuw leven kan hebben bevorderd, door sleutelelementen naar de bodem van de aarde te brengen voor de vorming van nieuwe levende wezens. Maar hoe zou de aarde er vandaag de dag uitzien als deze nooit was gevallen? “We moeten waarschijnlijk wat meer waarde hechten aan het feit dat we hier zijn en dat dit wellicht een gelukkig toeval is”, was het antwoord van Fischer-Gödde.

• https://youtu.be/OEGS1ONFc6E

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

19-08-2024 om 21:46 geschreven door peter  

JFK and UFOs: What Did President Kennedy Really Know?

John F. Kennedy’s presidency is often remembered for the Cuban Missile Crisis, his call for the moon landing, and his tragic assassination. However, there is another, less discussed aspect of his time in office: his involvement with and knowledge of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Despite being a subject of speculation and conspiracy theories, recent discussions and investigations suggest that JFK’s knowledge of UFOs was not only real but also deeply intertwined with Cold War politics.

UFOs and Government Secrecy

When John F. Kennedy assumed office in the early 1960s, the U.S. government already had a history of dealing with UFO sightings and phenomena. Former Australian intelligence official Geoff Cruickshank shed light on Kennedy’s awareness of these issues during an interview with NewsNation’s “Reality Check.” According to Cruickshank, JFK had access to significant information about UFOs, including official footage that captured Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) while he was in office.

One notable instance is the “Bluegill” nuclear test, part of the larger “Operation Fishbowl” series of high-altitude nuclear tests. During this test, footage reportedly shows an unidentified object plummeting into the ocean following the detonation of the bomb. The release of this footage, with subsequent redactions, suggests that it may have been made public by mistake. This incident raises questions about the extent of Kennedy’s awareness of such phenomena and the classified information surrounding them.

The Majestic 12 Documents

A key part of the UFO narrative during Kennedy’s presidency involves the so-called “Majestic 12” (MJ-12) documents. These documents, which have long been disputed, are said to be a collection of leaked files from U.S. defense intelligence agencies. They purportedly reveal secret operations involving UFOs and suggest that JFK was concerned about the potential for UFO sightings to escalate Cold War tensions.

While the authenticity of the MJ-12 documents has been debated for decades, recent findings have lent some credibility to their claims. For instance, Cruickshank pointed out that one of the secret operations mentioned in the documents, which involved spoofing UFOs to provoke Soviet reactions, was only publicly revealed two years ago. This raises the possibility that the MJ-12 documents may contain elements of truth, despite their controversial history.

Cold War Tensions and JFK’s Concerns

Kennedy’s concern about UFOs was not just about extraterrestrial visitors but also about the geopolitical implications of such sightings. During the height of the Cold War, any unidentified object in the sky could be misinterpreted as a threat, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences. JFK was particularly worried that Soviet leaders might mistake American military activities for a nuclear strike, especially if those activities involved unidentified aerial phenomena.

To address these concerns, JFK pushed for greater transparency with the Soviet Union. According to the MJ-12 documents, Kennedy ordered the CIA to be more open with the Soviets about U.S. military activities that could be mistaken for UFOs. This move was intended to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear conflict, but it also highlighted JFK’s awareness of and involvement with UFO-related matters.

The Vienna Meeting and JFK’s Awareness

One of the most significant moments in JFK’s UFO-related knowledge reportedly occurred during a meeting in Vienna with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. According to the story, Khrushchev raised concerns about unidentified objects that the Soviets believed were American in origin. This meeting may have been a turning point for JFK, leading him to become more involved in addressing the potential dangers of misinterpreting UFO sightings during a time of heightened global tensions.

Connections to JFK’s Assassination?

The question of whether JFK’s UFO knowledge played a role in his assassination is a topic of ongoing debate. Some conspiracy theories suggest that his push for transparency, particularly regarding UFOs and covert CIA operations, may have made him a target. While these theories remain speculative, they underscore the mysterious and often controversial nature of JFK’s involvement with UFOs.

VIDEO:

• What did John F. Kennedy know — and not know — about UFOs? | Morning in America

• https://youtu.be/4AHcijqPT4I

John F. Kennedy’s knowledge of UFOs was likely more extensive than most people realize. His concerns about the potential for UFO sightings to spark international conflict, particularly with the Soviet Union, led him to take significant steps toward transparency. Whether through the “Bluegill” nuclear test footage, the Majestic 12 documents, or his interactions with Soviet leaders, JFK’s presidency was marked by a complex relationship with the UFO phenomena. While much remains uncertain, it is clear that UFOs were more than just a fringe topic for JFK—they were a matter of national and global security during one of the most dangerous periods in modern history.

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

19-08-2024 om 21:28 geschreven door peter  

Meet Oumuamua: the interstellar object some astronomers thought might have been an alien spaceship

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A history-making discovery
“This history-making discovery is opening a new window to study [the] formation of solar systems beyond our own,” Zurbuchen added, and he was more right than he knew.

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Photo Credit: NASA

Odd data indicated abnormalities
Scientists quickly realized that at the speed the comet was traveling, it had to have accelerated in the latter half of its journey, a fact that shocked the scientific community according to Kluger since the speed increase couldn’t be explained by our sun's gravitational pull or any other scientific theory.

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A possible alien craft?
“That left even sober scientists to speculate that the object might actually be an alien spacecraft,” Kluger wrote, “speeding up under its own power during its barnstorming of our solar system.”

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Photo: By Original: ESO/M. Kornmesser Derivative: nagualdesign, CC BY-SA 4.0

The comet Oumuamua
The comet was later named Oumuamua—which means “a messenger from afar” in Hawaiian according to Kluger—and while media speculation ran rampant about the possible discovery of aliens, scientists got to work figuring out a less fantastical explanation for Oumuamua.

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The Oumuamua's mysteries have been revealed
Some researchers theorized that what was found could have been an alien spacecraft, but roughly half a decade after the discovery, astronomers finally figured out the mysteries behind the comet and published their findings in March 2023.

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We might have an explanation
Hard work into the origins of our solar system's first interstellar visitor eventually paid off and two scientists believe they’ve finally found an explanation for Oumuamua’s unexplained speed increase halfway through its journey.

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Trapped hydrogen fueled Oumuamua's speed increase
Professors Jennifer Bergner and Darryl Seligman were able to show that Oumuamua’s speed increase was due to the release of what they said was “trapped molecular hydrogen” that had formed through an “energetic processing” of the comet’s icy body.

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An explanation from Bergner and Seligman
“In this model, Oumuamua began as an icy planetesimal that was irradiated at low temperatures by cosmic rays during its interstellar journey, and experienced warming during its passage through the Solar System,” the professors explained.

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The comet melted and hydrogen emerged
As Oumuamua warmed, the trapped hydrogen in its body was allowed to escape, which fueled the comet and allowed it to increase its speed to levels that baffled scientists.

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Photo Credit: NASA

Published in Nature
Bergner and Seligman published their work in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, and if it proves true, it would explain how Oumuamua was able to speed up in the latter half of its journey to our solar system.

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"A very interesting explination"
Karen Meech is a leading expert on comets at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, and she told the New York Times via email at the time the study was published that Bergner and Seligman's explanation for Oumuamua’s speed was a “very interesting” one.

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Plausible but not a solved
“I’m not willing to say it ‘solves’ things,” Meech continued in her email to the New York Times, “the smoking gun there would be to have detected hydrogen spectroscopically.”

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Oumuamua isn't solved
“But it is very plausible, and if another object is discovered that looks like Oumuamua, then all these models and explanations provide a lot of guidance for the observations,” Meech added.

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Debate will rage on
Controversy over Oumuamua raged on, however, since many astronomers at the time didn't agree with Bergner and Seligman’s assessment of Oumuamua’s icy body fueling the comet's speed increase.

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There was no evidence Oumuamua had an icy body
“The authors of the new paper claim that it was a water ice comet even though we did not see the cometary tail,” Harvard astronomer Dr. Avi Loeb told the New York Times. “This is like saying an elephant is a zebra without stripes.”

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The other possibility
In 2021, Alan Jackson and Steve Desch of Arizona State University proposed that Oumuamua could be a giant chunk of nitrogen that was blasted off of a Pluto-like celestial body according to Space.com.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

19-08-2024 om 21:16 geschreven door peter  

19-08-2024 om 18:47 geschreven door peter  

3 Burning Questions We All Have About Boeing Starliner’s Epic Debacle

Starliner and its first crewed mission remain in limbo.

by Doris Elín Urrutia

 

Nasa/UPI/ShutterstockBoeing’s Starliner, which has been stuck in space since June 6 for what was meant to be an eight day long mission, is at a standstill.

NASA gave Boeing a contract a decade ago to build a commercial system to fly astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. The aerospace giant’s first trial run with astronauts launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center up towards the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5. The mission, called Crew Flight Test, was slated to last eight days. Friday marked mission day 72.

Boeing Starliner’s inaugural crew flight carried NASA veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. They’re still in space. The duo’s delay to come home stems from issues that first arose as Starliner sought to rendezvous with the ISS.

A key problem with Starliner is that five of its thrusters, which are part of the propulsion system, failed and turned off during the flight to the ISS. Over the past several weeks, NASA and Boeing have performed a number of tests to both the Starliner ship currently stuck at the ISS as well as a test unit in New Mexico to evaluate whether the thrusters are working and the spaceship can safely take astronauts home.

Specifically, on the Starliner docked at the ISS, scientists have performed what they call "hot fire tests" where they ignite all but one of Starliner's thrusters for a very short period of time to test that the thrusters are working. On a test thruster in New Mexico, Boeing engineers attempted to replicate what the thrusters in space would go through by putting them through the same thermal conditions and sequences that they'd feel during the flight.

The tests revealed that the thrusters were likely overheating, and that a teflon seal on the thruster’s oxidizer line poppet was swelling and causing fuel to get blocked.

When will NASA decide if Starliner will return to Earth with astronauts?

The Flight Readiness Review, in which officials are polled for go or no-go, could happen as early as next week. It could potentially get pushed to the beginning of the week beginning with Monday August 26, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, told reporters at a teleconference NASA held on Wednesday. “It's a fairly major discussion to decide about whether or not we're going to have crew on board Starliner for return,” Bowersox said.

Could NASA delay the decision again?

At the press conference, Bowersox said that “it’s getting a lot harder,” to delay the decision. He cited consumables, and the need to use the ISS ports for cargo missions, as reasons to avoid postponing the decision of whether or not Starliner returns crewed or empty much longer. “We’re reaching a point where that last week in August we really should be making a call, if not sooner,” Bowersox added.

If Starliner returns with no astronauts, would it mean the end to NASA’s quest for a backup plan in space?

NASA spearheaded its Commercial Crew Program so that it could pay more than one company to fly its astronauts to space. Boeing and SpaceX are meant to be dissimilar contingencies, or different options, in case one company cannot provide astronauts with a lift to space, or return them in case of an emergency.

In fact, although many details haven’t yet been ironed out, NASA has already reached out to SpaceX to bring Wilmore and Williams home on their Crew-9 mission’s Dragon capsule if Starliner is deemed too dangerous to bring the duo home.

“All I can say is that our intent is to keep pressing to have two providers,” Bowersox said.

“We've got two very good companies, and we want to develop two strong and capable spacecraft. We think we still have a very good chance of doing that. But the answer is always in the data, right? That's why we're doing this mission.”

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

19-08-2024 om 18:15 geschreven door peter  

Saturn's Moon Mimas May Be Way More Inhabitable Than We First Thought

The existence of another watery world in the outer solar system may offer clues to how such seas form.

by Shannon Hall and Knowable Magazine

 

NASA/JPL

Now, another moon appears to be secretly flooded. Saturn’s moon Mimas, known for its uncanny resemblance to the Star Wars Death Star, might harbor liquid water beneath its icy shell. If true, similar seas could be hiding in plain sight, and the outer solar system may be far more habitable than previously thought.

In 2014, scientists first published evidence that Mimas might be a watery world — submerging the community in a decade-long debate. Many, including Alyssa Rhoden, a planetary scientist now at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, were highly skeptical of the possibility. Their reasoning was simple: Mimas’ heavily cratered surface showed no signs of an internal ocean. As with Enceladus, Saturn’s gravity should churn the ocean waters within Mimas, causing large cracks to appear in the surface ice. No such fractures have been seen.

The tides might now have turned. Two studies, one by Rhoden and colleagues and another by Valéry Lainey of the Paris Observatory and colleagues make a stronger case for an ocean and even explain the conundrum at the surface. Together, the research suggests that Mimas may have a young and changing ocean. If so, it raises the prospect of an outer solar system rife with activity. That possibility is what most excites Rhoden, who spoke with Knowable Magazine about the potential ocean and why it could be such a boon for scientists.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What do we know about these hidden oceans?

In many ways, they look like our own — at least in that they’re likely made up of saltwater.

We know that these ocean worlds have icy surfaces from their overall bright appearance, as confirmed by telescopic and spacecraft measurements that detect signatures of water ice. Some ocean moons even have low enough densities that they probably have water ice mixed into the rock in their interiors. With heat, that water ice melts into liquid water, which will erode rock to create saltwater. On Enceladus, saltwater is conveniently spewing out into space.

Given how cold it is in the outer solar system, what generates the heat?

Distant oceans might at first seem out of the question. Heat to melt ice is hard to come by, so far from the Sun. But thanks to a gravitational quirk, the outer solar system can be quite balmy.

Consider Jupiter and its Moon Europa. Jupiter exerts a strong gravitational force on Europa, elongating Europa in the direction of Jupiter. Because Europa’s orbit is eccentric — it swings close to Jupiter before swinging farther away — Europa gets stretched and released over time. This creates friction in the interior that provides the heat necessary to sustain a liquid ocean.

We first saw hints that Europa might host a subsurface ocean when the Voyager mission swung past Jupiter in 1979. Europa doesn’t look like our Moon or even most bodies in the inner solar system. Its icy surface doesn’t have a lot of craters but is instead covered with crisscrossing lines and broken pieces that have shifted around. You don’t have to look at it very hard to imagine that something different is going on there.

You mention surface features. What other evidence do we rely on to detect a hidden ocean?

One way is to look at magnetic fields. Because saltwater is electrically conductive, it can create a magnetic field around the Moon that disrupts the planet’s magnetic field. That is a leading piece of evidence for Europa’s subsurface ocean.

But that alone is not enough. It’s the combination of evidence that leads us to conclude there’s an ocean. We might also consider, for example, measurements of salt on the surface and how the Moon’s gravity tugs on a spacecraft. Since the densities of rock or liquid metal differ from the density of liquid water, the size of those tugs offers clues to the material, as well as where within the Moon it is concentrated.

Or we might simply imagine how the Moon’s face changes direction throughout its orbit. Generally, these small moons always show the same face as their parent planet, much like our Moon. But as a moon moves through its orbit, the direction it points can shift a bit back and forth — creating a shimmy in the visible portion. The extent of that shimmy depends on the interior. An ice shell over an ocean can move more freely than an ice shell on top of rock, so the changes tend to be larger. That’s how the ocean was detected at Enceladus. And it’s one of the best lines of evidence for an ocean at Mimas.

Let’s talk about Mimas. How did you end up studying the Moon?

I had spent a decade or so working on Europa and other icy moons when the 2014 Mimas paper came out. That paper measured that shimmy, or libration, as the visible portion of the moon shifts, suggesting Mimas either hosted a subsurface ocean or an oddly shaped core.

But an ocean seemed impossible. Mimas look much like our Moon, with a heavily cratered surface. It didn’t host any crisscrossing lines or broken pieces like Europa. And it certainly wasn’t spewing geysers like Enceladus. So I took one look at Mimas, and I said, “There’s no way that is an ocean moon.” Yet I realized I couldn’t refute the idea.

I kept Mimas in my mind over the years, eventually putting together a paper for the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2023. That paper ruled out several ocean scenarios and left only one option, an ocean that formed recently, well after Mimas itself. A young ocean could be stealthy. But it was still just a hypothesis.

How has the most recent work changed the picture?

Early in 2024, Valéry Lainey and his group reported new observational evidence in favor of an ocean on Mimas. They looked not at the libration but at changes in Mimas’ orbit through time — changes that depend on the interior structure. They found that those changes could not be explained by an oddly shaped core, leaving an ocean as the most viable option.

My team’s research, published in June, has gone on to explain the lack of visible surface fractures. We argue that the ocean is so young — merely 10 million years old — that it has only recently stopped growing. We think that the tidal stresses of a young churning ocean may not be enough to crack the ice above. Instead, what’s needed is the stress that comes when the ocean eventually refreezes. Because Mimas is losing heat as its orbit becomes less eccentric over time, refreezing — which is only just beginning on Mimas — will cause the overlying ice to crack.

The research suggests that eventually, Mimas is probably going to lose its ocean, which is a little sad since it is just being recognized. But on the flip side, Mimas may become the new Enceladus — the new coolest moon of Saturn — with deep cracks and maybe even jets of water.

What are the big-picture implications of this research?

I’m interested in this from a geophysical standpoint. We think of the earliest epochs in our solar system as the hot times when all the activity happens; then, everything evolves toward a quieter state. Pluto’s moon, Charon, might have lost an ocean. And Europa’s and Ganymede’s oceans are pretty old. That a moon could form a new ocean well into its history and that we could watch? That’s exciting! It opens up the possibility that any world, including one with an old, cratered surface, may be going through a similar transition.

There’s also interest in habitability — whether these oceans are suitable for supporting life. We don’t currently know whether any of the solar system’s oceans, other than our own, are habitable, have been inhabited or are currently inhabited. But if Mimas truly has an ocean, we could have a window into how these worlds develop and even how habitats are created and lost. It is exciting to be able to see these processes as they occur — instead of always viewing the end states of things that happened long ago.

What upcoming missions could tell us more?

The European Space Agency has already launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, which will make detailed observations of Europa, and the moons Ganymede and Callisto, which show hints of oceans. And in the fall of 2024, NASA will send the Europa Clipper into orbit around Jupiter to determine if Europa has conditions suitable for life.

The Uranus system, which is high on NASA’s agenda for a future mission, is where I see the most implications for this recent work. It’s surprisingly similar to the Saturn system, including hosting ice-rich, mid-sized moons similar to Mimas and Enceladus. If there’s a young ocean on Mimas, it is not a huge leap to consider that water worlds might exist among the Uranian moons, too.

• This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

19-08-2024 om 18:03 geschreven door peter  

Asteroids safely fly by Earth all the time. Here’s why scientists are watching Apophis.

Story Summary

• Apophis is projected to pass within 20,000 miles of our planet’s surface on April 13 2029. The menacing asteroid will harmlessly pass by, astronomers say.
• Apophis measures nearly a quarter of a mile long – about the size of a cruise ship – making it large enough to be visible to the naked eye when it shoots past Earth.
• Space agencies and scientific institutes around the world are planning to use the rare flyby to explore Apophis from the ground with telescopes and even spacecraft.

Among astronomers both professional and amateur, perhaps no asteroid is more notorious than Apophis.

If you've heard of Apophis, then you're likely aware of the reputation it gained upon its discovery two decades ago as a potentially very dangerous space rock hurtling too close for comfort toward Earth. It was initially believed that the asteroid could one day pose a serious threat to our planet.

And one day, it just might.

But that day won't come for at least 100 years, astronomers say. No, not even in 2029, when Apophis makes the closest approach to Earth that any asteroid of its size ever has – at least, one that scientists have known about in advance.

Additional observations of Apophis have allowed astronomers to long rule out the risk of an impact in 2029 when Apophis is predicted to come within a distance of Earth 10 times closer than the moon, according to NASA. The asteroid also won't hit our planet when it makes another close approach in 2036.

While we and our children are safe from Apophis' wrath, scientists still see a valuable opportunity to study the asteroid as it whizzes by Earth to learn what they can of other space rocks that actually could hit our planet.

Here's what to know about Apophis and how space agencies hope to protect Earth from other asteroids like it.

Apophis to make 2029 flyby to Earth

Apophis is projected to pass within 20,000 miles of our planet’s surface on April 13, 2029.

For the superstitious lot, yes, that's a Friday, no less.

On that day, Apophis will come closer than telecommunications satellites in geostationary orbit, the ESA says.

The close encounter with Earth will make the asteroid visible in the Eastern hemisphere, including in Europe, Africa, and western Asia. It should look somewhat like a bright star streaking across the sky.

Earth's gravity will significantly influence Apophis – squeezing and distorting the asteroid as one side is pulled toward our planet more than the other. While no affects will be felt on Earth, Apophis may experience some quakes and even landslides, the ESA said.

Will Apophis hit earth?

In short, no. Not during our lifetimes, anyway.

While Apophis is classified as a near-Earth asteroid because its orbit bring it within 30 million miles of Earth, you have nothing to fear from it.

Apophis was initially identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth after its 2004 discovery, but that assessment has since changed as astronomers tracked it and learned more about its orbit.

While the risk of it impacting Earth during its 2029 flyby rose as high as 2.7%, Apophis has since been removed from NASA’s Sentry Impact Risk Table. That's thanks to a radar observation campaign in March 2021 during a distant flyby that – combined with precise orbit analysis – allowed astronomers to determine that the asteroid poses no risk of crashing into Earth for at least a century.

How big is the Apophis asteroid?

Apophis measures nearly a quarter of a mile long – about the size of a cruise ship – making it large enough to be visible to the naked eye when it shoots past Earth.

The Planetary Society compares its size to the equivalent of about five football fields and taller than the Empire State Building in New York City.

It's hard to know just exactly what Apophis looks like, as scientists do not yet have images of it. But radar observations have suggested that Apophis is shaped roughly like a peanut – a relatively common shape among near-Earth asteroids larger than 660 feet in diameter, according to NASA.

Apophis is believed to be stony, made up of silicate (or rocky) materials and a mixture of metallic nickel and iron.

What would happen if Apophis hit Earth?

Though not as big or catastrophic as the asteroid theorized to have wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, Apophis would cause widespread destruction up to several hundred kilometers from its impact site.

The energy released would be equal more than 1,000 megatons of TNT, or tens to hundreds of nuclear weapons, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization promoting space exploration.

View |49 Photos

Space photos: Stunning images you have to see

Space photos: Stunning images you have to see

What does 'Apophis' mean?

Apophis is no different from other asteroids in that it is a remnant from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. It originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and spent millions of years being altered by the gravitational influence of large planets such as Jupiter, NASA said.

Now, Apophis's orbit around the sun brings it startlingly close to Earth.

It's partly due to its proximity, as well as the sheer devastation its impact with Earth would bring, that astronomers named the asteroid after an ancient Egyptian god of disorder.

Specifically, Apophis is named for the demon serpent who personified evil and chaos.

ESA, NASA hope to study Apophis

The NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-APEX hovers over the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, using its thrusters to disturb the asteroid's surface to reveal what lies beneath, as shown in an undated NASA artist's video rendering, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video.  

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Handout via Reuters

Space agencies and scientific institutes around the world are planning to use the rare flyby to explore Apophis from the ground with telescopes and even spacecraft.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx, which gathered and returned a sample of asteroid Bennu in September, has been renamed OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX) and sent on a trajectory that would allow it to cross paths with the asteroid in 2029. When it has its rendezvous with Apophis in June that year, OSIRIS-APEX will spend 18 months mapping the asteroid’s surface and analyzing its chemical makeup, according to NASA.

Earth-based telescopes will observe Apophis as well, but they won't be able to detect as much as the spacecraft will when the asteroid gets near the sun, NASA said. But unlike with the Bennu mission, OSIRIS-APEX will not collect a sample from Apophis.

The European Space Agency, NASA's counterpart across the pond, plans to launch a spacecraft of its own called Ramses.

An art visualization shows how the European Space Agency's "Ramses" mission will approach the massive asteroid Apophis.  

ESA-Science Office

The Ramses spacecraft, which must be ready to launch a year ahead of time, will meet Apophis before it passes by Earth and accompany it on its way out of our orbit. During that time, the mission will observe how the surface of the asteroid changes from being in such close proximity to Earth, the European Space Agency said in July.

NASA takes on dangerous asteroids

The expedition is all part of the steps NASA and other space agencies have taken in recent years to protect humanity from threats posed by asteroids and other inbound space rocks, such as comets.

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system shown in this undated illustration handout.  

NASA/Johns Hopkins/Handout via Reuters

In September 2022, NASA intentionally slammed a spacecraft into the small asteroid Dimorphos at roughly 14,000 mph.

Though Dimorphos posed no threat to Earth, the mission served as the first demonstration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. If an incoming asteroid is ever on a collision course with our planet, the space agency has said that the DART method could prove crucial for deflecting and changing the object's orbital path.

A placard hangs on the wall during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Technology Media Workshop Telecon Briefing and tour at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, on September 12, 2022, ahead of the September 26 project test mission. The DART mission shifted an asteroid's orbit through kinetic impact specifically, by smashing a spacecraft into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system Didymos.   

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

And to gauge whether authorities are prepared to defend Earth from space objects, NASA has hosted a series of exercises, the fifth and most recent of which occurred in April, with findings announced in June. It was the first such exercise to include about 100 international government representatives who gathered to work through a hypothetical scenario about an inbound asteroid.

The exercise was organized by the U.S. space agency's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which was established in 2016 to catalog near-Earth objects that could crash into the planet.

NASA is also working on an asteroid-hunting telescope known as the NEO Surveyor to find near-Earth objects capable of causing significant damage. Set to launch no earlier than June 2028, the telescope is designed to discover 90% of asteroids and comets that are 460 feet in size or larger and come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. 

• Contributing: Claire Thornton, USA TODAY
• Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

{ https://eu.usatoday.com/news/ }

18-08-2024 om 22:13 geschreven door peter