25 of the strangest ancient sea monsters - PART II

The fossil record is filled with strange marine animals that would look like sea monsters if they were alive today.

From the creepiest Cambrian critters to massive marine reptiles, wonderfully weird sea creatures have inhabited our oceans for over half a billion years. We've put together a list of 25 of the strangest ancient sea monsters ever to have lived, all of which went extinct long before humans came along.

The only reason we know that these evolutionary marvels existed is because some left behind fossilized remains in rocks. Modern researchers are still interpreting these fossils and making fresh discoveries all the time, so be sure to keep up with the latest Live Science fossil news.

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

25 of the strangest ancient sea monsters - PART I

NATHAN FALDE

Submerged Secrets: Sunken Nabatean Temple Discovered Off Italian Coast

Underwater archaeologists searching just off the western Mediterranean coast of the city of Pozzuoli in central Italy discovered the remains of a submerged 2,000-year-old Nabatean temple dedicated to their god Dushara. What they found specifically were two Roman marble altars, which linked the temple to the period when Nabataeans were living freely on the Phlegrean Peninsula 125 miles (200 km) south of Italy’s capital city, in territory fully controlled by the Roman Empire. 

The Nabataeans were an Arab tribal group who lived as wandering nomads in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula in the first few centuries of the first millennium. But once they’d formed enough alliances among themselves to establish their own kingdom, they began to settle down and devote themselves to trade and commerce.

The Nabataean Kingdom formed a voluntary alliance with Rome in the late first century BC, officially launching an association that would last for the next several centuries (although the Nabataeans lost their independence to the Roman Empire in the early second century).

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It is known that a thriving community of Nabataeans could be found in the now submerged ancient city of Puteoli, which was located adjacent to modern-day Pozzuoli. During Rome’s Imperial era the Nabataean Kingdom chose to establish a base of operations on the Italian coast, and Puteoli was most attractive to these trade-minded people because it was the largest commercial port in the Roman Mediterranean.

The discovery of the religious complex in the sunken ruins of old Puteoli helps verify that the Nabataeans continued to honor their god Dushara once they’d settled on Roman territory, at least for a time.

The ancient Macellum or market building of the Roman city of Puteoli, where a Nabatean temple has been discovered under the sea.

( Maurizio De Mattei / Adobe Stock)

The Origins and History of the Nabataeans

The Nabataeans first emerged as an identifiable people with an advanced culture between the fourth and second centuries BC. They’d lived in the desert areas of Arabia and the southern Levant for several centuries before this, surviving as an untamed nomadic group that somehow thrived in an impossibly arid environment.

They were known to, and had interactions with, both the Babylonians and the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the first millennium BC. But they were not conquered by either of these kingdoms, protected as they were by an inhospitable desert where others feared to tread.

As they began to increase in population in the third century BC, they formed a loose confederation of various groups that ultimately became the Nabataean Kingdom . This kingdom, which grew prosperous through the vigorous trade networks it created and nurtured in the region, eventually extended its range of control and influence throughout the Arabian and Sinai Peninsulas and deeply into the Levant. Its capital Petra was located in what is now southern Jordan, and that city’s population grew to over 20,000 as a consequence of its development into a major regional trading center.

The Nabataeans were known for their fierceness and determination to remain independent, and they proved to be a tough opponent to defeat in battle. While they initially clashed with the Romans, by the first century AD they’d formed a strong alliance with the Roman Empire, which boosted their commercial prospects and made them more prosperous than ever.

Unfortunately, the Romans proved to be a treacherous ally in the long run. In 106 AD the Roman emperor Trajan sent his armies in to annex all Nabataean Kingdom lands, which he was able to do because the Nabataeans had become less warlike and nomadic, and more settled and focused on agricultural and commercial development, over the past three centuries.

Statue of Dushara, who the Nabateans worshiped.

Credit: Wikipedia - Public Domain

For the first time in 1,000 years, the Nabataean people were no longer independent. Their cultural practices were profoundly impacted by Roman influence from that point on, so much so that they first abandoned their language in favor of Greek, and later rejected Dushara completely when they converted to Christianity.

The Nabateans gained a reputation as a gifted and talented people, with a rich culture and the skills necessary to produce a bounty of attractive goods for trading. Their painted ceramic pottery was especially prized, and was distributed all throughout the region along the trade routes they’d set up. Even after their lands had been seized by Trajan and their kingdom had been turned into the Roman province of Arabia Petraea , the Nabateans continued to dominate trade in the region.

Remains of the Nabatean temple which was discovered underwater in ancient Puteoli.

( The Ministry of Culture of Italy )

Puteoli’s Nabatean Temple: A Legacy Discovered Beneath the Sea

The discovery of the Roman marble altars represents the culmination of a joint archaeological research project that began in late 2021. Underwater archaeologists from two universities in Naples (the University of Campania Vanvitelli and Scuola Superiore Meridionale), supported by the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Naples, have now been searching for artifacts from Roman times in the sunken city of Puteoli ever since.

The latest discovery represents their most exciting find yet. “Ancient Puteoli reveals another of its treasures, which testifies to the richness and vastness of commercial, cultural and religious exchanges in the Mediterranean basin in the ancient world,” declared Italy’s Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, in an announcement of the discovery of the Nabataean temple put out by his agency. 

This is not the first evidence of the Nabataean presence in Puteoli that has been found. In the 18th century, searchers found an altar and two cult bases while exploring the underwater ruins of the submerged city.

On the bases they found an inscription that identified the site as “Holy to Dushara.” This deity was exclusively worshipped by the Nabataeans, which revealed the truth about their presence in the ancient Roman port city. Further confirmation of Nabataean residency was discovered at around the same time, when archaeologists unearthed a large bust of Dushara near Pozzuoli.

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Underwater ruins believed to have belonged to a Nabataean temple were initially spotted in aerial photographs taken in the 1970s. But only with this new discovery has it been possible to place the temple at a precise location in the sunken city, showing where exactly people congregated to worship a god that no other people recognized.

In addition to pinning down the true location of the underwater Nabataean temple, the latest explorations have also enabled the identification of other structures dating to Roman times. This includes warehouses, administrative buildings, smaller structures that served unknown purposes and the axes of roads built inside Puteoli. Conceivably, more Nabataean ruins could be located in the same general area. If they are, future explorations will undoubtedly find them.

• Top image: Underwater archaeologists during excavations of the sunken Nabatean temple.
• Source: The Ministry of Culture of Italy

By Nathan Falde

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

Astronauts Kate Rubins (left) and Jeff Williams (right) looking out of the ISS' cupola at a SpaceX Dragon supply spacecraft. Until recently, the effects of long-duration missions on eyesight was something of a mystery.

Credit: NASA

What Can Be Done to Help Astronaut Vision in Space?

{ https://www.universetoday.com }

Navigate a Global Image of Mars (If Your Computer Can Handle It)

The interactive version lets you zoom in and out from the surface of Mars, revealing ancient river channels, volcanic shield mountains, giant impact craters, and endless dusty dune-covered rocky landscapes. You’ll be lost in it for hours, and you can even trace the journey of rovers across the Red Planet’s surface.

The mosaic took six years and tens of thousands of hours to develop. It is so detailed that more than 120 peer-reviewed science papers have already cited a beta version. It was created at Caltech’s Bruce Murray Laboratory for Planetary Visualization, and the developers say the mosaic is also easy enough for anyone to use.

“I wanted something that would be accessible to everyone,” said Jay Dickson, the image processing scientist who led the project and manages the Murray Lab. “Schoolchildren can use this now. My mother, who just turned 78, can use this now. The goal is to lower the barriers for people who are interested in exploring Mars.”

While we’ve written many articles about another camera on MRO, HiRISE (the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) the CTX, or context imager has had a lower profile for the MRO mission. However, it provides a 6 meter per pixel resolution, better than any other previous camera (except for HiRISE) and over the 17 years of MRO’s time in Mars’ orbit, CTX has imaged nearly all of Mars’ surface, allowing science teams to create detailed maps of Mars.

“For 17 years, MRO has been revealing Mars to us as no one had seen it before,” said the mission’s project scientist, Rich Zurek of JPL. “This mosaic is a wonderful new way to explore some of the imagery that we’ve collected.”

While HiRISE imagery provides detailed closeups of Mars, CTX captures wide-area images to provide context for the high resolution images. CTX’s image are in black and white, but with its wide area of coverage, that allows this map to be the highest-resolution global image of the Mars as yet ever created.

JPL said that to create the new mosaic, Dickson developed an algorithm to match images based on the features they captured. He manually stitched together the remaining 13,000 images that the algorithm couldn’t match. The remaining gaps in the mosaic represent parts of Mars that hadn’t been imaged by CTX by the time Dickson started working on this project, or areas obscured by clouds or dust.

Laura Kerber, a Mars scientist at JPL, provided feedback on the new mosaic as it took shape. “I’ve wanted something like this for a long time,” Kerber said. “It’s both a beautiful product of art and also useful for science.”

MRO launched in 2005. Back in 2016 when I interviewed Zurek for my book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos,” he told me the science and data teams from MRO were reaping the benefits of a such a long-duration mission. Now, 17 years in, its even more true.

“There is value in long-term records,” he said, “and MRO has been a good friend to us for a long time.”

• Check out the Global CTX Mosaic of Mars here.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Artist's logarithmic scale conception of the observable universe with the Solar System at the center, inner and outer planets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Alpha Centauri, Perseus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda galaxy, nearby galaxies, Cosmic Web, Cosmic microwave radiation and the Big Bang's invisible plasma on the edge.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons/Pablo Carlos Budassi

 BY PAUL M. SUTTER

Primordial Black Holes May Have “Frozen” the Early Universe

But the early universe may have been exotic enough to make black holes in its own way. When inflation ended and the universe began to cool off, it was not a smooth and gentle process. Instead it was incredibly violent, with massive shifts in energy and mass from place to place. It’s possible that pockets of the universe may have spontaneously reached high enough densities to form black holes directly on their own, without having to go through the formation of stars first. These are the so-called primordial black holes.

Cosmological observations already placed severe limits on the number of primordial black holes that could inhabit the early universe. But there is still room for them to exist. And a team of researchers have put together a paper exploring an unexpected consequence of the formation of these primordial black holes.

We know from the work of Stephen Hawking that black holes are not entirely black. They actually glow a little bit through an exotic quantum process known as Hawking radiation. For normal-sized black holes this is a very inefficient process. A typical black hole will only emit one particle of radiation every year or so. But smaller black holes emit much more radiation.

If the primordial black holes were small enough, then they would evaporate completely while the universe was still in its infant stages, leaving no trace of their existence behind. But the researchers found that this leads to a curious situation. As these primordial black holes evaporated they released their own floods of radiation and matter.

Despite the expansion of the universe, if enough primordial black holes evaporated then the density of matter and radiation could stay constant. This would lead to a an extended black hole-based big bang scenario. 

Eventually all the primordial black holes would go away and the rest of cosmological history would go on without them. But they would leave their mark. The changes in matter and radiation density can potentially have long-lasting impacts that we could detect even to the present day. And the evaporation of primordial black holes themselves trigger the formation of gravitational waves, which might linger still today.

We may not ever find direct evidence for primordial black holes, but the researchers have found that we may find their subtle fingerprints throughout the universe.

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{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

The Unending Enigma: A Closer Look at Recent UFO Sightings

The topic of UFO sightings has captivated the imagination of people worldwide for decades. Recently, with the growing availability of technology and the internet, sightings and experiences have been shared more frequently and openly than ever before. As a result, the discussion surrounding the existence of unidentified flying objects and the possibility of extraterrestrial life has gained significant momentum.

One particularly intriguing case involves an individual in Australia who captured a UFO on video. According to the source, this individual had multiple encounters with the unknown phenomenon, with each sighting varying in the type of object observed. The video in question appears to show a clear and compelling image of what could be a spacecraft. These experiences have had a profound impact on the individual’s life, with negative events such as car breakdowns, phone hacking, and being followed by suspicious vehicles occurring since the sightings.

This case is not an isolated incident, as numerous individuals have reported similar sightings and experiences around the world. Experts in the field, such as Ted Roe, the co-founder of NARCAP, have been investigating these encounters and working to raise awareness of the potential existence of non-human intelligence. Roe, who has had multiple encounters with UFOs himself, emphasizes the importance of remaining open-minded and considering the possibility of other forms of intelligence that may be far beyond our current level of understanding.

• UFO & UAP sightings from around the world | ALIENS THREATEN GLOBAL INVASION

As these reports of UFO sightings continue to surface, collaboration between researchers and reporting groups is essential. By working together, experts can compare data, investigate sightings from various angles, and potentially reach a better understanding of these enigmatic phenomena. An ideal outcome would involve coordination between European and U.S. reporting groups, as well as fostering communication between countries and the United Nations to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding this important issue.

The question of whether we are alone in the universe remains unanswered, but the increasing number of UFO sightings and personal accounts of encounters with unknown phenomena suggests that this enigma is far from being solved. As researchers continue to investigate and debate these sightings, one thing is certain: the interest in UFOs and the possibility of extraterrestrial life is not waning anytime soon.

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

LATEST UFO SIGHTINGS AND VIDEOS - 13-04-2023

THEY'RE WATCHING... w/ Investigative Journalist Leslie Kean

Bryan chats with one of the foremost journalists on UFOs Leslie Kean, about what our government knows, mass sightings, what can travel at 13,000 MPH and what's inside of Area 51.

Watch Leslie's new show here - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv...

Dr. Steven Greer - Mystery Behind UFO / UAPs, Alien Phenomenon, and The Secret Government | SRS #048

Steven M. Greer, MD, a retired emergency room Physician turned to a life of research of UFO/UAP Phenomenons, is the Founder of The Disclosure Project, The Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI), The Orion Project, Sirius Technology Advanced Research, LLC and is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on all things UFO / UAP.

In this episode, Dr. Greer lays out exactly how nearly a century of information and discovery of Extraterrestrial life and technology have been hidden from the public and shrouded under a veil of dark money and secrecy. Greer explains the inner-workings of a global government that goes beyond the world's most elite intelligence agencies and infiltrated the circles of pop culture icons like Marilyn Monroe and JFK.

Viruses from Mars, Asteroid Landing, Stars Colliding | Q&A 219

What are the risks of returning samples from Mars? What happens if you bring two stars together? Which galaxies can be seen with the naked eye? What is the system behind naming stars and exoplanets? All this and more in this week's Q&A!

00:00 Start

01:19 [Tatooine] Can we bring viruses from Mars?

07:42 [Coruscant] What is the maximum size limit for black holes?

12:03 [Hoth] What happens when two stars come together?

15:26 [Naboo] What to expect from Artemis 2?

17:32 [Kamino] What are my thoughts on Artemis 2 crew?

20:57 [Bespin] How are stars and planets named?

23:43 [Mustafar] Which galaxies can be seen with a naked eye?

25:53 [Alderaan] What it feels like standing on an asteroid being destroyed?

28:38 [Dagobah] Will NASA land on an asteroid?

30:58 [Yavin] How cold is it in space?

33:25 [Mandalore] Can we bring our sun to another star?

37:03 [Geonosis] Lunar probe flying with springs?

Not of This Earth: Were There Unidentified Orbiting Objects in 1950? With Beatriz Villarroel

There were nine transient objects orbiting Earth in 1950, seven years before the first ever satellite. Beatrriz Villarroel joins John Michael Godier to discuss this mystery.

Do We Share Earth With Someone Else? With Garry Nolan

Garry Nolan is a professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. His areas of research include hematopoiesis, cancer and leukemia, autoimmunity and inflammation. Most recently he has studied meta materials and cases related to ufo encounters.

The Big UFO Stories of 2022, and Looking Ahead at 2023 With RYAN SPRAGUE | TALKING STRANGE

2022 was a big year in the world of UFO / UAP, and 2023 is already shaping up to be even bigger, and author/host Ryan Sprague of “Somewhere in the Skies” is ready to discuss the “Year of Science” of phenomena.
From a Congressional open hearing on phenomena, to the establishment of two investigation bodies from the Department of Defense as well as NASA, and a defense authorization act to examine UFO cases going back to 1945, 2022 was huge. But already, 2023 is has included a U.S. representative claiming there is a UFO cover-up, footage emerging of a metallic sphere in Iraq, and new information about the “Roswell before Roswell” case from 1945.

Ryan Sprague joins host Aaron Sagers (28 Days Haunted, Paranormal Caught on Camera) for a new episode of the paranormal pop culture show Talking Strange to discuss it all.

Ryan Sprague is a regular on Ancient Aliens (History Channel) and Beyond the Unknown (Travel Channel). He is also a lead investigator and co-host of Mysteries Decoded (CW Network). He is the author of Somewhere in the Skies: A Human Approach to the UFO Phenomenon , which was recently implemented into required reading for college courses at Webster University and Mercyhurst University. The book also hit #1 on the Best-Seller’s list on Amazon in 2021. He is the creator and host of the Somewhere in the Skies podcast which hit #1 on Apple Podcasts in 2019. Sprague’s research finds him interviewing witnesses, scientists, military personnel, and intelligence officials directly on UFOs, writing for defense and science news site, The Debrief. Speaking on UFOs, he has been featured on ABC News, Fox News, and 7News Australia. He has consulted for Amblin Entertainment and has been featured in Newsweek, The NY Post, and VICE.

Tracking UFOs over North America with Harvard's Amir Siraj

Tracking the recently shot down UFO backwards to possible points of origin with Amir Siraj.

Jeremy Corbell Debunks Media LIES On UFO Shootdowns | Breaking Points

Krystal and Saagar welcome Jeremy Corbell to the show to break down all the chaos over the last few days with UFO's in American airspace.

Is Our Understanding of Life Wrong? With Dr. Janusz Petkowski

Our understanding of how life starts is incomplete. Could solvents other than water lead to life? Janusz Petkowski joins John Michael Godier to discuss why life could exist on planets like Venus or moons like Titan.

Ancient Aliens: TOP 10 ALIEN ENCOUNTERS OF 2022

Check out these groundbreaking extraterrestrial moments from 2022, in this Ancient Aliens compilation.

Brian Cox - Alien Life & The Dark Forest Hypothesis

The renowned physicist and science communicator, Brian Cox delves into the topic of alien life and in particular, the question about intelligent alien civilization.
With his trademark enthusiasm and engaging style, Brian Cox explores the possibility of extraterrestrial life and why we haven't found any.

The video starts with a brief overview of what Brian Cox & astronomers call: "The Great Silence". Cox then goes on to explain the Fermi Paradox and the Dark Forest Hypothesis, which suggest that intelligent life may be intentionally avoiding contact with other civilizations to avoid being destroyed.

Cox uses his expertise in physics and astronomy to explain how alien life may be closer than we think. Like on the surface of the red planet, Mars. He discusses the potential for life to exist in other planets because there are at least 20 billion other earth like planets in our galaxy alone.

Throughout the video, Cox provides easy-to-understand explanations, making complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience.

Whether you're a science enthusiast or simply curious about the possibility of life beyond Earth, Brian Cox's insights and knowledge are sure to captivate and inform. Don't miss out on this thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of the universe and our place within it.

{ https://www.youtube.com/ }

EXCLUSIVE: As the US military takes UFO reports ever more seriously, one British man who has encountered a huge unexplained aircraft 'the size of a house' is examining alien encounters here in the UK

The fact that the mystery craft seem to have some type of invisibility technology raises the possibility that the unexplained black triangles are hovering unseen above us more often than we think.

READ MORE:

• UK town becomes nation's UFO hotspot with 6,000 claiming to have had close encounters

“I believe they can be flying around the globe totally invisible to us right at this moment,” Colin told the Daily Star.

Based on witnesses' descriptions, Colin has made a scale model of the mystery craft 

(Image: Colin Saunders)

While Colin’s new book 'Triangular UFOs of the United Kingdom' focuses specifically on wedge-shaped phenomena, he says that other unexplained objects seen in our skies could be representatives from different alien races.

He said: “I think Triangles, Saucers, Cigars and Tic-Tac [UFOs] are all the same or similar phenomena,” Colin said, adding “I'm sure they must be aware of each other.

“Whether different species fly different craft I do not know but small grey aliens seem to feature in many sightings of different craft.

“But,” he added, “they may just be biological robots”.

READ MORE

• UFO chiefs claim Pentagon bosses misled Congress over swarm of mystery objects

Colin’s experience has led to a deep fascination with these strange phenomena and their possible explanation, and he has interviewed dozens of people about their own experiences with them.

He’s unconvinced by suggestions that the flying objects seen in the skies over Europe could be experimental stealth aircraft.

“I have worked in the aircraft industry as a designer and I have never witnessed anything like this before,” he says.

If you can't see poll, click here

He points out that he has researched well over a hundred sightings of these craft and they all appear to be very different from each other.

Colin added: “It’s wouldn’t make sense to build a black budget craft and keep changing the design on each one.

“Plus would the military fly around sometimes over rooftops with a secret aircraft? I think they would probably test in Area 51 rather than the UK countryside."

READ MORE

• Objects shot down over US could be 'alien or extraterrestrials', Pentagon says

He does concede, though, that some modern military aircraft, such as the USAF’s iconic B2 Spirit stealth bomber, could be in part based on reverse-engineered alien technology.

And, whatever they are, they aren’t simple optical illusions either. For his book, Colin interviewed a few UFO contactees who had actually touched one of the ships:

One of them, Charles Bee describes how the “huge” object blotted out the stars as it glided silently above him.

As he stood transfixed on a hill, the craft came within a “few feet of him,” he said, and he could see black channels etched into its underside, which he speculates may have been some sort of “docking mechanism”.

READ MORE

• Shocked couple spot 'UFO' above erupting volcano 'where laws of gravity don't apply'

It seemed to be made of a slate or graphite material,” Charles recalled. “Very dark-grey and a smooth matt texture. I could feel the presence in my whole body and a dental implant was vibrating in my mouth.

“I could see the channels covered the underside of the craft: they are probably six feet across and of a similar depth.

“I raised my hand and touched part of the craft’s body between the channels. I was terrified and even thought it could harm me but did it anyway. I brushed my fingers over it and then put my entire palm on it. It felt like a hard, kitchen worktop with a matte finish, but it was not cold”.

READ MORE

• Spaced Out brings you amazing UFO stories and videos every week - sign up now

Despite the UFO phenomenon being taken increasingly seriously by the US military, there’s still no definitive explanation for what people across the world are experiencing.

“My own feeling is that these craft are inter-dimensional,” says Colin. “Like a parallel world running alongside our own."

They are crewed by beings from this other universe, Colin claims, but may also have some intelligence of their own.

He added: “I believe the majority of the larger craft will be manned but one suspects the smaller tic tac types may well be remotely controlled.

“I have to say ‘our’ craft looked like it was alive even though it was clearly manufactured, perhaps having an intelligence of its own”.

• For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

READ NEXT:

• Humanity finding 'alien signal' could start World War Three on earth, scientists warn
• Alien life on other planets may be found soon - but NASA fears 'it'll be misunderstood'
• Roswell witness 'saw stinking humanoids with shark skin and no genitals' at crash site
• If an alien invasion ever comes, we’ll have no defence warns SETI expert

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{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

How Hubble Images Are Made

As a cosmic photographer, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken over a million snapshots documenting the universe.

These images illustrate, explain, and inspire us with their grandeur. But how are those images taken and processed? This incredible video explains the answer to that question.

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has made more than one million observations of the cosmos, broadening humanity's knowledge of the cosmos almost immeasurably.

The somewhat amorphous spiral galaxy UGC 2890 appears side-on in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, with bright foreground stars studding the image. This galaxy, which lies around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Camelopardalis, hosted a powerful supernova explosion that astronomers observed in 2009.

© ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick

Yet Hubble doesn't see the universe as we do. The telescope views the cosmos across a broad range of light wavelengths, some of which our eyes are incapable of seeing. 

If we looked out across space with our own eyes, not only would we not see much of what Hubble sees, but a great deal of what we do see would look very different from the images delivered to us by the iconic space telescope.

So how is the data this pioneering space telescope collects turned into stunning visuals that we can see, understand and marvel at, and how much of this imagery is "real?"

Related:

•  The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time

What cameras does Hubble have?

Hubble has two primary camera systems, according to NASA, which the telescope uses to observe the universe from its position roughly 332 miles (535 kilometers) above Earth's surface.

Working in unison, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) are able to provide astronomers with wide-field imaging over a broad range of wavelengths. Both camera systems were installed on Hubble by spacewalking astronauts after the observatory's April 1990 launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery. 

ACS joined Hubble in 2002 and was designed primarily for wide-field imagery in visible wavelengths. The ACS system is composed of three cameras or "channels" that capture different types of images, allowing Hubble to perform surveys and broad imaging campaigns.

Two of those channels became inoperable in 2007 due to an electronics failure. Astronauts were able to repair one of the cameras two years later, restoring the ability of ACS to take high-resolution, wide-field pictures. 

That 2009 repair was performed during Hubble's Servicing Mission 4, which also installed the WFC3 system, now the telescope's main imager.

Hubble had cameras prior to the installation of these instruments, of course. The space telescope's previous cameras include the Wide Field and Planetary Camera, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the High-Speed Photometer and the Faint Object Camera. 

Other observational devices among Hubble's total of six instruments are its two spectrometers, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS).

The spectrometers break light down so its component parts can be seen. Because elements and chemicals emit and absorb light at characteristic wavelengths, Hubble allows astronomers to learn about the composition of the objects it observes. 

Related: 

• NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions (photos)
  

What wavelengths does Hubble see?

One of the advantages that Hubble has as it zooms around Earth about 15 times each day is that it can pick up wavelengths of light that would normally be absorbed by our planet's atmosphere. As a result, the telescope's 7.8-foot-wide (2.4 meters) primary mirror collects an immense amount of light across a wide range of wavelengths that ground telescopes can't see and curves it toward the telescope's instruments and cameras.

Hubble's cameras can see the universe from the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum through visible light wavelengths all the way up to ultraviolet light. 

The primary capabilities of the telescope are in the ultraviolet and visible parts of the spectrum from 100 to 800 nanometers, though the telescope can also see light with wavelengths as long as 2,500 nanometers. 

ACS is used predominantly to collect light in visible wavelengths but is also capable of seeing ultraviolet and near-infrared light. Meanwhile, WFC3 provides wide-field imagery in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light.

While the STIS spectrometer works with a broad range of wavelengths, COS focuses exclusively on ultraviolet light and is considered the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever built. 

COS has boosted Hubble's sensitivity by a factor of at least 10 in the ultraviolet spectrum, resulting in a net 70-times sensitivity boost when looking at very faint objects, mission team members say.  

Why does Hubble take pictures in so many wavelengths?

Hubble sees the universe in many different "shades of gray." Viewing the cosmos in what to us looks like monochrome, Hubble is capable of highlighting subtle differences in the intensity of light at different wavelengths, which helps scientists understand physical processes and the composition of objects.

Observing ultraviolet light is especially useful when Hubble is looking at extremely faint objects and single points of light, like stars and quasars. Seeing in infrared, on the other hand, is vital for the examination of very distant objects that existed in the early history of the universe.

This is because, as light travels from these faraway objects, the expansion of the universe "stretches" its wavelengths. This process is called "redshifting," because longer wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum are red (compared to blue at the shorter end).

The longer this light has been traversing the universe, the more extreme the redshift of its wavelength. This means that ancient objects that emitted visible light are now better seen in long-wavelength infrared light.

Hubble's ability to study such stretched light from early stars has allowed scientists to better constrain the age of the universe, to around 13.8 billion years. The capability to see early galaxies and stars has also massively increased our understanding of how the universe has evolved since its early epochs.

The earliest and most distant object Hubble has been able to image thus far is the highly redshifted galaxy GN-z11, which is located about 13.4 billion light-years away.

From a sheerly practical angle, the ability to see in a wide range of wavelengths means that Hubble is useful to a broad spectrum of researchers working to observe a massive cornucopia of cosmic objects and events.

The wider range of wavelengths that Hubble can observe also means that it won't be replaced by NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Despite being the most powerful telescope humanity has ever put into orbit, JWST is mostly limited to highly detailed observations in infrared light, with Hubble seeing less clearly but over a much wider spread of the electromagnetic spectrum. This ultimately means that JWST and Hubble make an excellent team observing the cosmos.

Related:

• 12 astonishing photos by the James Webb Space Telescope 

How 'real' are Hubble's photos? What would we see?

Human eyes only see a small fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum that slots between infrared light and ultraviolet light, from about 380 to 700 nanometers. So, most raw images produced by Hubble look black and white to us.

By the time Hubble images reach publications such as Space.com, they have been processed, with colors added to them. The colorization of Hubble's "raw" grayscale images isn't for purely aesthetic reasons, however. Nor is it done arbitrarily.

Some images show "true" colors, while others feature hues that are assigned to represent wavelengths of light that human eyes can't see. These color composite images are generally created by combining exposures captured by Hubble using different filters.

A different color is assigned to each filter, with that color corresponding to the wavelength the filter allows through. So, the long-wavelength filter image is represented in the composite by red, the medium wavelengths by green and the shortest wavelengths by blue.

In some cases, colors might be added to Hubble photos to represent specific chemical elements present in or around the imaged object. Such color processing can reveal a wealth of scientific information that isn't present in grayscale raw images from Hubble.

Images are also processed to remove imperfections and effects that don't come from the objects being observed by Hubble. These undesired features could be the result of aging sensors causing "dead pixels" in images or the dynamic environment of space. For instance, Hubble images can be streaked by lines of bright light caused by passing asteroids, satellites or even flashing cosmic rays. The Hubble team often removes such distractions before releasing an image to the public.

In addition, larger mosaics made of many Hubble images stitched together must have gaps removed to create a single unified image. Hubble image processors also have to decide how to orient images, as there is no actual "up" or "down" in space.

The processing of Hubble images is an intricate and time-consuming procedure. Even simple Hubble photos can take days to process, while large complex mosaics of multiple images can take months, NASA says.

Additional information

• If you want to see what Hubble images look like before they undergo processing, a database of "raw images" is available at the Hubble Legacy Archive.
• If you'd like to learn more about the electromagnetic spectrum, NASA's Imagine the Universe page has a great concise explanation.

Bibliography

• How Hubble Images Are Made, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGf0yzdM5OA
• Hubble Space Telescope, NASA. Accessed 03/24/23 from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/spacecraft/index.html
• Hubble Space Telescope Observatory :  Instruments, NASA. Accessed 03/24/23 from https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-space-telescope-science-instruments
• Hubble's Science Instruments, NASA Hubblesite. Accessed 03/24/23 from https://hubblesite.org/mission-and-telescope/instruments
• Hubble Space Telescope Observatory :  Hubble vs. Webb, NASA. Accessed 03/24/23 from https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-vs-webb-on-the-shoulders-of-a-giant

{ @NASAHubble }

The Accidental Truth, a new UFO documentary being released on April 18, 2023

Here’s the first trailer released by 1091 Distribution.
More related content will be dropping into the playlist below, so check back often!

Nick POPE : "Excitement is building about The Accidental Truth, a new UFO documentary being released on April 18. I'm in it, as are Lue Elizondo, Chris Mellon, Rep. Tim Burchett, Dr. Michio Kaku, Dr. Garry Nolan, Col. John Alexander, Ralph Blumenthal and many more."

The truth can no longer be contained by those duty-bound to hide it.

What if there was one film that will bring a mainstream audience up to speed on the modern UFO Reality?

Now there is.  “Accidental Truth – UFO Revelations” pulls no punches.

Officials who interact with the public regarding the UFO question openly acknowledge that they know things that they can’t reveal.  In “Accidental Truth,” the reality of an advanced intelligence engaging humanity becomes undeniably clear.

You will witness revelations on UFOs / UAPs from government insiders that have never been previously shared with the public. From many years of interviews and investigation, Ron James painstakingly connects the dots.

Colonel John Alexander, Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Nick Pope, Dr. Garry Nolan, Ralph Blumenthal, Congressman Tim Burchett  and others help to “accidentally” weave a story that leaves no doubt that another intelligence is somehow operating around us, above us in our atmosphere, beneath our seas and in outer space. Decades of official denial and debunking are irrevocably put to rest in what is being called “one of the best UFO films of all time”.

Dr. Michio Kaku provides scientific analysis and commentary specific to what we know.  Never before has a world-class scientist weighed in so deeply on the topic.  Until now.
A collection of contributors from across the field all come together to settle the question. The subject is no longer up for debate. You will experience the proof.
The acknowledgement of another advanced intelligence is only the beginning.

This irrefutable truth creates more questions than you can possibly imagine.

“Accidental Truth – UFO Revelations” is being called “a masterpiece” and “one of the best UFO documentaries of all time” by early reviewers.
It has been accepted into 12 film festivals so far and won 7 awards.  It comes out on April 18, 2023.

RELATED

The Cast:

Congressman Tim Burchett
Ralph Blumenthal
Lue Elizondo
Dr. Michio Kaku
Dr. Garry Nolan
Col. John Alexander
Christopher Mellon
Richard Dolan
Dave MacDonald
Nick Pope
Paul Hynek
Don Schmitt
Mike Bara
Katie Griboski (Paige)
Melinda Leslie
Elizabeth April
Cheryll Jones
Danny Sheehan
Jimmy Church
Richard Lang
James Fox
Ron James

{ https://mufontelevision.com/atinsider/ }

Nukes Attract Not Only UFOs but Something Bone-Chilling, Revealed By Ex-Worker At Nuclear Depot In Nevada Desert

There has been a rise in the number of reported UFO sightings across many places in the United States since 2020. Moreover, officials have expressed concerns regarding the repeated occurrence of UFO sightings over military bases. Is there any possibility that these UFOs are controlling military actions?

Not so long ago, former US Air Force Captain Robert Salas claimed that UFOs are real and interfere in the military’s nuclear program. Additionally, former head of AATIP Luis Elizondo revealed that the U.S. Military created environments to attract UFOs to study them. He noted that there was much data that showed UFOs are interested in nuclear activities and the latest weaponry systems.

The UFO activity over US army bases has been observed since 1948, with the majority of incidents occurring at Malmstrom, Minot, F.E. Warren, Ellsworth, Vandenberg, and Walker AFBs between 1963 and 1996. Other sources stationed at Wurtsmith and Loring AFBs, where B-52 nuclear bombers were based during the Cold War era, also reported incidents.

In 1967, Captain Salas was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, when he received reports of a red glowing object hovering outside the front gate of the base. A security guard reported that the object had a saucer shape and was constantly hovering near the front gate.

At the same time, the missile system suffered a complete failure, with ten intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) going offline due to a “No-Go” (inoperable) condition, which caused several alarms to go off. After investigating the incident, a team of engineers from Boeing could not find any significant failures, engineering data, or findings that would explain how the missiles had been knocked off alert.

The cause of the failure remains unknown, but it was suggested that it could have been due to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) sent from an unknown source. Despite the severity of the situation, Salas believed that the UFO did not have hostile intentions because it could have caused permanent damage to the weapons system if it wanted to.

The incident was reported by a UFO researcher Robert L. Hastings, who collected information from various army personnel, including Staff Sgt. Louis D. Kenneweg, Airman 1st Class David Hughes, Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Chassey, and Lt. Col. Robert Peisher (USAF Ret.) in his 30 years of investigation.

A similar attraction of UFOs toward nuclear bases was noticed in Canada as well. A report from Winnipeg reveals that over 200 years, there have been 2,000 UFO sightings reported in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

In the mid-1970s, there were numerous UFO sightings all along the US-Canadian border, with Manitoba being one of the places where a large number of sightings occurred. These sightings included a high number of cattle mutilations and were often seen over restricted areas where nuclear activities were conducted.

Chris A. Rutkowski, a Canadian UFO researcher, has studied UFO sightings in Canada for over 25 years and concluded that Manitoba has a long history of close encounters with aliens. His UFO research, which contains 30,000 reports, has been donated to the University of Manitoba.

In 2017, author Grant Cameron published a book entitled “Charlie Red Star: True Reports of One of North America’s Biggest UFO Sightings,” in which he described in detail the largest UFO sightings in history witnessed by Manitobans. The province was stunned by the object known as “Charlie’s Red Star,” which was seen almost every night in 1975.

Cameron claims that Manitoba UFO sightings have connections to nuclear weapons because 35 years later, he found out that the government secretly installed nuclear missiles and other weapons in restricted areas just south of the border. He believes that the sightings stopped after the missiles had been removed in November. The author thinks that the nuclear technology that humans possess could be created after extraterrestrial contact. (click here to read the full article)

Strange Occurrences Near Nuclear Bases

The Reddit user “BumblebeeExpensive” claimed to have worked at a now-closed nuclear weapons storage depot in Nevada for six years and shared various strange occurrences. “When people say UFOs are attracted to nukes, they are telling the truth. But so much more goes on,” the user writes. (Source)

The user claimed to have seen a ball of light triggering a sensor on the fence line, causing security to respond and witnessed three mutilated donkeys that were dropped off out of nowhere with various organs removed. The user also claimed to have witnessed a figure on the roof of a structure. He writes it was “30 meters from me and 14 other personnel. I took a spotlight and shined it up there and as soon as the light hit the figure it disappeared – we all saw it happen.”

“I heard a man laughing maniacally once, nothing there. Sweep with night vision and thermals revealed nothing, three other witnesses. We wrote it off as the ‘laughing Colonel,’ an urban legend passed down by the security personnel for ages.”

The user and his partner also heard a soft cooing sound coming from a hot pad loaded with 500 lbs bombs, seemingly luring them past the pad and into the pitch-black desert, but they did not pursue. Dur ing a training exercise, their machine gun overwatch team spotted two figures on thermals in the desert behind them, but their sweep revealed nothing.

The user claimed to have experienced the weirdest event when they were responding to a truck approaching on the side of a nearby mountain. They visually confirmed the truck on NVGs, but suddenly the headlights disappeared, and they believed the occupants had turned them off and were then approaching on foot. They called for K9 and moved to a blocking position where they waited for ten minutes, but their radios died, and they were out of contact for twice as long as they thought.

“We are there for about ten minutes when one by one patrol members overwatching us from high points on the inside call in lights appearing at our 12, 3, and 9 o’clock- in effect flanking us (with fence line about 300 meters behind us). We see and hear nothing, not even on NVGs or thermals, dog never reacts. Suddenly panicked patrol calls in that the lights are ‘rushing’ us. We are already locked and loaded, I tell my partner to put a grenade in the tube. Nothing happens, dog never indicates. Our radios die and after ten minutes we hike back to fence line only to discover we were out of contact for twice as long as I thought we were. Very paraphrased event cuz on phone, but our radios only started working when we were back at fence line.”

The user claimed that those events, combined with the belief that UFOs are attracted to nukes. He says: “There’s more but these were the highlights or events I’m allowed to speak about. The world is not as normal as you believe it is.”

Many other users found the same story in the video published on “The Infographics Show” YouTube channel in 2020 and began doubting BumblebeeExpensive if he copied the story. But the user later clarified that was his story and added that he is the lead writer of the show. He also claimed to be the writer of the “100-day survival series” on the channel.

BumblebeeExpensive commented on a post from AskReddit

Haha. Nope, that's my story. I'm the lead writer of the show and when the topic came up I was like huh, I've got my own, I'll do this one.

If you follow the channel I also write the 100 day survival series and a lot of the character names in there are guys I served with at this facility and still stay in touch with. Kind of an easter egg between us.

“There’s things I can’t talk about as I signed a 30-year non-disclosure contract with pretty stiff penalties- but I’ll say this: I know people think that there’s these big conspiracies with the government hiding knowledge of this or knowledge of that. Truth is, yes there are big secrets. But overwhelmingly, the government isn’t actively hiding knowledge of this or that- it’s literally just ignoring it because it can’t do anything about it or it doesn’t pose a threat. It does spend some time and effort investigating it- you can see that there’s a greatly increased effort to investigate UAPs now. But the truth is that a long time ago a choice was made about certain things: do they affect national security, or could we stop it if it did? If the answer is no, we’ve got bigger or more immediate concerns like the Soviet Union starting a nuclear war,” explains Reddit user BumblebeeExpensive. (Source)

Mr. Elizondo suggested that those interested in more information about this subject read “UFOs and Nukes” by Robert Hastings. The book describes the reality of UFO incursions at American nuclear weapons facilities.

In “UFOs and Nukes,” there are documented incidents of UFO interference at the US nuclear weapons facilities. The book describes incidents where unidentified objects were seen hovering near nuclear facilities, causing malfunctions in nuclear missiles and communication systems.

Some of those incidents date back to as early as January 1945, months before the atomic bombings in Japan. Those events suggest that humans’ most dangerous weapons have been under scrutiny by unidentified observers with advanced technology. The author argues that the UFO-nukes connection is significant and may be the reason for the appearance of mysterious aerial crafts in the skies over the past 70 years. Mr. Elizondo recommends this book to those interested in learning more about this subject.

 { https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

Hubble Sees Possible Runaway Black Hole Creating a Trail of Stars

There's an invisible monster on the loose, barreling through intergalactic space so fast that if it were in our solar system, it could travel from Earth to the Moon in 14 minutes. This supermassive black hole, weighing as much as 20 million Suns, has left behind a never-before-seen 200,000-light-year-long "contrail" of newborn stars, twice the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy. It's likely the result of a rare, bizarre game of galactic billiards among three massive black holes.

Rather than gobbling up stars ahead of it, like a cosmic Pac-Man, the speedy black hole is plowing into gas in front of it to trigger new star formation along a narrow corridor. The black hole is streaking too fast to take time for a snack. Nothing like it has ever been seen before, but it was captured accidentally by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

"We think we're seeing a wake behind the black hole where the gas cools and is able to form stars. So, we're looking at star formation trailing the black hole," said Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. "What we're seeing is the aftermath. Like the wake behind a ship we're seeing the wake behind the black hole." The trail must have lots of new stars, given that it is almost half as bright as the host galaxy it is linked to.

The black hole lies at one end of the column, which stretches back to its parent galaxy. There is a remarkably bright knot of ionized oxygen at the outermost tip of the column. Researchers believe gas is probably being shocked and heated from the motion of the black hole hitting the gas, or it could be radiation from an accretion disk around the black hole. "Gas in front of it gets shocked because of this supersonic, very high-velocity impact of the black hole moving through the gas. How it works exactly is not really known," said van Dokkum.

"This is pure serendipity that we stumbled across it," van Dokkum added. He was looking for globular star clusters in a nearby dwarf galaxy. "I was just scanning through the Hubble image and then I noticed that we have a little streak. I immediately thought, 'oh, a cosmic ray hitting the camera detector and causing a linear imaging artifact.' When we eliminated cosmic rays we realized it was still there. It didn't look like anything we've seen before."

Because it was so weird, van Dokkum and his team did follow-up spectroscopy with the W. M. Keck Observatories in Hawaii. He describes the star trail as "quite astonishing, very, very bright and very unusual." This led to the conclusion that he was looking at the aftermath of a black hole flying through a halo of gas surrounding the host galaxy.

This intergalactic skyrocket is likely the result of multiple collisions of supermassive black holes. Astronomers suspect the first two galaxies merged perhaps 50 million years ago. That brought together two supermassive black holes at their centers. They whirled around each other as a binary black hole.

Then another galaxy came along with its own supermassive black hole. This follows the old idiom: "two's company and three's a crowd." The three black holes mixing it up led to a chaotic and unstable configuration. One of the black holes robbed momentum from the other two black holes and got thrown out of the host galaxy. The original binary may have remained intact, or the new interloper black hole may have replaced one of the two that were in the original binary, and kicked out the previous companion.

When the single black hole took off in one direction, the binary black holes shot off in the opposite direction. There is a feature seen on the opposite side of the host galaxy that might be the runaway binary black hole. Circumstantial evidence for this is that there is no sign of an active black hole remaining at the galaxy’s core. The next step is to do follow-up observations with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory to confirm the black hole explanation.

There’s an invisible monster on the loose! It’s barreling through intergalactic space fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 14 minutes. But don’t worry, luckily this beast is very, very far away! This potential supermassive black hole, weighing as much as 20 million Suns, has left behind a never-before-seen 200,000 light-year-long trail of newborn stars. The streamer is twice the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy. It’s likely the result of a rare, bizarre game of galactic billiards among three massive black holes.

Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Lead Producer: Paul Morris

NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a wide-angle view of the universe with Hubble's exquisite resolution. As a survey telescope, the Roman observations might find more of these rare and improbable "star streaks" elsewhere in the universe. This may require machine learning using algorithms that are very good at finding specific weird shapes in a sea of other astronomical data, according to van Dokkum.

The research paper will be published on April 6 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

{ https://www.nasa.gov/ }

Bizarre object 10 million times brighter than the sun defies physics, NASA says

Astronomers used to believe ULXs could be black holes, but M82 X-2 is an object known as a neutron star. Neutron stars are the leftover, dead cores of stars like the sun. A neutron star is so dense that the gravity on its surface is about 100 trillion times stronger than that of Earth. This intense gravity means that any material pulled onto the dead star's surface will have an explosive effect. 

"A marshmallow dropped on the surface of a neutron star would hit it with the energy of a thousand hydrogen bombs," according to NASA(opens in new tab).

The new study found that M82 X-2 consumes around 1.5 Earths' worth of material each year, siphoning it off of a neighboring star. When this amount of matter hits the neutron star's surface, it's enough to produce the off-the-charts brightness the astronomers observed. 

The research team thinks this is evidence that something must be going on with M82 X-2 that lets it bend the rules and break the Eddington limit. Their current idea is that the intense magnetic field of the neutron star changes the shape of its atoms, allowing the star to stick together even as it gets brighter and brighter.

"These observations let us see the effects of these incredibly strong magnetic fields that we could never reproduce on Earth with current technology," lead study author Matteo Bachetti(opens in new tab), an astrophysicist at the Cagliari Astronomical Observatory in Italy, said in the statement. "This is the beauty of astronomy … we cannot really set up experiments to get quick answers; we have to wait for the universe to show us its secrets."

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

New kind of pulsar may explain how mysterious 'black widow' systems evolve

Since then, astronomers have discovered several other pulsar systems that fit into the "spider" family. Technically, black widows have companions with very small masses, usually less than one-tenth the mass of the sun. Other systems include "redback" pulsars, which are actively destroying companions with masses up to half a solar mass. And "huntsman" pulsars have companions with enough mass to withstand the outbursts, and so those systems have much less material around them.

Related: 

• Scientists spot 1st gamma-ray eclipses from strange 'spider' star systems

A deadly dance

While astronomers have identified dozens of these "spider" systems, they have had difficulty explaining how the systems came to be. The problem is that ablation, the process of reducing a companion's mass by removing its outer layers via powerful radiation bursts, is a relatively inefficient process. It's too slow to explain how those companions can lose so much mass in such a short amount of time.

Now, a team of astronomers has proposed a solution by finding two systems that they believe provide an evolutionary link between normal binary systems and more evolved "spider" systems. They reported their results in January in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society(opens in new tab). 

Initially in the evolution of a binary system, there are simply two stars orbiting each other. But one will inevitably be more massive than the other and will end its life sooner. If the star is massive enough, it will become a neutron star, the remnant core of compressed neutrons left over after a supernova explosion.

If the remaining companion has a low enough mass, the system will soon become what is dubbed a low-mass X-ray binary. In these systems, the companion has begun to overflow, either because it naturally swells as it enters the red giant stage, or because the extreme gravity of the neutron star pulls on its atmosphere. Either way, in this stage, the companion begins spilling its material onto the neutron star, causing it to speed up and flash in X-ray radiation.

Astronomers have long believed that these low-mass X-ray binary systems occasionally developed into black widow or redback spider systems, but the link has not been shown until now.

Related: 

• Rare 'black widow' star system could help unlock the secrets of space-time

Becoming a widow

The astronomers behind the study investigated two low-mass X-ray binary systems, named Swift J1858.6-0814 and EXO 0748-676. These two systems contain all the features of typical low-mass X-ray binaries: a neutron star with a small, overflowing companion.

But the researchers also found evidence for ablation, with highly energized material surrounding each pair. Their observations suggest that the "spider" phase may have already begun early on in the development of these systems. Even though ablation is inefficient, by pushing away material from the companion with strong outbursts early on, these systems had plenty of time to blow away enough gas to explain the spider system results.

The researchers dubbed these systems "false widows," adding to the arachnid-based classification scheme. Eventually, these false widows will evolve into true black widow and redback systems, and those systems, too, won't last forever. At some point, the companion will run out of material altogether, with all of its atmosphere either blown out into space or transferred onto the neutron star. That transfer causes a tremendous speed-up in the rotation rate of the neutron star, causing it to spin thousands of times every second.

With the new observations, the entire developmental process is clear: Binary systems emerge, then become low-mass X-ray binaries, then false widows, then black widow or redback systems, before finally settling down as millisecond pulsars.

• Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom(opens in new tab) and on Facebook(opens in new tab).

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{ https://www.space.com/ }

Expert says Humans are Aliens—and we were Brought to Earth Hundreds of Thousands of Years Ago

What if Humans are the aliens we’ve been looking for all along? According to experts, humans were most likely crossbred with another species, perhaps from the star system Alpha Centauri –which is one of the closest solar systems to Earth—in the distant past, giving birth to modern humans.

Tell Al-Uhaymir modern-day Iraq, where the ancient Sumerian city of Kish used to be, archaeologists found one of the oldest ancient documents on the planet, the tablet of Kish which is believed to date back to the year 3500 BC.The Sumerian king list states that Kish was the first city to have kings following the deluge, beginning with Jushur.Jushur’s successor is called Kullassina-bel, but this is actually a sentence in Akkadian meaning “All of them were lord”. Thus, some scholars have suggested that this may have been intended to signify the absence of a central authority in Kish for a time.

This ancient document is believed to precede the cuneiform writing of the Sumerians, and the Egyptian hieroglyphs for almost one hundred years.

Developing the ability to express thoughts through written language is one of the first ways in which man differed from the animal kingdom.Five thousand years since, humans have developed electricity, divided the atom, developed computers, and led man to the moon. We have achieved things that other species have still not.

No other species on earth can attribute such unique achievements in such a short period of time. Interestingly, compared to other species of the earth, our ‘evolution’ is relatively short.

It has been a short period of time, most likely a few million years since the first hominid walked on Earth. Precisely this is one of the biggest scientific questions of all times: Why have only our species emerged to this truly advanced technological intelligence?Evidently, there is nothing more advanced than humans on planet Earth.

While there are different ‘intelligent’ species on Earth, none of them makes use of technology like us.
Just imagine for a second, if for some reason, mankind had to return to the jungle, and survive there. Many experts agree that most of them would not survive for a very long period of time.Many scientists agree that humans, in addition to their intelligence, are not very capable to occupy a wide range of environments. In other words, we are very limited when it comes to our planet.

In addition to our fascinating intelligence, biologists have also noticed contrasts between human physiology and that of other animals on earth. Many scientists agree that compared to other species on earth, humans are rather strange. For example, a baby horse when born is able to walk and function almost independently, but this a human baby cannot do, which makes us quite helpless. In other words, we are born before being neurologically ready for life.

Many researchers agree that there are many vulnerabilities that accompany our intelligence.Humans on earth eventually became bipeds, which freed up our superior extremities allowing us to manipulate objects, create tools and much more. But for all this, experts believe that our species has paid an expensive price. Lumbar pain a sign that according to many experts could tell us a lot about our species. Curiously, other animals on Earth do NOT have this problem. It’s as if only humans are affected by some of these problems.

So what does all of this mean? According to one expert, it means that we are the aliens we’ve we been looking for all along.

A new theory proposed by Dr. Ellis Silver states that there are several tell-tale signs present in the human race that suggest human beings did not evolve ALONGSIDE other lifeforms on Earth.

The book called ‘Humans are not from Earth: a scientific evaluation of the evidence’ is basically a resume of theories for and mostly against man’s evolution on Earth. In the book, leading environmentalist and ecologist Dr. Ellis Silver goes through an evaluation of thirteen leading hypothesis and seventeen factors which suggest HUMANS ARE NOT FROM EARTH.

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 said Dr. Ellis in an interview.

According to Dr. Ellis, humans might suffer from back pain because our species initially evolved on another planet with a lower gravity, adding to the mysteries, Dr. Ellis also indicates that it is strange that newborns have large heads and make it difficult for mothers to give birth, which can result in fatalities for both mother and child.

So where do we come from? According to Dr. Ellis, Neanderthals were most likely crossbred with another species, perhaps from the star system Alpha Centauri –which is one of the closest solar systems to Earth— in the distant past, giving birth to modern humans.

According to Dr. Ellis, there are millions of people around the globe who ‘feel’ that they do not belong on Earth.Dr. Ellis explains: “This suggests (to me at least) that mankind may have evolved on a different planet, and we may have been brought here as a highly developed species. One reason for this … is that the Earth might be a prison planet since we seem to be a naturally violent species and we’re here until we learn to behave ourselves.”

Dr. Ellis concludes that mankind did not evolve from that particular strain of life, but evolved elsewhere and was transported to Earth (as fully evolved Homo sapiens) between 60,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Furthermore, as noted by Robert Sepher, according to modern DNA sequencing, it is demonstrated that humanity as we know it, isn’t just ONE single ‘race’ that descended from the same ancestor in Africa, but a hybridized species, with a far more enigmatic truth behind it all.

Many questions have been raised in the discussion about Rh negative blood. If mankind did, in fact, evolve from a mutual ancient African ancestor, theories state that everyone’s blood would be compatible, but regrettably, this is not the case. This raises numerous questions that science alone has not been able to fully answer. Where did Rh-negative blood come from? And why is it that a Rh-negative mother carrying Rh positive children tries rejecting her own offspring? Is it possible that this can be explained by a rather controversial theory? A theory which suggests that humanity isn’t in fact one race, but a hybridized species.

The book was written by Robert Sepehr, Species with Amnesia: Our Forbidden History tells us more about the enigmatic blood type Rh-negative. Not only does Species with Amnesia suggest mankind is, in fact, a hybridized species, the author suggests that highly advanced civilizations have been on Earth before us, just to be destroyed by some great global catastrophe, as mysteriously, history tells us.

Sepehr argues that for each race that has died out, another has taken its place, with a selected few holding on to the memories and sacred knowledge of the past race. In our vanity, we think we have discovered some of the great truths of science and technology, but we are in fact only just beginning to rediscover the profound wisdom of past civilizations. In many ways, we are like an awakening Species with Amnesia, yearning to reclaim our forgotten past. –

The Basque people of Spain and France have the highest percentage of Rh-negative blood. About 30% have (rr) Rh negative and about 60% carry one (r) negative gene.“There are 612 primate species and subspecies recognized by the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN), and not one has Rh-negative blood”. – Robert Sepehr, Species with Amnesia: Our Forbidden History

FICTION VIDEO

{ https://ufosecret.space/affiliate-disclosure/ }

We could feed one million people living in colonies on Mars

In the science fiction novel and movie The Martian, a stranded astronaut survives more than 500 days on Mars by growing potatoes. A permanent human settlement on Mars would need to do much better. And according to a computer model created by planetary scientists, that’s actually an attainable goal. With the right food sources, we could grow a million-person population on Mars that doesn’t depend on food shipped from Earth in about a hundred years, a recent paper in the journal New Space reports.

Companies like SpaceX have made exciting steps toward the possibility of humans on Mars, says Kevin Cannon, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida and lead author of the study. But beyond the challenge of getting humans to Mars in the first place, there’s a lot of work left to figure out how to make a self-sufficient, functioning society there.

“I think, looking in the long term, the real challenge is to start producing everything you need from the local materials on Mars,” Cannon says. 

Farming on Mars

Cannon and colleagues modeled the food needs of a human population on Mars that grows to one million over about a hundred Earth years through a combination of immigration and reproduction. Though the settlement would need to import a lot of food at the start, it could transition to an entirely Martian-grown diet in about a century with the right food choices, they found.

The major limiting factor is space — or rather, the ability to create spaces suitable for growing food. On Earth, the amount of available arable land restricts our ability to grow food, whether plants, animals or something else. On Mars, we’d have to create these spaces — enclosed, pressurized and heated structures. For efficiency’s sake, a Martian society would need to choose food sources that are high in nutrients and calories relative to the space they need to grow.

Traditionally farmed animal products and certain plants need a lot of resources and may be impractical on Mars, Cannon says. But that doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing variety in Martian diets. His team’s models include three main categories of food sources: plant-based foods, edible insects and “cellular agriculture” — protein-rich foods like algae and lab-grown meats, dairy and eggs that we can grow from cells.

Cannon has created a website compiling a list of businesses working to create food in these ways today, often with the goal of more resource-efficient and sustainable food production on Earth in mind.

This includes eating plants like beans, tomato and potato, as well as GMO products modified to include more nutrients and grow more sustainably. A number of companies today make insect-based products — whether that’s whole crickets or powdered insects to use as flour — that aspiring Martians can sample as we
“The limitations that Mars would put on you in producing food kind of forces you into practices that turn out to be more sustainable on the Earth,” Cannon says.

{ https://astronomy.com/ }

Einstein’s Genius Shines Bright: Star’s Enigmatic Path around Black Hole Validates Theory

Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity has passed another test. Researchers have discovered a slight adjustment in the orbit of the nearest known star to the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way after almost three decades of monitoring—and the movement exactly confirms Einstein’s prediction.

The star, known as S2, has a 16-year elliptical orbit. It came near 20 billion kilometers of our black hole, Sagittarius A*, last year. If Isaac Newton’s traditional definition of gravity is correct, S2 should then continue on its previous orbit’s course through space. But it didn’t work.

Instead, it took a slightly divergent route, with the axis of its ellipse altering slightly, according to research published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics by a team employing the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. As predicted by general relativity, the process known as Schwarzschild precession will eventually force S2 to trace out a spirograph-like floral pattern in space (as illustrated above).

The researchers claim that their comprehensive monitoring of S2 will let them analyze how much unseen material, including dark matter and smaller black holes, exists near Sagittarius A*, in addition to another demanding test of relativity. This might aid them in understanding how such behemoths develop and evolve.

{ https://fancy4zone.com/ }

Scientists Puzzled Because James Webb is Seeing Things that are Unexpected.

Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time to the early days of the universe — and they spotted something unexpected.

NASA's super-powerful James Webb Telescope has provided the most distant glimpses of the universe ever since its launch. 

{ https://www.cseinsider.com/ }