The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
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UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
27-03-2025
Eerie Cases of Children Who Mysteriously Vanished off the Face of the Earth
Eerie Cases of Children Who Mysteriously Vanished off the Face of the Earth
Although many people throughout history have vanished without a trace, the cases surrounded by the most tragedy are when the victims are children. Among the cases of children who have seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth, there are those that stand out as particularly bizarre and tragic, surrounded by odd details and circumstances that propel them beyond mere missing persons to firmly lodge themselves into the realm of the odd. Indeed, there is a disturbing tendency for some of the stranger vanishings to be those of children, and in many of these cases, we find mysteries and puzzles that go deep. Here we will look at some of the weirder cases of children who have vanished under odd, often sinister circumstances that only further serve to envelope them in shadows and the specter of the strange.
A bizarre vanishing related by missing persons researcher David Paulides, author of the Missing 411 series of books concerning people who have disappeared under bizarre circumstances, happened in the summer of 1938, when 4-year-old Alfred Beilhartz was on a fishing and camping trip with his family at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. As the boy and his parents were taking a hike along a river, little Alfred suddenly disappeared without explanation. One moment he had been there walking in a line behind them, and the next the parents had turned around to find he was gone without a trace. There had been no shout or sign of distress, and all calls to him went unanswered. He had seemingly just ceased to exist.
Although the parents claimed that the boy had gone nowhere near the water, authorities were nevertheless convinced that he had fallen into the river, and immediately went about blocking off the river so that it could be thoroughly searched and so that his body would not float too far away. A 6-mile stretch of the river where Alfred had vanished was searched and dredged for 5 full days without turning up any sign of the boy, and when bloodhounds were brought in they oddly tracked his scent to around 500 feet uphill from where his parents had been when he had disappeared, which was odd considering he had supposedly gone missing as he was walking behind them. Also strange was that, allegedly, the bloodhounds followed the trail for some time before reaching a fork and suddenly stopping and simply lying down, an odd behavior for trained scent dogs to display, and also strange because it seemed that the trail had just abruptly stopped to vanish just as surely as the boy had.
Even more bizarre than this was an odd report that came in from some hikers in the area in the early stages of the search, the very day after Alfred had vanished. The hikers, who were a couple, had been on Old Fall River Road about 6 miles away over rugged terrain and around 3,000 feet higher from where Alfred had disappeared, and at the time had had no idea that there was a missing boy in the area, yet they reported seeing a rather worrying sight. They claimed that they had seen a young boy perched up upon a high ridge in an area ominously called “The Devil’s Nest,” near the top of Mt. Chaplin. The hikers reported that the boy had been forlornly sitting alone up there and had then suddenly moved out of sight, which the hikers mysteriously allegedly said looked as if he were being “jerked back.” At the time, they could not figure out how such a young boy would be out there in the remote wilderness by himself or how he could have possibly climbed up onto that formidably high ridge. According to the hikers, as soon as they had gotten home and seen the news, they had realized that the boy they had seen was the missing Alfred Beilhartz.
Authorities acted on the tip and made the journey out to the Devil’s Nest, a perilous hike through thick, unforgiving forested terrain littered with rough brush and dense trees, and there at the top of the looming ridge, they could find no trace of the boy. Considering the difficulty of the terrain, the elevation, and the steep, treacherous climb up to the ridge on which the hikers had claimed to have seen the boy, park rangers came to the conclusion that it would have been impossible for the boy to have made the hike out there in the timeframe involved on his own, and that he could not have possibly climbed the ridge alone without specialized climbing equipment and experience. There are several weird details about this case. How did Alfred manage to just vanish right under his parents’ noses without making a sound? What happened to his scent trail, and why did the bloodhounds following him act so oddly? How could Alfred hike all the way up Mt. Chaplin, trudging 6 miles and 3,000 feet through unforgiving, perilous terrain in such a short time, and then climb up onto that high ridge by himself? What did the hikers mean that he was “jerked back”? We may never know, and Alfred Beilhartz has never been found.
In the summer of 1952, 10-year-old Constance Christine “Connie” Smith, of Sundance, Wyoming, was excited about staying at the summer camp called Camp Sloane, in Salisbury, Connecticut. It was her first time away from home on her own, and by all accounts, she could not stop talking about it in the days leading up to the camp. Things started out great, and the typically shy Connie came out of her shell a bit to make new friends and try new things. She seemed to have been enjoying herself, which is why it is rather odd that on July 16, she suddenly walked off on her own away from camp and seems to have kept walking right off the face of the earth.
On that morning, Connie told her tentmates that she was going to skip breakfast and return an ice pack to the camp infirmary. She had apparently used the pack to nurse a bloody nose and cut lip she had allegedly gotten by roughhousing with some other campers, and she told everyone that she was just going to return the pack and be right back to join them. She made no mention of going off anywhere, and seemed to be in good spirits despite her injured nose. She then got dressed in a bright red windbreaker and blue shorts and headed off towards the infirmary, but she would never arrive there. The next time anyone saw her was a camp counselor who saw her walking towards Indian Mountain Road, and others saw her picking daisies in the area. One daughter of a private homeowner would later claim that the girl had knocked on their door and asked how to get to Lakeville, Connecticut, with tears in her eyes, and this seems to be the last confirmed sighting of Connie Smith.
When it was clear that Connie had wandered off and gone missing, camp counselors were quick to find that the girl had never arrived at the infirmary, and indeed she had left the ice pack behind in her tent, along with her money and most of her belongings. The only thing missing was a black zippered purse in which she had kept photos of her friends. The area was searched, but no sign of the girl could be found, and calls out to her were answered with silence, after which she was officially reported missing to police. The area was searched more extensively, but again, no trace of the girl could be found, and in the meantime, police began questioning other campers, camp counselors, and motorists who had been passing by the road she had been on.
Questioning people at the camp immediately turned up some sinister clues, as there were some campers who claimed that, although Connie had told counselors she had bloodied her hose just roughhousing, it had actually been from bullying and getting in a fistfight. Other campers also claimed that Connie had been miserable there and had expressed wanting to go home, so this led to the idea that she had perhaps run away, but why do that without her money and belongings? Also, when Connie’s mother was questioned, she claimed that she had visited her daughter just two days before the vanishing and that Connie had been in good spirits and told her she was having so much fun she wanted to stay longer, so it seems strange that she should want to run away when she was so dead-set on staying. Another ominous clue that police were able to dig up was a trucker who claimed that he had seen a girl matching Connie’s description get into a vehicle on Route 44 near Belgo Road at about 8:45 a.m. on the day of her disappearance, leading police to think she might have been kidnapped. As all of this was going on there was a massive search for the girl taking place, with fliers distributed all over the country. This managed to bring in sightings of Connie from all over the place, but none of these led anywhere, and indeed it would not be until April of 1953 that they would get their first real lead.
It started with a traveling jewelry salesman by the name of Frederick Pope, who came to the police in Ohio claiming he knew what had happened to Connie Smith. He told them that he and his partner, Jack Walker, along with a woman named Wilma Sames, had picked up Connie hitchhiking up on Route 44, and they had promised to take her as far as Wyoming. He then told a shocking story of Walker attacking them in Arizona and killing Connie, after which Pope had attacked him and killed him with a tire iron in self-defense. However, no bodies could be found, and no woman named Sames, nor a Jack Walker, could be proven to have ever even existed at all. Pope would later admit it was all a demented hoax.
Rather eerily, the investigation into this false lead managed to turn up the skeletal remains of a girl in 1958 at a place called Skinner Ridge, in the Grand Canyon National Park, which have never been identified but were eventually found to not belong to Connie Smith. These remains have been nicknamed “Little Miss X,” have never been identified, and are just as mysterious as Connie’s vanishing. In later years, there would be some other leads and even suspects in connection with Connie’s disappearance. One of these was a man named George Davies, who in 1957 was doing time and awaiting execution for the brutal murders of two girls named Gaetane Boivin and Brenda Doucette in Connecticut. While languishing in prison, he came forward to admit that he had also killed Connie Smith and had buried her body on the bank of the Naugatuck River. However, police could not find the body, and Davies would toy with them by claiming he had made the whole story up. Considering that he was executed shortly after, any secrets he may have had he took to the grave with him.
Another promising suspect was a man named William Henry Redmond, who was charged in 1988 with strangling a Pennsylvania girl a year before Connie’s disappearance and was thought to have been in the Lakeville area at the time, but police could never prove this or find any hard evidence to pin him to the vanishing. Considering he died in prison in 1992, we will never know. There would be no further suspects found, but over the years, sightings of Connie Smith alive came in from all over the country, and there was even a woman who claimed that she was Connie Smith, but a DNA test refuted this. Connie’s family would continue to doggedly search for clues, but tragically her mother and father would die without ever finding the answers they sought, leaving it up to Connie’s brother, Nels J. Smith, to carry on, but the case has gone very cold. However, it is still open, and current investigator Detective Michael Downs has said of it all:
“There were some leads that were dead ends. My thoughts are that it’s a good case. It all happened so long ago. In 1952 things were done differently, and technology was very old-school. If you think back to childhood, one could walk anywhere. Times change. A 10-year-old walking down an old dirt road crying would be remarkable today. Back then, it was nothing. No one knows what actually occurred. It’s been 66 years, and no one has found her. With the Internet and technology, you would think something would have come up, but no. If a child were missing today, it would be found. With this case, there is hope for the family’s sake. I tend to be hopelessly optimistic that something will come.”
What happened to Connie Smith? How did she just wander off with so many other people around, only to vanish off the face of the earth? Did she run away, was it foul play or what? It is frustrating to know that all of these decades later, there have been few clues and no answers, and her ultimate fate remains unknown. All we know is that she walked away from that camp and has never been seen again, leaving us to merely wonder and speculate.
In 1971, 8-year-old Douglas Legg went on a family trip to a place called the Santanoni Estate, now called the Santanoni Preserve, near the town of Newcomb, in the Adirondack Mountains of Essex, New York. Also commonly called the "Great Camps," the sprawling, 12,500-acre estate was a popular summer resort for wealthy New Yorkers at the time and featured forty buildings and a 24-room main lodge. The owners of the estate, the wealthy Melvin Family, were relatives of the Leggs, and so they often made family trips there to enjoy the remote wilderness and serene vistas of forests and lakes. On this particular occasion, it was to be the extended family’s last trip there before the estate was due to be sold, but it would also be the last time anyone would ever see little Douglas again.
On July 10, 1971, Douglas went on a hike with his uncle on a clear summer day for what was meant to be an easy, short hike. As they walked along, at around 3:30 p.m., Douglas’ uncle realized that they were probably going to encounter some poison ivy along the way. In fact, he had spotted patches of it as they walked, and noticing that Douglas was wearing short pants, his uncle told him to run back to camp and change into long pants. Although he was only 8 years old, the camp was just a short distance away, just a stone’s throw, in fact, only around a half a mile along a straight path, and despite his young age he was very experienced being in the outdoors and had been to the camp many times before. As he ran off to go change his clothes, it would not have seemed like a particularly abnormal thing, so it was with some surprise that the uncle waited and waited, but Douglas never came back.
After some time waiting, Douglas’ uncle went back to camp, where he learned that the boy’s older brother had seen him near the main lodge building but had thought nothing of it. One of the boy’s cousins also claimed that he had seen Douglas near a nearby ridge, but again, it hadn’t seemed particularly strange. Indeed, everyone seemed to think that the boy was still with the uncle. When the uncle told them what had happened, they immediately fanned out to look for Douglas, calling out his name and sweeping the entire area, but there was no sign of him. As the evening approached and the temperature dropped, authorities were notified, and an official search was launched.
The ensuing search would be one of the largest the state of New York had ever seen, using helicopters, planes equipped with heat-detecting infrared FLIR, search dogs, rangers, a mountain rescue team who flew in from Sierra Madre, California, and 1,000 volunteers, although it was described as not being particularly well-organized and hampered by bad weather and treacherous terrain. Even psychics were brought in. At one point a bloodhound picked up the boy’s scent and followed it for around 30 miles over difficult terrain choked with brush and trees, which would have been nearly impossible for such a young child to have navigated on their own, where the trail ended at a pond, which was subsequently dragged and even drained but no body was found. After that, the scent trail ended, as if he had just evaporated from the face of the earth. The search would go on for 6 weeks, searching every bush and crevice, even in areas that no 8-year-old would have been able to pass through, and dragging streams and lakes, but no further traces of the boy were found, not a single clue as to where he had gone or what had happened to him. He had seemingly just ceased to exist. It was at the time assumed that the boy had simply gotten lost in the wilderness and succumbed to the many bogs and swamps in the area, but in later years, some eerie clues would seem to refute this.
In 1993, a woman came forward claiming that a relative of hers had killed Douglas Legg and dumped his body in a lake in Lewis County. She even showed authorities which specific lake it was, but there was no sign of any body found, and it was discovered that the woman was a psychiatric patient with false memory syndrome. That very same year a Montana man would come forward to claim that he had been hunting in the area back in 1973 and had stumbled across some skeletal remains that could have been those of a child, but he had shied away from coming forward with the discovery at the time because he had been on Navy leave and not supposed to be hunting there at the time. Despite all of the time that had passed, the area was thoroughly searched to no avail. It is unknown just what he actually found or what connection it has to Douglas Legg’s disappearance. Even more recently was a lead that came in 2020, when members of the New York State Police Troop B Underwater Recovery Team were doing training at a lake in front of the Santanoni Estate and came across an unidentified skull fragment. It was seen as an exciting new lead until it was analyzed and determined to be non-human.
In the end, there have been no other possible leads, no new clues, and although the case is officially still open, there has been no sign of the missing Douglas Legg, the tragic vanishing still frustratingly unsolved. What happened to him out there? How could he go so completely missing in such a short amount of time practically right under everyone's noses? Did he just get lost, despite the fact that he was within eyeshot of camp? Did he get distracted and roam off into the unknown? Was this all foul play? Or was it something else? It seems like only the trees know the answers to these various questions, and the mysterious vanishing of Douglas Legg remains unsolved, perhaps forevermore.
Sunday, March 24, 1991, started out as a great day out for four-year-old Michael Dunahee and his mother, Crystal Dunahee, and father, Bruce. It was a clear, sunny day, and the family was out at Blanshard Park Elementary School in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to watch Crystal play in a playful practice game of flag football. Shortly after arriving at the field around 12:30 PM, little Michael asked his mother if he could go to the playground right nearby. Seeing as how there were many parents and families out playing on that fine day and the playground was just a few yards away, she said it was OK, on the condition that he wait for his father when he got there. Little did anyone know that as he walked off towards the playground, this would be the last time she would see him.
Michael walked off, and his mother bent down for just a moment to put on her cleats as she called to her husband to go watch their son. However, when she looked up moments later, the boy was nowhere to be seen. She literally looked down, tied her shoes, and looked up to find him nowhere. Bruce Dunahee was at the park in moments, but couldn’t see Michael anywhere. A look around showed happy families playing and children laughing, but no Michael, who should have stuck out considering he was wearing a bright blue hooded jacket with red lining and red cuffs, as well as multi-colored rugby pants and blue canvas shoes with bright red and orange trim. It had been less than a minute since the boy had ventured towards the park just right there, just feet away from his parents, in broad daylight in a public, crowded park, so it didn’t make any sense. It was as if he had just vanished into thin air.
At this point, it was still thought that he couldn’t be far, so Crystal and Bruce searched the whole park and its surroundings but saw no sign of Michael. They managed to recruit several dozen other people from the practice game to help look, but they had no luck at all, and asking around to other people in the park proved that no one even remembered seeing the boy at all. This was enough to cause the increasingly panicked parents to call the police. The entire area was thoroughly searched, but Michael could not be found, and the search efforts would quickly escalate into one of the largest Canada had ever seen. Yet despite this massive search, wide circulation of fliers, and a reward that would reach $100,000, initially there were no leads at all. How is it that this boy could have so thoroughly disappeared within moments, mere feet from his parents in a public place, and no one had even seen anything? There were no witnesses, no clues, nothing. It was as if Michael Dunahee had just evaporated.
There would eventually be hundreds of tips that would be called in as the case gained national and then worldwide attention, but none of these led anywhere at all. One promising tip was that someone had seen a man in his 50s loitering about by the park near a brown van on that day, but there is no way at all to know if this was connected to the disappearance, and the reported brown van could not be located. Also rather chilling was a call that Crystal and Bruce Dunahee received from a man demanding a $10,000 ransom for the return of their son, but whoever it was never followed up on it, and police believe it was just a sick prank. In June of that year, there was another rather chilling lead, when a girl claimed a man had tried to abduct her and she had seen a boy tied up in the back of the van who she thought resembled Michael Dunahee, but this could not be confirmed. There were various other alleged sightings of the missing boy from all over British Columbia, but none of these panned out, and with no clear answer, there are only theories.
The best thing authorities could come up with was that it must have been an abduction that was carried out by an opportunistic perpetrator, probably a stranger, but it is unclear how they could have done it in such a short time in such a public place without anyone seeing anything suspicious at all. Police interviewed every known sex offender and criminal who had been anywhere near that park, but came up empty, with no suspects whatsoever, and since no one had witnessed anything strange, they didn’t even have a description of the kind of person they should be looking for. The case had hit a wall.
It would not be until 2006, over a decade later, that a truly promising lead would come in when it was reported that there was a young man who had been living in a small town in British Columbia who bore a striking resemblance to posters that had been released showing an age-enhanced Michael Dunahee. In fact, the resemblance was so uncanny that even Michael’s distressed parents believed it to be him, yet when authorities tracked the man down and performed a DNA test, it was found not to be Michael. There would be more cases of people looking like Michael popping up in the coming years, but in every instance, DNA testing proved otherwise. Perhaps one of the spookiest new leads came in 2009, when a 62-year-old man in Milwaukee named Vernon Seitz confessed on his deathbed that he had killed two children in 1958, and this spurred a search of his home. Police would chillingly find reams of child pornography and missing children posters, one of them eerily featuring the missing Michael Dunahee. Police could find no link between Seitz and Michael and no evidence that he had been in British Columbia in 1991, leaving it uncertain if he had anything to do with the case. If he did, then there is no proof, and he took any secrets he had to the grave with him.
The tragic and mysterious case of Michael Dunahee’s vanishing has gone on to become one of the darkest and most perplexing unsolved mysteries Canada has ever seen, and it even led to changes in the way such disappearances are handled, through the introduction of an Amber Alert system in the province. Although the case remains officially open, there has been very little progress made on it and there have never been any suspects found. Indeed, what happened to Michael Dunahee remains largely just as baffling today as it ever was, and Deputy Chief John Ducker has lamented: “I've never seen an effort like that in my history in policing. That was a very frustrating part of it. We didn't get that one piece of information we needed to." We are left to merely wonder and speculate as to what happened to this little boy and how he managed to so fully vanish in such a short time in full view of so many, and hope it doesn't happen to any of us.
In August of 2004, 12-year-old Garret Bardsley was in high spirits. He and his father, brother, and a group of Boy Scouts had just arrived at Cuberant Lake, in Utah’s majestic Uinta Mountains, for a camping and fishing trip, which he had been looking forward to for months. The trip was meant to be a fun late summer excursion before the start of the coming school year, and as they happily set up camp, no one would have had the slightest clue of the strange circumstances that were about to unfold.
On the morning of August 20, 2004, Garrett, his father, and some of the other Boy Scouts got up in the early morning hours to head off to the lake for some fishing. Things went well until the boy managed to soak his shoes, pants, and socks after accidentally falling into the water, and began complaining that the wet clothes were bothering him. According to varying reports, the campsite was just 150-300 yards away along a straight, well-marked trail he was very familiar with, so the father thought nothing of letting him go back to camp to change clothes. Some reports say the camp was a mere “150 paces” away. In fact, most of the trail back was within eyeshot, so it seemed like no big deal. The boy then trudged off up a hill toward the campsite, and as his father watched him go, he would not have been aware that this was the last time he would ever see his son again.
After around 20 minutes, everyone thought it was odd that Garrett had not yet returned to do some more fishing. Thinking that the boy had maybe decided to stay back at camp, the father hiked over there to find that the boy was not there, and no one had seen him arrive. A quick search of the area turned up no signs of the boy, and shouts out into the wilderness produced nothing but silence and the wind rustling through the trees. It was then that everyone realized that something was very amiss.
Authorities were contacted, and a massive search was launched for the missing Garrett. A huge search of the area with hundreds of official and volunteer searchers scoured the vicinity of a three-mile radius but were unable to uncover anything except a lone white sock belonging to the boy about a half a mile from where he had disappeared. Other than that, there was no sign whatsoever of the boy or his fishing pole. The official search for Bardsley was called after nine days, leaving many unanswered questions and theories on what had happened to him swirling.
Authorities believed that the location of the found sock seemed to suggest that the boy may have tried to seek shelter from the coming cold of night in a nearby boulder field, but there could be found no evidence that he had gone into the boulders. He might have also succumbed to the freezing temperatures or starvation, as he had not been carrying any warm clothing and had not had any provisions on him. A wild animal attack was not ruled out either, but there had been no screams for help, and there was no sign of the torn clothing and blood that an animal attack would have inevitably left behind. One Reddit user called “dt_diego” claims he participated in the search and believes Garrett may have fallen into a nearby stream. He says of this;
“I participated in the search for Garrett. I remember our search team met up in a meadow after we finished our assigned route. One side our our line got ahead of the other, and we ended up waiting for a bit. There was a gentle stream that passed through the meadow. The stream was unremarkable, small--perhaps two or three feet across; very easy to hop over. For no real reason other than passing time, a member of our search team picked up a big log, I remember it being several feet in length (4 feet or so), and threw it in the stream vertically. It went completely into the water, deep enough you couldn't see it all, and never came back up; apparently stuck in the muck at the bottom. We were all shocked because the stream was so small, and we all thought the log was taller than the stream was deep. The fact that the stream was so much deeper than we thought, and the muck at the bottom was thick enough to prevent a rather large log from floating back up was shocking. We also discussed the possibility the stream was wider under the top soil.
I remember everyone in my search party looking at each other as we realized Garrett could be in the water, and we'd never be able to find him. I was a volunteer, and am not a search and rescue professional. I am not suggesting that this is necessarily what happened, but I thought the story worth recording. Between all the water in the area, and the mine shafts mentioned by another poster, it saddens me, but does not surprise me, that he still has not been found.”
An even more ominous claim comes from Reddit user “Detail3347,: whose father was apparently a part of the search and would find some menacing clues pointing to perhaps an abduction. He explains;
“When this happened my dad was one of the people who went up to search, while he was up there he talked to some other volunteers who said they ran into some people acting weird when they asked questions about Garrett, they asked if they could check their tent and see who was in it but the people said their wife was in the tent and didn’t want to wake her up, the volunteers not wanting to be annoying left but after just a few minutes felt like they should go back, when they went back the tent was gone along with any trace of people, I think they kidnapped him and that’s why theirs no trace of him, and that the claims of seeing him at a grocery store years later are true.”
None of these ideas has turned up any evidence of what really happened to Garrett, and the only possible leads ever found are that sock and one report that the boy had been sighted with two men at a grocery store in Nevada at the end of July, but this has led nowhere. In the end, it is unclear just how Garrett Bardsley managed to completely vanish without a trace so close to camp and without leaving any trace, and the answers may elude us forever.
Also, from 2004, on July 31 of that year, 9-year-old David Gonzales was camping with his family at the Hanna Flat campground campsite in the Big Bear area of Northern California’s San Bernardino National Forest. At one point, at approximately 8 a.m., David asked his mother for the car keys so that he could go get a box of cookies that he wanted to eat. The mother gave him the keys and watched as he made his way towards the car, which was only 50 yards away. At this point, the mother claims that she turned to look away just for a moment and that when she looked back, David was gone. When a cursory search of the area turned up no sign of the boy, the authorities were contacted. His mother would lament, “A second is an eternity. Witnesses will tell you, I take good care of my children ... This was a tragedy.” And so would unfurl a bizarre vanishing of an innocent child in the wilderness, surrounded by strange clues and no closer to being solved now than it was then.
It was soon found that the box of cookies that David had wanted was still in the car, meaning that he had never reached his destination, but the keys were gone. This had all happened within the space of minutes, and his parents were left baffled. A team of over 200 people in San Bernardino County meticulously scoured the woods for Gonzales, finding no trace of the boy, no signs of a struggle, nothing at all to show that he had ever even been there at all. Nothing. Even after nine days of intensive searches, there was nothing, no one at the campsite had seen him or could offer any further information, and no one had a clue as to what was going on. David’s mother remembered hearing a car speeding off at around the time of the disappearance, but there was considered to be no strong evidence that the boy had been kidnapped. An intensive, 9-day search of the area failed to find any trace of the boy, no blood or any other sign of struggle or foul play, no scraps of clothing, and he had seemingly blinked out of existence. The only clue that was turned up was some witnesses who claimed to have seen the boy walking along a road near the campsite not long after he disappeared, but that was about it. Police also questioned dozens of known sex offenders in the region, but found nothing to link them to the increasingly mysterious disappearance.
One year later, some hikers came across the decomposed remains of what were believed to be David, a mere mile away from the campsite from which he had disappeared, in an area that had already been well searched. The remains would, through dental records, prove that they were of the missing boy. They showed no obvious signs of severe trauma or injury, yet despite this, the prevailing theory at the time was that he had been attacked and dragged off by a mountain lion. There was no reason to think that it was any sort of foul play pulled off by another human being, and Sgt. Frank Bell of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s homicide unit said this:
"Everything we’re finding is pointing toward a natural death, and nothing that we’re finding is leading us to believe anything criminal occurred. The location would be too difficult for a murder suspect to carry a boy to. It would’ve taken hiking down a steep ravine and carrying the boy nearly a mile to get back there. A murder suspect is not going to do that."
The main idea continued to be that he had been attacked by a mountain lion, with the scattering of the bones and a reported mountain lion sighting in the area seeming to support this, but this seems to be a rather odd conclusion considering that the mother had been right there not far away when David had gone missing, yet had heard no scream or sound of struggle, and there had been no blood or any evidence that such a violent attack had taken place. Authorities were not entirely sure of what had happened here, but one thing that did seem apparent is that the location of the remains on the surface of the ground out in the open in such a remote area with no attempt to hide them tended to discredit the idea that the body had been dumped by a kidnapper or murderer. When pressed about why the mountain lion scenario was being entertained, San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokesman, Chip Patterson, was rather evasive, saying:
"Explanations can be found in the lack of evidence. It was such a thorough search, and there were so many resources used, you wonder why we couldn’t find him there. We searched that exact area…. Why couldn’t he hear or see the people looking for him? Why couldn’t we find him? This theory fits with what we don’t know. We were told the big cats can drag their prey one to three miles away, that they like to take it to a secluded area. There had to be a reason he wasn’t being seen."
However, others were not so sure of the mountain lion theory, with other forensics experts questioning this line of inquiry. One such expert is California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Douglas Updike, who, while initially also suspecting a mountain lion attack, changed his mind as the forensic evidence came in, notably the lack of any tooth holes or damage to the bones consistent with such an attack. He would explain:
"There are many aspects consistent with the possibility that a mountain lion attacked this young boy: where he was found, the animal’s swift ability to take prey quietly and take it away from the site of an attack. However, I didn’t see anything that implicated a mountain lion. I didn’t see any evidence today that amounts to a smoking tooth hole. The animal typically jumps on the prey’s back and holds on with its claws while biting at the base of the skull. These are full-strength bites that typically leave marks or punctures through the skull or crush part of the vertebrae. In most lion attacks that we’ve seen, there would have been punctures or crushing. And that is not the case here. If they can find some clothing that belonged to the young boy, maybe we can find some hair on the clothing that shows a wild animal attacked the boy. But at this point, we have found nothing to indicate that it was a wild animal."
Although there were some light scratches on some of the remains, he insists that these were likely from scavengers after death and not the result of a lethal attack. Another oddity that seemed to discredit an animal attack was that the area where the body had been found had been thoroughly searched with sniffer dogs, so how had it managed to completely evade detection if this was just a random animal attack? There have been few concrete answers, and all we know for sure is that a young boy was there one second, gone the next, and ended up dead under mysterious circumstances. Debate has continued on what actually happened here, and at the moment, it remains an inexplicable mystery.
More recently, on July 10th of 2015, Jessica Mitchell and her fiancé Vernal DeOrr Kunz Sr., of Idaho Falls, Idaho, suddenly decided to throw everything in the car and take a spontaneous camping trip along with Mitchell’s grandfather Robert Walton and his friend Issac Reinwand, and Vernal’s 2-year old son DeOrr Jay Kunz Jr. It was seen as an exciting little spur of the moment adventure at the time, and as they headed towards the Timber Creek Campground, in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, in Lemhi County, Idaho, they were all in generally good spirits, especially little DeOrr Jr. However, things were soon about to take a detour into a dark and sinister mystery that has yet to be solved.
After their 2-hour drive, the group arrived at the remote and mountainous campground and set up their camper trailer, after which they made a fire and sat around it while Walton retreated to rest in the trailer and Reinwand went off to do some fishing. After a while, Mitchell and Vernal decided to take a walk to explore the campground and shouted to Walton that they were leaving the boy there with him. They were then gone for about 10 minutes, but when they came back their son was nowhere to be seen. Walton, who had had the camper door open, would claim that he had not heard them call out that they were leaving, and so had not been keeping an eye on the boy, although he had seen him out playing when he looked outside. It was thought that he had just wandered away, but a look around showed no sign of him, even though such a young boy should not have been able to get far through that terrain in such a short amount of time. However, calls to the child remained unanswered, and the father would later say, “He just vanished.” Oddly, he had left behind his blanket, cup, and toy monkey, items his parents claimed he never went anywhere without.
After looking all around the campground for 20 minutes, the parents called 911 at approximately 2:30 PM, and soon the hunt was on. Searchers on horseback, foot, and ATVs fanned out throughout the area, meticulously combing every inch with no sign of the missing boy. The Stone Reservoir and Creek was repeatedly searched by divers, and the search team grew to over 200 people. As the days grew into weeks, it was increasingly suspected that they were not dealing with a lost kid, but rather a possible abduction, but this seemed odd as there was no one else in the area, there was no sign of a struggle, and it was such a remote area.
As the news of the strange disappearance hit the news and investigators looked more deeply into the case, some odd details emerged that seemed to point the finger at something ominous happening with DeOrr Kunz Jr.’s parents. One oddity was the 911 call that the boy’s mother made at the time of the vanishing. It has been pointed out that during the entire 4-minute call, Mitchell seems incredibly calm and devoid of emotion, although this might not mean anything. Another suspicious detail is that police were unable to find an outside, reliable witness who could definitively place the boy at the campground at all, and this was compounded when a convenience store worker would claim that she had seen the missing boy with his parent at her store at around 8 PM on the day he disappeared. The parents have insisted that this must be a mistake, and the lead has not gone anywhere.
Not helping their case was that several inconsistencies were found in the parents’ reports, and they both failed lie-detector tests to boot. As a result of all of this, police and even their own private investigator, Phillip Klein, began to see them as persons of interest. The idea was that DeOrr had been killed, either intentionally or by accident, and that the whole vanishing story was just a cover-up, which of course the parents and the rest of the group vehemently denied. Despite these suspicions, with a lack of any physical evidence to connect them to a crime and no arrest records, none of those who were on that camping trip have ever been formally charged with anything related to the case. In 2019, there was a possible break in the case when cadaver dogs had a “hit” near the campsite where DeOrr disappeared, and bone fragments were found, yet a DNA test showed that they were not from a human being. The parents have long since broken up, and Walton died in 2019, leaving a lot of unanswered questions that will probably never be answered.
What happened to this boy? Where did he go? How could he just evaporate within minutes in such a remote place with no sign of what happened? Was this foul play, perhaps even from his own parents? Or is there something more sinister and mysterious going on here? National Parks have become a hotbed of such mysterious disappearances, so it does make one wonder. Until there is more information, the strange vanishing of DeOrr Kunz Jr. is likely to remain an unsolved mystery, and a reminder of the disturbing trend of people just stepping off the face of the earth in national parks.
There are many more cases of bizarre missing children, and I have merely selected some of the more intriguing and mysterious here. What happened to these kids? How is it that they have so completely managed to vanish right in front of people, and what is going on with those who are found in circumstances orbited by such inexplicable weirdness? Are we dealing with animal attacks, kidnappings, lost children who have wandered off, murders, or something even weirder? Why are they able to elude discovery, ultimately turn up in well-searched areas, and in many cases baffle trained bloodhounds and search crews? Vanishings of children tend to attract to them not only tragedy and sadness, but also mysteries we have yet to fully solve or understand. What has happened to these children and how they have managed to end up where they are may remain an enigma, a shadowy secret lurking along the periphery of our perceptions, and one can only hope that it will not happen again. However, we all know that it is likely just a matter of time.
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Scientists Say They’ve Found Vast Hidden City Under Egyptian Pyramids
In an announcement that has generated a storm of controversy, a team of Italian and Scottish researchers claims to have made a significant discovery beneath the Pyramids of Giza. Using advanced radar technology, the team, led by Corrado Malanga from Italy's University of Pisa and Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, say they’ve detected what appears to be a massive underground complex spanning over 6,500 feet (1980 meters) directly beneath these ancient structures. This could be some type of underground city, the researchers say, which if true would be a staggering discovery.
Nicole Ciccolo, the Khafre Research Project’s spokesperson, emphasized the stunning impact of this finding. “This groundbreaking study has redefined the boundaries of satellite data analysis and archaeological exploration,” she stated, as quoted in the Jerusalem Post. Ciccolo further explained that this discovery could revolutionize our understanding of ancient Egypt’s sacred geography, providing precise spatial data for previously unidentified subterranean structures.
To achieve this breakthrough, the team utilized Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), an innovative technology that merges satellite radar data with seismic vibrations caused by natural earth movements. This method allows for the creation of 3D images of hidden underground structures, without the need for excavation.
Although the results of this research still require confirmation and extensive peer review (the latter of which may be difficult to obtain), the preliminary findings suggest that the underground system could be 10 times the size of the pyramids above it.
3D model of the interior of the pyramid of Khafre, including features alleged to connect to pathways into underground complex beneath the Giza Plateau.
According to the researchers, eight vertical cylindrical shafts, each extending roughly 2,100 feet underground, were identified. These shafts are said to be encircled by spiral pathways leading to two massive cubic structures measuring approximately 250 feet (80 meters) per side in length. Additionally, five multi-level structures interconnected by passageways were reportedly detected.
“The existence of vast chambers beneath the earth’s surface, comparable in size to the pyramids themselves, has a remarkably strong correlation with the legendary Halls of Amenti,” Ciccolo explained. She noted that the cylindrical structures appeared beneath each of the three pyramids and may function as entry points to the underground system.
The Mainstream Responds As Expected
Despite the excitement surrounding this alleged discovery, the reaction of mainstream researchers has so far followed the usual and tiresomely predictable pattern (of automatically dismissing anything that challenges the establishment narrative, with statements that are interlaced with insinuations that question the integrity of the researchers making the claims).
Topography shown by radar shown at a press conference, later shared by spokespersonn Nicole Ciccolo on YouTube.
EXPEDITION -Nicole Ciccolo- / YouTube
For example, Professor Lawrence Conyers, an expert from the University of Denver, expressed doubts about the findings in an interview with the Daily Mail. “I could not tell if the technology used actually picked up hidden structures below the pyramid,” he said, dismissing the idea of a vast underground city as a “major exaggeration.”
While Conyers acknowledged the possibility of smaller structures, such as shafts or chambers, beneath the pyramids, he pooh-poohed the idea of an extensive subterranean city. He likened the situation to ancient Mesoamerican cultures, where pyramids were sometimes constructed above caves or ceremonial spaces. He cautioned that SAR technology typically struggles to detect deep features, making the claims difficult to verify.
Despite such doubts, the discovery has captivated the internet. Social media platform X has been buzzing with speculation, with users proposing alternative theories. Some suggest that the structures could support the idea that the pyramids were not merely tombs but part of an ancient energy system—a notion long associated with radical figures like Nikola Tesla and Christopher Dunn.
“The megastructure they just found underneath the Giza Pyramids is probably the most important discovery to ever be made in our lifetimes,” one user posted, according to Marca. Others echoed similar sentiments, often ranging quite a bit further into speculative territory than the currently reported evidence would seem to support.
3D reconstruction of eight vertical cylindrical shafts with spiral staircases allegedly detected below the Giza Plateau.
A rendering of the possible water system found under the pyramids
OmniCore Tech / Facebook
While the research team hopes to continue their work, gaining approval for excavations remains a significant hurdle. As expected, Egyptian officials have largely dismissed these claims, and the Supreme Council of Antiquities has not authorized any excavation work at the site.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, the well-known Egyptologist, media figure, and indefatigable self-promoter, has bombastically rejected the idea of hidden structures beneath King Khafre’s tomb.
“The rumors that have spread about the Egyptian pyramids that there are columns under King Khafre’s pyramid have no basis in truth, and there is no scientific evidence to support this claim,” he stated. Hawass further stated that no radar technology has been employed to detect such features, and dismissed the claims as attempts to distort Egyptian history.
Hussein Abdel-Basir, Director of the Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, also criticized the findings. He pointed out that geophysical techniques such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and seismic analysis have depth limitations, typically reaching only a few dozen meters. He said that any legitimate discovery should first be published in a reputable scientific journal to be reviewed by independent experts—conveniently ignoring the fact that researchers who propose alternative theories about ancient Egypt are generally ostracized by peer-reviewed journals.
“The details they announced could not have been detected using such methods,” Hawass asserted, reaffirming his stance that these claims are exaggerated and misleading.
Unfortunately, we will likely never know for sure whether the claims of the Italian scientists are truly valid and worthy of consideration, or just so much hot air that should be quickly dismissed. This is because of the predictably poor quality of the “debate” that outside-the-box thinking about the pyramids and ancient Egypt inevitably provokes, dividing researchers into opposing camps (Alternative vs. Mainstream) that blame the other side for all the ills of the world. This destroys any possibility of fresh and innovative research, carried out cooperatively, that will evaluate groundbreaking claims evenly and fairly, combining healthy skepticism with an openness to new ideas.
The good news is that because of the proliferation of online news outlets, mainstream gatekeepers no longer have the ability to suppress controversial or contrary viewpoints in science the way they used to. Researchers challenging the status quo have at least some chance to have their voices heard, giving those who are exposed to their ideas the chance to make up their own minds about what it credible and what isn’t.
Top image: The three pyramids of Giza from left to right: Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure.
For two decades, a European spacecraft has silently orbited Mars, capturing glimpses of a world that looks still—but hides a chaotic, invisible rhythm in its skies. Now, that rhythm has been decoded.
In the most ambitious study of its kind, researchers have mapped the planet’s atmospheric waves on a global scale—rippling patterns of air that, until now, were poorly understood. The results? Startling. The Martian atmosphere behaves in ways that are more unstable, more asymmetric, and more extreme than scientists ever imagined.
Led by Francisco Brasil and Pedro Machado of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon, the team analyzed 20 years of data from ESA’s Mars Express orbiter. Their findings, just published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, offer the most complete look yet at a hidden force shaping Martian climate: atmospheric gravity waves.
If you’ve ever watched ripples spread across a pond after tossing a stone, you already understand the basic idea. On Mars, these “ripples” happen in the atmosphere. Gravity waves form when air is pushed upward by mountains, dust storms, or changes in surface temperature—and gravity pulls it back down, creating oscillations.
But while Earth’s atmosphere has water vapor and thick air to dampen or redirect these waves, Mars has no such buffer. Its thin atmosphere allows these waves to spread freely—and violently.
That means gravity waves play an outsized role in everything from local weather to planet-wide dust storms. And as this new study shows, they don’t behave the same way everywhere.
The Planet Is Lopsided—And That Changes Everything
After reviewing 263 wave patterns and conducting deep analysis on 125 of them, the research team discovered a shocking imbalance: the Martian climate behaves very differently in the northern and southern hemispheres.
This kind of asymmetry wasn’t expected. It suggests one half of the planet reacts to atmospheric energy, like heat, dust, or terrain, differently than the other. In short, Mars has a bipolar climate disorder, and we’re only now beginning to understand why.
The waves themselves come in three main types:
Dry ice waves, driven by carbon dioxide frost sublimating from the surface.
Water-based waves, rare due to Mars’ low humidity but still detectable.
Dust storm waves, massive structures that move energy across regions.
The analysis also suggests that the southern hemisphere may be more prone to extreme wave events—something that could have serious implications for future missions or robotic landers.
One of the biggest challenges? Finding waves at all.
The OMEGA instrument on Mars Express collected hundreds of thousands of images—but Martian clouds are rare, and wave activity is often invisible. The researchers had to hunt through years of data, manually identifying wave patterns when thin clouds or atmospheric disturbances made them visible.
But their persistence paid off. What started as scattered observations became a coherent global pattern. And more importantly—it opened the door to what might come next.
“The differences between Mars and Earth are even greater than we thought. There is more asymmetry between the southern and northern hemispheres than previously believed,” explains Pedro Machado.
There are a Billion Craters Waiting to Be Explored Near the Moon's South Pole
A ShadowCam full-resolution segment of the Faustini crater
The Moon's South Pole is a region of particular scientific interest and importance for future lunar exploration. Permanently shadowed craters the region hat have remained in darkness for billions of years, playing host to some of the most intriguing geological features in our Solar System. These deep craters have never been touched by the warmth of direct sunlight, are it is here that there may be significant deposits of water ice, which could be crucial for supporting and sustaining future human missions and potential lunar bases.
The Moon's south pole captured by the Clementine mission
(Credit : NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Until recently, not a huge amount was known about the polar craters but enter the ShadowCam, a NASA-funded instrument on Korea’s Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO.) Unlike previous imaging technologies, ShadowCam can capture images that are 200 times more sensitive, with a resolution of 1.7 meters per pixel. These high resolution images have facilitated the discovery of millions of previously unknown impact craters in these dark areas of the Moon. These newly identified craters provide crucial insights into lunar surface processes like impact events, volatile material distribution, and geological changes.
Artist impression of Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter
(Credit : Ministry of Science and ICT)
A research team led by P. Pokorny from the The Catholic University of America has developed specialised crater detection techniques to analyse the data. They employed advanced machine learning techniques identify craters in the images using the YOLOv8 object detection framework. YOLOv8 stands for ‘You Only Look Once version8’ and is a nod to the frameworks capability to locate multiple objects within an image in a single forward pass through the neural network, which makes it incredibly fast and efficient.
The neural network was developed with 25.9 million parameters specifically designed to identify craters across various image sizes. Their approach involves processing ShadowCam images by dividing them into multiple overlapping tiles at different resolutions which are then rescaled and analysed. To improve the accuracy, the team also used image augmentation techniques to eliminate duplicate detections. It took some work to train the model though using 5,240 impact craters from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images.
Artist concept of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
(Credit : NASA)
They ran the model across 22,256 ShadowCam images, covering 5.3 million square kilometres of the Moon totalling 2.2 TB of data! It was an impressive feat though with the computational process requiring 3000 Graphics Processor Unit hours but it resulted in the identification of 1,013,440,231 impact craters larger than 16 meters in diameter! If you think this is impressive, it completed that task at a rate of 0.3 microseconds per crater and that’s with a mere1.8% false positive detections for craters between 16 meters and 4 kilometres in size.
With the success of their crater detection methodology, the team are now looking to apply their algorithm to future ShadowCam images. They’re not stopping here though as they want to improve the model by focussing on enhancing the detection capabilities for challenging crater types, including those in low-signal regions, degraded formations, and morphologically complex structures.
The Mars Conspiracies: Bizarre and Unsettling Claims from the Red Planet
The Mars Conspiracies: Bizarre and Unsettling Claims from the Red Planet
Introduction
The fascination with Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has captivated human imagination for centuries. This intrigue has evolved from ancient observations of the "Red Planet" to modern scientific exploration by rovers and orbiters. However, alongside legitimate scientific inquiry, a plethora of conspiracy theories has emerged, claiming everything from extraterrestrial life to government cover-ups. This essay aims to explore the most notable conspiracies surrounding Mars, examining their origins, the psychological factors at play, and the scientific responses to these bizarre and unsettling claims.
The Origins of Mars Conspiracies
The fascination with Mars and the possibility of extraterrestrial life has captivated humanity for centuries, leading to a variety of conspiracy theories that have emerged over time. The origins of these conspiracies can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period marked by significant advancements in astronomy and a growing interest in the cosmos. This era laid the groundwork for a series of beliefs suggesting that Mars was not just a barren planet but potentially home to intelligent life.
The term "canals" gained traction in public discourse after American astronomer Percival Lowell proposed that he had observed a network of straight lines on the Martian surface. In the late 1800s, Lowell published a series of works, including "Mars" (1895), in which he claimed that these canals were artificial structures built by an advanced civilization to transport water from the polar ice caps to the planet's arid equatorial regions. His observations, made through the relatively primitive telescopes of the time, were later revealed to be optical illusions caused by the limitations of the equipment and the human tendency to perceive patterns.
Despite the lack of empirical evidence supporting Lowell's assertions, his theories captured the public's imagination and ignited a wave of speculation about the existence of intelligent life on Mars. The notion of Martian civilizations became a popular topic in literature and the arts, influencing works of fiction such as H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" (1898), which portrayed a hostile Martian invasion of Earth. The idea of intelligent beings on the red planet was firmly entrenched in popular culture, setting the stage for future conspiracies.
As the 20th century progressed, advancements in space exploration further fueled public interest in Mars. The advent of space missions in the 1960s, particularly NASA's Mariner program, aimed to gather data on the Martian surface and atmosphere. However, rather than dispelling the myths surrounding Mars, these missions often intensified them. Some conspiracy theorists argued that NASA was deliberately withholding evidence of life on Mars, suggesting that the agency had discovered signs of civilization but was keeping this information secret from the public.
One of the most influential figures in the realm of Mars conspiracies was Richard Hoagland, who gained notoriety in the 1970s and 1980s. Hoagland posited that NASA was covering up evidence of an ancient Martian civilization, asserting that certain geological formations on the planet resembled pyramids and other structures associated with advanced societies on Earth. His theories proposed that the Martian surface contained remnants of a once-thriving civilization that had been lost to time, and he claimed that NASA's images from Mars were manipulated to hide these truths. Hoagland's ideas, though widely criticized by scientists, resonated with many and sparked a broader interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
The Proof Is Out There: Top 4 MIND-BLOWING Mysteries on Mars
The claims made by Hoagland and others like him were often bolstered by anecdotal evidence and interpretations of NASA images. For example, some theorists pointed to photographs of rock formations that appeared to resemble faces or pyramids as proof of intelligent design. The famous "Face on Mars," captured by the Viking 1 orbiter in 1976, became a focal point for conspiracy theories. Although subsequent missions revealed that the "face" was merely a natural geological formation, the initial image fueled speculation and debate.
In addition to Hoagland, the 1990s saw the rise of a new wave of conspiracy theorists who focused on Mars as a site of extraterrestrial activity. The release of images from the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey missions only served to enhance these theories. Some individuals claimed that NASA was involved in a cover-up, alleging that the agency had discovered evidence of alien structures, artifacts, or even current extraterrestrial life on the planet. The idea that government agencies were withholding information about extraterrestrial life became a central theme in many conspiracy theories.
The internet played a significant role in the proliferation of Mars conspiracies during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. With the rise of online forums and social media, individuals who believed in these theories could easily connect and share information. Websites dedicated to conspiracy theories flourished, providing a platform for like-minded individuals to discuss their beliefs and theories without the scrutiny often faced in mainstream discourse. This digital age allowed for the rapid spread of ideas, irrespective of their scientific validity.
One of the more notable conspiracy theories emerged surrounding the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the planet in 2004. Some theorists claimed that the rovers had discovered evidence of microbial life or even advanced technology but that NASA was suppressing this information to prevent public panic. The photos and data sent back by the rovers were often interpreted in ways that aligned with existing beliefs about Martian life, leading to a tangled web of speculation that often contradicted established scientific findings.
In recent years, the introduction of more advanced missions, such as the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover and the Perseverance rover, has continued to reignite interest in Mars conspiracies. The high-resolution images and data these missions provide have led to new claims and interpretations, with some conspiracy theorists suggesting that the rovers have found evidence of ancient civilizations or current alien life forms. The concept of NASA or other space agencies deliberately hiding information has persisted, fueled in part by the unprecedented access to information provided by the internet.
Moreover, the fascination with Martian life has been intertwined with broader themes of distrust in government and scientific institutions. Many conspiracy theories arise from a fundamental skepticism regarding official narratives. In an age where misinformation can spread as quickly as accurate information, the line between fact and speculation becomes increasingly blurred. The idea that powerful entities are concealing the truth resonates with individuals who feel marginalized or skeptical of mainstream science.
The intersection of science fiction and conspiracy theories has also played a significant role in shaping public perceptions of Mars. Films and television shows have often portrayed Mars as a world teeming with life or as a site of ancient civilizations. These depictions, while fictional, have contributed to a cultural narrative that encourages belief in the possibility of extraterrestrial life. When combined with real scientific findings, this narrative can lead to an environment ripe for conspiracy theories to flourish.
In conclusion, the origins of Mars conspiracies can be traced back to the late 19th century, fueled by early astronomical observations and a growing fascination with the possibility of intelligent life. Figures like Percival Lowell and Richard Hoagland have played pivotal roles in shaping these beliefs, often using anecdotal evidence and imaginative interpretations of images from space missions. The internet's rise has facilitated the rapid spread of these ideas, allowing conspiracy theories to thrive in an environment of skepticism and misinformation. As our exploration of Mars continues to evolve with new technology and missions, the allure of conspiracy theories surrounding the red planet will likely persist, reflecting humanity's enduring quest for knowledge and understanding of our place in the universe.
ANOMALIES ON MARS
This planet has fooled Earthlings many times with its strange rocky surface. Humans have been interested in Mars for centuries, perhaps because it is the closest habitable planet in the solar system other than Earth, or perhaps because it is close enough to be well-observed. But this proximity has also given rise to many illusions, rumors and conspiracies, and many people have claimed to see strange things on the surface of Mars.
After all, this planet has fooled Earthlings many times with its strange rocky surface. People have at various times claimed to find everything from canals and eerie human faces to extraterrestrial bases on the Red Planet's surface. In this vast universe, are we humans only eager to connect with our neighbors on this planet?
Given the long history of rumors and optical illusions associated with Mars, it certainly seems so.
1. Land and Sea:
In 1784, Sir William Herschel, a famous British astronomer, wrote that the dark areas on Mars were oceans and the light areas were land.
They hypothesized that Mars is inhabited by intelligent beings who, according to NASA, "probably enjoy this situation as much as we do."
Herschel's theory prevailed for a century, with other astronomers claiming that vegetation could also be seen in light-colored regions.
When Mars approached Earth, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observed some grooves on the red planet's surface with his telescope. The Italian word they used for these canals was "canali," which translates to "canals" in English, leading many in the English-speaking world to conclude that there were intelligent beings on Mars. Creatures were inhabited that created a system of waterways.
This fallacy was popularized by an astronomer named Percival Lowell, who in 1895 presented drawings of the canals in a book entitled "Mars" and in 1908 discussed his complete theory in another book, "Mars as Life." .
This theory was disproved in the early 20th century, when it was declared that the "rivers" were merely optical illusions. Seen through poor-quality telescopes, Martian point-like features, such as mountains and craters, appear to line up directly with each other.
It all started in 1976, when NASA released a fascinating image of a mountain on Mars, captured by the "Viking 1" spacecraft. Eyes and nostrils could be clearly seen in the picture. Although it was a picture of a mountain, more than 30 years later, the "Face on Mars" still inspires myth and conspiracy theorists. Many believe it is an artificial structure built by an ancient Martian civilization. The shadow of the mountain really makes it look like a face when viewed from above.
However, images taken by the Mars Express orbiter and other spacecraft show that from other angles the mountain is clearly distinct, and does not look like a face at all. Pareidolia is the scientific term for seeing faces (or other significant objects) in different objects.
In 2001, seven years before his death, famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, co-creator of "2001: A Space Odyssey," announced that he had discovered new images of Mars taken by the then-orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. In the pictures, you can see clumps of plants including trees.
"Take a good look at these new images of Mars, a lot is changing with the seasons." Clark said, speaking by phone during the Werner von Braun Memorial Lecture Series at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. "moving, which could possibly be vegetation." and "Where there's vegetation, you can bet we're going to find some Martians," he added.
The branches that Clark saw on the Martian surface are what Martian geologists call "spiders." These lines look like branches, and change with the seasons.They are formed by the melting of icy rocks by carbon dioxide, which flows along these paths when the carbon dioxide turns into ice sublimation gas. which look like branches.
In 2007, the Mars rover "Spirit" took a closer look at the Red Planet, and spotted an image of a man dressed in human clothing kneeling in worship. Spirit obtained a beautiful view of the plateau called "Home Plate", which lies within Goseo Crater in the interior basin of the Columbia Hills range. Of course, the "man" in the picture is just a rock, humanized in our minds by pareidolia.
Images taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2019 show what appears to be a giant hairy spider sitting with its legs stretched out on a Martian mountain. But these dotted "legs" are actually the tracks of hundreds of tiny tornadoes, or dust storms. It is not clear why the mountain is a hotspot for such storms, but ESA scientists say the way the air mass circulates around the region may be conducive to the formation of dust tornadoes.
Mars, as we all know is a red planet. So why is this strange rock discovered by the Perseverance rover green? A tweet posted by the rover's public relations team on March 31 wondered, “Did this piece of Mars fall into this area from deep space? Is it Shahab-e-Saqib or something else?” The rock is about 6 inches (15 cm) long and lies in Mars' Jezero Crater near the rover's landing site. The rover vaporized a portion of the rock with a laser so that the rover's cameras and spectrometers could analyze the vapor cloud and reveal its chemical composition. Perhaps the answer to this mystery will be found soon.
1. Extraterrestrial Life and Ancient Civilizations
One of the most pervasive claims in the realm of conspiracy theories is the notion that Mars once harbored intelligent life, or that it still does. This theory has captivated the imaginations of many and has been bolstered by a variety of supposed evidence collected over decades of exploration. Proponents of this theory often cite captivating images captured by Mars rovers that appear to show structures, faces, or other artifacts that resemble the works of intelligent beings. Among these images, the "Face on Mars" stands out as perhaps the most iconic. This rock formation, which was first photographed by the Viking 1 orbiter in 1976, bears a striking resemblance to a human face, leading to widespread speculation about its origins.
Believers in this theory argue that such formations are not mere natural geological occurrences, as most scientists contend, but rather remnants of an ancient civilization that once thrived on the red planet. They assert that these structures indicate an advanced society capable of monumental engineering and artistry, suggesting that humanity is not alone in the universe. The allure of the idea that intelligent life once existed on Mars taps into a deeper human curiosity about our place in the cosmos.
Critics, including scientists and skeptics, explain that the formations seen in these images can be attributed to pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon where the mind perceives familiar shapes in random patterns. In the case of the "Face on Mars," subsequent high-resolution imaging has shown that the geological features of the formation lack the detail necessary to support the claims of a crafted visage. Nevertheless, believers argue that the evidence is being suppressed, claiming that government entities or scientific organizations have a vested interest in maintaining the narrative that humanity is alone in the universe. This belief feeds into a broader narrative of distrust toward authorities, which is often a hallmark of conspiracy theories.
The fascination with extraterrestrial life is not limited to Mars. The discovery of extremophiles—organisms that thrive in extreme environments—on Earth has further fueled speculation about the possibility of life surviving in harsh conditions elsewhere in the solar system, including in the subsurface oceans of moons like Europa and Enceladus. As research continues, the debate over the existence of extraterrestrial life remains an engaging topic for many, blurring the line between scientific inquiry and speculative conspiracy.
2. NASA Cover-Ups
Another prevalent conspiracy theory claims that NASA is deliberately hiding information about Mars and its potential for life. This theory posits that the space agency has discovered irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial life or advanced technology but is withholding this critical information from the public. Proponents argue that such suppression serves various purposes, including maintaining control over the narrative of space exploration, securing funding for ongoing missions, and preserving national security interests.
The idea of a cover-up resonates deeply in a society increasingly skeptical of governmental institutions. In an age where information is more accessible than ever, the belief that vital knowledge is deliberately concealed is a powerful narrative. Critics of this theory often point to NASA's transparency in sharing data and findings from its missions, but conspiracy theorists remain unconvinced. They argue that the agency's involvement in classified projects and its connections to military interests suggest a more sinister agenda at play.
Some conspiracy theorists claim that NASA's imagery and data are manipulated to hide evidence of extraterrestrial life. They point to specific instances where images from Mars rovers have been altered or where anomalies have been dismissed without thorough investigation. This perception of suppression is exacerbated by the complex nature of scientific research, which often requires time, peer review, and validation before findings are publicly accepted. In the fast-paced world of conspiracy theories, however, the lack of immediate validation can be interpreted as evidence of a cover-up.
This theory has been fueled by the rise of the internet, where individuals can easily share their interpretations and findings. Online forums and social media platforms provide a space for like-minded individuals to discuss their beliefs, creating echo chambers that reinforce their views. This environment fosters a culture of skepticism towards official narratives, leading many to question the integrity of government-sponsored research and the motivations behind it.
As technology advances and more missions to Mars are planned, the speculation surrounding NASA's findings is likely to continue. The agency's commitment to transparency will be put to the test, as the public remains eager for information about the potential for life beyond Earth.
3. The Mars Anomaly Research Society
The Mars Anomaly Research Society (MARS) is an organization that promotes the study of alleged anomalies on Mars, serving as a platform for enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists to share their findings and interpretations. Established by individuals who believe that Mars is teeming with evidence of past or present life, MARS has gained a following among those who are fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations.
Members of the society often analyze images from Mars rovers and orbiters, searching for patterns or formations that they believe indicate intelligent design. They share their discoveries through various mediums, including websites, forums, and social media, creating a community centered around the exploration of Mars anomalies. This collective effort leads to a wealth of interpretations, some of which are highly creative and imaginative.
However, critics argue that MARS fosters confirmation bias, encouraging individuals to find evidence that supports their preconceived notions while ignoring or dismissing scientific explanations. The emphasis on subjective interpretations can lead to a distorted understanding of the data, as individuals selectively focus on anomalies that fit their beliefs. As a result, many scientific findings are overlooked or misrepresented in favor of sensational claims.
The society's activities raise questions about the nature of scientific inquiry and the boundaries between legitimate research and pseudoscience. While the exploration of Mars has unveiled numerous mysteries, the methods employed by organizations like MARS often lack the rigor and skepticism that characterize the scientific method. This discrepancy can lead to a proliferation of misinformation and perpetuate the belief in conspiracy theories surrounding extraterrestrial life.
Furthermore, the existence of organizations like MARS highlights the tension between scientific exploration and public imagination. The desire for sensational discoveries often overshadows the nuanced understanding of the challenges involved in space exploration. While the allure of finding evidence of advanced civilizations is undeniable, it is essential to approach the subject with a critical eye, recognizing the difference between speculation and scientifically validated findings.
In conclusion, the belief in extraterrestrial life on Mars, the claims of NASA cover-ups, and the role of organizations like the Mars Anomaly Research Society exemplify the complexities surrounding conspiracy theories in the context of space exploration. These theories tap into fundamental human desires to understand our universe, our origins, and the possibility of life beyond our planet. However, they also highlight the challenges of distinguishing between credible scientific inquiry and unfounded speculation. As technology advances and our exploration of Mars continues, the dialogue surrounding these theories will undoubtedly evolve, reflecting the intersection of science, belief, and the quest for knowledge.
Psychological Factors Behind Mars Conspiracies
The allure of conspiracy theories surrounding Mars can be partly attributed to human psychology. Cognitive biases, such as the tendency to see patterns where none exist (pareidolia), play a significant role in how individuals interpret ambiguous visual information. When images from Mars are released, such as those taken by rovers and orbiters, many people naturally look for familiar shapes or forms, which can lead to the belief that there are signs of life or artificial structures on the planet. This phenomenon illustrates how our brains are wired to find meaning in chaos, often resulting in the fabrication of elaborate narratives that explain what we perceive.
Additionally, the desire for a sense of control and understanding in an uncertain world often leads people to gravitate toward conspiratorial thinking. In an age marked by rapid technological advancement and overwhelming amounts of information, many individuals feel powerless in the face of global challenges such as climate change, political instability, and health crises. Conspiracy theories, including those about Mars, provide a semblance of clarity and control by suggesting that there are hidden truths that, once uncovered, can demystify complex phenomena. By believing in these theories, individuals can feel as though they are part of an exclusive group that possesses knowledge denied to the general populace.
Moreover, the idea of extraterrestrial life taps into deep-seated existential questions about humanity's place in the universe. For many, the thought that we are not alone is both thrilling and unsettling. This emotional response can lead to the acceptance of extraordinary claims without the requisite evidence, further perpetuating conspiracy theories. The notion of Martians or ancient civilizations residing on Mars addresses fundamental human questions about existence, purpose, and our future. In a universe that seems vast and indifferent, the idea of other intelligent beings offers a glimmer of hope and a sense of connection.
Psychologically, the human need for belonging also plays a significant role in the proliferation of conspiracy theories about Mars. Communities that form around these beliefs often provide a sense of identity and camaraderie among members. In a world where social connections can be fleeting and superficial, finding a group that shares a common belief in Martian conspiracies can foster a strong sense of belonging. This social reinforcement further entrenches these beliefs, as members validate and support one another, creating an echo chamber that discourages critical thinking and skepticism.
Another psychological factor influencing belief in Mars conspiracies is the phenomenon known as confirmation bias. This bias leads individuals to seek out information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs while dismissing or undervaluing evidence that contradicts them. When individuals encounter information about Mars that aligns with their beliefs—such as purported sightings of UFOs or claims of ancient civilizations—they are more likely to accept this information without question. Conversely, credible scientific evidence disproving these claims may be ignored or rationalized away, reinforcing the conspiracy theory.
Fear also plays a crucial role in the acceptance of conspiracy theories. The vastness of space and the unknown aspects of Mars can evoke fear and anxiety about what lies beyond our planet. This fear can lead individuals to construct narratives that serve to explain or alleviate their concerns. For example, if someone fears the implications of the unknown, such as the possibility of invasive alien species or catastrophic encounters, they may turn to conspiracy theories as a way to regain a sense of control and safety. By attributing these fears to a conspiracy, they can externalize their anxieties rather than confront them directly.
Additionally, the role of media in amplifying these conspiracies cannot be overstated. The internet and social media platforms enable the rapid dissemination of information, often without rigorous fact-checking. This environment allows conspiracy theories to flourish, as sensationalist headlines and clickbait often attract more attention than sober, scientific analyses. As a result, individuals may find themselves inundated with misinformation, making it increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction.
In conclusion, the psychological factors behind Mars conspiracies are complex and multi-faceted. Cognitive biases, the need for control, existential questions, social belonging, confirmation bias, fear, and the influence of media all contribute to the allure of these theories. Understanding these psychological drivers can help demystify why individuals are drawn to such beliefs, offering a pathway toward more constructive conversations about the mysteries of Mars and the universe at large. By addressing these psychological underpinnings, we can foster a more informed and critically engaged public discourse regarding space exploration and the quest for extraterrestrial life.
Scientific Responses to Mars Conspiracies
The scientific community has proactively addressed the myriad of conspiracies surrounding Mars through a steadfast commitment to empirical evidence and rational inquiry. This response is critical in an era where misinformation can spread rapidly, often leading to the public's misunderstanding of scientific facts. NASA, alongside other space agencies, has undertaken significant initiatives to ensure that their findings are communicated transparently and effectively. By publishing extensive data and high-resolution images from missions such as the Mars Rover Perseverance and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, these organizations provide concrete evidence that bolsters their claims and helps demystify the red planet.
In addition to transparency, scientists underscore the importance of critical thinking and the scientific method as essential tools for evaluating extraordinary claims about extraterrestrial life. This emphasis on a rigorous, evidence-based approach serves to educate the public, encouraging individuals to scrutinize the sources of their information and to differentiate between well-supported scientific research and speculative assertions lacking empirical support. Educational outreach programs and public lectures have become vital components of this effort, aiming to foster a better understanding of planetary science and the processes that govern exploration.
Moreover, researchers have actively sought to debunk specific conspiracy theories through meticulous analysis and the deployment of advanced technology. A notable example is the infamous "Face on Mars," a feature that sparked imaginations and conspiracy theories upon its discovery in the 1970s. Initially interpreted as a possible artificial construct, this geological formation was re-examined with advanced imaging techniques. Higher resolution imagery has since revealed that it is merely a natural rock formation shaped by erosion and lighting conditions. Such scientific re-evaluations illustrate how empirical evidence can effectively counteract sensationalist narratives and highlight the distinction between legitimate scientific exploration and unfounded speculation.
The role of peer-reviewed research cannot be overstated in this context. By publishing findings in reputable scientific journals, researchers contribute to a body of work that can be scrutinized and validated by the broader scientific community. This process not only enhances the credibility of the research but also serves as a bulwark against misinformation. The collaborative nature of science, where findings are shared and debated, reinforces the notion that knowledge is built on a foundation of evidence and critical analysis.
In conclusion, the scientific community’s response to Mars conspiracies exemplifies a robust commitment to empirical investigation and public education. Through transparent communication, critical evaluation, and rigorous scientific inquiry, researchers actively combat misinformation and promote a deeper understanding of Mars and its mysteries. Such efforts not only advance our knowledge of the universe but also empower the public to engage thoughtfully with scientific discourse, fostering a culture of inquiry that is essential in today's information-rich society.
CONCLUSION
The fascination with Mars, fueled by a plethora of conspiracies, highlights the intricate relationship between human curiosity and the psychological need for explanation. This interplay is not merely a byproduct of our imagination; it reflects a deep-seated desire to understand our place in the universe and the potential for life beyond Earth. The allure of extraterrestrial life has captured the public's imagination, leading to various theories that often blur the lines between science and fiction. However, a critical examination of these claims is vital, as it underscores the importance of scientific rigor and empirical evidence in our quest for knowledge.
As we advance our exploration of Mars through missions led by NASA and other space agencies, we are continually uncovering new data that challenges existing narratives. Robotic rovers and orbiters provide valuable insights into the planet's geology, atmosphere, and potential for past or present life. These findings emphasize the necessity of distinguishing between scientifically validated information and speculative theories that may arise from human imagination. For instance, while the discovery of methane spikes on Mars has sparked excitement about the possibility of microbial life, it is essential to interpret such data within the context of rigorous scientific inquiry rather than succumbing to sensationalized interpretations.
Moreover, the scientific method offers a pathway to transcend the allure of conspiracy. It encourages us to question, hypothesize, and test our ideas against the backdrop of observable evidence, ultimately guiding us closer to the truth. The ongoing exploration of Mars serves as a reminder that while the cosmos may be filled with mysteries, our understanding must be grounded in careful analysis and skepticism.
In conclusion, the pursuit of knowledge about Mars is a journey that challenges us to confront both the enigmas of the universe and the narratives we create. By fostering a commitment to scientific rigor, we can navigate the complexities of human curiosity and continue to unravel the truths that lie beyond our planet.
A giant whirlpool of light, known as a "SpaceX spiral," was recently spotted swirling across the night sky over Europe as a Falcon 9 rocket prepared to reenter Earth's atmosphere after deploying top-secret cargo.
Glowing spiral orb spotted across UK night skies as Brits baffled by mystery spinning UFO
The giant luminous swirl was seen clearly across large parts of England. This striking video was captured from Billingborough, Lincolnshire.
(Image credit: Simon Minnican/@minnican.bluesky.social)
On Monday (March 24), a giant swirl of light was spotted floating across the night sky in Europe like an ethereal whirlpool. The baffling light show wasn't caused by aliens, as some speculated, but a dying SpaceX rocket preparing to crash back to Earth, shortly after deploying secret cargo into orbit around our planet.
At around 8 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET), people across the U.K. reported seeing the luminous swirl grow as it slowly streaked across the sky like something from a sci-fi movie, according to the BBC. The light show was most clearly visible above parts of England, including Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk and Essex, as well as in Wales and further afield in Sweden, Croatia, Poland, and Hungary.
Photographer Simon Minnican captured the ethereal scene in a stunning video that showed a bright spot appear and then grow in size before swelling into an ever-expanding vortex. The entire spectacle lasted around 12 minutes, with the spiral of light dissipating roughly 4 minutes after it unfurled.
There was initially some wild speculation about what had caused the unusual light show, with at least one observer blaming UFOs. However, experts quickly pointed out that it was a "SpaceX spiral" — an increasingly common phenomenon triggered by light reflecting off rocket fuel dumped into space by spinning SpaceX rockets before they reenter Earth's atmosphere.
In this case, the spacecraft responsible for the luminous swirl was a Falcon 9 rocket that had launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:48 p.m. ET, more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) from where the bright spiral was later spotted. This rocket was carrying a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com.
SpaceX spirals are caused by Falcon 9 rocket stages dumping their remaining fuel in space before reentry.(Image credit: Simon Minnican/@minnican.bluesky.social)
SpaceX spirals occur when the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket de-orbits and prepares to reenter Earth's atmosphere, where it either burns up or falls into the ocean. During this maneuver, the spacecraft dumps its remaining fuel into space, which then freezes into a cloud of tiny crystals that reflect sunlight to Earth. The second stage is normally spinning when the fuel is released, which is what causes the spiral shape of the resulting cloud — and explains why the vortex continually expands before dissipating.
Not every Falcon 9 reentry results in a visible SpaceX spiral. But amateur astronomers can sometimes predict when they are likely to occur based on the rocket's trajectory, payload, spin rate and the time of the launch.
However, in this case, the launch information was not shared in advance because of the secrecy of the mission.
UFO Sighting in Sandhurst, UK: Disc-Shaped Object Captured Near Military Base
UFO Sighting in Sandhurst, UK: Disc-Shaped Object Captured Near Military Base
A new UFO sighting has sparked interest among skywatchers and enthusiasts alike. In January 2025, an unidentified flying object was spotted in Sandhurst, United Kingdom—not far from a well-known military base.
According to the witness, who had recently purchased a pair of binoculars to observe the night sky, the event took place just moments before they began recording:
“About 20 minutes ago, I noticed a strange object moving around. Through the binoculars, it appeared disc-shaped. I captured a video using my iPhone 15 Pro Max.”
The footage—now posted below—shows a mysterious, disc-shaped object silently hovering and maneuvering in the night sky. With the proximity to a military facility, this sighting adds to the growing list of UFO sightings reported near sensitive locations.
Why This Sighting Stands Out
Location: Close to a British military base, raising questions about what the object could be.
Video Evidence: Recorded on a high-quality smartphone, offering one of the clearest recent captures.
Witness Account: A detailed observation using binoculars, adding credibility to the shape and movement of the object.
Could this be advanced military technology—or something not of this world?
UFO Sighting in Sandhurst, UK: Disc-Shaped Object Captured Near Military Base
UFO Sighting in Sandhurst, UK: Disc-Shaped Object Captured Near Military Base
A new UFO sighting has sparked interest among skywatchers and enthusiasts alike. In January 2025, an unidentified flying object was spotted in Sandhurst, United Kingdom—not far from a well-known military base.
According to the witness, who had recently purchased a pair of binoculars to observe the night sky, the event took place just moments before they began recording:
“About 20 minutes ago, I noticed a strange object moving around. Through the binoculars, it appeared disc-shaped. I captured a video using my iPhone 15 Pro Max.”
The footage—now posted below—shows a mysterious, disc-shaped object silently hovering and maneuvering in the night sky. With the proximity to a military facility, this sighting adds to the growing list of UFO sightings reported near sensitive locations.
Why This Sighting Stands Out
Location: Close to a British military base, raising questions about what the object could be.
Video Evidence: Recorded on a high-quality smartphone, offering one of the clearest recent captures.
Witness Account: A detailed observation using binoculars, adding credibility to the shape and movement of the object.
Could this be advanced military technology—or something not of this world?
Cropped image of a the remnants of a river on Mars as seen by the Perseverance Rover.
In a groundbreaking analysis of Martian soil, scientists have discovered the longest organic molecules ever detected on the Red Planet—carbon chains that resemble molecular structures associated with biological activity on Earth. Found in 3.7-billion-year-old clay samples inside Gale Crater, these molecules could reshape the way researchers investigate Mars’s early chemistry and its potential to host life.
The discovery, led by researchers from CNRS in collaboration with teams from France, the United States, Mexico, and Spain, will be published on March 24, 2025, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (here and here).
What makes this find different?
Organic molecules containing up to 12 carbon atoms in a row were identified—far longer than any previously confirmed on Mars. On Earth, such structures can form through both biological and non-biological processes. However, the presence of these stable, preserved molecules in Mars’s clay-rich terrain is especially compelling.
The region where they were discovered has remained geologically inactive and environmentally stable for billions of years. The cold, arid conditions of Mars acted as a natural vault, shielding these delicate molecules from destruction by radiation or erosion.
The data was gathered using SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars)—a compact chemical lab onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover. Since landing in Gale Crater in 2012, Curiosity has used SAM to heat soil samples and analyze their chemical composition using mass spectrometry.
The instrument’s ability to detect longer-chain carbon molecules remotely marks a significant leap for robotic planetary science. Until now, identifying such large organic molecules was thought to be beyond the reach of mobile surface rovers.
The Curiosity rover, seen in its selfie above, has operated on Mars since 2012.
This finding comes at a pivotal moment for planetary exploration. Several upcoming missions aim to further explore Mars and other celestial bodies for complex organic chemistry:
ExoMars (ESA, 2028): This European rover mission will drill deeper beneath the Martian surface to search for preserved biosignatures.
Mars Sample Return (NASA/ESA, 2030s): Designed to bring actual Martian soil samples back to Earth, allowing high-resolution lab analysis of molecules like those just discovered.
Dragonfly (NASA, 2034): Headed for Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, this drone will carry an advanced version of SAM to explore Titan’s rich organic environment.
These missions are now better-informed thanks to the organic chemistry insights from Curiosity.
This graphic shows the long-chain organic molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These are the largest organic molecules discovered on Mars to date. They were detected in a drilled rock sample called “Cumberland” that was analyzed by the Sample Analysis at Mars lab inside the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover. The rover, whose selfie is on the right side of the image, has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012. An image of the Cumberland drill hole is faintly visible in the background of the molecule chains. Credit: NASA/Dan Gallagher
What does this mean for the search for life?
While these molecules alone are not proof of past life, their complexity and preservation point to a chemically rich environment in Mars’s distant past. The fact that they survived for billions of years under Mars’s surface raises new questions:
Could similar molecules have formed through biological means?
Were conditions on early Mars more favorable to life than previously believed?
This discovery significantly narrows the gap between speculative theories about life on Mars and actual chemical evidence from its surface. As we await new missions to deliver samples or explore other planetary bodies, the presence of such stable organic molecules offers a powerful reminder: Mars still holds many secrets—some possibly tied to the origins of life itself.
A New Theory Explains the Surprising Origin of the Planet Mercury
A New Theory Explains the Surprising Origin of the Planet Mercury
By Mark Thompson
Spectra of Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System and the closest to the Sun. It’s a rocky world with a cratered surface that to the untrained eye somewhat resembles our own Moon. It’s orbital parameters mean that it experiences extreme temperature variations, ranging from -180°C at night to 430°C during the day. It completes an orbit around the Sun every 88 Earth days and rotates slowly on its axis and, despite its proximity to the Sun, still has ice in permanently shadowed craters near its poles. We know a good amount about Mercury but one aspect that has eluded us is the story of its formation.
Mercury
(Credit : NASA/Johns Hopkins University)
Understanding Mercury's formation is crucial to explaining its unusual structure. Researchers have proposed that the planet's unique geology might have resulted from a massive collision that stripped away much of its original rocky mantle. While earlier studies focused on impacts between objects of vastly different sizes, more recent computer simulations suggest that collisions between similarly sized bodies accounts for one-third of all collisions in the early Solar System. Such an event could have been a key moment in Mercury's geological history.
In a study recently published by a team led by Patrick Franco from the National Observatory in Brazil, they used computer simulations to explore how collisions between similar sized objects could create a planet like Mercury. The team used a specific proto-Mercury object with a mass of about 0.13 Earth masses and a 30% iron composition, in their simulations which collided with target objects of varying masses and iron content. By carefully controlling impact velocities (2.8 to 3.8 times the mutual escape velocity) and angles, they explored scenarios that were typical of the early Solar System but focussing on finding configurations that could produce a planet matching Mercury's current mass and composition.
It's not just Mercury that has suffered a collision. A similar collision is thought to have led to the formation of the Moon although the conditions were vastly different.
Artist impression of the formation of the Moon.
The researchers ran three computer simulations; in the first set, using standard impact parameters, they failed to create a Mercury-like planet, the second run involved reducing the impact angle to create a more destructive collisions and the results were promising. The third run however was most successful and so they refined their approach by adjusting various impact parameters. This final simulation produced a remnant planet that matched Mercury's current mass within 5% and had an iron core fraction of 0.65-0.75 (in comparison to the known current value of 0.7)
The study demonstrated that carefully controlled computer simulations of planetary collisions can create a planet remarkably similar to Mercury. By making adjustments to impact angles, speeds, and impactor masses, researchers have revealed a very likely scenario for the planet's origins. Their findings suggest that collisions between two similarly sized protoplanets in the early Solar System were likely responsible for Mercury's unique characteristics.
The Moon Might Have Formed Earlier Than We Thought
The Moon Might Have Formed Earlier Than We Thought
By Mark Thompson
Artist's illustration of the Moon's formation
The Moon is a common sight in our night time (and sometimes daytime) skies but it hasn’t always been there. The widely accepted theory of lunar formation involves a Mars-sized planet crashing into the Earth, creating a cloud of debris that eventually that eventually coalesced to form the Moon. Estimates of this cataclysmic event that gave us the Moon range from between 4.52 to 4.35 billion years ago however a new presentation at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference have pushed that timeline back further!
The theory that describes the formation of the Moon is known as the Giant Impact Hypothesis and it proposes the protoplanet called Theia collided with the early Earth in the collision to end all collisions, at least as far as Earth is concerned. The impact ejected an enormous amounts of molten rock and debris into space which scattered into orbit around Earth. Gradually over time, the material condensed and cooled, eventually forming the Moon that we see today. The tremendous energy of the collision melted both the impactor and the early Earth, explaining why the Moon's composition is similar to Earth's and why it lacks a substantial iron core.
Artist impression of Theia's impact with Earth
The theory is sound and has stood firm despite significant analysis. However what does remain uncertain is the exact time of the event. Some evidence suggests a formation around 4.35 billion years ago, other research however points to an earlier date of about 4.5 billion years ago. The difference might be explained by a secondary geological event, such as the formation of the South Pole’s Aitken Basin or changes in the Moon's orbital dynamics. Because of these uncertainties, researchers have been looking for alternative methods to refine estimates of the formation.
Building on previous research, the team employed a geological dating technique using the radioactive decay of rubidium-87 into strontium-87 isotopes. They are found in lunar rocks in the lunar highlands and are known as ferroan anorthosites (FANs). They are thought to be among the oldest lunar rock so preserve information about the Moon's earliest geological history. By taking measurements of the isotope ratios in the rocks, the team hope to construct a more accurate timeline of the Moon's formation.
The researchers studied eight samples using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry which involves heating samples, typically deposited on a metal filament, to temperatures exceeding 1000°C to cause ionisation. Most of the samples provided reliable data about their initial strontium composition. Five of these rocks, including one dated at 4.360 billion years old, formed a consistent group that helped define a precise initial strontium ratio. Three other samples showed different strontium ratios, suggesting they either formed later or experienced chemical changes after their initial crystallisation.
The Moon
Modelling the evolution of the rubidium-strontium isotope under four different impact scenarios allowed the team to calculate a formation age approximately 65 ± 21 million years after the formation of the Solar System, a mere 4.502 ± 0.021 billion years ago! To account for uncertainties, they ran calculations varying different parameters like the isotope compositions of proto-Earth and Theia, and the size and mass of Theia too. By exploring different scenarios and analysing isotopic ratios, they hope in time, to be able to develop a revised model for determining an accurate value for the age of the Moon.
Lunar Samples Identify Exactly When the Moon's Largest Crater Formed
South Pole Aitken Basis
China’s Chang’e-6 mission has been exploring the largest crater on the Moon. It’s known as Aitken Basin and is found at the South Pole of the Moon where craters are permanently shadowed. The crater is a whopping 2,500 km across and measures 10km deep and Chang’e-6 data has revealed that a giant asteroid smashed into the Moon about 4.25 billion years ago.
There are of course plen
ty of craters on the Moon which is Earth's only natural satellite. It’s a fascinating object that has captivated human imagination ever since we started looking at the sky. At an average distance of 384,400km from Earth it reflects sunlight appearing to go through a regular cycle of phases as it orbits. Even the casual observer can see it’s a barren, cratered world and this has been backed up by a number of lunar missions. The Apollo missions have of course been the most well known but there has been a flotilla of automated probe exploring our nearest neighbour.
The Moon
Chang'e-6 is one such mission that has been exploring the Moon. It’s purpose is to collect and return samples from the far side of the Moon and follows on from Chang'e-5. It was launched in May 2024, and was designed to target the South Pole-Aitken basin, thought to be one of the oldest impact craters in the Solar System. The primary objective was to land on the far side of the Moon, a region never before directly sampled and collect around 2kg of lunar material.
Scientists led by Chen Yi from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have used data from Chang’e-6 to precisely date the formation of Aitken Basin and report their findings in the National Science Review. It’s well understood that large craters tend to be among the oldest in the Solar System and Aitken Basin was thought to be one of them. The team found that, by analysing the samples returned by Chang’e-6 it dates back 4.25 billion years!
The Moon's largest impact feature, the South Pole–Aitken basin, is so named because it stretches between Aitken crater and the south pole.
(Credit : NASA/GSFC)
To reach their conclusion, the team examined approximately 1,600 fragments from 5 grams of lunar samples. They were able to identify 20 representative norite clasts (a type of coarse grained igneous rock often found in the Earth’s crust) that helped to reveal the Moon's geological history. Using a technique known as lead-lead dating where the ratio of different lead isotopies are determined they found evidence of two impact events at 4.25 and 3.87 billion years ago. The older impact showed signs of crystallisation at different levels suggesting it was the original event.
Planetary scientists studying crater formation have been keen to get their hands on direct rock samples from the Aitken Basin to resolve a long standing conflict where its age estimates range from 4.26 to 4.35 billion years. However, Chang'e-6 landing site within the Apollo Basin area made things a little challenging as they contain fragments from a number of geological periods due to various impacts and eruptions. The complexity of the area made dating the basin especially difficult.
The Chang'e-6 mission has finally provided evidence about the Moon's early history, precisely dating the formation of the Aitken Basin just 320 million years after the formation of the Solar System. Since its launch, it returned 1,935.3 grams of lunar samples to north China, completing their delivery on 25 June 2024. Chen Yi’s team have finally established the age of the Basin creating a much needed anchor point for the chronological list of events in the early lunar history.
A Swarm of Spacecraft Could Intercept Interstellar Objects
A Swarm of Spacecraft Could Intercept Interstellar Objects
By Evan Gough
New research claims the best way to study an Interstellar Object is by having a swarm of spacecraft at the ready. This image shows Interstellar Object trajectories in yellow and potential spacecraft trajectories in blue. Image Credit: Tsukamoto et al. 2025.
We've learned that Interstellar Objects (ISOs) are not strangers to our Solar System. Many have visited, and many more will in the future. The Vera Rubin Observatory is expected to find hundreds each year. Scientists are keen to learn more about them, and a swarm of spacecraft on standby might be the way to do it.
On a basic level, an ISO is simply an object unbound to any star. The two we know of are 'Oumuamua which was detected in 2017, and Comet Borisov, detected in 2019. ISOs typically have very high velocities, follow hyperbolic trajectories that show they don't orbit the Sun, and have unique compositions that set them apart from Solar System bodies. 'Oumuamua, for example, could be a hydrogen iceberg, though this is just one possibility.
Scientists are eager to examine these objects closer and understand their compositions and origins. Unfortunately, their high velocities make them elusive, and we can only glimpse them with ground-based telescopes. What's needed is a way to visit one. The best way to do that is to have a spacecraft waiting to catch up with one as it passes through the inner Solar System.
Or even better, a whole swarm of spacecraft that don't require explicit instructions to rendezvous with an ISO.
Hiroyasu Tsukamoto is with the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He and his colleagues developed Neural Rendezvous, a deep learning-driven guidance and control framework that can autonomously guide spacecraft to ISOs. Their work is in a paper titled "Neural-Rendezvous: Provably Robust Guidance and Control to Encounter Interstellar Objects" and published in Aerospace Research Central.
Artist's illustration. ISOs like Oumuamua only come through once, making them difficult targets for rendezvous.
Image Credit: NASA
"A human brain has many capabilities: talking, writing, etcetera," Tsukamoto said in a press release. "Deep learning creates a brain specialized for one of these capabilities with a domain-specific knowledge. In this case, Neural-Rendezvous learns all the information it needs to encounter an ISO, while also considering the safety-critical, high-cost nature of space exploration."
"Our key contribution is not just in designing the specialized brain, but in proving mathematically that it works," Tsukamoto added. "For example, with a human brain we learn from experience how to navigate safely while driving. But what are the mathematics behind it? How do we know and how can we make sure we won't hit anyone?"
The system is based on the "contraction theory for data-driven nonlinear control systems." Contraction theory is a rigorous mathematical framework which can place limits on the effects of disturbances and uncertainties in complex linear systems. Basically, it can provide stability in a complex situation that changes nonlinearly over time.
The Neural-Rendezvous system uses available data to predict a spacecraft's best actions to intercept an ISO. This complexity is necessary because ISOs are unbound and high-speed targets with poorly restrained trajectories.
"We’re trying to encounter an astronomical object that streaks through our solar system just once and we don’t want to miss the opportunity," Tsukamoto said. "Even though we can approximate the dynamics of ISOs ahead of time, they still come with large state uncertainty because we cannot predict the timing of their visit. That's a challenge."
The Hubble space telescope captured this image of Comet 2l/Borisov at perihelion in December 2019.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)
ISOs only pass through the Solar System once. The usual method of observing an object like an asteroid or comet and determining its orbit doesn't work. According to the researchers, it's critical that ISO interceptors can "think" on their own.
"Unlike traditional approaches in which you design almost everything before you launch a spacecraft, to encounter an ISO, a spacecraft has to have something like a human brain, specifically designed for this mission, to fully respond to data onboard in real-time," Tsukamoto said.
There's no way to orbit an ISO. Oumuamua and Borisov were travelling at ~88 and 45 km/s relative to the Sun, so an intercepting spacecraft would need to travel at similar speeds. With our current technological level, a spacecraft would have to carry a prohibitively large volume of propellant to enter into orbit around one of these objects. Fast flybys are likely the only realistic mission architecture.
However, relying on a single spacecraft is like putting all your eggs in one basket. What if the spacecraft is unable to get a clear view of the ISO? Without a good look at the object, scientists won't be able to learn much about its surface and composition. This has led some researchers to consider multiple spacecraft.
Tsukamoto worked with two other researchers on "a novel multi-spacecraft framework for locally maximizing information to be gained through ISO encounters." Their work is presented in a separate paper titled "Information-Optimal Multi-Spacecraft Positioning for Interstellar Object Exploration." Along with Tsukamoto, the other authors are Arna Bhardwaj and Shishir Bhatta. The authors presented it at the 2024 IEEE Aerospace Conference.
"Because of the speed and uncertainty, it's challenging to obtain a clear view of an ISO during a flyby with 100 percent accuracy, even with Neural-Rendezvous," Tsukamoto said. "Arna and Shishir wanted to show that Neural-Rendezvous could benefit from a multi-spacecraft concept."
"Interstellar objects (ISOs), astronomical objects not gravitationally bound to the Sun, could present valuable opportunities to advance our understanding of the universe's formation and composition," the authors write in their paper. "In response to the unpredictable nature of their discoveries that inherently come with large and rapidly changing uncertainty in their state, this paper proposes a novel multi-spacecraft framework for locally maximizing information to be gained through ISO encounters with formal probabilistic guarantees."
Their framework involves a swarm of spacecraft, called deputy spacecraft, and one designated as chief. The swarm would be located around an ellipsoid representing the space through which an ISO will travel. The ellipsoid consists of multiple points of interest (POIs) that would be covered collectively by the deputies and the chief employing the Neural-Rendezvous system. This method can maximize the information gained from the encounter. In simple terms, it guarantees multiple views of the ISO.
"Now we have an additional layer of decision-making during the ISO encounter," Tsukamoto said. "How do you optimally position multiple spacecraft to maximize the information you can get out of it? Their solution was to distribute the spacecraft to visually cover the highly probable region of the ISO's position, which is driven by Neural-Rendezvous."
This simple drawing illustrates the deputy spacecraft in different positions in an ellipsoid an ISO is expected to pass through.
Image Credit: Bhardwaj et al. 2025.
The number of spacecraft in the swarm would depend on the size of the uncertainty ellipsoid. The team ran simulations to examine the optimal number of spacecraft while keeping the cost down. With infinite resources, the swarm could be large enough to guarantee success. However, that's not how things work.
In three trials, they determined that five spacecraft delivered the best results when balancing all factors.
This diagram shows the terminal positions of a five-spacecraft system and the POIs in view and not in view.
Image Credit: Bhardwaj et al. 2025.
At the moment, Neural-Rendezvous is largely theoretical. However, the work done by Bhardwaj and Bhatta illustrates how it could be employed practically to maximum effect.
As unwitting messengers from other solar systems, ISOs have a scientific value that could surprise us. They could hold clues to how solar systems form and evolve that are found nowhere else. An autonomous swarm of spacecraft could help scientists collect these clues.
UFO Daytime Raw Footage Over Green Cove, Florida March 22, 2025, UAP Drone Sighting News.
UFO Daytime Raw Footage Over Green Cove, Florida March 22, 2025, UAP Drone Sighting News.
Date of sighting: March 22, 2025
Location of sighting: Green Cove, Florida, USA
Watch this raw footage of a UFO changing shape and it will change how you see the whole world. This UFO was recorded after several jets passed overhead leaving controls and the eyewitness had a friend point to it and ask "whats that?" Its spinning ever so slow, and has no wings, to visible propulsion and no visible windows. If this is one of the drones seen across the world that the US military cannot down, then it's no wonder they don't want to mess with these things. They are 100% alien craft and have tech and weapons beyond our wildest imagination. Best to let them be. But they are getting closer and closer every week, which means only one thing...it's building up to something very big coming.
Belgisch UFO-meldpunt kreeg 20-tal meldingen, maar wat was het spiraalvormig licht aan onze hemel?
update - Via onze tiplijn 4040 kregen we maandagavond heel wat berichten binnen van lezers die een bijzondere verschijning aan de hemel zagen. Ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt kreeg een twintigtal meldingen binnen. Volgens onze wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters gaat het waarschijnlijk om een deel van een SpaceX-raket die maandag werd gelanceerd vanaf Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Bron:Eigen berichtgeving
“Het laatste uur bereikten ons reeds 20 meldingen van een helder spiraalvormig lichtschijnsel”, schrijft het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt rond 22.20 uur op X. Ook onze nieuwslijn 4040 werd overspoeld met foto’s en filmpjes uit alle hoeken van ons land.
Het gaat waarschijnlijk om de bovenste trap van een Falcon 9 raket van het Amerikaanse ruimtevaartbedrijf SpaceX, die gelanceerd werd voor de geheime missie ‘NROL-69’ van de National Reconnaissance Office, een van de zeventien inlichtingendiensten van de Verenigde Staten.
“Een SpaceX-raket bestaat uit verschillende delen”, aldus onze wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters. “Je hebt het eerste stuk waarmee de raket vertrekt, daarna koppelt dat af en landt het terug op aarde. Het tweede stuk zorgt ervoor dat de vracht op de juiste plaats raakt in een baan rond de aarde.” Dat tweede stuk noemt men de ‘upper stage’ of bovenste trap, aldus Peters.
Brandstof
“Wanneer de bovenste trap loskomt, zal die niet terug landen, maar brandt die op in de atmosfeer”, legt Peters uit. “De resten daarvan komen terecht in de oceaan. Voordat de trap dat doet, manoeuvreert hij naar de juiste baan om in de oceaan te landen. Daarvoor gaat hij soms roteren om te stabiliseren als hij vliegt. Daarnaast loost hij ook brandstof die hij niet meer nodig heeft, soms nog terwijl hij aan het roteren is. Dat zorgt voor ijskristalletjes die het zonlicht weerkaatsen en samen met de draaibewegingen krijg je dan die prachtige spiraalvormen aan de hemel.”
De spiraalvorm werd niet alleen boven België gespot. Op het internet worden ook beelden gedeeld uit onder andere Slovenië, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Frankrijk, Kroatië en Polen.
Zag jij ook die spiraalvorm aan de hemel? Onze wetenschapsexpert legt uit wat het is
Via onze tiplijn4040 kregen we maandagavond heel wat berichten binnen van lezers die een bijzondere verschijning aan de hemel zagen. Volgens onze wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters gaat het waarschijnlijk om een deel van een SpaceX-raket die maandag werd gelanceerd vanaf Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Bron:Eigen berichtgeving
Het gaat waarschijnlijk om de bovenste trap van een Falcon 9 raket van het Amerikaanse ruimtevaartbedrijf SpaceX, die gelanceerd werd voor de geclassificeerde missie ‘NROL-69’ van de National Reconnaissance Office, een van de zeventien inlichtingendiensten van de Verenigde Staten.
“Een SpaceX-raket bestaat uit verschillende delen”, aldus Peters. “Je hebt het eerste stuk waarmee de raket vertrekt, daarna koppelt dat af en landt het terug op aarde. Het tweede stuk zorgt ervoor dat de vracht op de juiste plaats raakt in een baan rond de aarde.” Dat tweede stuk noemt men de ‘upper stage’ of bovenste trap, aldus Peters.
Brandstof
“Wanneer de bovenste trap loskomt, zal die niet terug landen, maar brandt die op in de atmosfeer”, legt Peters uit. “De resten daarvan komen terecht in de oceaan. Voordat de trap dat doet, manoeuvreert hij naar de juiste baan om in de oceaan te landen. Daarvoor gaat hij soms roteren om te stabiliseren als hij vliegt. Daarnaast loost hij ook brandstof die hij niet meer nodig heeft, soms nog terwijl hij aan het roteren is. Dat zorgt voor ijskristalletjes die het zonlicht weerkaatsen en samen met de draaibewegingen krijg je dan die prachtige spiraalvormen aan de hemel.”
Een foto van onze lezer Jeroen Van Laethem uit Kessel-Lo,
De spiraalvorm werd niet alleen boven België gespot. Op het internet worden ook beelden gedeeld uit onder andere Slovenië, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Frankrijk, Kroatië en Polen.
A red and white dwarf star are orbiting tightly – and creating odd signals(Picture: Getty)
For ten years, Earth has been at the receiving end of mysterious radio emissions every two hours.
After more than a decade, the source of these signals has finally been identified, nearby the Big Dipper.
A new research paper published in Nature Astronomy points to a red dwarf and white dwarf star, which are orbiting so tightly that their magnetic fields are sending out radio signals whenever they collide, which is every two hours.
The discovery is surprising to scientists, who previously had only managed to attribute radio blasts to neutron stars.
Dr Iris de Ruiter, who led the study, said: ‘We worked with experts from all kinds of astronomical disciplines.
‘With different techniques and observations, we got a little closer to the solution step by step.’
The signal was not sent by aliens but was emitted from a star-forming galaxy called ‘SDSSJ0826+5630’, when the universe was only 4.9 billion years old.
What makes this radio signal special is that it’s at a specific wavelength known as the ’21 cm line’.
‘It’s the equivalent to a look-back in time of 8.8 billion years,’ said Arnab Chakraborty, a cosmologist and co-author of a study on the detection.
It was the first time this type of radio signal has been detected at such a massive distance.
Strange-looking pulses which lasted about 300 milliseconds each were noticed by Manisha Caleb, a lecturer at the University of Sydney.
‘The flash had some characteristics of a radio-emitting neutron star. But this wasn’t like anything we’d seen before,’ she said.
A neutron star is the collapsed remains of a massive supergiant star. Apart from a black hole, they are the smallest and densest stellar objects known to man.
But, where are the best places to go if you wanted to spot a UFO? American non-profit organisation the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) has a bank of data revealing, they feel to be, the most credible or interesting cases.
The organisation said these reports tend to be from ‘trained observers such as pilots, reports of anomalous structured craft seen at close distances, and reports with interesting and clear video or photographic evidence’.
Many of these cases stem back to the 1990s, and are posted in the author’s own words. So, where are the UFO hotspots around the world?
UFO hotspots from around the world (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
1. The United States
Naturally, the US made the top of the list with a whopping 133,682 apparent UFO sightings across the country dating back to 1995.
The state with the most viewings is California, with 16,399 ‘credible’ cases since the mid-90s, and the fewest number of viewings were around the capital, the District of Columbia, with only 155 cases.
In California, reported shapes often take the form of mysterious ‘lights’ or orbs.
One case as recent June 15 in Richmond reported three pink orbs glowing in the sky. The witness wrote: ‘Three orbs in a line coming up from the ground.
‘Was heading East on I-80 and saw three pink lights in a column. The lowest of the lights looked to be hovering just above the ground and the highest was probably 100-200ft in the air and the middle was directly in between the other two. They weren’t moving or blinking but eventually all three dimmed and went out.’
This photo of a flying saucer was taken by Paul Trent over his farm in McMinnville, Oregon (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
Another case report, from Minnesota, in 2008, details a cigar-shaped UAP.
The witness wrote: ‘Small white cigar-shaped object, low in sky, hovered for 2 minutes, then disappeared, no trail.
‘Two friends and I were golfing on the 10th hole at North Links golf course, and there was a clear blue sky. As we looked forward into the sky, one of us noticed a white, cigar or tampon-shaped object sitting in the sky, no wings, obviously not a plane or helicopter, and there was no smoke or jetstream coming from the object. It was probably about 500 yards or so away in the sky.
‘We sat stunned, asking each other, “What could that possibly be, besides a UFO?”
‘No one wanted to tee off, because we wanted to wait to see what happened with the foreign craft.
‘After about two minutes, the craft gradually got smaller for about 10 seconds, and then completely disappeared like it went into stealth mode, again, no smoke or anything, it just vanished.
‘Within minutes of seeing the craft, a small army-type plane was flying in the same general area where we had seen the craft. We kept looking for the next two hours of golf, but no reappearance occurred.’
The organisation noted that the witness chose to remain totally anonymous and provided no contact information.
A lot of UFOs are seen from a distance (Picture: Getty)
2. Canada
Still in North America, the people of Canada have compiled 5,973 UFO sightings dating back to 1995. With a large number like this, NUFORC has split case reports by province, and revealed the highest number of reports came from the province of Ontario, with 2,547 reports.
The fewest reports came from Prince Edward Island, with 27 ‘credible’ reports.
In the province of New Brunswick, in the town of Bouctouche, two observers reported that they saw a disk-like object. The witnesses wrote: ‘On May 17, 2021, I was driving my friend home as I noticed lights in the sky and told my friend about it.
‘It was a line of lights – seems like stars, but was not – and then it faded away. We were 30 seconds from my friend’s house, so I rushed to park and got out of the car to see if we could see more.
‘We started looking up and suddenly saw an oval-shaped flying object that was moving. We noticed it was passing in front of two stars. It also looked like it had windows, but was very low on lighting around, we could only spot it because of window lights on the objects.
‘We could see it floating for like a good 30 seconds before we lost track of it.’
UFOs have even been spotted mid-flight (Picture: Getty)
3. The UK
The UK is another well-known hotspot for UFOs, and has racked up 3,439 cases that date back to 1996.
The reports appear across the country. One witness in Birmingham, in September 2009, said: ‘South Birmingham 11.40am, clear sky gold flat object a few feet square with slight bend.
‘On Sunday morning, while taking a coffee after some light housework –my wife was at morning work. I witnessed something exceedingly weird off the back patio.
‘I have no belief in UFOs – laws of physics dictate against it – and have always explained away anything unusual as helicopter lights etc but not this time, I’m afraid.
‘I observed a crazy sighting which I cannot figure out.
‘It looked like a piece of gold vellum paper, slightly folded as if hovering in the wind. It was sunny so I could have been catching the Sun. I also considered a butterfly.
‘However, it became apparent that the size was wrong for a butterfly, and paper, it was not – because the object proceeded to move out across the park at supernatural speed, with increasing velocity. I was completely dumbstruck and offer no explanation. I’m employed as a physics engineering technician.’
These apparent encounters can leave people feeling uneasy (Picture: Getty)
Over in Ciliau Aeron, Wales, a report in 2018 told of a sphere-shaped, house-sized, UFO that hovered above the valley. The witness reported: ‘I opened the back door at 6am to let the dogs out.
‘I looked across the fields to where I have a view of the Aeron Valley. It was very dark, but I immediately saw what I thought was a house on fire about half a mile away.
‘I watched for a minute, planning to call 999. Then, the “fire” moved to the west a few hundred metres behind some trees. I realised it was a large sphere, the size of a house and seemed to churn or pulsate with its “fire”.
‘It was extremely bright and white/yellow in colour. Then it stopped where it hovered for a minute and then flew the other way to the east where it continued past its original position, all the way along the valley until out of sight. Just before it went out of sight, a bright red light appeared on the top half of the sphere.
‘It travelled in a straight path, sometimes behind trees at the speed of a car. It also had “sparks” flying out of it like molten metal falling to the ground. It didn’t make a sound. I believe it to have been something not of our Earth.’
4. Australia
On the other side of the world, there is one surprising country that has quite a few sightings of UFOs. In Australia, data from the NUFORC revealed there have been 961 sightings since 1996, and some echo other reports from elsewhere in the world.
In 2023, one witness in New South Wales reported a triangular UFO, with white lights that was moving fast and silently.
It seems triangle UFOs are in fashion (Picture: Getty)
The report said: ‘Standing in my suburban backyard at 6:45pm EST looking at the stars facing West.
‘I saw the object as it passed directly overhead heading in a south westerly direction. The object was triangular in shape with approximately 10 lights on the forward two sides and 3 on the rear side. The lights were white and not flashing. Stars were blacked out within the triangle as it passed over.
The object appeared to be the size of a football field in width and there was no sound whatsoever. It appeared to be quite close.
‘I lost sight of the object as it passed over a hill to the south west. The object was visible to me for approximately 20 seconds.’
Triangular objects seem to be a popular shape for a UFO down under – another report in 2018 in Victoria spoke about a solid metallic object that was around five feet on all sides.
The witness wrote: ‘It was in the middle of the day, I was sitting on an oval [an Australian Football field] with my friend and I look up and see a giant metal triangle hovering without moving a bit away from us, not to far away, maybe half an oval away.
‘It looked like it was solid metal and after a few seconds of hovering in the same spot it zoomed away very fast over the tree line. It was a nice sunny day without any wind. It definitely wasn’t a drone or a weather balloon. The metal didn’t look bendable and looked like a solid triangle just in the sky.’
Many UFOs have bright lights (Picture: Getty)
5. India
While we hear of many cases from countries like the US and the UK, we rarely hear of reports from countries such as India. However, according to the NUFORC, there are 502 ‘credible’ cases that stem back to 1999.
In 2010, a woman in the city of Alwar saw a UFO hovering overhead for around five minutes. She reported the object looked like a disk, and featured lights, as well as an aura or a haze surrounding it.
She wrote: ‘At 6:21pm, I was playing with my kids at the rooftop of our row house in Alwar city of Rajasthan State in India. Suddenly I saw a white and silver color saucer sparkling in the sky. It was moving in a zigzag way, it was moving towards the east and then suddenly changed direction to the north.
‘I told my parents and kids to also look and we all saw the object for around 5 minutes as it was moving very slowly and everybody was surprised to see the same thing. We tried to capture the picture of the object in our mobile phone camera but as the object was distant, we were not able to capture it.
‘Let me also say it was clear sky that day but suddenly we saw a rapid change in weather and after three hours a thunderstorm and lightning happened. I am not sure but this might be linked to this flying object.’
She wrote: ‘To add to my credibility I am a post graduate in science and a mother of two kids.’
The apparent UFOs are spotted across the globe (Picture: Getty)
In 2021, a witness in Jalpaiguri reported a hockey stick-shaped UFO that had lights, as well as an aura or haze.
They wrote: ‘It looked like a hockey stick oscillating like a pendulum. The two crafts suddenly collided and there was light which moved northwards.
‘I was playing with my friends and we suddenly noticed something in the sky quite far above. There was a shrill sound for a matter of a few seconds. Most thought it to be a jet aircraft or a shooting star but I thought it was something else.
‘Then as we looked carefully we saw as if something like a hockey stick was upside down and it was showing oscillatory movement. Suddenly the two crafts of the same sort collided and a streak of light was emitted. Then we all thought it was a UFO.
‘We were amazed and the crafts were separated for around 20 minutes. Suddenly they collided and the light streak started moving straight towards the north eastern direction continuously for around another half an hour and it was of the same size quite unlike the common thing that we know.
‘Though we all understood that it was going far, however the size of the light streak didn’t decrease. Suddenly, in an absurd way again the light disappeared and nothing else was seen. We had no mobiles or cameras then and we were alone.’
Some apparent UFOs have been spotted on camera (Picture: Getty)
6. South Africa
Another UFO hotspot on the list is the country of South Africa. According to the data, the country has 211 reports that date back to 1997.
But despite the smaller number of cases, they are still just as eerie. One witness reported seeing a UFO over a rhino sanctuary in Klerksdorp, which has a no-fly zone.
The witness wrote: ‘I have some very weird footage for you from South Africa, captured at 4am by my son on a high security rhino farm with state of the art security systems, including radar – which was how the object was detected in the first place – and night sight cameras.
‘They could not identify the object on camera, and as it is a no fly zone, they dispatched a team of rangers, but no lights and no sound was heard by the team, so they could not locate anything as it was still dark.
‘The object was not travelling in a straight line, and it changed course as well. Hard to determine the height of it, as it looked high at some stages, and very low at other stages. This is definitely not a drone of some kind, and the shape seems to move on the top of the object as if scanning or something.
‘Just very very weird.’
Some alleged UFOs move in a jagged fashion (Picture: Getty)
Another report came through of an apparent UFO sighting in Cape Town near the harbour. The alleged UFO had lights, and was in the shape of a triangle.
The witness reported: ‘South Africa also got UFOs.
‘I just left the restaurant called Panama Jacks Seafood in Cape Town Harbour and took a photo of my wife in front of the massive harbour cranes and lights. I handed her the camera back and she put it back in her handbag. As we looked up for the last time at the enormous cranes [we saw] 3 x orange lights in a perfect triangular shape.
‘They held formation in distance from each other, but were kind of erratic in movement, much the same way as a stingray fish would swim. Came from the ocean direction and passed over or left of Table Bay Mountain. I tried to get them on my Blackberry Cell phone camera but I could not find them on the screen. Sorry!’
7. Ireland
Back in Europe, another UFO hotspot country that might be unknown, is Ireland. The country has reported 189 cases which date back to 1998.
But despite being half a world away, the organisation revealed reports that also talked of a flying object moving in a zigzag pattern. One witness from Dublin in 1998 wrote of a strange light spotted with an aura nearby. The report said: ‘I was looking out my bedroom window staring at the stars when suddenly one moved.
‘At first I thought it was a satellite but it was zigzagging, jerking, moving in circles, and changing direction. I called my father and my brother and we went outside to look at it better. It stopped moving for a while then started moving again. I stayed there observing it for another 20 mins before I went inside again. When I got upstairs I couldn’t see it anymore…’
UFOs have been a figure of science fiction for decades
(Picture: Getty)
A more recent report from 2019 told of an apparent UFO that seemed to scan the sky with lasers.
The report said: ‘At first it was just one blue glow in the clouds.
‘The glow would get stronger and then dim a little. Afterwards it moved and at stages bluish/white lights came through the clouds. Very hard to describe but the best example I can give is when you see a sci-fi movie where a robot or gadget 3D scans something with lasers.
‘These lights would light up the clouds but when they were visible they’d beam out one direction then change very quickly to another direction. They shot out at every angle too.
‘After maybe two minutes there were two blue glows behind clouds. Both moved rapidly from one point to another with flashing lighting up clouds as they stopped. When I could see the beam, it looked as though it came from a central point and spread out into a few beams like I said as though it was quickly scanning then moving.
‘Sorry I know it’s really hard to put into words this episode, but I didn’t know where or who else to report this to as I feel very uneasy about it all.’
But where do the alleged UFOs go? (Picture: Getty)
8. Brazil
Brazil isn’t well known for being a UFO hotspot, but since 1997, there have been 153 sightings dating back to 1997, according to the NUFORC.
In 2015, one person reported seeing a tear-shaped UFO in Florianopolis.
The witness said: ‘I was driving to class, when I looked up to see the sky and saw a lime green light, shaped like a teardrop, travelling really fast, and vanishing seconds later.
‘I’m positive it wasn’t a weather balloon or a drone, it appeared to be really high and the shape may be due to its velocity.’
Six UFO Reports This Week From Around The Globe, March 2025, UAP Sighting News.
Six UFO Reports This Week From Around The Globe, March 2025, UAP Sighting News.
Guys, you gota see this! I put together the six most interesting reports I discover this week and shared it in this short video for you. Each is unique and shows a different style of UFO or craft and each has different reasons for us to believe it's real. Hope you like it.
Mysterious sphere seen over Newtok, Alaska 3/21/25, UFO UAP Sighting News. 👽🛸👽
Mysterious sphere seen over Newtok, Alaska 3/21/25, UFO UAP Sighting News. 👽🛸👽
Date of sighting: March 21, 2025
Location of sighting: Newton, Alaska, USA
Now this is in one of the most isolated places in all of America, Alaska. Similar unexplained spheres have been seen all over the world, often smaller and following planes, over neighborhoods and even hovering over people at Dome of Rock. These entities are not flesh and blood like us, but a higher state of existence. This one, wanted to be seen and remembered. Something big is coming.
Scott C. Waring - Utah, USA
💫Eyewitness states:
I was walking with few of my friends and this appeared, whatever it is. It was cool. It appeared out of nowhere. It was getting closer and closer, it went above us. Passed a little bit and disappeared.
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
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