Planetary Scientists Create Global Map of Volcanic Hotspots on Io

Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Io’s volcanoes are powered by both the extreme tides from Jupiter and the gravitational interactions between it and Jupiter’s other moons. These tides generate friction inside Io. Using data from an infrared camera on NASA’s Juno orbiter called the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), planetary researchers at Cornell University have mapped where Io’s volcanoes are producing the most power and compared that to where scientists expect higher heat flow from the interior models. They found that Io has active volcanoes at its poles that may help to regulate tidal heating in its magma interior.

These are maps of the global volcanic flux on Io in an equirectangular projection, showing the averaged volcanic flux in milliwatts per square meter per steradian (the most common units for volcanic flux on Io). The top is on a linear scale while the bottom is on a logarithmic color scale. The colored bars and the line plots beside each map show the average flux projected horizontally (to the right of each map) and the average flux projected vertically (below each map) to show trends in flux by latitude and longitude.

Image credit: Pettine et al., doi: 10.1029/2023GL105782.

Io, the innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter and the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, is a unique resource for studying volcanism outside Earth and tidally-generated volcanism.

Despite its importance in the development of the worlds of the outer Solar System (and beyond), tidal heating remains relatively unconstrained.

In fact, the existence of volcanism powered entirely through extreme tidal forces and strong orbital resonances was only proposed and discovered in the last five decades.

“Tidal heating plays an important role in the heating and orbital evolution of celestial bodies,” said Cornell University’s Professor Alex Hayes.

“It provides the warmth necessary to form and sustain subsurface oceans in the moons around giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn.”

“Studying the inhospitable landscape of Io’s volcanoes actually inspires science to look for life,” said Madeline Pettine, a doctoral student at Cornell University.

By examining the JIRAM data from 11 Juno orbits, the authors found that Io has active volcanoes at its poles that may help to regulate tidal heating in its magma interior.

“I’m trying to match the pattern of volcanoes on Io and the heat flow that they’re producing with the heat flow we expected from theoretical models,” Pettine said.

This image from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft shows a volcanic explosion on Io.

Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizon.

Using a mathematical equation called spherical harmonic decomposition, a way of understanding round objects, the researchers broke down Juno’s flyby maps to establish complex volcanic surface patterns.

They found a surprising number of active volcanoes at Io’s poles, as opposed to the more-common equatorial regions.

“I’m not solving tidal heating with this one paper. However, if you think about icy moons in the outer Solar System, other moons like Jupiter’s Europa, or Saturn’s Titan and Enceladus, they’re the places that if we’re going to find life in the Solar System, it will be one of those places,” Pettine said.

“The interior liquid water oceans in the icy moons may be kept liquefied by tidal heating.”

“We need to know how the heat is being generated. It’s easier to study tidal heating on a volcanic world rather than peering through a kilometers-thick ice shell that’s keeping the heat covered up.”

According to the scientists, both pole regions of Io have active volcanoes.

In the north, a cluster of four volcanoes — Asis, Zal, Tonatiuh, one unnamed and an independent one named Loki — were highly active and persistent with a long history of space mission and ground-based observations.

A southern group, the volcanoes Kanehekili, Uta and Laki-Oi demonstrated strong activity.

The long-lived quartet of northern volcanoes concurrently became bright and seemed to respond to one another.

“They all got bright and then dim at a comparable pace,” Pettine said.

“It’s interesting to see volcanoes and seeing how they respond to each other.”

• The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
• M. Pettine et al. 2024. JIRAM Observations of Volcanic Flux on Io: Distribution and Comparison to Tidal Heat Flow Models. Geophysical Research Letters 51 (17): e2023GL105782; doi: 10.1029/2023GL105782
• https://youtu.be/oHpxCGeXU3c
  
• https://youtu.be/keGIesBlsFI

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

20-09-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

Grotschildering zou geïnspireerd kunnen zijn op het fossiel van een bizar wezen dat 250 miljoen jaar geleden uitstierf

door Janine

Plose One

Een Afrikaanse grotschildering kan volgens een nieuwe studie een uitgestorven wezen voorstellen dat miljoenen jaren voor ons leefde. Dit is wat het volgens de onderzoekers zou zijn.

Het uitgestorven dier geschilderd door de San

PLOSE ONE

Op een rotswand in het Karoo-bekken, in Zuid-Afrika, is een vreemd dier afgebeeld met naar beneden gerichte slagtanden, blauw gekleurd. Deze rotskunst is tussen 1821 en 1835 gemaakt door de inheemse San-bevolking.

Archeologen vroegen zich bij het bekijken van de tekening af of het het resultaat was van de fantasie en dus een mythologisch wezen voorstelde, maar een nieuwe studie beweert het antwoord te hebben gevonden: de tekening zou in werkelijkheid geïnspireerd kunnen zijn door een soort die daadwerkelijk bestond en 250 miljoen jaar geleden uitstierf, lang vóór de mens.

Als dit inderdaad het geval zou zijn, zou dit betekenen dat de stammen van zuidelijk Afrika over meer geavanceerde paleontologische kennis beschikten dan we ons konden voorstellen. Maar wat is het prehistorische dier dat de San inspireerde?

De inheemse San waren mogelijk geïnspireerd door de Dicynodontia

Viliam Simko/Wikimedia commons - CC BY-SA 4.0

Julien Benoit van het Evolutionary Studies Institute, Universiteit van de Witwatersrand, die het onderzoek uitvoerde, is van mening dat het afgebeelde dier is geïnspireerd op het fossiel van de dicynodontia, een zeer robuust plantenetend dier dat in Zuid-Afrika leefde. De grotschildering, die “het paneel met de hoornslang” wordt genoemd, lijkt op geen enkele andere hedendaagse diersoort.

Hoewel hij misschien op een walrus lijkt, leeft deze laatste dichtbij de Noordpool en zeker niet in zuidelijk Afrika. Zelfs als het een figuur is die voortkomt uit de verbeelding van het San-volk, komen mythologische wezens gewoonlijk voort uit de werkelijkheid en halen ze inspiratie uit feitelijk bestaande dieren. Om deze reden geloven onderzoekers dat er concreet bewijs is dat het San-volk erin geslaagd is om fossielen van de dicynodontia te identificeren en deze tijdens lange reizen van de ene plek naar de andere te verplaatsen. Bovendien zijn experts van mening dat verschillende uitgestorven diersoorten opdoken in de cultuur van deze stam.

Dicynodontia uit Zuid-Afrika, een regendier?

In 1905 werd in een verslag dat in de studie wordt genoemd, verwezen naar de woorden van de San bosjesmannen die beschreven hoe hun voorouders omgingen met “enorme monsterachtige beesten, groter dan de olifant of het nijlpaard”. De dicynodontia dateren echter van ver voor het verschijnen van de mens, dus deze mensen waren zich bewust van het bestaan van uitgestorven wezens in de oudheid. Hoewel dit slechts een veronderstelling is, stelt Benoit dat “het dier met de slagtanden op het paneel met de gehoornde slang waarschijnlijk werd afgebeeld als een regendier, wat betekent dat het waarschijnlijk betrokken was bij ceremonies waarbij dit atmosferische fenomeen een rol speelde”.

De San komen namelijk tijdens rituelen om regen aan te trekken in een geestestoestand die hen in staat stelt om een andere dimensie te bereiken om regendieren te pakken en naar onze wereld te brengen. “Door een soort als de dicynodontia te kiezen, waarvan ze wisten dat hij uitgestorven was, hoopten ze waarschijnlijk dat dit regendier meer kracht zou hebben om als brug tussen de twee werelden te fungeren.”

Al met al is de inheemse kennis van het verleden veel nauwkeuriger dan werd vermoed, als je bedenkt dat de wetenschappelijke erkenning van de dicynodontia dateert van 1840, een paar jaar nadat de rotskunst werd gemaakt.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

20-09-2024 om 23:05 geschreven door peter  

Scientists analyse the 'alien song' coming from the Mariana Trench - and finally reveal the truth about the mysterious noises

• READ MORE: Listen to mysterious 'alien song' heard deep in the Mariana trench 

By Shivali Best For Mailonline 

The Mariana Trench is one of the most mysterious places on Earth.

Measuring almost seven miles (37,000ft) deep, the trench sits on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and is so difficult to reach that just a handful of people have ventured down there.

So it's no surprise that unusual sounds coming from the Mariana Trench sparked fears of an alien invasion when they were first recorded back in 2014.

Lasting between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds, the noises were dubbed 'biotwangs', yet their source was unknown.

Ten years later, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have reanalysed the sounds - and believe they've finally revealed the truth.

The eerie noises were first recorded in 2014 by underwater gliders, which were being used to carry out acoustic surveys of the trench.

Lasting between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds, the five-part sounds included deep moans at frequencies as low as 38 hertz and a finale that pushed as high as 8,000 hertz.

Researchers were initially baffled by the noises.

However, in 2016, a team from Oregon State University (OSU) suggested that they could be a new type of previously unheard baleen whale call.

Speaking at the time, Sharon Nieukirk, senior faculty research assistant in marine bioacoustics at Oregon State, said: 'It's very distinct, with all these crazy parts.

'The low-frequency moaning part is typical of baleen whales, and it's that kind of twangy sound that makes it really unique. 

'We don't find many new baleen whale calls.'

Now, scientists have reanalysed the noises using a combination of visual and acoustic survey data – and their findings suggest that the OSU team wasn't far off.

Measuring almost seven miles (37,000ft) deep, the Mariana Trench sits on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and is so difficult to reach that just a handful of people have ventured down there

The eerie noises were first recorded in 2014 by underwater gliders, which were being used to carry out acoustic surveys of the trench. Lasting between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds, the five-part sounds included deep moans at frequencies as low as 38 hertz and a finale that pushed as high as 8,000 hertz

Rather than being produced by baleen whales, the new study suggests that Bryde's whales are responsible.

In a study published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal, the team, led by Dr Ann Allen, explained: 'It was assumed to be produced by a baleen whale, but without visual verification it was impossible to assign a species.

'Using a combination of visual and acoustic survey data collected in the Mariana Archipelago, we determined that Biotwangs are produced by Bryde's whales.'

Bryde's whales can be found around the world in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.

Bryde's whales can be found around the world in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific

The unusual sounds coming from the Mariana Trench sparked fears of an alien invasion when they were first recorded back in 2014

The researchers spotted ten of the whales swimming in the area, and even recorded nine making the distinctive noises.

However, to prove these whales were indeed the source, the team turned to artificial intelligence.

'We used a combination of manual and machine learning annotation methods to detect Biotwangs in our extensive historical passive acoustic monitoring datasets collected across the central and western North Pacific,' they explained in the study.

'We identified a consistent seasonal presence of Biotwangs in the Mariana Archipelago and to the east at Wake Island, with occasional occurrence as far away as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and near the equator (Howland Island).'

The team still doesn't know why the whales' calls are so unusual, or why they're being made in the first place. 

However, speaking to Popular Science, Dr Allen suggested: 'It's possible that they use the biotwang as a contact call, a sort of "Marco Polo" of the ocean. 

'But we need more information before we can say for sure.'

{https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

20-09-2024 om 18:45 geschreven door peter  

Natuurwonderen die per toeval zijn ontstaan

©Shutterstock

Natuurwonderen die per toeval zijn ontstaan
De trekpleisters die je in deze galerij zult zien, zijn natuurlijke wonderen die puur per toeval zijn ontstaan, hetzij door toedoen van de mens, hetzij door niet vaak voorkomende natuurverschijnselen. Het zijn ware pareltjes waar toeristen van over de hele wereld versteld van staan.

©Shutterstock

Dark Hedges (Noord-Ierland)
Deze prachtige weg met beukenbomen is wereldwijd de enige in zijn soort. Dit sprookjesachtige natuurwonder ligt langs Bregagh Road, een weg tussen de dorpjes Armoy en Stranocum in Noord-Ierland.

©Shutterstock

Dark Hedges (Noord-Ierland)
De bomen werden een paar jaar geleden door een familie geplant, met als doel om de weg naar hun landhuis te versieren. Dat leidde tot dit bijzondere natuurwonder.

©Shutterstock

Fly Geyser (Verenigde Staten)
Deze buitengewone natuurlijke bezienswaardigheid in Nevada (Verenigde Staten) ontstond in 1916 per toeval tijdens het boren van waterputten.

©Shutterstock

Fly Geyser (Verenigde Staten)
Pas in de jaren zestig, toen er werd gezocht naar bronnen van geothermische energie, begon de geiser een hete vloeistof vol met opgeloste mineralen en bacteriën de lucht in te spuiten.

©iStock

Fly Geyser (Verenigde Staten)
Dit rode en groene wonder is vandaag de dag een van de bijzonderste natuurverschijnselen ter wereld. Zijn zeldzame vorm maakt hem buiten gewoon mooi.

©Shutterstock

Blue Pond (Japan)
Deze kunstmatige lagune ligt vlak bij het dorp Biei, gelegen op het eiland Hokkaido. Hij ontstond door werkzaamheden aan de Biei-rivier, die werden uitgevoerd na de uitbarsting van de Tokachi-vulkaan in 1988. Het doel was om de stad te beschermen tegen vulkanische modderstromen.

©Shutterstock

Blue Pond (Japan)
De lagune heeft waarschijnlijk zijn kleur te danken aan de toevallige aanwezigheid van colloïdaal aluminiumhydroxide in het water.

©iStock

Blue Pond (Japan)
De dorre, bewegingloze bomen en de kleur van het water geven de plek zowel in de winter als in de zomer een magische sfeer.

©Shutterstock

Tunnel of Love (Oekraïne)
Deze indrukwekkende, zeven kilometer lange tunnel is door de natuur ontstaan en wordt door de inwoners van het Oekraïense plaatsje Klevan 'de tunnel van de liefde' genoemd.

©iStock

Tunnel of Love (Oekraïne)
De plek is vooral onder koppels een trekpleister geworden. Volgens de legende bewijzen ze dat ze elkaars ware liefde zijn wanneer ze hand in hand door de tunnel lopen.

©Shutterstock

Tunnel of Love (Oekraïne)
De tunnel is eigenlijk een spoorlijn. Hoewel het niet vaak voorkomt, rijdt er af en toe nog steeds een trein doorheen.

©Shutterstock

Ruskeala (Rusland)
Ruskeala is een plattelandsdorpje in de Russische deelrepubliek Karelië, waar zich ook beroemde marmergroeven bevinden

©Shutterstock

Ruskeala (Rusland)
Ongeveer 250 jaar geleden stortte een groot deel van een van de groeven in en het gebied eromheen kwam onder water te staan, wat ze gevormd heeft tot hoe ze nu zijn. Sindsdien kan dit natuurwonder bezocht worden door toeristen van over de hele wereld.

©Shutterstock

Krater van Derweze (Turkmenistan)
Deze mysterieuze krater, die plaatselijk bekend staat als 'de poort naar de hel', werd per ongeluk gecreëerd door Sovjet-geologen. Ze staken hem in brand om de verspreiding van methaangas te voorkomen.

©iStock

Krater van Derweze (Turkmenistan)
De krater is sinds 1971 blijven branden en wordt gevoed door rijke aardgasvoorraden die zich in het gebied bevinden.

©Shutterstock

Krater van Derweze (Turkmenistan)
De oranje vlammen hebben een diameter van ongeveer 70 meter en veroorzaken een sterke zwavelachtige geur. Het verschijnsel maakt indruk op toeristen van over de hele wereld en blijft voor geologen een mysterie.

©Shutterstock

Las Médulas (Spanje)
Dit verbazingwekkende berglandschap is een historische locatie waar goud werd gewonnen. Het was de grootste bovengrondse goudmijn in het hele Romeinse Rijk.

©Shutterstock

Las Médulas (Spain)
Dit fascinerende landschap is tot op de dag van vandaag intact gebleven.

©Shutterstock

Ojos del Salar (Chili)
Deze twee indrukwekkende lagunes in het zoutmeer Salar de Atacama zijn ontstaan door een door mensen uitgevoerd geologisch onderzoek.

©Shutterstock

Ojos del Salar (Chili)
Het resultaat was dit buitengewone natuurwonder, dat toeristen van over de hele wereld boeit.

©Shutterstock

Hamilton Pool (Verenigde Staten)
Bij de Hamilton Pool was er geen sprake menselijk handelen, maar van het werk van de natuur. Hij ontstond duizenden jaren geleden, toen het dak van een grot instortte als gevolg van grootschalige erosie.

©Shutterstock

Hamilton Pool (Verenigde Staten)
Het gevolg was een ware oase van kristalhelder water en prachtige vegetatie, die toeristen van over de hele wereld trekt. De Hamilton Pool ligt in de buurt van Austin (Verenigde Staten).

©Shutterstock

To Sua Ocean Trench (Samoa)
Dit mooie 'zwemgat' is ontstaan ​​als gevolg van watererosie. Het is een magische plek die toeristen uit alle hoeken van de wereld lokt.

©Shutterstock

Great Blue Hole (Belize)
Dit schitterende 'blauwe gat' is een enorme onderwatergrot. De perfect gevormde cirkel is iets meer dan 300 meter breed en 124 meter diep. Hij ontstond tienduizenden jaren geleden, toen de zeespiegel veel lager was dan nu.

©Shutterstock

Zhangye Danxia (China)
Deze bijzondere, kleurrijke rotsformaties, die uit zandsteen en andere mineralen bestaan, ontstonden meer dan 24 miljoen jaar geleden.

©Shutterstock

Zhangye Danxia (China)
Deze kleurrijke bergen behoren tot de mooiste natuurwonderen ter wereld.

©Shutterstock

Bryce Canyon (Verenigde Staten)
Bryce Canyon is een groot 'natuurlijk amfitheater' dat is ontstaan ​​door de schurende werking van wind, water en ijs.

©iStock

Bryce Canyon (Verenigde Staten)
Het is een waar natuurwonder waar toeristen van over de hele wereld versteld van staan.

©Shutterstock

Pamukkale (Turkije)
De kalkterrassen bij Pamukkale zijn het resultaat van warmwaterbronnen die eronder liggen. De bronnen stootten calciumcarbonaat uit dat later hard werd, waardoor uiteindelijk deze terrassen ontstonden.

©Shutterstock

Pamukkale (Turkije)
Deze gigantische bassins met water, dat van een helling afloopt, liggen in de buurt van Denizli en zijn een van de meest bijzondere bezienswaardigheden van Turkije.

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

20-09-2024 om 18:16 geschreven door peter  

Artikel door Jeannette Kras

earth, planet, world

© Scientias.nl

Een nieuwe ontdekking zet onze opvattingen over de geschiedenis van de aarde op zijn kop. Onderzoekers hebben namelijk bewijs gevonden voor een ringsysteem dat 466 miljoen jaar geleden is gevormd.

Deze ring is ontstaan aan het begin van een periode met uitzonderlijk hevige en langdurige meteorietinslagen. Dat blijkt uit reconstructies van de plaattektoniek in het Ordovicium, een geologische periode die duurde van 485 tot 443 miljoen jaar geleden. De onderzoekers ontdekten dat 21 inslagkraters van asteroïden uit die tijd zich binnen 30 graden van de evenaar bevonden, terwijl meer dan 70 procent van de aarde daarbuiten ligt.

Een ring rond de aarde

Dat is eigenlijk te toevallig. Er moest daarom een andere verklaring zijn. Die lijkt nu gevonden. Waarschijnlijk is een hele grote asteroïde zo dicht langs de aarde gescheerd dat hij de Rochelimiet passeerde en door getijdenkrachten uiteenviel. De Rochelimiet is de afstand waarbinnen een hemellichaam dat door zijn eigen zwaartekracht bijeen blijft, uit elkaar valt door de getijdenkrachten. Dat is dus vermoedelijk gebeurd met een enorme asteroïde, waardoor een ring van puin ontstond rond onze planeet, vergelijkbaar met de ringen die we tegenwoordig kennen van gasreuzen als Saturnus.

“Gedurende miljoenen jaren viel materiaal uit deze ring geleidelijk op aarde, wat de piek in meteorietinslagen verklaart die in het geologische archief zijn waargenomen”, legt hoofdonderzoeker professor Andy Tomkins uit van de Monash University. “We zien ook dat lagen in sedimentaire gesteenten uit deze periode abnormale hoeveelheden meteorietpuin bevatten.”

Impact op klimaat

Het interessante is dat deze ring van puin mogelijk impact heeft gehad op het klimaat in die tijd. De ring wierp vermoedelijk een schaduw over de aarde, waardoor zonlicht werd geblokkeerd. Dat heeft wellicht bijgedragen aan de wereldwijde afkoeling, die bekendstaat als de Hirnantiene ijstijd.

Deze periode tegen het eind van het Ordovocium was een van de koudste in de afgelopen 500 miljoen jaar. “Het idee dat een ringsysteem de mondiale temperaturen heeft beïnvloed, maakt het nog complexer om te begrijpen hoe buitenaardse gebeurtenissen mogelijk het klimaat van de aarde hebben gevormd”, reageert professor Tomkins.

Gelijkmatig verdeeld

Normaal gesproken slaan asteroïden op willekeurige locaties in, dus zien we inslagkraters die gelijkmatig zijn verdeeld over bijvoorbeeld de maan en Mars. Om te onderzoeken of de verdeling van de Ordovicium-inslagkraters niet-willekeurig is en ze dus allemaal dichter bij de evenaar liggen dan je op basis van toeval zou verwachten, berekenden de onderzoekers het continentale oppervlak waarop kraters uit die tijd nog terug te vinden zijn.

Ze richtten zich op stabiele, onverstoorde kratons (zeer oude stukken aardkorst, die al heel lang tektonisch stabiel zijn) met gesteenten die ouder zijn dan het midden van de Ordoviciumperiode. Gebieden die onder sedimenten of ijs begraven zijn, geërodeerd zijn of zijn aangetast door tektonische activiteit, werden uitgesloten. Zo identificeerden de onderzoekers uiteindelijk geologisch geschikte regio’s op verschillende continenten.

Geen toeval

Gebieden in West-Australië, Afrika, het Noord-Amerikaanse kraton en kleine delen van Europa werden goedgekeurd als mogelijke plekken waar dergelijke kraters behouden zijn. Slechts 30 procent van dit geschikte landoppervlak lag dicht bij de evenaar, maar toch werden alle inslagkraters uit die periode in dit gebied gevonden. De kans dat dit toeval is, is uiterst klein.

Het is dus heel aannemelijk dat er miljoenen jaren lang een ring met puin voor meteorietinslagen zorgde. Dat is een grote ontdekking die leidt tot de heroverweging van de impact van grote gebeurtenissen in de ruimte op de evolutionaire geschiedenis van de aarde. Het roept ook vragen op over andere ringsystemen, die misschien invloed hebben gehad op de ontwikkeling van het leven op onze planeet. Zulke ringen kunnen op andere momenten in de geschiedenis invloed hebben gehad op vrijwel alles, van het klimaat tot het ontstaan en de verspreiding van leven.

• Meer wetenschap? Lees de nieuwste artikelen op Scientias.nl .

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

20-09-2024 om 00:42 geschreven door peter  

Earth Had Ring System 466 Million Years Ago, New Research Suggests

Breakup of an asteroid passing within Earth’s Roche limit likely formed the debris ring during the middle Ordovician period, according to new research from Monash University.

Tomkins et al. suggest that a large chondrite asteroid had a near miss encounter with Earth 466 million years ago, which caused it to break up as it passed through Earth’s Roche limit.

All large planets in our Solar System have rings, and it has been suggested that Mars may have had a ring in the past.

This raises the question of whether our home planet also had a ring system in the past.

In new research, Monash University’s Professor Andy Tomkins and his colleagues examined the positions of 21 asteroid impact craters from a 40-million-year period of enhanced meteor impact cratering known as the Ordovician impact spike.

All these craters are located within 30 degrees of the equator, despite over 70% of Earth’s continental crust being outside this region, an anomaly that conventional theories cannot explain.

The researchers believe this localized impact pattern was produced after a large asteroid had a close encounter with Earth.

As the asteroid passed within Earth’s Roche limit, it broke apart due to tidal forces, forming a debris ring around the planet — similar to the rings seen around Saturn and other gas giants today.

“Over millions of years, material from this ring gradually fell to Earth, creating the spike in meteorite impacts observed in the geological record,” Professor Tomkins said.

“We also see that layers in sedimentary rocks from this period contain extraordinary amounts of meteorite debris.”

“What makes this finding even more intriguing is the potential climate implications of such a ring system,” he said.

The researchers speculate that the ring could have cast a shadow on Earth, blocking sunlight and contributing to a significant global cooling event known as the Hirnantian Icehouse.

This period, which occurred near the end of the Ordovician, is recognized as one of the coldest in the last 500 million years of Earth’s history.

“The idea that a ring system could have influenced global temperatures adds a new layer of complexity to our understanding of how extraterrestrial events may have shaped Earth’s climate,” Professor Tomkins said.

“The existence of such a ring, forming around 466 million years ago and persisting for a few tens of millions of years, could explain several puzzles in our planet’s past,” lead author Andrew G. Tomkins, a geologist at Monash University in Australia, writes in the Conversation.

• The team’s findings appear in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
• Andrew G. Tomkins et al. 2024. Evidence suggesting that Earth had a ring in the Ordovician. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 646: 118991; doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118991

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

20-09-2024 om 00:22 geschreven door peter  

Three UFO Raw Videos, New York! West Virginia, Washington! Sept 1-5, 2024, UAP Sighting News.

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

19-09-2024 om 23:50 geschreven door peter  

Globular UFO Over West Chicago, Illinois on Sept 6, 2024, UAP Sighting News.

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

19-09-2024 om 23:46 geschreven door peter  

Miraculous Jesus Figure in Forest Fire: Sacred Heart Revealed? AI Enhanced Image, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Sept 2024

Location of sighting: Farmington, Utah, USA

 

Now this is very rare, an image of a person on a hilltop during a forest fire, or is it something more? I used ai artificial intelligence to enhance it, then added darkness and to show a second arm, eyes, nose, flowing hair, and heart, which all look like this Sacred Heart painting. The fire suddenly died down and disappeared that day, even though the city said it was zero percent contained, so...Devine intervention perhaps? 

Scott C. Waring

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

19-09-2024 om 23:42 geschreven door peter  

Er is een radiosignaal uit de diepe ruimte op aarde aangekomen: het is 8 miljard jaar oud

door Janine

M. Kornmesser/Eso

Als we aan het heelal denken, stellen we ons een oneindige uitgestrektheid voor met een paar hemellichamen, maar voor het grootste deel helemaal leeg. Toch zit de ruimte, naast sterren en planeten, vol bewegende deeltjes, fotonen en elektromagnetische golven die enorme afstanden afleggen. Soms bereiken ze zelfs de aarde, zoals onlangs is ontdekt door een team van astronomen: het oudste radiosignaal dat ooit door de mens is vastgelegd en dat acht miljard jaar geleden ontstond. Laten we eens kijken waar het over gaat!

Het oudste en krachtigste radiosignaal ooit ontdekt

Na acht miljard jaar door de ruimte te hebben gereisd, werd het radiosignaal ontdekt door wetenschappers hier op aarde. Concreet moeten we ons een ongelooflijk krachtige lichtflits voorstellen die echter geen enkele seconden duurt, maar eerder een paar milliseconden of zelfs minder: het gaat om een Fast Radio Burst, oftewel snelle radio-uitbarsting. Dit zijn de woorden van Ryan Shannon, astrofysicus aan de Swinburne University of Technology en een van de auteurs van het onderzoek:

Dat is genoeg vermogen om een ​​kom popcorn van ongeveer twee keer de grootte van de zon in de magnetron te zetten. Het onderzoek bevestigt dat snelle radio-uitbarstingen veel voorkomende gebeurtenissen zijn in de kosmos, en dat we ze kunnen gebruiken om materie tussen sterrenstelsels te detecteren en de structuur van het universum beter te begrijpen.

Het onderzoek, gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Science, stelt ook de vraag wat voor soort explosie zo'n FRB zou kunnen produceren, het oudste en krachtigste radiosignaal dat ooit is ontdekt. In minder dan een milliseconde gaf het signaal evenveel energie af als de zon in 30 jaar kan uitzenden.

Wat zijn snelle radioflitsen?

CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 3.0

De sleutel tot het begrijpen van het mysterie van het oudste en krachtigste radiosignaal dat ooit is ontdekt, zijn de snelle radio-uitbarstingen. Dit zijn raadselachtige fenomenen waarover we nog steeds niet veel weten: FRB 20220610A werd in juni 2022 onderschept door ASKAP-radiotelescopen in Australië. Vervolgens werden de gegevens verfijnd door andere telescopen in Europa en Zuid-Amerika om de oorsprong van het signaal te achterhalen.

De onderzoekers ontdekten vervolgens het gebied in de ruimte waar de snelle radioflits zou zijn ontstaan: het zou niet gaan om een enkel sterrenstelsel, maar om een hele cluster van sterrenstelsels die aan het samensmelten waren. Deze en andere FRB's zouden dus gekoppeld kunnen worden aan neutronensterren, extreem dichte objecten met een enorm magnetisch veld. In de praktijk zouden de snelle radioflitsen kunnen ontstaan door botsingen tussen neutronensterren en zwarte gaten, of door de aard van binaire stelsels waarin neutronensterren voorkomen.

Acht miljard jaar door het heelal

Zoals we in de inleiding al zeiden, is de ruimte helemaal niet leeg, hoewel het voor ons het tegenovergestelde lijkt. Er zijn niet alleen elektromagnetische golven en snelle radioflitsen, maar ook andere elementaire deeltjes, zoals bijvoorbeeld elektronen. Volgens Ryan Shannon kan het bestuderen van een FRB in de praktijk helpen om de materie die in de ruimte tussen sterrenstelsels is verspreid beter te begrijpen:

Zelfs in een bijna volledig lege ruimte kunnen snelle radioflitsen alle elektronen “zien”, waardoor we kunnen meten hoeveel materie er tussen sterrenstelsels is. Als we de hoeveelheid normale materie in het heelal tellen, de atomen waar we allemaal van gemaakt zijn, zien we dat meer dan de helft van wat er vandaag zou moeten zijn, ontbreekt.

De manier waarop deze FRB's interageren met de ruimte tussen sterrenstelsels kan ons dus veel meer vertellen over hoe de materie in het heelal verdeeld is. Dit is nog belangrijker als we bedenken dat de laatste snelle radioflits de oudste en krachtigste is die ooit is ontdekt: hij heeft acht miljard jaar door het heelal gereisd tot hij ons bereikte. En het gaat nog verder door.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

19-09-2024 om 23:37 geschreven door peter  

Reports of alien abductions first became widespread during the 1960s and 70s. Alleged abductees frequently described undergoing experimental procedures performed by extraterrestrial beings. Some even claimed that these aliens had inserted unknown objects into their bodies. 

In many cases, these so-called "alien implants" are metallic and have been reported to emit radio frequency waves. Often, they are found attached to nerve endings within the body. 

One of the most prominent figures in this field of research was Dr. Roger Leir, who passed away on March 14, 2014. Along with his surgical team, Dr. Leir performed 17 surgeries on individuals who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, removing 13 distinct objects suspected to be alien implants.

These objects were subjected to scientific analysis by prestigious laboratories, including Los Alamos National Labs, New Mexico Tech, and the University of California at San Diego. The findings have been puzzling, with some comparisons made to meteorite samples, and isotopic ratios in some tests suggesting materials not of Earthly origin.

One such case is that of Terry Lovelace, a former Air Force medic, who kept a disturbing secret for 40 years. In 2012, a routine x-ray revealed a small square object about the size of a fingernail which was buried deep in Terry's right leg the doctor had never see anything like it. 

Then Terry suddenly remembered the terrifying experience he had tried to forget - an event during a camping trip at Devil's Den State Park that he had never spoken of, knowing no one would believe him without proof. Yet the evidence had always been there: a strange metal object embedded in his leg, something that was not man-made. 

In 1977, Terry and a friend had an extraordinary encounter at Devil's Den State Park, where they witnessed a massive triangular craft. This experience resulted in missing time and unexplained injuries. Years later, Terry was faced with a difficult choice: reveal his story of alien contact or remain silent. His decision led him into conflict with powerful forces and uncovered a conspiracy that extended beyond our world.

While some remain skeptical, believing these implants are man-made and part of a secretive human agenda, Dr. Leir’s work, along with Terry Lovelace's experience at Devil’s Den and the mysterious object found in his leg, suggests that 'alien' implants may not be mere fiction.

  

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

19-09-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

The Big Bang started it all - but the 'Big Crunch' is what could wipe us out

• Is the 'dark energy' which fuels the expansion of the universe weakening?
• Another scenario sees stars 'blink out' one by one in a 'Big Freeze' 
•  READ MORE: How a 'Big Rip' could end the universe - 'everything goes wrong' 

By Rob Waugh and Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

While the 'Big Bang' is widely accepted as the cosmic event that started our entire universe, scientists warn there might just be a 'Big Crunch' that destroys it all.

As theorized, the 'Big Crunch' would be a horrific scenario whereby the universe's current process of expansion snaps into reverse — ending with galaxies, stars and planets all crashing into one another, as every last shred of matter collapses inward. 

But in the past year, scientists have discovered that 'dark energy,' a force proposed to explain what 'pushes' the cosmos to expand, may be becoming less 'pushy

'That means,' as one physics professor put it, 'revising our understanding of basic physics, our understanding of the Big Bang itself, and our understanding of the long-range forecast for the Universe.'

The Big Crunch could 'suck' the universe back in on itself. Above, a NASA animation still frame which depicts two neutron stars colliding, produced by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

TKTK. Above, a nighttime photo of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) installed at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona

For most people on Earth, the first signs of the Big Crunch would be in the sky, with galaxy clusters and galaxies merging, or stars beginning to collide with each other.

Telescopes would show that the cosmic microwave background (a fossil echo of the Big Bang) was warming up — and would soon reach thousands of degrees Celsius.

For comparison, the current temperature of this background microwave radiation is just under 3 degrees above 'absolute zero' or 'negative 273.15 degrees Celsius,' according to the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA and other experts.

Roughly 300,000 years after the Big Bang, this cosmic microwave background is estimated to have been 3,000 degrees Celsius; and farther back in time, closer to the Big Bang itself, NASA estimates that its heat was as high as 273 million degrees.

'At these high temperatures,' according to NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe team. 'hydrogen was completely ionized into free protons and electrons.'

In short, the forces which currently make the universe expand would fizzle out and the universe would fall in on itself, in an obscene reversal of the Big Bang.

All intergalactic matter would condense together with stars and planets sucked into a burning core where the surface of stars would ignite other celestial bodies.

Eventually, the universe itself would become a single, vast fireball, at least according to some astronomers and astrophysicists, with all living things incinerated, and time and space itself wiped out of existence.

The new data suggesting that the Big Crunch may, in fact, be the ultimate fate of our universe emerged from an incredible telescopic system on a modest mountain in Kitt Peak, Arizona — automated with the help of 5,000 tiny robots that reposition its fiber optic cables.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a telescope which has spent three years building a 3D map of the universe, including millions of galaxies, at a speed previously unheard of in astronomy thanks to its robotic systems.

Over the course of one recent record-setting night this year, February 12, 2024, DESI managed to document the locations of nearly 200,000 distant 'redshift' galaxies.

It was data like this, collected by DESI, that appears to suggest that the dark energy 'fuel' responsible for the steady expansion of our universe appears to be weakening.

'The entire cosmological community was really shocked,' according to ex-DESI team member Luz Ángela García Peñaloza, a cosmologist at Columbia's Universidad ECCI.

Physicsts current 'standard model' of how the cosmos works, its history, and how it has evolved is called the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model — and it rests on the assumption that dark energy remains constant throughout all time.

The 'Lambda' in the theory's name, in fact, comes from a constant value, one pairing both Einstein's 'cosmological constant' and the once-presumed-constant of dark energy, a presumption DESI data collected from the past 11 billion years seem upend.

Above, an image issued by Durham University depicts portions of DESI's validation as part of the 'One-Percent Survey.' Researchers took detailed sky images in 20 different directions, crafting a 3D map of 700,000 objects, about 1 percent of the total volume DESI plans to study

The new data suggesting that the Big Crunch may, in fact, be the ultimate fate of our universe emerged from DESI, an incredible telescopic system perched on a modest mountain in Kitt Peak, Arizona. Above, DESI installed inside the dome of the Kitt Peak National Observatory

'DESI saw that the "equation of state" of the universe isn't consistent with the usual LCDM model,' García Peñaloza told Space.com, 'but instead, it is showing a hint that dark energy is varying with time.'

'This was pretty surprising because most cosmological observations thus far have favored the LCDM model,' she explained. 

The shocking discovery, she added, 'open a window for variable dark energy models' meaning not just the possibility of a Big Crunch but for other odd outcomes as well.

First theorized in 1998, dark energy is a theoretical force which explains why the universe is expanding, and why that expansion is accelerating.

The idea of dark energy is that the vacuum of space possesses a tiny amount of energy of its own, so faint and difficult to measure that it was dubbed 'dark energy.'

But the hints coming from DESI suggest that not only is dark energy weakening, but there has been a process whereby it first got stronger, only then to slowly weaken.

'If dark energy isn't a strict constant, who knows how it evolves,' as astronomer Joan Najita with the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab said this year. 

'That uncertainty, and the potential unshackling from a cosmological constant,' she noted, 'opens a richer set of potential futures for us.'

Each point in this cross section of the DESI map represents one galaxy. The preliminary version of the DESI map (above) shows only 400,000 of the 35 million galaxies expected for final map

A slide through 3-D map of galaxies from the completed SDSS survey (left) and from the first few months of the DESI survey (right). The earth is at the centre, with the furthest galaxies plotted at distances of 10 billion light years

If the expansion of the universe continues, fueled by dark energy, another possible end will be almost as nightmarish - a scenario described as the 'Big Freeze', where as the universe expands relentlessly, eventually stars will stop forming.

Existing stars will run out of fuel, and stars travel further and further apart, leading to a lonely, dark universe as one by one the stars blink out.

From our Milky Way galaxy, no other galaxies will be visible.

Once the stars burn out, the dominant features of the universe will be black holes - until they too evaporate, leaving a universe barely above absolute zero, in a new 'dark era' which will last far longer than any which came before it.

But DESI scientists are actually optimistic that the new data (which is still being analyzed) will lead to a new understanding of physics.

The DESI team have already used their observations to detect a new Quasar (above), one of the brightest types of galaxies visible from Earth

The new results will likely mean a new understanding of dark energy — and, thus, even of the 'standard model' scientists have relied on to understand the physics that undergirds our universe.

'Essentially we have to start from scratch,' Physics professor Carlos Frenk of Durham University told The Guardian earlier this year. 

And other researchers believe this reckoning for dark energy is well over due.

'The idea that dark energy is varying is very natural,' according to Princeton University cosmologist Paul Steinhardt.

If it were not, as Steinhardt told Quanta: 'It would be the only form of energy we know which is absolutely constant in space and time.' 

WHAT IS DARK ENERGY?

Dark energy is a phrase used by physicists to describe a mysterious 'something' that is causing unusual things to happen in the universe. 

The universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. 

Then came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope observations of very distant supernovae that showed that, a long time ago, the universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today.

The universe is not only expanding, but it is expanding faster and faster as time goes by,' Dr Kathy Romer, scientist at the Dark Energy Survey told MailOnline, as illustrated in this Nasa graphic

So the expansion of the universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been accelerating. 

No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.

'The universe is not only expanding, but it is expanding faster and faster as time goes by,' Dr Kathy Romer, scientist at the Dark Energy Survey told MailOnline.

'What we'd expect is that the expansion would get slower and slower as time goes by, because it has been nearly 14 billion years since the Big Bang.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

19-09-2024 om 23:23 geschreven door peter  

See the Northern Lights from SPACE: NASA astronaut on board the ISS films a stunning video of the astronomical light display

• Mr Dominick has been on board the ISS since March 3, 2024
• He has tweeted a stunning bird's-eye-view of the Northern Lights 

By Shivali Best For Mailonline

Witnessing the Northern Lights is something that features on many people's bucket-lists.

Now, one lucky astronaut has trumped seeing them from Earth, and instead has posted an incredible video of the aurora from space.

Matthew Dominick, a NASA astronaut currently on board the International Space Station (ISS), tweeted his bird's-eye view of the Northern Lights.  

The stunning footage has garnered huge attention, with fans dazzled by the unique view of the aurora. 

Even NASA itself was impressed, with the NASA Earth X account replying: 'These videos never get old.'

Mr Dominick launched to the ISS on March 3, 2024 as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. 

He’s serving as a flight engineer aboard the orbiting laboratory and was expected to spend around six months on the ISS, although his return to Earth could be pushed back amid the issues with the Boeing Starliner. 

While he spends most of his time on the ISS conducting scientific experiments, Mr Dominick also regularly snaps photos and films footage from his unique vantage point.  

'Timelapse of the moon setting into streams of red and green aurora followed by a sunrise lighting up Soyuz with a light blue,' he wrote in the caption with his latest video.

'The aurora have been amazing the past few days.'

His video has already been viewed almost 800,000 times, and several fans have replied, expressing their amazement. 

'Man that is just amazing... what a sight,' one user wrote. 

Another added: 'you are becoming the ultimate space photographer, great work again!'

While he spends most of his time on the ISS conducting scientific experiments, Mr Dominick also regularly snaps photos and films footage from his unique vantage point

His video has already been viewed almost 800,000 times, and several fans have replied, expressing their amazement

And one joked: 'What a strange world. Fun to visit, I'm sure.'

Auroras are caused by disturbances in Earth's 'magnetosphere' (its system of magnetic fields) due to powerful activity on the sun. 

High-energy particles travel from the sun towards us at hundreds of miles per second before bombarding our magnetosphere.

At this point, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into our planet's atmosphere.

There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky, known as auroras. 

Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple. 

WHAT ARE AURORAS AND WHAT TRIGGERS THE STUNNING NATURAL DISPLAYS?

The Northern and Southern Lights are natural light spectacles triggered in our atmosphere that are also known as the 'Auroras'.

There are two types of Aurora - Aurora Borealis, which means 'dawn of the north', and Aurora Australis, 'dawn of the south.'

The displays light up when electrically charged particles from the sun enter the Earth’s atmosphere. 

There are two types of Aurora - Aurora Borealis (file photo), which means 'dawn of the north', and Aurora Australis, 'dawn of the south.' The displays light up when electrically charged particles from the sun enter the Earth’s atmosphere

Usually the particles, sometimes referred to as a solar storm, are deflected by Earth’s magnetic field.

But during stronger storms they enter the atmosphere and collide with gas particles, including hydrogen and helium.

These collisions emit light. Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are common.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

19-09-2024 om 23:03 geschreven door peter  

Both asteroids were captured in a series of radar images obtained by the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone Solar System Radar near Barstow, California. The principal technique for studying asteroids is radar – called planetary radar. While astronomers can study the Universe by capturing light from stars, planets, and galaxies, they can also study nearby objects by shining radio light on them and analyzing the signals that echo back. Planetary radar can reveal incredibly detailed information about our planetary neighbors.

“When astronomers are studying light that is being made by a star, or galaxy, they’re trying to figure out its properties,” said Patrick Taylor, radar division head for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in an interview I did with him earlier this year. “But with radar, we already know what the properties of the signals are, and we leverage that to figure out the properties of whatever we bounced the signals off of. That allows us to characterize planetary bodies – like their shape, speed, and trajectory. That’s especially important for hazardous objects that might stray too close to Earth.”

2024 ON was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on Mauna Loa in Hawaii on July 27. The asteroid was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Arizona, on May 4.

NASA labels objects larger than 492 feet that come within 4.6 million miles of Earth “potentially hazardous objects,” so scientists are monitoring 2024 JV33 for potential danger even though they don’t expect the asteroid to pose a threat in the future..

 { https://www.universetoday.com/ }

19-09-2024 om 22:31 geschreven door peter  

These four samples will then be sent to Earth for quality analysis and testing. Two will be sent to the ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, a third to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and the fourth to the ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, where it will be integrated into the LUNA facility—a lunar analog environment designed for astronaut training. The availability of ISM will significantly reduce the challenges of resupplying spacecraft as they travel to the Moon, Mars, and other locations in deep space.

For long-duration missions on the lunar surface, the ability to print machine parts and ship them directly from LEO will reduce the number of launches needed to sustain operations there. As for Mars, the ability to manufacture replacement parts, repair equipment, and construct specific tools on demand will ensure a measure of autonomy for mission crews and reduce their reliance on resupply missions sent from Earth. This is especially important given the limited launch windows to Mars (every 26 months) and the time it takes to make a one-way transit (6 to 9 months).

NASA is also pursuing an ISM project aboard the ISS with the help of its commercial partners through the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), with additional support provided by the physics-based modeling group at NASA’s Ames Research Center. These efforts began in 2014 when NASA launched the first 3D printer (manufactured by Made In Space, Inc.) to the ISS. This technology demonstrator used the fused filament fabrication (FFF) process to create objects out of plastic and proved that 3D printing could work in a microgravity environment.

This was followed by the creation of the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), which can print using a variety of materials. These devices allowed for the creation of the first 3D-printed tools in space, including a plastic wrench, a rachet wrench, and more. In 2019, NASA added the ReFabricator experiment to the ISS, which was developed by Tethers Unlimited to create 3D-printed parts using recycled plastic materials. However, the ESA’s technology demonstrator is the first to successfully print a metal component in microgravity conditions.

The experiments will not stop there. In 2021, NASA sent another 3D printer to the ISS, the Redwire Regolith Print (RRP), designed to fashion construction materials out of lunar regolith. They are also investigating how Moon rover wheels can be 3D-printed on the lunar surface and how Martian rocks and minerals could be used to manufacture whatever future missions will need in situ. In collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and Youngstown State University (YSU), NASA is also considering how batteries could be 3D printed using lunar or Martian resources.

The potential applications for this technology are almost limitless and are integral to all plans for human expansion beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Further Reading: 

• ESA

NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps configures the Metal 3D printer that manufactures experimental samples printed with stainless steel abaord the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module. 

(Image credit: NASA/JSC)

NASA astronauts (from left) Suni Williams, Pilot for Boeing's Crew Flight Test, and Jeanette Epps, Expedition 71 Flight Engineer, configure the Metal 3D printer inside the Columbus laboratory module. They retrieved an experimental sample printed with stainless steel, replaced a substrate in the advanced manufacturing hardware, then reinstalled the 3D printer back in Columbus' European Drawer Rack-2. 

(Image credit: NASA/JSC)

 { https://www.universetoday.com/ }

19-09-2024 om 20:45 geschreven door peter  

We are all familiar with our one Moon but other planets have different numbers of moons; Mercury has none, Jupiter has 95 and Mars has two. A new paper proposes that Mars may actually have had a third larger moon. Why? The red planet has a triaxial shape which means it bulges just like Earth does but along a third axis. The paper suggests a massive moon could have distorted Mars into this shape. 

Celestial bodies that orbit planets or dwarf planets are known as moons. They vary significantly in size from just a few kilometres to several thousand kilometres. Earth’s Moon (notice capital ‘M’) is the moon everyone is familiar with but there are many fascinating moons in the outer Solar System from the largest moon Ganymede to the icy ocean world Europa or Titan with its methane lakes. Even Mars has two moons; Phobos and Deimos.

In a paper published by Michael Efroimsky from the US Naval Observatory in Washington the shape of Mars is explored with a view to assessing the liklihood of a third moon of Mars. Efroimsky explains that the triaxial nature of Mars is noticeable through the equatorial ellipticity which is produced by the Tharsis Rise. Another less noticeable bulge is located almost opposite to the Tharsis rise and is in the Syrtis Major Planum region.

The paper proposes the peculiar bulge shape of Mars has been caused by two different elements. The initial shape was caused by a massive moon in orbit around the young and pliable Mars. It was in a synchronous or captured orbit so the same face of Mars was always pointing toward the moon. Under the constant tug of gravity, a triaxial ellipsoid shape evolved. A triaxial ellipsoid is shaped like a rugby ball but the three axes are of different lengths. The longest axis was aligned to the Moon while the others were forged by other tidal effects. 

The second element of the development of the shape of Mars relates to the convection processes under its surface. After the triaxial ellipsoid shape developed, the tidally raised regions became more prone to uplift driven by convection, tectonic and volcanic activity. The activity slowly enhanced the triaxial ellipticity seen today. 

Efroimsky demonstrates that a moon of less than a third of the mass of the Moon, in a synchronous orbit around Mars was capable of creating the initial triaxiality (this is my new favourite word!) The research also put showed that the asymmetry of the equator was significant if the synchronous moon existed while Mars still have magma oceans, and was weaker if the moon showed up at the solidification stage.

In order for the second element to be evidenced, further research is required. However Efroimsky believes the tidal deformations could very easily oscillate and generate heat. A moon in an elliptical but synchronous orbit would appear to oscillate east/west around the same region of sky. This would enhance the tidal deformation and internal heating of the system giving credence to Efroimsky’s theory that Mars did indeed once have a third larger moon. 

Source : 

• A synchronous moon as a possible cause of Mars’ initial triaxiality

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

19-09-2024 om 20:25 geschreven door peter  

British RAF Officer Met Human-Looking Alien Named Mr. Janus In London In 1950s

The impressive career of Sir Peter Horsley began in 1939 after he joined the Royal Air Force during the war outbreak. He was only 18 years old when he started working with the British military. First, he was an air gunner, then a pilot in the RAF, and also worked as a flight instructor. Besides, he was a pilot of Major General Sir Miles Graham. Having so many accomplishments in the RAF, he had never thought that one day, he would have a chance to meet an extraterrestrial in  London.

After the Second World War ended, Horsley returned to England in 1947 and was appointed Adjutant to the Oxford University Air Squadron in 1948. In the following year, he served as a Squadron for the British royal family and also acted as an assistant officer for Queen Elizabeth II and her husband. He became a Wing Commander in 1952 and from 1953 to 1956, he was a full-time Equerry to Prince Philip. He retired from the Royal Air Force as the Deputy-Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command.

In his autobiography “Sounds From Another Room” which was released in 1998, Horsely wrote about a two-hour meeting with an extraterrestrial being named Mr. Janus in a dark room in some London house.

“I don’t care what people think — it was what happened. I would say they come from another planet somewhere in the universe but not in our galaxy. They are benign, not aggressive and, like us, are explorers,” Horsely said. (Source)

This amazing resume has something interesting in it. It talks about a possible meeting with an alien named “Mr. Janus.” This story is found in Horsley’s book from 1998 called “Sounds From Another Room.”

“Janus was there, sitting by the fire in a deep chair. He asked: ‘What is your interest in flying saucers?’ We talked for hours about traveling in space and time. I don’t know what or who he was. He didn’t say he was a visitor from another planet but I had that impression. I believe he was here to observe us. I never saw him again. I have no qualms about the reaction to my experience with Mr. Janus.”

Horsely found out that Prince Philip had a fascination for UFOs. What’s more, he felt strange at the royal palace. He wrote in his book: “[The Duke] was quite interested. As always his mind was open. He agreed I should do a study on the subject in my spare time; as long as I kept it in perspective and didn’t bring the Palace into disrepute. He didn’t want to see headlines about him believing in little green men.”

In 1954, Horsely met General Martin who believed that the UFOs were sent to Earth by an alien civilization to prevent a nuclear war (a similar claim was also made by Edgar Mitchell who said before his death, “Aliens Arrived To Stop Nuclear War”). One day, Martin called Horsely, inviting him to meet a mysterious woman named Mrs. Markham at her residence in Smith Street, Chelsea, London. The next morning, he was introduced to a stranger named Mr. Janus.

Janus straightly asked Horsely what he knew about UFOs. They had a conversation for hours, talking about traveling into space and through time. Horsely had no clue who Janus was. But somewhere in his mind, he thought that Janus was a visitor from outer space who had come to Earth to observe the people.

Read also:

• Aliens From Andromeda Told US Army Personnel That Humans Are Composite Of 22 Different E.T. Races
• Former CIA Director Believes In UFOs & His Friend’s Aircraft Stopped At 40,000 Feet In The Air

• USAF Flight Nurse Interviewed Alien Named Airl, Said Earth Was Alien Prison Before 30,000 BCE
• Bizarre UFO Encounter Of US Farmer: Three Aliens Gave Him Pancakes

During a chat with Janus, Horsely was surprised when Janus told him that he would like to meet Prince Philip. Horsely replied that it would not be easy. He asked why he would like to meet the Duke of Edinburgh. Janus replied: “He is a man of great vision. . . who believes strongly in the proper relationship between man and nature which will prove of great importance in future galactic harmony… perhaps you and I can discuss the subject first and you will be able to judge whether I’m dangerous or not.”

According to The Sun, Prince Philip got interested in UFOs because his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, wrote about a silver spaceship landing on his estate in 1955. The report was kept secret until Lord Mountbatten died in 1979. It said a man named Fred Briggs saw the craft and a figure in overalls and a helmet coming out of it. Then Briggs got knocked off his bike and held down by something he couldn’t see.

In 2016, Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence’s UFO project told the Daily Star that Philip at one time was ‘absolutely fascinated’ with extraterrestrial activity.

He said: ‘This royal interest in UFOs was extremely difficult for us at the MoD because our policy was to downplay the true extent of our interest and involvement in UFOs…We routinely told Parliament, the media, and the public that the subject was of very limited interest and ‘no defense significance.”

UFO researcher Timothy Good, who spoke with Peter Horsley on the matter, related: “In my second and last meeting with Sir Peter Horsley at his home in 2000, he revealed that, in addition to being disturbed by the realization that Janus was reading his mind, he was even more disturbed by the fact that this extraordinary man ‘knew all Britain’s top-secret nuclear secrets.’”

Interestingly, Janus told Horsely that extraterrestrials were constantly watching humanity, as humans have a low level of consciousness. American author Richard Dolan wrote in his book “The Alien Agendas: A Speculative Analysis of Those Visiting Earth” that Horsely mentioned the mysterious group known as The Observers who had been studying Earth for a long time and also interacted with people.

Those observers “have highly developed mental powers, including the extra-sensory, thought-reading, hypnosis and the ability to use different dimensions,” Dolan wrote. He also talked about gray aliens, reptilians, insectoids, hybrid beings, and others in his book.

Janus thought, maybe this strange event was part of a plan by the government to see if Sir Peter was loyal to the country. Researchers Clarke and Roberts had this interesting idea. They asked Horsley if he thought it was possible that MI5, like the FBI in the United States, set him up to test him.

Horsley said firmly, “no.” He kept believing this until he died in 2001. He said, “I don’t care what people think – it was what happened. I would say they come from another planet somewhere in the universe but not in our galaxy. They are benign, not aggressive and, like us, are explorers.”

• https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UK/defe-24-2031-1.pdf
  

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19-09-2024 om 01:38 geschreven door peter  

Story by Robert Lea

On Friday, 13, 2029, Earth will have a fascinating and intimidating visitor in the form of the "God of Destruction" asteroid Apophis. The asteroid — named after the Egyptian serpent god of chaos and destruction Apep — is so large and will pass within 19,000 miles (30,600 kilometers) of Earth, so close to our planet that it could be visible to the naked eye. 

Will Apophis Hit Earth in 2036?

New research has suggested that if other much smaller space rocks hit Apophis, the asteroid, which is almost as wide as the Empire State Building is tall, could be redirected, and Earth might not be narrowly missed by it during subsequent passages or in extreme circumstances, even during the 2029 passage. But don't panic just yet. 

Research author Paul Wiegert, an astronomer at the University of Western Ontario, told Space.com that the odds of a dangerous asteroid strike on Apophis are very low. "The odds are essentially 1 in a million that an asteroid strike could deflect Apophis enough to put it in danger of a future post-2029 collision, and only 1 in a billion that it could send Apophis colliding with Earth in 2029," he said.

"I calculated the odds of asteroid Apophis, whose current path is computed to take it near but safely past our planet in 2029, being deflected onto a more dangerous path by an unexpected small asteroid impact," Wiegert explained. "These are the same kind of small asteroids that occasionally appear in our atmosphere as 'shooting stars' or 'fireballs' and could strike Apophis just as unexpectedly."

Related:

•  'God of Destruction' asteroid Apophis will come to Earth in 2029 — and it could meet some tiny spacecraft

Wiegert explained that in the research, he questioned whether an asteroid would strike during the period from 2021 to 2027 when our telescopes couldn't observe Apophis and if this could deflect it enough to make it dangerous. 

"Asteroid Apophis is essentially unobservable from now until 2027 because it is in the daytime sky, and so it could be hit without us being immediately aware of the event," he continued.

A chaotic event could mean the rise of Apophis

Discovered in 2004, Apophis (full designation Apophis 99942) immediately rose to the top of tables that measure the risk of so-called potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) asteroids with widths of 460 feet (140 meters) or more that come within 20 lunar distances of Earth. 

Both the size of Apophis and its trajectory saw it remain at the top of both the European Space Agency's (ESA's) "impact risk list" of PHAs and NASA's Sentry Risk Table for almost two decades.

That was until a close flyby of the asteroid in March 2021 allowed NASA scientists to determine Apophis actually won't hit the Earth for at least 100 years. 

Now, this new research shows that chance encounters with other space rocks could redirect the 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide)  Apophis to put it on a collision course with Earth in 2029 or later, meaning it could rocket back to the top of the risk tables. 

Wiegart calculated the effect that objects of different sizes would have if they struck Apophis and then used the number of objects of these sizes that strike Earth each year to determine the probability of such an impact.

"An asteroid about 60 centimeters (24 inches) across could, if it struck Apophis from exactly the right direction, put Apophis onto a post-2029 collision course. But it would take a 3 meter (10 foot) diameter asteroid to strike Apophis, again, in just the right direction, to put in danger of a collision in 2029," Wiegart said. "These kinds of collisions are extremely rare."

When considering the angle necessary to divert Apophis so that it could strike Earth on a future passage, Wiegart found the chance of the asteroid being diverted to hit our planet after 2029 to be 1 in 1 million. The chances of a roughly 3-meter-wide asteroid hitting Apophis and putting it on a collision course with Earth in 2029 were  1 in 2 billion.

An illustration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, as it approaches its target. Could such measures be deployed against Apophis??

(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL)© Provided by Space

These low odds are fortunate considering the huge damage Apophis would cause were it to strike Earth. The Planetary Society estimated that if Apophis were to hit Earth it could release energy equal to more than 1,000 megatons of TNT, equivalent to the detonation of tens or even hundreds of nuclear weapons.

This could spread devastation across a radius of hundreds of miles. Even though it won't come close to the devastation caused 65,000,000 years ago by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and two-thirds of all species on Earth, millions of people would die if Apophis hit a highly populated metropolitan area.

If we discover Apophis is on a collision course with Earth during its next passages in 2029, 2036, and 2068, we would have some options to attempt to divert it. For instance, just as a small impact could shift the God of Destruction space rock toward Earth, another small collision could reorientate its trajectory away again if space agencies had enough warning.

In 2022, NASA tried out this idea, striking the asteroid system Dimorphos and Didymos with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor and measuring the change in its motion.

"It is possible that a mission like DART could be used to divert Apophis back onto a safe path, but exactly how and if this would work has yet to be worked out," Wiegart said. 

Other diversions range from the forceful, such as hitting an asteroid with a nuclear weapon, to the sublime, such as painting one side of an asteroid black, causing it to absorb more solar radiation, shifting its center of mass, and altering its trajectory. These methods are well-founded scientifically but are yet to be tested.

"It's difficult to say what other diversion methods would work, but scientists are thinking hard about our options," Wiegart said.

Though Apophis is unlikely to live up to its fearsome name in 2029 by impacting Earth, its scientific impact will be immeasurable. Plans are already being hatched to use spacecraft and satellites to rendezvous with the asteroid as it heads toward its closest approach to our planet.

"Apophis' upcoming close pass in 2029 is a natural milestone for our planet, as we move into a time where we as a global community have the ability to avoid disastrous asteroid impacts like those that may have extinguished the dinosaurs," Wiegart concluded. "The astronomical community as a whole is continuing to think about dangerous asteroids like Apophis as well as possible next steps."

• Wiegart's Apophis research was published in The Planetary Science Journal.

Watch it here:

Animation of Asteroid Apophis’ 2029 Close Approach with Earth

Apophis, The Asteroid That Could Hit Earth In 2029

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19-09-2024 om 01:13 geschreven door peter  

• https://youtu.be/XYu9YC_rGII

Engineers at NASA have successfully fired up a set of thrusters Voyager 1 hasn’t used in decades to solve an issue that could keep the 47-year-old spacecraft from communicating with Earth from billions of miles away.

When Voyager 1 lifted off to space on September 5, 1977, no one expected that the probe would still be operating today.

As a result of its exceptionally long-lived mission, Voyager 1 experiences issues as its parts age in the frigid outer reaches beyond our solar system. When an issue crops up, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have to get creative while still being careful of how the spacecraft will react to any changes.

Currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 is about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. The probe operates beyond the heliosphere — the sun’s bubble of magnetic fields and particles that extends well beyond Pluto’s orbit — where its instruments directly sample interstellar space.

Earlier this year, engineers spotted an issue when the fuel tube inside one of Voyager’s thrusters became clogged. If the thrusters are clogged, they can’t generate as much force to keep the spacecraft steady. Voyager’s thrusters keep the spacecraft oriented in a way that it can communicate with Earth.

If Voyager 1 isn’t positioned in such a way so that its antenna is pointed at Earth, the spacecraft can’t “hear” commands from mission control or send back data, according to Calla Cofield, media relations specialist at JPL.

“If the thrusters that keep the antenna pointed at Earth get clogged, that would be end of mission,” she said.

The team realized it would have to send commands to the spacecraft to switch to another set of thrusters, but the fix wouldn’t be a simple one.

A recurring problem

It’s not the first time Voyager 1 has needed to switch over to another set of thrusters in recent decades. Fortunately, the spacecraft has three sets of thrusters: two sets of attitude propulsion thrusters and one set devoted to trajectory correction maneuvers.

Voyager 1 used the thrusters for a variety of purposes as it flew by planets such as Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, respectively.

Now, the spacecraft is traveling on an unchanging path away from our solar system, so it just requires one set of thrusters to help keep its antenna pointed at Earth. To fuel the thrusters, liquid hydrazine is converted into gas and released in about 40 short puffs per day to keep Voyager 1 oriented correctly.

Over time, engineers discovered that a fuel tube inside the thrusters can become clogged with silicon dioxide, a byproduct of the fuel tank’s rubber diaphragm aging. As the thrusters become clogged, they generate less force.

In 2002, the team commanded Voyager 1 to switch to its second set of attitude propulsion thrusters when the first set showed signs of clogging. Engineers switched again to the trajectory correction thruster set in 2018 when the second set also appeared clogged.

But when the team recently checked on the status of Voyager’s trajectory correction thrusters, they were even more clogged than the previous two sets of thrusters.

When the team initially switched Voyager over to the trajectory correction thrusters six years ago, the tube opening was 0.01 inches (0.25 millimeters) across. But now, clogging has reduced it to 0.0015 inches (0.035 millimeters) — half the width of a human hair, according to NASA.

It was time to rotate back to another set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

Making a challenging swap

As Voyager 1 and its twin probe, Voyager 2, have aged, the mission team has slowly turned off nonessential systems on both spacecraft to conserve power, including heaters. As a result, components on Voyager 1 are colder now, and the team knew it couldn’t just send a command to Voyager 1 to switch immediately to one of the attitude propulsion thrusters without doing something to warm them up.

But Voyager 1 doesn’t have enough power to switch any heaters back on without turning something else off, and its scientific instruments are too valuable to shut off in case they don’t come back on, the team said.

After going back to the drawing board, the team realized it could shut off one of the spacecraft’s main heaters for about an hour, which would enable engineers to turn on the thruster heaters and safely make the switch.

This plan worked, and by August 27, Voyager 1 was back to relying on one of its original thruster sets to stay in touch with Earth.

The team has taken steps to use the thrusters less, and it is expecting to get another two to three years out of the original set, said Todd Barber, Voyager propulsion engineer.

Once the spacecraft has exhausted this thruster set, Voyager 1’s remaining option is the other already clogged set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

“All the decisions we will have to make going forward are going to require a lot more analysis and caution than they once did,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager’s project manager, in a statement.

Voyager 2 has also gone through thruster swaps in 1999 and 2019, and “the situation there is less dire,” Barber said. Voyager 2 has traveled more than 12 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) from Earth.

The information collected by these long-lived probes is helping scientists learn about the cometlike shape of the heliosphere and how it protects Earth from energized particles and radiation in interstellar space.

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19-09-2024 om 00:20 geschreven door peter  

Massive underground ocean found 700 km below Earth’s surface : Groundbreaking discovery stuns scientists

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that challenges our understanding of Earth's water cycle. A massive underground ocean, three times larger than all surface oceans combined, has been found 700 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface. This astonishing find could revolutionize theories about the origin of water on our planet and its long-term stability.

Unveiling the hidden reservoir

The monumental reservoir lies hidden within a blue rock formation known as ringwoodite, deep within Earth's mantle. This layer of scorching rocks, situated between the planet's surface and core, harbors an aqueous secret of immense proportions. The discovery lends credence to the theory that oceans may have gradually seeped from Earth's interior, rather than originating from cometary impacts.

Steven Jacobsen, lead researcher from Northwestern University in Illinois, states, "This is tangible evidence that water on Earth came from within." The implications of this finding are far-reaching, potentially explaining the consistent size of surface oceans over millions of years.

The underwater expanse is not a traditional ocean but rather water molecules trapped within the crystal structure of ringwoodite. This unique arrangement allows for an enormous amount of water to be stored in a relatively compact space.

Innovative research techniques

To uncover this subterranean ocean, scientists employed cutting-edge seismological methods. The research team utilized an extensive network of 2,000 seismographs across the United States to study seismic waves generated by over 500 earthquakes. These waves, capable of penetrating deep into the Earth's core, can be detected at the surface, providing valuable data about the planet's internal structure.

By measuring the velocity of these waves at various depths, researchers were able to determine the composition of the rocks they traversed. The presence of water was detected when the waves slowed significantly upon entering the water-rich rock layer. Jacobsen describes it as "a layer of rocks with water along the edges between the grains, as if they were sweating."

This innovative approach to studying Earth's interior has opened new avenues for understanding our planet's composition and evolution. The team's methodology can be summarized as follows :

• Deployment of seismographs across a wide area
• Collection of data from numerous earthquakes
• Analysis of seismic wave velocities at different depths
• Interpretation of rock composition based on wave behavior

Implications for Earth's water cycle

The discovery of this colossal subterranean reservoir has profound implications for our understanding of Earth's water cycle. Scientists now believe that this hidden ocean may play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of surface water bodies. "We should rejoice at the presence of this reservoir," Jacobsen remarks. "If it weren't there, it would be on the Earth's surface, and mountain tops would be the only visible land."

This finding challenges previous theories about the origin of Earth's water, which often attributed it to cometary impacts during the planet's early history. The new evidence suggests a more complex interplay between the planet's interior and surface, with water potentially cycling between these realms over geological timescales.

To better understand the global implications of this discovery, researchers plan to gather additional seismic data from around the world. Their goal is to determine whether mantle melting is a common phenomenon or unique to certain regions. The results could provide invaluable insights into Earth's water cycle and its long-term stability.

As scientists continue to probe the depths of our planet, more revelations about Earth's complex systems are likely to emerge. The discovery of this enormous underground ocean not only reshapes our understanding of the planet's water cycle but also opens up new questions about the potential for life in extreme environments and the long-term sustainability of Earth's ecosystems.

• https://youtu.be/aPBVGXdsR0I

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18-09-2024 om 23:59 geschreven door peter