Story by Michael Le Page

Illustration of the end-Permian extinction event, when extreme temperatures may have killed off forests

RICHARD JONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The Great Dying at the end of the Permian Period 250 million years ago may have been amplified by El Niño events far stronger and longer lasting than any today.

These mega El Niños caused wild swings in the climate that killed off forests and many land animals, says Alexander Farnsworth at the University of Bristol in the UK.

What would Earth look like in 25 years? I asked the experts

They also triggered feedback processes that helped make this mass extinction as bad as it was, he says. “There are knock-on effects of this sort of El Niño event becoming stronger and lasting longer.”

Around 90 per cent of all species alive at the time may have gone extinct during the end-Permian extinction, making it the worst ever mass extinction. It is widely thought that it was triggered by massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia.

These eruptions released huge quantities of carbon dioxide – possibly by heating rocks full of fossil carbon – that led to extreme global warming. The ocean became stagnant and low in oxygen, killing off marine creatures.

But this doesn’t explain everything. In particular, land species started going extinct tens of thousands of years earlier than those in the sea.

Many ideas have been put forward to explain this, from volcanic winters to the loss of the ozone layer. The idea that extreme El Niños might be involved emerged from studies of past ocean temperatures, based on oxygen isotypes in fossils, led by Yadong Sun at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan.

Now, Farnsworth and his colleagues have run computer models to explore what might have happened at end of the Permian that could explain Sun’s findings.

Today, El Niño occurs when warm water in the western Pacific spreads eastwards across the surface of the ocean. This creates an area of abnormally warm water that heats the atmosphere and affects weather across the planet. 

Before the Permian extinction began, the researchers found, El Niños were probably of a similar intensity and duration as today. That is, the anomalously warm water was about 0.5°C (0.9°F) hotter than average and the events lasted for a few months.

These events, however, were happening in a massive ocean called Panthalassa, which was 30 per cent wider at the equator than the Pacific Ocean is today. This means the area of anomalously warm water during El Niños was much larger than today, and thus had a bigger planetary impact.

As CO2 levels rose at the end of the Permian, these El Niño events got stronger and lasted longer, the team’s models suggest. They caused extreme swings in the weather on land that killed off forests, which stopped soaking up CO2 and started releasing it, leading to more warming and even more extreme El Niños.

In the sea, the temperature variations would have been less severe, and marine animals can more easily migrate to avoid them. This explains why marine extinctions happened later, when global warming got more intense. “The killer extreme global warming that was the cause of marine extinction was worse because of these El Niños taking away the carbon sink,” says Farnsworth.

By the peak of the extinction, the temperature anomaly during El Niños was up to 4°C (7.2°F), with each event lasting more than a decade, he says.

Something strange is happening in the Pacific and we must find out why

© Provided by New Scientist

Something strange is happening in the Pacific and we must find out why

Unexpectedly, the eastern Pacific Ocean is cooling. If this “cold tongue” continues, it could reduce greenhouse gas warming by 30 per cent – but also bring megadrought to the US

It isn't clear if something similar will happen in the future. Computer models vary in their forecasts of how El Niños will change as the planet warms, says Farnsworth. But they are already having a bigger impact because they are happening in a warmer world.

“The El Niño we just had was helping set record temperatures everywhere and leading to a huge amount of forest fires,” he says. “And the thing that disturbs me most is tentative signs during this El Niño of dieback in the Amazon.”

The study shows that under specific climate conditions, El Niño events can cause extinctions, says Pedro DiNezio at the University of Colorado, Boulder. But these mega El Niños couldn't occur today because the Pacific is smaller than Panthalassa, they say.

“These results are very exciting to understand the past, not so much the near future. To answer what El Niño will do, we need to look at intervals in the past with similar continental configurations as today,” says DiNezio.

“I think it’s a compelling study,” says Phil Jardine at the University of Münster in Germany, who found the first direct evidence for the loss of the ozone layer during the Permian extinction.

“I don’t think that this and other extinction drivers, including ozone degradation, are mutually exclusive,” he says. “The deadly thing about the end-Permian mass extinction seems to be that a lot of things were happening at once, and interacting with each other as they cascaded through the Earth system.”

Journal reference:

• Science DOI: 10.1126/science.ado2030

The Great Dying: The Permian Mass Extinction

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18-09-2024 om 17:48 geschreven door peter  

Mega El Niño Events Caused End-Permian Mass Extinction, Researchers Suggest

Illustration of the end-Permian extinction event, when extreme temperatures may have killed off forests

RICHARD JONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The end-Permian mass extinction, which occurred about 252 million years ago, was the most severe extinction event in the past 540 million years, eliminating more than 90% of marine and 75% of terrestrial species. Scientists have long linked this extinction to vast volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions rapidly accelerated climate warming, resulting in widespread stagnation and the collapse of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. But what caused life on land, including plants and usually resilient insects, to suffer just as badly has remained a source of mystery.

An illustration depicting the onset of the end-Permian mass extinction.

Image credit: Dawid Adam Iurino / PaleoFactory, Sapienza University of Rome / Jurikova et al, doi: 10.1038/s41561-020-00646-4.

“Climate warming alone cannot drive such devastating extinctions because, as we are seeing today, when the tropics become too hot, species migrate to the cooler, higher latitudes,” said University of Bristol’s Dr. Alexander Farnsworth.

“Our research has revealed that increased greenhouse gases don’t just make the majority of the planet warmer, they also increase weather and climate variability making it even more ‘wild’ and difficult for life to survive.”

“The Permian-Triassic catastrophe shows the problem of global warming is not just a matter of it becoming unbearably hot, but also a case of conditions swinging wildly over decades.”

“Most life failed to adapt to these conditions, but thankfully a few things survived, without which we wouldn’t be here today. It was nearly, but not quite, the end of the life on Earth,” said China University of Geosciences Professor Yadong Sun.

The scale of end-Permian warming was revealed by studying oxygen isotopes in the fossilized tooth material of tiny extinct swimming organisms called conodonts.

By studying the temperature record of conodonts from around the world, the researchers were able to show a remarkable collapse of temperature gradients in the low and mid latitudes.

“Essentially, it got too hot everywhere,” Dr. Farnsworth said.

“The changes responsible for the climate patterns identified were profound because there were much more intense and prolonged El Niño events than witnessed today.”

“Species were simply not equipped to adapt or evolve quickly enough.”

A geological field section reveals a desiccated (extreme dryness) land surface that was common all over the world 252 million years ago. Image credit: University of Bristol / China University of Geosciences.

In recent years, El Niño events have caused major changes in rainfall patterns and temperature.

For example, the weather extremes that caused the June 2024 North American heatwave when temperatures were around 15 degrees Celsius hotter than normal.

2023-2024 was also one of the hottest years on record globally due to a strong El Niño in the Pacific, which was further exacerbated by increased human-induced carbon dioxide driving catastrophic drought and fires around the world.

“Fortunately such events so far have only lasted one to two years at a time,” said University of Leeds Professor Paul Wignall.

“During the Permian-Triassic crisis, El Niño persisted for much longer resulting in a decade of widespread drought, followed by years of flooding.”

“Basically, the climate was all over the place and that makes it very hard for any species to adapt.”

The results of the climate modeling also help explain the abundant charcoal found in rock layers of that age.

“Wildfires become very common if you have a drought-prone climate,” said University of Hull Professor David Bond.

“Earth got stuck in a crisis state where the land was burning and the oceans stagnating. There was nowhere to hide.”

The researchers observed that throughout Earth’s history there have been many volcanic events similar to those in Siberia, and many caused extinctions, but none led to a crisis of the scale of the end-Permian event.

They found the extinction was so different because these mega-El Niños created positive feedback on the climate which led to incredibly warm conditions starting in the tropics and then beyond, resulting in the dieback of vegetation.

Plants are essential for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as the foundation of the food web, and if they die so does one of the Earth’s mechanisms to stop carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere as a result of continued volcanism.

This also helps explain the conundrum regarding the end-Permian mass extinction whereby the extinction on land occurred tens of thousands of years before extinction in the oceans.

“Whilst the oceans were initially shielded from the temperature rises, the mega-El Nino’s caused temperatures on land to exceed most species thermal tolerances at rates so rapid that they could not adapt in time,” Dr. Sun said.

“Only species that could migrate quickly could survive, and there weren’t many plants or animals that could do that.”

“The Permo-Triassic mass extinction, although devastating, would ultimately see the rise of dinosaurs becoming the dominant species thereafter as would the end-Cretaceous mass extinction lead to the rise of mammals, and humans,” Dr. Farnsworth said.

• The results were published in the journal Science.
• Yadong Sun et al. 2024. Mega El Niño instigated the end-Permian mass extinction. Science 385 (6714): 1189-1195; doi: 10.1126/science.ado2030

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

18-09-2024 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

Massive UFO Encounter: Air Force Crew Faces Unidentified Craft Over Nuclear Silo

In the quiet skies of North Dakota, an extraordinary event unfolded one night that would forever embed itself in the annals of UFO history. Involving U.S. Air Force personnel stationed at Minot Air Force Base, the encounter revolved around an unidentified flying object (UFO) appearing over one of America’s most secure military installations — a nuclear missile silo. This mysterious incident not only unsettled the maintenance crew but also raised concerns about national security during the height of the Cold War.

The Cold War Context and Minot Air Force Base

During the Cold War, Minot Air Force Base played a crucial role in the United States’ defense strategy, housing both B-52 nuclear bombers and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The base was fortified by 150 Minuteman missile silos, each containing a nuclear missile capable of retaliating against a potential Soviet strike.

On an otherwise quiet night, airmen John O’Connor and Lloyd Isley, two maintenance technicians, were dispatched to perform routine checks at one of these silos, codenamed “November 7.” These young technicians were not trained in combat; their job was to ensure the missiles were operational. But on this particular night, their mission would quickly turn from routine to extraordinary.

The Strange Light in the Sky

As O’Connor and Isley drove towards the missile silo, O’Connor spotted an unusual bright light in the sky. Initially dismissing it as a farmer’s light, he soon realized that the light was moving — and worse, it seemed to be pacing their vehicle. The strange object floated just above the ground and followed them as they continued their journey. Unease set in, and O’Connor decided to radio the control tower, asking if there were any aircraft or military maneuvers occurring in the area. The response he received confirmed their fears: there were no military operations or aircraft in the vicinity.

The light, now moving closer, emitted a strange noise akin to a jet engine, heightening the tension. Both men believed that they were being monitored by the object, which only grew larger and brighter as it approached. They soon realized this was no ordinary aircraft or drone; it was something far more mysterious.

A Potential Threat to the Missile Silo

With the object now hovering near the missile site, O’Connor and Isley felt a growing sense of danger. O’Connor, fearing for the safety of the nuclear missile, immediately reported the situation to the base, calling for backup. Isley, unarmed and anxious, grabbed an axe from the back of their vehicle as a makeshift defense. Though they were maintenance personnel and not combat-trained soldiers, the gravity of the situation pushed them to prepare for the unknown.

As the mysterious object moved over the silo, both men noticed its immense size, estimating it to be a quarter the size of an aircraft carrier. Despite the overwhelming size of the craft, it remained eerily silent except for the faint engine-like sound.

Backup Arrives and a National Security Concern

Meanwhile, the security team stationed at the base, including Airmen Joe Jablonsky and Gregory Adams, had been dispatched to aid O’Connor and Isley. As the security team raced toward the scene, they too witnessed the bright light in the sky. By this time, the object was so large and close to the ground that it also appeared on radar, confirming its presence and elevating the situation to a matter of national security.

The security team arrived, but despite their presence and preparations, the UFO continued to hover over the missile silo. The military personnel faced an unprecedented dilemma: while they were trained to protect the base and its nuclear weapons, they had never encountered a threat like this. They couldn’t fire without clear provocation, especially over sensitive military grounds.

A B-52 Bomber’s Encounter

At the same time, a B-52 bomber returning from a training mission was preparing to land at Minot Air Force Base. The bomber’s crew was asked to observe and confirm the sighting. Not only did the crew confirm the presence of the strange object, but they also witnessed a second UFO at a higher altitude, approximately 12,000 feet in the air. This indicated that there were now two unidentified objects in the vicinity.

Moments after this confirmation, the UFO over the silo suddenly rocketed into the sky, disappearing from view. The B-52 crew also reported their object vanishing at the same time.

Aftermath and Military Investigation

The aftermath of the sighting sparked immediate concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military. The situation had implications not only for national security but also for the protection of nuclear assets. Given that multiple credible witnesses, including Air Force personnel and radar operators, had confirmed the presence of the object, the incident warranted serious investigation.

The U.S. Air Force initiated an inquiry through its UFO investigation division, Project Blue Book. Captain Bradford Run, the B-52 pilot who witnessed one of the objects, provided a detailed sketch of what he saw, adding further legitimacy to the account. However, the official explanation that emerged from the investigation was unsatisfactory to many. The sightings were attributed to a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as plasma balls, where ionized gas in the atmosphere could create glowing, moving objects.

Continuing Mysteries at Nuclear Sites

This event at Minot Air Force Base was not an isolated incident. Similar UFO sightings have been reported at other U.S. nuclear facilities, including Malmstrom, Loring, and Warren Air Force Bases. In many cases, military personnel witnessed unidentified objects hovering near nuclear missile sites. The recurring nature of these sightings has led some to speculate that UFOs might have a particular interest in nuclear weapons, though no conclusive evidence has ever been presented.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/YpQnLaDys1U

The UFO encounter over Minot Air Force Base remains one of the most compelling cases of unidentified objects interacting with military personnel, especially near sensitive nuclear installations. With multiple credible witnesses and radar confirmation, the event continues to intrigue UFO researchers and skeptics alike. While the official explanation may point to natural atmospheric phenomena, many who were involved believe they encountered something far more mysterious that night, something that remains unexplained to this day.

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

18-09-2024 om 17:09 geschreven door peter  

Scientists find microplastics in worrying new body part

• READ MORE:  Mothers pass cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' to newborns

By Nikki Main Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Two new studies have revealed that that thousands of toxic chemicals are seeping into our bodies through every day food packaging.

Scientist from Switzerland identified 3,601 toxic chemicals in items like Tupperware, water bottles and canned goods, which were found in human blood, urine, hair and breast milk. 

The chemicals included Bisphenol A, or BPA, and heavy metals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems.

A separate team from Brazil made another startling discovery after detecting microplastics in a part of the nose connected to the brain, which could be linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Thousands of potentially toxic chemicals were found in the human body, new research showed. The chemicals were found to seep into food through their containers

The compounds infiltrate food by simply coming into contact with the product through it's packaging or by heating up food in the plastic to-go containers handed out at restaurants. 

'There are known hazardous chemicals that are known to be linked with adverse human health outcomes, and these chemicals leach out of packaging,' said the study's co-author and the chief scientific officer of the Food Packaging Forum, Jane Muncke.

There are 14,000 chemicals used in packaging and the new study led by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation in Switzerland found that 25 percent of them are 'largely unregulated.'

'This is a staggering number and shows that food contact materials are a significant source of chemicals in humans,' Martin Wagner, a professor of biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim told CNN.

'The study is the first to systematically link the chemicals we use in materials to package and process foods to human exposure.'

Read More

• Here are three cancer-causing household products YOU should avoid 

The study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, reported that the researchers identified BPA in both food and the human body that had previously been used in baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula containers.

The chemical remained in the products until parents boycotted it more than a decade ago, however, it is still found in other packaging containers today. 

BPA has been linked to heart disease, erectile dysfunction, diabetes and cancer in adults and has also been found to increase the risk of early death by 49 percent.

Heavy metals were also discovered in the products, which can harm human's DNA by binding proteins and displacing essential metal ions that can alter the way protein functions in the body and can cause cell dysfunction.

They can become toxic as they gradually increase and accumulate in the body and can cause cardiovascular disease, cancer and impair brain development and cause lower IQs in children.

A lesser-known item is tiny containers of sauces that are popular at fast-food restaurants.

The researchers noted that the small cups have a better chance of contaminating food because of the close proximity between the chemicals in the packaging and the products

Food packaging like small sauce containers can contaminate the food, causing dangerous chemicals to enter the body

Muncke told The Washington Post that she was recently on a flight and was giving a small container of salad dressing that raised immediate red flags.

'They served the salad with a 15 milliliter little plastic bottle with olive oil and vinegar that you could pour over it,' she said. 'I thought, 'Well, I'm not doing that.'

'We don't think about how the (mostly) plastic packaging adds chemicals to our food, but it's an important source of human exposures,' R. Thomas Zoeller, an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who was not involved in the research, told The Post. 

'This is an early indication that harmful chemicals — largely unregulated — are making it into the human population.'

On top of toxic chemicals found throughout the body, a separate study also published this month was the first to identify microplastics from water bottles in the olfactory bulb. 

The olfactory bulb is a small portion of tissue inside the nose that's separated from the nasal canal and researchers found that this bulb is housing between five millimeters and one nanometer of plastic particles.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health, found that the tissue could create a direct pathway for microplastics to enter the brain, although no published studies have confirmed the presence of PFAS in the brain.

The research team led by the University of São Paulo in Brazil said the microplastics could have reached the olfactory bulb either through systemic circulation, through the respiratory pathway or by crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Microplastics, or fragments of any plastic that measure less than five millimeters in length, lurk in oceans, the air, food, and even drinking water.

Humans constantly inhale and ingest them, raising the odds of experiencing whole-body inflammation, neurological effects, DNA damage, and a weakened immune response.

A total of 16 synthetic particles were found in eight of of the 15 deceased individuals studied.

Polypropylene - a thermoplastic found in food packaging - was the most prevalent polymer found, accounting for 48 percent of the microplastics in the bulb.

These findings could pave the way for future research to understand where microplastics originate.

Philip Landrigan, MD, who wasn't involved with the study told MedPage Today: 'I think there'll be a lot more information in the next few years about how microplastics are getting into the human body -- and what they're doing once they get in there.'

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18-09-2024 om 16:49 geschreven door peter  

Scientists discover a 'smiley face' on Mars - and it could contain signs of life

• READ MORE: NASA discovers first 'possible' signs of life on Mars 

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

Astronomers have discovered a smiley-face-shaped structure on Mars - and it could be more than just a planetary quirk. 

Researchers believe that it may be harboring signs of past life on the Red Planet. 

This grinning formation is made up of a pair of crater eyes and rings of ancient salt deposits.

These deposits are the remains of an ancient body of water that dried up long ago, leaving behind this emoji-like remnant that is only visible when viewed with an infrared camera.

The European Space Agency (ESA) - which snapped the photo - said: 'These deposits, remnants of ancient water bodies, could indicate habitable zones from billions of years ago.'

The European Space Agency snapped this photo of a smiley-face-shaped salt deposit on Mars that could harbor evidence of ancient alien life on the Red Planet

Scientists aren't sure exactly how big the smiley-face is, but it's one of 965 other salt deposits that have recently been catalogued on Mars' surface, which range in size from 1,000 to 10,000 feet wide.

Salt deposits are accumulations of salt - or chloride - found on a planetary surface. On Mars, they are the remnants of ancient bodies of water that dried up when the planet underwent a major climatic shift eons ago. 

Read More

Bezos' Boeing moment: NASA delays upcoming Mars mission due to issues with Blue Origin rockets 

Before the last puddles of Mars' liquid water disappeared, they may have been a 'haven' for microbial life, according to the ESA. 

These puddles would have been extremely salty, and thus the remains of microbes that once lived in them may still be preserved to this day - hiding in deposits like this smiley face. 

The ESA captured this image using their ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which has been measuring the levels of methane and other gases in Mars' atmosphere since 2016 to help scientists understand possible biological or geological activity on the Red Planet.

Normally, salt deposits on Mars' surface are invisible. 

But the orbiter's infrared cameras allow us to see them glowing pink or violet - revealing the smiley-face.

The photo was published as part of a study in the journal Scientific Data. 

These salt deposits are typically invisible, but the infrared cameras on the ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter allow us to see them glowing pink or violet

As Mars' liquid water disappeared, the last salty puddles could have harbored surviving microbial life, and their remains could be preserved in the resulting salt deposits

The research team, led by scientists from the University of Bern in Sweden, used images taken by the orbiter to create the most robust catalog of Mars' chloride salt deposits to-date. 

The new catalog contains data for nearly 1,000 different deposits located all across the planet's surface. 

These deposits paint a picture of ancient Mars that is very different than the red desert planet we know today. Billions of years ago, Mars hosted bodies of liquid water.

'In the distant past, water formed magnificent landforms such as riverbeds, channels, and deltas on the Red Planet,' said planetary scientist and study lead author Valentin Bickel in an ESA statement. 

But studies suggest that sometime between three billion and two billion years ago, severe climate change caused these bodies of water to dry up. 

That extreme climatic shift was likely triggered by the loss of Mars' magnetic field, which allowed solar wind to erode the atmosphere and caused liquid water to freeze, evaporate or become trapped within the planet's surface.

Now, salt deposits are some of the only evidence we have of Mars' ancient water bodies. 

What's more, studying them could reveal clues about ancient microbial life that once lived in the planet's liquid water, according to the study.

'The new data has important implications for our understanding of the distribution of water on early Mars, as well as its past climate and habitability,' Bickel said. 

While there is no conclusive evidence pointing to past or present life on Mars, this study adds to a growing body of research that has reignited the search for microbes on the Red Planet.

European Space Agency Shares Pic Of 'Smiley Face' Spotted On Mars

See the post here:

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18-09-2024 om 00:40 geschreven door peter  

New map of Mars reveals hidden 'structures' below the Martian surface

• READ MORE:  Scientists discover smiley-face on Mars that may hold signs of life

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

A new map of Mars has revealed mysterious structures hiding beneath the sediment layers of a lost ocean.

The researchers detected about 20 features scattered around the planet's north polar cap that are significantly denser than their surroundings. 

The structures vary in shape and size, with one resembling the shape of a dog, leaving the team puzzled because they do not know exactly what the formations are or where they came from. But they do have some theories.

One idea is that the structures were compacted by ancient meteor strikes, or  formed by volcanic activity, but more research is needed to get to the bottom of these underground anomalies. 

A new analysis of Mars' gravitational field has revealed mysterious structures lurking beneath the planet's surface

The team of researchers from Denmark's TU Delft and Utrecht University presented their findings at the Europlanetary Science Conference in Berlin this week.

The team used tiny deviations in satellite orbits to create a picture of Mars' gravitational field, or the region of space around a planet where its gravitational force can be felt. 

Read More

• Bezos' Boeing moment: NASA delays upcoming Mars mission due to issues with Blue Origin rockets 

They did this to look for clues about how mass is distributed throughout the planet's subsurface. 

The team then combined these observations with data on the thickness and flexibility of the Mars' crust, as well as the dynamics of the planet's mantle and deep interior. 

These observations were collected by NASA's InSIGHT lander, which completed its study of Mars' crust, mantle and core in 2022.

This allowed the researchers to create a global density map of Mars that revealed the existence of 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap.

The structures are about 19 to 25 pounds per cubic foot denser than their surroundings, and vary in shape and size. 

Additionally, they are covered by a thick, smooth layer of sediment that may have once been a seabed. 

The researchers used tiny deviations in satellite orbits and data from NASA's InSIGHT lander to create a global density map of Mars

Their analysis revealed 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap

Billions of years ago, Mars was not the desert planet we know today. It was once covered in oceans and rivers, but water dried up in an extreme climactic shift. 

Now, the only evidence of these bodies of water lies in Mars' geologic record - like this sediment layer. 

As for the structures that lie beneath, 'there seems to be no trace of them at the surface,' lead author Bart Root, an assistant professor at TU Delft, said. 

'However, through gravity data, we have a tantalizing glimpse into the older history of the northern hemisphere of Mars.' 

This isn't the first time that scientists have uncovered oddities beneath the surface of Mars. 

In December 2023, China's Zhurong found large honeycomb-shaped crevasses buried dozens of meters beneath Mars' equator that likely formed when drastic temperature dips contract and fracture the ground.

But Root and his team are having a harder time figuring out what these most recently structures are, and where they came from. Right now, they have two main theories. 

Either the structures were compacted by ancient impact events, like meteor strikes, or they were formed by some kind of volcanic activity. This latter idea challenges scientists' longstanding view of Mars as a geologically inactive planet. 

But while studies have shown that Mars does not have as much geological activity as Earth, a growing body of evidence suggests that it isn't completely 'dead.'

Root's study adds to this evidence not just by discovering structures that may be volcanically formed, but through a totally separate finding. 

In addition to finding the mysterious structures, the team's analysis revealed that Mars' mantle may still host active geological processes that could be feeding Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system.

Olympus Mons is located in the Tharsis Montes region near Mars' equator. Scientists estimate that it hasn't erupted for 25 million years.

The subterranean geology of the Tharsis region is incredibly dense, but Root and his team detected a much lighter mass lying 700 miles beneath the surface. 

He believes this mass is an enormous plume of magma that stretches 1,000 miles across in Mars' mantle. What's more, this plume might be in the process of bubbling to the surface.

'This means we need to rethink how we understand the support for the Olympus Mons volcano and its surroundings,' Root said. 

'It shows that Mars might still have active movements happening inside it, affecting and possibly making new volcanic features on the surface.' 

Intro to Areography | The Geography of Mars

A close-up photo taken by the Curiosity rover shows pure yellow sulfur crystals within a rock.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a close-up image of a rock nicknamed “Snow Lake." Nine days earlier, the rover had crushed a similar-looking rock and revealed sulfur crystals.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The Gediz Vallis channel is visible above the rocky area in the foreground.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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18-09-2024 om 00:23 geschreven door peter  

Huge landslide unleashes 650-foot 'mega-tsunami' and causes Earth to vibrate for 9 DAYS 

• READ MORE: California rocked by swarm of five earthquakes in just 48 hours

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

After a mountaintop collapsed into the sea in Greenland, a 'mega-tsunami' as tall as a skyscraper shook the Earth for nine straight days, baffling scientists around the world.

No one was injured by the landslide or resulting tsunami, but the 650-foot-tall wave destroyed roughly $200,000 worth of infrastructure at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island. 

What's more, the events occurred near a route that is commonly traveled by cruise ships. Had one been sailing through at this time, it could have led to tragedy. 

Until now, no one knew what caused the mysterious seismic activity that began in September 2023 and lasted over a week. It took an international team of scientists to trace it back to the landslide.

'When we set out on this scientific adventure, everybody was puzzled and no one had the faintest idea what caused this signal,' said Kristian Svennevig, study lead author and geologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

Before and after the massive landslide that dumped 33 million cubic yards of ice and rock into a Greenland fjord, triggering a 650-foot-tall 'mega-tsunami' that shook Earth for nine days

Svennevig and her colleagues now believe that climate change set the stage for this landslide by melting a glacier at the base of the mountain and destabilizing enough ice and rock to fill 10,000 Olympic swimming pools. 

And as rising global temperatures continue to melt Earth's polar regions, destructive landslides like this one could become more common. 

The research team published their findings today in the journal Science. 

When seismic monitoring networks first detected the activity, scientists were perplexed for two reasons. 

First, the signal was much more spread out than the typical tight squiggles that an earthquake produces on a seismograph - a device used to record ground shaking.

'It oscillated with a 92-second-interval between its peaks, too slow for humans to perceive,' according to a statement from the University of California San Diego, one of the institutions that contributed to the research.

Second, the signal remained strong for nine straight days. Typical seismic events decay much more rapidly - the average earthquake lasts only seconds to minutes.

Scientists around the world quickly began working to get to the bottom of this strange signal. 

Climate change set the stage for this landslide by melting a glacier at the base of the mountain and destabilizing enough ice and rock to fill 10,000 Olympic swimming pools

The mega-tsunami destroyed roughly $200,000 worth of infrastructure at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island, but no one was hurt

Discussions online eventually turned up reports of a massive landslide that occurred on a mountain overlooking a remote fjord in East Greenland on September 16 2023.

To determine whether the landslide was connected to the mysterious shaking, a team of researchers led by Svennevig digitally reconstructed the landslide and resulting shakes.

They did this using a combination of seismic recordings from around the world, field measurements, satellite imagery and computer simulations.

The researchers also used supercomputers to simulate the 650-foot-tall mega-tsunami triggered by the 33 million cubic yards of rock and ice that crashed into the fjord. 

The waves sloshed back and forth inside the fjord in a phenomenon known as seiche. The researchers concluded that this sloshing is what caused the nine-day stretch of seismic activity that rocked the Earth last year. 

'Ultimately, it took a plethora of geophysical observations and numerical modeling from researchers across many countries to put the puzzle together and get a complete picture of what had occurred,' said co-author Robert Anthony, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards program, in a statement.

The findings demonstrate the 'complex, cascading hazards' driven by the impact of climate change on Earth's polar regions, according to the researchers.

'Climate change is shifting what is typical on Earth, and it can set unusual events into motion,' said co-author Alice Gabriel, a seismologist at the University of California San Diego, in a statement. 

Fortunately, no people were in the area when the enormous landslide and resulting tsunami occurred. But this incident emphasizes the importance of monitoring polar regions as climate change accelerates. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-09-2024 om 23:54 geschreven door peter  

The Moon has inspired poets and artists, musicians and playwrights. The sight of our one and only Moon is familiar to anyone that has ever glanced up at the night time (and sometimes day time sky!) Every so often though, our Moon (note the use of capital ‘M’)is joined by a small asteroid that wanders too close. Astronomers have detected an 11-metre wide asteroid that has the snappy name 2024 PT5 and it came within 567,000 kilometres of Earth and will become a temporary satellite from 29 September until 25 November when it will leave our system. 

Planets, comets, satellites and asteroids are the main constituents of our Solar System, plus of course, the Sun. The asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the Sun with the majority in orbits between Mars and Jupiter. These remnants of the early Solar System come in a wide range of sizes from those measuring just a few centimetres to others measuring hundreds of kilometres. They have no atmosphere and are usually irregular in shape. 

Asteroids that pass within 1.3 astronomical units (one astronomical unit is the average distance between the Sun and Earth) are typically referred to as near-earth objects (NEOs.) Their proximity to Earth means they may – if not immediately – pose a potential impact threat to Earth. Most NEO’s pass by harmlessly on each orbit but they are tracked for future threats. The study of this family of asteroids helps us to understand about the formation of the Solar System. 

On occasions, Earth can capture asteroids from the NEO group and for a short period, pull them into an orbit. These temporary captures can be very short lived not even lasting for an entire orbit before returning to their regular trajectory.  Others like 2006RH120 remained in orbit around Earth for a year, while some have been captured for more than a year. These mini-moon events have even turned out to be pieces of space junk like one identified in 2020 which turned out to be a rocket booster from the launch of Surveyor 2 in 1966!

Asteroid 2024 PT5 is a NEO that was discovered on 7 August 2024 by ATLAS, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. It measures 11 metres across and can approach within 1 million kilometres of Earth in an orbit whose path resembles a horseshoe shape. This complex type of orbit occurs when a smaller object orbits a relatively larger object. In the case of 2024 PT5, the gravitational attraction of Earth changes the shape of the asteroids elliptical orbit. The horseshoe shape is only evident when the orbit of the asteroid is mapped relative to both the Sun and the Earth.

The dynamics of the two objects means that for a period of 56 days from 29 September to 25 November, 2024 PT5 will officially orbit the Earth although it is only classed as a ‘temporary captured flyby.’ It will only perform one single orbit however before it returns to its usual heliocentric, Sun centred orbit. This won’t be the only time though as it is predicted to return again in 2055. 

Don’t get too excited about seeing it though. The object will be far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, even beyond the visual range of amateur telescopes. It is however possible for experienced amateur astronomers to capture images of the asteroid using astronomical imaging techniques.

Source : 

• A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November

 { https://www.universetoday.com/ }

17-09-2024 om 22:01 geschreven door peter  

A skyscraper-sized asteroid is set to narrowly miss Earth next week, Nasa has warned.

The space rock, dubbed 2024 ON, has been classified as "potentially hazardous" - and is set to hurtle past our planet at a staggering speed of 19,685 miles per hour - approximately 25 times the speed of sound.

With a 220-480m diameter, 2024 ON dwarfs landmarks like the Shard or Eiffel Tower - and would sit at 14th in a list of the world's tallest skyscrapers.

But despite its size and speed, Nasa has maintained that 2024 ON is not expected to pose a danger to Earth or its inhabitants.

An asteroid is deemed "potentially hazardous" if it comes within 0.05 astronomical units (4.65 million miles) of Earth and exceeds 140m in diameter.

Fortunately, this space rock's closest approach to Earth will see it stay twice as far away as the moon - but 2024 ON is still classified as a near-Earth object (NEO) and is being monitored by Nasa.

Related video:

• The Most Dangerous Asteroid Is Here, But NASA Has a Plan (Bright Side)

The space agency's definition reads: "NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth's neighbourhood."

It goes on to detail that comets are formed in the cold outer planetary system, whilst rockier asteroids originated in the warmer inner solar system between Mars and Jupiter.

MORE SPACE NEWS:

• China space probe returns to Earth with first EVER samples from the Moon's unexplored far side
• Two astronauts stranded on International Space Station after major Boeing faults
• Nasa astronauts left stranded in space may have to wait MONTHS before return to Earth

Asteroid warning issued by Nasa as meteor travelling at 19,000 miles an hour to narrowly miss Earth© GB News

(CA)

At its maximum estimated size, 2024 ON is still dwarfed by the largest known asteroid, Ceres, which boasts a diameter of 580 miles.

And despite its impressive dimensions, the approaching space rock will be too small to observe with the naked eye or even an average telescope.

Asteroids, remnants of ancient solar system collisions, travel at high speeds due to intense gravitational forces in space, and orbit the sun in elongated paths whilst rotating erratically.

Nasa's online tracker lists 2024 ON as one of the upcoming close approaches and highlights the agency's vigilance in monitoring potential threats from space.

The scientific interest in these celestial bodies stems from their status as relatively unchanged remnants of the solar system's formation process, dating back some 4.6 billion years.

Whilst 2024 ON's approach may seem alarming, it's important to note that such events aren't uncommon.

Nasa continuously tracks and studies these objects to better understand our cosmic neighbourhood and assess any potential risks to our planet.

The agency's efforts in asteroid detection and monitoring play a crucial role in planetary defence strategies, ensuring Earth's safety from potential space-borne hazards.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/feed?ocid=nl_article_link }

17-09-2024 om 18:10 geschreven door peter  

Life and death are traditionally viewed as opposites. However, the emergence of new multicellular life forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a “third state” that lies beyond the traditional boundaries of life and death.

Usually, scientists consider death to be the irreversible halt of the functioning of an organism as a whole. However, practices such as organ donation highlight how organs, tissues, and cells can continue to function even after an organism’s demise. This resilience raises the question: What mechanisms allow certain cells to keep working after an organism has died?

We are researchers who investigate what happens within organisms after they die. In our recently published review, we describe how certain cells — when provided with nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity, or biochemical cues — have the capacity to transform into multicellular organisms with new functions after death.

Life, death, and emergence of something new

The third state challenges how scientists typically understand cell behavior. While caterpillars metamorphosing into butterflies, or tadpoles evolving into frogs, may be familiar developmental transformations, there are few instances where organisms change in ways that are not predetermined. Tumors, organoids, and cell lines that can indefinitely divide in a petri dish, like HeLa cells, are not considered part of the third state because they do not develop new functions.

However, researchers found that skin cells extracted from deceased frog embryos were able to adapt to the new conditions of a petri dish in a lab, spontaneously reorganizing into multicellular organisms called xenobots. These organisms exhibited behaviors that extend far beyond their original biological roles. Specifically, these xenobots use their cilia — small, hair-like structures — to navigate and move through their surroundings, whereas in a living frog embryo, cilia are typically used to move mucus.

Researchers have also found that solitary human lung cells can self-assemble into miniature multicellular organisms that can move around. These anthrobots behave and are structured in new ways. They are not only able to navigate their surroundings but also repair both themselves and injured neuron cells placed nearby.

Taken together, these findings demonstrate the inherent plasticity of cellular systems and challenge the idea that cells and organisms can evolve only in predetermined ways. The third state suggests that organismal death may play a significant role in how life transforms over time.

Postmortem conditions

Several factors influence whether certain cells and tissues can survive and function after an organism dies. These include environmental conditions, metabolic activity, and preservation techniques.

Different cell types have varying survival times. For example, in humans, white blood cells die between 60 and 86 hours after organismal death. In mice, skeletal muscle cells can be regrown after 14 days postmortem, while fibroblast cells from sheep and goats can be cultured up to a month or so postmortem.

Metabolic activity plays an important role in whether cells can continue to survive and function. Active cells that require a continuous and substantial supply of energy to maintain their function are more difficult to culture than cells with lower energy requirements. Preservation techniques such as cryopreservation can allow tissue samples such as bone marrow to function similarly to that of living donor sources.

Inherent survival mechanisms also play a key role in whether cells and tissues live. For example, researchers have observed a significant increase in the activity of stress-related genes and immune-related genes after organismal death, likely to compensate for the loss of homeostasis. Moreover, factors such as trauma, infection , and the time elapsed since death significantly affect tissue and cell viability.

Factors such as age, health, sex, and type of species further shape the postmortem landscape. This is seen in the challenge of culturing and transplanting metabolically active islet cells, which produce insulin in the pancreas, from donors to recipients. Researchers believe that autoimmune processes, high energy costs, and the degradation of protective mechanisms could be the reason behind many islet transplant failures.

How the interplay of these variables allows certain cells to continue functioning after an organism dies remains unclear. One hypothesis is that specialized channels and pumps embedded in the outer membranes of cells serve as intricate electrical circuits. These channels and pumps generate electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with each other and execute specific functions such as growth and movement, shaping the structure of the organism they form.

The extent to which different types of cells can undergo transformation after death is also uncertain. Previous research has found that specific genes involved in stress, immunity, and epigenetic regulation are activated after death in mice, zebrafish, and people, suggesting widespread potential for transformation among diverse cell types.

Implications for biology and medicine

The third state not only offers new insights into the adaptability of cells. It also offers prospects for new treatments.

For example, anthrobots could be sourced from an individual’s living tissue to deliver drugs without triggering an unwanted immune response. Engineered anthrobots injected into the body could potentially dissolve arterial plaque in atherosclerosis patients and remove excess mucus in cystic fibrosis patients.

Importantly, these multicellular organisms have a finite life span, naturally degrading after four to six weeks. This “kill switch” prevents the growth of potentially invasive cells.

A better understanding of how some cells continue to function and metamorphose into multicellular entities sometime after an organism’s demise holds promise for advancing personalized and preventive medicine.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Peter A Noble at University of Washington and Alex Pozhitkov at Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope. Read the original article here.

{ https://theconversation.com/ }

17-09-2024 om 17:33 geschreven door peter  

Utah resident shocked after capturing eerie close-up footage of flashing UFO: 'I was blown away'

• READ MORE: Montana man records up-close footage of UFO rotating in air

By Alyssa Guzman For Dailymail.Com

A Utah resident has been left shocked after capturing what appeared to be a triangle-shaped multi-colored UFO flashing in the night sky.

The unidentified Reddit user, who goes by Cruxstew on the platform, uploaded a 50-second video of the May 2 sighting from their home in Southern Utah. 

The video showed a small orb in the sky rapidly changing colors. As the resident zoomed in on the object, the light flashed between red, blue, green and white in a matter of seconds, and appeared to have an aura surrounding it. 

'I was blown away by what I saw,' the person wrote on the UFOs Reddit channel. 

They also claimed that this video is just one a dozen unidentified phenomena that lit up the Southern Utah sky that night.   

The unidentified Reddit user, who goes by Cruxstew on the platform, uploaded a 50-second video on Monday of what they claim to be a UFO 

The video shows a small orb in the sky rapidly changing colors in the sky 

'This is one of over a dozen similar UAP’s I saw that night,' the Utah resident wrote, before adding that there were 'similar sightings by multiple people in this area.' 

'The multi-color pulsating light was triangular throughout the whole video until it disappeared,' the user added. 'No other lights, when zoomed in, were triangular. 

'The triangular shape wasn’t from a lens artifact or distortion. The light wasn’t from a plane or satellite and it wasn’t stationary.' 

'This is out in the middle of the desert. There were over 15 of these objects within an hour,' they continued. 'These were moving horizontal across the horizon at variable speeds, much faster than planes at seemingly similar distances.'

Although they did not disclose where exactly in Southern Utah they lived, the Beehive State is one of the best places to spot the unusual, according to research done by the University of Utah. 

'I was blown away by what I saw,' the person wrote on the UFO Reddit channel. 'This is one of over a dozen similar UAP’s I saw that night' 

The western part of the US, including Utah, have lots of flat land and open skies, offering greater potential to spot a UFO than in more mountainous or populated areas. 

In addition, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico have links to UFO conspiracies from Area 51 in Nevada to the Skinwalker Ranch in Ballard, Utah, where UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomenon) have been recorded by secret government programs and the popular History Channel show The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. 

'People are out and looking skyward,' Richard Medina, associate professor of geography at the University of Utah, said in the study that analyzed a 20-year period across the 21st Century, from 2001 to 2020.

'The idea is that if you have a chance to see something, then it’s more likely that you’re going to see unexplained phenomena in the sky'.

Pictured: The Skinwalker Ranch in Utah's Uintah Basin 

On History Channel's The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, the team of researchers frequently record evidence of UAPs (pictured)

'There’s more technology in the sky than ever before so the question is: What are people actually seeing? It’s a tough question to answer, and it is an important one because any uncertainty can be a potential threat to national security,' he added. 

Moab, Utah, is the number one spot in the state for UFO sightings. It also ranked 22nd in the US, according to Axios. 

Nearly all of Utah's counties had more reported UFO sightings per capita than the average of 34.3 sightings per 100,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, according to an Axios report. 

The Salt Lake Metro area had 47.1 sights per 100,000 residents. Grand County had 340.9, while Wayne County had 315. 

Despite the many alleged sightings across the US, most UFO claims turn out to be balloons, drones, 'airborne clutter,' or military activity, according to Axios.  

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-09-2024 om 00:35 geschreven door peter  

Ominous moment glowing spherical UFO is captured in man's hiking trail selfie - and his unwanted military encounters that followed

• READ MORE: US Congress to investigate Peru's controversial 'alien' mummies

By Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Ominous images of a perfectly spherical UFO, seemingly dotted with yellow 'landing lights,' have left some researchers certain one is 'the first selfie with a UFO in history.'

Taken by Brazilian UFO researcher and author Edie Meireles in 2011, the snaps show the apparent craft above a hiking trail to 'La cascada de la purificación,' a chilly waterfall in Brazil's high-altitude Chapada Diamantina National Park.

What followed, at least, according to one of Meireles' UFO-hunting peers, was years of 'threats and intrigues' — with two members of their group 'killed by the military' and three more 'abducted.'

And by Meireles' own account, his sighting in one of South America's most scenic ecological preserves led to a raid on his home by 'soldiers in camouflage and black.'

Photos, taken by Brazilian UFO researcher and author Edie Meireles in 2011 (pictured), show the an ominous apparent craft above a hiking trail to 'La cascada de la purificación' - a chilly waterfall in the South American nation's high-altitude Chapada Diamantina national park

In a recent, March 2022 post to the group UFOs Bahai  on Facebook, Meireles boasted that his candid snap was 'the only selfie with a flying saucer.' Above, a second and less clear 'UFO selfie' from Meireles' alleged encounter with a flying orb in Chapada Diamantina national park

What followed, at least, according to one of Meireles' UFO-hunting peers, was years of 'threats and intrigues' — with two members of their group 'killed by the military' and three more 'abducted.' Above, another photo from Meireles' 2011 UFO encounter 

Skeptics on social media, however, have alleged that the photos are everything from 'sky lanterns' held aloft by hot air from candles to outright doctored images.

DailyMail.com reached out to Meireles for further comment — but the researcher, who serves as admin for 'el Grupo de Pesquisa Tecnológica Extra Avançada' ('the Extra-Advanced Technology Research Group') on Facebook has not replied.

But, in a March 2022 post, Meireles boasted that his candid snaps were 'the only selfie with a flying saucer.'

And, in a submission to Brazilian nonprofit Museu da Pessoa (Museum of the Person) the UFO researcher recounted his trips back to the national park for repeated, but less-well-documented, encounters with these UFOs and their occupants.

Those expeditions, documented in his book Fieldworkers: Pesquisadores de Campo in 2016, according to Meireles, led to further unwanted encounters with the military.

'The result of the interrogation was [...] Fractures: 4 left ribs and left knee [...] Perforation with bleeding in the left lung,' and worse, Meireles told the nonprofit.

Read More

• Harvard study says UFO mystery may be result of advanced 'stealth civilization' living on Earth 

'I was hospitalized for 12 days at the Chapada Regional Hospital, in Seabra-Ba, my medical history is there for anyone who wants to investigate,' according to the Brazilian UFO researcher.

Meireles' version of his UFO experiences at the national park, includes more surreal encounters with beings and a prophecy of global environmental cataclysm: 'a natural collapse, with a lack of renewable resources, drinking water, and wood for construction,' as he told the nonprofit museum.

Fact or fiction, his story has a fitting setting in Brazil's Chapada Diamantina National Park, established in September 1985 to protect a host of rare, endangered species native to these Atlantic Forest plateaus 3,000 feet about sea level. 

Brazil's giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), its giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and Chaco eagle (Buteogallus coronatus) are all protected species that call the park home.

Above, another photo from Meireles' 2011 UFO encounter

Above, lateral blur on the apparent craft appears to indicate a form of propulsion in another photo alleged to be from Meireles' 2011 UFO encounter

Above, another image of lateral blur on the apparent 'alien spacecraft' - which appears to indicate a form of propulsion in another image from Meireles' alleged 2011 UFO encounter

One account of the 2011 sighting, attributed to Meireles, described a UFO whose onboard devices or novel means of propulsion managed to either accidentally or intentionally leave him stranded in the park.

'I got out of the car and photographed,' according to a Reddit posting quoting Meireles. 'It was an indescribable wonderful emotion to have photographed a UFO so clearly visible.'

But, the account continues: 'About 40 minutes later, still on the road, my car turned off, I braked, I tried to turn the key and nothing, absolutely nothing.

'I saw a light on the hood and I looked up and there was a UFO standing on top of my car, I opened the door and ran,' the account continues. 

'I even stopped to take a Selfie with them. My car was towed by a tractor the next day, it burned all electrical parts.'

This version of his encounter states that Meireles was travelling to the historic district near the national park, Serra de Igatú, although a 2016 posting apparently by Meireles on Facebook asserts the images were taken on his was to the waterfall at the park known as 'La cascada de la purificación.'

Above, 'Mosquito Waterfall,' one of many waterfalls like the 'La cascada de la purificación' from Meireles' UFO encounter, visited by tourists of Brazil's Chapada Diamantina National Park

Above, a final known image from Meireles' alleged 2011 UFO encounter, this time with less fog or low-lying cloud cover along the trail in Brazil's Chapada Diamantina National Park

An aerial view of Chapada Diamantina National Park in Bahia state, Brazil

Above, tourists admire the 'Poco Encantado' (aka 'the Enchanted Well') a sunken, subterranean pool and tourist destination at Chapada Diamantina National Park

Some champions of Meireles' UFO research have attributed the murky stories around his incredibly crisp and visually compelling photographs to the alleged hostile encounters with the military.

Hélio Nunes de Camargo, the self-decribed founder of UFOs na Chapada – Centro Ufológico da Chapada Diamantina, wrote that Meireles' UFOs Bahai research group disbanded over the alleged military harassments and violence.

'They are leaving UFOlogy to live their own lives away from threats and intrigues,' Nunes de Camargo wrote in a 2014 post to his group's Facebook page.

The UFO researcher recounted the deaths and abductions that UFOs Bahai is alleged to have faced, adding: 'They told me that families are suffering a lot and they don't want to make other families suffer.' 

Other UFO researchers online, however, have had trouble with this explanation. 

'The fact that he's [Meireles] still uploading those photos to his Facebook account every few months proves that might not be correct,' Reddit user spriz2 opined.

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

•  New Pentagon report on Roswell UFO crash is 'bogus' says former NASA scientists and Air Force veterans 

'I've written to Edie multiple times on Facebook over the last year to try and gain more knowledge on this event,' the Redditer explained. 'He's ignored every message and comment.'

Others, however, not only found the case credible but believed they had seen this same UFO themselves.

'Holy F***, this is identical to what I saw right before Covid hit,' one Redditer, who goes by ehtseeoh, said.

The poster said that the bottom of the craft he saw 'rotated when it glowed red with an orange center, and then it did a quick zig zag and it was gone,' making 'zero sound' as it vanished in an instant.

'I screamed laughed and cried,' the poster said. 'FINALLY the orb I've been looking for online, this guy has a selfie with it haha.'

DailyMail.com also reached out to noted UFO skeptic and computer programmer Mick West of Sacramento, California, who weighed-in saying: 'They look photoshopped to me, but could be practical effects.'

The prolific, skeptically minded, UFO researcher and former video game designer noted that UFO cases like this, with limited information like static images and inconsistent eye-witness testimony, should always be taken with a grain of salt.  

'In cases like this we need actual evidence that the photos are NOT fake before attempting to explain them,' West told DailyMail.com via email.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-09-2024 om 00:21 geschreven door peter  

Bombshell UFO hearings to take place in Congress as new footage emerges of 'huge' craft near US nuclear weapons base

• READ MORE: Air Force vet breaks silence on 'UFO the size of a football field'

By Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Another round of public UFO hearings are in store for Congress within mere weeks,  according to a senior member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee. 

The new Senate hearing, which could arrive as early as September, follows another bizarre summer of US military whistleblower claims about these baffling airborne mysteries — including ex-Pentagon official Luis Elizondo's revelations that he personally handled an 'alien' implant removed from a veteran servicemember. 

New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who confirmed the hearing, said: 'It's a priority for me because I think it's very important we continue to make things publicly available.'

Just days ago, Montana witnesses videotaped what one called a 'huge' UFO with 'tons of blinking and spinning lights' 60 miles from a US Air Force nuclear-weapons base (pictured)

Just days ago, in fact, witnesses taped what one called a 'huge' UFO with 'tons of blinking and spinning lights' 60 miles from a US Air Force nuclear weapons base.

That sighting — filmed from Choteau Montana and hour's drive northwest of storied UFO hotspot Malmstrom Air Force Base — left one witness 'shaking and crying from the experience,' according to her husband, who posted the encounter to Reddit.

'The photos aren't scary,' the anonymous poster noted, 'but seeing what you truly believe to be a massive object in the silent night sky going over YOUR head and home carries a lot more emotional weight in person.'

Read More

• EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon UFO chief Dr Sean Kirkpatrick will be REPLACED by end of the year as whistleblowers accuse him of lying to the public and ignoring witnesses 

The UFO, which can mostly be seen by 'a rotating orange/red light on the bottom' after it shifted from appearing like a long, gleaming white streak, was not one of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite trains commonly mistaken for alien craft, the witness said. 

'I'm familiar with Starlink videos,' he emphasized. 'While we were watching the object it was very apparent that the lights were around the silhouette of a large craft.'

'You could not "see between the lights,"' as he explained the encounter to the r/UFOs subreddit. 'It was solid dark behind them. Our take is that we were seeing a disc shape from the side.'

Sen. Gillibrand expressed her hope Monday that the upcoming Senate UFO hearing would renew public trust in the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and encourage the public to report their own sightings to AARO's UFO hunters.

'We also want to try to continue to build credibility within this office [AARO] so more of the public can feed in sightings and have a place and a platform to send information and inquiries,' she said, 'because that's eventually what this office is supposed to do.'

After a rocky first year, in which AARO's inaugural director Dr Sean Kirkpatrick sparred in public with ex-US intelligence whistleblower David Grusch and others over an alleged UFO cover-up, the office spent most of 2024 guided by only temporary acting leadership.

That changed late last August when the Pentagon announced that AARO's new lead would be an expert in quantum optics and crypto-mathematics from the National Security Agency (NSA): Dr. Jon T. Kosloski.

Then-Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand ran an April 2023 hearing (pictured above) in which the previous director of the Pentagon's UFO-hunting All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, last spoke before the Senate

Then-AARO boss Dr Kirkpatrick spoke on the challenges of prioritizing and identifying UFOs

'I'm hoping that the new head will be the one to testify,' Sen. Gillibrand told Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo, who runs the newsletter Ask a Pol.

Gillibrand, whose fellow New York legislator Sen. Chuck Schumer has sponsored a detailed amendment pushing to declassify UFO files, gave a preview of the hearing. 

The Armed Services Committee, she said, would host 'a progress report on how many unidentified aerial phenomena we've assessed and analyzed, give examples of what we have identified and give examples of what we haven't identified.'

This kind of public disclosure was a key goal, according to Sen. Gillibrand, 'so that the community can be kept up to speed about what we're actually doing and what this office [i.e. AARO] is doing.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

16-09-2024 om 23:57 geschreven door peter  

Filmmaker Reveals UFO Secret: Skin Of Craft Seemed Alive Like A Biological Being

What are UFOs? The question that has been buzzing for decades might not have a simple explanation. From alien spaceships to interdimensional crafts, these mysterious objects are associated with various strange phenomena. There are a number of whistleblowers who have claimed that the U.S. government possesses UFO materials retrieved from crash sites, but the exact nature of these materials is not known.

• https://youtu.be/YezEEUh-5e4

UFO filmmaker Jeremy Corbell claims: “UFOs are real, and we’re no closer to understanding what a UFO truly is, who operates them, where they are from, what their intent is, or what they represent to humankind. So when the public in general sees that on the news, it’s like, “Okay, yeah, we all kind of thought that because we’re seeing them. Thanks, government, but nothing’s really answered.”

Corbell has discussed various theories surrounding UAPs/UFO phenomena with Steve-O on his podcast. He put forward ideas on what UFOs could manifest. Apart from interplanetary spacecraft, terrestrial, non-terrestrial, or interdimensional objects, Corbell introduced a new term to explain UFOs, which is “extratemporal.” He explained that many scientists working on UFO-related projects believe these crafts utilize gravitational propulsion, a technology we have yet to fully understand. Manipulating gravity could distort time and space, suggesting that these crafts might originate from another time; hence, the term is “extratemporal.”

Corbell noted that when it comes to duplicating or reverse-engineering these non-human technologies, our current understanding of science is not up to that mark. Corbell mentions that one of the significant challenges in understanding UFOs is the limitations of our material science. He explains that attempts at reverse engineering UFO materials or craft are hindered because our material science has not advanced enough to replicate these materials accurately.

“These craft can move; they call it transmedium. From space through air without a sonic boom, they can move at speed and into the sea without disturbance, without slowing down. That’s transmedium. So the idea of how do they do that with physics? Some people say, ‘Well, the craft’s skin, you know, it’s like hydrophobic; when you go in, it just slips in.’ But really what we’re seeing is objects that appear to move in ways that our physics understands; we just can’t replicate gravitational fields,” Corbell says.

Corbell explains that some people think UFOs might be using things like time travel or manipulating gravity to achieve these unusual movements. He mentions the idea that if they can control gravity somehow, they could create a kind of force field around their craft that makes them move in ways that we cannot explain with our current science.

Corbell also talks about the way UFOs can move from space into the Earth’s atmosphere or even underwater without making a sound or causing disturbances. He suggests that this could be related to their ability to control gravity, allowing them to smoothly transition between different environments.

Skin of the UFO is alive

Steve-O expresses his view that the distinction between craft and biologics in the UFO phenomenon is not entirely clear to him. He suggests that it might be more accurate to consider that the boundary between what is traditionally thought of as a craft and a biological entity is blurry. He implies that the craft themselves might have some form of biological elements.

Corbell agrees with this perspective and mentions that many military personnel who have had close encounters with UFOs often report a strange characteristic about the craft’s “skin.” According to these reports, the craft’s exterior appears to exhibit signs of intelligence and liveliness. Corbell notes that this observation is puzzling, especially to engineers who are accustomed to thinking of machines as non-biological entities.

Corbell further explores the idea that these UFOs may be so integrated with biological elements that they could be considered a form of biology as we understand it, even though they are still functional craft capable of carrying things.

Some of these UFOs appear to be piloted by what Corbell refers to as artificial intelligence, essentially acting like drones. Others seem to carry occupants, which they refer to as “biologics” or biological entities. However, they entertain the idea that even these occupants could be some form of cybernetic organisms with synthetic flesh, essentially functioning as autonomous AI beings.

Israeli Psychic Uri Geller, who is often misjudged on social media for his bizarre posts, was a part of CIA secret programs where his abilities were used in the area of “mind projection” and possibly for national security purposes. A declassified CIA document revealed information about the “Project Stargate” that was focused on remote viewing.

He played an important role in the CIA investigation into ESP and psychokinesis. In one experiment for the CIA, Geller was isolated in a room to draw the same picture that had been drawn by another person in another room. He drew a picture of a square with diagonals. In 2017, the CIA released some 12 million pages of records, revealing details about Project Stargate.

Read also:

• Journalist Claims UFOs & Aliens Are Linked With Afterlife & NDEs, Which Exist In Another Dimension
• Journalist Claims Aliens Engaging With Earth Will Be Revealed In 12-18 Months: They Look Like ‘Greys’
• Journalist Reveals Bob Lazar’s Astonishing Claim: Extraterrestrials See Humans as ‘Containers of Souls’
• Mexican Dead Alien Bodies are Not a Hoax: They Have Humanoid Features, Researchers Say

One of Geller’s least-known claims is about working with NASA. He got acquainted with Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell and later, the two became friends. He was then asked by Mitchell to meet a legendary German-born American aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun.

Geller said Kennedy argued to bring him to the US so that they could use his mind. Along with his brother-in-law Shipi Shtrang, Geller visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. While being there, Geller gave his secret spy camera to Shtrang which he used later to take photographs of Geller, Mitchell, von Braun, and more.

Geller claimed that he could not believe his eyes as he was shown extraterrestrial evidence at the Goddard Space Flight Center. During their meeting, Von Braun doubted Geller. “He said he heard about my powers and told me that if he took his wedding ring off his finger and put it in the palm of his hand and I’d be able to bend it while it’s there, he’d believe me,” Geller recounted. “And I did – completely.”

After that, Geller was shown a piece of metal at Von Braun’s office. “It was metallic, smooth, pearl-like, with rainbow reflective ‘skin.’ When I held it I sensed vibrations. It felt like it was breathing… as if it was alive. Von Braun said I was right – and that it was from a crashed UFO,” he explained. He never found out where this metal had come from. “UFOs/UAPS are not just nuts and bolt craft,” Geller posts on X (formerly Twitter).

With Curt Jaimungal on his Theories of Everything (TOE) podcast in 2021, former AATIP head Luis Elizondo carefully hinted that “potentially” the U.S. government had acquired otherworldly biological samples. He also suggested that the government has images of UAPs that appear to show beings inside them.

“Have there potentially been biological samples recovered?” Curt asked. ELizondo replied: “Yes. I’m not going to expound on that… and be careful when I say that. I’m being purposely very open and vague at the same time, right? What does that mean? Well, it means what it means.”

Besides, when asked if there are photos that show occupants inside “craft,” Elizondo said: “There are some very compelling photos out there that seem to show something inside, some sort of occupancy, And I’ll leave it at that, because it gets really murky, much beyond that.

And there’s a lot that can be speculated. And so I try to avoid speculation as much as possible. But yes, I’ve spoken to enough people with firsthand knowledge that not only report the crafts that we know exists, but potentially some sort of intelligence inside these vehicles.”

Why isn’t this topic being discussed by everyone on the planet? Is it feasible that the majority of people are disregarding this news, even if they are aware of it? At what point does the truth and its mind-boggling consequences become too conspicuous to overlook?

Former intelligence officer David Grusch also testified in July 2023 UAP hearings that the U.S. has recovered non-human “biologics” from alleged crash sites, which further bolsters Corbell and Geller’s claims that the craft’s skin or its occupants exhibit signs of intelligence and liveliness.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

15-09-2024 om 23:15 geschreven door peter  

On Thursday, Mr. Isaacman and Ms. Gillis became the first private astronauts to successfully complete a spacewalk. The operation involved the crew letting all the air out of the spacecraft, because it had no airlock, while the other two crew members wore spacesuits inside the airless capsule. Mr. Isaacman moved outside and conducted mobility tests of his spacesuit for a few minutes before re-entering the capsule. Ms Gillis then moved outside and performed the same tests.

This was the first of three Polaris missions aimed at accelerating technological advances needed to fulfill Mr. Musk’s dream of sending people to Mars someday. A key goal of the mission was to further the development of more advanced spacesuits that would be needed for SpaceX to try any future off-world colonization.

During a news conference before the launch, Mr. Isaacman mused that one day, someone might step onto Mars wearing a version of the spacesuit that SpaceX had developed for this flight. Closer to Earth, commercial spacewalks also present other possibilities, like technicians repairing private satellites in orbit.

During the spaceflight, the four astronauts conducted about 40 experiments, mostly about how weightlessness and radiation affect the human body. They also tested laser communications between the Crew Dragon and SpaceX’s constellation of Starlink internet satellites.

15-09-2024 om 22:29 geschreven door peter  

Trilobites Had Five Pairs of Head Appendages, New Fossils Show

Based on multiple analytical techniques applied to well-preserved soft-bodied specimens of two trilobite species, the Late Ordovician species Triarthrus eatoni and the Middle Cambrian species Olenoides serratus, paleontologists argue that an additional pair of cephalic appendages occurred just behind the antennae, indicating that trilobites had five pairs of cephalic appendages and six segments.

Triarthrus eatoni. Image credit: Jin-bo Hou & Melanie J. Hopkins, doi: 10.1111/pala.12723.

Trilobites are extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the oceans of the Paleozoic era.

During their time on Earth, which lasted much longer than the dinosaurs, they survived two major episodes of mass extinctions and dominated ocean floor ecosystems.

They appeared in ancient oceans in the Early Cambrian, about 540 million years ago — well before life emerged on land, and disappeared in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian, about 252 million years ago.

They were extremely diverse, with about 20,000 species, and their fossil exoskeletons can be found all around the world.

Like other arthropods, the bodies of trilobites are made up of many segments, with the head region comprised of several fused segments.

As with other parts of the trilobite body (thorax and tail), these segments were associated with appendages, which ranged in function from sensing to feeding to locomotion.

“The number of these segments and how they are associated with other important traits, like eyes and legs, is important for understanding how arthropods are related to one another, and therefore, how they evolved,” said Dr. Melanie Hopkins, curator and chair of the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History.

The segments in the trilobite head can be counted in two different ways: by looking at the grooves (called furrows) on the upper side of the trilobite fossil’s hard exoskeleton, or by counting the pairs of preserved antennae and legs on the underside of the fossil.

The soft appendages of trilobites are rarely preserved, though, and when looking at the segments in the trilobite head, researchers regularly find a mismatch between these two methods.

In the new study, Dr. Hopkins and Nanjing University’s Dr. Jin-Bo Hou examined new specimens of Triarthrus eatoni.

These fossils, known for the gold shine of the pyrite replacement preserving them, show an additional, previously undescribed leg underneath the head.

“This fantastic preservation style allows us to observe 3D appendages in hundreds of specimens directly from the ventral side of the animals, just like looking at the appendages of horseshoe crabs on a beach by grabbing them and turning them upside down,” Dr. Hou said.

By making comparisons with another trilobite species, the exceptionally preserved Olenoides serratus from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, the authors propose a model for how appendages were attached to the head in relation to the grooves in the exoskeleton.

“This model resolves the apparent mismatch and indicates that the trilobite head included six segments: an anterior segment associated with the developmental origin of the eyes and five additional segments, associated with one pair of antennae and four pairs of walking legs, respectively,” they explained.

• Their paper was published today in the journal Palaeontology.
• Jin-bo Hou & Melanie J. Hopkins. 2024. New evidence for five cephalic appendages in trilobites and implications for segmentation of the trilobite head. Palaeontology 67 (5): e12723; doi: 10.1111/pala.12723

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

15-09-2024 om 20:20 geschreven door peter  

This Man, Hired by the CIA, Reveals the Mysterious ‘Bands’ Surrounding Earth Where Individuals Congregate After Physical Death

Robert Monroe, who was hired by the CIA, was a true pioneer in the evolution of human consciousness. In his book, he details his discovery that the Earth is surrounded by ‘bands’ where individuals congregate after physical death, for varying lengths of time, based on their individual resonant vibrations and belief systems.

Robert Monroe (1915-1995) was a radio executive who researched altered consciousness and founded The Monroe Institute. In 1958, he had a strange experience where he felt vibrations and floated out of his body. Despite initial panic, he learned to control it and dedicated his life to studying out-of-body experiences. He developed “Hemi-Sync” technology, using audio patterns to harmonize brain hemispheres, and proved its effectiveness through EEG scans. Monroe’s work pioneered the path to tangible altered states.

Robert Monroe is well known for writing three books: ‘Journeys Out of the Body‘, ‘Far Journeys‘, and ‘Ultimate Journey’. He was an important figure in exploring human consciousness. His book Far Journeys is especially important for its ideas about the future of humanity.

In Far Journeys, Monroe talks about how, after people die, they gather in invisible layers or “bands” around the Earth. How long they stay in these bands depends on their personal beliefs and the energy they give off. These ideas can also be seen in a book called War in Heaven, which discusses how some belief systems control people even after death in these same bands.

Monroe’s discoveries about these bands are important because, later, he learns something crucial about them, especially related to the time around the year 3,000 AD. This future discovery reveals more about what might happen to humans in these bands after death.

Monroe found that the Earth is surrounded by several layers, like rings, that look dark grey or brown. These layers are filled with beings or spirits. Some of these spirits are still connected to living people, while others come from people who have recently died.

These layers, or bands, are arranged in order, starting from the closest to Earth and going further away.

• The First Band: The first group of beings/Entities seemed to be stuck on old ideas about how to survive and were still tied to physical reality. From the viewpoint of advanced entities Monroe was in regular communication with, this first band reflected “a mass of discordant, undirected thought radiation”. The First Band has several smaller groups within it. The first smaller group was made up of beings who had left their physical bodies but were still trying to interact with the physical world without success. They didn’t seem to know or care about anything beyond their previous physical life.
• The second sub-band was filled with entities who were not fully in their bodies but were still connected to them. These beings were in an out-of-body experience, trying to do things they would normally do while awake. From a broader viewpoint, it looked like they suddenly vanished right in the middle of what they were doing, as they returned to their physical bodies.
• The Third Band, or ring, is made up of beings who have died but still have strong beliefs about what happens after death. This is similar to what was described in “War in Heaven.” Because these beings have different beliefs, the Third Band is divided into many smaller groups based on those beliefs. For example, if many people share the same religious beliefs, they create a shared “reality” where they come together in that belief.

This band is perhaps the largest band, and is also a very manipulative place with all the same game-playing and power struggles that went on in physical embodiment on Earth. This band is also the source for the comment “there are many mansions in heaven”. It is also worthy to note that those to “believe” that “there is one life to live and then nothing” congregate at their own resonant level within this band. Monroe described seeing billions of entities, lying in stasis, side by side, in rows. UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT CONSCIOUSNESS, ENERGY AND INTENT CREATE THE NATURE OF REALITY, welcome to a long stay in this area within the Third Band.

• The fourth sub-band is a place where beings who used to live in the physical world but are now in a different state of existence reside. Even though they know they have left the physical world behind, they still act like they are in it. They have an “anything goes” attitude and express themselves in strange and unusual ways that mimic the physical world.

Monroe illustrated one example of a bizarre manner of expression when he told of coming across a seething, squirming pile of human forms trying to sexually stimulate each other to no avail since they did not in reality still have a physical body capable of such interaction.

But, why come to Earth in the first place?

According to Monroe, any time-space scenario (of which Earth is a whopper!) has unique aspects which contribute interesting ways to the development of both intelligence and consciousness itself.

Some higher-level beings wouldn’t want to experience this kind of environment. Because of this, many beings on different levels don’t really understand what love, compassion, and empathy are. Instead, they focus on needing to be obeyed and worshipped, and they are more about control and manipulation. Going to a place where normal non-physical rules don’t apply is something they are not willing to do because it would mean giving up their need for control.

Chapter 15 of Far Journeys, “Promised Plan,” delivers Monroe’s vision of a future we may come to, sometime beyond the year 3000.

When Robert Monroe was taken to a period in his travels to the Earth in the future, around 3,000 AD, he was surprised to learn that the deep gray and brown bands/rings were no longer around the planet. Instead, there was a single flat ring that radiated light of its own accord.

This ring was full of signals and communication, but there was no annoying noise. There were no cities or signs of advanced technology on the planet’s surface. The air was clean and the planet’s environment was healthy again. When Monroe asked his guide about these changes, he was told that a healthy environment was planned, not a result of a disaster followed by natural recovery. There were no large groups of people living on the planet, and this was also intentional. The entire planet seemed to be operating at a different frequency or level of existence.

Read also:

• This Mexican Scientist Claimed We Live in a Holographic Matrix, Disappears Mysteriously After It
• This Former NASA Engineer Has Discovered a Way To Overcome Earth’s Gravity
• This Salt Lake City Tech CEO Found Dead After Eerie Calls: ‘It’s All a Game… We’re in the Matrix’

Monroe eventually came across entities on the planet, but they were non-physical. They communicated without speaking and explained that sometimes they use physical bodies, which they called “containers.” These containers were created from their thoughts and kept safe in “energy cocoons” so they would be ready to use whenever needed.

These beings had amazing abilities, even when they were in a body. For example, one of them created a piece of fruit out of thin air and gave it to Monroe, which he ate and enjoyed. The beings also told Monroe that he could learn in a special, fast way. They called it “compressed learning,” where he could understand life from the perspective of any living creature on Earth by connecting his mind to theirs. They could experience what it was like to be any animal or plant, and then quickly return to their own form.

These beings had moved far beyond the old way of life on Earth, where survival and the need for a physical body were so important. They could even feel what it was like to be “eaten alive”—something that’s a deep fear for humans—but they could escape it easily without any harm. They didn’t need to sleep, and whether they were in a body or not, they could get energy from the space around them.

Now, this is the interesting part. They told Monroe that entities newly arriving on Earth at that time period first had to experience one human life cycle in a period of time before the changes were made, and then they were allowed to spend time there.

Monroe was told that these one-time experiences were going on in the 20th century for some of those destined to return to occupy the dimensional area around Earth in 3000 AD+. Those who graduated from the Earth environment in 3,000 AD did not return to Earth.

They no longer needed to experience Earth and could take on physical forms in lessening degrees of density and radiation patterns until they no longer felt the need to do so….on their journey to the infinite growth patterns of consciousness that were developing all the time.

Monore’s book Ultimate Journey went over some of the same ground from a different angle. It seems that Ultimate Journey was motivated by one underlying belief of Monroe’s that is stated concisely within one paragraph in Chapter Six.

It may help to accept, as a belief to be converted into a Known, that we, as Human Mind-Consciousness, have both an individual and a species purpose, or purposes, for being in the Earth Life System which is not usually an understood part of our physical waking awareness. Conflict arises when the Human Mind demands an action and the Earth Life System self has trouble handling it.

Monroe describes The Earth Life System as “an exquisitely self-adjusting, autotuning, self-regenerating organization of energy…. The entire system is one of polarities, yet each part is interconnected.” It is, he said, a food chain predator system, although it is rarely accepted as such. It may appear chaotic and complex, but it is organized and operates under a few simple rules:

• Grow and exist as long as you can.
• Get what you need to exist.
• Maintain your species by reproducing.

There are no limitations or conditions in applying these rules…. Every participant is a predator and the process cannot be altered or changed as long as the Earth Life System exists. Survival is difficult if not impossible without predatory action. He points out that “The Earth Life System, for all its shortcomings, is an exquisite teaching machine.” (p.83)

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

15-09-2024 om 19:55 geschreven door peter  

Tucker Carlson’s Supernatural Shift: When Aliens Defied His Skepticism

Tucker Carlson, a well-known conservative commentator, has long been known for his skeptical and often provocative views on a variety of issues. However, one topic where Carlson has undergone a notable transformation is his stance on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), commonly referred to as UFOs. Over the years, Carlson has shifted from viewing these phenomena purely through a lens of skepticism to embracing a more complex and nuanced perspective—one that incorporates elements of the supernatural. This shift marks a significant evolution in his public discourse on aliens and UAPs.

From Skepticism to Supernatural Interpretation

In recent years, the conversation around UAPs has gained considerable attention, particularly with the release of declassified footage by the U.S. government showing unidentified objects performing extraordinary maneuvers. Carlson, who previously might have dismissed such stories as conspiracy theories, now approaches the topic with a sense of gravity and intrigue. One of the key aspects of his changed viewpoint revolves around the idea that these entities might not just be physical in nature but could belong to a realm beyond human understanding.

Carlson has openly questioned whether these unexplained objects are underpinned by forces that challenge the laws of physics as we know them. He notes, for instance, the incredible speeds at which these objects travel—both in the sky and underwater—without any visible means of propulsion. This defiance of physical principles has led him to ponder the possibility that these beings might be “supernatural” or “spiritual” in nature, existing beyond the natural world as humans perceive it.

The Role of the U.S. Government

A significant part of Carlson’s discussion focuses on the potential knowledge and involvement of the U.S. government in these unexplained phenomena. He speculates that the government might have long been aware of these entities but has chosen to keep much of the information hidden from the public. One reason for this secrecy, according to Carlson, could be the government’s inability to control these objects, which would undermine public trust in national security.

However, Carlson doesn’t stop at military concerns. He goes further to suggest that the government might have an ongoing relationship with these beings—one that has existed for decades. This assertion opens the door to more questions about the intent and nature of this relationship. If true, it would imply that the phenomenon of UAPs extends beyond mere curiosity and into the realm of national interest, possibly involving risks to both citizens and servicemen.

The Human Toll

One of the most sobering aspects of Carlson’s revised stance on UAPs involves the potential harm these entities may have caused. He references credible sources, including Gary Nolan, a Stanford Medical School professor, who has studied brain injuries sustained by U.S. servicemen after encounters with these phenomena. Carlson claims that there have been injuries—and even deaths—resulting from contact with these objects, though he admits that the scale of these incidents remains unclear.

Nolan’s research points to the possibility that the energy emitted by these objects could be harmful to humans, potentially scrambling brain functions and leading to severe consequences. This revelation adds a layer of urgency to Carlson’s reflections, as it suggests that the phenomena may not be benign or merely observational. Instead, these encounters could pose a tangible risk to human life, raising serious ethical and safety concerns about how the government is handling the situation.

Historical Context: A Shift in Worldview

One of the most profound aspects of Carlson’s evolving perspective on aliens and UAPs is his reflection on the broader historical and spiritual context. He notes that, prior to the modern era, nearly every society believed in the existence of unseen forces that influenced human life. These beliefs were spiritual in nature, attributing both good and evil actions to supernatural entities. Carlson argues that it wasn’t until the aftermath of World War II, specifically with the dropping of atomic bombs in 1945, that the West began to embrace a fully secular worldview, discarding millennia of spiritual interpretations of the universe.

According to Carlson, the sudden rejection of spiritual explanations for natural and supernatural events is an anomaly in human history. By viewing the UAP phenomenon through this spiritual lens, he aligns himself with ancient beliefs, which held that human beings are constantly interacting with forces beyond their comprehension. In this context, Carlson suggests that the entities behind UAPs could be part of an ongoing “spiritual battle”—a concept familiar to nearly every pre-modern society.

VIDEO:

When Tucker Carlson Changed His Mind on Aliens

• https://youtu.be/eDmdREn7VDo

Tucker Carlson’s shift in perspective on aliens and UAPs is not just a change of opinion; it’s a transformation in how he views the relationship between humans and the unknown. By embracing the possibility that these phenomena are supernatural or spiritual in nature, Carlson has moved away from traditional skepticism and into a realm where science and spirituality intersect. His inquiries into government secrecy, the potential harm caused by these entities, and the spiritual context of human history represent a broader, more complex understanding of the alien question.

For Carlson, the mystery of UAPs is no longer just about whether aliens exist but about the fundamental nature of these beings and their role in the broader spiritual landscape of humanity. Whether viewed as a threat or an opportunity for deeper understanding, his evolving views have sparked new conversations about what lies beyond the stars—and perhaps, beyond the veil of reality itself.

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

15-09-2024 om 17:05 geschreven door peter  

14-09-2024 om 23:58 geschreven door peter  

Getty / Futurism

Rocky Future

Don't panic, but the odds of a massive asteroid named Apophis smashing into Earth just got just a smidge higher.

Originally projected to harmlessly fly past us in a close approach, a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal suggests that there's actually a fraction of a chance that the 1,100-foot hunk of rock could collide with our planet after all, in the far off year of 2029.

The odds are less than one in a billion, fortunately, and would require the unfolding of a cosmic pool trick-shot to happen, but going from no chance to slim chance is still unnerving when we're talking about a mini-apocalypse on our hands.

Fortunately, Apophis — ominously named after the ancient Egyptian deity of Chaos — isn't considered big enough to wipe out human civilization outright, but it's certainly big enough to obliterate an entire city. But the real killer, most likely, will be the wait: we can't rule out the possibility of an impact until 2027, according to the study.

Bump Bump

First, we should note that Apophis, which astronomers have been observing since its discovery in 2004, isn't currently on a warpath for Earth. The study's sole author Paul Wiegert, an astronomer at Canada's Western University, found that it's still projected to fly past our planet at a distance of several Earth radii on April 13, 2029. Very close — it'll come between us and the Moon — but no cigar.

What's new, however, is the possibility that the trajectory could change if Apophis collides into another object along the way, like a smaller asteroid. According to Wiegert, almost none of the calculations on its trajectory so far have accounted for this happening since we haven't found any other asteroids that could cross paths with it. Even a study that did investigate this, which Wiegert published in March, found that the odds of this happening were "zero."

He's now recanting that. According to his latest findings, Wiegert says that Apophis could bump into tiny asteroids too small for us to see yet. If one of these wayward objects were just eleven feet across in size, that would be hefty enough to nudge it on a collision course with our planet in 2029.

And if it struck an object even just two feet across, it could also put it on a collision course — but at a later date, perhaps in 2036 or 2068.

Wait and See

Still, these impacts, even if they occur, would have to be perfectly placed to turn Apophis into an Earth-seeking missile. The odds, Wiegert calculated, is less than one in two billion. Even the odds of an impact occurring and causing a significant deflection — that doesn't necessarily put Apophis on a collision course — are less than one in one million.

Because Apophis is currently in the daytime sky, observing it with telescopes won't be possible until 2027. Even with a clear view, however, confirming that it was struck by something will be tricky, since by then most of the visible aftereffects will have dissipated, Wiegert wrote.

Still, he's optimistic that simple, direct observations of the asteroid that year will be enough to safely put the impact risk to rest — or perhaps to confirm our impending doom. Until then, it's out of our hands.

More on asteroids: 

• Debris From When NASA Smashed Asteroid Appears to Be Headed Back Toward Earth
  

{ https://futurism.com/the-byte }

14-09-2024 om 22:53 geschreven door peter