Rock and thin section images of the Bruce’s Hill and Umbaumba sections.

The Earth has always been bombarded with rocks from space. It’s true to say though that there were more rocks flying around the Solar System during earlier periods of its history. A team of researchers have been studying a meteorite impact from 3.26 billion years ago. They have calculated this rock was 200 times bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. The event would have triggered tsunamis mixing up the oceans and flushing debris from the land. The newly available organic material allowed organisms to thrive. 

Meteorite impacts are a common event and its not unusual to see these rocks from space whizzing through the atmosphere. Giant meteorite impacts have become an important part of Earth’s geological history. The impacts release colossal amounts of energy that can destroy life, create wildfires, tsunamis and eject dust into the atmosphere. The Chicxulub impact around 66 million years ago is perhaps one of the most well known impacts and wiped out the dinosaurs. The study of these interplanetary wanderers is imperative as we strive to protect ourselves from potential impactors that pose a threat to human life. 

A bright meteor caught by one of the Global Fireball Network’s cameras from the Rancho Mirage Observatory (Eric McLaughlin) on April 7, 2019.

Credit: NASA Meteorite Tracking and Recovery Network.

Impacts like these have had a massive affect on the development of Earth and its suitability for life. Geological studies of rocks from the Archean Eon have revealed 16 major impacts with impactors measuring at least 10km in diameter. At the time of impact the effects can be devastating but over time, their can be benefits to life although it’s not well understood. In a paper published in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences the team led by Nadja Drabon from Harvard University explore rocks from an event 3.26 billion years ago. 

Known as the S2 event, the impactor is believed to be a carbonaceous chondrite between 37 to 58 km in diameter. It is thought to have exploded over South Africa with debris landing in the ocean causing giant tsunamis. The impact mixed up iron(II) rich deep waters with the iron(II) poor shallower waters. It will have also caused the waters to heat leading to partial evaporation of surface water with a temporary increase in erosion around coastal areas. 

Perhaps one of the most valuable effects of the impact was the injection of phosphorus into the atmosphere with a positive impact on the Earth’s habitability for life. Study of the layers of rock above the layer caused by the S2 event reveals an increased amount of nutrients and iron which helped microbial life to thrive. 

The study has helped to build a clearer understanding of how giant impacts can aid the development of life. It does of course depend on the size and type, material and the conditions of the atmosphere before the event. The S2 event seems to have quite a mixed effect on early life, in particular marine life. Overall some forms of life were positively impacted while others seemed to have experienced challenges. Marine life that relies upon sunlight to survive (the phototrophs) were effected by the darkness while those living at lower depths were less influenced. The detrimental effects of the atmosphere would likely only have been short lived lasting perhaps just a few years before recovering quickly causing only a temporary impact to marine life. But the injection of phosphorous in the atmosphere would have had far more long term beneficial effects to life. 

Source : 

• Effect of a giant meteorite impact on Paleoarchean surface environments and life

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

17-11-2024 om 18:51 geschreven door peter  

16-11-2024 om 21:24 geschreven door peter  

Story by Samir Sebti

Mysterious hourly radio signal from space baffles scientists, challenging current astrophysical theories

© Daily Galaxy

The ASKAP radio telescope in Australia first detected this extraordinary signal, officially designated as ASKAP J1935+2148. What sets this signal apart is its clockwork-like precision, repeating every 53.8 minutes. However, the true mystery lies in its three distinct emission states :

• Bright flashes lasting 10 to 50 seconds with linear polarization
• Weak pulses with circular polarization, lasting a mere 370 milliseconds
• Periods of complete silence

Dr. Manisha Caleb, the lead author of the study, emphasizes the uniqueness of this discovery : “What is intriguing is how this object displays three distinct emission states, each with properties entirely dissimilar from the others.” The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa played a crucial role in confirming that these varied signals originated from the same celestial source.

For astronomy enthusiasts fascinated by such cosmic mysteries, it’s worth noting that you can build your own home radio telescope to capture signals from across the universe, potentially contributing to future discoveries.

NASA's Plan to Build A Telescope on the Moon

Challenging conventional astrophysical wisdom

As scientists grapple with explaining this phenomenon, they’ve narrowed down the potential sources to two prime suspects : neutron stars and white dwarfs. Both are remnants of deceased stars, but their properties differ significantly. Here’s a comparison of these celestial objects :

While neutron stars are known for emitting radio waves, their typical rotation speeds are much faster than the observed 54-minute cycle. On the other hand, white dwarfs could potentially rotate this slowly, but scientists are unaware of any mechanism that would allow them to produce such complex radio signals.

Exploring potential explanations and implications

The scientific community is abuzz with theories attempting to explain this celestial oddity. Some researchers speculate that the signal could be produced by interactions between a neutron star’s strong magnetic field and complex plasma flows. However, this explanation falls short when considering the unusually slow rotation rate.

Another intriguing possibility is the existence of an elusive “white dwarf pulsar,” a hypothetical object that combines properties of both white dwarfs and pulsars. This concept, while theoretically possible, has yet to be confirmed observationally.

The implications of this discovery extend far beyond this single celestial object. Dr. Caleb suggests that it might prompt a reconsideration of our long-held understanding of neutron stars and white dwarfs, including :

• The mechanisms behind their radio wave emissions
• The diversity of their populations within the Milky Way galaxy
• Potential new subclasses of these stellar remnants

This isn’t the first time a repeating radio signal has baffled scientists. A previous discovery of an 18-minute looping signal also defied explanation, but this new 54-minute cycle adds another layer of complexity to the cosmic puzzle.

Future research and the quest for answers

As astronomers continue to probe the depths of space, the hunt for answers intensifies. The ASKAP and MeerKAT radio telescopes will undoubtedly play crucial roles in future observations of this mysterious object. Additionally, other advanced instruments like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Very Large Array (VLA) may be enlisted to gather more data and potentially unravel this cosmic enigma.

While the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence is always a tantalizing thought, scientists emphasize that natural astrophysical phenomena are far more likely explanations. Nevertheless, this discovery underscores the vast unknowns that still exist in our universe and the exciting potential for groundbreaking discoveries that challenge our understanding of cosmic physics.

As we continue to push the boundaries of astronomical research, one thing remains clear : the universe never fails to surprise us with its complexity and wonder. This hourly repeating radio signal serves as a reminder of the countless mysteries that await discovery in the depths of space, inspiring future generations of scientists to explore the cosmos and unravel its secrets.

Source : 

• https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2024/06/05/slow-spinning-radio-neutron-star-breaks-all-the-rules.html

{ https://dailygalaxy.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 21:09 geschreven door peter  

Story by Yelena Mandenberg

UFO sightings seen in the skies above the US mapped as Congress told flying saucers “are real”

© Getty Images

As Congress is striving to “pull back the curtain” on their research into UFOs and unsealing documents, experts have created maps revealing the US locations most likely to receive extraterrestrial visitors.

The hearing, dubbed "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth," featured expert testimonies and witness accounts. The panel of experts included government employees and a NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team member.

Though the experts have recently revealed that most' UAPs' are drones, plenty of objects can be considered extraterrestrial. The National UFO Reporting Center has a map anyone can use to track sightings in their area.

This comes a day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs — the government’s term for UFOs.

• Pentagon insider accuses government of concealing UFO evidence: 'We are not alone'

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• UFO mysteries may be result of 'stealth civilizations' living among us, say Harvard scientists

The National UFO Reporting Center

© Reach Publishing Services Limited

Michael Gold, an ex-NASA associate administrator of space policy and partnerships and a member of the UAP study team, informed the hearing that "the vast majority of UAPs are drones."

However, he acknowledged some anomalies require further investigation and conceded that some of the observed UAPs "can move faster" than US submarines and "are being intelligently controlled.

3 UFOs That Science Still Can't Explain

Luis Elizondo, an author and former Department of Defence official, asserted that "advanced technologies not made by our government - or any other government - are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe." He emphasized: "Let me be clear. UAP are real."

The inquiry, co-chaired by Nancy Mace and Glenn Grothman, was the second to examine the UAP phenomenon. "Americans deserve to understand what the government has learned about UAP sightings and the nature of any potential threats these phenomena pose," the co-chairs declared in a statement.

The hearing followed a long-awaited report release. NASA conducted a study last year that examined previous UFO (or UAP) sightings. The study did not find any definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life, but the possibility was not entirely ruled out.

According to the British spotter group UFO Identified, there were 395 documented sightings in the UK in 2023, a 20% decrease from the 497 sightings in 2022 and lower than the numbers recorded in 2021 (413) and 2020 (484). The North West region had the highest number of sightings last year, with 41, followed by the South East (40) and then the South West (39).

Yesterday, the Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin.

The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York. While it isn’t likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government's efforts to provide some answers.

{ https://www.themirror.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 20:51 geschreven door peter  

Story by Sean Duke

 

Stunning expert witness testimonies that UFOs exist were heard on Capitol Hill at a public Congressional hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Dr. Tim Gallaudet, a retired Rear Admiral U.S. Navy, was the first of four witnesses making the extraordinary statements Wednesday at the hearing called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): Exposing the Truth.

The Admiral said that information from whistleblowers about UAPs (formerly known as UFOs) indicated that their technology represents a "new realization that we are not the only advanced intelligence in the universe."

"As a former science agency leader, I have always sought the truth in human knowledge and thought. Now that we know UAP are interacting with humanity, and these include unidentified submerged objects (USOs) in the ocean, we should not keep our heads stuck in the sand but boldly face this new reality and learn from it."

What was the USS Theodore Roosevelt incident?

"Confirmation that UAPs are interacting with humanity came for me in January 2015 when I was serving as the Commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command," the Admiral said.

"At the time, my personnel were participating in a pre-deployment naval exercise off the U.S. East Coast that included the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. This exercise was overseen by the United States Fleet Forces Command, led by a four-star admiral who also served as my superior officer."

"During this exercise, I received an email on the Navy's secure network from the operations officer of Fleet Forces Command. The email was addressed to all subordinate commanders, and the subject line read in all capital letters: URGENT SAFETY OF FLIGHT ISSUE."

"The text of the email was brief but alarming, with words to the effect: "If any of you know what these are, tell me ASAP. We are having multiple near-midair collisions, and if we do not resolve it soon, we will have to shut down the exercise.""

"Attached to the email was what is now known as the "Go Fast" video, captured on the forward-looking infrared sensor onboard one of the Navy F/A-18 aircraft participating in the exercise. The now declassified video showed an unidentified object exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike anything in our arsenal."

Luis Elizondo, an author and a former Department of Defense Official, was the second witness to make a statement before the committee.

"Let me be clear: UAP are real. Advanced technologies not made by our government—or any other government—are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe," said Elizondo.

"Furthermore, the U.S. is in possession of UAP technologies, as are some of our adversaries. I believe we are in the midst of a multi-decade; secretive arms race—one funded by misallocated taxpayer dollars and hidden from our elected representatives and oversight bodies."

Newsweek has emailed the Defense Department for comment

People should be encouraged to come forward with information about UAPs, said Michael Gold, the third witness, a former NASA Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships; a member of the NASA UAP Independent Study Team.

"Instead of vilifying or ridiculing those who dare to study the phenomena, NASA and the scientific community as a whole should seize this singular opportunity to engage the public in a high-profile demonstration of the scientific method," said Gold.

"Information should be gathered, results should be studied, hypotheses made, and conclusions tested."

An illustration of triangular shaped (UAP) Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena similar to the kind reported by many eyewitnesses who saw the Phoenix Lights over Arizona and Nevada on March 13, 1997. ktsimage

Getty Images Plus© ktsimage/Getty Images Plus

Is there a UAP crash retrieval program?

Michael Shellenberger, an investigative journalist presented a 12-page document to the Committee—before the hearing—which detailed a classified UAP crash-retrieval program known as Immaculate Constellation, given to him by a whistleblower he said was a current or former U.S. government official.

"The executive branch has been managing UAP issues without congressional knowledge, oversight, or authorization for some time, possibly decades," said Shellenberger who was asked, but refused to divulge the source of his information.

"While UAPs remain mysterious, it's clear that the U.S. government is not being straight with the American people. This is all the more alarming following a series of incursions by unknown objects around sensitive military assets, including nuclear missile silos, in recent years."

"Beyond exhibiting seemingly advanced technology, the objects appeared to put on a display of impunity by flying with bright flashing lights and flying in formation."

President-Elect Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama have said that the government has information about UAPs that it has not released, said Shellenberger.

"In 2020, during a podcast with his son, Donald Trump, Jr, Trump said, 'I won't talk to you about what I know about it, but it's very interesting'."

"In 2021, former CIA Director John Brennan said, 'I think some of the phenomena we may be seeing continue to be unexplained and might be some type of phenomenon that results from something that we don't yet understand and could involve some type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life'," said Shellenberger.

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{ https://www.newsweek.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 20:35 geschreven door peter  

NASA tracking bus-sized asteroid making close approach to Earth TOMORROW

• READ MORE:  NASA staff beg Musk to 'clean house' after agency overspending

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

NASA is keeping a close eye on a bus-sized asteroid that is expected to skim past Earth Saturday at a distance only slightly father away than the moon.

Officials at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and and Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) estimated that the space rock is between 28 and 62 feet wide, and will shoot past our planet at a speed of roughly 29,300 mph.

It will come within 273,000 miles of Earth. By comparison, the average distance between our planet and the moon is roughly 238,900 miles.

The close encounter is expected to take place in the early morning hours, but the asteroid poses no threat to Earth.

The space rock, called 2024 VK3, is just one of five asteroids that will fly by our planet this weekend. 

Three are as roughly big as commercial airplanes and one is about the size of a house, according to NASA JPL. 

The next-closest encounter will be made by the airplane-sized asteroid 2024 VZ2, which will come within 790,000 miles of our planet. 

The others will maintain distances of over a million miles away with house-sized asteroid 2024 UC5 being 2,580,000 miles away at its closest point to Earth. 

NASA is keeping a close eye on a bus-sized asteroid that is expected to skim past Earth tomorrow morning at a distance only slightly father away than the moon

All of these asteroids are considered Near Earth Objects (NEOs) because they are within approximately 30 million miles of our planet. 

NASA has observed, documented and classified around 36,000 objects in the solar system as NEOs.

The space agency tracks NEOs primarily to identify asteroids that could potentially collide with Earth, and assess the threat they pose.

NASA uses a variety of methods to survey nearby space rocks, including both ground-based and space-based telescopes.

One key tool is the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, an infrared space telescope used to discover and characterize Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).

PHAs are asteroids that have a high probability of making a close approach to Earth and are large enough to cause significant damage if they made impact. 

Technically, that means any space rock that comes within 0.05 astronomical units - or roughly 4,647,790 miles - of Earth's orbit, and has an absolute brightness of 22.0 or less. 

Absolute brightness is an indirect measurement of an asteroid's size. Lower values of magnitude indicate greater brightness, and thus larger objects. 

In 2021, NASA's Planetary Defense Office launched the DART mission, which slammed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos and changed the space rock's trajectory (STOCK) 

None of the asteroids that will fly by Earth this weekend are considered PHAs.

But NASA is preparing for the unlikely event that a PHA hurtles towards our planet in the future.

The agency's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) is developing technologies and strategies that could safe Earth from a catastrophic asteroid impact. 

Established in 2016, PDCO is tasked with the mission of finding, tracking and better understanding asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. 

In 2021, the office launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which slammed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos and successfully changed the space rock's orbital trajectory. 

This mission was a test of the 'kinetic impact' asteroid deflection strategy, which could one day be used to redirect a PHA on a collision course with Earth. 

In October, the European Space Agency launched the second phase of this mission, called Hera.

The Hera spacecraft is currently on its way to Dimorphos to perform a detailed post-impact survey of Dimorphos. This will help experts solidify kinetic impact into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defense technique.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

16-11-2024 om 18:46 geschreven door peter  

Police in Canada collected debris after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron in February 2023.

According to documents obtained through a freedom of information request to Canada's Department of National Defence, "wreckage" was found on "the shoreline of Lake Huron" just weeks after search efforts were officially suspended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The new discovery was never made public.

"Following reports of unidentified aerial objects observed in the Great Lakes area and elsewhere in North America, multiple searches were conducted by the RCMP with the support of the Canadian Armed Forces," an RCMP spokesperson said in a brief statement to CTVNews.ca. "Debris has been recovered from the shores of Lake Huron but after careful analysis, it was determined not to be of national security concern."

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Police collected 'material and a module'

The unidentified object was shot down by a U.S. F-16 fighter jet on the afternoon of Feb. 12, 2023, over Lake Huron, which separates Michigan and Ontario. It was the third and final unidentified object(opens in a new tab) blasted out of North America's skies that month following the high-profile Feb. 4, 2023, downing of an apparent Chinese surveillance balloon(opens in a new tab).

At the time, the Lake Huron object was described as "octagonal" in structure with strings hanging off of it, and it reportedly "slowly descended" into Canadian waters after being hit by one of two missiles that were fired at it. Officials characterized it as a suspected balloon that did not pose a military threat, but could have interfered with domestic air traffic.

The RCMP oversaw a brief winter search that also involved both the American and Canadian coast guards. In a Feb. 16, 2023, statement, the RCMP announced search efforts were being suspended "due to several factors including deteriorating weather and the low probability of recovery."

According to partially redacted emails obtained by CTVNews.ca through the information request, the RCMP collected "both material and a module" when debris was discovered "along the shores of Lake Huron" in early March 2023, approximately three weeks after the object was shot down.

"The module is from a company who sells weather monitoring equipment," a senior RCMP member told a Canadian military brigadier-general in a March 13, 2023, email. "It will be analyzed to determine if there is anything unusual with it but I suspect not given the size. Whether or not it is from the shoot down is uncertain."

The RCMP would not answer specific questions from CTVNews.ca, including if the wreckage was ever positively linked to the Lake Huron object. Canada's Department of National Defence declined to comment. The U.S. Department of Defense did not respond to emailed questions.

"The RCMP confirms that debris was recovered from the shores of Lake Huron; and we continue to work in close collaboration with our domestic and international partners in furthering the investigation," an RCMP spokesperson said in a new statement Friday afternoon. "As the investigation is ongoing, additional details cannot be provided at this time."

Newly released documents show the Royal Canadian Mounted Police collected wreckage after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron in February 2023.

(Department of National Defence via access to information request)

What was the Lake Huron object?

The three unidentified objects shot down over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron in February 2023 were reportedly much smaller than the towering Chinese balloon.

"We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon program, or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country," U.S. President Joe Biden said following the incidents. "The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research."

A "secret" Royal Canadian Air Force document obtained by CTVNews.ca suggests the Lake Huron object could have been a "weather balloon" launched from a U.S. National Weather Service radar station in Michigan.

Iain Boyd is a professor of aerospace engineering and director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder. Boyd speculates that the continued lack of information on these cases could be because the U.S. and Canadian governments were embarrassed after shooting down objects that weren't really national security threats.

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"To have expended significant military time and resources to shoot down benign objects does not look good, even though there may have been many factors we are still unaware of," Boyd told CTVNews.ca. "I am not surprised that the Canadian government did not share more information about the Lake Huron debris."

CTVNews.ca previously published the first confirmed image of the object shot down over the Yukon on Feb. 11, 2023, which was obtained through an access to information request. The RCMP also oversaw Yukon search efforts, which were called off without success on Feb. 18, 2023. The RCMP is Canada's federal police force.

In documents reviewed by CTVNews.ca, the three objects shot down over North America are frequently referred to as "UAP," which typically stands for "unidentified aerial phenomena." The term "UAP" has largely replaced "UFO" and "unidentified flying object" in official circles.

After decades of dismissal and denial by U.S. authorities, the Pentagon(opens in a new tab), NASA(opens in a new tab) and American lawmakers(opens in a new tab) have gone public about their efforts to investigate UAP. In Canada, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor's Sky Canada Project(opens in a new tab) plans to release its own UAP report by the end of 2024, which will be the first known official Canadian UFO study in nearly 30 years.

With files from CNN and Reuters

• Do you have an unusual document or observation to share? Email CTVNews.ca Writer Daniel Otis at daniel.otis@bellmedia.ca(opens in a new tab)

{ https://www.ctvnews.ca/ }

16-11-2024 om 18:00 geschreven door peter  

Police collect wreckage of 'octagonal-shaped UFO' shot down by a US F-16 fighter jet

• READ MORE: Pentagon says UFO nearly crashed into commercial airliner  

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Newly released documents have revealed that Canadian police collected debris of a UFO that was shot down over Lake Huron last year. 

The object was taken down on February 12, 2023 by a US F-16 fighter jet, marking the third such incident over North America that month.

Witnesses described the object as 'octagonal' with strings hanging off it before the jet fired two missiles, striking the UFO that then slowly descended into Canadian waters.

Documents obtained by CTVNews.ca stated that 'wreckage' was found on 'the shoreline of Lake Huron' weeks after search efforts were suspended. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) partnered with the American and Canadian Coast Guard to conduct a brief search following the incident. 

By February 16, it was called off due to 'deteriorating weather and the low probability of recovery, according to an RCMP statement. 

But the partially redacted emails acquired by CTVNews.ca revealed that the RCMP collected 'both material and a module' from the site of the incident roughly three weeks after the object was shot down. 

National security officials have criticized the effort for a 'lack of transparency.'

Newly released documents have revealed that Canadian police collected debris after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron on February 12 2023

'The RCMP confirms that debris was recovered from the shores of Lake Huron, and we continue to work in close collaboration with our domestic and international partners in furthering the investigation,' the spokesperson said Friday. 

'As the investigation is ongoing, additional details cannot be provided at this time.' 

The RCMP would not confirm whether the debris was ever definitively linked to the Lake Huron object, and Canada's Department of National Defense also declined to comment, CTVNews.ca reported.

Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder, said that the lack of transparency could be because the US and Canadian governments were embarrassed of shooting down objects that did not pose national security threats. 

The object was taken down by a US F-16 fighter jet, and was the third unidentified object to be shot out of the sky over North American that month

The incident occurred just days after the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4, which garnered widespread media attention.

'To have expended significant military time and resources to shoot down benign objects does not look good, even though there may have been many factors we are still unaware of,' he speculated to CTVNews.ca. 

'I am not surprised that the Canadian government did not share more information about the Lake Huron debris.'

The incident, and three others that month, occurred just days after the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4, which garnered widespread media attention. 

The other two were downed in Alaska and Yukon, Canada.

All three were reported to be smaller than the Chinese balloon, which measured 200 feet tall, according to US General Glen D. VanHerck.

The balloon carried an underslung payload described as a 'technology bay' that was roughly the size of two to three school buses. 

It flew across North America from January 28 to February 4, 2023, passing over Alaska, western Canada and the contiguous US before it was shot down by the US Air Force off the coast of South Carolina.

Analysis of the debris determined that the balloon carried intelligence-gathering equipment, but it did not appear to have sent information back to China.

The three UFO incidents that followed did not appear to be related to the Chinese balloon, and there was no evidence to suggest that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country, President Joe Biden stated on February 16.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

16-11-2024 om 17:43 geschreven door peter  

Bombshell report about Pentagon's secret UAP program 'Immaculate Constellation' reveals new evidence of UFOs and alien life

• READ MORE: Pentagon says UFO nearly crashed into commercial airliner  

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The whistleblower report on the US government's top-secret UFO data retrieval program has revealed shocking evidence of Non-Human Intelligence (NHI) on Earth.

The report details the findings of 'Immaculate Constellation,' an Unacknowledged Special Access Program (USAP) established to 'detect' and 'quarantine' the military's best UFO imagery, videos, eyewitness testimonies and electronic sensor evidence. 

It features numerous eyewitness accounts from 1991 through 2022, including flying metallic orbs, 'jellyfish'-shaped aircraft, and UFOs that reportedly altered witnesses' perception of time.

The public-version of the report also discusses how infrared satellites captured footage of a massive 400-foot-wide saucer-shaped UFO soaring out of a dense cloud.

'This behavior was evasive in nature and implied that the saucer-shaped UAP had become aware that it was under observation by a space-based collection platform,' reads the report. 

The program was discussed at a Congressional hearing about UAPs on Wednesday and shortly after, Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made the 11-page document available to the public.

Michael Shellenberger, a sworn witness of the hearing, told the court that Immaculate Conception has captured thousands of 'high-resolution imagery' of UAPs.

'The American people need to know that the US military is sitting on a huge amount of visual and other information, still photos, video photos or sensor information, and have for a very long time,' he said.

The whistleblowers claimed that the investigation 'was in response to urgent and credible threats to the good and safety of the United States of America,' while claiming that the Executive Branch has been managing UAP and NHI issues without Congressional knowledge.

A bombshell report on the US government's top-secret UFO data retrieval program has revealed shocking evidence of Non-Human Intelligence (NHI) on Earth. Above, a still from a previously released unclassified US government video appears to show a UAP.

UFO encounter puts personnel in a 'trance'

An active flight deck personnel working night duty on a CVN - or a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier - in the Pacific experienced a close encounter with a spherical UAP of medium-large size, the report states.  

The personnel described the UFO as a 'small, orange-red sphere' that emitted a soft light that 'bizarrely, did not illuminate the ocean or the flight deck of the CVN despite the visual appearance of intense luminosity.' 

They observed the surface of the UFO to be 'dynamic,' saying that it was 'roiling like the surface of the sun.'

The strange object maneuvered at high altitude above the CVN, then rapidly dropped to a position directly above the flight deck shortly after the witnesses spotted it. 

The UFO maintained altitude and kept pace with the CVN for 'an uncertain period,' and 'observing personnel reported altered perceptions of time during the close encounter,' the report states. 

After some time, the UFO 'suddenly shot into the air, disappearing at a point high above the CVN.' 

'Observing personnel felt as if they ‘snapped out of a trance’ and a sense of profound unease.' 

'Eyestrain, headaches and dread' induced by UFO

Ground personnel at a military airfield located on the Eastern Seaboard reported a 'lengthy, low-altitude intrusion' by a small spherical UFO late at night, according to the report.

The witnesses described the object as a 'blurry sphere around which light was distorted or ‘bent,' which gave the appearance of a heat-haze or misty volume of distorted light.'

Personnel first spotted the UFO as it was slowly crossing the runway and moving in the direction of a 'sensitive area.'

Once across, it 'hovered above a grouping of ground equipment, before floating further towards a building within the sensitive area.'

The UFO then suddenly disappeared. 

While observing this 'dark sphere,' personnel reported 'eyestrain, headaches, and a feeling of unease or dread.' They estimated that the encounter lasted between 10 and 15 minutes, though they weren't certain.

12 metallic orbs perform 'rapid and agile maneuvering'

Orbs are among the most common UFO morphologies. Above, a metallic-looking orb flies over an Iraqi city, caught on video by a US spy plane (pictured). The image was captured in 2016

The report details video and infrared footage of a formation of roughly 12 metallic orbs 'skimming the ocean surface at high-speed before dispersing in multiple directions.'

'The rapid and agile maneuvering of the metallic orbs were incompatible with known aerospace vehicles,' the report reads. The objects and were 10-20 feet in diameter. 

In the infrared footage, the orbs registered 'white-hot' against the 'black-cold' ocean surface, and each one created a faint 'atmospheric distortion both around itself and as a heat-shimmer ‘contrail.'' 

At the start of the video, the orbs flew in a 'tight 'cuboid' formation,' having assembled into 'three vertical-square formations of ~4 orbs each, arranged in a three-pronged configuration, creating the illusion of a cube shape at distance.'

'The metallic orbs moved in this cube formation over the ocean for some time before rapidly breaking formation as pairs,' the report reads. 

As most of the orbs gained speed and altitude, the sensor platform lost track of them. But it maintained observation of one pair that 'continued the original trajectory of the larger formation.'

400-foot-wide flying saucer emerges from cloud 

Infrared satellites captured footage of a massive saucer-shaped UFO emerging from within a dense cloud formation.

The saucer's circumference was estimated to be between 650 and 1,300 feet, which would place its diameter between roughly 200 and 400 feet. 

It also 'displayed symmetrical concavities on the upper surface,' the report reads. 

The saucer registered hot in the infrared footage, and created visible 'atmospheric disturbances.' 

The object emerged from the cloud formation at a shallow angle and travelled upwards toward the outer atmosphere.

After breaking above the cloud cover, the saucer suddenly reversed its direction and descended partially back into the cloud cover. 

It then accelerated rapidly out of frame, remaining partly obscured by the cloud tops, according to the report. 

'Jellyfish' UFO crosses US-Mexico border

In January, leaked infrared footage showed a 'jellyfish' shaped UFO that was not visible to the naked eye flying over a US military base 

The report also described infrared footage of a 'jellyfish' or 'floating-brain' shaped UFO with 'hanging appendages' that flew across the southern border.

In the footage, the surface of the UFO appeared 'mottled' with both hot and cold spots, and it 'flew against the wind with no visible means of propulsion,' the report reads.

As it moved, it 'maintained an unnatural ‘rigidity’ in its movements and flight path,' and kept a low altitude relative to geographic features.

'In appearance and behavior, footage of this UAP violating the airspace of the southern border resembled the same class of UAPs observed near DoD facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan,' the report states. 

Whistleblower alleges 'decades' of conspiracy 

These accounts and others detailed in the report show that UFOs are 'operating around the globe, often in close proximity to sensitive foreign assets and locations,' the report states. 

If proven to be legitimate, Immaculate Constellation and the information that this program allegedly contains would show that the US government is sitting on a mountain of UFO data and intelligence.

What's more, the report alleges that 'the Executive Branch has been managing UAP/NHI issues without Congressional knowledge, oversight, or authorization for some time, quite possibly decades.'

'This criminal conspiracy keeps the elected government of the United States and its citizens ignorant to profound discoveries and dire threats,' the report reads, 'originating from the existence of UAP, NHI, and their technologies,' the report adds. 

Reporting in defense publication Jane's Defense first revealed the existence of USAPs decades ago, showing that government officials were authorized to lie publicly to deny their existence. 

While the full report was only released this week, details from it were published by Public after the document was leaked to journalist Michael Shellenberger in October.

The report was posted online the same night as a Congressional UFO hearing during which lawmakers heard testimony from four sworn witnesses on America's weird and troubling UFO phenomena

In response, a Pentagon spokesperson denied the existence of the program, telling reporters: 'The Department of Defense has no record, present or historical, of any type of SAP [Special Access Program] called 'IMMACULATE CONSTELLATION.'' 

The full document was posted online the same night as a Congressional UFO hearing during which lawmakers heard testimony from four sworn witnesses on America's weird and troubling UFO phenomena. 

The expert witnesses included two former military officers. 

Discussion raised questions about alien intelligence and military research using alien technology, as well as concerns that foreign powers may be using secret aircraft to spy on US military installations. 

During the hearing, Government Cybersecurity and Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) - who released the eleven-page report - asked: 'How would you define non-human intelligence, non-human biologics? What are we actually talking about.' 

Read More

• Read the chilling testimony of Navy veteran due to testify on UFO cover up: 'We're being visited' 

House Oversight Panelist Mike Gold, a NASA legal and policy specialist who now works in the private aerospace sector, asserted that we must re-examine the idea with modest assumptions, but noted that an advanced visiting intelligence may not actually be biological.

When pressed about what 'non-biological intelligence' means,' Gold replied: 'Artificial intelligence, ML, machines.'

The public's interest in this topic was apparent from the sheer volume of private citizen attendance at the hearing, DailyMail.com's Matthew Phelan reported live from the event. 

Lawmakers said the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue and share their findings with the American public. 

'There is something out there,' said Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee. 'The question is: Is it ours, is it someone else's, or is it otherworldly?'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

16-11-2024 om 17:19 geschreven door peter  

Minerals in Lafayette Meteorite Were Exposed to Martian Liquid Water 742 Million Years Ago: Study

An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the planet hurtling through space; one of these chunks eventually crashed into the Earth. During early investigations of this object, named Lafayette meteorite, scientists discovered that it had interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Now, researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom have determined the age of the minerals in the meteorite that formed when there was liquid water.

The Lafayette meteorite was chipped off the surface of Mars and then sped through space for roughly 11 million years. It eventually found its way into a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and has since been teaching scientists about Mars.

Image credit: Purdue Brand Studio.

Meteorites are solid time capsules from planets and celestial bodies from our Universe.

They carry with them bits of data that can be unlocked by geochronologists.

They set themselves apart from rocks that may be found on Earth by a crust that forms from its descent through our atmosphere and often form a fiery entrance visible in the night’s sky.

“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are present in them and the relationships between these minerals inside the meteorite,” said Dr. Marissa Tremblay, a researcher at Purdue University.

“Meteorites are often denser than Earth rocks, contain metal, and are magnetic.”

“We can also look for things like a fusion crust that forms during entry into Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Finally, we can use the chemistry of meteorites (specifically their oxygen isotope composition) to fingerprint which planetary body they came from or which type of meteorite it belongs to.”

According to the authors, some Martian meteorites, such as a 0.8-kg nakhlite meteorite called the Lafayette meteorite, contain minerals that formed through interaction with liquid water while still on Mars.

“Dating these minerals can therefore tell us when there was liquid water at or near the surface of Mars in the planet’s geologic past,” Dr. Tremblay said.

“We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago.”

“We do not think there was abundant liquid water on the surface of Mars at this time.”

“Instead, we think the water came from the melting of nearby subsurface ice called permafrost, and that the permafrost melting was caused by magmatic activity that still occurs periodically on Mars to the present day.”

The researchers demonstrated that the age obtained for the timing of water-rock interaction on Mars was robust and that the chronometer used was not affected by things that happened to the Lafayette meteorite after it was altered in the presence of water.

“The age could have been affected by the impact that ejected the Lafayette meteorite from Mars, the heating Lafayette experienced during the 11 million years it was floating out in space, or the heating Lafayette experienced when it fell to Earth and burned up a little bit in Earth’s atmosphere,” Dr. Tremblay said.

“But we were able to demonstrate that none of these things affected the age of aqueous alteration in Lafayette.”

“This meteorite uniquely has evidence that it has reacted with water,” said Dr. Ryan Ickert, also from Purdue University.

“The exact date of this was controversial, and our publication dates when water was present.”

“We know this because once it was ejected from Mars, the meteorite experienced bombardment by cosmic ray particles in outer space, that caused certain isotopes to be produced in Lafayette,” Dr. Tremblay said.

“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planetary bodies, but only a handful will eventually fall to Earth.”

• The findings were published this month in the journal Geochemical Perspective Letters.
• M.M. Tremblay et al. 2024. Dating recent aqueous activity on Mars. Geochemical Perspectives Letters 32; doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.2443

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

16-11-2024 om 16:18 geschreven door peter  

The variable star is a type of red giant called a Mira-type variable. It’s a complete opposite to its companion star. Rather than extremely compact and dense, the red giant is bloated and red. It’s more than 400 times larger than the Sun. It’s a pulsating giant star that’s more at home atop Sauron’s Dark Tower than it is in a catalogue of stars. As it pulses, it changes temperature and luminosity. Over an approximately 390-day period, its brightness changes by a factor of 750.

That means that when the star is at its peak brightness, it’s more than 5,000 times as bright as our Sun.

The powerful pulsing of this massive red star is enough to be a spectacle in itself. But it’s relationship with its binary partner creates an even more spectacular display. As the two orbit, the dense white dwarf draws hydrogen gas away from the red giant. The hydrogen accumulates on the white dwarf until the star can’t take it anymore. Then the hydrogen explodes in nuclear fusion on the surface of the small, dense star.

The nova explosion ejects the material into space in gaseous filaments. But the region around white dwarfs is dominated by the star’s powerful magnetic fields, which can be millions of times stronger than Earth’s. The force of the nuclear explosion and the magnetic fields twist the gaseous hydrogen filaments into trails and streamers, and eventually, they loop back on themselves and form spiral patterns.

We can only see this nebula of gaseous filaments because the radiation from both stars strips electrons from the hydrogen, turning it into ionized gas. The ionized hydrogen glows brightly and creates a beautiful natural display.

The central binary star’s brightness changes over time because of the pulsing of the red giant. The gas appears red to us, but not because of the red giant. R Aquarii is in a dusty region, and the dust absorbs all the blue light, with only red reaching us.

A Hubble timelapse consisting of five images of R Aquarii from 2014 to 2023 helps bring the dynamic interplay to life.

Looking at these images, it’s easy to misunderstand the scale of the stars, the nebula, and the brightly-lit, filaments of ionized hydrogen. However, the material blasted into space reaches as far as 400 billion kilometers (248 billion miles). For comparison, that’s about 24 times greater than our Solar System’s diameter.

R Aquarii was first observed by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding in 1810, when he was a colleague of Carl Friedrich Gauss at Gottingen Observatory. It’s one of the nearest symbiotic stars, and is an object that astronomers are very interested in observing. In the 20th century, Edwin Hubble and others studied it and recognized its complex interactions and the resulting nebula. R Aquarii and its brethren can teach astronomers a lot about stellar winds, accretion, and ionized nebula.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 15:49 geschreven door peter  

To develop their 3D modeling tool, the team looked at polarized radio light, which vibrates in a specific direction. The research team then factored in the effect called “Faraday rotation,” where the the polarization of light rotates along the direction of propagation in proportion to the projection of a magnetic field. Named after Michael Faraday, this effect was the first experimental evidence that light and electromagnetism are related. In the case of radio waves, the rotation depends on how much material they have passed through. 

With this technique, the team examined various radio image samples obtained by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder Telescope (ASKAP) and MeerKAT radio telescopes. They found they could estimate how far each part of the radio light had traveled, enabling them to create a 3D model of phenomena happening millions of light-years away. This technique also allowed the team to demonstrate, for the first time, how the line-of-sight orientation of relativistic jets can be determined.

They also examined the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the heart of the M87 galaxy. Using their technique, the team was able to show how material ejected interacts with cosmic winds and space weather and also analyzed the structures of the jet’s magnetic fields in space. As Rudnick said in a recent University of Minnesota press release:

“We found that the shapes of the objects were very different from the impression that we got by just looking at them in a 2D space. Our technique has dramatically altered our understanding of these exotic objects. We may need to reconsider previous models on the physics of how these things work. There is no question in my mind that we will end up with lots of surprises in the future that some objects will not look like we thought in 2D.”

The team recommends using this technique to reevaluate all previous analyses of polarized light sources. They also hope this technique will be applied to images taken by next-generation telescopes around the world. This includes the new Square Kilometer Array (SKA-Phase2) project, which will extend the facility to about 2000 dishes, making it 50 times more sensitive and 10,000 times faster than any other radio telescope in the world.

Further Reading: 

• UofM-CSE, 
• MNRAS

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 15:36 geschreven door peter  

But while this scenario is relatively straightforward, the devil is in the details. In order for this process to work there must be liquid water underground. And some other mechanism needs to be able to remove the methane, or at least make this process cycle on and off every few months.

That opens up the possibility for life. We know of forms of life on Earth known as methanogens that do not get their energy from photosynthesis. Instead they essentially eat hydrogen and produce methane as a byproduct. The advantage of using life to explain the Martian methane mystery is that it can potentially naturally introduce seasonal variations. When conditions change under the Martian surface, for example through the warming summer months or cooling winter months, then the life can respond appropriately.

But while this hypothesis explains the seasonal variation, it doesn’t get around the fact that the Martian life would still need a source of water to live. Plus, we have absolutely no evidence for any life appearing on Mars, even in its distant past.

To date there is no clear consensus as to what is causing the seasonal variations of methane on Mars. The idea of life under the surface of the red planet remains a tantalizing possibility. The only way to answer this is to keep sending missions back to Mars and start digging.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

16-11-2024 om 15:22 geschreven door peter  

Pentagon’s Annual UFO Report Reveals Unexplained Sightings and Airspace Risks

The Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have released their latest annual report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), commonly referred to as UFOs. This comprehensive document sheds light on hundreds of newly reported sightings and represents a collaborative effort to better understand these enigmatic events. The report also emphasizes transparency in addressing growing public curiosity and national security concerns regarding UAPs.

An unidentified aerial phenomenon in a U.S. military video.

Defense Department via To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science

Key Findings from the Report

The latest report accounts for 757 UAP sightings reported between May 2023 and June 2024, showing a significant increase compared to previous years. These reports originate from credible sources, including military personnel, pilots, and intelligence officials, demonstrating the seriousness with which the government approaches this phenomenon.

While many sightings were identified as misinterpretations of known objects like balloons, drones, or natural phenomena, others remain unexplained. For instance, a particularly concerning incident involved a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a cylindrical object near New York’s airspace. This event underscores the potential risks UAPs pose to air safety and the importance of further investigation.

The Role of the Pentagon and AARO

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in 2022, plays a central role in analyzing UAP data. Operating under the Pentagon, AARO collaborates with the ODNI and other agencies to investigate sightings, determine their origins, and assess potential threats to national security.

The report categorizes the sightings into several classifications:

• Identified Objects: Most sightings have been attributed to balloons, drones, birds, or debris.
• Unexplained Events: A smaller portion remains unidentified due to their unusual flight characteristics, speed, or maneuverability.
• Potential Threats: Cases involving military sites or air traffic highlight possible risks to national defense and aviation safety.

No Evidence of Extraterrestrial Activity

Despite widespread public interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement, the report reiterates that there is no direct evidence linking UAPs to alien technology or beings. Instead, it emphasizes a scientific and methodical approach to understanding these phenomena.

Government officials have clarified that the primary goal is to identify and mitigate risks associated with UAPs, whether from foreign adversaries, advanced technology, or natural phenomena. The focus remains on ensuring airspace security and maintaining public trust through transparency.

The Road Ahead

As the number of UAP reports continues to grow, the Pentagon and ODNI stress the importance of technological advancements in radar and sensor systems to improve detection and analysis. Collaborative efforts with international partners and private organizations are also underway to enhance global understanding of UAPs.

Additionally, the report advocates for continued public engagement and education to dispel myths and encourage accurate reporting. By fostering an open dialogue, the government aims to address both public curiosity and security concerns surrounding UAPs.

The annual UAP report from the Pentagon and ODNI represents a critical step in demystifying unidentified aerial phenomena. While many sightings have been identified, the unexplained cases underscore the need for ongoing research and transparency. As technology and collaboration improve, the government remains committed to safeguarding national security and addressing the public’s fascination with the unknown.

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

16-11-2024 om 15:06 geschreven door peter  

Pentagon says UFO nearly crashed into commercial airliner above New York - as bombshell report is released

• READ MORE:  Congress promises to reveal secret UFO research 

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Pentagon has released a new report on UFOs that revealed hundreds of documented incidents of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs).

While there is no evidence to suggest that these UAPs - the government's term for UFOs - are of extraterrestrial origin, some defy explanation, including a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

The report comes as public interest in UAPs has skyrocketed, prompting the US government to work to provide some answers about these strange objects.

It was published one day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on UAPs. 

The Pentagon's review detailed 757 cases of UAP encounters that were reported to US authorities mainly between May 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024. 

That total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but were not previously reported.

Reporting witnesses included commercial and military pilots as well as ground-based observers.  

The majority of these incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 took place at altitudes estimated to be at least 62 miles above Earth's surface, which is considered space.

No injuries or crashes were reported in any of the incidents. 

But a commercial flight crew reported one near miss with a 'cylindrical object' while flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. That incident is still under investigation. 

The Pentagon has released a new report on UFOs that revealed hundreds of documented incidents of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs)

2024: Pentagon releases footage of UFOs spotted around the world

In three other cases, military air crews reported being followed or shadowed by unidentified aircraft, but investigators found no evidence linking the activity to a foreign power. 

During the reporting period, 81 reports originated from US military operating areas. 

Witnesses who provided visual descriptions reported unidentified lights or round, spherical or orb-shaped objects. 

Other reports included a witness who reported a 'jellyfish' UAP with flashing lights. 

The report states that trends of UAP morphologies remain consistent with historical patterns.

'Unidentified lights and round/spherical/orb-shaped objects made up the bulk of cases in which reports provided distinct visual characteristics,' it reads. 

'Objects within the 'other' category include unique descriptions such as 'green fire ball,' 'a jelly fish with [multicolored] flashing lights,' and a 'silver rocket approximately six feet long.' 

Investigators were able to explain nearly 300 of the incidents, and in many cases, the unknown objects were identified as balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.

The report was published one day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on UAPs

The report stated that Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system is an increasingly common source of UAP reports, as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs.

But hundreds of other cases remain unexplained. 

The report's authors stated that this is often because there isn't enough information to draw firm conclusions.

'It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,' they wrote. 

During Wednesday's hearing, lawmakers heard testimony from several expert witnesses who have studied the phenomena, including two former military officers. 

The discussion included questions about alien intelligence and military research using alien technology, as well as concerns that foreign powers may be using secret aircraft to spy on US military installations. 

Government Cybersecurity and Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took a philosophical or metaphysical direction in her final question: 'How would you define non-human intelligence, non-human biologics? What are we actually talking about.'

Read More

• Navy Rear Admiral to give bombshell testimony to Congress about underwater UFOs that have been tailing US nuclear subs 

House Oversight Panelist Mike Gold, a NASA legal and policy specialist who now works in the private aerospace sector, was the last to provide his answer, to which he asserted that we must re-examine the idea with modest assumptions, but noted that an advanced visiting intelligence may not actually be biological.

When pressed about what 'non-biological intelligence' means,' Gold replied: 'Artificial intelligence, ML, machines.'

The public's interest in this topic was apparent from the sheer volume of private citizen attendance at the hearing, DailyMail.com's Matthew Phelan reported live from the event. 

Lawmakers said the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue and share their findings with the American public. 

'There is something out there,' said Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee. 'The question is: Is it ours, is it someone else's, or is it otherworldly?'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

15-11-2024 om 18:13 geschreven door peter  

The Pentagon's latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena

According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is one increasingly common source as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs

The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

While it is not likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House legislators called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs – the government’s term for UFOs.

Federal efforts to study and identify UAPs have focused on potential threats to national security or air safety and not their science fiction aspects. Officials at the Pentagon office created in 2022 to track UAPs, known as the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), have said there is no indication any of the cases they looked into have unearthly origins.

“It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,” the authors of the report wrote. The Pentagon’s review covered 757 cases from around the world that were reported to US authorities from May 1 2023 to June 1 2024.

The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but had not been previously reported. The great majority of the reported incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 occurred at altitudes estimated to be at least 100 kilometres (62 miles), which is considered space.

None occurred underwater. Reporting witnesses included commercial and military pilots as well as ground-based observers.

Investigators found explanations for nearly 300 of the incidents. In many cases, the unknown objects were found to be balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.

According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is one increasingly common source as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs. Hundreds of other cases remain unexplained, though the report’s authors stressed that is often because there is not enough information to draw firm conclusions.

No injuries or crashes were reported in any of the incidents, though a commercial flight crew reported one near miss with a “cylindrical object” while flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. That incident remains under investigation.

In three other cases, military air crews reported being followed or shadowed by unidentified aircraft, though investigators could find no evidence to link the activity to a foreign power. For witnesses who provided visual descriptions, unidentified lights or round, spherical or orb-shaped objects were commonly reported.

Other reports included a witness who reported a jellyfish with flashing lights. During Wednesday’s hearing on UAPs, legislators heard evidence from several expert witnesses who have studied the phenomena, including two former military officers.

The discussion included fanciful questions about alien intelligence and military research using alien technology as well as concerns that foreign powers may be using secret aircraft to spy on US military installations.

Legislators said the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue – and share those findings with Americans. There is something out there,” said Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

15-11-2024 om 17:12 geschreven door peter  

“AARO has successfully resolved hundreds of cases in its holdings to commonplace objects such as balloons, birds, drones, satellites and aircraft,” the office’s director, Jon Kosloski, said in a news release. “Only a very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous, but these are the cases that require significant time, resources and a focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its partners.” 

In the past, U.S. military and intelligence officials have suggested that some UAP sightings may be attributable to intrusions by rival powers such as Russia or China. The Chinese spy balloon that was intercepted and destroyed by Air Force fighter jets last year after crossing over the U.S. serves as a prime example.

AARO’s latest report says that U.S. military aircrews provided two reports over the past year that identified flight safety concerns, and three reports described pilots being trailed or shadowed by anomalous objects. “To date, AARO has no indication or confirmation that these activities are attributable to foreign adversaries,” the report says, but the office is continuing to work with the U.S. intelligence community to investigate the cases.

“None of the reports AARO received during the reporting period indicated that observers suffered any adverse health effects,” the report says.

AARO’s reporting system was established to encourage members of the U.S. military to let the Pentagon know about UAP sightings and take the stigma out of the process. Based on the latest numbers, the strategy seems to be working. Between May 2023 and June 2024, AARO received 757 UAP reports, compared with 291 reports for the period between August 2022 and April 2023.

Here are more statistics from today’s report:

• Of the 757 reports received over the past year, 485 relate to incidents during the yearlong reporting period, and the remaining 272 reports relate to incidents occurring in the 2021-2022 time frame.
• In addition to the 118 resolved cases, another 174 cases have been queued up for closure, pending a final review and approval by AARO’s director. All those cases were attributed to prosaic objects.
• Seventy percent of the closed cases in 2023-2024 were attributed to balloons. Sixteen percent were attributed to drones, 8% to birds, 4% to satellites and 2% to birds.
• AARO determined that 21 cases merited further analysis, based on reported anomalous characteristics or behaviors. Those cases are being studied by AARO’s experts as well as the office’s partners in the intelligence community and the science and tech community. “AARO will provide immediate notification to Congress should AARO identify that any cases indicate or involve a breakthrough foreign adversarial aerospace capability,” the report says.
• The remaining 444 cases received over the past year lacked sufficient data for further analysis. They’ve been placed in an archive and will be revisited if additional data comes to light. AARO says it has 1,652 UAP reports in all.
• In addition to reports from the U.S. military, AARO is receiving reports of sightings by civil and commercial pilots via the Federal Aviation Administration. AARO says 392 of the 757 reports received over the past year came from the FAA.
• AARO says unidentified lights or orb-shaped objects were mentioned most frequently in the subset of UAP reports that included references to visual characteristics. Other reports mentioned cylinders, disks, triangles, squares or exotic objects such as a “green fireball” or “a jellyfish with flashing lights.”

AARO’s global map of UAP reporting hotspots highlights four broad areas: the southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico; the West Coast and Pacific Northwest; the Middle East; and northeastern Asia in the vicinity of Japan and the Korean peninsula. This doesn’t mean the aliens favor those regions. Instead, AARO says the distribution favors a “continued geographic collection bias based on locations near U.S. military assets and sensors operating globally.”

AARO says it’s getting an increasing number of cases that can be traced to sightings of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. “For example, a commercial pilot reported white flashing lights in the night sky,” the report says. “The pilot did not report an altitude or speed, and no data or imagery was recorded. AARO assessed that this sighting of flashing lights correlated with a Starlink satellite launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the same evening about one hour prior to the sighting.”

One of the reports received via the FAA mentioned a possible flight safety issue. “In this instance, a commercial aircrew reported a near miss with a ‘cylindrical object’ while over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York,” the report says. “AARO continues its research into, and analysis of, this case.”

AARO received 18 reports from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that related to UAP incidents near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, weapons and launch sites. NRC officials attributed all those sightings to drones. One of the incidents, in August 2023, involved the recovery of a crashed drone in the vicinity of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan — but AARO provided no further information about the drone.

What more can be done? In today’s report, AARO says its ability to resolve cases has been constrained due to “a lack of timely and actionable sensor data.”

“AARO continues to address this challenge by working with military and technical partners to optimize sensor requirements, information-sharing processes, and the content of UAP reporting,” the report says. “AARO is also expanding engagement with foreign partners to share information and collaborate on best practices for resolving UAP cases.”

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

15-11-2024 om 16:26 geschreven door peter  

Landing 12 people on the moon remains one of NASA's greatest achievements, if not the greatest.

Astronauts on the Apollo missions of the 1960s and '70s collected rocks, took photos, performed experiments, planted flags, and then came home. But those stays didn't establish a lasting human presence on the moon.

More than 50 years after the most recent crewed moon landing — Apollo 17 in December 1972 — there are plenty of reasons to return people to Earth's giant, dusty satellite and stay there.

We're getting closer. In February, a US lunar lander touched down on the moon's surface for the first time since Apollo 17. The uncrewed Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, was designed by the Houston company Intuitive Machines with a $118 million contract from NASA. It was the first commercial mission to touch down on the moon and a huge step toward new human landings.

NASA has promised we will see US astronauts on the moon again soon-ish — maybe by September 2026 at the earliest, in a program called Artemis, which is set to include the first woman, first Black astronaut, and first Canadian to touch the lunar surface.

Jim Bridenstine, who ran NASA during the Trump administration, said it's not science or technology hurdles that have held the US back from doing this sooner.

"If it wasn't for the political risk, we would be on the moon right now," Bridenstine said on a phone call with reporters in 2018. "In fact, we would probably be on Mars."

Why a permanent crewed lunar base is worth it

Researchers and entrepreneurs have long pushed for the creation of a crewed base on the moon — a lunar space station.

"A permanent human research station on the moon is the next logical step. It's only three days away. We can afford to get it wrong and not kill everybody," Chris Hadfield, a former astronaut, previously told Business Insider. "And we have a whole bunch of stuff we have to invent and then test in order to learn before we can go deeper out."

A lunar base could evolve into a fuel depot for deep-space missions, lead to the creation of unprecedented space telescopes, make it easier to live on Mars, and solve long-standing scientific mysteries about Earth and the moon's creation. It could even spur a thriving off-world economy, perhaps one built around lunar space tourism.

But many astronauts and other experts suggest the biggest impediments to making new crewed moon missions a reality are banal and somewhat depressing.

It's really expensive to get to the moon — but not that expensive

A tried-and-true hurdle for any spaceflight program, especially missions that involve people, is the steep cost.

NASA's 2024 budget was $24.9 billion, which may sound like a windfall until you consider that the total gets split among all the agency's divisions and ambitious projects: the James Webb Space Telescope, the giant rocket project called Space Launch System, and far-flung missions to the sun, Jupiter, Mars, the asteroid belt, the Kuiper belt, and the edge of our solar system. 

By contrast, the US defense budget for 2024 is about $883.7 billion.

With such a tight budget, NASA is vulnerable to government gridlocks. Congress was slow to pass its 2024 budget — a delay NASA cited as a major reason for laying off 8% of its workforce at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in February.

Plus, NASA's budget is somewhat small relative to its past.

"NASA's portion of the federal budget peaked at 4% in 1965," Walter Cunningham, an Apollo 7 astronaut, said during congressional testimony in 2015.

In comparison, NASA's 2024 budget represents roughly 0.36% of US spending, according to a report from the Planetary Society. It has fluctuated between 0.4% and 1% since the 1970s, the report said.

Returning to the moon costs a significant chunk of that budget. A 2021 report from NASA estimated that the Artemis program to return people to the moon would cost a total of $93 billion from 2012 through 2025.

The Apollo program, by comparison, cost about $257 billion in today's dollars.

"Manned exploration is the most expensive space venture and, consequently, the most difficult for which to obtain political support," Cunningham said during his 2015 testimony.

He added, according to Scientific American: "Unless the country, which is Congress here, decided to put more money in it, this is just talk that we're doing here."

Referring to Mars missions and a return to the moon, Cunningham said, "NASA's budget is way too low to do all the things that we've talked about."

The problem with presidents

President Joe Biden will no longer be in office in 2026, when NASA plans to send astronauts back to the moon.

And therein lies another major problem: partisan political whiplash.

"Why would you believe what any president said about a prediction of something that was going to happen two administrations in the future?" Hadfield previously told BI. "That's just talk."

The process of designing, engineering, and testing a spacecraft that could get people to another world easily outlasts a two-term president. But incoming presidents and lawmakers often scrap the previous leader's space-exploration priorities.

"I would like the next president to support a budget that allows us to accomplish the mission that we are asked to perform, whatever that mission may be," Scott Kelly, a retired astronaut who spent a year in space, wrote in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread in January 2016, before Donald Trump took office.

But presidents and Congress don't often seem to care about staying the course.

In 2004, for example, the Bush administration tasked NASA to come up with a way to replace the space shuttle, which was set to retire, and also return to the moon. The agency came up with the Constellation program to land astronauts on the moon using a rocket called Ares and a spaceship called Orion.

NASA spent $9 billion over five years designing, building, and testing hardware for that human-spaceflight program.

Yet after President Barack Obama took office — and the Government Accountability Office released a report about NASA's inability to estimate a realistic cost for Constellation — Obama pushed to scrap the program and signed off on the SLS rocket instead.

Trump didn't scrap SLS, but he did change Obama's goal of launching astronauts to an asteroid, shifting priorities to moon and Mars missions. Trump wanted to see Artemis land astronauts back on the moon in 2024.

Such frequent changes to NASA's expensive priorities have led to cancellation after cancellation, a loss of about $20 billion, and years of wasted time and momentum.

Biden seems to be a rare exception to the shifty presidential trend: He hasn't toyed with Trump's Artemis priority for NASA, and he's also kept the Space Force intact.

For Trump's second term, some space industry experts told BI that SpaceX founder Elon Musk could influence the space agenda and help finally get the US back to the moon and, ultimately, to Mars.

Buzz Aldrin said in testimony to Congress in 2015 that he believed the will to return to the moon must come from Capitol Hill.

"American leadership is inspiring the world by consistently doing what no other nation is capable of doing. We demonstrated that for a brief time 45 years ago. I do not believe we have done it since," Aldrin wrote in a statement. "I believe it begins with a bipartisan congressional and administration commitment to sustained leadership."

The real driving force behind that government commitment to return to the moon is the will of the American people, who vote for politicians and help shape their policy priorities. But public interest in lunar exploration has always been lukewarm.

Even at the height of the Apollo program, after Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, only 53% of Americans said they thought the program was worth the cost. For the most part, US approval of Apollo hovered below 50%.

A 2023 Pew Research Poll found most Americans said NASA should continue leading space exploration. But that doesn't mean people care about going back to the moon — only 12% of the 10,329 respondents said NASA should prioritize human lunar missions.

Support for crewed Mars exploration isn't much stronger, with 11% of the poll's respondents saying it should be a NASA priority. Meanwhile, 60% said scanning the skies for killer asteroids was important.

The challenges beyond politics include problematic regolith and eye-popping temperature fluctuations

The political tug-of-war over NASA's mission and budget isn't the only reason people haven't returned to the moon. The moon is also a 4.5-billion-year-old death trap for humans and must not be trifled with or underestimated.

Its surface is littered with craters and boulders that threaten safe landings. The US government spent what would be tens of billions in today's dollars to develop, launch, and deliver satellites to the moon to map its surface and help mission planners scout for Apollo landing sites.

But a bigger worry is what eons of meteorite impacts have created: regolith, also called moon dust.

Following the Apollo missions, scientists quarantined the astronauts for two weeks after they landed, in part because they were worried about the effects of the dust, according to a 2022 NASA study. The fine powder that sits on the moon's surface stuck to their suits and vehicles and even got inside their spacecraft.

Peggy Whitson, an astronaut who has spent 675 days in space, previously told BI that the Apollo missions "had a lot of problems with dust."

"If we're going to spend long durations and build permanent habitats, we have to figure out how to handle that," Whitson said.

There's also a problem with sunlight and deadly solar radiation.

For about 14 days at a time, the side of the moon facing Earth is a boiling hellscape that is exposed directly to the sun's harsh rays; the moon has very little atmosphere, and therefore no protection against solar radiation.

The next 14 days that same side is in total darkness, dipping to temperatures below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit, making the moon's surface one of the colder places in the solar system.

NASA is developing a fission power system that could supply astronauts with electricity during weekslong lunar nights — which would also be useful on other worlds, including Mars.

"There is not a more environmentally unforgiving or harsher place to live than the moon," the astronautical engineer Madhu Thangavelu wrote. "And yet, since it is so close to the Earth, there is not a better place to learn how to live away from planet Earth."

NASA has designed dust- and sun-resistant spacesuits and rovers, though it's uncertain whether that equipment is anywhere near ready to launch.

"I already knew going to the moon was hard," Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II mission commander, said at a press conference in 2023. "But boy, it's harder than I thought."

A generation of billionaire 'space nuts' may get there

Another issue, astronauts say, is NASA's graying workforce. In 2019, more American kids polled said they dreamed about becoming YouTube stars than astronauts.

"You've got to realize young people are essential to this kind of an effort," the Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt previously told BI. "The average age of the people in Mission Control for Apollo 13 was 26 years old, and they'd already been on a bunch of missions."

An estimated 14% of NASA's workforce is over 40 years old, according to a Zippia analysis.

"That's not where innovation and excitement comes from. Excitement comes from when you've got teenagers and 20-year-olds running programs," Rusty Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut, said. "When Elon Musk lands a [rocket booster], his whole company is yelling and screaming and jumping up and down."

Musk is part of what retired astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman has called a "generation of billionaires who are space nuts," developing a new, private suite of moon-capable rockets.

"The innovation that's been going on over the last 10 years in spaceflight never would've happened if it was just NASA and Boeing and Lockheed," Hoffman told journalists during a roundtable in 2018. "Because there was no motivation to reduce the cost or change the way we do it."

Hoffman was referring to the innovative work of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, as well as to Jeff Bezos, who founded the aerospace company Blue Origin.

"There's no question: If we're going to go farther, especially if we're going to go farther than the moon, we need new transportation," Hoffman added. "Right now we're still in the horse-and-buggy days of spaceflight."

Many astronauts' desire to return to the moon aligns with Bezos' long-term vision. Bezos has floated a plan to start building the first moon base using Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket system. 

"We will move all heavy industry off of Earth, and Earth will be zoned residential and light industry," he said in April 2018.

Musk has also spoken at length about how SpaceX's Starship launch system could pave the way for affordable, regular lunar visits.

"My dream would be that someday the moon would become part of the economic sphere of the Earth — just like geostationary orbit and low-Earth orbit," Hoffman said. "Space out as far as geostationary orbit is part of our everyday economy. Someday I think the moon will be, and that's something to work for."

SpaceX successfully launched its complete Starship system in October.

It was a huge feat, proving the reusable rocket could launch toward space and safely come back to Earth.

With space enthusiasts, both public and private, making strides, astronauts don't doubt whether we'll get back to the moon and onto Mars. It's just a matter of when.

"I guess eventually things will come to pass where they will go back to the moon and eventually go to Mars — probably not in my lifetime," said 96-year-old retired astronaut Jim Lovell, who flew to the moon on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13. "Hopefully, they'll be successful."

• This story was originally published on July 14, 2018. It has been updated. 
• Correction: February 27, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the size of NASA's contract with Intuitive Machines. It was $118 million, not $118 billion. A prior version of this story also misstated the number of moonwalkers. During NASA's Apollo program, 12 people landed on the moon.

{https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

14-11-2024 om 21:49 geschreven door peter  

Researchers find strong evidence for “Snowball Earth” theory

Study “presents the first physical evidence that Snowball Earth reached the heart of continents at the equator” says lead author Liam Courtney-Davies.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences presents strong evidence that massive glaciers covered the entire globe during the Cryogenian Period, including thick ice sheets that likely formed over Colorado. Led by the University of Colorado Boulder, the research focuses on the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, where geologists found physical evidence related to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. The study describes a missing link found in an unusual pebbly sandstone encapsulated within the granite that forms Colorado's Pikes Peak.

Liam Courtney-Davies, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geological Sciences at CU Boulder, stated, "This study presents the first physical evidence that Snowball Earth reached the heart of continents at the equator." The discovery that glaciers reached the center of continents, where conditions would have been very dry, deepens the mystery of where and how life survives. Physical evidence that ice sheets covered the interior of continents in warm equatorial regions had eluded scientists until now.

During the Snowball Earth period, around 720 to 635 million years ago, the Earth cooled so much that massive ice sheets encased the entire planet like a giant snowball. Temperatures plummeted, and ice sheets that may have been several miles thick crept over every inch of Earth's surface. Evidence of ice in Colorado dating back 661 million years supports this hypothesis. Scientists believe that ice sheets possibly surrounded the entire planet, even at the equator, where it is warmer today.

Despite decades of research, scientists have not agreed whether the entire globe actually froze during the Snowball Earth period. Initially, geologists were skeptical about finding far more ancient hints of glaciers in tropical regions. It seemed implausible that the planet had ever been cold enough for thick sheets of ice to have reached the equator. The new findings further cement the global Snowball Earth hypothesis, which suggests that this global deep freeze endured for tens of millions of years.

The study focuses on the Tava sandstones, a series of rocks nicknamed the Tavakaiv or "Tava," which hold clues to the frigid period in Earth's past. The Tava rocks are composed of solidified sand injectites, formed when sand-rich fluid was forced into underlying rock, similar to fracking for natural gas or oil. To the untrained eye, the Tava sandstones might seem like ordinary yellow-brown rocks running in vertical bands less than an inch to many feet wide. For geologists, however, they have an unusual history; they likely began as sands at the surface of Colorado at some point in the past.

The researchers used a dating technique called laser ablation mass spectrometry, which zaps minerals with lasers to release some of the atoms inside. Recent advancements in laser-based radiometric dating allowed the researchers to measure the ratio of uranium to lead isotopes in iron oxide minerals, revealing how long ago the individual crystals formed. This allowed them to figure out an age bracket for the sand injectites, which must have formed between 690 million and 660 million years ago, during the Cryogenian Period.

The group suspects that thick ice sheets formed over Colorado during the Snowball Earth period, exposing the sands to intense pressures. The researchers envision the following scenario for how the sand injection happened: A giant ice sheet with areas of geothermal heating at its base produced meltwater, which mixed with quartz-rich sediment below. Similar to fracking for natural gas or oil today, the pressure cracked the rocks and pushed the sandy meltwater in, eventually creating the injectites seen today.

Liam Courtney-Davies says, "These are classic geological features called injectites that often form below some ice sheets, including in modern-day Antarctica." He added, "You have the climate evolving, and you have life evolving with it. All of these things happened during Snowball Earth upheaval." The researchers argue that mineral veins injected into sandstones are a sure sign of a combination of glacial pressure and geothermal heating.

At the time of the Snowball Earth period, Colorado rested over the equator as a landlocked part of the ancient supercontinent Laurentia, and the Tava rocks found on Pikes Peak would have formed close to the equator. If glaciers formed in Colorado, scientists believe they could have formed anywhere on Earth. The Colorado sites fit the criteria of being tropical, low altitude, and far from continental margins at the relevant time.

Rebecca Flowers, co-author of the study and professor of geological sciences at CU Boulder, said, "We're excited that we had the opportunity to unravel the story of the only Snowball Earth deposits that have so far been identified in Colorado." The discovery provides crucial evidence supporting the idea that the entire planet may have been encased in ice.

The findings also have implications for understanding the history of life on Earth. Before the Cryogenian period, life on Earth was dominated by single-celled organisms. After Snowball Earth thawed, the earliest examples of large organisms appeared during the Ediacaran period, which lasted from 635 to 541 million years ago. Scientists still don't understand the processes which led to this explosion in life after Snowball Earth.

Liam Courtney-Davies emphasized the importance of the study, saying, "We have to better characterize this entire time period to understand how we and the planet evolved together." He added, "If such features formed in Colorado during Snowball Earth, they probably formed in other spots around North America, too." The researchers hope that the secrets of these elusive Cryogenian rocks in Colorado will lead to the discovery of further terrestrial records of Snowball Earth.

Such findings can help develop a clearer picture of Earth during climate extremes and the processes that led to the habitable planet we live on today. The researchers' results support that a Great Unconformity near Pikes Peak must have been formed prior to Cryogenian Snowball Earth. This finding is at odds with hypotheses that attribute the formation of the Great Unconformity to large-scale erosion by Snowball Earth ice sheets themselves.

Ultimately, the study not only sheds light on a critical phase in Earth's geologic history but also deepens the mystery of where and how life survives during extreme climate events. The researchers' work underscores the interconnectedness of Earth's climate and the evolution of life, providing new avenues for exploration and understanding.

Sources:

• Science Alert,
• Cosmos,
• Phys.org,
• IFLScience,
• Science Daily

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq

{ https://www.jpost.com/ }

14-11-2024 om 21:19 geschreven door peter  

Welcome to this week’s double-sized installment of The Intelligence Brief… today, the DoD released its 2024 annual report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), within 24 hours of the conclusion of a Congressional hearing on the topic. In our analysis of this week’s UAP double-hit combo, we’ll be looking at 1) significant takeaways from the latest official report on the DoD’s UAP investigations, 2) trends reported by the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and then shifting gears, we’ll examine 3) what former officials told lawmakers on Capitol hill yesterday involving UAP and 4) how claims involving secret U.S. programs and Pentagon disinformation campaigns became a major focal point of yesterday’s hearing.

Quote of the Week

“Let me be clear: UAP are real. Advanced technologies not made by our government—or any other government—are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe.”

– Luis Elizondo

Latest News: In recent news from The Debrief, Avi Loeb provides an update on the release of the Galileo Project’s commissioning data from its first Observatory at Harvard University in a new scientific paper. Elsewhere, tiny “hurricanes of light” could revolutionize the transmission of information in a process described as “halfway between order and chaos.” You’ll find links to all our recent stories at the end of this week’s newsletter. 

Podcasts: In podcasts this week, on the latest installment of The Debrief Weekly Report, Kenna and Stephanie decide to take a dip in a Martian ocean and discuss China’s Mars expedition and its discovery. Meanwhile on The Micah Hanks Program, I provide a deep-dive in to this week’s Congressional UAP hearing. You can find all our past episodes on The Debrief’s Podcasts Page.

Video News: On the latest episode of Rebelliously Curious, Chrissy Newton takes a critical look at the rise of misinformation, manipulation, and cult-like followings in UFO culture. Be sure to check out other great content from The Debrief on our official YouTube Channel.

With all that out of the way, it’s time to dive into the DoD’s latest report on its ongoing investigations into unidentified anomalous phenomena and what a group of lawmakers said about the topic during a congressional hearing earlier this week.

The DoD Just Dropped Its Latest UAP Report

On Thursday, the DoD released the Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, the Pentagon’s latest official annual installment detailing its progress in studying and evaluating unusual phenomena encountered by U.S. military personnel.

The new report covers incidents from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, and any previously undocumented reports from earlier periods. According to the document, the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 757 UAP reports, 485 of which occurred during the most recent reporting period (272 reports were from a period between 2021 and 2022).

Among the key takeaways from the new report, AARO received two reports indicating flight safety concerns, and “three reports described pilots being trailed or shadowed by UAP.”

“To date, AARO has no indication or confirmation that these activities are attributable to foreign adversaries,” the report states, adding that “AARO continues to coordinate with the Intelligence Community (IC) to identify whether these activities may be the result of foreign adversarial activities.”

The new AARO report also says 49 of the cases it received were resolved, 243 were recommended for closure and are pending peer review, and 444 lacked enough data for reliable analysis. Presently, no cases it resolved have been linked to suspected foreign adversarial technologies, nor do any appear to display evidence of advanced capabilities or other scientific or technological breakthroughs.

Unknowns, UAP Trends, and Further Analysis  

However, the report states that “AARO determined 21 cases merit further analysis by its IC and science and technology (S&T) partners,” which the office “is working closely with its IC and S&T partners to understand and attribute,” given that these cases appear to “merit further analysis based on reported anomalous characteristics and/or behaviors.”

The report also says observed UAP morphologies and other attributes remain consistent with traditional observations, with most reported UAP appearing as spherical objects. The report does include several examples of less conventional reported morphologies including descriptions of a “green fire ball,” “a jelly fish with [multicolored] flashing lights,” and a “silver rocket approximately six feet long.”

AARO’s investigations also reveal that the office “increasingly receives cases that it is able to resolve to the Starlink satellite constellation,” as well as sensor artifacts on various systems that lead to misidentification of birds and similar prosaic objects.

The report notes 392 reports AARO received from the FAA, only one of which involved possible flight safety issues arising from a commercial aircrew reporting a near miss with a “cylindrical object” it encountered off the coast of New York, one of several cases AARO is still analyzing.

The report also details the recovery of a crashed unmanned aerial system (UAS) near the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, which was later provided to local law enforcement. As far as any more exotic crash retrievals, the report states that “AARO Possesses No Data to Indicate the Capture or Exploitation of UAP,” although protocols are currently in development in the event such capture were ever to occur. In the recent reporting period, AARO also says it received no reports involving adverse physiological or health effects.

Unclassified diagram detailing AARO’s GREMLIN sensor suite, which employs various sensor capabilities to detect and track UAP in areas of interest

(Credit: DoD/AARO).

AARO also reported that it has begun testing its new GREMLIN sensor system, which the office says “demonstrated functionality and successfully collected data during a test event in March of 2024.”

“The next step for GREMLIN is a 90-day pattern of life collection at a site of national security,” the report states.

UAP and Government Transparency on Capitol Hill

The release of the 2024 annual UAP report was preceded by a congressional hearing on Wednesday, the latest in a series that have recently addressed the UAP subject. Several former officials, including Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, former counterintelligence special agent Luis Elizondo, and former NASA UAP Independent Study Team member Mike Gold, along with independent journalist Michael Shellenberger, spoke before a bipartisan group of lawmakers, who expressed frustration over government secrecy surrounding the Pentagon’s investigations.

Luis Elizondo

(Credit: To The Stars Academy).

“Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs, yes or no?” Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) pointedly asked Elizondo during the hearing.

“Yes,” Elizondo said, also responding in the affirmative to an immediate follow-up from Mace asking if such programs were designed to identify and reverse-engineer alien craft.

Secret Programs and Disinformation Campaigns

Also contributing to the discussion involving alleged secret UAP programs was witness Michael Shellenberger, an independent journalist and founder of Public, who published a report several weeks ago detailing the existence of an alleged secret UAP program called “Immaculate Constellation.” According to Shellenberger’s sources (all of which currently remain on background), the U.S. Executive Branch has concealed the existence of UAP programs for decades without congressional oversight.

Another notable highlight from the recent hearing involved assertions by Gallaudet and Elizondo involving disinformation campaigns carried out by the DoD. Specifically, Elizondo highlighted instances involving information management campaigns that he claims have aimed not only to mislead the public, but also to harm his credibility. Gallaudet also discussed a meeting he attended with AARO officials earlier this year, which he likened to being an “influence operation,” where officials appeared to try and convince him of the possibility that a famous 2004 UAP incident involving an object popularly known as the Tic Tac might have been secret U.S. technology.

When pressed on what UAP might represent, the witnesses offered diverse views. Gallaudet and Elizondo suggested non-human intelligence could be a plausible explanation, while Shellenberger and NASA’s Michael Gold were uncertain about what UAP might be. However, Gold warned against making assumptions, telling Rep. Mace that “the ultimate answer is going to surprise us all.” You can find The Debrief’s complete coverage of Wednesday’s Congressional hearing on our website.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or Tweet at me @MicahHanks.

• You can find the unclassified version of the annual UAP report here.

Here are the top stories we’re covering right now…

• Breakthrough in Photonic Time Crystals: New Material Design Could Revolutionize Light Control and Amplification
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• “PanoRadar”: Penn State Engineers Give Robots Superhuman Vision Using Breakthrough RF-Based 3D Imaging
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• The Oceans of Mars This week on The Debrief Weekly Report…
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• Ancient Interactions with an Enigmatic “Lost” Species Profoundly Shaped Early Human History, New Data Reveals
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• Galileo Project Releases Commissioning Data on Half a Million Aerial Objects: Are Any of Them UAP?
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• “Halfway Between Order and Chaos”: New “Hurricanes of Light” Could Revolutionize Data Transmission and Communication
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{ https://thedebrief.org/category/uap/ }

14-11-2024 om 21:05 geschreven door peter