'Alien Earth' is among eight new far-off planets

By Jonathan Webb Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle

Artist's impression: Kepler has identified many exoplanets but few are within their star's "Goldilocks zone"

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One of eight new planets spied in distant solar systems has usurped the title of "most Earth-like alien world", astronomers have said.

All eight were picked out by Nasa's Kepler space telescope, taking its tally of such "exoplanets" past 1,000.

But only three sit safely within the "habitable zone" of their host star - and one in particular is rocky, like Earth, as well as only slightly warmer.

The find was revealed at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Red sky

The three potentially habitable planets join Kepler's"hall of fame", which now boasts eight fascinating planetary prospects.

And researchers say the most Earth-like of the new arrivals, known as Kepler 438b, is probably even more similar to our home than Kepler 186f - which previously looked to be our most likely twin.

At 12% larger than Earth, the new claimant is bigger than 186f but it is closer to our temperature, probably receiving just 40% more heat from its sun than we do from ours.

So if we could stand on the surface of 438b it may well be warmer than here, according to Dr Doug Caldwell from the Seti (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute in California.

"And it's around a cooler [red dwarf] star... so your sky would look redder than ours does to us," Dr Caldwell said.

With the three new arrivals, Kepler's 'hall of fame' expands to eight small, habitable-zone exoplanets

That first-person encounter, however, is unlikely - both because the planet is 475 light-years away and because we still have essentially no idea what it's made of.

Images from the Kepler telescope, which trails behind the Earth and peers far into the distance as we orbit our own sun, are used to identify far-off planets by observing "transits".

This refers to the dimming of a star's light when a planet passes in front of it.

Continue reading the main story

Kepler space telescope mission

1. 1. Launched in 2009, the

Kepler space telescope

1. 1. sought to find Earth-like worlds orbiting distant stars in

1. the Constellation Lyra

• • It used the so-called transit technique - looking for the periodic dips in light as

exoplanets

• pass in front of their host starsLast year, a single release of Kepler results added 715 exoplanets to the tally

How does the Kepler telescope work?How rare is our blue planet?

A large team of researchers then uses additional data from Earth-bound telescopes to further explore these unfamiliar solar systems.

They try to calculate how big the planets are, and how closely they orbit their host stars.

Not everything that causes such a dimming eventually turns out to be a planet, however.

At the same time as the eight confirmed new exoplanets were announced by a 26-strong team spanning Nasa and multiple US institutions, the Kepler mission's own scientists released another tranche of more than 500 "candidate" planets.

"With further observation, some of these candidates may turn out not to be planets," said Kepler science officer, Fergal Mullally.

"Or as we understand their properties better, they may move around in, or even outside, the habitable zone."

'Star Trek' scenario

Even once scientists have anointed a candidate as a confirmed exoplanet, the question of whether or not it is "Earth-like" is a fraught one, with fuzzy boundaries.

The size of the habitable, or "Goldilocks" zone, where a planet is far enough
from its sun to hold water but not so distant that it freezes, depends on how
confident scientists want to be with their guess-work.

According to Dr Cardwell, just three of the eight new exoplanets can be
confidently placed in that zone - and only two of those are probably rocky like
the Earth.

More detailed description is very difficult.

An artist's view of Kepler 186f, which experts say has now been pipped as "most Earth-like" known exoplanet

"From the Kepler measurements and the other measurements we made, we don't  know if these planets have oceans with fish and continents with trees," Dr Caldwell told BBC News.

"All we know is their size and the energy they're receiving from their star.

"So we can say: Well, they're of a size that they're likely to be rocky, and the energy they're getting is comparable to what the Earth is getting.

"As we fill in these gaps in our solar system that we don't have, we learn more about what it means to be Earth-like, in some sense."

Speaking at a related event at the conference, Prof Debra Fischer from Yale University said she remembered a time before the first exoplanet was discovered, more than two decades ago.

"I remember astronomers before that point being very worried," she said.

"We really had to step back and say: Maybe the Star Trek picture is wrong.
That filled me with despair."

Prof Fischer said that sensitive telescopes like Kepler had ushered in an era of "amazing and impressive work".

"We're talking about a planet - and we can only see its star with a powerful telescope.

"And we can draw graphs and sketch its composition and have serious scientific discussions. This is incredible."

Follow Jonathan on Twitter.

Daily 2 Cents: Glowing UFO 'Taking Off' -- Revere / Adams Time Capsule Opened -- Unusual Metal Recovered from Ancient Greek Shipwreck

Glowing UFO 'Taking Off'

This glowing light was seen 'taking off' from a mountain in Mexico.

First thoughts were that it might be a helicopter, or perhaps even a large drone but both of those seem a little odd considering it is quite literally, a ball of light.

Click for video - Glowing UFO -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCy49W8TYag#t=20

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Time Capsule Placed By Paul Revere And Samuel Adams Opened

BOSTON (AP) — Early residents of Boston valued a robust press as much as their history and currency if the contents of a time capsule dating back to the years just after the Revolutionary War are any guide.

When conservators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston gingerly removed items from the box Tuesday, they found five tightly folded newspapers, a medal depicting George Washington, a silver plaque, two dozen coins, including one dating to 1655, and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

While some of the coins appeared corroded, other items were in good condition and fingerprints could be seen on the silver plaque.

The capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse when construction began in 1795. It was placed there by Revolutionary era luminaries including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, governor of Massachusetts at the time.

The contents were shifted to what was believed to be a copper box in 1855 and placed back into the foundation of Statehouse. The box remained there until it was rediscovered last year during an ongoing water filtration project at the building. The box was actually brass, according to conservators.

The oldest coin in the box was a 1652 "Pine Tree Schilling," made at a time when the colony didn't have royal authority to create its own currency. Pine trees were a valuable commodity at the time. The trees were used as ship masts.

Michael Comeau, executive director of the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, said he has seen the coins offered for as much at $75,000, although given the context of this particular coin and the association with Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, the value would likely be much higher.

The newspapers were folded in such a way that the names of the publications weren't always visible, but one might have been a copy of the Boston Evening Traveller — a newspaper operation that was eventually absorbed into the current Boston Herald.

A portion of one of the papers that was visible showed a listing of the arrivals of whalers from various ports to Boston. Conservators didn't try to unfold the papers.

Pam Hatchfield, the head of objects conservation for the museum, removed each item using a slew of tools including her grandfather's dental tool. Hatchfield said the paper in the box was in "amazingly good condition."

Massachusetts state Secretary William Galvin said he expects the items will be on display at the museum for a period of time, but that eventually they will again be returned to the foundation to be discovered by a future generation of Bay State residents.

Galvin said he didn't know if modern items might be added to the foundation.

Comeau said the objects in the box are a bridge back in time.

"This is the stuff of history," he said. - THP

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Unusual Metal Recovered from Ancient Greek Shipwreck

GELA, SICILY—Thirty-nine ingots of cast metal have been recovered from a ship that sank 2,600 years ago off the southern coast of Sicily. “The wreck dates to the first half of the sixth century. It was found about 1,000 feet from Gela’s coast at a depth of ten feet,” Sicily’s superintendent of the Sea Office told Discovery News. The metal is being called orichalcum, a legendary metal that the fourth-century B.C. Greek philosopher Plato attributed to the mythical island of Atlantis. “Nothing similar has ever been found. We knew orichalcum from ancient texts and a few ornamental objects,” Tusa added. Analysis of the metal shows that it is an alloy made of copper, zinc, and small percentages of nickel, lead, and iron. The ingots were most likely destined for workshops in Gela. “It will provide us with precious information on Sicily’s most ancient economic history,” Tusa said of the shipwreck’s precious cargo. - Archaeology

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Sisters Charged With Murder Of Brother

In an unthinkable homicide case, a Florida teen and her younger sister have been charged in the shooting death of their older brother.

"Anytime you come on scene with something this horrific, where you have juveniles or children involved, it's pretty unsettling, even to seasoned law enforcement and deputies," Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter said at a Tuesday press conference.

The siblings, identified as Misty "Ariel" Renee Kornegay, 15, and Nicole Kornegay, 11, both face charges of premeditated murder. The girl's parents, Keith Kornegay, 37 and Misty Kornegay, 33, are facing charges of child neglect, police said.

According to Columbia County Sheriff's spokesman Murray Smith, the investigation into the case began Monday night. Police in White Springs, a small town 70 miles northwest of Jacksonville, learned that the girls had run away from home and were spotted at a nearby Dollar General store.

When approached by police, the sisters "informed [an officer] of a shooting at their residence," Smith said.

Sheriff's office deputies were dispatched to the Kornegay's White Springs home, whereupon they found the body of the girl's 16-year-old brother, Damien Kornegay, sprawled out on the living room floor. He had been shot one time and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

"Based on the preliminary investigation, it is believed that earlier in the evening the 15-year-old sister of the deceased retrieved a handgun from their parents' bedroom and used it to shoot her brother," said Smith.

Nicole Kornegay's role in the shooting remains unclear. Smith would only say that she "assisted her 15-year-old sister" in the commission of the crime.

The Huffington Post normally does not identify minors charged in connection with a crime, but both girls have been widely identified in news coverage, and their names have been released by the sheriff's office.

Bayoubuzz.com reported Ariel Kornegay told police that her brother beat her up the day of the shooting. Authorities have yet to officially comment on a possible motive.

According to News4jax.com, police had been called to the Kornegay residence in 2010, in regard to a report of "inappropriate behavior" that had allegedly involved Damien and Ariel Kornegay. Details of that alleged incident remain unclear and no charges were filed, the news station reported.

Keith and Misty Kornegay's 3-year-old child, who was found alone in the home upon the discovery of Damien's body, has been placed in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The children's parents were reportedly out of town at the time of the shooting. The neglect charges were filed against them for "failing to properly supervise the children," Smith said.

Ariel and Nicole Kornegay are being held without bond in the Columbia County Detention Facility. Both girls are expected to make their first court appearance sometime Wednesday.

"This is a very unusual event for us here in the community -- very tragic," Sheriff Hunter said. - THP

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Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (Penguin Books)

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{ http://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/ }

Saucer – shaped UFO sighting above Paris, France in January 2015

New interesting video footage of a saucer – shaped UFO sighting recorded in the daytime sky above Paris, France in January 2015.

Witness said:
Incredible saucer-shape UFO recorded over my house last day. The grayish object seemed to be very large, with strange lights on it. I noticed a headlight on the front of the object. It was certainly spying the area. The UFO was also slowly descending, before disappearing behind a near cloud.

<style type="text/css">.youtube_sc iframe.yp{display:none}</style><object width="560" height="340" class="yp" title="YouTube video player"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t-ufX9GxOv4?version=3&hl=en_US"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t-ufX9GxOv4?version=3&hl=en_US" width="560" height="340" class="yp" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always"></object>

Type ➫ Metallic object
Scale ➫ At least car-sized
Duration ➫ 1 minute
Color(s) ➫ Grey
Light(s) ➫ Yes
Speed ➫ Slow (approx. 5-10 km/h
Filmed with ➫ Canon 700D + 50mm F/1.8

Video footage of a cloaked plane recored above San Diego on 3rd January 2015

New amazing video footage of a strange cloaked plane recorded while recording chemtrails over San Diego on 3rd January 2015.

Witness said:
As I was making a how to clip for filming the sun I swung over to film chemplanes and caught a strange plane. It almost looks cloaked. I also show what you need to film the sun with your camera – just some cheap solar filter paper.

<style type="text/css">.youtube_sc iframe.yp{display:none}</style><object width="560" height="340" class="yp" title="YouTube video player"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tbFYps-DJZ4?version=3&hl=en_US"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tbFYps-DJZ4?version=3&hl=en_US" width="560" height="340" class="yp" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always"></object>

Het  nieuwe jaar begint weer met oranje bollen ( Video )

Aliens Among Humans Conspiracy

Aliens living among humans on Earth has been a conspiracy that many believe for a long time. These aliens supposedly mix themselves with humans to carefully observe our daily lives. Valiant Thorr in the 50s is one of the favorite examples of it.

Thorr allegedly came from planet Venus and got a job at the Pentagon. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon reportedly met him claiming he can give ideas to help US people live much better lives. While his extraterrestrial origin is up for debate, the man’s name existed.

Phil Schneider, Area 51 engineer, claims he met Val. He described Val as a being with a thinking capacity that would be completely off the scale if measured. He estimated Val’s IQ to be approximately 1200. He also said that Val can speak 100 languages fluently, including alien languages.

However, another man claimed that he knows aliens never share their technology until mankind stop polluting planet Earth. In 2013, Former Canadian Defence Minister Paul Hellyer stated in an interview with Russian TV that humans have a long history of UFOs and since the creation of the atomic bomb, there has been a lot more activity.

He explained that aliens are very concerned about the use of the atomic bomb again because the activity on Earth also affects the entire cosmos. Hellyer has said that at least four known extraterrestrial species have been visiting Earth for the hundreds of decades.

Hellyer’s credibility is very much impressive. He was the Defence Minister during the Cold War. He combined the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy into the Canadian Forces. He is also the member of the Privy Council, the longest serving current member, ahead of Prince Phillip.

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

UFO Invisible To The Naked Eye But Viewable In Cam Screen

Saturn-like UFO was caught on the camera of a Colorado witness at Fairplay. Interestingly, the UFO was invisible to the naked eye, according to the MUFON report, Case 62246. The activity happened around 1:30 pm on 14th of December 2014 along Highway 285 while the reporting witness and his girlfriend were driving.

Amazed with the beautiful scenery of surrounding area, she decided to snap some photos, the reporting witness said. All of a sudden, she saw an object on the camera’s screen and then began to find it without using the phone.

She asked her fiancée if he could see anything. She later realized that the object could only be seen through the camera screen on the phone. The woman then took two pictures very quickly.

Neither of them did see anything only with their naked eyes, but in the photo it seems as if the mysterious object was moving very fast. The two witnesses were going approximately 65 mph, and the photos were shot only a few seconds apart, yet the unknown aerial object seems to have travelled drastically.

According to the reporting witness, they can’t identify it and are hoping that someone else can give them an idea. Fairplay has 679 population, the most populous municipality in Park County, Colorado.

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

Evidence Ancient Aliens Planned Humanity?  (Video)

(Before It's News)

(N.Morgan) It is believed by many that our early technologies can be  attributed to the ingenuity of alien life forms. Are some of the technologies of the past really alien based technology? Many believe that the Pyramids were built by aliens life forms. Was earth visited in the past by Ancient Aliens flying UFOs around and telling there where to build their cities.

Perhaps hoping that one day in the future we would put together the clues? In an uncanny fashion, these sites seem to be a planned alignment of a multitude of ancient archeological sites around Earth strongly points towards humans of the past being guided, globally, and over many millennia by some sort of higher intelligence.

Nearly all of these sites are considered what is known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sites that are of extreme special cultural or physical significance.

1) Easter Island:

We’re going to start off with Easter Island, which is home to the mysterious Moai statues which were created around 800 years ago for reasons that still remain unknown. A total of 887 monolithic stone Moai statues have been counted.

2) Nazca Lines:

The Nazca Lines are mysterious giant glyphs carved into the ground in the Nazca Desert of Peru. They were thought to be built around 1600 years ago – no one knows why they are there as they can only be seen from the sky…why would anyone do that when flight hadn’t been invented yet?

3) Machu Picchu:

Machu Piccu was built around 600 years ago at the height of the Incan Empire and allegedly as a means to honor a “sacred landscape.” If you havn’t heard of it before, it’s a city literally built on top of a mountain by hand….with rocks sometimes weighing as much as 40 tons.

4) Tassili n’Ajjer

Tassili n’Ajjer is a range of mountains in Algeria in the Sahara Desert. It contains some 15,000 ancient cave drawings some of which are up to 10,000 years old. Some of the carvings are a bit strange as well.

5) Persepolis

Persepolis is the ancient capital of Persia. It was built around 2500 years ago.

6) Khajuraho Group of Monuments

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments are 85 special temples to honor Hindu gods built around 1000 years ago. They were allegedly built in this area as it is an area where quote “the gods love to play” according to local legend. The temples are dedicated to various Hindu gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, and Jain Tithanks.

7) The Oasis at Siwa

The Oasis at Siwa is estimated to be around 4,600 years old..and many believe it could be much older. It is famous for being the home of the Oracle of Amun. Amun was an Egyptian Diety. Alexander the Great believed that his divinity was a result of his visit to this oracle.

8) The Pyramids of Giza

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Pyramids of Giza before. They were estimated to have been constructed around 4,600 years ago.

9) Mohenjo Daro

Mohenjo Daro was built in around 4600 years ago. It is part of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The name literally translates to the Mound of the Dead. It is thought to be one of the world’s earliest major urban settlements.

10) Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was built around 1000 years ago and was dedicated to the god Vishnu. According to a 13th Century Chinese traveler, it was allegedly believed that the temple was contructed in only one night by an architect of divine power.

These aren’t the only sites that line up either, there’s quite a few more sites that line up as well as you can see in the video.

More Stories Contributed By N. Morgan

Triangle UFO spotted hovering over Maryland’s I-95

(Before It's News)

openminds.tv

The witness first noticed a bright light moving directly over his car along northbound I-95 near the Ellicott City exit about 3:55 a.m. on December 29, 2014. (Credit: Google)

Two Maryland witnesses driving northbound along I-95 near the Ellicott City ramp reported watching a triangle-shaped UFO that moved directly overhead and hovered over nearby trees, according to testimony in Case 62426 from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

The reporting witness was driving on a return trip to Pennsylvania with his mother as a front seat passenger at approximately 3:55 a.m. on December 29, 2014, when the object was first seen.

“I noticed a large, bright light glide over Interstate 95, almost directly over our car, just enough to get my attention,” the witness stated. “I was driving about 70 mph and pressed my face against the front windshield to get a better look at it.”

The triangle-shaped object seemed to slow down and then hovered over a group of nearby trees. (Credit: Google)

The witness described the object.

“To my amazement, I saw a triangle craft with two oval lights on the back corners of the craft and a large red light in the center. I could also make out a very dark point on the craft which I thought to be the front of it, or the tip of the triangle.”

The object then stopped and hovered over a group of trees.

“I quickly screamed to my sleeping mother in the passenger’s seat to look out her window. She woke up and immediately saw what I was yelling about. She was mesmerized.”

The driver got a good look at the object.

“I was trying to look at the craft and the road at the same time and that was when I noticed that the edges of the craft were more rounded, almost like a Popsicle stick. It had two layers. On the bottom was the color of the cloudy night sky, and the top was a very brilliant black color.”

The driver attempted to get a photo of the object.

“I fumbled for my phone that had a camera attached to it and my mom watched as it hovered over a group of trees. It hovered only about five to 10 feet over the tree tops. She got a better view of the craft and said that the red light in the center of the ‘V’ was very ‘unusual’ and very large and red.”

Just as the witness attempted to take a photo of the object, it disappeared. (Credit: Google)

When the witness attempted to take his shot with the camera, something unusual happened.

“When I took out the camera to take the picture, I aimed the camera towards it, but it went from a stationary position above the tree line, to completely disappearing out of view and I couldn’t get the picture taken.”

The driver’s mother seemed to think the camera had something to do with the UFO disappearing.

“She told me that when I took out the camera and aimed it, it was almost as if ‘the UFO knew I was about to take a picture and took off.’ We both became very excited from what we just saw and then I took notice of the time and it read, 3:55 a.m. The approaching exit that was then seen was for the Ellicott City off ramp.”

Ellicott City is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland, population 65,834.

Please remember that most UFO sighting can be explained as something natural or man-made. The above quotes were edited for clarity. Please report UFO activity to MUFON.com.

The post Triangle UFO spotted hovering over Maryland’s I-95 appeared first on Openminds.tv.

Source: http://www.openminds.tv/triangle-ufo-spotted-hovering-marylands-95/31594

Daily UFO Headlines 1/7/15

(Before It's News)

openminds.tv

• ‘UFO’ spotted over Canberra: Watch footage of strange disc-shaped object filmed above Australian capital – Mirror
• Was a 1905 Cowichan meteor a message from outer space? – Cowichan Valley Citizen
• NPR joins the comics – Sarasota Herald-Tribune
• Should Perth ‘near miss’ be considered a UFO event? – Crikey
• New White House Petition Calls for Presidential Support for Congressional Hearings Regarding Extraterrestrials – Virtual-Strategy Magazine

The post Daily UFO Headlines 1/7/15 appeared first on Openminds.tv.

Source: http://www.openminds.tv/daily-ufo-headlines-1715/31582

Bright Unknown Object Burned Up Over The Hualapai Mountains in Kingman Arizona (Video)

(Before It's News)

Skywatcher ‘DarkSkyWatcher74′ noticed a bright object streaking across the sky heading NW to SE towards the Hualapai Mountains in Kingman Arizona on January 5, 2015.

Darkskywatcher74 said: “The object was within our atmosphere and it hit about 20 degrees on the Horizon it started to burn up. I do not believe this was a meteor or the plume would have started higher up in elevation but I could be wrong though due to the perspective as it is over the mountain and beyond my horizon.
 

Yesterday, we reported about a fireball (Crashing object and orb leaving the object moving off in the opposite direction) captured over South California on January 5, 2015. (Image left.)

Is it just coincidence and these objects are just two meteorites passing through Earth’s atmosphere coming from the current Quadrantids meteorite shower or are we talking about the same burning object/UFO and there’s more going on here than meets the eye?

Besides the object(s) in south California and Kingman Arizona, another strange burning object fell from the sky in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

There is reason for concern with all these unidentified flying and burning objects falling from the sky?

Video 1: Burning object over Hualapai Mountains in Kingman Arizona.

  

Video 2: Burning object over Porto Alegre in Brazil.

The top UFO hot spots for 2014

(Before It's News)

openminds.tv

Taking a look back at UFOs reported in 2014, there are some big surprises as to which states rise to the top of the list.

The data I am using for this report comes from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). It is the largest civilian UFO investigation organization in the country. They even received recognition from the Guinness Book of Worlds Records for it this year. They have members and/or certified field investigators in every state in the country, and even a few in other countries as well.

MUFON received some added attention this year with their own TV show on the History Channel titled Hangar 1.

In 2014 MUFON received 8,860 reports from around the world, but mostly in the U.S. Of those reports 7,048 were from the United States. This number is up from 7,646 reports worldwide last year, with 6,457 of those reports from the U.S.

Does this mean there are more UFOs buzzing around the sky? Hard to say. It could just mean that more people are reporting them to MUFON because of their TV show.

As for the top states reporting UFO sightings, as usual, they jive pretty well with the states with the most population. So you have California and Texas taking the two top spots. Looking at the data this way can be deceptive, so I like to match the data up with the populations and determine who is getting the most number of sightings per person. Well, actually per 100,000 people in this case. This is how you find the true hot spots.

Top 20 States Reporting UFOs in 2014. (Click to enlarge)

So where were the UFOs in 2014? Surprisingly, Oregon takes the top spot for the most reported UFOs per population. They were number 19 last year. I broke the numbers down per month for Oregon to see if maybe they had a UFO armada fly by. They had 28 reports in January, but September had 21, so no one event seems to be responsible.

Another reason this is so shocking is that when I look in our archives of Oregon UFO sightings, we only reported one in November. It does not appear the media in Oregon, or anywhere else, picked up on any others. I’ll have to delve into this further and get back to you with what I find.

New Hampshire takes the number 2 spot. Last year they were 5th, so not too much of a surprise. We also have New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado at the top of the list, as usual. There seem to be a lot of sightings in the southwestern U.S. It could be because the desert skies are clear more often, or the fact that there are so many large secluded Air Force bases, like Area 51.

Although I have embedded the top 20 here, you can find the full list at the end of this story. By the way, if your state is not as high on the list as you would like, don’t get mad at me. I just crunched the numbers. Inevitably, every year someone gets mad that their state is not visited by UFOs as much as they think it is.

I also crunched the numbers for the shapes of UFOs being reported. Again, it is pretty typical. The top shape is a sphere. Disc shaped UFOs are the sixth most reported – under “other” and before “unknown.” So “flying saucers” are not as popular as they once might have been. However, number four on the list is triangular shaped. It is interesting to note that so many reports are of objects or lights that are triangular in shape. There were several interesting triangular shaped lights caught on video last year.

When it comes to foreign countries, the top 10 includes a lot of English speaking countries and nearby neighbors. MUFON does a lot of international outreach, especially with Canada and Mexico. Their Director of International Affairs is a Spanish speaker. BTW, he will be speaking at the 2015 International UFO Congress next month.

Top 10 Countries Reporting UFOs to MUFON in 2014.

So there you have it. This is where the UFOs were in 2014. These numbers may frighten you, or make you excited for a possible diplomatic exchange with an intergalactic space fairing cruise ship. Let us know what you think below.

Full list if U.S. UFO reports per state:

U.S. UFO Reports Per State in 2014. (Click to Enlarge)

Full list if UFO reports per country:

The post The top UFO hot spots for 2014 appeared first on Openminds.tv.

Source: http://www.openminds.tv/top-ufo-hot-spots-2014/31573

Eight potentially habitable alien worlds discovered

(Before It's News)

openminds.tv

(Credit: David A. Aguilar/CfA)

NASA’s Kepler space telescope hit a major milestone on Tuesday, January 6. It was announced at the annual winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle that Kepler has now identified more than 1,000 exoplanets and more than 4,000 planet candidates.

Kepler began its planet-hunting mission in 2009. And, although that initial mission ended in mid-2013 after two of spacecraft’s four reaction wheels failed, eliminating the ability of the telescope to maintain positioning, scientists are still combing through the significant pile of data collected by Kepler.

(Credit: NASA)

Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics analyzing Kepler’s data recently discovered eight potentially habitable alien planets. The Telegraph explains that “The new worlds double the number of small exo-planets believed to be circling their stars in the ‘Goldilocks zone’ – neither too hot, nor too cold, where water would not evaporate or freeze.” Dr. Guillermo Torresthe, the study’s lead scientist, explains, “Most of these planets have a good chance of being rocky, like Earth.”

The Telegraph points out that, of these eight planets that could potentially sustain life as we know it,  the two most like Earth, Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, “orbit red dwarf stars that are smaller and cooler than the Sun.”

Study co-author, Dr. David Kipping, cautiously explains, “We don’t know for sure whether any of the planets in our sample are truly habitable. All we can say is that they’re promising candidates.”

The team’s research about these planets will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Artist’s illustration of Kepler. (Credit: NASA Ames/ W Stenzel)

The premature end of Kepler’s primary mission was an unfortunate blow to the hunt for alien worlds. But, fortunately, the spacecraft has successfully been repurposed. As Space.com explains, “In May 2014, NASA approved a new two-year mission extension called K2 for the space observatory, during which a compromised Kepler continues to hunt for exoplanets but also observes other cosmic objects and phenomena, including supernova explosions and star clusters.”

The post Eight potentially habitable alien worlds discovered appeared first on Openminds.tv.

Source: http://www.openminds.tv/eight-potentially-habitable-alien-worlds-discovered/31566

'UFO' spotted over Canberra: Watch footage of strange disc-shaped object filmed above Australian capital

The video shows the object speeding through the skies from left to right before flying under the plane and out of picture

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/ufo-spotted-over-canberra-watch-4932458 

WATCH MORE UFO VIDEOS ON UFO SIGHTING'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE

This footage shows a strange disc-shaped object flying through the sky above the Australian capital Canberra.

The suspected UFO was filmed from a plane as it sped past the clouds.

The video was shot a few years ago but has only now been released.

FindingUFO / YouTube

It was posted by the group, Finding UFO, which records unidentified flying objects across Australia.

The footage shows the strange-looking object speeding through the skies from left to right before flying under the plane and out of picture.

The video was filmed by a passenger on the aircraft.

News of the sighting comes after a mysterious ball of light was seen streaking across the night sky over California, sparking theories that it could be a UFO.

Google

Alien enthusiasts have claimed the video – which has clocked up half a million YouTube views in 24 hours – shows a crashing ship releasing an escape pod.

But many believe it is merely space rubble burning up in Earth's atmosphere

There have been a string of meteorite sightings in the US over the past week - with many reports coming out of California.

UFO mania: Scientist – We Are Aliens On Our Own Planet

The idea that humanity is not from Earth is as controversial as it is intriguing. Are we really aliens on our own planet? If this is true where is our place of origin in the galaxy? A scientific evaluation of the evidence against man’s evolution on planet Earth has been put forward by a researcher and author. According to Dr Ellis Silver, leading environmentalist and ecologist there are a number of reasons why humans do not come from Earth.

In his book, Humans are not from Earth: a scientific evaluation of the evidence, Dr. Silver lists seventeen factors which suggest we are not from this planet. He also discusses the place of our origin and the timeline when humanity appeared on Earth.

A scientific evaluation of the evidence for and (mostly) against man’s evolution on Planet Earth, by a leading environmentalist and ecologist. Including:

• An evaluation of the thirteen leading hypotheses
• Seventeen factors which suggest we are not from Earth
• How did we get here?
• When did we get here?
• What is our home planet like?
• The most likely stars that our home planet orbits
• If the aliens are out there why can’t we detect them?
• Are we the aliens?

In this fascinating book Dr Ellis Silver provides answers to all of these questions, based on current evidence and thinking in the scientific community and elsewhere. Read more…

Dr. Silver says our physiology suggests we evolved on a planet with lower gravity.

“Mankind is supposedly the most highly developed species on the planet, yet is surprisingly unsuited and ill-equipped for Earth’s environment: harmed by sunlight, a strong dislike for naturally occurring foods, ridiculously high rates of chronic disease, and more, “Dr. Silver said in an interview with Yahoo news.

“The Earth approximately meets our needs as a species, but perhaps not as strongly as whoever brought us here initially thought,” Silver said in an interview with Yahoo news.

“Lizards can sunbathe for as long as they like – and many of them do.

We can just about get away with it for a week or two. But day after day in the sun? Forget it.

You might as well just lie down on the freeway and wait for a bus to hit you.”

We are dazzled by the sun, which is also odd, says Silver – most animals are not.

Dr. Silver claims that some chronic illnesses that plague the human race – such as bad backs – could be a sign we evolved on a world with lower gravity.

Silver points to other unique human traits – such as the fact that babies’ heads are so large that women have trouble giving birth – in earlier eras, this was often fatal for mother, child or both.

“No other truly native species on this planet has this problem,” he says. Dr. Silver also points out to the “extra” 223 genes in human beings, which are not found in any other species, and to the lack of a fossil “missing link”.

Dr. Silver also claims that the human race has defects that mark us out as being possibly “not of this world”.

“We are all chronically ill,” says Dr. Silver. “Indeed, if you can find a single person who is 100% fit and healthy and not suffering from some (perhaps hidden or unstated) condition or disorder (there’s an extensive list in the book) I would be extremely surprised – I have not been able to find anyone.”

Did we evolve on an alien world?

Strange Object In Sky Photographed From Plane New Years Day

Reported to MUFON's latest 20 reports on 1/3 and supposedly happened on January 1st..... near Orlando. Below is the MUFON Report and the picture submitted.

{ http://floridaufo.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 }

60 Billion Habitable Planets in the Milky Way Alone? Astronomers say Yes!

by Shannon Hall

A new study suggests that the number of habitable exoplanets within the Milky Way alone may reach 60 billion.

Previous research performed by a team at Harvard University suggested that there is one Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of each red dwarf star. But researchers at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University have now extended the habitable zone and doubled this estimate.

The research team, lead by Dr. Jun Yang considered one more variable in their calculations: cloud cover. Most exoplanets are tidally locked to their host stars – one hemisphere continually faces the star, while one continuously faces away. These tidally locked planets have a permanent dayside and a permanent nightside.

One would expect the temperature gradient between the two to be very high, as the dayside is continuously receiving stellar flux, while the nightside is always in darkness. Computer simulations that take into account cloud cover show that this is not the case.

The dayside is covered by clouds, which lead to a “stabilizing cloud feedback” on climate.  It has a higher cloud albedo (more light is reflected off the clouds) and a lower greenhouse effect. The presence of clouds actually causes the dayside to be much cooler than expected.

“Tidally locked planets have low enough surface temperatures to be habitable,” explains Jang in his recently published paper. Cloud cover is so effective it even extends the habitable zone to twice the stellar flux. Planets twice as close to their host star are still cool enough to be habitable.

But these new statistics do not apply to just a few stars. Red dwarfs “represent about ¾ of the stars in the galaxy, so it applies to a huge number of planets,” Dr. Abbot, co-author on the paper, told Universe Today. It doubles the number of planets previously thought habitable throughout the entire galaxy.

Not only is the habitable zone around red dwarfs much larger, red dwarfs also live for much longer periods of time. In fact, the Universe is not old enough for any of these long-living stars to have died yet. This gives life the amount of time necessary to form. After all, it took human beings 4.5 billions years to appear on Earth.

Another study we reported on earlier also revised and extrapolated the habitable zone around red dwarf stars.

Future observations will verify this model by measuring the cloud temperatures. On the dayside, we will only be able to see the high cool clouds. A planet resembling this model will therefore look very cold on the dayside. In fact, “a planet that does show the cloud feedback will look hotter on the nightside than the dayside,” explains Abbot.

This effect will be testable with the James Webb Space Telescope.  All in all, the Milky Way is likely to be teeming with life.

The results will be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters (preprint available here).

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