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.
Woensdag 3 november 2021
Researchers Discovered A Method To Manipulate Orbiting Debris With Spinning Magnets
Researchers Discovered A Method To Manipulate Orbiting Debris With Spinning Magnets
Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com –Space has become a trash heap. According to NASA, there are more than 27,000 pieces of space debris bigger than the size of a softball currently orbiting Earth, and they are traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a small chunk to damage a satellite or spacecraft like an intergalactic cannonball.
A computer-generated image representing the locations, but not relative sizes, of space debris as could be seen from high Earth orbit.
Image credit: NASA
Consequently, cleaning up this space junk will be an important task if agencies are to shoot more rockets and satellites into orbit. University of Utah mechanical engineering professor Jake J. Abbott is leading a team of researchers that has discovered a method to manipulate orbiting debris with spinning magnets. With this technology, robots could one day gently maneuver the scrap to a decaying orbit or further out into space without actually touching it, or they could repair malfunctioning objects to extend their life.
Their research is detailed in the paper, “Dexterous magnetic manipulation of conductive non-magnetic objects,” published this month in the science journal, Nature. The co-authors include U graduate students Lan Pham, Griffin Tabor and Ashkan Pourkand, former graduate student Jacob L. B. Aman, and U School of Computing associate professor Tucker Hermans. You can read a copy of the paper here.
The concept involves moving metallic, non-magnetized objects in space with spinning magnets. When the metallic debris is subjected to a changing magnetic field, electrons circulate within the metal in circular loops, “like when you swirl your cup of coffee and it goes around and around,” says Abbott.
The process turns the piece of debris into essentially an electromagnet that creates torque and force, which can allow you to control where the debris goes without physically grabbing it.
While the idea of using these kinds of magnetic currents to manipulate objects in space is not new, what Abbott and his team have discovered is that using multiple magnetic-field sources in a coordinated fashion allows them to move the objects in six degrees of movement, including rotating them. Before, it was only known how to move them in one degree of movement, like just pushing them.
“What we wanted to do was to manipulate the thing, not just shove it but actually manipulate it like you do on Earth,” he says. “That form of dexterous manipulation has never been done before.”
With this new knowledge, scientists for example could stop a damaged satellite from wildly spinning in order to repair it, something that would not have been possible before.
“You have to take this crazy object floating in space, and you have to get it into a position where it can be manipulated by a robot arm,” Abbott says. “But if it’s spinning out of control, you could break the robot arm doing that, which would just create more debris.”
This method also allows scientists to manipulate objects that are especially fragile. While a robot arm could damage an object because its claw applies force to one part of it, these magnets would apply a gentler force to the entire object so no one section is harmed.
To test their research, the team used a series of magnets to move a copper ball on a plastic raft in a tank of water (the best way to simulate slow-moving objects in microgravity). The magnets moved the sphere not only in a square, but they also rotated the ball.
Abbott says this newly discovered process could be used with a spinning magnet on a robotic arm, a stationary magnet that creates spinning magnetic fields, or a spinning super-conductive electromagnet like those used in MRI scanners.
Abbott believes this principle of manipulating non-magnetic metallic objects with magnets could also have applications beyond the clearing of space debris.
“I’m starting to open my mind to what potential applications there are,” he says. “We have a new way to apply a force to an object for precise alignment without touching it.”
But for now, this idea could immediately be applied to help fix the problem of space junk orbiting the Earth.
“NASA is tracking thousands of space debris the same way that air traffic controllers track aircraft. You have to know where they are because you could accidentally crash into them,” Abbott says. “The U.S. government and the governments of the world know of this problem because there is more and more of this stuff accumulating with each passing day.”
I found a small face on Mars near the NASA rover. The photos were taken today and show a small fossil face with some bone fragments not far from it. The face is more like from the movie Shrek, big rounded, troll like. Its clearly has a lot of human features. Its eye ridges are massive and its nose several times our own. Its upper lip is extending farther than its lower lip. Its cheeks long, its ear behind the eye ridge. It even appears to have a muscle wrinkle at the mouth edge...a smile line from so much smiling perhaps.
I believe this to be an alien fossil. The detail and the uniqueness make it highly unlikely that its a sculpture. The detail is just too good. Also there are thick bone fragments not far from the head. Why is the face so well preserved? Well, if an alien species has more than 3 strands of DNA, it would actually harden the skin, muscles, bones...making them more compact, more difficult to break down in the environment The more strands of DNA the species has, the less it will break down. The face is only about 2 inches or 4cm across. Very small, yet only 1/2 meter from the rover itself...and NASA ignored it.
100% proof that NASA is not doing their job on Mars with the Rovers! NASA has no intention of telling the public the truth. If they did, it would create a race to get there by other countries, to find ancient technology left behind.
Scott C. Waring - Taiwan
NASA put the photos into false color, which hides detail, so I put it back into normal color mode.
A woman is visited by strange men in black suits after an eerie light show. Alaska is a hotbed for UFO sightings, abductions and extraterrestrial encounters. Why are these otherworldly visitors drawn to America’s last frontier? Shocking new evidence and personal testimony from local witnesses shed light on the alien activity.
New Research Rewrites History of Egyptian Mummification Process!
There is new research to show that the ancient Egyptians started using their complex mummification process a good 1000 years before previously believed. This startling revelation will be made in National Geographic’s new season of its documentary series called ‘ Lost Treasures of Egypt ’. The mummy that is behind this discovery was found in 2019, and it was thought to be 1000 years younger than the recent dating analysis has found. If this discovery is reinforced by further evidence, it could lead to a rewriting of history books!
The finding indicates mummification was well understood and used ten centuries before any previous evidence found in Egypt has indicated. The Khuwy mummification was very advanced and involved the use of superior-quality linen bandaging and a lot of excellent resin, reports The Guardian .
More important for some researchers is the fact that the mummy of the high-ranking nobleman called Khuwy is from one of oldest Egyptian tombs ever discovered. Khuwy’s tomb was dated to the Old Kingdom, 2700–2200 BC but the mummy was thought younger due to the mummification processes used and hence the condition of its preservation.
Egyptian archaeologists examining the inside of Khuwy’s tomb, where the earliest example of advanced mummification was discovered and dated to the Old Kingdom period.
The 2019 Saqqara Discovery Rewrites Mummification History
The original discovery of the new Saqqara mummy in 2019 figured in an earlier season of National Geographic’s program. The mummy was found in a very well-appointed tomb in the necropolis at Saqqara. A well-researched article appeared on the Ancient Origins website detailing the fascinating discovery.
The mummy was found while listing the collection of pyramids from the time of Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. He was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt which ruled for approximately 150 years from the early 25th century BC to mid-24th century BC. The Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth dynasties are clubbed together as Egypt’s Old Kingdom period . The entrance to the tomb replicated the architecture of royal pyramids from the Fifth Dynasty.
Although the pottery in the pyramid dated to the Old Kingdom, the mummy’s state of preservation and the materials used in the process originally misled the archaeologists involved in the excavation and so they believed he was younger than the artifacts recovered from his tomb by 1,000 years.
However, subsequent dating and analysis of the mummy revealed its age and its advanced mummification process . It is the investigation into this process as well as the discoveries it has led to that will be aired in an episode of the new season of National Geographic’s Lost Treasures show.
A cow being slaughtered as depicted in the nobleman’s tomb where the mummification process was suddenly found to be 1,000 years older than previously believed.
Now Scientists Have To “Rewrite” The Old Kingdom Period
Hieroglyphics found in the Saqqara tomb revealed that the body was that of Khuwy, who was related to the royal family and lived more than 4000 years ago.
As reported in the Guardian, Salima Ikram, a member of the archaeology team who is head of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, said:
“If this is indeed an Old Kingdom mummy, all books about mummification and the history of the Old Kingdom will need to be revised. This would completely turn our understanding of the evolution of mummificationon its head. The materials used, their origins, and the trade routes associated with them will dramatically impact our understanding of Old Kingdom Egypt.”
She further stated,
“Until now, we had thought that Old Kingdom mummification was relatively simple, with basic desiccation – not always successful – no removal of the brain, and only occasional removal of the internal organs. Indeed, more attention was paid to the exterior appearance of the deceased than the interior. Also, the use of resins is far more limited in the Old Kingdom mummies thus far recorded. This mummy is awash with resins and textiles and gives a completely different impression of mummification. In fact, it is more like mummies found 1,000 years later.”
The embalming process in ancient Egypt involved bathing the body in resins from tree sap which served to preserve the flesh. The cadaver was then wrapped in linen cloth bandages. Khuwy’s body was coated with high-quality resins and wrapped in fine linen bandages . According to Ikram such good-quality linen was seen only around the time of the 21st Dynasty of Egypt. Astonishingly, the 21st Dynasty reigned more than 1000 years after Khuwy lived!
In many ways, our understanding of Egypt’s mummies and mummification can be dramatically revised when an older mummy or tomb is discovered, as Khuwy’s tomb has so clearly proven.
Top image: The tomb of Egyptian nobleman Khuwy, where evidence showed that advanced mummification process knowledge existed 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Aerial Survey Reveals Hundreds of Olmec and Maya Sites in Mexico
Researchers from the University of Arizona recently completed a groundbreaking and breathtaking aerial survey of large areas of southern Mexico that were once occupied by Olmec and Maya civilizations, the builders of ancient Mesoamerica’s first great civilizations. The survey was groundbreaking because it was the largest aerial imaging study ever carried out, covering more than 32,000 square miles (84,000 square kilometers) in five southern Mexican states. The results were breathtaking because the researchers were able to identify the remains of 478 Olmec and Maya ceremonial complexes, an extraordinary result that could profoundly impact modern archaeology’s understanding of both cultures.
This massive research project utilized an imaging technology known as LiDAR to detect the Olmec and Maya ritual centers, most of which would have been constructed between the years 1,100 BC and 400 BC. The territories surveyed covered most of ancient Olmec territory and the western Maya lowlands, which on modern maps represents the entire state of Tabasco, southern Veracruz, and smaller sections of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Campeche.
What was most remarkable about the survey results, which have just been published in the journal Nature Human Behavior , is the close relationship they revealed between Olmec and Maya ceremonial construction practices and themes.
Mexico’s Aguada Fénix archaeological site as seen from the air reveals little about Olmec and Maya similarities and imitations in ritual architectural design. It took a LiDAR survey, see image below, to reveal what was really there!
In 2020, the same team of researchers, led by University of Arizona anthropologist Takeshi Inomata, discovered the oldest and largest Maya ceremonial site ever found, which they dubbed Aguada Fénix .
This long, flattened, rectangular mound is almost one mile (1.6 kilometers) in length and is raised between 33 and 50 feet (10 and 15 meters) off the ground. It features 20 much smaller platforms built around its perimeter, and from the air resembles a long banquet or pool table. Aguada Fénix was constructed between 1,000 BC and 800 BC, in the pre-classical stage of the Maya civilization .
Many of the religious complexes discovered in Maya territory during the latest survey greatly resemble Aguada Fénix in shape and design. Most significantly, all of these sites seem to mimic a newly discovered rectangular ceremonial complex found at San Lorenzo , the oldest and one of the most important Olmec population centers . It is here that the famed colossal heads that depict Olmec rulers were discovered, along with other signs of a complex culture that created the first great Mesoamerican civilization in the second millennium BC.
The newly discovered ceremonial monument at San Lorenzo is 3,300 (1,000 meters) long and 900 feet (275 meters) wide, with 20 raised platforms arranged around its edges. It was clearly a gathering place of some sort, and important religious ceremonies or rituals were almost assuredly held there, the researchers believe.
The monument’s resemblance to Aguada Fénix and the other freshly detected Maya sites is unmistakable. Yet it was constructed two or three centuries earlier, which has led the University of Arizona researchers to speculate that the San Lorenzo site may have acted as a template for Maya ceremonial site construction.
"People always thought San Lorenzo was very unique and different from what came later in terms of site arrangement," Inomata said, in a University of Arizona press release announcing his research team’s discoveries. "But now we show that San Lorenzo is very similar to Aguada Fénix – it has a rectangular plaza flanked by edge platforms. Those features become very clear in LiDAR and are also found at Aguada Fénix, which was built a little bit later. This tells us that San Lorenzo is very important for the beginning of some of these ideas that were later used by the Maya ."
A LiDAR view of the same landscape shown in the previous picture at the Aguada Fénix archaeological site that reveals the Maya building complex and its similarities to Olmec design.
According to Inomata and his colleagues, the Maya would have been imitating Olmec building practices because the two cultures shared elements of the same metaphysical belief system.
“City plans symbolizing cosmologies have long been recognized as a defining element of Mesoamerican civilizations,” they noted in their Nature Human Behavior paper.
After analyzing the orientations of the ancient Olmec and Maya sites carefully, the researchers discovered that most are aligned with the sunrise on certain dates. These choices appear to be related specifically to zenith passage day, when the sun at its highest point is aligned directly overhead the ground level observer, at a 90-degree angle to the horizon.
Zenith passage day varies by latitude and occurs on May 10 in the region surveyed. The researchers found that many of the Maya and Olmec sites were oriented to face the sunrise exactly 40, 60, 80, or 100 days before that date. Mesoamerican calendars are based on the number 20, which would explain why such orientations were chosen. It would also explain why there were 20 small platforms placed around the edges of the larger ceremonial platforms built at San Lorenzo, Aguada Fénix, and other newly discovered Maya sites.
"This means that they were representing cosmological ideas through these ceremonial spaces," Inomata declared. "In this space, people gathered according to this ceremonial calendar."
Zenith passage day was important to Mesoamerican civilizations because it represented the arrival of both maize planting season and the rainy season that would help new crops grow tall and strong. But the coordination of monumental structures with important astronomical alignments was a common practice among virtually all the ancient cultures in the Americas, including the Olmecs, the Maya, the Aztecs, and the Hopewell culture of North America.
One mystery archaeologists and ancient historians have pondered over the years is how much influence Olmec practices and customs had on their Maya neighbors. If San Lorenzo was indeed an inspiration for the Maya ceremonial building practices, it would seem the influence was quite strong, at least in this one vitally important area.
This Olmec style stone face on the Lamanai Mayan temple in Belize is almost identical to the later Maya temple shown in the main image at the top of this article.
This extraordinary new study has enlightened scholars about the deep connections that may have developed between the Olmec and Maya cultures, which existed side-by-side in Mesoamerica for approximately 1,500 years. This research was only possible because of the LiDAR remote-sensing system, which has been a boon to archaeologists seeking to study ruins and artifacts on a broader and more inclusive scale.
LiDAR, which stands for “light detection and ranging,” is an aerial sensing technology that uses pulsed laser reflections to create precise three-dimensional images of the earth’s surface. This methodology can be used to spot ruins that would otherwise be hidden by trees, vegetation, or shallow layers of earth.
"The advantage of LiDAR is that it provides a three-dimensional, birds-eye view of the landscape and modifications to it made by humans - ancient and modern - in the form of building, transportation, agricultural and water control infrastructure," study participant Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz, who works at the University of Houston's National Center of Airborne Laser Mapping, told Reuters .
In addition to producing superior imagery, LiDAR technology also gives archaeologists the ability to explore large sections of the land from the air. The process is swift and efficient, making studies like this new one far easier to complete.
This ambitious research project fully leveraged the capabilities of LiDAR, more so than any other study that has been carried out in the area so far. It will likely be used again to explore these regions, as archaeologists and historians continue to search for more information about the great pre-Columbian civilizations that once flourished in ancient Mesoamerica.
Top image: Olmec and Maya architecture have more than a few things in common as has been recently revealed by a massive LiDAR survey project in southern Mexico. The Olmecs came first but the Mayas copied their approach to ritual architecture. This image shows a Maya building in the Lamanai archaeological reserve in Belize. Source: vadim.nefedov / Adobe Stock
Early in his presidency, former president Donald Trump was widely reported to have asked during a hurricane briefing why the military couldn’t drop a nuclear bomb into the eye of a storm, detonate it and weaken or eliminate the hurricane. While Mr. Trump later denied asking the question, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was concerned enough to post a page explaining why a nuclear bomb would not alter the storm but would release radioactive fallout that would spread quickly with the trade winds already moving the hurricane towards North and Central America. Proving that bad ideas don’t die … they just move to another country, a politician in Spain has proposed bombing a volcano to stop it from erupting. What could possibly go wrong … that hasn’t already been demonstrated with Mentos and Diet Coke?
“Isn’t there a plane that could fly and drop [a bomb]? It arrives, drops and boom. And it sends the lava in a different direction? Maybe it’s madness, but I get the impression from a technological point of view that it should be tried.”
What could possibly go wrong?
The La Cumbre Vieja volcano in Spain’s Canary Islands has been erupting constantly since September 19, 2021, with no sign of letting up. Lava flows have destroyed buildings on the southwest part of La Palma, forcing at least 7,000 island residents to evacuate. At the same time, recent earthquakes – one a magnitude 5.0 – caused the partial collapse of the volcano’s cone and reconfigured the lava flows. Casimiro Curbelo, the president of the La Gomera Municipal Council (La Gomera is another Canary Island), wants to protect his constituents so he recently proposed taking a drastic measure — using military planes to bomb the volcano into submission.
Hasn’t the history of warfare shown this doesn’t work? Actually, the history of bombing volcanoes is a better gauge.
“Hours after bombs were dropped by U.S. Army Air Corps airplanes, Jaggar declared the bombing a success on a radio broadcast. “Our purpose was not to stop the lava flow, but to start it all over again at the source so that it will take a new course,” he said. The bombs were successfully dropped (“direct hits on all targets”), but Jaggar waited to see any effects on the lava flow.”
On December 27, 1935, Thomas A. Jaggar, Director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, ordered bombs dropped on the lava flows of the Humu‘ula volcano flow to redirect them away from the nearby city of Hilo. Jaggar thought the bombs slowed the flow and helped stop it in 1936, but a study in the 1970s concluded it was already dying out and the bombs had no effect.
In 1983, an erupting Mouth Etna in Sicily was threatening a nearby village so engineers placed around 900 pounds (408 kilograms) of explosives, enclosed in water-cooled pipes, next to the flow. The explosion successfully redirected the lava flow to an artificial trench, but it also split another part of the lava stream which had to be redirected manually. While touted as a success, the Mount Etna explosion still caused other problems and was not a true bomb dropping.
What about a giant stopper?
Will Casimiro Curbelo get his wish to have the La Cumbre Vieja volcano bombed into submission? Live Science reports that Spain’s military has not responded to Curbelo’s suggestion, and neither has Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The eruption hasn’t caused any deaths and most of the population lives away from the volcano’s active west side. In other words, it hasn’t affected tourism or cost those in charge any money … yet.
Let’s hope cooler heads prevail and cut the fuse on this bomb of a scheme to stop an active volcano.
Wingless Object, Madison Heights, Michigan Nov 1, 2021, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: November 1, 2021 Location of sighting: Madison Heights, Michigan, USA Source: MUFON
This raw footage is just blowing my mind! Its amazing to watch this white circular craft moving across the sky and yet, it has no wings! It's not a rocket, it's not a jet or helicopter nor drone, so that only leaves Unidentified Flying Object. The US government cannot alway see them on flight radars. The radars used across the world are old style and have had few upgrades in the last three decades. So I believe that its easy for most UFOs to go undetected by radar and thus we don't see a lot of military fighter jets intercepting them.
Scott C. Waring - Taiwan
Eyewitness states:
White object no clouds were near it and there was a plane underneath it far away but the object didn’t have any wings or anything it was just a circle. White circle no wings like an airplane would have it was just a white circle that kept going.
UFO During Sunset, Bluffton, South Carolina Nov 1, 2021, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: Nov 1, 2021 Location of sighting: Bluffton, South Carolina, USA Source: MUFON
Watch this UFO caught during sunset in South Carolina yesterday. The object flashes once as it moves across the sky. The wingless craft is sphere shaped and as big as a bus. It's seen in a cloudless sky and was probably darting to the next cloud to hide within. This white sphere is one of the most common types of UFOs seen world wide, however its usually seen on top of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado. But this is far from Denver. 100% proof that UFOs are everywhere and not limited by country or borders. All it takes to see one is a little time and patience...but only if you look up from your phones.
UFO Fleet Over Salt Lake City, Utah Oct 31, 2021, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: Oct 31, 2021 Location of sighting: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Source: MUFON
Some eyewitnesses in Salt Lake City, Utah caught sight of several long objects moving across the sky. They swear its not geese or ducks and the objects were obviously going much too fast for geese in the video. The long objects we are seeing in the video are UFOs, or at least...the front edge of them. You see, UFOs often cloak themselves to hide, and sometimes these cloaks are vulnerable and have glitches, like what we see here. The UFOs from edges are visible because its pushing clouds out of the way, carrying with it some parts of the clouds, compounded with the lights from the city below reflection off of them. Thus...we see the front edges of UFOs above Salt Lake City. The craft itself is much larger since only 4% is showing, 96% of the craft is invisible. Probably scanning the population to measure how much covid, variants are spreading and effecting the public. With winter here...covid only grows stronger.
Scott C. Waring - Taiwan
Eyewitness states:
This happened last night (10-31-2021) at 7:20pm, time of video is at 7:24 less than 1 mile from downtown Salt Lake City I was in my backyard letting one of my dogs go to the bathroom and I had a sudden feeling a star to the west was feeling at me. I looked at it and could feel the connection for a moment, when out of nowhere five of these giant waves of ships (I believe) suddenly started glowing in the sky. I know for a fact it wasn’t geese, as five minutes before a flock flew by and were, as a matter of fact, not glowing orange-yellow. Plus, they were loud with their squawking. After taking in the sight for a moment, and truly feeling so much, I quickly ran inside to get my wife and our friends screaming; “YOU GUYS HAVE TO COME QUICK, THERE’S A FLEET OF UFOS OUTSIDE!! I then proceeded to break my coat rack as I ran back out the door to go see and show everyone. The giant wave that came by was first, probably spanning a mile wide. They seemed to be just above the clouds. Then the second and third came! It was amazing. Truly, cool. It was at this time I realized I didn’t have my phone on me and had to run inside to grab it. By the time I got out to take the video, there was a little of the second to last (just above the clouds) and the last one coming in nice and slow. I also saw two of the ships break off and fly west, (or up?). I have an impression of who they could be, and I’d love to hear your feedback! My intuition told me that was Commander Ashtar’s fleet. I haven’t heard too much about them, but when I think on this I get chills. Sorry for the quality, the day before I dropped my phone on some gravel at work and cracked my lens cover so that’s why some parts are kinda blurry. The darkness in the middle of the video is light interference from the building right next to me, as seen just after.
MOGELIJK VOOR HET EERST EEN PLANEET ONTDEKT DIE ZICH NIET IN ONZE MELKWEG BEVINDT
Vivian Lammerse
Na een zinderende speuractie hebben astronomen mogelijk een exoplaneet ontdekt op maar liefst tientallen miljoenen lichtjaren afstand.
Astronomen speuren al jaren de nachtelijke hemel af, op zoek naar planeten die zich buiten ons zonnestelsel ophouden. En dat werpt zijn vruchten af. Op dit moment zijn er al duizenden planeten rond andere sterren ontdekt. Deze exoplaneten bevinden zich echter allemaal op minder dan 3000 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde. Onderzoekers komen nu echter met spannend nieuws. Want mogelijk hebben ze voor het eerst een planeet buiten ons Melkwegstelsel ontdekt, op maar liefst tientallen miljoenen lichtjaren afstand.
Messier 51 De onderzoekers kwamen de ‘exoplaneet-kandidaat’ op het spoor met behulp van NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. De vermoedelijke planeet bevindt zich in het dubbelstersysteem M51-ULS-1, te vinden in het draaikolkstelsel Messier 51: een interagerend spiraalvormig sterrenstelsel op een afstand van ongeveer 28 miljoen lichtjaar van de Melkweg. Dit is, zoals je je kunt voorstellen, veel te ver weg om een planeet direct waar te nemen. De onderzoekers zochten dan ook naar kleine dipjes in de helderheid van de dubbelster, bekend als de transit-methode. Want dergelijke afnames kunnen namelijk veroorzaakt worden doordat een planeet voorlangs beweegt en tijdelijk een deel van het sterlicht tegenhoudt.
Transit-methode Veel telescopen die jagen op exoplaneten – denk aan de ondertussen gepensioneerde telescoop Kepler en planetenjager Tess – gebruiken de zogenaamde transit-methode. Hierbij wordt de helderheid van sterren langdurig in de gaten gehouden in de hoop dat deze met regelmaat afneemt. Zo’n regelmatige afname in de helderheid van het sterrenlicht kan namelijk wijzen op de aanwezigheid van een planeet die zo af en toe voor de ster langs beweegt en daarbij een deel van het sterrenlicht tegenhoudt. De mate waarin de helderheid van de ster afneemt, vertelt vervolgens meer over de omvang van de planeet; hoe groter de afname, hoe groter ook de straal van de planeet.
In de nieuwe studie zochten de onderzoekers echter niet naar dipjes in optisch licht, maar naar afnames in de helderheid van röntgenstraling. Het bestudeerde dubbelstersysteem M51-ULS-1 bestaat namelijk uit een neutronenster of zwart gat, dat gas aanzuigt van een begeleidende ster. Het materiaal in de buurt van de neutronenster of zwarte gat raakt vervolgens oververhit en gloeit in röntgenstraling.
Röntgenstraling Omdat het gebied dat heldere röntgenstraling produceert klein is, zou een planeet die ervoor langs trekt de meeste of zelfs alle röntgenstraling kunnen tegenhouden. En dat is exact wat de onderzoekers ontdekten. Met behulp van het Chandra-observatorium vonden ze een ongeveer drie uur durende dip in de röntgenhelderheid van de dubbelster in Messier 51. En dat kan dus betekenen dat de dubbelster vergezeld wordt door een planeet. Op basis van verschillende informatie schatten de onderzoekers dat de vermoedelijke planeet ongeveer zo groot is als Saturnus uit ons eigen zonnestelsel en zich in een wijde baan – van ongeveer twee keer de afstand tussen Saturnus en onze zon – rond de neutronenster of zwarte gat bevindt.
*Samengesteld beeld van Messier 51. Het vierkantje geeft het dubbelstersysteem aan waar de vermoedelijke planeet zich mogelijk ophoudt.
Afbeelding: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/R. DiStefano, et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/Grendler
Het zijn prikkelende bevindingen. Want het betekent dat onderzoekers nu mogelijk voor het eerst een planeet buiten ons eigen Melkwegstelsel hebben ontdekt. Toch houden ze tegelijkertijd een slag om de arm. Zo benadrukken ze dat er meer onderzoek nodig is om resultaten te verifiëren. En daar kan nog weleens wat tijd overheen gaan. Vanwege de wijdse baan van de planeet, kan het mogelijk nog zo’n 70 jaar duren voordat ie wederom voor zijn sterren langs beweegt en röntgenstraling tegenhoudt. “Om te bevestigen dat we een planeet zien, moeten we waarschijnlijk tientallen jaren wachten om een andere transit te zien,” aldus onderzoeker Via Imara. “En omdat we ook niet precies weten hoe lang het duurt voordat de planeet een baantje heeft voltooid, weten we ook niet wanneer we moeten kijken.”
Is het wel een planeet? Ook is het nog niet helemaal zeker of het dipje in de röntgenhelderheid daadwerkelijk door een planeet is veroorzaakt. Al lijkt een alternatieve verklaring zoals een stofwolk ook onwaarschijnlijk. Tot nu toe lijken alle aanwijzingen nog altijd in de richting van een planeet te wijzen. “We weten dat we een opwindende en gewaagde bewering doen,” zegt onderzoeker Julia Berndtsson. “We verwachten dan ook dat andere astronomen er heel zorgvuldig naar zullen kijken. Maar we denken dat we een sterk argument hebben.”
Mocht er inderdaad een planeet in het dubbelstersysteem te vinden zijn, dan heeft deze waarschijnlijk een behoorlijk tumultueuze geschiedenis achter de rug. Zo is ie in dat geval waarschijnlijk getuige geweest van de gewelddadige supernova-explosie waar de neutronenster of het zwarte gat uit is gevormd. Ook de toekomst ziet er turbulent uit. Op een gegeven moment zal namelijk de begeleidende ster tevens als supernova kunnen exploderen. En dat betekent dat de vermoedelijke planeet wederom gebombardeerd zal worden met extreem hoge stralingsniveaus.
NEGEN FEITJES OVER HET VRIJWEL ONVERWOESTBARE BEERDIERTJE
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Piepklein, maar niet klein te krijgen. Dat is het beerdiertje in een notendop. Maar er valt nog zoveel meer over te vertellen.
En dat doen we dit weekend aan de hand van negen feitjes waarmee je op een verjaardag of bij de koffiemachine op het werk moeiteloos de blits kan maken. Want beerdiertjes zijn hartstikke cool!
1. Klein en overal te vinden (ook in Nederland!) Beerdiertjes – ook wel waterberen genoemd – zijn heel kleine, meercellige organismen. Ze kunnen tot een halve millimeter lang worden en hebben acht pootjes, waarmee ze kunnen lopen én rennen. Hét beerdiertje bestaat niet; er zijn meer dan 1000 soorten beerdiertjes bekend! En die leven in uiteenlopende omgevingen; van bergtoppen tot diepe zeeën en van tropische regenwouden tot op Antarctica. Ook in Nederland komen beerdiertjes voor. Zo zijn ze bijvoorbeeld aangetroffen op de stranden langs de Oosterschelde.
2. Beerdiertjes zijn stokoud Zo’n 66 miljoen jaar geleden sloeg op aarde een planetoïde in. Het bleek de laatste nagel aan de doodskist van de dinosaurussen en tal van andere soorten te zijn. Het is misschien wel de bekendste massa-extinctie die de aarde trof. En hoe catastrofaal de gevolgen ook waren; het beerdiertje heeft deze massa-extinctie overleefd. Net als de vier(!) grote massa-extincties daarvoor, want wetenschappers denken dat het beerdiertje al zo’n 540 miljoen jaar op aarde voorkomt.
3. Het beerdiertje gaat waarschijnlijk nog wel even mee Hoewel de beerdiertjes al heel wat jaren meegaan en menig catastrofe het hoofd hebben weten te bieden, denken veel onderzoekers dat er voor de minuscule beestjes nog veel meer in het verschiet zit. Zo suggereerde een studie in 2017 dat eigenlijk alleen het sterven van de zon tot het uitsterven van de taaie beerdiertjes zou kunnen leiden. Het zou betekenen dat beerdiertjes nog zo’n 10 miljard jaar voor de boeg hebben.
4. Kou is geen probleem… Waar wij bij een paar graden vorst al flink beginnen te klagen, geven beerdiertjes geen krimp. Sterker nog: je kunt ze jaren invriezen en er vervolgens als je ze ontdooit, getuige van zijn hoe ze hun leven moeiteloos weer oppakken! Dat ontdekten onderzoekers een jaar of vijf geleden, toen ze beerdiertjes aantroffen in Antarctisch mos dat 30 jaar eerder voor onderzoeksdoeleinden was ingevroren. Ze ontdooiden twee beerdiertjes en zagen vervolgens hoe één ervan zijn in 1983 stilgelegde leven weer succesvol oppakte en een week of zes na zijn ontdooiing zelfs eitjes legde die ook nog eens bijna allemaal uitkwamen. Ook een eitje dat in het mos werd aangetroffen, kwam na ontdooiing – en dus met zo’n 30 jaar vertraging – uit en het beerdiertje dat daar uit kwam zetten, plantte zich ook weer succesvol voort.
Een beerdiertje. Afbeelding: Schokraie E, Warnken U, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Grohme MA, Hengherr S, et al. (2012)
5. …en gevaarlijke UV-straling ook niet Beerdiertjes hebben in naam der wetenschap al heel wat te verduren gekregen. Zo werden ze vorig jaar bijvoorbeeld nog onder een kiemdodende ultraviolette lamp gelegd. Doel was om te achterhalen hoeveel UV-straling verschillende soorten beerdiertjes konden hebben. De meeste beerdiertjes bleken behoorlijk taai te zijn. Een dosis die voor bacteriën en rondwormen al na vijf minuutjes fataal is – bleek de meeste beerdiertjes pas na 24 uur fataal te worden. En één van de onderzochte soorten gaf helemaal geen krimp, waarop de onderzoekers besloten de dosis ultraviolet licht vier keer te verhogen. En ook deze keer gaven de mysterieuze beerdiertjes zich niet zomaar gewonnen. Ongeveer zestig procent van deze kranige beerdiertjes leefde na toetakeling nog zeker een maand door!
6. Je kunt ze ook afschieten Alsof dat experiment nog niet heftig genoeg was, gingen wetenschappers – op jacht naar de grenzen van het beerdiertje – eerder dit jaar nog een stap verder. Ze stopten bevroren beerdiertjes in een geladen geweer en schoten ze vervolgens met hoge snelheid af. Het onderzoek wees uit dat beerdiertjes inslagen tot ongeveer 900 meter per seconde kunnen overleven. “Het zijn taaie beestjes,” zo concludeerde onderzoeker Mark Butchell, die middels het experiment wilde vaststellen of beerdiertjes die tijdens een inslag op aarde samen met gesteente naar de maan worden geslingerd, dat kunnen navertellen. De experimenten suggereren dat het onder bepaalde omstandigheden denkbaar is. Of ze vervolgens ook van de maan hun thuis zouden kunnen maken, is trouwens dan weer heel twijfelachtig.
7. Of uit laten drogen Wanneer wij enkele dagen op rij niet drinken, raken we uitgedroogd. En dat is niet best. Het beerdiertje is een stuk minder afhankelijk van vocht; experimenten wijzen uit dat het diertje tot wel tien jaar zonder water kan! Zodra ze minder dan vijf procent van hun normale hoeveelheid water herbergen, gaan ze in standby-modus en maken en passant eiwitten aan die delen van hun lichaam in een soort glasachtige substantie veranderen en er zo voor zorgen dat hun cellen tegen uitdroging beschermd zijn. En als ze dan toch weer nattigheid voelen? Dan kunnen ze – zelfs als ze jaren op water gewacht hebben – in twintig minuten tijd weer tot leven komen.
8. Ze zijn al in de ruimte geweest Ruimtevaarder worden: wie droomt daar nu niet van? Voor sommige beerdiertjes is die droom al werkelijkheid geworden. In 2007 schoot ESA een bonte verzameling beerdiertjes de ruimte in. “Onze belangrijkste ontdekking is dat het vacuüm in de ruimte – en daarmee gepaard gaande uitdroging – en kosmische straling geen probleem waren voor beerdiertjes,” zo concludeerde onderzoeker Ingemar Jönsson in 2008. Hetzelfde gold voor de extreme kou waaraan de beerdiertjes in de ruimte werden blootgesteld. In de jaren erna volgden nog meer experimenten in de ruimte en stuk voor stuk bevestigden ze dat het beerdiertje over het algemeen niet erg onder de indruk is van de daar geldende omstandigheden. Wetenschappers kunnen dat nog altijd lastig verklaren en daarom zijn eerder dit jaar beerdiertjes naar het internationale ruimtestation gestuurd. Tijdens experimenten wordt gekeken wat er met de genen van beerdiertjes gebeurt wanneer ze in de ruimte vertoeven. Welke genen worden uitgezet of juist geactiveerd? En wat gebeurt er dan? Onderzoekers hopen zo meer inzicht te krijgen in de overlevingsstrategieën van het beerdiertje en daar kunnen toekomstige astronauten dan misschien weer hun voordeel mee doen. Zo kan het leiden tot nieuwe manieren om biologische materialen – zoals voedsel, maar ook medicijnen – beter te wapenen tegen extreme temperaturen, uitdroging en kosmische straling.
Naar de maan Dat de piepkleine beestjes naar het ISS zijn afgereisd en daar weleens een grote bijdrage kunnen leveren aan toekomstige ruimtemissies is al heel indrukwekkend. Maar er zijn beerdiertjes die het nog verder geschopt hebben en helemaal naar de maan zijn gevlogen. Deze beerdiertjes liftten in 2019 mee met maanlander Beresheet. De lander crashte helaas op het maanoppervlak, maar de beerdiertjes hebben de crash misschien wel overleefd. Het is echter uitgesloten dat ze de maan as we speak aan het koloniseren zijn; in de lander bevonden zich uitgedroogde beerdiertjes die alleen weer actief kunnen worden als ze aan behoorlijke hoeveelheden water worden blootgesteld en die zijn op de maan niet voorhanden.
9. Ze leggen enorme drollen (relatief gezien dan) Beerdiertjes mogen dan veel weghebben van superhelden; in bepaalde opzichten zijn ze ook weer net als wij. Zo moeten ze soms ook gewoon poepen. Maar de beerdiertjes zouden geen beerdiertjes zijn als ze ook op dat gebied niet de show zouden stelen. Zo heeft onderzoek uitgewezen dat de piepkleine beestjes enorme drollen fabriceren die soms bijna net zo groot zijn als zijzelf! En jawel, daar zijn beelden van. Klik!
A skull of a new species of ancient human has been discovered in Africa that experts believe was a direct ancestor of modern humans.
The new species has been named Homo bodoensis, and lived during the Middle Pleistocene, around 500,000 years ago.
Researchers from the University of Winnipeg hope the discovery will bring some clarity to this era, during which human evolution is poorly understood.
Dr Mirjana Roksandic, who led the study, said: 'Talking about human evolution during this time period became impossible due to the lack of proper terminology that acknowledges human geographic variation.'
A new species of ancient human has been discovered in Africa that experts believe was a direct ancestor of modern humans
(artist's impression pictured)
In their new analysis, the researchers suggest that a skull found in Bodo D'ar, Ethiopia belongs to neither H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis, but instead, is a new species entirely
What do we know about the new species?
In honour of the location in which the skull was discovered, the researchers have named the species H. bodoensis.
While little is know about the new species yet, the researchers believe that H. bodoensis had a short, stocky body adapted to conserve heat in colder climates.
Males were likely about 5 ft 9 in tall and weighed almost 10 stone, while females averaged 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) and around 8 stone.
The species went extinct around 200,000 years ago - long before modern humans migrated out of Africa.
In the study, the researchers reassessed existing fossils from Africa and Eurasia dating back to the Middle Pleistocene period.
Traditionally, these fossils have been identified as either Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis.
However, recent DNA evidence has shown that some fossils in Europe identified as H. heidelbergensis were actually early Neanderthals.
Meanwhile, African fossils from this period have previously been identified as both H. heidelbergensis and H. rhodesiensis, confusing things even further.
In their new analysis, the researchers suggest that a skull found in Bodo D'ar, Ethiopia belongs to neither H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis, but instead, is a new species entirely.
In honour of the location in which the skull was discovered, the researchers have named the species H. bodoensis.
While little is know about the new species yet, the researchers believe that H. bodoensis had a short, stocky body adapted to conserve heat in colder climates.
Males were likely about 5 ft 9 in tall and weighed almost 10 stone, while females averaged 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) and around 8 stone.
While little is know about the new species yet, the researchers believe that H. bodoensis had a short, stocky body adapted to conserve heat in colder climates
The species went extinct around 200,000 years ago - long before modern humans migrated out of Africa.
Going forwards, most Middle Pleistocene humans from Africa and some from Southeast Europe will be classified as H. bodoensis, while many from the latter continent will be reclassified as Neanderthals,
Predrag Radović, an author of the study, said: 'Terms need to be clear in science, to facilitate communication. They should not be treated as absolute when they contradict the fossil record.'
The team hopes the findings will help to 'cut the Gordion knot' and allow clearer understanding of the Middle Pleistocene.
Dr Roksandic added: 'Naming a new species is a big deal, as the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature allows name changes only under very strictly defined rules.
'We are confident that this one will stick around for a long time, a new taxon name will live only if other researchers use it.'
In honour of the location in which the skull was discovered — Bodo D'ar — the researchers have named the species H. bodoensis
WHEN DID HUMAN ANCESTORS FIRST EMERGE?
The timeline of human evolution can be traced back millions of years. Experts estimate that the family tree goes as such:
55 million years ago - First primitive primates evolve
15 million years ago - Hominidae (great apes) evolve from the ancestors of the gibbon
7 million years ago - First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge
A recreation of a Neanderthal man is pictured
5.5 million years ago - Ardipithecus, early 'proto-human' shares traits with chimps and gorillas
4 million years ago - Ape like early humans, the Australopithecines appeared. They had brains no larger than a chimpanzee's but other more human like features
3.9-2.9 million years ago - Australoipithecus afarensis lived in Africa.
2.7 million years ago - Paranthropus, lived in woods and had massive jaws for chewing
2.6 million years ago - Hand axes become the first major technological innovation
2.3 million years ago - Homo habilis first thought to have appeared in Africa
1.85 million years ago - First 'modern' hand emerges
1.8 million years ago - Homo ergaster begins to appear in fossil record
800,000 years ago- Early humans control fire and create hearths. Brain size increases rapidly
400,000 years ago - Neanderthals first begin to appear and spread across Europe and Asia
300,000 to 200,000 years ago - Homo sapiens - modern humans - appear in Africa
50,000 to 40,000 years ago - Modern humans reach Europe
A year after the apparent first sighting of what is very likely to be the Air Force’s so-called ‘RQ-180’ very stealthy flying-wing surveillance aircraft above the Mojave Desert, what looks like the very same aircraft has now been photographed over Area 51, the clandestine flight test center deep within the Nevada Test and Training Range. While we still don’t know for absolute certain the details surrounding this craft, or even its official designation, the latest appearance follows a previous sighting over the Philippines in September that The War Zone was first to report and suggests perhaps that the secret drone is now edging toward a more operational, and possibly even less clandestine, status.
The latest photo of the purported RQ-180, which has all the hallmarks of a high-altitude, long-endurance type with obvious stealthy characteristics, was posted on October 31 by our friends over at the Dreamlandresort.com website, maintained by Joerg Arnu. He was on the scene and described how the sighting unfolded:
“A friend who wishes to remain anonymous and I were at the Groom Lake Road gate yesterday. I heard a faint aircraft noise and noticed a contrail straight above us, inside the Area 51 restricted airspace, heading roughly SSW. Through my IS [image stabalized] binoculars, I first thought I was looking at a B-2 until I realized it had a POINTED tail. The B-2 has a serrated tail. My friend took the enclosed photo (two enhanced versions superimposed). It is clearly a twin-engine aircraft.”
Arnu added that the photo was taken with a Canon 20Mpix camera with a 1,600-mm equivalent focal length, and he subsequently estimated that the drone was flying at around 70,000 ft. Of course, that is speculative, as we have little idea about the true dimensions of the craft. It is rumored to have a wingspan of around 120 feet, but that remains totally unverified. The aircraft was leaving two telltale contrails behind it, indicative of a closely-set twin-engine arrangement, exactly as we have seen it before. The shape is also a perfect match, with slender wings and a diamond-like center fuselage area, very much like those of Northrop’s original high-flying Advanced Technology Bomber design and the upcoming B-21 Raider. You can read more about how this configuration is something of a ‘back-to-the-future’ moment for the USAF and Northrop Grumman in this past feature of ours.
DREAMLANDRESORT.COM
The latest sighting of the apparent RQ-180, spotted over Area 51 on October 30.
Joerg thinks the direction of the aircraft was headed suggests it may be operating out of Edwards Air Force Base in California, where we believe that at least some of the RQ-180 operations have migrated, and it may have been making use of some of the capabilities at the clandestine flight test facility located at Area 51, also known as Groom Lake. The secretive base’s DYCOMS facility has the ability to measure the radar signatures of stealthy aircraft in flight for testing and verification purposes. This facility would be a regular waypoint for the RQ-180, including possibly before and after heading out on long-endurance missions.
While Arnu and his associate were watching the RQ-180, a truck hauling an apparent Soviet-era Spoon Rest air-defense early-warning radar emerged from one of the Groom gates and apparently waited at a distance for the pair to leave. While it is unlikely that the radar’s movement was in any way related, it’s interesting, at least, that this activity was taking place at the same time, especially on a Saturday, when the ranges are traditionally quieter. All types of foreign threat sensors and air defense systems are used for development and training purposes out at the NTTR.
DREAMLANDRESORT.COM
A truck that emerged from Groom Lake with an apparent Soviet-made radar system onboard, while the RQ-180 made its appearance overhead.
Whether coincidental or not, it was in October last year that we got our first look at what seems to be the RQ-180. On that occasion, the drone was sighted north of Edwards Air Force Base.
More recently, in September this year, what appeared to be the so-called RQ-180, or another aircraft with nearly exactly the same planform, was sighted over the Philippines, suggesting that the drone is now in very limited operational service, or at least very advanced real-world testing, while its development continues.
MICHAEL FUGNIT
Michael Fugint’s September photograph that appears to show the RQ-180 over the Philippines.
In all three cases, the drone was flying during the daytime, which may seem odd for an asset that is still so secretive. Then again, we are talking about an aircraft that can fly for dozens of hours, so it won’t really have a choice with regard to flying during the day or not, but mission planning can help alleviate some risk in that regard. As such, daytime movements are likely fundamental to its planned persistent operations and, as we have suggested in the past, the unusual light color scheme could even have been applied specifically to optimize the aircraft’s visual signature for high-altitude operations in daylight hours.
In addition, in the Phillippines case, it was seen crossing the coast heading east out into the open Pacific at sunrise. In this recent case, it was over highly surveilled and controlled airspace that has incredibly sparse population density below. The area north of Edwards AFB is also thinly populated and a major aerospace testing area for that reason.
HANGAR B PRODUCTIONS
A notional RQ-180 concept rendering prepared for The War Zone.
Putting the growing photographic evidence together from multiple sources leaves little question that we really are dealing with a classified, high-flying drone, the existence of which we have long discussed, but now there can no longer be any doubt that this specific configuration is indeed a reality.
Now is this the ‘RQ-180’? We really don't know for sure, but it fits perfectly with the rumored configuration of that aircraft and publicly available design studies that would have informed its design. It’s also possible that the U.S. Air Force has multiple high-altitude, long-endurance, very low-observable platforms under development. As we have discussed in-depth, there are plenty of things a notional RQ-180 could do beyond surveillance, yet using a common platform for multiple mission sets would be far more logical.
The places where it has been photographed also make all too much sense — near Edwards AFB, over Area 51, and in what is very likely to be one of its primary operating environments, right between the Phillippine and South China Seas. We also have those very peculiar high-altitude corridors leading from the Air Force’s primary testing areas in Nevada and California and heading out to the greater Pacific.
Still, even with this mysterious aircraft popping up in the most logical of places and photos of it having been in circulation for over a year, when exactly the Air Force will confirm its existence is a total unknown. It could be tomorrow or years from now. But considering how important this aircraft is likely to be to the service’s future air-combat architecture, we will probably be hearing about it sooner rather than later.
Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com and tyler@thedrive.com
A newly named ancient species that lived over half a million years ago might have been a direct ancestor of modern humans. Scientists have officially named this ancient species Homo bodoensis.
While Homo sapiens currently inhabit the planet, there were several other ancient species that were previously alive, such as Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo floresiensis. And a new study has focused on another ancient species, Homo bodoensis.
Several human bones dating back between 774,000 and 129,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene Period (also known as the Chibanian period) were analyzed by researchers. This was a time in human evolution that is a little foggy to experts and has even been described as “the muddle in the middle” by paleoanthropologists.
Human fossils from that time period have normally been categorized as belonging to either the Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis species. The problem with that was they had characteristics that often contradicted each other. For example, DNA analysis has recently confirmed that several bones found in Europe that were categorized as being Homo heidelbergensis were in fact from Neanderthals.
Picture of Neanderthals by Charles R. Knight in 1920.
(Via Wikipedia)
The same thing happened with DNA analysis of numerous fossils in East Asia that were identified as being Homo heidelbergensis. Several of their facial and other features were quite different than the ones seen on the European and African bones from the same time period. The Homo rhodesiensis species was also poorly categorized.
The researchers recently analyzed a skull dating back about 600,000 years that was discovered in Bodo D’ar, Ethiopia, back in 1976, and it has been identified as being a new species that they named Homo bodoensis. Interestingly, this new species has been identified in numerous ancient fossils that were previously categorized as being either Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis.
Since the majority of ancient bones discovered in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Chibanian period will be reclassified as being Homo bodoensis, many more of the fossils found in Europe from the time period will be re-identified as being Neanderthals, although the researchers will study the remains to see if there are any belonging to Homo bodoensis. This means that the Homo heidelbergensis and Homo rhodesiensis names will no longer be used. As for the Chibanian remains from East Asia, they might receive their own names but more research needs to be conducted before that happens.
The experts then went a step further and suggested that this newly identified species was a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens. They would have come from a different branch of the human family tree than where Neanderthals and Denisovans came from. The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews.
An image of what Homo bodoensis may have looked like can be seen here.
Homo bodoensis may help to untangle how human lineages moved and interacted across the globe.
(Image credit: Ettore Mazza)
Homo bodoensiswas named after a 600,000-year-old skull found in Ethiopia.
Recent months have seen the UFO subject reaching a new apex, with widespread interest culminating around the delivery of a report to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in late June.
In addition to widespread reporting on the subject—particularly in the days leading up to the report’s publication–recent surveys appear to show that many Americans have softened their skepticism toward the UFOs, even having warmed up to the idea that some of these objects could represent extraterrestrial technologies.
With all the interest in UFOs we have seen in recent days, however, many have been left asking the question, “what’s next?” More specifically, now that the UAP Task Force has delivered the first of what is expected to be periodic reports on its findings, where does the civilian UFO research effort go from here?
This may be especially pertinent for recent arrivals to this area of study, who may not yet see it as the hall of mirrors that many longtime proponents have come to recognize it for being. Going beyond a superficial look at the UFO subject often has the unsettling effect of revealing more about what it means to be human than it does in terms of pointing us in the direction toward resolving what these objects might be and where they come from.
However, something else that knowledge of the deeper history of this subject offers us is an idea about what UFO studies—or UFOlogy as it is sometimes called—has already taught us, and where researchers in decades past might have envisioned the field would find itself today.
In September 1995, Jim Klotz of the Computer UFO Network interviewed Dr. Michael Swords, who earlier that year had lectured at the MUFON International UFO Symposium in Seattle, Washington, where they met and began an ongoing correspondence. Swords would later go on to coauthor UFOs and Government: A Historical Perspective, which is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative books ever to look at the history and national security implications of the UFO subject.
So what had Swords recommended back in 1995, as far as how far UFOlogy had come, and where it might be going?
“There is essentially no UFOlogy today, and rarely has there ever been,” Swords told Klotz, adding that “There is much pseudo-UFOlogy (lacking in objectivity or any sense of the history of the subject or the scope of previous research and other relevant disciplines), and even more UFOria (sort of a wide-eyed gee whiz fooling around with “wonders”).”
Among those Swords named who were active in the field were Mark Rodeghier, Ph.D., who today still maintains the position of President and Scientific Director of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, which he has held since 1986. Swords also named longtime chronicler Thomas Eddie Bullard, Ph.D. and researcher Stuart Appelle. Such individuals, Swords said, “find themselves isolated in an intellectual desert filled with UFOric persons who are constantly jumping beyond the evidence,” in addition to “insisting upon concrete answers to questions” which are far from conclusive.
“The few UFOlogists who do exist should come together as a separate research community and remove themselves as much as possible from the greater carnival which continuously defeats their attempts to achieve credibility,” Swords advised.
When asked what he saw for the future of the subject, Swords provided a number of points that might be viewed today as having been prescient for their time, which he grouped in terms of possible negative and positive outcomes. Particularly striking, however, had been the warning Swords provided about how apt the UFO community seems to be at avoiding unity and teamwork, in addition to ignoring its history.
“Negatively speculating, one could easily imagine a ‘future’ like our past: no unity, no team-research, no sense of any history or anything being established, the disappearance of solid work as if it had never been done, the collapsing of FUFOR, CUFOS as key members die or move on, the disaggregation of MUFON, & the continued prejudicial ignorance of the academic community,” Swords said.
On the more positive side of the equation, Swords told Klotz that he could “easily imagine a coming together of a serious research community,” which under ideal circumstances might be capable of publishing “careful research in journals uncluttered by embarrassing ‘contributions,’ which would issue occasional ‘white papers’ commenting professionally & responsibly on issues of importance,” producing future researchers who might one day “be recognized by the more serious media as an authoritative voice of reason worth consulting on this important subject.”
As to the likelihood of this latter “positive” scenario, Swords maintained fairly bleak expectations.
“You may guess which way it is likely to go,” Swords lamented.
With hindsight on our side, one can look at events in recent years and argue that Swords’ predictions were true in many regards on both counts: efforts to move UFO studies in a more serious direction have led to the establishment of organizations like the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies and, more recently, the Galileo Project headed by Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb. This, on the positive side of things, seems to be among the more promising developments that were among what Swords envisioned in 1995.
However, some of the negative outcomes Swords envisioned—particularly a UFO field lacking any unity or sense of history for the subject—remain present as well. Rather than collaborating and combining their efforts, much of the modern UFO debate is dominated by commentators who seem to have more concern for building their individual legacies off the subject, rather than moving our collective knowledge about it forward. As far as history, even the UAP Task Force’s preliminary assessment delivered to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence back in June cited information going no further back than 2004, with most of the data it examined having been collected within just the last two years. One has to wonder what the Task Force may think about the UFO data—collected both by civilian and government groups—that has already accumulated now for more than half a century.
Indeed, many of the points and critiques about UFOlogy that Swords made in 1995 remain valid today, if not more so now than ever before. Maybe some things really don’t ever change, do they?
As far as where we go from here, in addition to understanding the deeper history of the subject itself, by learning from past mistakes our future efforts can be concentrated on correcting some of the longstanding issues the field of UFO studies has faced since its earliest days. In other words, those interested in moving our current knowledge of the UFO subject forward might do well to look to the past for guidance.
Plane passenger caught UFO during flight over Lake Michigan, Grand Rapids area
On October 17, 2021 during a flight from Boston, MA to Denver, CO a plane passenger recorded a UFO as they flew over Lake Michigan, grand rapids area.
The passenger recorded the object for about one minute before it disappeared from sight on its eastward cruising path. It did seem to change elevation or speed.
The object which was white and cylindrical had no features.
No wings
No windows
No tail
No exhaust
No flight surfaces
Did the passenger accidentally filmed a so-called tic tac UFO?
Meer van UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
Researchers Discovered A Method To Manipulate Orbiting Debris With Spinning Magnets
Scientists confirm man IS Sitting Bull's living descendant...
Early dinosaurs were SOCIABLE and moved in herds 193 million...
