“To date, AARO has not discovered any empirical evidence that any sighting of a UAP represented off-world technology or the existence a classified program that had not been properly reported to Congress,” the report said.

Citing investigations that revealed most sightings to result from the “misidentification of ordinary objects and phenomena,” the report acknowledged that “many UAP reports remain unsolved,” though adding that better data could lead to the resolution of some of the currently unresolved cases.

In advance of the report’s release, Tim Phillips, acting director of AARO on assignment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), provided a briefing to a limited number of reporters on Wednesday, where he discussed the new report and revealed details about a new system called “Gremlin” designed to acquire real-time data on UAP. The Debrief did not participate in Wednesday’s media briefing.

Following the release of the report, Department of Defense spokesperson Sue Gough said in an email to The Debrief that “AARO reviewed all official USG investigatory efforts since 1945, researched classified and unclassified archives, conducted dozens of interviews and site visits, and partnered with the Intelligence Community and DoD officials responsible for special access program oversight.”

“AARO created a secure process in partnership with the highest-level security officials within the DoD, IC, and other organizations to research and investigate these claims,” Gough said. “AARO was granted full, unrestricted access by all organizations.”

Although there were notable exceptions, most media coverage of the new AARO report focused almost entirely on the lack of evidence linking UAP sightings to extraterrestrial technologies, as well as the absence of classified programs involved in the recovery of crashed vehicles of non-human origin.

Also commanding media attention had been revelations involving the existence of a proposed program pitched to the Department of Homeland Security in the 2010s under the codename “Kona Blue,” which involved a prospective reverse engineering program for any extraterrestrial technologies acquired by the U.S. government.

According to the AARO report, Kona Blue had been proposed by former members of a DIA program called the Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program (AAWSAP), whose personnel are identified in the report as some of the main proponents behind ongoing assertions involving secret U.S. government UAP programs.

The report says that AARO investigators found no evidence that extraterrestrial craft or their occupants had ever been acquired by the U.S. military and that Kona Blue was ultimately rejected by DHS leadership due to a lack of merit.

Friday’s report was met with significant criticism online following its release, with many arguing that its findings were invalid, while others expressed skepticism over its assertions that no evidence of cover-ups involving crashed UAP retrieval programs had been found.

The report’s findings appear to run in stark contrast to whistleblower allegations that first received widespread public attention last June, involving an official complaint filed with the Intelligence Community Inspector General by David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence officer whose duties included participation in the U.S. government’s investigations into UAP in recent years.

In January, Inspector General of the Intelligence Community Thomas Monheim spoke with members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a classified briefing on UAP, with some who attended claiming it left them with more questions than answers regarding ongoing claims of secret programs and exotic technologies.

Following the release of AARO’s report on Friday, amidst all the attention surrounding what AARO investigators did or did not find, and programs that were proposed but never came to fruition, few mainstream outlets discussed the numerous intriguing allusions to legitimate advanced capabilities the U.S. possesses that are peppered throughout the report—many of which, in likelihood, actually have contributed to UAP sightings over the years.

These seemingly went unnoticed, as well as several factual errors that appear throughout the new report that, for some, potentially undermine the level of rigor AARO appears to have applied in its investigations.

Fact-Checking AARO’s Historical Report

Among the many mistakes that appear in the new report, one of the most glaring appears in references to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his involvement in helping acquire funding for a controversial UAP investigative effort run out of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the early 2000s. The report refers to the Democrat Senator’s home state as being New Mexico, whereas Reid was a U.S. Senator from Nevada.

In another instance, a famous sighting reported by pilot Kenneth Arnold near Mount Rainer, Washington in the summer of 1947 is described as having taken place on “June 23,” one day earlier than Arnold’s sighting occurred.

The report similarly claims Arnold described the objects he observed as being “saucer-like aircraft”, although this now-famous characterization was only later applied by members of the media who, at the time, were referencing Arnold’s description of their movement resembling “saucers” skipping across water.

In yet another example, the AARO report repeatedly refers to a statistical analysis of sightings collected by the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book conducted by the Battelle Memorial Institute as “Project BEAR,” which had, in fact, only been a nickname given to the program by Blue Book’s original director, Edward J. Ruppelt. The project’s actual name—one that has now been known publicly for decades—was Project STORK.

“The name Project BEAR was an intentionally false name made by Edward Ruppelt,” wrote Robert Powell, an Executive Board Member with the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, in a  posting on X, “so as not to reveal the true name of the project.”

Powell also noted that the recent AARO report seemingly misstated the date of the Battelle project as having been issued in late 1954, whereas the date on the folder in the Air Force’s Project Blue Book files indicates a date of May 5, 1955.

Beyond mere problems with dates, AARO’s report makes further assertions that Battelle’s study, the results of which were published in a report titled Project Blue Book Special Report #14, “concluded that all cases that had enough data were resolved and readily explainable.” Quite the contrary, the study actually found that among the UFO sightings categorized within a reliability group of reports deemed “Excellent,” only 4.2% had “insufficient info,” whereas 33.3% of these cases remained “Unknown.”

In a posting on X, Marik von Rennenkampf, an analyst who worked with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, called the error “Blatantly, demonstrably false.”

Intriguing Accounts and Unsolved Cases

Despite the number of factual errors that appear throughout the final AARO report, there are nonetheless a handful of intriguing references in it that appear to describe advanced U.S. technologies, although again, few of these have received significant attention in mainstream coverage.

In one example, which describes an individual’s account provided during an interview with AARO investigators, the report states that “AARO was able to correlate this account with an authentic USG program because the interviewee was able to provide a relatively precise time and location of the sighting which they observed exhibiting strange characteristics.”

Test flight during the 1970s of Lockheed’s then-secret Have Blue, the code name for its stealth fighter

(Public Domain).

AARO concluded the technology mistaken for being an exotic UAP technology by the unnamed witness correlated with DoD tests “of a platform protected by a [Special Access Program]” occurring at roughly the same time. “The seemingly strange characteristics reported by the interviewee match closely with the platform’s characteristics,” the AARO report’s authors state, “which was being tested at a military facility in the time frame the interviewee was there.”

“This program is not related in any way to the exploitation of off-world technology,” the report’s authors emphasize, offering no further details on the technology that is believed to have been mistaken for a test involving an exotic craft.

The report’s authors later add that “All the programs assessed to be authentic were or—if still active—continue to be, appropriately reported to either or both the congressional defense and intelligence committees.”

In another instance, material believed to have been retrieved from a UAP was subjected to analysis by the U.S. Army, with subsequent analysis conducted by AARO and “a leading science laboratory,” concluding that “the material is a metallic alloy, terrestrial in nature, and possibly of USAF origin, based on its materials characterization.”

Although most of AARO’s reported findings dismissed any verifiable connections to exotic craft or genuine unexplained phenomena, linking them instead to known U.S. government programs, there are a handful of incidents AARO said it was still investigating, which included a series of widely discussed UAP events that occurred at U.S. strategic sites during the 1960s and 1970s.

“AARO is researching U.S. and adversarial activity related to these events,” the report states, “including any U.S. programs that tested defensive ballistic missile capabilities.”

The report also maintains AARO’s past positions regarding the likelihood that prosaic explanations exist for the majority of UAP sightings, although its authors nonetheless acknowledge that there are still some cases the Pentagon’s UAP investigative office has been unable to solve.

“A small percentage of cases have potentially anomalous characteristics or concerning characteristics,” the report’s authors write. “AARO has kept Congress fully and currently informed of its findings. AARO’s research continues on these cases.”

Questions Of Access and Ongoing Problems

Last April, during a Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing led by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, then-Director of AARO, agreed when asked about AARO’s Title 50 accessibility by Senator Gillibrand that “having additional authorities for collection, tasking, counterintelligence… those are all things that would be helpful, yes.”

In the U.S., most activities conducted by the Intelligence Community, including covert action missions, foreign espionage, and other activities best suited for combating unconventional external threats, operate under what is known as Title 50 authority.

Although Dr. Kirkpatrick emphasized having “good relations” with other agencies during last April’s hearing, his statements gave the distinct impression that AARO had been operating solely under Title 10 authority for the duration of its mission at that time, which would seemingly place limitations on its ability to acquire information related to the Intelligence Community’s involvement with UAP investigations, including but not limited to exchanges of data and tasking collection assets.

Responding to questions from The Debrief, Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough clarified that AARO does have access to U.S. intelligence information that falls under Title 50 authority.

“There is no impediment to AARO receiving all UAP-related information, past or present, regardless of level or origin of classification,” Gough told The Debrief. “By law, AARO may receive all UAP-related information, at all levels of classification, regardless of whether the original classification authority for such information is within DoD or the Intelligence Community.”

Although AARO does appear to have access to all the intelligence on UAP that it required, contrary to what was conveyed during last April’s Senate hearing, the Pentagon nonetheless continues to face challenges in its collection and management of information about UAP.

Earlier this year, an unclassified summary of a DoD Inspector General report evaluating the Pentagon’s activities related to UAP was released, which argued that the DoD lacks any comprehensive, coordinated means by which it can currently address UAP. The report further argued that the DoD’s apparent lack of coordination on the UAP issue could pose a threat to U.S. military forces and, more broadly, to national security.

“We determined that the DoD has no overarching UAP policy,” a portion of the DoD Inspector General report read, “and, as a result, it lacks assurance that national security and flight safety threats to the United States from UAP have been identified and mitigated.”

In a statement on Friday following the new AARO historical report’s release, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said the second volume of AARO’s historical review will be forthcoming later this year.

“AARO will publish a second volume that will provide analysis of information acquired by AARO after Nov. 1, 2023, including information received via interviews with current and former U.S. government personnel who contacted AARO via the secure reporting mechanism on AARO’s website,” Ryder said.

“Analyzing and understanding the historical record on UAP is an ongoing collaborative effort involving many departments and agencies, and the department thanks the contributing departments and agencies, as well as the interviewees who came forward with information,” Ryder added.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.

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

08-11-2024 om 23:24 geschreven door peter  

The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg!

The first life forms to appear on Earth were unicellular, i.e. composed of a single cell, such as yeast or bacteria. Later, animals - multicellular organisms - evolved, developing from a single cell, the egg cell, to form complex beings. This embryonic development follows precise stages that are remarkably similar between animal species and could date back to a period well before the appearance of animals. However, the transition from unicellular species to multicellular organisms is still very poorly understood.

These cells divide without growing any further, forming multicellular colonies resembling the early stages of animal embryonic development.

Recently appointed as an assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry in the UNIGE Faculty of Science, and formerly an SNSF Ambizione researcher at EPFL, Omaya Dudin and his team have focused on Chromosphaera perkinsii, or C. perkinsii, an ancestral species of protist. This unicellular organism separated from the animal evolutionary line more than a billion years ago, offering valuable insight into the mechanisms that may have led to the transition to multicellularity.

By observing C. perkinsii, the scientists discovered that these cells, once they have reached their maximum size, divide without growing any further, forming multicellular colonies resembling the early stages of animal embryonic development. Unprecedentedly, these colonies persist for around a third of their life cycle and comprise at least two distinct cell types, a surprising phenomenon for this type of organism.

Images of the multicellular development of the ichthyosporean Chromosphaera perkinsii, a close cousin of animals. In red we can see the membranes and in blue the nuclei with their DNA. The image was obtained using expansion microscopy.

© O. Dudin, UNIGE

‘‘Although C. perkinsii is a unicellular species, this behaviour shows that multicellular coordination and differentiation processes are already present in the species, well before the first animals appeared on Earth’’, explains Omaya Dudin, who led this research.

Even more surprisingly, the way these cells divide and the three-dimensional structure they adopt are strikingly reminiscent of the early stages of embryonic development in animals. In collaboration with Dr John Burns (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), analysis of the genetic activity within these colonies revealed intriguing similarities with that observed in animal embryos, suggesting that the genetic programmes governing complex multicellular development were already present over a billion years ago.

Marine Olivetta, laboratory technician at the Department of Biochemistry in the UNIGE Faculty of Science and first author of the study, explains: “It’s fascinating, a species discovered very recently allows us to go back in time more than a billion years”. In fact, the study shows that either the principle of embryonic development existed before animals, or multicellular development mechanisms evolved separately in C. perkinsii.

This discovery could also shed new light on a long-standing scientific debate concerning 600 million-year-old fossils that resemble embryos, and could challenge certain traditional conceptions of multicellularity.

VIDEOS

{ https://www.unige.ch/ }

08-11-2024 om 22:20 geschreven door peter  

Wat kwam er eerst, de kip of het ei? Onderzoekers zeggen nu: het ei!

In een prehistorisch eencellig organisme is een celdeling ontdekt die lijkt op die van een dierlijk embryo. En dat is interessant, want dit geeft aan dat embryonale ontwikkeling mogelijk al bestond voordat dieren zich ontwikkelden.

Al eeuwenlang vragen wetenschappers zich af wat er eerst was: de kip of het ei? Vorig jaar stelden onderzoekers nog dat het de kip was. Maar een nieuwe studie komt nu tot een andere conclusie. Volgens deze onderzoekers zijn er nu namelijk overtuigende aanwijzingen dat het ei toch echt het eerste was.

Eerste levensvormen
De eerste levensvormen op aarde waren eencellig, zoals gist of bacteriën. Later evolueerden dieren, meercellige organismen, die zich vanaf één cel, de eicel, ontwikkelden tot complexe wezens. Deze embryonale ontwikkeling verloopt in verschillende stadia die opvallende overeenkomsten vertonen tussen dierlijke soorten en mogelijk al stammen uit een tijd vóór de eerste dieren. De overgang van eencellige naar meercellige organismen wordt echter nog steeds niet volledig begrepen.

Chromosphaera perkinsii
In een nieuwe studie hebben onderzoekers de eencellige soort Chromosphaera perkinsii bestudeerd. C. perkinsii werd in 2017 gevonden in zeesedimenten rondom Hawaï en is een voorouderlijke soort van protisten. De eerste aanwijzingen voor het bestaan van deze soort op aarde gaan meer dan een miljard jaar terug, lang vóór de opkomst van de eerste dieren. Omdat dit eencellige organisme zich meer dan een miljard jaar geleden afsplitste van de dierlijke evolutielijn, verschaft het belangrijke inzichten in de processen die mogelijk geleid hebben tot de overgang naar meercelligheid. “Het is fascinerend dat een soort die pas recent is ontdekt, ons in staat stelt om meer dan een miljard jaar terug in de tijd te kijken”, zegt onderzoeksleider Marine Olivetta.

Multicellulaire structuren
Het onderzoek naar C. perkinsii leidt tot een opmerkelijke ontdekking. Zo ontdekten de wetenschappers dat de cellen, zodra ze hun maximale grootte hebben bereikt, zich delen zonder verder te groeien. Vervolgens vormen ze multicellulaire structuren. Opmerkelijk is dat deze structuren ongeveer een derde van hun levenscyclus intact blijven en minstens twee verschillende celtypen bevatten, wat een verrassend fenomeen is voor dit soort organisme. “Hoewel C. perkinsii een eencellige soort is, laat dit gedrag zien dat processen van multicellulaire coördinatie en differentiatie al aanwezig waren in deze soort, lang voordat de eerste dieren op aarde verschenen”, aldus onderzoeker Omaya Dudin.

Dierlijke embryo’s
Nog verrassender is de manier waarop deze cellen zich delen en de driedimensionale structuur die ze aannemen. Dit lijkt namelijk sterk op de vroege stadia van de embryonale ontwikkeling bij dieren. De analyse van de genetische activiteit in deze structuren vertonen dus opvallende overeenkomsten met die in dierlijke embryo’s.

Het ei
Deze waarnemingen wijzen op twee mogelijke verklaringen: ofwel de genetische programma’s voor embryonale ontwikkeling bestonden al vóór de opkomst van dieren, of C. perkinsii ontwikkelde zich onafhankelijk om vergelijkbare processen te vertonen. Dit zou betekenen dat de natuur al de genetische middelen had om ‘eieren te maken’ lang voordat het ‘kippen uitvond’.

Inzicht
Vergeet dus de kip, want mogelijk was toch het ei er het eerste. Deze ontdekking zou overigens ook nieuwe inzichten kunnen bieden in een ander langlopend wetenschappelijk debat over fossielen van 600 miljoen jaar oud die op embryo’s lijken. Bovendien zou het sommige traditionele ideeën over meercelligheid kunnen uitdagen.

Al met al werpt de studie, gepubliceerd in Nature, nieuwe perspectieven op de overgang van eencellige naar meercellige organismen en kan de manier waarop we de evolutie van multicellulaire levensvormen begrijpen, fundamenteel veranderen. De studie daagt ook traditionele opvattingen uit over de oorsprong van embryonale ontwikkeling en biedt stof tot nadenken over de evolutie van multicellulaire organismen als geheel.

Bronmateriaal

• "The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg!" - Université de Genève
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel:

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

08-11-2024 om 22:06 geschreven door peter  

Sheehan claimed that 'strange phenomenons' on Earth are taking place such as humans expressing telepathic skills, teleportation, astral travel and remote viewing . . . which extraterrestrial are believed to be able to do

Danny Sheehan loves a good alien claim 

(Image: Jesse Michels/YouTube)

Aliens are two billions years more advanced – both technologically and psychically – than humans, an alien-loving lawyer has claimed. Danny Sheehan has been involved in bringing UFO whistleblowers to the United States Congress in recent years.

He has been helping to provide explosive evidence of alleged government cover-ups regarding real encounters with extraterrestrial beings. And after making series of bombshell claims regarding the potential locations of two bases with hundreds of UFOs seen going “in and out of it”, and that aliens are stealing human eggs and sperm, he has now returned with another one.

Sheehan, speaking to Jesse Michels on his YouTube channel, divulged more details about just how advanced aliens are compared to the human race . . . despite the fact we still appear able to stop them as he has previously claimed before.

He claimed that aliens are 'two billion years' more advanced than humans

(Image: Getty Images)

He said: “They are two billion years more technologically advanced than we are and they happen to have figured how to come and go from our planet.”

Sheehan also claimed there are other “strange phenomenons” going on on Earth, such as humans expressing telepathic skills, teleportation, astral travel and remote viewing . . . all of which extraterrestrial beings are believed to be able to do. He claimed humans have turned people who are said to have done these things into religious figures – like “Jesus Christ or Buddah”.

“Therefore, there's something super non-human about them, they're spiritual, they're from some other domain somewhere – that's not true. What they are is mutations of our human family and as that faculty is evolving, some humans are more fully evolved than others and that attracts attention.

“This is another element that really intelligent thinking, careful people who are not ignorant are interested in.”

And when asked if this is the “source code” of religion, he replied: “Yes, there's no doubt about it.”

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

08-11-2024 om 21:42 geschreven door peter  

Scientists Have Discovered a “Lost” Mayan Megacity, Complete With Hidden Pyramids

Tulane researchers uncovered over 6,500 Maya structures in Mexico using lidar, revealing a complex settlement landscape and challenging previous assumptions about the Maya civilization’s urban and rural distribution.

Tulane University researchers have used laser-guided imaging to peer through dense jungle forests, revealing vast unexplored Maya settlements in Mexico and a better understanding of the ancient civilization’s extent and complexity.

The new research, published in the journal Antiquity, was led by Tulane University anthropology doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas and his advisor, Professor Marcello A. Canuto.

The team used lidar, a laser-based detection system, to survey 50 square miles of land in Campeche, Mexico, an area largely overlooked by archaeologists. Their findings included evidence of more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city complete with iconic stone pyramids.

Lidar technology has allowed scientists to survey large swaths of land from the comfort of a computer lab, uncovering anomalies in the landscape that often prove to be pyramids, family houses, and other examples of Maya infrastructure.

Credit: Marcello Canuto

Surprising Discoveries and Varied Settlements

“Our analysis not only revealed a picture of a region that was dense with settlements, but it also revealed a lot of variability,” said Auld-Thomas, a doctoral student in Tulane’s Anthropology Department and instructor at Northern Arizona University. “We didn’t just find rural areas and smaller settlements. We also found a large city with pyramids right next to the area’s only highway, near a town where people have been actively farming among the ruins for years. The government never knew about it; the scientific community never knew about it. That really puts an exclamation point behind the statement that, no, we have not found everything, and yes, there’s a lot more to be discovered.”

The Middle American Research Institute (MARI) at Tulane University has been pioneering the use of lidar technology in archaeological research. Over the past decade, the MARI has built a state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab, managed by Francisco Estrada-Belli, to analyze remote sensing data, such as lidar.

Ancient buildings clustered on a hilltop are revealed by a narrow transect of lidar survey data. Lidar technology uses laser pulses to measure distances and create 3D models of specific areas.

Credit: Luke Auld-Thomas

Lidar technology uses laser pulses to measure distances and create three-dimensional models of specific areas. It has allowed scientists to scan large swaths of land from the comfort of a computer lab, uncovering anomalies in the landscape that often prove to be pyramids, family houses, and other examples of Maya infrastructure.

“Thanks to generous funding from the Hitz Foundation, MARI has been at the forefront of the use of lidar technology in archaeological research over the past decade,” said Canuto, director of the MARI. “Now our efforts are expanding from data analysis to data collection and acquisition. The work conducted on these data from Campeche represents how MARI’s ‘lidar footprint’ is expanding.”

Implications for Understanding Maya Population and Settlement Patterns

This research may also help resolve ongoing debates about the true extent of Maya settlements.

“Because lidar allows us to map large areas very quickly, and at really high precision and levels of detail, that made us react, ‘Oh wow, there are so many buildings out there we didn’t know about, the population must have been huge,’” Auld-Thomas said. “The counterargument was that lidar surveys were still too tethered to known, large sites, such as Tikal, and therefore had developed a distorted image of the Maya lowlands. What if the rest of the Maya area was far more rural and what we had mapped so far was the exception instead of the rule?”

The study highlights the transformative power of lidar technology in unveiling the secrets of ancient civilizations. It also provides compelling evidence of a more complex and varied Maya landscape than previously thought.

“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” Canuto said. “While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities. Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”

Reference:

• “Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico” by Luke Auld-Thomas, Marcello A. Canuto, Adriana Velázquez Morlet, Francisco Estrada-Belli, David Chatelain, Diego Matadamas, Michelle Pigott and Juan Carlos Fernández Díaz, 29 October 2024, Antiquity.
  DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2024.148

{ https://scitechdaily.com/ }

08-11-2024 om 21:12 geschreven door peter  

Laser Mapping Reveals Previously Unknown Maya City with Stone Pyramids in Mexico

Using a laser-based detection system, archaeologists have discovered over 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures — including a previously unknown Maya city named Valeriana — in Campeche, Mexico.

Detail of the major site of Valeriana in Campeche, Mexico.

Image credit: Auld-Thomas et al., doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.148.

“Our analysis not only revealed a picture of a region that was dense with settlements, but it also revealed a lot of variability,” said Luke Auld-Thomas, a doctoral student at Tulane University and instructor at Northern Arizona University.

“We didn’t just find rural areas and smaller settlements. We also found a large city with pyramids right next to the area’s only highway, near a town where people have been actively farming among the ruins for years.”

“The government never knew about it; the scientific community never knew about it.”

“That really puts an exclamation point behind the statement that, no, we have not found everything, and yes, there’s a lot more to be discovered.”

Lidar technology uses laser pulses to measure distances and to create 3D models of specific areas.

It has allowed the scientists to scan large swaths of land from the comfort of a computer lab, uncovering anomalies in the landscape that often prove to be pyramids, family houses and other examples Maya infrastructure.

“Because lidar allows us to map large areas very quickly, and at really high precision and levels of detail, that made us react, ‘Oh wow, there are so many buildings out there we didn’t know about, the population must have been huge’,” Auld-Thomas said.

“The counterargument was that lidar surveys were still too tethered to known, large sites, such as Tikal, and therefore had developed a distorted image of the Maya lowlands.”

“What if the rest of the Maya area was far more rural and what we had mapped so far was the exception instead of the rule?”

The team’s results provide compelling evidence of a more complex and varied Maya landscape than previously thought.

“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” said Tulane University’s Professor Marcello Canuto.

“While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities.”

“Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”

• A paper on the findings was published on October 29, 2024 in the journal Antiquity.
• Luke Auld-Thomas et al. 2024. Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico. Antiquity 98 (401): 1340-1358; doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.148

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

08-11-2024 om 20:54 geschreven door peter  

Erich Von Däniken Changed NASA Engineer Mind, Convincing Him To Consider Ezekiel Vision As Alien Spacecraft

Erich von Däniken, a Swiss author famous for his “ancient astronaut” theories (particularly in his book Chariots of the Gods), met Josef F. Blumrich, a NASA engineer. The meeting is said to have occurred in the 1970s, where von Däniken presented his idea that Ezekiel’s vision in the Bible might have been a description of an alien spacecraft rather than a divine chariot.

Blumrich, at the time, was skeptical of von Däniken’s theories. Initially, he sought to disprove them, thinking they were absurd. However, after investigating Ezekiel’s vision in more detail, Blumrich began to change his mind. He wrote a book called “The Spaceships of Ezekiel,” where he argued that Ezekiel’s vision could indeed describe an advanced spacecraft, specifically suggesting that the “wheels within wheels” might represent a form of advanced technology.

Blumrich went on to patent a design for an omnidirectional wheel, which he claimed was inspired by his interpretation of Ezekiel’s description. This was part of his attempt to demonstrate how Ezekiel might have described advanced, though hypothetical, technology.

Ezekiel is a key figure in Judaism and prominent in other Abrahamic biblical texts. Ezekiel was brought to Babylon in the first captivity of Israel and is described as a prophet.

One of the interesting characteristics of The Book of Ezekiel as a biblical text is that it is written using the pronoun, I, clearly showing it being written by Ezekiel himself as a first-person account, unlike many biblical texts written in the third person. This seems to lend a little more credit and personality to the story as it is told shortly after its occurrence.

The Flying Wheeled Chariot

“4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.” – Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel talks about seeing a chariot with wheels come down from the sky, driven by beings that looked like humans. While many versions of the Bible say this being on the chariot is God, von Däniken notes that the original Hebrew text doesn’t mention God; the word was added later.

Ezekiel’s description of the chariot landing sounds a lot like how a spacecraft might land. The strong wind, lightning, and bright lights are similar to what you might see when a spaceship lands, stirring up dust in a way no one from that time had ever seen. Ezekiel even says the fire powering the chariot looked like ‘glowing metal.’

There is a clear difference between this description and how Ezekiel’s vision is usually shown in Bible artwork. Many pictures leave out important details like the fire, the wheels that move in all directions, and the crystal dome around the heads of human-like beings.

The Four Living Creatures

“15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around… 22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.” – Ezekiel 1

Many people think the four creatures are cherubim or angel-like beings, especially in ancient Jewish (Genesis 3:24 ) and Christian (Exodus 25:18-20) texts. These creatures, looking like humans, are believed by some to be aliens who take Ezekiel in their UFO to a ‘temple’ on top of a mountain. During the journey, Ezekiel says he felt God’s hand on him, which could be understood as the strong forces of gravity or g-forces when the UFO lifts off. He is brought to their ‘temple,’ possibly a place or city where they live.

In many biblical stories, the Ark of the Covenant is an important object for von Däniken’s theory. He believes its mention in the Kebra Nagast, an Ethiopian Christian story about King Solomon, is the most significant. In this story, it’s said that King Solomon had flying machines not mentioned in the Bible, as well as the famous Ark.

The texts suggest people were afraid of the Ark because it killed those who came too close. Could it have been radioactive or electrically charged? Was it like a plutonium reactor?

Erich Von Däniken thinks there are other Bible verses that support his ancient astronaut theory. Some hint at places for spacecraft to land, similar to the one Ezekiel visited. One such place is the Chavin de Huantar temple in Peru, located high up on a mountain from an unknown culture.

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The temple has winged figures and sculpted heads that look like they’re wearing helmets. Von Däniken believes these might be similar to the ones Ezekiel described. Could this be real evidence of an ancient UFO sighting, or just an imaginative idea?

Missouri Republican Eric Burlison attended a secret briefing on UFOs 10 months ago, but he says it hasn’t changed his beliefs. “There’s nothing that’s been said that’s changed my worldview,” he stated. He trusts the people who spoke about UFOs publicly but thinks there might be more to the story.

Burlison has suggested that UFOs could be angels sent by God. In an interview on “That UFO Podcast,” he explained that by “angels,” he means beings from other dimensions. He said, “They may not fit exactly the Biblical narrative, but whenever I use the term ‘angels,’ to me, it’s synonymous with an extradimensional being.”

On the podcast, Burlison also shared his views on different UFO theories, mentioning a report by UFO whistleblower David Grusch. Grusch claimed that the government secretly recovered alien spacecraft, with dead “pilots” inside. Burlison pointed to one theory in the report: the idea that these beings could exist in higher dimensions beyond our usual understanding of space and time. (Source)

He used an example of living on a flat surface and suddenly encountering a 3D object to explain higher-dimensional beings. In this case, he suggested that we live in a 3D world but could be dealing with beings from a dimension beyond ours, where distance doesn’t work the same way.

Burlison is doubtful about aliens traveling from distant planets to visit Earth, given the vast distances involved. He questioned why an advanced alien race would come so far only to crash on Earth. Instead, he thinks it’s more likely that these beings are extradimensional.

He added that religious texts, including the Bible, talk about God’s messengers or angels existing in higher dimensions. While Burlison acknowledges the visual evidence and pilots’ testimonies about UFOs, he thinks the explanation might not be as exciting as people hope. In his view, these sightings might be new propulsion technology being developed on Earth.

To make his point, he mentioned the discovery of the Higgs boson particle about ten years ago, which relates to gravity. Just as the nuclear bomb was developed after the discovery of nuclear fission, Burlison thinks scientists may be using the Higgs field to create new technology, possibly for advanced propulsion.

He’s not alone in connecting UFOs with religious ideas. Representative Tim Burchett has also said that UFOs are in the Bible, specifically referring to the book of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 1:4-28, a vision describes an “immense cloud with flashing lightning,” “four living creatures” with human-like forms but with four faces and wings, and wheels that moved with them, which Burchett linked to UFOs.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

08-11-2024 om 20:51 geschreven door peter  

Archons: Cosmic Manipulators Shaping Humanity’s Reality

Throughout history, the existence of cosmic entities influencing the affairs of humankind has been a recurring theme across cultures. Among these are the Archons—a mysterious alien race described in ancient texts and expounded upon by modern thinkers like John Lash and David Icke. According to Lash and Icke, these entities are not only real but deeply entrenched in manipulating humanity, influencing our perceptions, and controlling human souls. Lash, a scholar of Gnosticism, and Icke, an author and theorist, delve into the mechanisms by which these beings exert their power, describing them as masterful manipulators of reality who use illusion to keep humanity under control.

The Origins of the Archons in Gnostic Texts

The concept of the Archons finds its roots in ancient Gnostic writings, particularly the Nag Hammadi texts discovered in 1945. In these documents, the Archons are depicted as malevolent entities that arose during the creation of the solar system. According to Lash, Gnostic seers—ancient shamans and spiritual teachers—observed that the Archons were an inorganic species that emerged alongside the formation of the cosmos. Unlike organic life on Earth, the Archons are thought to be beings of a lower, “inorganic” realm that possess limited creative abilities but excel in imitation and deception. This distinction places them as beings “of the solar system but not of the Earth,” a cosmic presence that exists on the fringes of human experience.

Cosmic Puppeteers and the Power of Illusion

One of the Archons’ defining traits, as described by Lash, is their ability to create illusions and distort human perception. They use a power that Gnostic texts term Hal, or simulation. Through this, the Archons can implant false realities and manipulate our beliefs, steering human thought and emotion in directions that feed their agenda. This aligns with Icke’s idea of a “holographic internet” through which entities can manipulate human perception by broadcasting frequencies that influence the mind. Both Lash and Icke argue that these manipulative powers are especially potent in moments of fear and division, which the Archons exploit to maintain control over humanity.

VIDEO:

• Alien Race Archon Is Not What You Think | Alien & UFO Ancient Mystery by COAST TO COAST AM OFFICIAL

• https://youtu.be/nGlOrGHwqCI

Lash explains that Archons are envious of humanity’s creative spark, emotional depth, and evolutionary potential. This envy drives them to intrude upon the human psyche, feeding off the energy of fear, chaos, and confusion. Gnostic texts even go so far as to describe the Archons as engaging in psychic intrusion and inducing experiences akin to modern-day abduction narratives. By generating fear and confusion, the Archons maintain their hold on human consciousness, effectively preventing humanity from achieving higher awareness and self-realization.

The Archons as Cosmic Engineers

In addition to their role as manipulators, the Archons are also portrayed as engineers of the physical universe. Lash interprets the ancient Gnostic texts as suggesting that the Archons are somewhat like “cosmic technicians,” beings who sustain the inorganic structures of the solar system. They lack the vitality of organic life and cannot thrive in the biosphere of Earth, but they inhabit and influence the outer realms. This alien nature makes them capable of extensive mental intrusion but limits their physical interactions with humanity. They operate primarily through telepathic influence, distorting human perception from a distance.

A Dual Reality: Manipulation of the Five-Sense World

According to Icke, humanity lives in a “five-sense prison,” where the material world is a narrow bandwidth within a much larger, multidimensional reality. He posits that the Archons manipulate this limited reality by controlling the flow of information and perception through external systems like the media, education, and societal structures. These entities, Icke asserts, operate from a frequency just beyond visible light, presenting themselves as human but possessing a distinctly different form in realms beyond our perception.

This “illusory” nature of reality is key to understanding how the Archons control humanity. By manipulating beliefs and perceptions, they create a false sense of limitation, preventing people from realizing their true potential as infinite, interconnected beings. Icke refers to this as a “holographic internet” where our beliefs and perceptions are shaped by outside influences that keep us within a narrow understanding of reality.

Overcoming Archonic Control: Awareness as Liberation

Both Lash and Icke emphasize the importance of awareness and self-realization as a means to break free from Archonic control. Recognizing the influence of the Archons allows humanity to regain autonomy over the mind and spirit, stepping out of the cycle of fear and illusion. Lash believes that the Gnostic texts were preserved as a warning and a guide for humanity to recognize these intrusions and to consciously resist their influence.

For Icke, understanding that reality is fundamentally illusory and manipulated is the first step toward liberation. He argues that by embracing our true identity as expressions of infinite consciousness, we can transcend the Archonic influence and reshape our reality. This shift in perspective allows us to see beyond the limitations imposed by external forces, enabling humanity to reconnect with its divine potential.

The Ancient Knowledge for Modern Times

The insights of Lash and Icke provide a framework for understanding how unseen forces may influence human behavior and beliefs. By examining the ancient teachings of Gnosticism alongside modern theories of consciousness and perception, they offer a pathway to liberation from cosmic entities that seek to control the human experience. Ultimately, exploring the Archons serves as a reminder that humanity’s greatest power lies in self-awareness, resilience, and the pursuit of truth beyond ordinary awareness.

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

08-11-2024 om 20:45 geschreven door peter  

Breaking News: Elon Musk Takes on Unidentified Flying Objects with New Fighter Jet

by Karen White

In a surprising and unparalleled move, Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur known for pushing the boundary of technology, has set his sights on a new endeavor: the development of a combat aircraft specifically designed to engage unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

Musk vs. The Extraterrestrial Unknown

Musk’s cutting-edge company, SpaceX, is already notorious for its exploration in the realms of space travel. Now, Musk seems intent on venturing into a domain that perhaps even the boldest of us dare not tread. He’s declared an open war on UFOs, not with words, but with raw technical prowess.

The Battle Begins: Musk’s UFO Fighter Jet

The fighter jet, currently under wraps, promises to pack the most advanced and modern technology, supplemented by Musk’s signature ingenious design. Reports suggest a mix of radars, detection systems, and energy weapons with never-seen-before capabilities, all aimed at identifying and neutralizing any potential extraterrestrial threat.

While the exact capabilities of this jet remain a mystery, we know for certain that it will capitalize on Musk’s notable experience with groundbreaking propulsion systems and high-end spacecraft technology from previous SpaceX projects.

Unveiling a New Era of Defence

The creation of such a craft brings thrilling implications. Could we be on the cusp of a new era of defense, one that doesn’t stop at skyscrapers or aircraft carriers, but ventures into space?

As the UFO fighter jet project rolls forward, we hold our breath, waiting to see how Elon Musk, the maverick game-changer, changes yet another game. The question remains just how far into the stars this battle will take him, and likewise, the world. See how our future will pan out as we step boldly into an era of extraterrestrial warfare.

UFO Defense: A New Frontier or Pure Foolhardiness?

Elon Musk: A man against the universe?

Elon Musk, the vanguard trailblazer immortalized for his ventures in cutting-edge technology, has shattered expectations once more. His new target: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). Musk proposes to launch a combat aircraft specifically geared towards subduing these unknown airborne phenomena. But how might this audacious project alter our world and beyond?

The Future Fighter: Challenging the Cosmic Unknown

Reputed tech titan SpaceX, helmed by Musk, is drawing from its substantial knowledge pool to develop the UFO combat jet. Equipped with pioneering radars, new-age detection systems, and unprecedented energy weapons, the planned aircraft appears a formidable force. But with no technical specifics currently available, judgments about the aircraft’s efficacy remain purely speculative.

The Broader Impact: A New Stage in Defense Development?

Given Musk’s track record, a successful UFO defense jet could legitimately usher in a novel era in defense technology. Herein lies the potential to radically transform not just our earthbound defense systems, but potentially set the guideline for pre-emptive cosmic defense.

The Flip Side: Sowing Seeds of Alien Hostility?

Contrarily, some pose the argument that endeavoring into combat-ready space exploration, particularly against unidentified cosmic entities, might incite aggression rather than promote universal peace. Are we dialing up any existing possibility for extraterrestrial hostility?

In conclusion, Musk’s new project may hold thrilling possibilities, yet with them comes an inherent risk. Much like the unexplored cosmos themselves. Peek into our future, potentially a new era of interstellar defense or cosmic controversy? We shall wait with bated breath to find the answer.

Interested in more innovative tech news? Visit the SpaceX main site.

{ https://agogs.sk/en/ }

08-11-2024 om 20:07 geschreven door peter  

• Filmmaker Jeremy Corbell Reveals UFO Secret: Skin Of Craft Seemed Alive Like A Biological Being
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Ross believes that the evidence regarding non-human intelligence engaging with the planet is undeniable and should be shared with the public. “I think they should say that we are aware of a non-human intelligence engaging with this planet, and the reason I say that they should say that is because I know the evidence is incontrovertible.”

This revelation left the UFO community curious about the place where the craft might be situated. Interestingly, the late former CIA pilot John Lear previously mentioned the existence of buried crafts too massive to move. In 2018, Lear posted on Facebook, recounting the enigmatic tale of a massive buried UFO near Garrison, Utah. This peculiar incident became a topic of discussion at a UFO conference in Las Vegas, piquing Lear’s curiosity. (Click here to read the full article)

Lear even provided the coordinates of the location: Latitude 38 degrees 37 minutes 40 seconds North, Longitude 113 degrees 40 minutes 40 seconds West. This further deepens the mystery, leaving people intrigued about the truth surrounding the buried UFO near Garrison, Utah.

Moreover, there is alleged John Lear’s statement on the alien presence, posted to Paranet on December 29, 1987. Here are the paragraphs published by UFOmind.com discussing the buried craft: [this page was first archived on January 31, 1997]

“Moore is also in possession of more Aquarius documents a few pages of which leaked out several years ago and detailed the supersecret NSA project which had been denied by them until just recently. In a letter to Senator John Glenn NSA’s Director of Policy Julia B. Wetzel wrote, “Apparently there is or was an Air Force project by that name Aquarius) which dealt with UFO’s. Coincidentally, there is also an NSA project by that name.”

NSA’s project Aquarius deals specifically with the ‘communications with aliens’ (the EBE’s). Within the Aquarius program was project ‘Snowbird’ a project to test fly A recovered alien aircraft at Groom Lake, Nevada. This project continues today at that location. In the words of an individual who works at Groom Lake ‘our people are much better at taking things apart than they are at putting them back together’. Another saw a saucer being trucked into the Nevada Test Site in March of 1988. Still another informant witnessed a saucer being buried at that location (for God knows whatever reason) during the second week of August 1988.”

There is another version of this statement: (Source)

“Germany may have recovered a flying saucer as early as 1939. General James H. Doolittle went to Sweden in 1946 to inspect a flying saucer that had crashed there in Spitzbergen…

In July of 1952, a panicked government watched helplessly as squadron of “flying saucers” flew over Washington, D.C., and buzzed the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Pentagon. It took all the imagination and intimidation the government could muster to force that incident out of the memory of the public.

Thousands of sightings occurred during the Korean war and several more saucers were retrieved by the Air Force. Some were stored at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, some were stored at Air Force bases near the location of the crash sight.

One saucer was so enormous and the logistic problems in transportation so enormous that it was buried at the crash sight and remains there today. The stories are legendary on transporting crashed saucers over long distances, moving only at night, purchasing complete farms, slashing through forests, blocking major highways, sometimes driving 2 and 3 lo-boys in tandem with an extraterrestrial load a hundred feet in diameter.”

On Neil Mitchel’s radio show in Australia, Ross offered valuable insights into the evolving landscape of UAP disclosures. He speculated about the possibility of the UFO truth becoming public knowledge in the near future, suggesting that within 12 to 18 months, the world might have a clearer understanding of the mysterious phenomenon of UAPs and UFOs. “I think that the world will probably know publicly within, I suspect, 12 to 18 months,” he said.

Now, Andy asked Ross to expand on how we might transition from the current state of awaiting legislation to a potential acknowledgment within the specified timeframe. Ross emphasized that his optimism about a forthcoming disclosure was contingent on key legislative actions. He explained that if the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Intelligence Act passed with UAP reforms that mandated informing Congress about any Legacy UAP program, it could open the door to greater transparency. He continued to say, “I’m very optimistic that by the end of next year or the year following, early in the year following, we’ll have an idea of what’s been going on, and that’s because essentially Congress is mandating that this happen.”

However, Ross expressed a concern regarding Congress’s commitment to informing the public, noting that leaks could occur even if Congress decided not to disclose information. He stated, “I’m amazed Congress hasn’t leaked already, frankly because I know what’s been said to very important intelligence committees both in the house and in the Senate.”

Ross highlighted the significance of former senior public officials coming forward to share their knowledge and insights in the next 12 months. He expected that more of these individuals would break their silence. He also raised questions about the possibility of future hearings involving the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Thomas Monheim, and his investigation into David Grush’s claims.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

08-11-2024 om 01:06 geschreven door peter  

This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, features combined data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars

(Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI)).

“This spans the full range where we made measurements with Hubble,” said co-author Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which operates the Webb and Hubble telescopes for NASA. “So, we’ve gone to the end of the second rung of the cosmic distance ladder.”

In making these measurements, the researchers hoped to find that errors in calculating the first steps in the ladder were propagating into later measurements, resulting in the Hubble tension. For example, some astrophysicists have postulated that the proximity of Cepheid stars to each other may result in a mismeasurement of their brightness. Such a measurement error would only grow as distances increased. Others have guessed that interstellar dust may be to blame for the conflicting readings.

Instead, the SHOES Webb readings matched perfectly with Hubble, meaning that calculation errors in the cosmic distance ladder are not to blame. “Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds,” said Riess. “We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder.”

A special class of star known as a Cepheid variable star is visible above in the center of each of these images, which NASA says is used as a ‘milepost marker’ for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion

(Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI)).

The researcher also said their new survey covered everything Webb studied in the past, and the results were still consistent and error-free. “We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence,” Riess said.

New Tools Could Solve Mystery of Hubble Tension

Since the new Webb readings confirmed those from Hubble, the researchers say that new astronomical tools that can measure elements of cosmic expansion may be needed to answer the Hubble tension.

First up is the European Space Agency’s Euclid Space Telescope, which was launched in July 2023 and reached its destination at Lagrange 2, roughly four times as far away from Earth as the moon, about a month later. According to the ESA’s mission page, “Euclid will explore how the Universe has expanded and how structure has formed over cosmic history, revealing more about the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter.”

The most promising data may come from NASA’s planned Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled for launch in May 2027. With a view that is over 100 times wider than Hubble, this observatory has the potential to measure light from over 100 billion galaxies during its operational lifetime.

According to its mission page, “This observatory will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.”

Ultimately, one or both of these tools may allow astronomers and astrophysicists to connect the beginning of the initial two rungs of the cosmic distance ladder confirmed by Webb with the afterglow of the big band that represents the beginning of the universe, resulting in a final solution to the Hubble tension.

“We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the universe and the present day,” said Riess.

• Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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

08-11-2024 om 00:48 geschreven door peter  

US Congresswoman Claims She Saw Photo Evidence Of UFO Technology Not Made By Humans

During the July 2023 UAP hearings, US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna was the central figure in bringing the historical testimony of three whistleblowers. She is pushing hard to get the truth to the public and says she will not stop until they get to the bottom of the UFO mystery, and she will take drastic measures, including the potential withdrawal of funding for the salaries of the Pentagon executives.

Some congress members are accusing the government of hiding important information.

Courtesy: Department of Defense. 

Rep. Luna, who is also a member of the House Oversight Committee, said that she became interested in UFOs when serving in the US Air Force. She revealed that she is asking the Defense Department and intelligence agencies for the classified reports that Grusch made, including his alleged evidence.

David Grusch testified that the U.S. government has been hiding a long-running program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs/UAPs. He firmly believes that the U.S. government possessed UAPs based on interviews with over 40 witnesses spanning four years and claimed to have exact knowledge of UAP locations. He reportedly shared this information with the Inspector General and intelligence committees.

Grusch revealed in the hearings that he personally interviewed individuals with direct knowledge of non-human origin craft, and he has knowledge of non-human intelligence, but not of collaboration with adversarial foreign governments. He could not openly discuss “intact spacecraft and alien bodies or species” but offered to address these matters in a closed session.

During the hearing, Luna queries Grusch about his choice of terminology, using “nonhuman origin” instead of “extraterrestrial.” Her involvement with the UAP matter began when she was approached by Representative Matt Gaetz, and she expressed concern after reviewing evidence from a UAP encounter off the coast of Florida.

Luna and Representative Tim Burchett organized a hearing aimed at increasing transparency on this matter. She calls for the release of classified documents related to UAPs and rejects the idea of dismissing the issue.

Luna is concerned about the stigma that prevents service members from reporting UAP sightings out of fear for their careers. She asked Grusch if he had ever been in fear for his life due to addressing these issues, to which he responded affirmatively. Luna emphasized the significance of Grusch’s willingness to come forward despite the fear of reprisal.

Luna stresses the bipartisan nature of the investigation, involving various House members from different states and affiliations. She, Gaetz, Moskowitz, and Burchett even sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy requesting the establishment of a select committee to investigate UAPs. Luna’s underlying message revolves around the necessity of transparency, accountability, and addressing potential national security risks posed by unidentified aerial phenomena.

In an interview with FOX 13, Rep. Luna said: “It does appear, and for what I’m saying, based on the stonewalling, that they are hiding something. If these are programs that are being set up without congressional oversight and are responsible for, you know, billions of dollars being lost, that could be going towards other things. I think that that’s something that absolutely is pertinent.”

During the hearings, extraordinary claims were presented, including the recovery of “non-human biologics” from a crashed aerial craft. Although Rep. Luna herself has not witnessed a UAP, she mentioned having observed evidence that seemed reminiscent of science fiction.

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Drawing from her experience, she explained: “Based on the evidence that I have personally seen, the technology that exists is something that I don’t think any government has currently.” She recalled encountering a photograph and conversing with pilots about an object that she believes is beyond the capabilities of the Department of Defense.

Rep. Luna is actively working to declassify the photograph and to bring more information to light. She highlighted the dual importance of this matter, characterizing it as both a significant national security concern and a transparency issue within the government.

Luna finds this situation disturbing, especially since Grusch shared information suggesting threats to his life, harm caused to individuals, and advanced technology that is not publicly known. Despite Luna and Rep. Tim Burchett having “Need To Know” clearances, they were not granted access to this information, which prompts Luna to express the urgent need to uncover the truth.

Luna revealed that her interest in UFOs was first piqued while serving as an Air Force airfield manager at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, in 2018, before becoming a politician.

During shifts one day, there had been a response from some of the pilots to something that had violated our airspace…When they got back, I asked them what happened. They said ‘we can’t really talk about it.’ Later on, one of the pilots pulled me aside and was like, we think it might have been a UFO or UAP. This was a pretty credible person, I obviously knew them to be sane, of sound mind,” she said.

A lot more information is hidden, as Whistleblower Ryan Graves confirms in his latest Newsweek edition. He writes “What I Told Them Was the Tip of the Iceberg.” Graves, who is a founder of “Americans for Safe Aerospace,” the fastest-growing UAP nonprofit in the world, writes that during his tenure as a Naval pilot, he and his team regularly encountered aircraft off the coast of Virginia Beach that “had no visible propulsion… but could remain motionless in Category-4 hurricane winds, accelerate to supersonic, and operate all day, outlasting our fighter jets.”

Graves highlights the lack of a direct reporting process within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial pilots to report these phenomena, leading to stigma, fear of retaliation, and a reluctance to come forward. Graves questions why the government is not taking these reports more seriously, especially when experienced pilots are witnessing routine and unexplained occurrences. He calls for increased attention and awareness of the UAP issue to ensure flight safety and national security.

The Hill will host an event on August 17, 2023, featuring discussions among lawmakers, experts, and administration officials to analyze potential national security risks related to UAPs. The speakers include Rep. Tim Burchett, Greg Eghigian of Pennsylvania State University, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, with the event being moderated by Mychael Schnell, a Congressional Reporter from The Hill.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

07-11-2024 om 23:54 geschreven door peter  

By MIRIAM KUEPPER

Conspiracy theorists have claimed that a cluster of lights spotted near a double rainbow in Spain were 'UFOs' that were sent as a 'warning' of the devastating floods that hit the country days later.

Footage shows the unidentified lights darting through the sky over a residential area in Barcelona among the rare twin rainbows.  

As the cameraman zoomed in to get a closer look at these white specs of light, the 'objects' can be seen whizzing through the clouds.

The man could be heard saying: 'What the hell are they?,' before adding that he believes the lights to be 'UFOs'.

Many locals said on social media that they believe the conspiracy theory that the lights were genuine 'UFOs' and that the sighting was an extraterrestrial 'warning' ahead of the devastating storm.

Pictured above are the twin rainbows spotted over Barcelona just days before the devastating floods hit the area more than a week ago

Footage shows the unidentified lights which local conspiracy theorists believe to be 'UFOs' darting through the sky over a residential area in Barcelona among the rare twin rainbows

As the cameraman zoomed in to get a closer look at these white specs of light, the video shows them whizzing through the clouds

The lights were clearly moving on the video, with the cameraman claiming they were 'UFOs'

Others suggested they were simply a flock of birds reflecting light, with some Spaniards speculating that it could have been drones.  

The footage was filmed in Barcelona, Spain, just days before the city was battered by the DANA storm that caused the fatal floods.

DANA, also called a cold drop, is a meteorological phenomenon in the Mediterranean region, particularly between June and October.

This phenomenon, which occurs when cold air combines with humid air in the upper atmosphere, is associated with extremely violent downpours and storms.

This year, cold drops have devastated several regions in Spain, particularly the Valencian Community.

The death toll keeps climbing nine days after the floods hit Spain, with more than 200 people confirmed to have died.  

Paiporta has been labeled by Spanish media as the ground zero of the natural disaster that has also left 89 people still missing, while officials say the real figure could be higher.

Over 60 people perished in Paiporta when a wave of water rushed down the Poyo canal that cuts through its center. 

Frustration over the survivors' sense of abandonment exploded in Paiporta on Sunday when a crowd greeted Spain's royals and officials with a barrage of mud and other objects.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was rushed away and the royal couple had to eventually cancel the visit after speaking to several distraught neighbors amid a chaotic scene.

The mayor of Paiporta, a middle-class community of 30,000, on Tuesday pleaded for a 'higher authority' to step in and take control of her municipality because the floods had made it impossible to go on. 

Mayor Maribel Albalat said all the municipal buildings, from town hall to the local police, had been severely damaged and that many of the local civil servants 'are in a state of shock.'

'Paiporta is a strong village, but this overwhelms out capacities as a local administration,' she said. 

Damaged cars and debris are pictured at the side of a road, following heavy rains that caused floods, in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, November 6, 2024

Valencia's firefigters search for victims at a lock at L'Albufera, near Valencia, eastern Spain, on November 7, 2024

Volunteers and locals help to clean the mud off the street following heavy rains in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, November 5, 2024

Police department members of Bilbao City assist a woman in transporting a dog along a muddy street in the flood-hit city of Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, November 7, 2024

A man walks over debris to access a street in a mud-covered street in the flood-hit city of Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, November 7, 2024

The air-throbbing 'thup, thup, thup' of the huge, two-propeller Chinook helicopters that have flown overhead with the arrival of the army has added to the post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

The destruction, however, went far beyond Paiporta and covers a huge swath of municipalities, above all on the southern flank of Valencia city on the Mediterranean coast. Seventy-eight localities had at least one person die from the floods. 

Police have expanded their search to the nearby marshes and coastline, where the waters carried some away.

The residents, businesses and town councils of the affected localities can apply for financial help from a 10.6-billion-euro relief package from Spain's government. 

The regional Valencia government, which is being slammed for not alerting the populace of the danger in time, has asked the central government in Madrid for 31 billion euros to ensure the recovery.

Over a week later, the cleanup goes on to get rid of tons of mud and debris that clog street after street, filling thousands of ground floors, destroying living rooms and kitchens. 

Neighborhoods were left without shops and supermarkets after all their products were ruined. Many houses still don't have drinking water.

An impromptu army of volunteers were the first helpers on the ground, shoveling and sweeping away the sticky brown mire covering everything, and helping to start removing pile after pile of debris that made access to cars impossible in many areas.

Authorities eventually mobilized 15,000 soldiers and police reinforcements to help firefighters search for bodies and start extracting thousands of wrecked cars strewn over streets and sunk in canal beds.

At every corner, cars are piled on top of one another or smashed into buildings, light poles, trees and bridge overpasses.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

07-11-2024 om 22:48 geschreven door peter  

Fast Radio Bursts Mostly Come from Massive Star-Forming Galaxies

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration events detected from beyond our Milky Way Galaxy. FRB emission characteristics favor magnetars as their sources, as evidenced by FRB-like bursts from a magnetar in the Milky Way, and the star-forming nature of FRB host galaxies. However, the processes that produce FRB sources remain unknown. According to new research, FRBs are more likely to occur in massive star-forming galaxies. The study also suggests that magnetars, whose magnetic fields are 100 trillion times stronger than Earth’s, often form when two stars merge and later blow up in a supernova.

This photo montage shows the antennas of the Deep Synoptic Array-110, which are used to discover and pinpoint the locations of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Above the antennas are images of some of the FRB host galaxies as they appear on the sky. The galaxies are remarkably large, challenging models that describe FRB sources.

Image credit: Annie Mejia / Caltech.

“The immense power output of magnetars makes them some of the most fascinating and extreme objects in the Universe,” said lead author Kritti Sharma, a graduate student at Caltech.

“Very little is known about what causes the formation of magnetars upon the death of massive stars. Our work helps to answer this question.”

To search for FRBs, Sharma and colleagues used the Deep Synoptic Array-110 (DSA-110) at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory near Bishop, California.

To date, the sprawling radio array has detected and localized 70 FRBs to their specific galaxy of origin (only 23 other FRBs have been localized by other telescopes).

In the current study, the researchers analyzed 30 of these localized FRBs.

“DSA-110 has more than doubled the number of FRBs with known host galaxies. This is what we built the array to do,” said Caltech’s Dr. Vikram Ravi.

Although FRBs are known to occur in galaxies that are actively forming stars, the authors, to their surprise, found that the FRBs tend to occur more often in massive star-forming galaxies than low-mass star-forming galaxies.

This alone was interesting because the astronomers had previously thought that FRBs were going off in all types of active galaxies.

With this new information, they started to ponder what the results revealed about FRBs.

Massive galaxies tend to be metal-rich because the metals in our Universe — elements that are manufactured by stars — take time to build up over the course of cosmic history.

The fact that FRBs are more common in these metal-rich galaxies implies that the source of FRBs, magnetars, are also more common to these types of galaxies.

Stars that are rich in metals — which in astronomical terms means elements heavier than hydrogen and helium — tend to grow larger than other stars.

“Over time, as galaxies grow, successive generations of stars enrich galaxies with metals as they evolve and die,” Dr. Ravi said.

What is more, massive stars that explode in supernovae and can become magnetars are more commonly found in pairs.

In fact, 84% of massive stars are binaries. So, when one massive star in a binary is puffed up due to extra metal content, its excess material gets yanked over to its partner star, which facilitates the ultimate merger of the two stars.

These merged stars would have a greater combined magnetic field than that of a single star.

“A star with more metal content puffs up, drives mass transfer, culminating in a merger, thus forming an even more massive star with a total magnetic field greater than what the individual star would have had,” Sharma said.

In summary, since FRBs are preferentially observed in massive and metal-rich star-forming galaxies, then magnetars (which are thought to trigger FRBs) are probably also forming in metal-rich environments conducive to the merging of two stars.

The results therefore hint that magnetars across the Universe originate from the remnants of stellar mergers.

In the future, the team hopes to hunt down more FRBs and their places of origin using DSA-110, and eventually the DSA-2000, an even bigger radio array planned to be built in the Nevada desert and completed in 2028.

“This result is a milestone for the whole DSA team. A lot of the authors on this paper helped build the DSA-110,” Dr. Ravi said.

“And the fact that the DSA-110 is so good at localizing FRBs bodes well for the success of DSA-2000.”

• The findings were published today in the journal Nature.

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

07-11-2024 om 21:33 geschreven door peter  

Elon Musk gesturing on stage

© Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Elon Musk makes headlines often with his eccentric behavior and sci-fi-esque projects under SpaceX and Tesla. Recently, a rumor was published that Elon Musk was developing a fighter jet that seemed to be right out of a science fiction story. The story about Elon Musk's "UFO fighter jet" picked up steam online, and some may be talking about it without doing their due diligence of fact-checking the story and ensuring that it's real. 

Looking at the recent press releases from SpaceX and Tesla, as well as comments from Musk himself, proves that there's no evidence that one of Elon Musk's most recent projects involved a "UFO fighter jet." Unfortunately, even if you think a revolutionary fighter jet fits Elon Musk's entrepreneurial M.O., there's no evidence of a ground-breaking test flight that caused governmental upset, as reported by a viral YouTube video. Let's take an in-depth look at the rumors about Elon Musk's "UFO fighter jet."

Read more: 

• 14 Best Fighter Planes And Jets Of All Time

Origins Of The Elon Musk UFO Fighter Jet Rumor

Fake image of SpaceX UFO jet

© Hyperspeed/YouTube

A recent video from HyperSpeed on YouTube alleged that Elon Musk had been building what it describes as a "UFO fighter jet," with specifications and weaponry right out of a science fiction novel. The video alleged that the jet had been spotted flying in several air spaces for "testing," and that it would be equipped with "microwave weapons" that could melt other aircraft in combat. 

The viral video also alleged that the new fighter jet (pictured above, which is a doctored or photoshopped image) would be equipped with EMPs that could disrupt enemy weaponry and vehicles. HyperSpeed's video should have been a red flag for many viewers, as its language and tone were fantastical. The viral video seemed more interested in telling a story about how cool SpaceX is rather than reporting about this alleged fighter jet project. Most of the video was just recounting various accomplishments of SpaceX, Tesla, and Musk himself rather than reporting on the story in the headline, which are all major red flags for a story being fake or possibly AI generated.

Is Elon Musk Really Designing A Fighter Jet

Elon Musk posing on red carpet

© Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

At this time, there is no evidence, announcement, or any kind of reputable reporting that Elon Musk is designing a fighter jet. Even if he or one of his companies were, it would likely be nothing like the jet alleged in HyperSpeed's video. The "X-One" jet talked about in the video is pure science fiction by today's technological standards. The things the video alleges this new aircraft can do are pretty far beyond the realm of practical possibility: Like allegedly being capable of 4,600 mph (Mach 6) speeds with "impressive fuel efficiency," its ability to disguise itself "as a cloud," as well as using microwaves to "melt enemy aircraft." 

Even if Musk were to design this exact aircraft, there's no telling whether it would be mass-production-friendly — especially with all the sci-fi weaponry that HyperSpeed is alleging it comes with — as it would need to secure a contract with any military worldwide. It's safe to say that if Musk was working on a fighter jet project right now, it would be highly top secret, especially if it's for the U.S. military — it would be nothing like what HyperSpeed is alleging it to be.

What Elon Musk Is Actually Working On Right Now

Tesla robotaxi parked on street

© Tesla

Elon Musk's most recent project that he has talked about is his Cybercab robotaxi service. This service uses fully autonomous taxi cabs that will ferry riders from one place to another without intervention from a human driver. This service is slated to be released for public use within the next few years, according to Musk. However, as with any revolutionary service, it's best not to hedge one's bets on a service's purported release date — especially since he's already predicted the release of his robotaxis as being one year away ... five years ago.

In addition to moving towards a fully autonomous taxi service, Musk is still currently working on his Starship project, which recently reached a new, ground-breaking record when part of his newest rocket was captured upon landing during a test flight. Before the launch, the SpaceX team said they would not have been surprised if the rocket needed to land in the Gulf of Mexico, but that never came to pass as the bottom half of the rocket — the Super Heavy Booster — was able to be maneuvered into the robot arms on the launch pad.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.

No evidence

At this time, there is no evidence, announcement, or any kind of reputable reporting that Elon Musk is designing a fighter jet. Even if he or one of his companies were, it would likely be nothing like the jet alleged in HyperSpeed's video.

In an unprecedented announcement, Elon Musk has unveiled SpaceX's groundbreaking new light-speed engine, a technological marvel that challenges our understanding of physics as we know it. The world of space exploration stands on the brink of a new era, as this innovative engine promises to revolutionize how we travel through the cosmos. Today, we delve into the details of this remarkable invention and its implications for humanity's future among the stars.

VIDEOS

Elon Musk Unveils UFO Fighter Jet That Defies Physics

Elon Musk Unveils UFO Fighter Jet That Defies Physics

{ https://www.bing.com/?FORM=Z9FD1 }

07-11-2024 om 21:11 geschreven door peter  

Chinese scientists have built a 'real-life DEATH STAR': Terrifying Star Wars-inspired weapon focuses microwave beams to wipe out enemy satellites

• READ MORE: Scientists reveals how to build a REAL lightsaber 

By WILIAM HUNTER

Chinese scientists claim to have created a 'real-life Death Star' capable of devastating enemy satellites in orbit.

The science-fiction-inspired weapon combines pulses of microwave radiation into a single powerful beam - just like the planet-destroying lasers shown in Star Wars.

In order to merge, the electromagnetic pulses must hit the exact same target within 170 trillionths of a second.

That requires levels of timing more precise than the atomic clocks on advanced GPS satellites - a feat previously thought to be impossible.

However, the weapon has now completed experimental trials for potential military applications thanks to breakthroughs in 'ultra-high time precision synchronisation'.

This could be used for 'achieving multiple goals such as teaching and training, new technology verification, and military exercises,' experts say. 

While the exact details of the weapon remain highly classified, Chinese academic journals suggest that microwave weapons like this are being developed for use in space.

And while it might not have the power to blow up a planet, it could wreak havoc on enemy communications or GPS satellites.

Chinese scientists claim to have created a real-life Death Star weapon which merges pulses of microwave energy to create a beam strong enough to wipe out enemy satellites 

According to the South China Morning Post, the secretive space weapon uses an array of seven microwave-firing 'vehicles'.

These vehicles are positioned over a large area but fire together to hit their target with a single, powerful attack.

The scientists behind the device say that most microwave weapons 'have not formed effective combat capabilities' due to power limitations.

But, by merging several waves into a single pulse, the resulting power can be strong enough to overwhelm an enemy satellite.

What makes this challenging is that combining microwave pulses requires synchronising the bursts with never-before-seen levels of precision.

Even the atomic clock aboard the Chinese Tiangong space station, which only misses one second every few billion years, cannot reach the required levels of precision.

However, Chinese scientists say they have now been able to overcome these challenges by connecting each of the vehicles with fibreoptic cables.

While the exact specifications remain secret, last year Chinese scientists managed to achieve a time synchronisation accuracy of just 10 trillionths of a second over a distance of 1,100 miles (1,800km). 

Just like the Death Star in Star Wars (pictured), this weapon combines separate beams of energy into a single directed pulse 

How does the 'real-life Death Star' work?

1. Seven microwave 'vehicles' are connected by fibreoptics
2. The vehicles use lasers to measure their exact position 
3. The vehicles fire a pulse of microwave energy with extremely precise timing 
4. All seven beams hit the target at precisely the same moment 
5. Enemy satellite communications are wiped out 

To ensure the microwave pulses hit the exact same point, the weapon also uses laser positioning devices to achieve millimeter-level navigation.

By analysing timing and positional data, a mobile command centre can then issue an attack command - triggering each of the seven vehicles to fire at once.

The researchers say that the microwave beams can achieve a combining effect of '1+1>2', hinting that the combined power could be higher than the sum of its parts.

This won't be quite as strong as the devastating power of the Death Star, but the resulting energy pulse could be more than enough to knock out an enemy satellite.

Studies have found that a weapon capable of delivering just one gigawatt of power would be enough to do serious damage to satellites in near-Earth orbit.

In recent years, milliaries around the world have been racing to develop a new generation of 'direct energy weapons'.

Unlike conventional weapons which use projectiles or explosives, these use powerful blasts of electromagnetic radiation to disrupt or destroy their targets.

There have already been significant advances in direct energy weapons which use lasers to burn through the hulls of missiles and drones.

Although it won't be strong enough to blow up a planet like in Star Wars (pictured), the weapon can use its microwave beams to knock out enemy satellites to disrupt communications and navigation 

More national militaries are investigating so-called 'direct energy weapons' which use bursts of high-intensity radiation to destroy or disrupt their targets. These include the British DragonFire laser weapon (pictured)

For example, the British Dragonfire laser weapon is strong enough to shoot a drone out of the air and accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from half a mile away.

Instead of burning through their targets, microwave weapons use intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation to disrupt electrical circuits.

Trials of microwave weapons have already shown that they can be effective against small targets like drones.

The Tactical High-Power Operational Responder (THOR), developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab, uses wide bursts of energy to take out entire swarms of drones.

The advantage is that the weapons are cheap to operate and don't use any projectiles, reducing the risk of collateral damage.

However, microwave weapons have proven difficult to target and use at longer ranges.

By overcoming the power limitations, combined microwave energy weapons could be the key to bringing these potentially devastating weapons into the frontier of space warfare.

As militaries become more reliant on satellite observations and communications there has been a growing interest in weapons which can target satellites.

Declassified footage of secret trials (pictured) at the MOD's Hebrides Range, showed that the British laser weapon system proved so accurate it could hit a £1 coin half a mile away

As low-Earth orbit becomes more important for military use nations are developing more weapons to target satellites. This includes the Chinese 'Death Star' microwave weapon and the American 'Meadowlands' satellite jammer revealed last month (pictured)

These satellite networks provide the infrastructure which supports deadly GPS-guided missiles, drone strikes, and troop movements on the ground.

Read More

• Secretive US weapon that JAMS Russian and Chinese satellites is finally ready 

This means that knocking out enemy communication, by electronic or physical means, could provide a decisive advantage in a conflict.

Last month, the US revealed its powerful new satellite jamming weapon designed to shut down Russian or Chinese communications at the start of a conflict.

The weapon has been developed by the Xian Navigation Technology Research Institute under the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

This organisation has been a major provider of electronic warfare weapons for the People's Liberation Army in the past.

However, it isn't yet clear when, if at all, this weapon will be deployed.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

07-11-2024 om 20:19 geschreven door peter  

EXCLUSIVE - NASA gives health update on astronauts mysteriously hospitalized after space mission

• READ MORE:  Watch Space Force's top secret spaceplane fly 

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

NASA today insisted stranded astronaut Sunita Williams is safe and healthy amid growing public concern for her health.

But the space agency again refused to give any details about four astronauts who were mysteriously hospitalized late last month after returning from a separate space mission.

A doctor raised concerns about Williams this week after a photo showed her looking 'gaunt', suggesting she had lost a significant amount of weight after spending more than 150 days stuck on the International Space Station.

But NASA holds firm that Williams and the rest of the astronauts aboard the ISS are doing fine.

'All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health,' NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell told DailyMail.com.

Concern over Williams came less than two weeks after the hospitalization of four NASA/SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts, who splashed down off the coast of Florida on October 25. The crew had spent 232 days aboard the ISS. 

One of them was hospitalized overnight due to a 'medical issue', while the other three were discharged that same day after undergoing medical evaluations. 

NASA refused to provide any details about why the crew was hospitalized, which astronaut had to complete an overnight stay, or whether the medical issues were related to their return to Earth.

WEARING ON HER: A doctor has raised concerns about Sunita's health, claiming this September 24 photo showed her looking 'gaunt'

The agency instead deferred DailyMail.com to a blog post from October 26.

The statement said that one of the astronauts stayed overnight at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, but was 'in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members' after being discharged.

NASA's decision not to disclose who that astronaut was or reveal details about his or her condition was made 'to protect the crew member's medical privacy.'

While the agency has repeatedly expressed confidence in the wellbeing of its astronauts, studies have shown that  living in space takes a toll on human health.

This is especially true of long-term ISS missions, which typically last six months.

Space is a harsh environment that causes astronauts to lose body fat, muscle mass, bone density, and endure high doses of radiation.

This can lead to a range of health issues, including vision problems, kidney stones and even causing astronauts to become more vulnerable to infections on the ISS.

Williams and her crewmate, Barry Wilmore, have been aboard the ISS for six months as of today, and will remain there until February 2025 at the earliest.

By then, they will be able to catch a ride back to Earth on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission Dragon Capsule. 

All four of the Crew-8 astronauts were hospitalized following their return to Earth, but NASA has not released any details about the reason, or reasons, why

The photo of Williams, taken on September 24, shows her tucking into a pepperoni pizza and chips while surrounded by condiments and other treats.

'Her cheeks appear a bit sunken - and usually it happens when you've had sort of total body weight loss,' Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist in Seattle, told DailyMail.com.

'I think what I can discern by her face and her cheeks being sunken in is that [she] has probably been at a significant [calorie] deficit for a while.'

Weight loss is not uncommon among astronauts during extended ISS missions. In fact, most lose about five percent of their bodyweight during a four to six month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, according to the Lunar and Planetary Institute. 

Dr Gupta told DailyMail.com: 'What you're seeing there in that picture is somebody that I think is experiencing the natural stresses of living at a very high altitude, even in a pressurized cabin, for extended periods.'

'Based on what I'm at least seeing in the photo, I don't think she's quite at a... place where I say her life's in danger,' he added.

'But I don't think you can look at that photo and say she has sort of healthy body weight.

As for Crew-9, which included NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, it's possible that their health suffered during their ISS stay as well. 

The four astronauts spent 232 days - or nearly eight months - aboard the ISS. It's reasonable to believe that the stress their bodies endured during that time may have resulted in the need for medical attention upon their return to Earth. 

Alternatively, some have speculated that something went awry during the crew's descent, despite NASA's statement that the crew 'safely splashed down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.' 

The fact that all four astronauts received some form of medical attention does suggest that the health issues were somehow related to their return flight.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

07-11-2024 om 19:58 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: Space plane will execute a 'never-before-seen-maneuver' 

By Nikki Main Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

The Pentagon has kept a tight lid on details about the Space Force's secretive spaceplane that is perpetually flying 500 miles above Earth's surface.

But the Department of Defense (DoD) has released a rare video showing the Boeing-built X-37B spacecraft performing a 'groundbreaking' maneuver to reach a new level of orbit using a first-of-its-kind 'aerobraking' procedure.

The video shows how the $200 million craft point its flat underside forward, using friction from Earth's atmosphere to slow down, treating it like a brake, while directing the nose of the aircraft away from earth.

Boeing engineer John Ealy said: 'When we aerobrake, we utilize atmospheric drag to effectively step down our apogee one pass at a time until we get to the orbital regime that we want to be in.

'When we do this, we save enormous amounts of propellant, and that's really why aerobraking is important.'

The X-37B, roughly the size of a small bus and resembling a miniature space shuttle, launched for its seventh mission on December 29, 2023 and is currently still conducting experiments for NASA before it will return to Earth.

Space Force released a video showing the X-37B spacecraft's 'groundbreaking' maneuver

The X-37B aircraft is the first of its kind to use the Earth's atmosphere to reach a new level of orbit using an aerobraking procedure that relies on the friction to slow it down

Space Force has not released information about the spacecraft's main function but has said it will conduct experiments involving 'space domain awareness technologies.'

This could mean that the new technology will be used to keep an eye on other traffic in orbit and observe what other spacecrafts are doing.

The seventh mission marks the first time Boeing has attempted to carry out the aerobraking maneuver.

Aerobraking is a method of slowing down a spacecraft by using the atmosphere or outer gas layers of a planet.

The space plane 'dips' into the atmosphere, and as it does, the molecules of gas in the atmosphere rub against the ship.

This acts as resistance and slows the ship down.

Often a ship will use aerobraking to change an orbit or slow a ship enough so that gravity will pull it down to a planet.

It was designed with a dual purpose of landing like an aircraft on a runway while the service module mounted on the back carries additional payloads, although Boeing has not specified what those will be.

The spacecraft pointed its nose away from Earth as the friction heated up its underside, causing the bottom to cast an orange glow and slow down the vehicle

'Once the aerobrake maneuver is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives until they are accomplished, at which time the vehicle will deorbit and execute a safe return as it has during its six previous missions,' the Space Force said. 

The seventh mission launched on top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, putting it at an undisclosed altitude.

According to the Space Force, it is gathering data for future crewed missions by exposing plant seeds to the harsh radioactive environment in space.

The un-crewed X-37B is a hybrid launch vehicle that can operate as a regular airplane or spacecraft, which was is built using a lighter structure instead of the traditional aluminum and measures 29 feet long, about one-fourth the size of a NASA space shuttle.

It has the ability to perform missions that last up to 270 days to 'support long-term space objectives,' according to Boeing.

The X-37B spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in December

Holly Murphy, program director for Boeing's Experimental Systems Group, said in the video: 'X-37B missions have continuously advanced our nation's space capabilities by testing new technologies that reduce risk and inform our future space architectures. Mission seven is no different.'

Space Force's X-37B has so far spent roughly 10 months in orbit but the agency has yet to reveal when its seventh mission will conclude.

However, the aerobraking maneuver that brings it closer to Earth could indicate that it will be returning soon.

The video's release comes as China is testing its own spaceplane, called Shenlong, which recently spent 268 day's in orbit and completed its third mission on September 6.

China is the only other country in the world to have a reusable spacecraft and has raised concerns that these planes will be used to launch microsatellites that could be used for military applications, according to the China Morning Star.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

07-11-2024 om 00:40 geschreven door peter  

New research examines the threats facing the habitable zone planets in our stellar neighbourhood. The study is “The 10 pc Neighborhood of Habitable Zone Exoplanetary Systems: Threat Assessment from Stellar Encounters & Supernovae,” and it has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. The lead author is Tisyagupta Pyne from the Integrated Science Education And Research Centre at Visva-Bharati University in India.

The researchers examined the 10-parsec regions around the 84 solar systems with habitable zone exoplanets. Some of these Habitable Zone Systems (HZS) face risks from stars outside of the solar systems. How do these risks affect their habitability? What does it mean for our notion of the habitable zone?

“Among the 4,500+ exoplanet-hosting stars, about 140+ are known to host planets in their habitable zones,” the authors write. “We assess the possible risks that local stellar environment of these HZS pose to their habitability.”

We have more than 150 confirmed exoplanets in habitable zones, and as exoplanet science advances, scientists are developing a more detailed understanding of what habitable zone means. Scientists increasingly use the terms conservative habitable zone and optimistic habitable zone.

The optimistic habitable zone is defined as regions that receive less radiation from their star than Venus received one billion years ago and more than Mars did 3.8 billion years ago. Scientists think that recent Venus (RV) and early Mars (EM) both likely had surface water.

The conservative habitable zone is a more stringent definition. It’s a narrower region around a star where an exoplanet could have surface water. It’s defined by an inner runaway greenhouse edge where stellar flux would vaporize surface water and an outer maximum greenhouse edge where the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide is dominated by Rayleigh scattering.

Those are useful scientific definitions as far as they go. But what about habitable stellar environments? In recent years, scientists have learned a lot about how stars behave, the characteristics of exoplanets, and how the two are intertwined.

“The discovery of numerous extrasolar planets has revealed a diverse array of stellar and planetary characteristics, making systematic comparisons crucial for evaluating habitability and assessing the potential for life beyond our solar system,” the authors write.

To make these necessary systematic comparisons, the researchers developed two metrics: the Solar Similarity Index (SSI) and the Neighborhood Similarity Index (NSI). Since main sequence stars like our Sun are conducive to habitability, the SSI compares our Solar System’s properties with those of other HZs. The NSI compares the properties of stars in a 10-parsec region around the Sun to the same size region around other HZSs.

These indices put habitable zones in a larger context.

“While the concept of HZ is vital in the search for habitable worlds, the stellar environment of the planet also plays an important role in determining longevity and maintenance of habitability,” the authors write. “Studies have shown that a high rate of catastrophic events, such as supernovae and close stellar encounters in regions of high stellar density, is not conducive to the evolution of complex life forms and the maintenance of habitability over long periods.”

When radiation and high-energy particles from a distant source reach a planet in a habitable zone, they can cause severe damage to Earth-like planets. Supernovae are a dangerous source of radiation and particles, and if one were to explode close enough to Earth, that would be the end of life. Scientists know that ancient supernovae have left their mark on Earth, but none of them were close enough to destroy the atmosphere.

“Our primary focus is to investigate the effects of SNe on the atmospheres of exoplanets or exomoons assuming their atmospheres to be Earth-like,” the authors write.

The first factor is stellar density. The more stars in a neighbourhood, the greater the likelihood of supernova explosions and stellar flybys.

“The astrophysical impacts of the stellar environment is a “low-probability, high-consequence” scenario
for the continuation of habitability of exoplanets,” the authors write. Though disruptive events like supernova explosions or close stellar flybys are unlikely, the consequences can be so severe that habitability is completely eliminated.

When it came to the supernova threat, the researchers looked at high-mass stars in stellar neighbourhoods since only massive stars explode. Pyne and her colleagues found high-mass stars with more than eight solar masses in the 10-parsec neighbourhoods of two HZS: TOI-1227 and HD 48265. “These high-mass stars are potential progenitors for supernova explosions,” the authors explain.

Only one of the HZS is at risk of a stellar flyby. HD 165155 has an encounter rate of ?1 in 5 Gyr period. That means it’s at greater risk of an encounter with another star that could eject planets from its habitable zone.

The team’s pair of indices, the SSI and the NSI, produced divergent results. “… we find that the stellar environments of the majority of HZS exhibit a high degree of similarity (NSI> 0.75) to the solar neighbourhood,” they explain. However, because of the wide variety of stars in HZS, comparing them to the Sun results in a wide range of SSI values.

We know the danger supernova explosions pose to habitability. The initial burst of radiation could kill anything on the surface of a planet too close. The ongoing radiation could strip away the atmospheres of some planets further away and could also cause DNA damage in any lifeforms exposed to it. For planets that are further away from the blast, the supernova could alter their climate and trigger extinctions. There’s no absolutely certain understanding of how far away a planet needs to avoid devastation, but many scientists say that within 50 light-years, a planet is probably toast.

We can see the results of some of the stellar flybys the authors are considering. Rogue planets, or free-floating planets (FPPs), are likely in their hapless situations precisely because a stellar interloper got too close to their HZS and disrupted the gravitational relationships between the planets and their stars. We don’t know how many of these FPPs are in the Milky Way, but there could be many billions of them. Future telescopes like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help us understand how many there truly are.

Habitability may be fleeting, and our planet may be the exception. It’s possible that life appears on many planets in habitable zones but can’t last long due to various factors. From a great distance away, we can’t detect all the variables that go into exoplanet habitability.

However, we can gain an understanding of the stellar environments in which potentially habitable exoplanets exist, and this research shows us how.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

06-11-2024 om 23:21 geschreven door peter  

“Our transporter comprises two trailers connected by cradles and a strongback assembly designed in-house,” said Limp on X. “There are 22 axles and 176 tires on this transport vehicle…The distance between GERT’s front bumper and the trailer’s rear is 310’, about the length of a football field.”

Limp said the next step is to put the first and second stages together on the launch pad for the fully integrated hot fire dress rehearsal. The second stage recently completed its own hot fire at the launch site.

Hopefully the test will lead to Blue Origin’s first ever launch to orbit. While the New Glenn rocket has had its share of delays, it seems Blue Origin has also taken a slow, measured approach to prepare for its first launch. In February of this year, a boilerplate of the rocket was finally rolled onto the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for testing.  Then in May 2024, New Glenn was rolled out again for additional testing. Now, the fully integrated test in the next few weeks will perhaps lead to a launch by the end of the year.

New Glenn’s seven engines will give it more than 3.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff. The goal is for New Glenn to reuse its first-stage booster and the seven engines powering it, with recovery on a barge located downrange off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean.

New Glenn boosters are designed for 25 flights.

Blue Origin says New Glenn will launch payloads into high-energy orbits. It can carry more than 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO).

For the first flight, Blue Origin will be flying its own hardware as a payload, a satellite deployment technology called Blue Ring. Even though it doesn’t have a paying customer for the upcoming launch, it would be — if successful — the first of two required certification flights needed by the rocket by the U.S. Space Force so it could potentially be awarded future national security missions along with side SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA.)

Additional details can be found at PhysOrg and NASASpaceflight.com.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

06-11-2024 om 22:43 geschreven door peter