Is this how the world will end? Earth could be VAPORISED by the sun as it expands, scientists warn

• READ MORE: Astronomers spot an unexpected ‘ghostly object’ 

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have discovered a mysterious 'iron bar' in the heart of a nearby nebula that could offer a glimpse into Earth's grizzly fate.

The strip of ionised iron atoms was spotted stretching across the Ring Nebula, located 2,283 light-years from Earth.

Experts are baffled about how it formed, as scientists have never seen anything like it before. 

But they say it could be the remains of an Earth-like rocky planet that was vaporised by a dying star.

When stars like our sun run out of nuclear fuel at the end of their lives, the outer layers balloon to enormous size even as the core shrinks and cools.

Eventually, the core becomes a tiny white dwarf without enough gravity to hold the star together, and the outer layers are shed to leave behind a planetary nebula.

In about five billion years from now, our sun will undergo the same transformation as it swells into an enormous Red Giant and swallows Earth.

In a new paper, researchers say this never-before-seen structure in the Ring Nebula could reveal what Earth would look like after being destroyed by the sun.

Scientists have spotted a mysterious iron 'bar' at the centre of the Ring Nebula, and it could offer a glimpse of Earth's grim future 

In this new study, scientists looked at the Ring Nebula using a new tool called the Large Integral Field Unit (LIFU), mounted on the William Herschel Telescope.

This is essentially a bundle containing hundreds of fibre-optic wires that allow scientists to look at the different wavelengths of light, or spectra, across the entire face of the nebula.

Lead author Dr Roger Wesson, of Cardiff University and University College London, says: 'By obtaining a spectrum continuously across the whole nebula, we can create images of the nebula at any wavelength and determine its chemical composition at any position.

'When we processed the data and scrolled through the images, one thing popped out as clear as anything – this previously unknown "bar" of ionised iron atoms, in the middle of the familiar and iconic ring.'

The strip of ionised iron atoms was spotted stretching across the Ring Nebula, located 2,283 light-years from Earth

Astronomers believe that the Ring Nebula formed when a dying star shed its outer layers about 4,000 years ago

The researchers aren't actually sure how this strange bar might have been formed, but there are two likely scenarios.

Either the bar was made by some unknown process during the ejection of the nebula as the parent star collapsed, or it is an arc of plasma resulting from the vaporisation of a rocky planet caught up in the star’s earlier expansion.

'We know that there are planets around many stars, and if there were planets around the star that formed the Ring Nebula, they would have vaporised when the star became a red giant,' Dr Wesson told the Daily Mail.

'And the mass of iron in the bar is about what you'd expect from the vaporisation of a planet: if Mercury or Mars were vaporised, that would give a bit less iron than the bar in the Ring, while if Earth or Venus were vaporised, it would give a bit more.'

If the latter is true, then this strange structure could be a fascinating look at how our planet might appear to astronomers billions of years in the future.

Main-sequence stars like our sun are stable because the inward forces of gravity are matched by the outward push of nuclear fusion reactions in the core.

However, when the star runs out of hydrogen fuel, it can't sustain that reaction and the outer layers start to collapse inwards.

The pressure from this collapse creates such intense heat that it can fuse helium atoms into carbon, releasing a surge of energy that kickstarts nuclear fusion in the outer layers.

One possible explanation is that the iron bar is the remains of a rocky planet that was engulfed by its star as the outer layers expanded to form the nebula. Earth is likely to suffer this same fate when the sun starts to run out of fuel in five billion years' time

The outer layers then expand and cool into what is known as a Red Giant, becoming anywhere from 100 to 1,000 times larger.

When this happens to our sun in about five billion years' time, scientists think it is very likely that Earth will be destroyed.

As the sun expands, Earth will either be vaporised by the intense heat or torn to pieces and pulled in by the powerful gravitational tidal forces.

In a paper published last year, scientists found that stars which had already expanded into red giants were much less likely to host large, close–orbiting planets like Earth.

Overall, 0.28 per cent of stars surveyed were home to a giant planet, with the youngest stars in the sequence having planets more frequently.

However, for stars that had already grown enough to be classed as red giants, just 0.11 per cent were home to planets.

When this does happen, Earth might be smeared into something very much like the iron bar seen in the Ring Nebula.

However, the researchers say they still need a lot more evidence before they can say for certain whether the bar was left by a planet.

In about five billion years, scientists say that the sun will burn the last of its hydrogen fuel. When this happens, it will expand to about 200 times its current size to become a red giant and destroy Earth (artist's impression)

Dr Wesson says: 'A vaporised planet is a possibility. But it's not the only possibility, and we'd have to work out how the iron ended up in a bar shape if it did come from a planet. 

'More likely, there are iron "bars" waiting to be found in other nebulae. The more we can find, the more information we will have to determine how they formed, so we're hunting for more of them!'

In the future, the researchers hope to use the LIFU tool to find more nebulae with similar features, to try to figure out where the bar might have come from. 

Co-author Professor Janet Drew, of University College London, says: 'We definitely need to know more - particularly whether any other chemical elements co-exist with the newly-detected iron, as this would probably tell us the right class of model to pursue. 

'Right now, we are missing this important information.'

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO EARTH WHEN THE SUN DIES?

Five billion years from now, it's said the Sun will have grown into a red giant star, more than a hundred times larger than its current size. 

Eventually, it will eject gas and dust to create an 'envelope' accounting for as much as half its mass.

The core will become a tiny white dwarf star. This will shine for thousands of years, illuminating the envelope to create a ring-shaped planetary nebula.

Five billion years from now, it's said the Sun will have grown into a red giant star, more than a hundred times larger than its current size

While this metamorphosis will change the solar system, scientists are unsure what will happen to the third rock from the Sun.

We already know that our Sun will be bigger and brighter, so that it will probably destroy any form of life on our planet.

But whether the Earth's rocky core will survive is uncertain. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

16-01-2026 om 20:38 geschreven door peter  

Black hole awakens after 100 million years of silence – and it's erupting like a cosmic VOLCANO

• READ MORE: Little red dots are 'the most violent forces in the universe'

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Astronomers have captured the moment a 'reborn' supermassive black hole awakened after 100 million years of silence.

Incredible images show the black hole erupting like a 'cosmic volcano', with enough force to reshape its entire host galaxy.

While almost all galaxies host a monstrous supermassive black hole at their heart, few produce such spectacular explosions of superheated plasma.

Spanning almost one million light–years, these plumes of cosmic lava are nearly 10 times wider than the Milky Way.

Lead researcher Dr Shobha Kumari, of Midnapore City College in India, says: 'It's like watching a cosmic volcano erupt again after ages of calm.'

The researchers say their radio images aren't just impressive to look at, but also reveal the hidden violence of the 'messy, chaotic struggle' at the galaxy's core.

The black hole, dubbed J1007+3540, lives inside an enormous galaxy cluster filled with extremely hot gas.

This creates a constant battle between the explosive power of the black hole and the crushing pressure of the surrounding galaxy.

Scientists have captured the moment a supermassive black hole roared back to life after 100 million years of silence, erupting like a 'cosmic volcano' 

Supermassive black holes are the ultra–dense cores of dead stars that collapsed in supernova explosions, with masses up to 10 million times larger than that of the sun.

Their gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape beyond the point of no return known as the 'event horizon'.

Typically, the supermassive black holes at the centre of most galaxies are relatively stable, with the surrounding matter orbiting at a safe distance.

However, these monstrous objects can sometimes start to feed on the surrounding clouds of gas that fill the galactic core and become 'active'.

As matter swirls inwards towards the event horizon like water circling a drain, it starts to move incredibly quickly, and friction heats it to enormous temperatures.

Eventually, these forces become so powerful that the black hole starts shooting a jet of superheated plasma into space that produces a blast of electromagnetic radiation.

This ejects a huge amount of the matter falling into the black hole, which is why astronomers sometimes call black holes 'messy eaters'.

In their new paper, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists used the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands and India's upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to look for radio emissions from J1007+3540.

The supermassive black hole, dubbed J1007+3540, has now become active, shooting a jet of plasma almost 10 times wider than the Milky Way out into space (illustrated)

Why do black holes 'erupt'?

Most supermassive black holes are considered 'dormant', which means they aren't actively feeding on matter.

However, when a black hole starts to feed on matter, it becomes 'active' and begins to produce radiation.

This is because matter swirling around the black hole is superheated to the point that it is shot out in a jet.

This plasma produces large amounts of X–rays and radio radiation that can be detected from Earth as an eruption.

These images showed a compact, bright inner jet of radio–emitting magnetised plasma that is the telltale sign of the black hole's recent awakening.

The researchers also discovered just how profoundly the intense pressures at the heart of the galaxy cluster were shaping the black hole.

As the jets are pushed outwards, they are bent, squeezed and distorted by their extreme environment.

As their radio images show, the topmost 'northern lobe' of the jet has been compressed into a curve that seems to have been shoved sideways by the gases.

However, the astronomer's observations didn't just reveal the secrets of this black hole's current eruption.

Just like the volcanoes here on Earth, J1007+3540 has a long and violent history of eruptions.

Just outside the bright inner jet, astronomers spotted a cocoon of older, faded plasma.

This is the leftover debris from past eruptions that has been squeezed and distorted by the hostile environment.

Uniquely, the researchers discovered the remains of previous 'eruptions' surrounding the active black hole (artist's impression). This suggests that this cosmic volcano has erupted multiple times in the past 

Dr Kumari says: 'This dramatic layering of young jets inside older, exhausted lobes is the signature of an episodic AGN [Active Galactic Nucleus] – a galaxy whose central engine keeps turning on and off over cosmic timescales.'

In our own galaxy, the supermassive black hole at the galactic core is currently dormant.

Read More

• Newly discovered galaxy cluster could rewrite our understanding of the universe, experts say 

However, scientists do believe that the black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, could make a similar eruption.

If this were to happen, Sagittarius A* would produce its own jets or plasma that could fundamentally reshape the universe.

While Earth would likely be protected from any radiation, a direct hit from one of those jets would be strong enough to wipe out life on Earth.

But there's no need to worry as scientists think this won't happen until the Milky Way collides with our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), in 2.4 billion years.

BLACK HOLES HAVE A GRAVITATIONAL PULL SO STRONG NOT EVEN LIGHT CAN ESCAPE

Black holes are so dense and their gravitational pull is so strong that no form of radiation can escape them - not even light.

They act as intense sources of gravity which hoover up dust and gas around them. Their intense gravitational pull is thought to be what stars in galaxies orbit around.

How they are formed is still poorly understood. Astronomers believe they may form when a large cloud of gas up to 100,000 times bigger than the sun, collapses into a black hole.

Many of these black hole seeds then merge to form much larger supermassive black holes, which are found at the centre of every known massive galaxy.

Alternatively, a supermassive black hole seed could come from a giant star, about 100 times the sun's mass, that ultimately forms into a black hole after it runs out of fuel and collapses.

When these giant stars die, they also go 'supernova', a huge explosion that expels the matter from the outer layers of the star into deep space. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

16-01-2026 om 20:00 geschreven door peter  

7 Truly Bizarre UFO Sightings the Government Can’t (or Won’t) Explain

By Ashley Fike

The problem with UFO sightings isn’t a lack of explanations. It’s that some explanations feel designed to end the conversation rather than answer it. A small number of cases stick around because they were witnessed by people who know what they’re looking at, supported by data that exists on paper, and followed by official responses that never fully resolve what happened. That unresolved space is where the discomfort and fascination live.

Here are 7 truly bizarre UFO sightings that investigators never fully closed the book on.

1) The Navy “Tic Tac” that started a modern UAP era

In 2004, U.S. Navy pilots launched from the USS Nimitz and encountered an oblong object off Southern California that didn’t match any known aircraft behavior. It dropped from high altitude to near sea level in seconds, hovered, then vanished. Years later, the Pentagon authorized the release of video footage tied to the encounter, confirming the pilots weren’t exaggerating.

2) The Tehran incident where systems reportedly failed mid-intercept

A glowing object over Tehran in 1976 drew enough attention that Iranian jets were sent to intercept it. According to a declassified U.S. report, pilots experienced sudden instrument and communications failures as they approached, forcing them to break off pursuit.

3) Japan Airlines Flight 1628 and the “what is THAT” cockpit energy

A Japan Airlines cargo flight over Alaska reported unusual lights and a large object in 1986, none of which lined up with what the aircraft’s instruments were showing. The encounter was logged by the FAA and later surfaced through FOIA releases, with no definitive explanation attached.

4) Rendlesham Forest, aka the UK’s most documented “what did we see”

U.S. Air Force personnel stationed near RAF Woodbridge reported unexplained lights moving through the surrounding forest, close enough to call for an on-the-ground investigation. The late-80s incident later entered the official record through a memo written by Lt. Col. Charles Halt, now preserved in the UK National Archives

5) The 1952 Washington, D.C. radar-visual flap

In July 1952, radar operators at Washington National Airport detected unidentified targets moving through restricted airspace, while pilots and people on the ground reported strange lights overhead. The incident drew national attention and became one of the most scrutinized cases of the early Air Force investigation era.

6) Shag Harbour, when Canada treated a “UFO crash” like a rescue call

Witnesses saw lights descend toward the water near Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, in 1967, and authorities responded as if something had crashed. Search teams arrived expecting wreckage. What they found instead was a patch of yellow foam, empty water, and no missing aircraft to explain it. The incident closed without resolution, which is exactly why it still gets mentioned.

7) The Belgian wave, complete with F-16s getting involved

During a surge of UFO reports across Belgium in 1989 and 1990, sightings became frequent enough that authorities took them seriously. At one point, the situation escalated to fighter jets being scrambled during a night of intense reports. The episode now lives in official summaries held in the UK National Archives.

The unsettling cases aren’t the flashy ones. They’re the ones that were taken seriously, documented carefully, and then abandoned. No grand conclusion. No follow-up. Just a record that something happened and nobody figured out what to do with it.

{ https://www.vice.com/en/category/life/ }

16-01-2026 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

British intelligence agency investigated UFOs, secret documents show

“Logic would indicate that if significant numbers are reporting seeing strange objects in the sky then there may be a basis in fact,” a 1997 Defense Intelligence Staff memo said.

 { https://www.jpost.com/ }

15-01-2026 om 23:39 geschreven door peter  

The Real-Life Influence of Mythical Creatures in Ancient Cultures

Gary Manners

For centuries, many ancient civilizations were truly fascinated by mythical beings and beliefs that they thought were nothing short of real. In fact, mythical creatures are present in virtually every ancient culture, and span from believable to those bordering something truly alien. From dragons, sea monsters, and griffins, all the way to fauns, centaurs, and minotaurs, these fantastical beings usually mirrored the fears, beliefs, and aspirations of ancient societies. In this way, they often shaped their literature, art, and lifestyles, showing how ideals can be embodied in things imagined. But could there be a real-life origin to these beliefs and creatures? Could they have been inspired by real-world phenomena, or simply misinterpreted natural events?

• Largest Jade Dragon Unearthed at Hongshan Culture Mound
• Ye Olde Dragon Slayer: The Legend of St George (Video)

Guardians, Destroyers, Prophets

Amongst the most enduring mythical creatures, which were present in so many ancient cultures, are the dragons. Appearing frequently in folklore and tales from China in the east to Europe in the west, and elsewhere, these mighty creatures continue to captivate even today, in the modern age. What makes them so popular, and how did they influence cultures? In China for example, and in East Asia in general, where civilizations flourished for thousands of years, the dragon (known as lóng (loong)) usually symbolized wisdom, wealth, prosperity, and power. Usually depicted as serpentine and brooding, they were connected with the water, rain, fertility, and good fortune in general. Their influence was so great that even emperors adopted them as symbols of divine authority and might. Their garments, thrones, and palaces were decorated with flowing dragons, both carved and painted. In this way, the dragons became intermediaries between the heavens and the earth.

• Marduk: Babylonian King of Gods and Reportedly Liberator of the Jews
• The Supernatural Beliefs of Medieval People—From Elves and Fairies to Abductions and the Undead

Long dragon. Fragment of the Nine Dragon Wall in Forbidden City, Beijing

(Jakub Hałun/CC BY-SA 4.0)

In stark contrast, however, the dragons of the Western world were not benevolent creatures. Instead, they were often seen as destructive and greedy, hoarding great treasures and devastating the peaceful countryside. In many European legends, heroes arose to slay dragons and put an end to their devastation. Notable such legends are Siegfried in the German heroic tales, or Saint George the Dragonslayer. Their victories over dragons symbolize the triumph of good over evil and the human conquest of chaos. These contrasting perceptions highlight cultural differences in humanity’s relationship with nature: Eastern traditions revered balance, while Western myths often portrayed nature as a force to be subdued.

Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau, 1889/1890.

(Public Domain)

The myth of the dragons often had real-life origins. In Europe, the ancient cultures personified the destructive nature of the summer sun, which caused droughts and crop failures, with dragons - fire breathing monsters. Their appearance, which endures to this day, could have been inspired by fossils of large prehistoric animals, or through exaggerated tales of encounters with crocodiles and monitor lizards. Early mapmakers placed dragon illustrations in unexplored territories, reinforcing fears of the unknown and cautioning against venturing into uncharted lands.

The Fear of the Unknown

Mythical creatures in the ancient world often influenced real-life experiences as symbols of danger or something to be cautious about. This often pertains to early maritime navigation, as the oceans - and the lands beyond them - were often perilous to explore. This gave birth to the myths of sea monsters. In imaginations of ancient maritime cultures, these beings were aplenty, symbolizing the dangers of the sea. In Greek mythology, for example, there were creatures such as Scylla and Charybdis, posing as major threats to all sailors, just as seen in the Odyssey. These tales, however, were reflected in real life. They highlighted themes of perseverance and ingenuity, teaching mariners to respect the unpredictable power of the ocean and to, paradoxically, motivate them to persevere in maritime exploration.

Painting of Odysseus's boat passing between mythical creatures, the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Scylla has plucked Five of Odysseus's men from the boat. The painting is an Italian fresco.

(Public Domain)

Such myths existed even in the murky ages before the Greeks arose. In Mesopotamian mythology, the sea monster Tiamat represented the primordial chaos, the salt water, and the creation. Her defeat by the god Marduk, as recounted in the epic tale Enūma Eliš, marked the establishment of order and the birth of the cosmos. Similarly, the Leviathan in Hebrew scriptures symbolized divine power and judgment, underscoring humanity’s vulnerability in the face of the divine.

There is no doubt that many of these sea monster myths were inspired by real-life encounters with large marine creatures. For example, ancient mariners who sighted giant squids or the enormous oarfish, might have described mighty krakens. Similarly, sightings of whales, walruses, or narwhals could have sparked the imaginations of any who saw them. But ultimately, they served as cautionary tales for would-be navigators, and influenced ancient cultures to preserve their own territories, instead of venturing into the great unknown.

Imagination Running Wild

To better convey real-life lessons and concepts, ancient mythical creatures were often larger-than-life, extraordinary beings, with inexplicable and impossible features. How else were the people to fear them and, after all, believe in their existence? And so it was that unique, “hybrid” creatures, which combined the elements of several beings, came to play a significant role in ancient art and belief. A notable example is the griffin, a mythical creature with origins in Ancient Greece. With the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, this mighty being symbolized strength and vigilance. Revered in Persian, Greek, and Scythian cultures, griffins were often depicted guarding treasures or sacred sites. Their protective role extended to royal power, as seen in gold artifacts adorned with griffin motifs. Interestingly, the Greeks fervently believed that these creatures actually existed, particularly in the northern lands, amongst the Scythians.

A similar creature is the chimera, also originating in Greece, which had the heads of a lion, goat, and serpent. This abhorrent being represented chaos and danger, serving as a warning in real-life concepts. Mythical heroes such as Bellerophon, who defeated the chimera with the help of the horse Pegasus, embodied the virtues of bravery and resourcefulness. In this way, these mythical beings served as a way to promote good virtues in real life, contributing to an orderly and noble society. By reinforcing cultural values and providing tales of human triumph over evil and hardship, these creatures influenced men to always strive to do better, and to fight and protect what was their own.

Such creatures were present in other major cultures of the ancient world, usually having protective roles. In Ancient Egypt, the lion-human hybrids - the Sphinxes - guarded temples and protected the people, while in ancient Assyria the similarly-looking Lamassu stood proudly as sentinels near city gates. By blending artistry with spirituality, these majestic beings conveyed a sense of awe, fear, and inspiration, ensuring protection and instilling fear in all opponents. As such, they were an effective deterrent of enemies, many of whom believed in the wrath of these guardian beings. 

Cast from the original in Iraq, this is one of a pair of five-legged lamassu with lion's feet in Berlin 

(Lusitana/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Could These Beings Have Origins in Nature?

There are many popular theories indicating that the mythical creatures of ancient history have origins in something natural, or some real-world phenomena. It is possible that ancient peoples, having discovered fossils and large animal bones, having no knowledge about prehistoric creatures, crafted imaginary tales of giants, dragons, and centaurs. A notable example is the theory that Protoceratops dinosaur fossils found in Central Asia could have influenced the legends of the griffins. Their skeletons resemble winged creatures, and the people could simply have built their myths upon such remains. There are those, however, who dispute this theory.

“Invoking a role for dinosaurs in griffin lore, especially species from distant lands like Protoceratops, not only introduces unnecessary complexity and inconsistencies to their origins, but also relies on interpretations and proposals that don’t withstand scrutiny. It is important to distinguish between fossil folklore with a factual basis - that is, connections between fossils and myth evidenced by archaeological discoveries or compelling references in literature and artwork - and speculated connections based on intuition. There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea that ancient peoples found dinosaur bones and incorporated them into their mythology, but we need to root such proposals in realities of history, geography and paleontology. Otherwise, they are just speculation.”

Dr. Richard Hing, University of Portsmouth (Source)

Encounters with unfamiliar animals also fueled myths. The narwhal’s tusk, often mistaken for a unicorn horn, contributed to the enduring legend of the unicorn. Similarly, the exaggerated accounts of sailors encountering manatees may have given rise to mermaid stories. These examples highlight how human curiosity and imagination transformed natural observations into fantastical narratives. We can only imagine the shock and awe an ancient person could have experienced upon seeing an exotic animal. Ancient Greek explorers, venturing into Africa or Asia, could have seen elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, pythons, crocodiles, or any other odd-looking animals and - being in disbelief - instantly characterize them as beings of myth and legend.

A traditional depiction of the griffin

(Public Domain)

The Influence of Mythical Creatures on Art and Literature

Just one glimpse at ancient art of major civilizations, such as the Greeks, the Minoans, the Romans, or Egyptians, is enough to tell us that their myths were very important to them. From pottery to frescoes, to complex sculptures and architecture, the mythical creatures of old are represented everywhere. And they weren’t mere decorative elements, but served as cultural symbols as well. A notable example is the famed Ishtar Gate of Babylon, adorned with dragons and bulls, which clearly showed the integration of mythical creatures into monumental architecture.

Epic literature was likewise heavily influenced by mythology, with many references to mythical beings. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh features Humbaba, a guardian monster, while Beowulf recounts the hero’s battles with the monstrous Grendel and a dragon. These stories not only entertained but also imparted moral lessons and preserved cultural values. Ancient Greek literature was likewise heavily steeped in mythology, containing many encounters with beings such as centaurs, unicorns, minotaurs, the Medusa, the cyclops, and many others. And in all of these tales a unified message was contained - the man’s fight against the forces of evil.

Humbaba, demon guardian of the Cedar Forest.

(Rama/CC BY SA 3.0)

And even today, real life is influenced by ancient mythical creatures. Popular movies often contain many of these creatures, and old legends still serve as inspiration, centuries later. Dragons, elves, giants, unicorns, and phoenixes remain a staple in literature, films, and art, embodying themes of power, purity, and resilience. Their enduring appeal clearly reflects humanity’s deep-seated fascination with the unknown and the extraordinary, which endures for thousands of years.

Myth and Reality, Entwined

In ancient cultures, mythical creatures were more than imaginary beings, they were mirrors of human fears, hopes, and beliefs. Whether as symbols of divine power, representations of natural phenomena, or lessons in morality, these creatures shaped the cultural and spiritual landscapes of civilizations. And as we explore their origins and significance, we gain a richer understanding of the ancient world and the timeless power of myth.

Looking back at our own histories, of our respective nations, we can quickly stumble upon odd myths and unique creatures that have far-reaching roots. All that is left is to ask ourselves - how did they influence or inspire us?

• Top image: Myth of Tiamat the primordial goddess of the ocean rising from the waters ancient Mesopotamian myth swirling sea serpents chaos and creation.
• Source: Stock Source/Adobe Stock

By Aleksa Vučković

References

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends }

15-01-2026 om 23:12 geschreven door peter  

UFOs shapshift across sky, Cassatt, South Carolina, USA Jan 10, 2026, UFO UAP Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Jan 10, 2026

Location of sighting: Cassatt, South Carolina, USA

Source: NUFORC

 

Hey all, check this out. An eyewitness  in South Carolina caught glowing light entities flying over the area. These objects change shape as they were traveling and they appear to have noticed him and were flying lower and were trying to get his attention. Such things are on purpose so that aliens can gradually get people use to seeing such things and not being afraid of them. Yes, fear is the #1 emotion most humans will feel within themselves if they saw such an entity just meters away hovering in front of them...and these entities...can read our emotions...feel our emotions and are sensitive to harming others...and fear is considered harmful to them. So they read our thoughts and feelings to insure they do no harm. 

Scott C. Waring 

 

Eyewitness states: 

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

15-01-2026 om 22:35 geschreven door peter  

One of the most ambitious hunting expeditions in history — the search for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations — is getting a new lease on life. The SETI@Home project, which has attracted more than 2 million enthusiasts from around the world, is completing its analysis of a colossal array of data collected by the legendary Arecibo telescope. Despite the destruction of the observatory, scientists now have a unique “golden hundred” of candidate signals for detailed verification.

The idea of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) faces a fundamental problem: space is filled with radio noise from stars, gas, and other natural sources. It is incredibly difficult to pick out a possible technological signal from this chaos. In 1999, a team of scientists decided to enlist the help of the entire planet. They asked volunteers to install a special program on their home computers that would analyze real data from Arecibo in the background. They expected 50,000 participants, but ended up with a true global collective mind — millions of people from 100 countries used their home computers to help science.

The Legacy of Areisibo

Over the course of 21 years, volunteers sifted through the information and identified more than 12 billion “interesting” signals. Now, this list has been narrowed down to the 100 most promising ones. Their detailed verification has been entrusted to a new giant — the Chinese FAST radio telescope, the world’s largest single-dish antenna. This is a symbolic passing of the baton from the late Arecibo, who in 1974 sent the famous message about humanity into space.

So far, none of the candidate signals has provided irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. However, as project co-founder David Anderson notes, this work is of immense value: “If we don’t find aliens, we can say that we have established a new level of sensitivity. We have a long list of things we would do differently.”

Path to future discoveries

SETI@Home has concluded as a large-scale experiment in citizen science. It has not only sifted through cosmic noise, but also created an invaluable database of knowledge and methodologies. This experience will serve as a foundation for future, even more accurate searches, proving that the most complex scientific problems can be solved through the combined efforts of all humanity.

Earlier, we explained the reasons behind humanity’s failure to detect extraterrestrial life to date.

• According to berkeley.edu

• Posted in News, Tech

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

15-01-2026 om 22:23 geschreven door peter  

Little red dots in deep space are 'the most violent forces in the universe', study finds - solving a mystery that has baffled scientists for decades

• READ MORE: Scientists are baffled by a blast from a supermassive black hole

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have solved one of the universe's great mysteries as they finally reveal the identity of the 'little red dots' in deep space.

Ever since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) started peering back into the dawn of the universe, experts have been perplexed by the appearance of these tiny red dots.

Astronomers found hundreds of the faint lights in images from when the universe was only a few hundred million years old, without any clue what they might be.

Now, scientists from the University of Copenhagen have revealed that the JWST's little red dots are actually 'the most violent forces in nature'.

According to a new study, published in the journal Nature, the red dots are actually supermassive black holes concealed in 'cocoons of ionised gas'.

As these young black holes feed on their cocoon, the swirling matter creates a vast amount of heat and radiation that shines out through the cloud of gas.

Lead author Professor Darach Watson says: 'We have captured the young black holes in the middle of their growth spurt at a stage that we have not observed before.

'The dense cocoon of gas around them provides the fuel they need to grow very quickly.'

Scientists say that the mysterious 'little red dots' discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (pictured) are actually ancient supermassive black holes 

When the first little red dots were discovered, they presented a baffling puzzle for astronomers of the early universe.

The dots first appear in images from around 13 billion years ago, and simply disappear about a billion years later.

At first, scientists thought that the dots must be very young galaxies in their earliest stages of formation.

However, this didn't fit with our understanding of how the universe evolved after the Big Bang, as the first galaxies shouldn't have been visible until much later.

Others suggested that the dots might be black holes, ultra-dense bodies formed by the collapse of enormous stars, but there was another problem.

Scientists couldn't explain how any black hole could have become big enough to form a red dot so soon after the Big Bang.

Professor Watson's solution is that the black holes that form little red dots are actually much smaller than previously thought.

He says: 'When gas falls towards a black hole, it spirals down into a kind of disk or funnel towards the surface of the black hole.

Ever since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) started peering back into the dawn of the universe, astronomers have been perplexed by the appearance of these tiny red dots

Now scientists say that these dots are actually young black holes wrapped in a cocoon of ionised gases, giving them a distinctive red glow 

'It ends up going so fast and is squeezed so densely that it generates temperatures of millions of degrees and lights up brightly.'

'The red colour arises because the UV and X-ray radiation from the central black hole is absorbed and reprocessed by the ionised gas around it, which gives it the characteristic red colour and spectra that look reminiscent of a star. 

Professor Watson and his co-authors looked at the spectral emission lines, the 'fingerprint' of the light being released, from several little red dots.

Just as they had suspected, these spectral lines were missing much of their UV and X-ray radiation, suggesting that the light was passing through a cloud of gas. 

More importantly, this data also shows that little red dots are far smaller than previously thought.

 Professor Watson told the Daily Mail: 'They are quite small - only a few light days or weeks at most. 

'The only mechanism we know in the universe that can dump that much energy in such a small volume is a BH.'

In fact, their analysis shows that the masses of these objects are about 100 times lower than astronomers had assumed.

Even though they are up to 10 million times more massive than the sun, these black holes are still around 100 times smaller than previously estimated. This makes them much more consistent with theories about the evolution of the universe (artist's impression)

Even though these would be some of the smallest black holes ever discovered, they are still up to 10 million times more massive than the sun and have diameters of over 6.2 million miles (10 million km).

However, that is still 'small' enough to be consistent with our understanding of how black holes formed after the Big Bang.

The researchers say this discovery could shed light on how black holes appeared so quickly in the early universe.

These young black holes' feeding frenzies could allow them to grow at speeds close to the maximum theoretical rate, known as the Eddington Limit.

That could explain why astronomers have started to discover black holes with masses up to a billion times greater than the sun, just 700 million years after the Big Bang.

'We found that the black hole masses are 10 to 100 times smaller than previously supposed, and that they are accreting gas at the limit, so these facts ease up very much on the problem of how they grow so fast,' says Professor Watson. 

'These black holes are more like one of the missing links between stellar mass black holes and the real monster black holes that lie in quasars that are 1000 times larger than the Little Red Dots.'

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15-01-2026 om 22:07 geschreven door peter  

China applies to launch 200,000 satellites into space, sparking concerns they plan to build a 'mega-constellation'

• READ MORE: NASA sets historic date for returning Americans to the moon

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

China has applied to launch almost 200,000 satellites into space, sparking concerns that the nation seeks to build a 'mega-constellation'.

On December 29, a newly formed body called the Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilisation and Technological Innovation filed applications for two satellite constellations.

Each of these enormous collections of spacecraft, dubbed CTC-1 and CTC-2, would contain 96,714 satellites spread over 3,660 different orbits.

If completed, China's new mega-constellation would dwarf even SpaceX's bold ambition to put 49,000 Starlink satellites in orbit.

Together, CTC-1 and CTC-2 would be the largest assembly of satellites ever put in orbit, and would effectively lock competitors out of a region of low-Earth orbit.

With Chinese authorities remaining quiet about the satellites' intended use, experts have raised concerns that the constellation may pose a security or defence threat.

As reported by China in Space, the Nanjing University of Aeronautics claims that the satellites will focus on: 'Low-altitude electromagnetic space security, integrated security defence systems, electromagnetic space security assessment of airspace, and low-altitude airspace safety supervision services.'

This suggests the constellations may play a similar role to the SpaceX Starshield satellites used by the US military for secure tracking and communications.

China has filed an application to launch almost 200,000 satellites into orbit, sparking concerns that the country might be building a mega-constellation (stock image) 

These applications were filed with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a UN body that allocates spectrum allowances in space.

With the applications filed, other operators will need to demonstrate to the ITU that new satellites in this orbit won't interfere with the constellation's operations.

These satellites may have any number of benign functions, from tracking extreme weather and providing navigation for aircraft to offering Starlink-style communication services.

However, the applications come at a time of increasing tension between the space ambitions of China and the US.

Not only are the two nations racing to be the first to establish a permanent presence on the moon, but they are also competing for dominance in the field of low-Earth orbit.

Military satellites form part of the so-called 'kill mesh', an automated network linking sensors, satellites, communications systems and weapons.

In the war in Ukraine, satellite communications and the ability to jam the enemy's own satellites have been critical to shaping the conflict.

Additionally, analysts have recently become concerned that the behaviour of China's satellites is becoming increasingly erratic and dangerous.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has increasingly pursued space capacity to provide communications and surveillance. Experts are concerned that this new constellation could form part of that capacity 

The constellation may be similar to Starlink's Starshield system for secure communications, which has been used to great effect by Ukrainian troops fighting Russia's invasion (pictured) 

China appears to be testing several 'fast movers' capable of moving around the geostationary orbit belt (GEO), lifting falling satellites back into orbit or potentially sabotaging US space assets.

Speaking at an event at Chatham House in March, Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lerch, deputy chief of Space Operations for Intelligence with the U.S. Space Force, said: 'There are a number of what the Chinese refer to as these experimental communication satellites that are out in GEO, and yet these GEO satellites.

'They’re sliding, or they’re moving very frequently across the GEO belt, which is a behaviour that is very uncharacteristic of a satellite that’s intended to provide satellite communication.'

Mr Lerch added: 'We [U.S. Space Force] see great risk right now because of the unprecedented growth, as well as the unmanaged competition.'

For its part, China has been clear that it sees space as a legitimate frontier for competition with the US.

As early as 2021, President Xi Jinping claimed that space was an 'important strategic asset for the country that must be well managed and utilised and, more importantly, protected.'

China now has approximately 1,000 satellites in orbit, marking a significant increase from around 40 satellites in 2010.

While these two new constellations might become part of China's growing military space presence, the more serious worry is that they may be part of a 'land grab'.

China has been clear that it sees space as a legitimate area for competition, with President Xi Jinping (pictured) calling space 'an important strategic asset for the country'

By staking their claim with the ITU, the Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilisation and Technological Innovation has effectively locked off a huge section of GEO.

Under the ITU's rules, they must launch at least one satellite within seven years of the initial filing, with another seven years to complete launching all the satellites.

China might have legitimate aims to build the constellations, but there is nothing preventing China from filing a 'dummy' application to lock off a section of space for later use.

Victoria Samson, Chief Director of space security and stability for Secure World Foundation, told New Scientist: 'It is possible they’re just trying to create some space for later on.'

This would not be the first time that a nation has attempted such a manoeuvre.

In 2021, Rwanda filed an application for a constellation of 327,000 satellites in 27 orbits that it had absolutely no realistic ability complete.

Similarly, it seems extraordinarily unlikely that China even has the capacity to complete CTC-1 and CTC-2 if it wanted to.

China's commercial sector can currently produce about 300 spacecraft per year, with plans to expand up to 600, while the state can produce several hundred more.

China does not have the rocket launch capacity to realistically complete this project, launching only 94 rockets last year. This makes it likely that the application is a form of 'land grab' to secure orbital space for future use. Pictured: A Chinese Long March-2F rocket launches in October 2025

However, China would need to launch 500 satellites per week, every week, for seven years to get 200,000 satellites in orbit.

In 2025, China launched a record 92 rockets into space but hundreds, if not thousands, would be needed to complete the project.

Even within China, experts don't seem to seriously believe that this project will ever be completed.

Yang Feng, General Manager of commercial satellite maker Spacety, told China Daily: 'Leading in terms of filing applications does not mean surpassing in final execution.

'Turning these plans into operational constellations faces major challenges in terms of systems engineering, manufacturing and launch capacity.'

This makes it more likely that China is simply attempting to secure a large section of orbit for later use.

Perhaps ironically, this move comes just weeks after China lambasted SpaceX for creating 'safety and security' concerns by locking off sections of orbit with its own satellite constellations.

'With the unchecked proliferation of commercial satellite constellations by a certain country, in the absence of effective regulation, has given rise to pronounced safety and security challenges,' a Chinese representative said at an informal UN Security Council event.

THE NINE FIRMS WORKING ON NASA'S RETURN TO THE MOON

Astrobiotics' Peregrine lander is one of the many in the running

Astrobotic Technology : The Pittsburgh-based firm was founded in 2008 by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker. It was among the many teams that participated in Google’s $20 million Lunar XPrize, which shut down this year without a winner.

Astrobiotic’s lunar lander, dubbed Peregrine, stands on four shock-absorbing legs and attaches to the launch vehicle via a standard clamp.

'The Peregrine Lander precisely and safely delivers payloads to lunar orbit and the lunar surface on each mission,' the firm says.

'Payloads can be mounted above or below the decks, and can remain attached or deployed according to their needs.'

Deep Space Systems: The systems engineering company from Colorado is long been a subcontractor to NASA and other aerospace giants, including Lockheed Martin. 

The firm develops everything from plans and interface control documents to ground software tools for missions. Deep Space Systems says it focuses on the ‘the design, development, integration, testing and operations of science and exploration spacecraft.’

 Their lunar lander concept is a rover that appears to feature smaller scouting robots that can be deployed.

Draper: The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based laboratory is a not-for-profit research and development organization. Draper develops everything from autonomous systems and biomedical solutions to systems. 

Notably, Drapers accomplishments include a device that measures cabin air on the International Space Station to check for volatile organic compounds.

The firm’s concept lander, dubbed Artemis-7, will sit on four mechanical legs to carry out sample collection and return.

Firefly Aerospace: Firefly showed off a concept for a commercial launch vehicle and a lunar lander. 

While the firm hasn’t released much detail just yet, it appears to be a three-stage system upon which the lander sits at the very top.

Intuitive Machines: The Houston-based firm also unveiled a concept lander that looks much like R2D2. 

The Nova-C lander is the key component of its Lunar Payload and Data Service plan. It’s capable of 24/7 data coverage, and can hold a payload of at least 85 kg.

The firm says it can land anywhere on the moon.

The Houston-based firm also unveiled a concept lander that looks much like R2D2 (left). Firefly showed off a concept for a commercial launch vehicle and a lunar lander (right)

Lockheed Martin: The aerospace giant unveiled its McCandless Lunar Lander, named after late NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless.

Lockheed Martin named its lunar lander after late NASA astronaut, Bruce McCandless

It’s ‘capable of transporting large payloads weighing hundreds of kilograms – including stationary scientific instruments, deployable rovers, or even sample return vehicles – to the surface of the Moon,’ the firm says.

‘The lander uses a proven propulsive landing approach that relies upon on-board radars and a set of rocket thrusters firing 10 times a second to slow to just five mph before touching down. 

'Once on the lunar surface, the lander can provide power, communications and thermal management for sophisticated payloads.’

Masten Space Systems: Masten’s XL-1 is a ‘small, single use lander’ that can carry 100-kg payload.

‘The XL-1 is designed to offer a mission duration that is minimally sufficient to land on the lunar surface, transmit payload activation commands, and activate the payload release/deployment mechanism,’ the firm says.

Masten’s XL-1 is a ‘small, single use lander’ that can carry 100-kg payload

Moon Express: Cape Canaveral-based Moon Express was previously pegged to develop a fleet of low-cost robotic spacecraft that can be assembled like Legos.

The initial spacecraft, known as MX-1E,is a similar size and shape to the R2D2 droid from Star Wars. It will hop across the lunar surface on its legs.

Last year, the firm said it hoped its ‘Harvest Moon’ expedition will take place by 2020, including the first commercial sample return mission, which also begins the business phase of lunar resource prospecting.

Orbit Beyond: The New Jersey firm unveiled a four-legged concept lander that could soon be used to deliver payloads to the moon. The firm has yet to reveal more details on the project.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

15-01-2026 om 21:43 geschreven door peter  

NASA has carried out the first-ever medical evacuation of astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS), rushing a four-person crew back to Earth after an in-orbit health emergency.

The Crew-11 capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California at approximately 3:41am ET on Thursday, ending a roughly 10-hour return flight after leaving the ISS the day prior.

The return was prompted by a medical issue that NASA flight surgeons determined could not be fully treated in microgravity.

On board were NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. 

The spacecraft fired its engines to deorbit at 2:50am before enduring a fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, deploying four parachutes to slow its descent into the ocean moments before splashdown.

A recovery vessel with medical personnel retrieved the capsule at sea, conducted immediate health assessments, and transported the astronauts by helicopter and jet to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for further evaluation.

The American space agency has declined to identify the affected crew member or disclose the nature of the condition, citing medical privacy.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman decided to bring the crew home early out of an abundance of caution, noting that the astronaut's medical episode was considered 'serious' and would require additional medical care on Earth. 

The spacecraft fired its engines to deorbit at 2:50am before enduring a fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, deploying four parachutes to slow its descent into the ocean

Crew-11 before leaving the ISS. Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov (Back left), NASA astronaut Mike Fincke (Front left), JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui (Front right), and NASA's Zena Cardman (Back right)

A live press briefing was held about one hour after the crew returned to Earth, where Isaacman said the crew member of concern is doing fine, and NASA will release more when possible.

NASA's chief medical officer, Dr James Polk, said last week they were in stable condition and were not in any immediate danger. 

He noted that the astronaut's medical condition had nothing to do with an upcoming spacewalk on January 8, which was cancelled, or any other operations on board the station. 

Boats swarmed the capsule as it bobbed on top of the water, which pulled the craft towards a recovery vessel in the distance, following splashdown.

The capsule was then hoisted onto the vessel, and the SpaceX ground team quickly went to work cooling it down and removing any debris that may have attached to the hatch door during the descent. 

The hatch was opened at 3:19am, giving the astronauts their first breath of fresh air since launching to the ISS on August 1.

Medical doctors were the first to meet the crew for a quick routine health check. 

Fincke was the first to emerge from the capsule, followed by Cardman, Platonov and Yui. 

The SpaceX Dragon capsule hit the water at 3:41am, brining the four-person Crew-11 home

The return capsule was hoisted onto a recover vessel that was waiting nearby in the Pacific Ocean

The crew spent 10 hours soaring through space before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Pictured is Crew-11 inside the capsule

'It's so good to be home,' said Cardman, the capsule commander. This was her first space mission.

Each astronaut was put on a stretcher, as they had been in zero-gravity for more than 100 days, and then carried off for more medical tests.

The four astronauts who were evacuated had been trained to handle unexpected medical situations, said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, praising how they have dealt with the situation. 

Crew-11 is set to stay overnight at a medical facility outside of San Diego. 

Michael Fincke was the first to emerge from the capsule (PICTURED)

Pictured is cosmonaut Oleg Platonov after emerging from the capsule

The four astronauts were scheduled to leave after Crew-12 arrived on a new SpaceX Dragon capsule no earlier than February 15.

Until their arrival, a group including NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who arrived at the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2025, will be maintaining the station.

The evacuation followed NASA's Spaceflight Human-System Standard, which mandates contingency return procedures whenever onboard medical resources are insufficient.

Although statistical models have long predicted that such an event could occur roughly once every three years, the plan has never before been used.

Located 250 miles above Earth, the ISS functions as a testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration, including eventual missions to return humans to the moon and onward to Mars. 

The ISS is set to be decommissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.

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{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html  }

15-01-2026 om 21:02 geschreven door peter  

Story by Shane Rowe

 

Baba Vanga, the blind Bulgarian mystic who died in 1996 at age 85, allegedly made predictions for 2026 that have captured worldwide attention. Born in 1911 as Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, she became known as the "Nostradamus of the Balkans" for prophecies attributed to her over decades. Devotees claim she foresaw events including 9/11, Princess Diana's death, and the COVID-19 pandemic. For 2026, she reportedly warned that a colossal alien spacecraft would enter Earth's atmosphere in November, according to The Mirror.

Her most alarming forecast centered on global conflict. Vanga allegedly predicted World War III would erupt in 2026, a warning that has gained attention amid current geopolitical tensions, including a potential Chinese takeover of Taiwan and confrontation between Russia and the United States. Despite this dire prediction, she also foresaw that the world would not end until 5079, suggesting humanity would survive the potentially catastrophic war she warned about for this year.

The alien prediction has taken on added intrigue among believers amid recent developments. Followers point to an uptick in reported Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena sightings over the past decade and continued speculation surrounding 3I/ATLAS, an object lingering in the solar system that has fueled debate over whether it is an interstellar comet or something more unusual. Vanga did not elaborate on the visitors' intentions when she allegedly warned that the spacecraft would enter Earth's atmosphere.

A Society-Wide Reckoning Over Technology and Morality Looms

Beyond extraterrestrial contact and war, Vanga allegedly warned that society is nearing a breaking point where it will realize it has "gone too far," according to The Mirror. This prediction reportedly centers on technology and morality, with enthusiasts claiming she foresaw a time when societies would collectively recognize they had crossed ethical and technological boundaries. Followers interpret this as a reckoning that would not arrive as a single catastrophic event but unfold gradually, driven by rising global tensions and scientific advances that fundamentally reshape human relationships.

• Related video:Mystic who predicted 9/11 warned of alien spacecraft and World War III in 2026.

Looking further ahead, she allegedly predicted artificial organs could enter mass production as early as 2046. Her purported forecasts about breakthroughs in cancer detection are often linked to the same ethical and technological concerns attributed to her 2026 warnings. Vanga's reported timeline suggests humanity faces a prolonged period of technological advancement intertwined with moral dilemmas. These alleged predictions reflect her broader warning that progress and peril would walk hand in hand throughout this century.

Her track record, however, includes significant failures that complicate her legacy. Vanga allegedly claimed Barack Obama would be the last US president, a forecast proven false by subsequent elections. She also predicted World War III would begin in 2010, more than a decade before the current year. These inaccuracies have led skeptics to question both the authenticity of predictions attributed to her and how followers interpret her warnings, though devoted believers continue finding meaning in her prophecies.

Her Extended Timeline Maps Humanity's Journey Through Millennia

Vanga's alleged prophecies extend thousands of years into the future, creating a detailed roadmap of what followers claim is humanity's fate. She reportedly predicted humans would begin exploring Venus as an energy source in 2028, just two years from now. By 2033, she purportedly warned that polar ice caps would melt completely, raising sea levels to drastic heights worldwide. Her attributed timeline suggests the near future holds both technological achievement and environmental catastrophe. These early milestones set the stage for more dramatic predictions ahead.

Her mid-range forecasts grow increasingly extreme. Vanga allegedly predicted communism would spread globally by 2076, and that a drought would devastate much of the planet in 2170. By 3005, she purportedly foresaw Earth going to war with a civilization on Mars. She reportedly warned that by 3797, humans would have to vacate Earth entirely because it would become uninhabitable. Despite these apocalyptic visions, she maintained that humanity would persist for thousands more years.

The mystic's final prediction allegedly marks humanity's ultimate end in 5079. This reported timeline suggests that despite wars, environmental disasters, and interplanetary conflicts, human civilization would endure for more than three millennia beyond the present day. Her attributed prophecies paint a picture of a species constantly adapting to new challenges, from melting ice caps to Martian warfare, yet somehow surviving catastrophe after catastrophe until meeting its end more than 3,000 years from now.

Decades After Her Death, the Mystic's Influence Endures

Baba Vanga lost her sight during a dust storm as a child and allegedly developed her clairvoyant abilities afterward. She spent decades offering prophecies to visitors in Bulgaria before she died in 1996 at age 85. Followers continue to analyze predictions attributed to her, claiming major historical events, including 9/11, Princess Diana's death, and the COVID-19 pandemic, align with her prophetic abilities. Her alleged predictions remain a subject of fascination and debate more than 25 years after she passed away.

The interpretation of predictions attributed to her presents ongoing challenges. Many of Vanga's alleged prophecies were reportedly vague or cryptic, leaving room for multiple interpretations by followers who attempt to match her words to world events. Some enthusiasts claim she foresaw developments she never explicitly mentioned, while skeptics argue failed predictions like the 2010 World War III forecast undermine claims of her accuracy. The debate over her legitimacy continues as new generations discover the warnings attributed to her about humanity's future.

Whether predictions attributed to her for 2026 prove accurate remains to be seen. The year has only just begun, leaving eleven months for her alleged warnings about alien contact in November and the outbreak of World War III to potentially materialize. Current global tensions and the ongoing mystery of 3I/ATLAS keep her purported prophecies in the public conversation. For believers and skeptics alike, 2026 will serve as a test of claims about the blind mystic's alleged foresight.

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15-01-2026 om 18:42 geschreven door peter  

Astronauts evacuated early from the International Space Station (ISS) due to a medical issue were seen for the first time back on Earth in the early hours of Thursday morning after their SpaceX Dragon craft splashed down off the Californian coast.

NASA has not given details on who within Crew-11 was experiencing the issue or what the specific problem was, citing patient privacy. Officials have emphasized that it was not an emergency.

Why It Matters

This was the first evacuation prompted by a medical issue in NASA’s near 68-year history, and the first from the ISS since it became continuously inhabited in 2000.

What To Know

Splashdown occurred at 12:41 a.m. PT (3:41 a.m. ET) in calm waters off San Diego, following a nine-and-a-half-hour ride back to Earth. Crew members had been away from Earth for 167 days. The hatch opened at 1:10 a.m. PT (4:10 a.m. ET).

The crew, launched in August, were scheduled to remain on the ISS until late February. But the mission was canceled on January 7, meaning a planned spacewalk by Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke the next day did not take place.

The ailing astronaut is “stable, safe and well cared for,” outgoing space station commander Fincke said earlier this week via social media. “This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists.”

NASA astronaut Fincke was first to exit the craft before his fellow American, and mission commander, Cardman. JAXA (the Japan’s space agency) astronaut Kimiya Yu and then Roscosmos (Russia’s space agency) cosmonaut Oleg Platonov followed.

Crew members were given an initial medical check by a SpaceX medical doctor as they disembarked, NASA said. The space agency’s live footage of the event showed all four crew members were carried away on stretchers.

Pennsylvanian Fincke, a veteran of three previous ISS trips, was seen smiling and giving a thumbs-up as he was helped on to a stretcher.

NASA astronauts Mike Fincke gives a thumbs-up.

Mission commander Cardman, a Virginia native who was on her first ISS mission, was also seen smiling as she waved and pointed to someone out of shot.

Yu gave a double wave as he was pushed away on a stretcher. He had just completed 300 days in space across two missions, NASA said.

Platonov raised his arms and gave a double thumbs-up as he was carried away.

NASA and Roscosmos take turns transporting each other’s astronauts or cosmonauts between Earth and the ISS under one of few remaining cooperation agreements between the United States and Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yu.

What People Are Saying 

NASA announced on January 8 that the early evacuation would take place, saying: “NASA announced on Thursday its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the International Space Station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory.”

Asked at a January 8 news conference about the medical issue, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said: “This was a serious medical condition; that is why we’re pursuing this path. [The] Crew member’s stable. As we mentioned, we’re not electing an emergency deorbit. But obviously, as we’ve already communicated, the capability to diagnose and treat this properly does not live on the International Space Station. And I think there’s pretty broad agreement across our experts here on the ground, as well as the crew members in space. So I think there’s complete alignment around that point.”

“Our timing of this departure is unexpected,” NASA astronaut Zena Cardman said before the return trip, “but what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other.”

What Happens Next

NASA was scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:45 a.m. PT (5:45 a.m. ET).

Update 1/15/2026 6:17 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.

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Common ground isn’t just possible—it’s essential. Our readers reflect America’s diversity, united by a desire for thoughtful, unbiased news. Independent ratings confirm our approach: NewsGuard gives us 100/100 for reliability, and AllSides places us firmly in the political center.

In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. Ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you..

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15-01-2026 om 18:24 geschreven door peter  

Jack Nicholson Explains UFOs in Easy Rider Movie, 1969, UAP UFO Sighting News.

Now check out this scene in Easy Rider, where Jack Nicholson has all the right answers and he is spot on folks. You can't tell me that he didn't know about aliens, he was defiantly getting inside information about them. Here in Easy Rider you see him improvises and tells the world the truth about aliens regardless of what the director wants or not. 

Scott C. Waring

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

14-01-2026 om 23:42 geschreven door peter  

What exactly are we looking at in these remote area of Tierra del Fuego, an extremely rugged, uninhabited landmass far south of Patagonia, where the terrain appears to reveal a giant humanoid figure structure. They have nicknamed it the “King of the Jinn.” Even stranger, in the same area two massive serpent-like heads appear to emerge from the fractal cliffs as well as another unknown structures perfectly aligned. How can all of this be a coincidence? 

If these formations are truly ancient, then who shaped them and what purpose did this remote location serve? 

Skeptics will immediately default to the usual: symmetrical map mirroring, visual glitches, compression artifacts, or simple pareidolia, the brain interpreting random shapes as faces. But I’m not convinced. If this were true mirroring, both sides should line up with mathematical precision and they don’t. They only approximate symmetry, which makes it far stranger, not less. 

Then there’s the name itself: “King of the Jinn.” In Middle Eastern esoteric tradition, the title refers to powerful jinn rulers, non-human intelligences associated with boundaries, thresholds, portals, forbidden zones and abandoned places. In occult lore the jinn operate in liminal regions between worlds, often tied to landscapes that feel otherworldly or “off.” 

But the rabbit hole goes deeper: Ask yourself: why would someone choose a mythic Near Eastern occult title for a remote Patagonian outcrop containing humanoid and serpent iconography? It suggests the author understood the symbolism or recognized it. 

So whoever labeled this site “King of the Jinn” did so deliberately, selecting a mythic and symbolic name for an extremely remote location that appears to show humanoid shapes and serpent heads, along with other anomalous structures. That submission was intended for global visibility , suggesting the author believed this was not merely natural geology, but evidence of something artificial, ancient, occult, or at least unexplained. 

Once you factor Antarctica into the equation, the Tierra del Fuego anomaly becomes harder to wave away. The region isn’t an isolated curiosity, it sits at the Antarctic gateway, the transition zone between Patagonia and the polar continent. 

If the “King of the Jinn” formation functions as a portal or transit marker, its placement is strategic, not symbolic — positioned near the Drake Passage, the South Sandwich Trench, subglacial Antarctic ridges, and geomagnetic anomalies linked to the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA). These are exactly the kinds of zones extraterrestrial intelligences would use if their movement relies on bathymetry, geomagnetic, or plasma-conductive pathways. 

In that light, the Tierra del Fuego structures may not be a monument, but an index marker pointing toward Antarctic nodes. If Earth is a transit hub rather than a habitat, Antarctica may be the infrastructure and Tierra del Fuego the signage, visible only from orbit.

So the question isn’t just “What’s in Tierra del Fuego?” but “What exactly is Antarctica hiding, and why are its most anomalous regions so heavily off-limits?” 

The fact that someone flagged it, suggests intent, a subtle signal that something is here, and it’s not natural. 

Location Google Map (Red pushpin): 37PGFP4M+CM 

Coordinates Google Earth: 55°32'38.0"S 69°15'57.0"W 

DAHBOO77 points out in his video that the supposed “symmetrical mirroring” explanation doesn’t hold up, as the formations don’t line up perfectly.

{ http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

14-01-2026 om 23:33 geschreven door peter  

If you worry about your pets getting lonely in the house, this bizarre robot companion might be the perfect solution.

Aura is the robotic 'pet butler' designed to keep your furry friends company while you're at the office.

Developed by the AI service provider Tuya, this smiling robotic assistant can wheel around the house, filming and interacting with your pet.

Equipped with a digital smile, voice module, and the ability to shoot treats out of its face, Aura claims to address your pets 'deeper emotional needs'.

That is possible due to what Tuya calls an 'emotional translator' for pets.

The robot supposedly has the ability to 'accurately interpret a pet's emotional state' through behaviour and sound analysis.

Owners will then receive automatic reports through their smartphones, telling them whether their pooch is happy, sad, anxious, or excited.

Aura can even play 'family photographer', autonomously capturing your pet's memorable moments while you are busy working.

Aura is the robotic 'pet butler' designed to keep your furry friends company while you're at the office

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Aura is a three-wheeled robot that looks a little like an iPad stuck to a hamster wheel.

Its large, flat 'face' displays a pair of eyes and a smiling mouth that appear to look at people around them.

Its body, meanwhile, is hollow, apparently to allow cats to ride around inside the robot.

The little robot uses a pair of cameras to give it depth perception and can autonomously navigate your home.

This allows Aura to automatically find its way around without crashing into objects and return to its charging dock when needed.

In bad news for nervous cats, Tuya adds that the robot 'moves freely throughout the home, proactively seeking out pets to interact with them'.

However, Aura's real selling point is its supposed ability to understand and interact with your cats on a more emotional level.

While automated feeders, cameras, and even treat-shooting toys already exist, Tuya claims that none of these help your pet feel any less lonely.

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Aura is equipped with toys, cameras, and an onboard AI that is designed to keep your pets happy 

Using its animated face and AI-powered voice interactions, Aura is supposedly designed to be a 'responsive and warm' companion.

Tuya doesn't say exactly how the robot will try to bond with your pet, but it is equipped with an array of toys, including a laser pointer, treat dispenser, and 'simulated pet sounds'.

Using its 'emotion translator', Tuya claims that Aura will be able to keep owners apprised of their pets' well-being, and capture any exciting moments.

Aura tracks pets' movements, including sudden bursts of energy, playful interactions, and naps, and decides which are worth photographing on the owner's behalf.

Tuya says that Aura can also autonomously generate short videos to 'reserve precious memories and strengthen emotional bonds'.

The company hasn't yet revealed when the robot will become commercially available, nor how much it will cost.

However, Tuya has suggested that this strange pet butler is only the first step in their robotic ambitions.

The company claims that Tuya lays a foundation for future applications in 'elder care, home monitoring, and family connectivity' with 'diverse hardware forms'.

Using its 'emotion translator', Tuya claims that Aura will be able to keep owners apprised of their pets' mood, and capture any exciting moments

Strangely, this was not the only automatic companion unveiled at CES this year.

Startup FrontierX revealed its Vex robot, which can follow your pets around the house, filming them as they go.

While the Vex can also play with your pet, its operations are a lot more simplistic.

Unlike Aura, the palm-sized Vex only films your pet and doesn't interact with voice and other toys to keep it busy.

Tuya did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for additional comment.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

14-01-2026 om 23:25 geschreven door peter  

A human space probe has brought back an ancient extraterrestrial visitor from the moon, rewriting the early history of the solar system. 

China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft made history in June 2024 by returning the first-ever samples from the moon's far side, a region humans had never explored before.

In a new study, scientists examined the dusty soil from an ancient crater called the Apollo basin and found seven tiny rock pieces that didn't belong to anything that naturally formed on the moon's surface.

These small fragments turned out to be leftovers from ancient asteroids that crashed into the moon billions of years ago.

Unlike normal moon rocks, these pieces came from watery asteroids that floated into space between Mars and Jupiter, making them true 'extraterrestrial relics' from outside our planet.

Moreover, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that the relics came from the same type of space rocks that likely delivered chemicals necessary to spark life on planets like Earth billions of years ago.

Asteroids like these delivered water and other key ingredients to the moon early in its history, possibly helping create its thin water ice deposits we see today.

On a larger scale, the new findings have rewritten our understanding of how space rocks shaped the Earth and moon, since Earth's meteorite finds are limited by our atmosphere and gravity, burning up potential samples before they can be studied.

China's Chang'e-6 lander (pictured) returned to Earth in June 2024 and scientists have just uncovered an extraterrestrial relic deposited by an asteroid in the moon samples 

The samples (pictured) are completely foreign compared to the makeup of the moon, meaning asteroids likely brought the ice water found on the lunar surface

The far side of the moon is the hidden half we never see because our planet and the moon are tidally locked, meaning we always see the same face from our perspective.

Specifically, the team identified these seven fragments as leftovers from a rare type of asteroid called CI-like carbonaceous chondrites.

At the heart of these mysterious samples were tiny green crystals called olivine, which look like olive-shaped gems and make up the backbone of the asteroids they came from.

Finding olivine in these space rocks was special because it's loaded with water trapped inside, plus just the right mix of iron, zinc, and other metals not seen across the relatively dry moon.

The samples matched the composition of other nearby asteroids that astronomers and recently studied, including Ryugu, studied by Japan's Hayabusa2 mission, and Bennu, studied by NASA's OSIRIS-REx.

The research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) noted that most of the rocks ever taken back from the moon formed there over time.

Scientists knew the new samples from Chang'e-6 didn't form on the moon because of their makeup and hidden chemical fingerprints, which included 10 to 20 percent water trapped in clay-like minerals, amino acids, and tar-like carbon compounds.

Scientists also uncovered lightweight gases like hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur, making these relics from space resemble soggy sponges carrying the seeds of oceans and air.

The Chinese lander collected over four pounds of rocks from the lunar surface after successfully landing on the moon's far side in May 2024

Typical Moon rocks are mostly dry black lava stone and white feldspar, made from iron-heavy minerals, calcium, aluminum, and titanium, with almost no water at all.

'This finding supports the hypothesis that asteroids played a role in delivering water and other volatiles to the lunar surface,' the researchers wrote.

Experts believe these asteroid bits crashed into the moon's far side over four billion years ago, during the chaotic formation of the early solar system, when giant impacts blasted materials across planets.

The discovery appeared to prove that a similar process involving water-carrying asteroids took place on the moon that scientists suspect occurred on Earth at the dawn of time.

One theory argues that asteroid collisions like the ones found on the moon are believed to have slammed into our planet as well, creating oceans and scattering amino acids - the basic ingredients that kickstarted tiny life forms in Earth's warm pools.

Scientists believe the same asteroid rain hit other planets, too, like Mars, where it might have created ancient rivers and maybe even early microbes hiding underground today.

Even icy moons like Europa around Jupiter could have gotten a life-giving boost from these asteroids, delivering heat, water, and chemicals deep into their frozen oceans to brew something organic.

NASA, China, and India have all announced that they will be sending additional missions to the moon before 2030, including manned missions by the US.

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{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

14-01-2026 om 23:07 geschreven door peter  

NASA has announced that America is now just weeks away from a historic return to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

The space agency revealed on Tuesday that the earliest Artemis II, the first manned mission to the moon since 1972, will launch on February 6.

NASA officials noted that the official launch window for Artemis II will remain open from January 31 to February 14, with several alternate dates also being picked out.

The mission will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the moon and back to Earth.

The Artemis II mission will not land on the moon's surface. The first lunar landing in the Artemis program is scheduled for Artemis III, currently planned to take place in 2027. 

Artemis II can't launch on just any day. The timing will depend on precise orbital mechanics, such as where Earth and the moon are positioned, rocket performance, and weather conditions near the launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

February 7, 8, 10, and 11 have been chosen as potential backup launch dates. If something prevents the launch in February, NASA has also picked out dates in early March and April for the upcoming moon mission.

Artemis II will be the first space mission with a human crew in 53 years to go beyond low Earth orbit.

(From left to right) Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch pose in their flight suits for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for February 2026

NASA's new moon rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 16, 2022. It was the first test fight of the Artemis program

As early as February 6, the astronauts will launch from Cape Canaveral in an Orion spacecraft, carried by NASA's powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket system.

They'll first orbit Earth a couple of times to test the life support equipment and then head toward the moon for a lunar flyby, a close pass without orbiting or landing.

The spacecraft will use the moon's gravity to slingshot back toward Earth in a 'free-return trajectory', meaning if anything goes wrong, it can safely return without extra use of its engines.

The main goal of the mission will be to prove the rocket, spacecraft, and systems work perfectly with humans on board, paving the way for Artemis III's landing next year.

NASA is less than a week away from the first part of this historic event, the rollout, set to begin as soon as January 17.

The fully stacked SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are scheduled to 'roll out' from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center.

It's a four-mile trip that uses a giant crawler-transporter to carry the rocket and can take up to 12 hours to complete.

Once at the pad, teams will connect power and fuel lines and do final rocket testing before the astronauts start their walkthrough for the flight.

NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, which will carry the Artemis II spacecraft, is seen inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Read More

• Extraterrestrial relics found in samples from the moon's far side 

Once Artemis II is on the launch pad, NASA crews will go through what's called a 'wet dress rehearsal' and 'tanking' procedure.

They'll load the SLS rocket with over 700,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen, which act as the propellants that ignite and blast the craft into space.

NASA will even run through a fake countdown to launch, practice holds and restarts, and then safely drain the tanks of the fuel until it's time for the real launch.

The rehearsal tests the space agency's fueling procedures and helps check for any problems with the rocket, such as leaks in the rocket tanks or valves.

If any problems are spotted, NASA will likely need to run multiple rehearsals and possibly delay the launch.

In September 2025, former NASA Administrator Sean Duffy publicly announced that 'about a year and a half' after the Artemis II mission, the Artemis III astronaut mission would 'land and establish a long-term presence of life on the moon led by America'.

He continued by saying that what astronauts learn from the renewed missions to the moon will help in future efforts to 'put American boots on Mars'.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

14-01-2026 om 22:50 geschreven door peter  

Story by Greg Wehner

NASA plans to return humans to deep space next month, targeting a Feb. 6 launch for Artemis II, a 10-day crewed mission that will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

"We are going — again," NASA said Tuesday in a post on X, saying the mission is set to depart no earlier than Feb. 6.

The first available launch period will run from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14, with launch opportunities on Feb. 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11.

If the launch is scrubbed, additional launch periods will open from Feb. 28 to March 13 and from March 27 to April 10. For the former, launch opportunities will be available on March 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, and for the latter on April 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

• NASA SAYS AMERICA WILL WIN ‘THE SECOND SPACE RACE’ AGAINST CHINA

NASA's new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. This launch is the first flight test of the Artemis program.

AP Newsroom© John Raoux/AP Photo

The mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket the agency has ever built.

Preparations are underway to begin moving the rocket to the launch pad no earlier than Jan. 17. The move involves a four-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B aboard the crawler-transporter 2, a process expected to take up to 12 hours.

"We are moving closer to Artemis II, with rollout just around the corner," Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said. "We have important steps remaining on our path to launch and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn, as we near humanity’s return to the Moon."

• TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY DUFFY TO ANNOUNCE NUCLEAR REACTOR DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE MOON

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission (left to right): NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Fox News© Fox News

The 322-foot rocket will send four astronauts beyond Earth orbit to test the Orion spacecraft in deep space for the first time with a crew aboard, marking a major milestone following the Apollo era, which last sent humans to the Moon in 1972.

The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, making Artemis II the first lunar mission to include a Canadian astronaut and the first to carry a woman beyond low Earth orbit.

After launch, the astronauts are expected to spend about two days near Earth checking Orion’s systems before firing the spacecraft’s European-built service module to begin the journey toward the Moon.

• BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCHES NEW GLENN ROCKET TO MARS AFTER DELAYS

A full moon was visible behind the Artemis I SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I tested SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

Fox News© Fox News

That maneuver will send the spacecraft on a four-day trip around the far side of the Moon, tracing a figure-eight path that carries the crew more than 230,000 miles from Earth and thousands of miles beyond the lunar surface at its farthest point.

Instead of firing engines to return home, Orion will follow a fuel-efficient free-return path that uses Earth and Moon gravity to guide the spacecraft back toward Earth during the roughly four-day return trip.

The mission will end with a high-speed reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where NASA and Department of War teams will recover the crew.

Artemis II follows the uncrewed Artemis I mission and will serve as a critical test of NASA’s deep-space systems before astronauts attempt a lunar landing on a future flight.

NASA says the mission is a key step toward long-term lunar exploration and eventual crewed missions to Mars.

Original article source: 

• NASA returns humans to deep space after over 50 years with February Artemis II Moon mission

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{ Fox News }

14-01-2026 om 22:27 geschreven door peter  

Biblical figures validated by archaeological finds

©Getty Images

Biblical figures validated by archaeological finds
Science has confirmed that many parts of the Bible are indeed true, but how about its characters? The quest for evidence when it comes to biblical characters continues, but several archeological finds suggest that many of these people may have actually existed. These inscriptions, artifacts, and historical texts all amount to possible evidence that many biblical characters lived.

Curious? Click through the gallery to find out what has been discovered and how compelling the evidence is.

©Getty Images

King David
The archeological evidence that proved the existence of King David was not unearthed until 1993 in Israel. A piece of stone known as the Tel Dan stele dating from the 9th century BCE contained a reference to the “House of David."

©Getty Images

King Solomon
There are a number of archeological finds that confirm the existence of King Solomon, namely in ancient Israeli cities such as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Six official clay seals found in 2014 also support the existence of the biblical king (and of his father, King David).

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King Hezekiah
Multiple pieces of evidence that confirm the existence of King Hezekiah have been found. First, the Taylor Prism in the 1830s, where Assyrian King Sennacherib wrote about the failed siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE. There was also an inscription found in 1880 in the Siloam Tunnel in Jerusalem.

©Getty Images

Pontius Pilate
Evidence of the existence of the Roman governor who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion was found in 1961. The “Pilate Stone” was found at Caesarea Maritima, an ancient Roman Judea city, containing a Latin inscription that made reference to “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”

©Getty Images

Herod the Great
The King of Judea left quite a legacy across Israel. His tomb was found in the 1800s in Herodium, a fortress near Bethlehem. He was also the man behind constructions such as Jerusalem’s Second Temple and the Antonia Fortress.

©Getty Images

Cyrus the Great
There is archeological evidence that the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire lived. In 1879, archaeologists discovered a clay cylinder from Babylon’s ruins dating back to 539 BCE. The cylinder contained a text praising Cyrus and his rule.

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Nebuchadnezzar II
The Babylonian Chronicles, a series of clay tablets from 590 BCE, make reference to major Babylonian events, including King Nebuchadnezzar II’s capture of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

©Public Domain

Pharaoh Shishak (Sheshonq I)
There is also evidence that the Pharaoh who attacked Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:25–26) lived. This can be found in inscriptions inside Egypt’s Karnak Temple.

©Public Domain

Judas Maccabeus
Judas Maccabeus, or Judah Maccabee, is yet another biblical figure whose existence was proven by archeology. There are some coins and pottery fragments that make reference to the Jewish priest and how he defeated the Syrian armies between 166 and 160 BCE.

©Public Domain

Caiaphas
The bones of the High Priest of Israel who played a role at the trial of Jesus are evidence of his existence. An ossuary bearing the words “Joseph son of Caiaphas” was found in 1990.

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Pontius Sergius Paulus
The Roman official was Proconsul of Cyprus. Inscriptions found in Paphos, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, match the account found in Acts.

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King Ahab
A basalt monument called the Mesha Stele was unearthed in Jordan in 1868. The stone’s inscriptions make reference to King Mesha of Moab’s victories against Israel’s King Ahab, as per 1 Kings. Ahab also left an ivory palace complex in Samaria behind, providing further proof of his existence.

©Public Domain

King Jehoiakim
There are a number of archeological finds that prove the existence of the King of Judah. These include the Babylonian Chronicles (clay tablets), as well as seals with King Jehoiakim’s name.

©Getty Images

Hiram of Tyre
Proof that Hiram I, the Phoenician king of Tyre, lived was found in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1855. The Phoenician text in Eshmunazar II's sarcophagus makes reference to King Hiram of Tyre.

©Getty Images

Herod Antipas
The name of Herod Antipas stamped across coins of Galilee and Perea attests to his existence as a ruler of the region.

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King Josiah
A seal stamp with the name “Nathan-Melech” from the 7th century BCE was discovered in the City of David archeological site. In 2 Kings 23:11 we find reference to this man as one of King Josiah’s officials.

©Public Domain

King Zedekiah
The Babylonian Chronicles detail King Zedekiah’s attempt to save Jerusalem from Nebuchadnezzar’s men. In addition, an unearthed clay tablet from Sippar makes reference to Zedekiah’s children among the exiles in Babylon.

©Getty Images

Sennacherib
The Neo-Assyrian king is mentioned on the Taylor Prism (an early cuneiform artifact). More specifically, it details his siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE.

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King Ahaz
The Kurkh Monolith lists King Ahaz’s tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III. Royal seals also add to the veracity of the biblical character mentioned in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28.

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Nehemiah
Evidence that Governor Nehemiah lived can be found in the Elephantine Papyri. Archaeologists also found sections of walls rebuilt by Nehemiah under the streets of modern-day Jerusalem.

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Peter (Simon Peter)
There are a few artifacts that support that the disciple of Jesus lived, including early Christian documents. In addition, graffiti that reads “Peter is here” was found at a tomb beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, dating back to the 1st century, which suggests this is his resting place.

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James, Son of Zebedee
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote in ‘Antiquities of the Jews’ about the execution of James in 62 CE, which is a remarkable non-Christian piece of evidence that he existed.

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John the Evangelist
There are historical accounts of John’s life in Irenaeus’ book ‘Against Heresies.’ Justin Martyr’s ‘Dialogue with Trypho’ also makes reference to “John, one of the Apostles of Christ” who lived in Ephesus.

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Andrew the Apostle
The historian Eusebius’ book ‘Ecclesiastical History,’ also known as ‘Church History,’ mentions Andrew’s missionary work. His remains are believed to be held in the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Patras, Greece. Christian symbols discovered in Sinope and Nicea also support Andrew’s presence in the region.

©Getty Images

Thomas the Apostle
It’s believed that Thomas traveled to India and preached there. His tomb is believed to be located at the Santhome Basilica in Chennai, India. Crosses, coins, and other archeological finds also add weight to the veracity of his story.

©Getty Images

Philip the Apostle
This Apostle of Jesus spread the gospel across Asia Minor. Evidence includes early Christian artifacts found in Hierapolis (modern-day Pamukkale, Turkey), including the Martyrion of St. Philip, which is believed to be the place where Philip died.

©Getty Images

Bartholomew the Apostle
The ruins of Saint Bartholomew Monastery in Vaspurakan, Armenia, are believed to be the final resting place of the Apostle. Christian symbols have also been unearthed along India’s Konkan coast, which also match his story.

©Getty Images

Matthew the Apostle
An old manuscript called GG 00039, held at the Gunda Gunde Monastery in Ethiopia, contains the first part of Matthew’s Gospel. Christian objects were also found in Persia, which suggests a Christian community was active in the area Matthew traveled to. A ceramic pot found in a lake in Kyrgyzstan is also believed to be linked to Matthew.

©Public Domain

James the Just
In 62 CE, Jewish historian Josephus made a reference to “James, the brother of Jesus who is called Christ,” who was executed.

©Getty Images

Jesus of Nazareth
Many archeological finds point to the possibility that Jesus existed. This includes houses from his period found in Nazareth, the Pilate Stone, which proves that Pontius Pilate existed, and proof that Roman crucifixion practices matched the ones described in the Bible.

©Getty Images

Jesus of Nazareth
Another piece of the puzzle includes a letter Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan, where he makes reference to early Christians singing “hymns to Christ as to a god.”

Sources: (History Collection) (National Geographic) (Biblical Archeological Society)

See also: The largest empires in world history

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{ Stars Insider }

14-01-2026 om 22:01 geschreven door peter  

For decades, the idea of people living on Mars has felt like a distant fantasy, limited by the brutal cost of hauling everything from Earth and the difficulty of building safe shelters on a hostile world. That picture is starting to shift as engineers quietly solve the hardest part of the problem: how to construct real infrastructure using Martian soil itself. A cluster of new techniques for making bricks, concrete and even self-assembling structures from local material is turning the dream of a permanent foothold on the Red Planet into a practical engineering challenge rather than a science fiction plot.

The new Martian brick that changes the equation

The most striking development is a method that lets future settlers turn raw Martian dust into solid building blocks without importing heavy equipment or binders from Earth. NASA scientists have announced a way to create robust bricks on Mars using only local dust, minerals and a small amount of human sweat, effectively turning the grit under an astronaut’s boots into structural material. In reports shared in Jul, the agency described how this process could produce dense, durable bricks that lock together into walls and radiation shields, cutting out the need to ship conventional construction materials across interplanetary space.

What makes this so disruptive is not just the chemistry, but the logistics. Launching one kilogram of cargo from Earth is already expensive, and a settlement would need thousands of tons of material for habitats, storage and shielding. By relying on Martian dust and minerals, the NASA approach slashes that mass requirement and lets crews scale up construction as they go, brick by brick, instead of waiting for resupply. The technique, detailed in a Facebook group post on NASA scientists, frames human presence not as a fragile outpost, but as a growing worksite where the planet itself becomes the raw stock for expansion.

From improvised shelters to full Martian communities

Once you can make a single brick, the next question is whether you can build entire neighborhoods. Follow up work has shown that scientists have successfully created bricks strong enough to support not just small test structures, but the foundations of full-scale habitats. Using similar principles that combine Martian dust with minimal additives, researchers have demonstrated blocks that could be stacked into domes, tunnels and multiroom shelters capable of housing crews for months at a time. The same Jul reporting on NASA’s work has been echoed in other technical communities, where engineers argue that these bricks could underpin entire communities on Mars rather than just emergency bunkers.

That shift in ambition matters because it changes how mission planners think about timelines. Instead of shipping prefabricated modules for every new crew, agencies could send a compact starter kit of tools and rely on local brick production to expand living space, storage and even agricultural enclosures. The idea that settlers might one day walk through streets lined with structures made from Martian dust is no longer a poetic metaphor, but a scenario grounded in lab-tested materials. One widely shared discussion of how scientists have successfully created bricks robust enough for entire communities captures how quickly the field has moved from proof of concept to city-scale thinking.

Self-building tech and shape-optimized structures

Material is only half the story. The other half is how to assemble it in a place where human labor is scarce, dangerous and expensive. In June, a study from Texas A&M University, working with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, introduced a self-building technology that could let habitats on Mars assemble themselves from modular components. The concept uses robotic systems and smart joints that lock together autonomously, guided by algorithms that account for Martian gravity and the properties of regolith, which consists of dust, sand and rocks. Instead of astronauts spending weeks in bulky suits stacking bricks, swarms of machines could raise walls and roofs while crews focus on science and survival.

At the same time, structural engineers are rethinking what Martian buildings should look like in the first place. Rather than copying Earth-style boxes, they are designing shape optimized structures that use arches, shells and curved forms to handle pressure differences and radiation with far less material. One detailed analysis shows that such structures can remarkably reduce the energy and material required for construction, while also eliminating the need for large imports from Earth. The study argues that these optimized geometries, when combined with in situ concrete and regolith-based bricks, can lead to sustainable colonization on Mars by aligning architecture with the physics of the environment. The case for these designs is laid out in research that notes how Such structures reduce both energy and imported mass, a crucial advantage when every kilogram counts.

When I put these threads together, the picture that emerges is of a construction ecosystem that is both automated and highly efficient. Self-building systems from Texas and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln can handle the assembly, while shape optimized shells minimize the amount of Martian material that needs to be processed in the first place. That combination does not just make habitats cheaper, it makes them faster to deploy, which is vital in the narrow windows when launch trajectories and Martian seasons line up in favor of new arrivals.

Concrete, 3D printing and the rise of in situ manufacturing

Bricks and shells are powerful tools, but long term settlements will also need heavy duty infrastructure: landing pads, radiation bunkers, pressure locks and industrial floors. Here, researchers are turning Martian soil into a kind of waterless cement known as AstroCrete. Studies of future Mars settlements, often described as the Red Planet’s first towns, point out that All the key ingredients for this material, including regolith, certain salts and even biological components, will be available in relative abundance in Martian environments. AstroCrete made from Martian regolith and human byproducts behaves like a tough concrete that can be cast into slabs and beams without relying on scarce water, which is too valuable to waste on construction. One technical overview notes that All of these components can be sourced locally, making AstroCrete a cornerstone of Martian civil engineering.

Alongside concrete, 3D printing is emerging as the workhorse for turning raw regolith into precise parts. Techniques originally developed for products as mundane as an airless basketball are being adapted to extraterrestrial construction. One analysis of advanced additive manufacturing notes that this approach not only reduces the need for carrying heavy payloads from Earth, but also offers the potential for rapid prototyping and adaptability to the unique Martian environment. The same logic that lets engineers print a complex lattice for a sports ball can be applied to printing pressure vessels, support trusses and custom connectors on Mars, all tuned to local gravity and temperature swings. The broader promise of this method is captured in work showing how 3D printing can cut launch mass from Earth while boosting flexibility on site, a point underscored in coverage of how printing directly from regolith reduces the need to ship bulky components from Earth.

A broader blueprint for sustainable colonization

Behind these individual breakthroughs sits a larger strategic shift in how space agencies and researchers think about Mars. Instead of treating each mission as a one-off expedition, planners are sketching a comprehensive blueprint for colonization that assumes permanent, growing infrastructure. A recent synthesis of this thinking argues that Technological evolution is central to making Mars habitable in a sustainable way. It highlights Key advancements in propulsion, in situ resource utilization, closed-loop life support systems and advanced robotics as the pillars of a long term presence. In that framework, construction technologies like regolith bricks, AstroCrete and self-building habitats are not side projects, but core enablers of a settlement that can expand without constant resupply. The same work on Technological evolution on Mars makes clear that construction, life support and robotics must advance together if colonization is to move beyond flags and footprints.

Self-building systems, shape optimized structures and in situ materials are already being woven into that broader roadmap. In June, the work from Texas and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln on self-assembling habitats was framed explicitly as a bridge from science fiction to operational reality, showing how regolith-based modules could be deployed in advance of human crews. Combined with NASA’s Jul breakthroughs on Martian bricks and the growing body of research on sustainable concrete, these developments suggest that the hardest part of colonizing Mars may no longer be the rockets, but the patience to test and refine the tools that will turn dust into cities. As I look across the emerging blueprint, the shocking part is not that colonization is possible, but that the practical pieces are arriving faster than the public conversation has caught up, quietly making a permanent human presence on Mars feel less like a fantasy and more like an engineering deadline.

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14-01-2026 om 18:44 geschreven door peter