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 25 oktober 2023
Lunar Astronauts Will Need Easy Walking Trails Around the Moon's South Pole
llustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon. Credits: NASA
Lunar Astronauts Will Need Easy Walking Trails Around the Moon's South Pole
Before this decade is out, NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era and build the necessary infrastructure to keep sending them back. And they will hardly be alone. Alongside NASA’s Artemis Program, the European Space Agency also plans to send astronauts to the Moon and establish a permanent habitat there (the Moon Village), while China and Russia are working towards creating the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Numerous commercial space companies will also be there to provide crew transportation, cargo, and logistical services.
All of this will happen in the Moon’s southern polar region, a topographically complex region characterized by craters, permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), and undulating slopes. This terrain could prove difficult for crews conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) away from landing sites and habitats. In a recent study, an international team of researchers used data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to create a detailed atlas of the region that accounts for all the traverses and descents. This atlas could prove very useful for mission planners as they select landing sites for future exploration.
Shown here is a rendering of 13 candidate landing regions for Artemis III. Each region is approximately 15 x 15 km (9.3 x 9.3 mi). A landing site is a location within those regions with an approximate 100-m (328-ft) radius. Credits: NASA
“EVAs will be required to conduct planned scientific expeditions, assemble structures, perform nominal maintenance, and intervene and solve problems outside of the vehicle that cannot be solved either robotically or remotely. The ultimate success of future Exploration missions is dependent on the ability to perform EVA tasks efficiently and safely in these challenging environments. With lunar missions planned for up to 30 times more EVA hours than during the Apollo era, exploration missions to the moon and Mars will present many new challenges with regard to crew health, safety, and performance.”
While mission planners anticipate EVAs much longer than any performed by the Apollo astronauts, NASA’s understanding of human health and performance parameters in lunar gravity is limited to lessons learned from the Apollo Era. Subsequent observations and studies involving microgravity EVAs aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) have provided invaluable lessons. However, this data has mainly been used to design new spacesuits, like the recently unveiled Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU).
Nevertheless, the report also indicates that there has been limited quantification of the physiological and biomechanical variables associated with suited activities in unit and partial gravity. For the astronauts conducting EVAs as part of Artemis III (and subsequent missions), the risks and hazards largely depend on the distance being explored and whether a rover is involved. As study co-author David A. Kring, a researcher with the CLSE-LPI, told Universe Today via email:
“The initial Artemis missions will be limited to walking. The principal challenge in that type of mission will be terrain slope. Any traverse needs to be on slopes less than 20 degrees. Astronauts will also be asked to stay within 2 kilometers [1.24 mi] of the lander and, ideally, keep the lander in sight. After rovers are deployed, astronauts can travel farther from a lander. It may also be possible to reuse rovers in multiple missions. In that case, Houston will telerobotically drive rovers from one astronaut landing site to another. Topography and slope will affect the paths taken. Some of the lunar mountains are larger than Mt. Everest on Earth.”
Data visualization shows the mountainous area west of the Nobile Crater and the smaller craters that litter its rim at the lunar south pole. Credit: NASA
Exploring the Lunar South Pole
What is needed to ensure that crews don’t exhaust themselves or fall prey to the many geographical hazards that characterize the terrain, Kring and his colleagues consulted data from the LRO’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), which obtained 5-meter per pixel (16.4 ft/pixel) measurements the Moon’s southern polar region in 2015 – from which, they identified 521 PSRs. They then created an automated pipeline called MoonPath, which combines a Monte Carlo approach with Dijkstra’s minimum cost path algorithm to calculate traverse paths that minimize metabolic workload.
Like the other candidate landing regions, they are of significant scientific interest due to the potential presence of volatile compounds like water ice, which could be used to produce everything from drinking water and oxygen gas to rocket propellants. As Pena-Asensio explained, the resulting algorithm operates under a set of constraints, including round-trip traverses, minimizing steep slopes, avoiding large boulders, and restricting the overall distance to a 2 km (1.24 mi) radius:
“The optimal strategy for minimizing metabolic workload is to find the shortest and flattest route. Our tool evaluates the properties that an astronaut would encounter along the traverse, such as topographical variations, the incidence of sunlight on their bodies, direct line-of-sight to the lunar lander, temperature, and bearing capacity. Additionally, we estimate the walking speed and time based on Apollo mission records.”
Atlas for Artemis
The result of their work was an atlas that included all 521 traverses and descents to PSRs in the southern polar region. Based on their analysis, the team found that 94?% of all these PSRs are accessible from the rim on slopes below 15°. They further determined that 20 and 19 PSRs are accessible from potential landing sites 001 and 001(6) (respectively), four of which are accessible on slopes entirely below 10°, and that traverses around site 004 are more workload-demanding. This type of information is critical for optimizing astronaut EVAs and identifying accessible targets for science operations.
As they indicate in their paper, the pipeline and traverse atlas can be used to support mission planning for the collection of ice and volatile samples and address major scientific priorities. It can also be used to calculate the minimum workload astronaut paths to any other geologic and exploration targets within the AEZ or elsewhere on the Moon. As Kring summarized:
“The planning tool that the team developed will sharpen our ability to plan geologic traverses that astronauts can successfully complete on schedule. The tool be used to sharpen individual notional traverses. The tool can also be used in an automated mode that allows the team to investigate a constellation of traverse options and, thus, identify the best one from a metabolic perspective. The team developed the tool to assist Artemis astronauts, but it can also be used to explore robotic missions to the lunar surface.”
The Moon is 40 Million Years Older Than We Thought
An object the size of Mars crashed into the Earth over 4 billion years ago, creating a cloud of debris that formed the Moon. When the Apollo astronauts landed on the lunar surface, they found and brought back Moon rocks that helped pinpoint when this event happened. Now, a new study of crystals in the lunar samples pushed that event back even further –about 40 million years earlier than previous estimates — setting the Moon’s formation to about 4.46 billion years old – not long after the Earth formed.
Researchers at Northwestern University and the Field Museum in Chicago, along with the University of Glasgow in Scotland used an atom-probe tomography facility to study Moon rocks and dust collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. This facility allowed them to perform an improved form of radiometric dating. Radiometric dating calculates an age in years for geologic materials by measuring the presence of a short-life radioactive element, such as carbon-14, or a long-life radioactive element plus its decay.
A lunar zircon grain under a microscope.Credit: Photo courtesy of Jennika Greer.
The facility, which includes a sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe, allowed the researchers to look at every atom in the zircon crystals and count how many of the atoms have undergone radioactive decay. When an atom undergoes decay, it sheds protons and neutrons to transform into different elements. Uranium, for example, decays into lead, and zircon contains the radioactive element uranium. Uranium has been called “the clock within zircon” because it converts to the element lead at a specific rate over a long span of time.
“This study is a testament to immense technological progress we have made since 1972 when the last [crewed] Moon mission returned to Earth,” said Northwestern’s Dieter Isheim, who co-authored the paper, published in the journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters. “These samples were brought to Earth half-a-century ago, but only today do we have the necessary tools to perform microanalysis at the requisite level, including atom-probe tomography.”
When the Mars-size object hit the Earth and formed the Moon, the energy of the impact melted the rock that eventually became the Moon’s surface.
“When the surface was molten like that, zircon crystals couldn’t form and survive,” explained Philipp Heck from the Field Museum, another co-author. “So, any crystals on the Moon’s surface must have formed after this lunar magma ocean cooled. Otherwise, they would have been melted and their chemical signatures would be erased.”
Apollo 17 was the sixth and final Apollo mission to land people on the Moon and was the only Apollo mission to have a trained geologist among its crew. Lunar module pilot and geologist Harrison Schmitt joined Commander Gene Cernan and Command Module Pilot Ron Evans. The astronauts landed on the southeastern rim of the Serenitatis Basin, known as Taurus-Littrow. Schmitt and Cernan collected about 243 pounds (110.4 kg) of soil and rock samples that were brought back to Earth for further study. Previous studies concluded that the samples from Apollo 17 came from the oldest known impact craters on the Moon.
The microscopic sharpened tip of a lunar crystal. Credit: Courtesy of Jennika Greer
For the new experiment on these samples, a small portion of the lunar sample was sharpened into a very sharp tip, using a focused ion beam microscope. Then, UV lasers evaporate atoms from the surface of that tip. The atoms travel through a mass spectrometer, and how fast they move provides evidence of how heavy they are, which in turn tells the scientists what the atoms are made of.
“These crystals are the oldest known solids that formed after the giant impact,” Heck said. “And because we know how old these crystals are, they serve as an anchor for the lunar chronology.”
Heck said that radiometric dating works somewhat like an hourglass.
“In an hourglass, sand flows from one glass bulb to another, with the passage of time indicated by the accumulation of sand in the lower bulb,” he said. “Radiometric dating works similarly by counting the number of parent atoms and the number of daughter atoms they have transformed to. The passage of time can then be calculated because the transformation rate is known.”
Lead author Jennika Greer working with the atom probe. Credit: Courtesy of Dieter Isheim, Northwestern.
A previous study by co-author Bidong Zhang suggested this older age of the lunar surface. Zhang worked with lead author Jennika Greer to use the atom probe tomography facility at Northwestern to get a nanoscale look at the lunar samples, which confirmed the age of this oldest known lunar crystal
Greer was a doctoral candidate at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago and is now a research associate at the University of Glasgow.
“It’s amazing being able to have proof that the rock you’re holding is the oldest bit of the Moon we’ve found so far,” said Greer. “It’s an anchor point for so many questions about the Earth. When you know how old something is, you can better understand what has happened to it in its history.”
The researchers said it’s important to know when the Moon formed since it is such an important part of our planetary system.
“It stabilizes the Earth’s rotational axis, it’s the reason there are 24 hours in a day, it’s the reason we have tides,” said Heck. “Without the Moon, life on Earth would look different. It’s a part of our natural system that we want to better understand, and our study provides a tiny puzzle piece in that whole picture.”
The Tunguska event was a mega explosion, which occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, on June 30, 1908. It is classified as an impact event even though it exploded in the sky rather than hit the surface with as a result that about 2,000 square km of forest was flattened.
No one disputes it occurred, but how it occurred is a heated controversy.
Despite the best efforts of mainstream science, we still haven't gotten anything but ad hoc explanations that leave some inescapable facts shouting for attention.
The event began around 7:15 in the morning of June 30th, 1908. A blue-white fireball that some say was brighter than the Sun raced across the sky and then exploded (with the power) of a 10 to 15 megaton hydrogen bomb.
The shockwave alone was enough to knock people off their feet and break windows hundreds of kilometers away. The explosion though devastated 2,000 square kilometers, felling almost 60 million trees, and yet somehow left a ring of burned trees standing near the epicenter. Even stranger, several more unburned trees remained in the middle of those.
Seismic stations across Europe and Asia felt the explosion, and even as far as Britain fluctuations of atmospheric pressure were detected. That pulse of air pressure circled the Earth twice. Astronomers observed a red-glowing haze in the upper atmosphere for several nights after, even if they didn't understand what had caused it.
And then comes another oddity. Reports of an unusually bright nighttime sky begin coming out the night before the Tunguska event and several more unusually bright nights follow. For weeks, reports say the night sky was so bright you could read under it. Both the Smithsonian Astrophysical and Mount Wilson Observatories reported a decrease in atmospheric transparency that would persist for several months.
Most astronomers today figure the destruction was caused by either a small comet or asteroid bursting a few miles off the surface, with estimates putting the object around 100 meters in diameter. According to the calculations of Christopher Chyba of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, only a stony meteorite would explode at 10 kilometers up where the Tunguska blast is thought to have occurred.
However, a comet of that size would disintegrate much higher in the atmosphere, causing less damage on the ground. Yet, over a hundred years later scientists still argue over several unexplained facts and to this day no trace of the impacting object has ever been found.
Andrei Ol’khovatov, an independent Russian physicist who was intrigued by the Tunguska then agrees that the impact theory leaves too many unanswered questions.
He points out witnesses reporting strange weather and increased seismic activity in the area for days before the event. This absence of any coherent explanation has invited plenty of speculation from the mainstream. Everything from a miniature black hole passing through the earth to anti-matter bombs going off in the night. UFOs, extraterrestrial weaponry, even a theory about Tesla's death ray have been introduced to explain the unexplained.
But guess what they left out - 'the electrical force'. The one single force that allows for a unified solution that doesn't need to leave out any fields of evidence.
Proponents of the Electric Universe ask us to judge this perspective based on predictive success and their theories’ ability to explain all relevant data, without leaving a substantial collection of evidence on the cutting room floor, like the mainstream. So, let's pencil electricity into the equation and see what happens - the extraordinary power of a high-energy explosion above ground. The most likely origin of the object responsible for the Tunguska event was the short-period comet Encke acknowledged source of the Beta Taurid meteor shower which was at its peak on June 30th, 1908.
In the Electric model, the energy released by a comet fragment when they encounter Earth isn't limited to the mass and kinetic energy of a fragment. Instead, it packs the entire punch of the charge differential between itself and the earth.
What did they leave out? Electricity. Researchers who ignore the electrical force end up theorizing an object with grossly exaggerated mass and size, and these inaccuracies have made the search for fragments of the original bolide difficult. They're looking in the wrong places. Repeated testimony of strange sounds before the event
In terms of the speed of sound in the earth's atmosphere, the reports of weird sounds in advance, might seem absurd. But not when you consider electrophonic sounds that are heard either before or during sightings of brilliant meteor fireballs up to a hundred kilometers distant. Electrophonic sounds are a direct conversion by transduction of very low frequency electromagnetic energy into sound, through a medium that can be as simple as a gold tooth or a pair of glasses.
Reports of such unusual sounds connected with meteors, auroras, earthquakes, and even nuclear bomb tests, substantiate this effect. The easiest way to understand it, is as a natural resonance of extensive plasma discharge in earth's atmosphere, or underground in the case of earthquakes. In the case of the incoming comet, the body is electrified in respect to the earth.
Plasma Sheath
In our electric solar system, planets and comets all have a plasma sheath that isolates them electrically from the solar plasma. But when these plasma sheaths touch, the two bodies see each other electrically for the first time.
Now consider that these comets have plasma sheaths that are millions of kilometers in diameter. Even at the incredible speeds they're traveling, their plasma sheaths reach us days in advance, causing electrical interaction with the earth long before any physical encounter.
Strange Weather
Reports of strange weather before the event.” In our electric solar system it's the flow of electric current between the planets and the solar plasma that primarily drive earth’s weather patterns. Seen in these terms, electrical disturbances resulting in unusual weather would be expected, even days before a comet's arrival.
Reports of strange seismic activity before the event
New evidence is linking earthquakes to occurrences of underground lightning. The intrusion of even a minor electrical charged body approaching the earth, could certainly trigger earthquakes in the same way electrical sunspot activity does.
Geomagnetic storms
Geomagnetic effects before the event. Professor Weber of Kiel University observed unusual regular periodic deviations of the compass needle. An effect repeated each evening from the 27th through the 30th of June 1908. The recordings look like geomagnetic storms often caused by solar electrical activity. But in this instance, it was the approaching comet causing the disturbance. The duration of these storms indicate that comets are copious sources of electrons, meaning they carry substantial negative charge compared to the inner solar system and have a vastly greater influence than mere gravitational or inertial considerations would suggest.
Global atmospheric pressure pulse
The earth's atmosphere forms the dielectric of a capacitor with the two plates being pressure pulses earth and the ionosphere. The comet’s electrical disturbances cause pressure pulses through the atmosphere, both before and when the comet arrives. Consider the giant ionospheric disturbance that accompanied the 9.3 magnitude Sumatra earthquake on December 26, 2004, where the ionosphere moved up and down by almost 40 kilometers. Such changes have been recorded in the atmosphere five to ten days before an earthquake.
Missing crater
When a comet passes close to earth, the plasma discharge that takes place between them can cause the comet to fragment or burst from internal electrical stresses. Now these fragments can melt or vaporize in the intense plasma discharge leaving nothing left to create a crater on the ground.
Interestingly, the Tunguska epicenter is over the top of a Triassic volcano. Volcanoes are the focus of electrical discharge activity and may retain electrical conductivity that differs from the surrounding crust, adding another credible argument that the blast was electrical.
Absence of meteoric fragments
If it was just the fire and air friction breaking the bolide apart, we'd expect to find its stony remains, but as noted above all this gets vaporized in the discharge. Also, ground zero has nothing to do with any impact or crater, but is instead the spot where a focused plasma discharge between earth and comet occurs, meaning most Standard Model researchers don't even know where to look.
Instantaneous eruption of fire across hundreds of square kilometers
A discharge at these levels would have been like nothing the locals had ever seen. Both regular radiation fires and electrically ignited ones would have erupted all over a wide area, all at the same time, setting it all ablaze.
Frightful lightning and thunder in the midst of the firestorm. Saint Elmo's fire and ball lightning are generated at the earth's surface and the locals would have seen lightning snaking across a clear blue sky.
Lightning
Blasts of heat, along with a shock wave many kilometers from the explosion. Wherever the discharge touches down, there's intense heat and a blast, but these touchdown points are often far from the bolide’s track or the epicenter of the explosion. ”Presence of microscopic glassy spheres over a large area.” When those comet fragments vaporize, the explosion sprays glassy spherules outward from the discharge.
Electrical fusing
It's a common effect of lightning and yes easily demonstrated in the lab. After a hundred years, the experts are still debating if this was a comet or an asteroid that exploded over Tunguska. The comet camp points out cometary material found in a wide area, but the asteroid camp claim a fragile comet would get destroyed too high in the atmosphere. What neither side understands is that a comet is just an asteroid large enough to hold its own charge, while moving along a highly elliptical orbit through the Sun's electric field. There are no icy dirt balls. Both form the same way, and an asteroid that's big enough can become a comet simply by being knocked out of its regular circular orbit.
The above theory proposed by the Electric Universe model of cosmology could be the answer to the question of what really caused the Tunguska event. It's electric!
The Electric Universe Theory generally states that electricity is the engine behind a long list of natural and astrophysical spectacles. It supports the idea that invisible electricity powers surround our planet, our solar system, the galaxy and... everything and that cosmic occurrences are electrical in nature.
Crystals packed inside Apollo's lunar rocks suggest that the Moon could be a much older age than we thought.
Half a century after the last Apollo mission departed the Moon in December 1972, scientists have taken a fresh look at its precious parcels. A team sharpened the lunar rocks the astronauts had ferried to Earth, and then, by using a precise dating technique that measures the decay of unstable molecules called isotopes, researchers concluded that the Moon is at least 4.46 billion years old. Their new estimate, published in a new study in the journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters, suggests the Moon is older than previously estimated by 40 million years.
“It’s amazing being able to have proof that the rock you’re holding is the oldest bit of the Moon we’ve found so far,” Jennika Greer, lead author of the new study and former doctoral candidate at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, said in an announcement.
Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt in 1972.
COURTESY OF NASA
HOW DID THE MOON FORM?
The crystals that researchers examined are traces of a violent encounter between ancient Earth and a Mars-sized object. Fittingly, it's called the Giant Impact hypothesis.
This crash is time zero on the clock for the Moon’s existence as we know it. The event would have caused a molten ocean across the Moon’s entire surface.
As Philipp Heck, curator for meteoritics and polar studies at the Field Museum and the study’s senior author, explained in the announcement, “When the surface was molten like that, zircon crystals couldn’t form and survive.” Once the magma ocean cooled down, the zircon crystals would begin to form. They are, therefore, a good way to estimate the minimum possible age for the Moon.
HOW DID THEY FIGURE OUT THE MOON’S AGE?
Greer says the team used a focused ion beam microscope like “a very fancy pencil sharpener” to prepare the lunar sample for observation. The team produced five of these “nanotips.” Ultraviolet lasers then evaporated atoms from the tip; this allowed the team to learn what they were made of.
The next step was to look at the proportion of different isotopes. The team could then discern how many atoms had transformed during the passage of time as they underwent radioactive decay. This technique, which Heck described as an “hourglass,” provides a reliable way to learn the ancient age of a sample.
This new study is proof that astronomers need only peer into the nearby universe to make exceptional discoveries.
The need for self-defense has always been present in history, especially in the ancient world. Sometimes, however, the common folk were not provided with adequate weapons or sufficient training, which greatly reduced their effectiveness in battle. In many cultures, people chose to instruct themselves, and thereby developed unique martial arts that could be very deadly forms of self defense. Many of these martial arts survived through the centuries, being refined and perfected. Here are ten deadly martial arts of the ancient world!
1. Tahtib
Tahtib, also known as Arnis sa Kawayan or simply “stick fighting,” is a traditional martial art that originated in ancient Egypt. Rooted in history and culture, tahtib involves combat techniques using a long bamboo stick as the primary weapon . Practitioners of tahtib engage in choreographed movements that simulate combat scenarios, incorporating strikes, blocks, thrusts and sweeps. The art emphasizes fluid and rhythmic footwork, balance and coordination, making use of the stick as both an offensive and defensive tool.
Tahtib has cultural significance beyond self-defense, often being performed in celebratory events, festivals, and social gatherings. It serves as a means of entertainment, storytelling, and preserving historical heritage. While tahtib's prominence waned over time, efforts have been made to revive and preserve this ancient art. Modern practitioners study tahtib to connect with Egypt's martial history, promote cultural appreciation, and foster a sense of community.
Tahtib showcases the ingenuity of ancient Egyptian combat traditions and contributes to a broader understanding of the diversity and depth of martial arts across different cultures.
Kung Fu is a diverse and multifaceted martial arts discipline that originated in China and has gained global recognition. Rooted in ancient traditions, Kung Fu encompasses a vast array of styles, techniques, and philosophies that have evolved over centuries.
Kung Fu techniques include a wide spectrum of strikes, kicks, punches, blocks, joint locks, throws, and more. It emphasizes fluidity of movement, balance, flexibility, and the integration of mind and body, and it can be quite deadly when used in true combat. Many styles are named after animals, imitating their characteristics and movements. Beyond combat, Kung Fu embodies a philosophy of self-discipline, personal development and respect for others. It encompasses principles like harmony, balance and the pursuit of inner peace. Traditional Kung Fu schools often integrate meditation , philosophy and healing practices into their teachings.
The practice of Kung Fu has influenced various aspects of Chinese culture, including literature, theater and film. It gained global popularity in part due to its portrayal in movies and television. Different styles of Kung Fu, such as Shaolin , Wing Chun, Tai Chi and Wushu, showcase its versatility and adaptability to different goals, whether they be self-defense, physical fitness, artistic expression or spiritual growth.
3. Bataireacht
Bataireacht, also known as Irish stick fighting or cudgel play, is a traditional martial art that originated in Ireland. Rooted in the country's history and culture, bataireacht involves the skilled use of a wooden stick or cudgel for combat.
Practitioners of bataireacht develop proficiency in various techniques, including strikes, blocks, parries and footwork. The art emphasizes fluid movements, precision and timing, making use of the stick as an extension of the body. Bataireacht techniques can be applied in both one-on-one combat and in larger-scale confrontations.
Historically, bataireacht played a role in Ireland's fight for independence, as well as in everyday self-defense among common people. The art was often practiced covertly due to its association with resistance against British rule. While bataireacht's prominence waned over time, efforts have been made to preserve and revive its techniques and cultural significance.
Fight with Cudgels by Francisco de Goya, circa 1820, resembles a bataireacht brawl.
Pankration was an ancient Greek martial art that emerged in the early Olympics and has left an indelible mark on combat sports history. Combining elements of boxing and wrestling, pankration was a no-holds-barred fighting discipline that allowed for a wide range of techniques, including strikes, joint locks, chokes, and throws.
In pankration, combatants aimed to incapacitate or submit their opponents through a combination of brute force and strategic finesse. Matches could become intense and often ended only when one fighter either surrendered, was rendered unconscious, or was unable to continue. Despite its aggressive nature, there were rules in place to prevent maiming or death.
Pankration was held in high esteem in ancient Greek society, celebrated for its physical prowess and mental fortitude. Its champions were regarded as true all-around athletes, showcasing a blend of strength, agility, and tactical acumen.
Pankration's legacy can be seen in the modern evolution of mixed martial arts (MMA), as it bears similarities to the diverse combat techniques and versatility displayed in contemporary cage fighting. While pankration itself is no longer widely practiced, its influence endures through its impact on combat sports.
5. Kalaripayattu
Kalaripayattu is an ancient Indian martial art with roots in the state of Kerala. Considered one of the world's oldest fighting systems, it encompasses a holistic approach to physical, mental, and spiritual development. Kalaripayattu is known for its distinctive blend of striking techniques, weaponry and physical conditioning.
This martial art is divided into various stages of training, beginning with the practice of Meipayattu (body conditioning) to develop flexibility and strength. Kolthari involves training with wooden weapons like staffs, Ankathari introduces metal weapons like knives and swords, and Verumkai focuses on unarmed combat.
Kalaripayattu's unique techniques include intricate footwork, graceful movements and powerful strikes aimed at vital points on the body. It emphasizes a deep understanding of the body's energy flow and pressure points for both offense and defense.
Beyond combat, Kalaripayattu incorporates healing techniques, known as Marma Chikitsa, to treat injuries and restore balance. It's also an essential part of Kerala's cultural heritage and has influenced other martial arts like Silambam and certain aspects of traditional dance forms.
Two Kalaripayattu swordsmen in mock sword against sword martial arts combat in Kerala.
Karate is a traditional Japanese martial art that originated on the island of Okinawa and later gained worldwide recognition. Characterized by its emphasis on striking techniques using various parts of the body, karate focuses on delivering powerful punches, kicks, knee strikes and elbow strikes. It embodies principles of discipline, respect, and personal development.
Karate practitioners, known as karateka, train in forms (kata), which are choreographed sequences of movements that simulate combat scenarios. These forms help practitioners develop techniques, balance, coordination and mental focus. Karate also includes sparring (kumite), where practitioners engage in controlled, supervised combat to apply techniques in a dynamic setting.
Different styles of karate exist, each with its own philosophy and techniques. Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Wado-ryu are some of the most well-known styles. Karate has been influenced by Okinawan and Chinese martial arts, and it has evolved over time to include both traditional and sport-focused elements.
Karate's popularity as a martial art, self-defense system and competitive sport has led to its inclusion in international events like the Olympic Games. Beyond physical skills, karate fosters mental resilience, self-confidence and a sense of community.
7. Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu is a historic and secretive Japanese martial art that encompasses a wide range of skills and techniques associated with espionage, sabotage and unconventional warfare. Originating during feudal Japan, ninjutsu was developed and practiced by the ninja, covert agents skilled in espionage and guerrilla tactics.
Ninjutsu encompasses various disciplines, including espionage, disguise, stealth, camouflage, escape, evasion and unconventional combat techniques. Practitioners, known as shinobi or ninja, were trained to operate in a clandestine and covert manner, using their specialized skills to gather information, conduct assassinations and disrupt enemy activities.
The art of ninjutsu places a strong emphasis on adaptability, deception and survival. Techniques include unarmed combat, weapon handling, explosives, poisons and the use of everyday tools as weapons. Additionally, the art includes meditation and mental training to enhance focus, awareness and control.
Ninjutsu's mystique has been popularized in modern media, though historical records are often limited due to its secretive nature. While the traditional role of the ninja has evolved, the legacy of ninjutsu endures as a symbol of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the art of adapting to challenging circumstances.
8. Silambam
Silambam is an ancient martial art hailing from the southern regions of India, particularly Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Rooted in tradition and culture, Silambam revolves around the skillful use of a bamboo staff, also known as silambu or lathi, as a versatile weapon for both offense and defense.
Practitioners of Silambam engage in a dynamic and rhythmic dance-like combat, focusing on fluid movements, footwork and precise strikes. The art incorporates a wide range of techniques, including strikes, blocks, sweeps, thrusts and spins, making it a comprehensive, deadly, and adaptable form of self-defense.
One of Silambam's distinctive features is its emphasis on weapon-to-weapon combat, as well as unarmed techniques that complement the staff work. The art's historical roots trace back to ancient battles and warrior traditions, where the silambu was utilized to defend against various opponents and weaponry.
Over time, Silambam has evolved into a cultural expression and a symbol of regional heritage. It has gained recognition as a sport and a means of promoting physical fitness, coordination and discipline. The practice of Silambam continues to be celebrated through performances, competitions and demonstrations, showcasing its significance in preserving the rich martial heritage of South India.
9. Eskrima / Kali / Arnis
Arnis is the national martial art of the Philippines. Also known as Eskrima or Kali, this is a versatile and comprehensive martial art that can be very lethal. This ancient system places a strong emphasis on weapon-based combat, with a primary focus on sticks, blades and improvised weapons. Eskrima practitioners develop a deep understanding of both armed and unarmed techniques, making it effective for self-defense in various scenarios.
Practitioners learn to strike, block, disarm and manipulate opponents' weapons with precision and speed. The art's footwork and body positioning contribute to its effectiveness, enabling practitioners to maintain a balanced and controlled approach to combat.
While weapons training is a cornerstone of Eskrima, it also incorporates empty-hand techniques, grappling, and throws, providing a well-rounded self-defense system. The art's adaptability has led to its integration into modern law enforcement and military training, as well as its continued practice in various cultural and sporting contexts.
Eskrima remains an integral part of the nation's cultural identity, celebrated for its practicality, efficiency and holistic approach to combat and self-preservation.
Eskrima practitioner wearing a traditional headdress and striking with a stick as part of this unique martial art.
Varma Kalai is an ancient martial art and healing system that originated in the region of Tamil Nadu in South India. Rooted in the Siddha tradition, Varma Kalai focuses on the manipulation of vital points ( varma) on the body to both incapacitate opponents and promote healing, depending on the need. This martial art encompasses a wide range of techniques, including strikes, pressure point manipulation, joint locks and weapon-based combat.
Varma Kalai practitioners are trained to target specific points on the body, believed to be interconnected with the body's energy pathways, nerves, and vital organs. Strikes and pressure applied to these points can disrupt an opponent's physiological functions, causing pain, paralysis or even death. However, the art also emphasizes the ethical use of its techniques and places great importance on understanding the body's energy flow and balance.
In addition to combat applications, Varma Kalai includes a comprehensive system of healing and medicine, utilizing the knowledge of vital points to treat injuries, ailments and imbalances in the body. While the ancient art of Varma Kalai has diminished in prominence over time, efforts to preserve and revive its teachings continue, allowing its unique blend of martial prowess and therapeutic knowledge to persist as a cultural and historical treasure.
These ten martial arts, whether showcasing the graceful but lethal moves in Kalaripayattu or the brute force encounters of pankration in ancient Greek arenas, offer a deep dive into the ingenious methods developed for self-defense and warfare. They stand not just as methods of physical combat, but also as spiritual disciplines, philosophies, and influential cultural symbols woven deeply into the tapestries of their respective societies.
De maan is nog 40 miljoen jaar ouder dan gedacht, wijst nieuw onderzoek uit
Artikel van Radio 1, Maxine Rappé
Minstens 4,46 miljard jaar. Dat is de leeftijd van de maan, blijkt uit nieuw Brits en Amerikaans onderzoek. “Dat is bijna zo oud als de aarde”, zegt sterrenkundige Katrien Kolenberg in “Nieuwe feiten” op Radio 1. Voordien dacht men dat het hemellichaam 4,42 miljard jaar was.
De geboorte van de maan
Wetenschappers vermoeden dat de maan in het vroege zonnestelsel ontstond na een botsing. Een object zo groot als Mars stootte tegen de aarde, waardoor een deel van onze planeet werd weggeslingerd. Die gesteentes smolten later samen tot de maan.
“Eens dat gestold was, hebben er zich op het maanoppervlak kristallen gevormd”, zegt Kolenberg. Die werden 51 jaar geleden meegenomen door astronauten van de Apollo 17-missie, de laatste missie waarbij voet op de maan werd gezet.
Een zirkonenkristal.
Beeld Jennika Greer
Oude stenen, nieuwe inzichten
Het zijn die 51 jaar oude kristallen die nu voor meer duidelijkheid zorgen. “Ze zijn recent onderzocht door Britse en Amerikaanse onderzoekers met een nieuwe techniek: atoom sonde tomografie.” Die techniek, gebaseerd op de datering van radioactief verval, laat toe om de leeftijd van gesteente in detail vast te stellen. Met een laser worden atomen uit kristallen verdampt.
Het huidige maanoppervlak bestaat uit gesteente dat is gesmolten door de energie die vrijkwam toen de maan werd losgeslagen van de aarde. De meegebrachte kristallen kunnen zich pas hebben gevormd nadat het gesteente was afgekoeld, zegt Philipp Heck, een van de auteurs van het onderzoek.
“Nu hebben we de technieken om meer details te ontrafelen”, zegt Kolenberg. Dat verschil van "amper" 40 miljoen jaar in de datering van de maan lijkt misschien onbenullig. Toch is het een stap vooruit voor de wetenschap. “Het leert ons iets bij over de geschiedenis van ons zonnestelsel, en hoe vroeg het er al was.”
Toen het object op de aarde knalde en de maan vormde, smolt door de energie van de impact het gesteente dat uiteindelijk het maanoppervlak zou vormen. “Toen het oppervlak zo gesmolten was, konden zirkonenkristallen niet ontstaan of overleven. Dus alle kristallen op het maanoppervlak moeten zijn ontstaan nadat deze magma-oceaan op de maan was afgekoeld”, legt Heck uit. “Anders zouden ze zijn gesmolten en was hun chemische signatuur vernietigd.”
Volgens Heck is het belangrijk om te weten wanneer de maan is ontstaan om het leven op aarde beter te begrijpen. De maan stabiliseert onder meer de rotatie-as van onze planeet. Bovendien zorgt de aantrekkingskracht van de maan voor eb en vloed. “Het is een onderdeel van ons natuurlijke systeem dat we beter willen begrijpen. Onze studie is een klein puzzelstukje in dat hele plaatje”, zegt Heck.
Guys, check this amazing fossil I found recently on Mars. The fossil is about 1 meter across and looks much more worn than similar size clam fossils on earth that are 500 million years old. This is 100% proof that an ancient ocean once existed on Mars. Imagine what we the public could accomplish if given control of the rover for one year. We would make more discoveries than NASA did in its whole 55 year existence.
Aliens Among Us? The Startling Truth Behind UFO Sightings and Implants!
From mysterious objects implanted beneath the skin to unexplained sightings in the sky, the world of UFO investigations is as thrilling as it is perplexing. Are these phenomena the product of extraterrestrial contact, elaborate hoaxes, or something else entirely?
The Curious Case of Barbara Eberhardt
One of the most riveting accounts comes from Barbara Eberhardt, who believes she has alien implants in her body. A square-shaped anomaly beneath her skull and another in her shoulder have left experts scratching their heads. When tested with conventional methods, these implants defy logical explanation. Even metal detectors, which one might expect to pick up foreign objects, fail to identify the composition of these curious items. Some experts, like renowned UFO investigator Daryl Sims, speculate that they may be composed of unknown earthly metals or even operate on nuclear power. With implants potentially emitting radiation, the implications for the individuals involved could be dire.
A Global Phenomenon
Though often centered on US experiences, alien encounters and implant tales span the globe. Stories of abductions, unidentifiable flying objects, and mysterious implants come from far and wide, from Brazil to Italy. This international scope prompts the question: Why are these occurrences so widespread? And are they the result of a singular entity or a federation of extraterrestrial species with coordinated agendas?
Piecing Together the Puzzle
Researchers like Ben and Melissa tirelessly work to connect the dots. From the shapeshifting UFOs reported near military facilities to the submerged objects and mantis aliens blamed for abductions in Southern California, patterns slowly emerge. Native American tribes, for instance, have long spoken of ‘star people,’ visitors from the cosmos that interacted with their ancestors. In Idaho, these legends persist, while just southeast, reports of grey aliens conducting chilling experiments abound.
Imminent Invasion or Longstanding Conspiracy?
The debate rages on. Are we on the brink of an extraterrestrial invasion, or are we already ensnared in a vast conspiracy involving mind control and hybridization programs? The answers remain elusive, but one thing is certain: our understanding of the universe and our place in it is constantly being challenged.
Video:
Ben and Melissa Recap Their UFO Investigation & Investigate Alien Implants | UFO Witness
The Enmyoin Temple in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan is now known colloquially by a different name, said its Chief Monk, Tomonori Izumi: “The Miracle Temple.”
“I don’t know if it was some god or some powerful being in a UFO, but I believe that some invisible power really did come to save us,” said Izumi.
On March 11 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters ever after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused its electrical grid to fail. The simultaneous disasters laid waste to much of the surrounding area, but “miraculously, the temple was untouched.”
“The UFO's came after the explosion. There were so many of them. I was shocked,” said the monk in the fourth episode of the VICE Studio’s Netflix docuseries series Encounters: “Lights Over Fukushima.”
“Radioactive energy was leaking everywhere. I believe the UFOs came to readjust the flood of radioactive energy in order to save us. That's my theory, anyway,” said Izumi.
Just like after the Fukushima disaster, UFO’s have been documented repeatedly around places where humans have spawned nuclear activity. There are “very clear connections” between UFO sightings and nuclear sights “going back decades,” said author Dr. Jensine Andresen.
“My personal view on the basis of over 30 years of very extensive research is that there is an advanced extraterrestrial presence operating basically here on Earth and in the oceans,” she said.
Andresen cited declassified U.S. government reports from agencies like the FBI and CIA about UFO sightings near nuclear sites, saying she had looked at 39 different accounts between the 1940s and 1990s.
“It goes back to the 1930s when the science and research was being done to understand fission. But then it really heats up in the 1940s, in particular, right after the detonation of the two atomic bombs in Japan in 1945. Then it is decisive, it’s conclusive. You see one after another event occurring in proximity specifically to sites associated with nuclear weapons,” said Andresen.
There are numerous cases, she said, listing sightings near Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, and other places “where nuclear weapons were stored.”
Another well-known case took place at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in March of 1967. Robert Salas, who worked as a missile launch officer controlling ten nuclear tipped missiles at the time, alleged one day after he received reports from other officers of strange UFO sightings, his missiles were shut down and became “unlaunchable.” He later learned that ten weapons at another nearby site were also shut down “under similar circumstances, very similar circumstances where UFOs were sighted over the launch facilities.” More recently, Salas said that he had briefed the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), a unit tasked with resolving credible UFO sightings, on the event.
Andresen said one of the clearest examples of these sorts of activities around nuclear facilities was the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.
“There was a lot of UFO activity reported there also. At the height of the fire in Chernobyl, the reading was 3000 milliroentgens, which is a unit of ionizing radiation. And right at the height of the fire, many people observed a UFO come, stayed for 3 minutes, shown a light right at Unit 4 and departed,” she said. “They took another reading and it had apparently dropped to 800. Just in a few minutes. That seems like a very conscious attempt to remediate the danger caused by the malfunction there.”
Like the Chief Monk of the Miracle Temple, Andresen also believes that these extraterrestrial beings are trying to help us avoid our own self destruction via nuclear catastrophes.
“I think this is an intelligence that recognizes the depth of human creativity and wants to preserve it. I think this intelligence cares about us. I think this intelligence does not want us to go extinct. That's what I think is really being communicated,” she said. “’We're right here with you. Just open your hearts. Open your minds. We'd like to help you. And, you know, let's get to know one another.’ I think that's really what the message is.”
Over the past few weeks, team members of the Galileo Project engaged in a truly heroic effort to assemble the first telescope system at Harvard University.
The Galileo Project is a scientific search program for extraterrestrial equipment near Earth. The Project was publicly announced one month after the ODNI report to the US Congress about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in June 2021. The Project’s name was inspired by Galileo Galilei’s legacy of finding answers to fundamental questions, in this case the nature of UAP, by looking through new telescopes.
The search is agnostic regarding its potential outcome. It represents a fishing expedition that could result in a mixed bag, containing primarily (after the elimination of instrumental artifacts):
Natural objects, like: bugs, birds, rocks or atmospheric phenomena.
Human-made objects, like: weather balloons, drones, airplanes, rockets or satellites.
Assembling high-quality data on the first category would be of interest to zoologists or atmospheric scientists. The second category could be of interest to national security agencies in government. But anything else would be of great scientific interest to the Galileo Project. This third category includes objects that appear to be of artificial origin, for example – showing screws or bolts in high-resolution images of their surface, but moving or interacting in ways that cannot be reproduced by current human-made devices.
The Galileo Project is a new research initiative. Its novel cameras will monitor the entire sky in the optical, infrared and radio bands, as well as in audio, magnetic field and energetic particle signals. The data will be analyzed by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that will aim to catalog objects within the above-mentioned categories.
As Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes noted: “When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
The Galileo Project is a new research initiative. Existing astronomical observatories target objects at great distances and have a limited field of view of the sky, whereas the Galileo Project aims to monitor the entire sky continuously and study fast-moving objects in the vicinity of the Earth. It is an astronomy project since it analyzes data obtained by telescopes and searches for interstellar objects that originate outside the Solar system. Its novel observing strategy employs state-of-the-art cameras and computers.
Government agencies aim to protect the safety of military personnel and national security interests. From their perspective, UAP reports by military staff members, such as those discussed during congressional hearings, are of primary importance for the first task, and data from military patrol sites are linked to the second objective. Government agencies must know what the vast majority of UAP are, and for that purpose they must attend to data of compromised quality including blurry videos.
However, the goal of scientists is complementary to that. They do not need to explain most of the reports. Even if only one object is of extraterrestrial technological origin among the clutter of natural or human-made objects, it would represent the most consequential discovery in human history. To figure this out, scientists must have access to the highest quality data, such as a high-resolution image of an object showing a label “Made on Exo-Planet X”, or a maneuver at a fraction of the speed of light or a set of buttons on a futuristic gadget.
Moreover, scientists are concerned with all possible geographical locations even if they do not host military or national assets. Extraterrestrial equipment might not adhere to national borders in much the same way that a biker navigating down the sidewalk does not care which of the pavement cracks is occupied by a specific colony of ants.
The innovative new telescope system of the Galileo Project represents a brand-new observatory design with unprecedented capabilities. As its “Lego pieces” were put together seamlessly over the past few weeks, my heart filled with respect and appreciation for the professional quality of the Galileo team members. In the years to come, we will harvest new knowledge from copies of the first observatory template they constructed.
These telescopes are the new eyes and the computer system attached to them is the new brain of the Galileo Project. Watching the sky through new observatories is our best way to find out whether we have neighbors. What we do with the answer depends on the details it entails.
Avi Loeb is the head of the Galileo Project, founding director of Harvard University’s – Black Hole Initiative, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University (2011-2020). He chairs the advisory board for the Breakthrough Starshot project, and is a former member of the President’s Council of Advisors onScience and Technology and a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies. He is the bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial:The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” and a co-author of the textbook “Life in the Cosmos”, both published in 2021.
First on CNN: US is receiving dozens of UFO reports a month, senior Pentagon official tells CNN
The US government is receiving dozens of reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, each month, according to the director of the office established to investigate the incidents, with the potential for “hundreds, if not thousands” more reports expected in the near future.
The office has received approximately 800 reports of unidentified objects to investigate as of this past April, up from 650 reports in August 2022, Sean Kirkpatrick, who heads the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office at the Pentagon told CNN. Nearly all of the new reports refer to objects observed in the air; only one comes from a maritime sighting.
The vast majority are benign objects, such as balloons or drones, but some may be the result of America’s adversaries trying to spy on the US, said Kirkpatrick.
“There are some indicators that are concerning that may be attributed to foreign activity, and we are investigating those very hard,” said Kirkpatrick, speaking exclusively to CNN ahead of the release of the annual report on unidentified aerial phenomena.
The report, released on Wednesday, said the object sightings may represent an issue for flight safety. Most sightings and observations come from near restricted military airspace, the report found, likely a result from the additional sensors and radars around the facilities.
A portion of the increase in reports comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, which monitors airspace around US airports starting to provide information to the Pentagon.
Pentagon launches 'one-stop shop' website for UFO information and reporting
About half of the reports contain enough data that they can be ruled out as “mundane things,” such as errant balloons or floating trash, Kirkpatrick said, but 2-4% are truly anomalous and require further investigation.
The report said only “a very small percentage” of observations have “interesting” signatures, such as high-speed travel or “unknown morphologies.”
Kirkpatrick’s office has transferred “a lot” of cases to law enforcement for further investigation and, if necessary, counterintelligence. But some sightings could potentially be foreign adversaries spying on the United States, like the Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina in February.
The annual report on UAPs, put together by the Defense Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said, “Although none of these UAP reports have been positively attributed to foreign activities, these cases continue to be investigated.”
Asked if the Pentagon could definitively identify a sighting of an unidentified object as belonging to a foreign adversary, Kirkpatrick said that his office is “looking at some very interesting indicators of things, and that’s about all I can tell you.” But the office, which has more than 40 employees and is expected to grow, can’t say that for sure yet.
“There are ways to hide in our noise that always concern me,” Kirkpatrick said, referring to the extraneous readings picked up by US radars and other sensors. “I am worried from a national security perspective.”
But Kirkpatrick could offer few details about why certain reports raised suspicions about foreign involvement.
“It could just be a foreign entity. It could be a hobbyist. It could be anybody,” he said. “And those are the things that we have to look into.”
Huge public interest in UFOs
Ever since the Biden administration established a formal office to investigate reports of UAPs, the subject has garnered massive public attention, fueled by its inextricable link to UFO sightings. A July hearing in Congress on the matter drove the interest even higher, as David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, alleged that the government has covered up its research into the sightings, a claim Kirkpatrick flatly denied.
But Grusch went much further, even as he acknowledged that he had no first-hand knowledge and was only told things by others, asserting that the US government had unidentified alien objects in its possession and the “non-human” pilots of the craft.
Kirkpatrick dismissed the sensational claims, saying he has “no evidence that suggests anything extraterrestrial in nature.”
“If anybody thinks that they know where those things are, they should be coming to talk to us,” said Kirkpatrick. “That’s why we have set up this entire architecture for people to securely come in and talk to us.”
New submissions from public
The Pentagon is preparing for a flood of new reports as it readies two new portals for submissions: one for historical sightings from current or former government employees and contractors and a second for public submissions of new reports.
The portal for historical sightings is set to open sometime in the next month or so, Kirkpatrick told CNN. Its purpose is to validate or refute past reports of unidentified objects, checking them against other reports and cataloging them for possible further analysis.
It is the opening of the public portal, still several months away, that Kirkpatrick says could flood the system with “hundreds, if not thousands” of new reports to sort through. Even so, Kirkpatrick has a plan for his office, which involves a system that will automatically match known objects to public reports, allowing the government to dismiss sightings of identified bodies. But the reports of unknown objects could prove to be valuable, Kirkpatrick says.
“If it’s a foreign adversary and I got 100,000 people with cell phones who can collect it, well now it makes it really hard for the foreign adversary to do anything,” Kirkpatrick says.
Asked if the US government should have created an effort to handle unidentified objects earlier, Kirkpatrick demurred. He said the new office came “probably at the right time for the right reasons.” But in an acknowledgment of the interest and the mystery of the subject matter, he added, “I think the government as a whole – that includes Congress – should have probably addressed some of this years ago in a more directed fashion.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs) have been at the center of many modern-day aquatic legends.
2011: Ocean X Crew Discovers Mysterious Object
The sonar blip caught everyone by surprise. It was 2011, and the Ocean X crew – a deep-sea treasure-hunting and salvage organization – were near the Swedish coast in the Baltic Sea, scanning the ocean floor for sunken ships.
At first, the crew believed they had found a long-lost wreckage. However, upon closer review, the sonar image revealed something nobody expected: supposed remnants of a massive disc-shaped object.
Soon, the discovery hit the press and went international. Many speculated it was a natural formation carved from the currents. But others believed it was not natural … and may not be human. Still, nobody knew what lay at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. As a result, it received the distinctive label of “USO.”
What Is a USO?
The acronym stands for Unidentified Submerged Object. In many respects, it is equivalent to UFOs (Unidentified Flying Object). While a UFO is that strange thing spotted in the sky, a USO is its equivalent. The difference, however, is that it is found under the surface of a large body of water.
Eyewitness accounts vary. Many describe a submerged disc moving at great speed. Others mention seeing something stationary and glowing. On rare occasions, some claim to see a USO shoot out from the water and rocket toward the open skies (many of these reports have never been confirmed or corroborated).
In addition, these reports suggest that the USOs come in many shapes and sizes. While the most famous description is that of a saucer, other popular ones are:
Cigar-shaped
Triangular
An orb
While they are not as popular as UFOs are in popular culture, they’ve been at the center of many modern-day aquatic legends. It’s not unusual to hear someone bring up USO with stories about the lost continent of Atlantis, The Bermuda Triangle, or the Dragon’s Triangle in the Pacific.
First Sightings?
When it comes to UFO and USO sightings, the line between myth and history tends to be blurred. Some UFOlogists (those who study UFOs) and paranormal investigators claimed that historical figures such as Alexander the Great and Christopher Columbus witnessed seeing USOs or UFOS. Accounts about Alexander’s sighting are sketchy at best, and it appears that much of the evidence came from a book written in the late 20th century.
The Christopher Columbus account has a longer history. Supposedly, Columbus wrote in his journal of seeing lights emerging from the ocean. He described it as “a small wax candle that rose and lifted, which a few seemed to be an indication of land.”
This account would later be recorded by his son, Ferdinand. In his own manuscript of his father’s voyage, Ferdinand added that it bobbed up and down.
This account, alone, has been the subject of numerous documentaries. One of the first came from the 1978 theatrical documentary, Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle. In a reenactment of the incident, Columbus witnesses, in horror, several USOs splashing down near his ships. Later, he pulls out his journal and starts to describe the event as they ascend from the ocean.
Decades later, UFO Files, a History Channel presentation, had their version of the event. In this case, it claimed he saw lights under the water that rose above the waves, supposedly attached to a saucer.
While compelling as it sounds, there is a major problem to this account; Columbus’s journal hasn’t survived the test time, and his son’s surviving account were second-hand accounts from his father.
With scant evidence, it’s hard to say if this event happened, at all.
Charles Berlitz Brings Back the USO
The late Charles Berlitz was the grandson of a world-renowned language specialist (essentially responsible for the Berlitz language technique and school). Charles, himself, became a gifted linguist. However, his greatest claim to fame had to do with popularizing the Bermuda Triangle legend, which was first mentioned in a few unimpressive articles by Vincent Gaddis during the 1950s and 60s.
Berlitz’s take on the legend took shape in the best-selling book, The Bermuda Triangle (1974). While much of the book focused on mysterious maritime vanishings of boats and planes in the area of the Atlantic Ocean between the island of Bermuda, Puerto Rico and the south Florida coast, he divulged a considerable amount of time speculating on the cause of these mysteries,chiefly, USOs.
Belief in the mystery of the USO needed a “Roswell” moment. And that’s exactly what happened
Later, Berlitz wrote a companion piece, called The Dragon’s Triangle (1989). Also called the Devil’s Sea, this particular area in the Pacific near Japan supposedly had the same type of reputation as the Bermuda Triangle. And, once again, after nearly every mysterious vanishing Berlitz wrote in this book, he interjected the concept that aliens in USOs – possibly those from an underwater realm such as Atlantis may have been responsible.
While the books were popular, they didn’t do much for understanding the mystery behind USO. Berlitz seemingly used USO as a way to explain away any mysteries when he didn’t have any rationale to solve them (it needs to be noted that many of the mysterious vanishings in both the Bermuda and Dragon’s Triangle have been solved. In addition, several researchers debunked the water legends, claiming they were no different from the surrounding areas within the Atlantic and Pacific).
Belief in the mystery of the USO needed a “Roswell” moment. And that’s exactly what happened.
The Shag Harbour Incident
According to eyewitness accounts, on the night of October 4, 1967, an unidentified object crashed off the coast of a small fishing port near the southern tip of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local fishermen and members of the Canadian Coast Guard immediately went to the supposed crash zone. At the time, many believed that a plane may have crashed.
Later, the Canadian government sent more military personals, including a team of divers, to search for the downed “plane”. At the time, they didn’t have much to go on. The eyewitnesses described seeing something between 60 to 80 feet long, adorned with a row of lights, and making a “bomb-like” whistling sound before smashing into the water. Some stated that it appeared that the object “hovered” above the waves before it submerged. At least one captain on a fishing vessel described seeing a huge “yellowish” foam patch at the point of impact.
For several days, divers scoured the area, looking for any debris from the fallen aircraft. They failed to find anything. On top of that, as the Skeptoid Podcast writer Brian Durring pointed out, the original testimony of the witnesses varied. Some saw three lights gently falling to the ocean while others stated there were four. And the report of it making a noise came from one person. Flares or shooting stars? That may have been the case. However, as the article pointed out, there had been several supposed UFO sightings in the area few weeks prior to this incident.
Legend of Shag Harbour Grows
Much like a myth told through oral tradition from one generation to the next, the Shag Harbour Incident account grew to include more details. By 1993, the original accounts were replaced by a conflated version in which divers found and attempted to recover an alien aircraft.
In later retelling, especially the version told by UFOlogist Chris Styles in the 1993 book, Dark Object: The World’s Only Government-Documented UFO Crash, the USO didn’t sink to the bottom. Instead, it traveled underwater for days. Its path took it near a small offshore anti-submarine support facility operated by the US Navy.
More than 20 years after Styles’s version of events became popular, Internet accounts of the event added more to it. These days, The Shag Harbour Incident is portrayed as the most definitive proof of alien contact. In fact, Shag Harbour has been dubbed Canada’s Roswell.
Everyone is curious about the mysterious objects in the sky, but what about the ones in the ocean? Originally posted on ufoholic.com.
The USO Craze Grows
Cable TV and the Internet presented more accounts of USOs. Simply use Google and type in the term and one will get thousands of stories from various sites. As mentioned, documentaries on the subject have made it to the big screen during the late seventies. They’ve also found a niche on the small screen as well.
Here are a few of those accounts found on the Internet and TV:
UFO Evidence.orgpublished an October 2005 account made by a tourist in Kota Kinablu, Sabah, Malaysia. The tourist described a USO rising from the sea, hovering for a moment, and then streaking away to an unknown destination. This occurred within a five-minute span.
The History Channel’s UFO Hunter aired a 2006 segment called “Deep Sea UFO” (later to become a spinoff). Among the most intriguing claim, was about the Catalina Straits, which is between the island and southern California’s Palos Verdes Peninsula. The show’s hosts claimed it was the home to USOs. In addition, they believed these USOs played a part in a World War II incident dubbed the Battle of Los Angeles.
In 2014, Huffington Post, along with a pro-UFO site, Fade to Black reported on a supposed underwater Alien base off the coast of Malibu (eventually, Huffington Post verified it was a natural formation).
Crystallinks.comwent as far to define USOs as being an “advanced type of UFO that can operate in the water and atmosphere.” In addition, it mentioned the USO’s ability to break through ice, as well as supposed documented events from around the world between 1845 and 2014 (the last being the Underwater Malibu Alien Base).
That’s not all. UFOlogists such as Stanton Friedman (who recently passed away), Bill Birnes, and Preston Dennett were frequent guests on shows specializing in UFOs and USOs. In addition, researchers such as US Navy’s Bruce Maccabee and UCLA’s Kathryn Morgan investigated many of the claims from shows such as UFO Hunter and Deep Sea UFO.
With such attention and people backing the USO investigation, one would think compelling information of their existence would emerge.
An Elusive Truth
Despite all the attention, USOs are still more legend than reality. Eyewitness accounts, such as those from the Shag Harbour Incident proved to be contradictory. Moreover, the events in that particular case were conflated with other UFO incidents in the region (not to mention, more unverified details were added over the years).
The prospect that eyewitnesses may have misidentified animals and naturally occurring incidents from USO is a real possibility. Even the historical journals of those that claimed to have seen it, proved to be elusive or nonexistent.
... the mystery still lingers, thanks to the efforts of a repurposed article from 2011.
At this point, USO can be anything. And, in most cases, that’s exactly what they are: something else. Even the Baltic Sea Anomaly (as it came to be known) that the crew of Ocean X discovered proved to be anything but a USO. In this case, a misplacement of sonars on the ship and the falsely identified rock outcroppings may be at fault.
Then again, the mystery still lingers, thanks to the efforts of a repurposed article from 2011. For nearly a decade this particular article was republished with a few new details added from sketchy sites.
The last publishing was in the highly questionable Express.co.uk, which purported that the anomaly was 140,000 years-old. In other words, the Baltic Sea Anomaly is becoming the new version of the Shag Harbour Incident.
A 3-d rendering of the supposed Baltic Sea Anomaly
as it appeared on sonar
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
UFO sightings have long been a subject of fascination and debate, captivating the human imagination for decades. Unidentified Flying Objects, commonly known as UFOs, have sparked countless questions and mysteries surrounding their existence. Are they real? Are they otherworldly visitors, advanced military aircraft, or simply optical illusions? In this article, we will delve into the world of UFO sightings, exploring the facts, the myths, and the science behind these enigmatic aerial phenomena.
The Phenomenon of UFO Sightings
For many, the mention of UFOs immediately conjures images of little green extraterrestrials or mysterious aircraft from other galaxies. These conceptions have been popularized by Hollywood and numerous accounts of close encounters. However, when we talk about UFO sightings, we refer to any object in the sky that cannot be identified by the observer. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re dealing with alien spacecraft; it merely indicates that the origin of the object remains a mystery.
Historical UFO Sightings
UFO sightings are not a recent occurrence; they have been reported throughout history. In 1561, the Nuremberg Celestial Phenomenon startled the residents of Nuremberg, Germany, with strange, otherworldly shapes in the sky. While interpretations differ, this event is often cited as an early UFO sighting. Over the years, countless similar stories have emerged, intriguing and perplexing people across the globe.
Modern UFO Sightings
The 20th and 21st centuries have brought us a plethora of UFO sightings. Perhaps the most famous is the 1947 Roswell Incident, where an unidentified object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, sparking intense controversy and government secrecy. More recently, the U.S. military declassified and confirmed the existence of videos showing unexplained aerial phenomena, reigniting public interest in UFOs.
The Scientific Approach
While many sightings remain unexplained, the scientific community takes a rigorous approach. Astronomers, meteorologists, and physicists carefully analyze UFO reports. In most cases, sightings are attributed to natural phenomena like weather balloons, atmospheric distortions, or astronomical events. Yet, a small percentage of cases defy conventional explanation.
UFO Sightings in the Age of Technology
In our digital age, almost everyone has a camera in their pocket, leading to an increase in UFO sightings captured on video. Amateur and professional investigators have cataloged thousands of videos and photos, further fueling the mystery surrounding these objects. The internet allows for the rapid sharing of these images, connecting UFO enthusiasts worldwide.
The Future of UFO Sightings
The ongoing debate about UFOs continues to pique human curiosity. With the U.S. government’s recent disclosure of previously classified UFO footage, it’s clear that the phenomenon remains an object of study and interest. While many questions remain unanswered, the search for truth regarding UFO sightings shows no sign of abating.
Video:
UFOs Over Hawaii (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
UFO sightings are a multifaceted and enduring mystery, woven into the fabric of human history. While the majority of sightings can be attributed to mundane explanations, a small percentage challenges our understanding of the cosmos. Whether UFOs are extraterrestrial visitors, secret military projects, or atmospheric anomalies, one thing is certain: they keep us looking to the skies, searching for answers to one of the universe’s greatest enigmas.
FBI is 'aware' of American Airlines flight's close encounter with 'fast-moving cylindrical object' over New Mexico at 36,000 feet - but won't confirm investigation
The FBI said it was 'aware' of the incident, but would not confirm or deny whether they were investigating
The encounter happened on Sunday as AA Flight 2292 passed over a remote stretch of northeast New Mexico, west of Des Monies, en-route to Phoenix
The flight was travelling at around 460 miles per hour at 36,000 feet
Blogger Steve Douglass said he intercepted a radio transmission from the flight in which the pilot can be heard reporting the encounter to air traffic control
The pilot says the object was a 'long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile' and had passed over the top of the plane at speed
The flight went on to land safely in Phoenix without any further incidents
The state of New Mexico is no stranger to strange encounters, with the city of Roswell reporting one of the nation's most infamous UFO sightings in 1947
The FBI has confirmed it is 'aware' of an American Airlines flight which had a close encounter a fast-moving, 'long cylindrical object' on a trip from Cincinnati to Phoenix on Sunday.
The encounter, which occurred at 36,000 feet above the remote northeast corner of New Mexico, west of Des Moines on Sunday, involved AA Flight 2292, an Airbus A320, according toThe Drive.
The FBI has since been notified of the incident, although they did not say if they were launching an investigation.
'The FBI is aware of the reported incident,' FBI spokesperson Frank Connor told Fox News.
'While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, the FBI works continuously with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to share intelligence and protect the public.
'Anyone who is aware of suspicious or criminal activity should contact their local law enforcement agency or the FBI.'
In a radio transmission intercepted by Steve Douglass, who runs the Deep Black Horizon blog, the pilot can be heard telling Albuquerque Air Traffic Control: 'Do you have any targets up here? We just had something go right over the top of us.
'I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing - moving really fast right over the top of us.'
The encounter, which occurred at 36,000 feet above the remote northeast corner of New Mexico, west of Des Moines on Sunday, involved AA Flight 2292
(file photo)
The plane was travelling at around 460 miles per hour at the time.
In a statement to DailyMail.com earlier this week, American Airlines confirmed the authenticity of the audio clip obtained by Douglass.
According to Douglass, no significant military aircraft presence was noted in the area at the time, reported to be just at 1pm local time.
Flight AA2292 went on to land in Phoenix without any further incident.
The apparent encounter shares various similarities with another incident that occurred in the same area just under three years ago.
In that incident, two pilots on different aircraft – a Learjet and an Airbus – reported having close encounters with a mysterious object flying above them.
The sightings occurred within minutes of each other on February 24 in 2018, 37,000 feet above southern Arizona, close to New Mexico.
The pilot of a Learjet 36 belonging to Phoenix Air, with the tail number N71PG, reported the initial sighting, telling Air Traffic Control: 'Was anybody above us that passed us like 30 seconds ago?'
When the dispatcher replied 'no', the pilot laughed insisting it must be a 'UFO.'
'I don't know what it was, it wasn't an airplane but it was - the path was going in the opposite direction,' the pilot went on.
Moments later, the pilot of American Airlines Flight 1095, reported a similar encounter, announcing: 'Yeah, something just passed over us, like a - I don't know what it was. But it was at least two, three thousand feet above us. Yeah, it passed right over the top of us.'
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American Airlines Flight 2292's flight path is seen above. The Airbus A320 was making its way from Cincinnati to Phoenix on Sunday
According to The Drive, the incident happened not too far from the sprawling White Sands Missile Range (above), and New Mexico itself is home to a number of military facilities and restricted areas
In the 2018 incident, pilot Blenus Green told local media: 'It was very bright but it wasn't so bright that you couldn't look at it … it didn't look anything like an airplane'
When asked if the object was in motion or hovering, the pilot said: 'Couldn't make it out whether it was a balloon or whatnot. But it was just really beaming light or could have had a big reflection and was several thousand feet above us going opposite direction.'
That pilot, Blenus Green, later told local media: 'It was very bright but it wasn't so bright that you couldn't look at it … it didn't look anything like an airplane. You know, most airplanes, you're going to see some kind of wing surface, some type of a tail, really no matter what type of airplane it is.
'What was weird about it, normally, if you have an object and the sun is shining this way, the reflection would be on this side, but this was bright all the way around. It was so bright that you really couldn't make out what shape it was.'
In Sunday's incident, the pilot's description of a missile-like object matches a number of encounters US Navy Fighter pilots have reported having with anomalous objects off the eastern seaboard over the last 15 years.
Many of such encounters were revealed in a 2019 New York Times report, in which Navy pilots spoke out for the first time about how strange craft would appear in their training airspace, sometimes for days on end – defying known propulsion and aerodynamic capabilities.
The state of New Mexico is no stranger to strange encounters, with the city of Roswell reporting one of the nation's most infamous UFO sightings in 1947
What the pilots aboard AA Flight 2292 may have seen on February 21 remains unclear.
According to The Drive, the incident happened not too far from the sprawling White Sands Missile Range, and New Mexico itself is home to a number of military facilities and restricted areas.
The likelihood that a missile may have 'gone off the reservation' during a test, or any other kind of military exercise, is slim, as procedural practice would mean the pilots would've been pre-notified to any such safety hazard.
Pictured: The FBI's field office in Albuquerque, New Mexico
The incident also occurred near the Mount Dora Military Operating Area (MOA), but again pilots would've been alerted that the airspace was 'hot' – or that military activities were being conducted in the area at that time.
The state of New Mexico is no stranger to strange encounters, with the city of Roswell reporting one of the nation's most infamous UFO sightings in 1947.
DailyMail.com has reached out to American Airlines for comment about potential FBI involvement.
"We just had something go right over the top of us," the pilot says after asking if "any targets" were in the air according to Fox News. "I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise-missile type of thing. Moving really fast and went right over the top of us."
The FBI was notified of the incident and responded to a request from Fox News. "The FBI is aware of the reported incident," FBI spokesperson Frank Connor wrote to Fox News. "While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, the FBI works continuously with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to share intelligence and protect the public. Anyone who is aware of suspicious or criminal activity should contact their local law enforcement agency or the FBI."
The Daily Mail adds that a similar incident occurred in the same area three years earlier. That sighting involved a Learjet and Airbus reporting a "mysterious object" flying over them on Feb. 24, 2018. Each aircraft reported incidents minutes apart.
"I don't know what it was, it wasn't an airplane but it was – the path was going in the opposite direction," the Learjet 36 pilot told air traffic control. The other pilot, another American Airlines craft, reported a similar encounter shortly after. "Yeah, something just passed over us, like a – I don't know what it was. But it was at least two, three thousand feet above us. Yeah, it passed right over the top of us."
New Mexico, Nevada and Utah all have a long history of UFO activity across the years. It is technically the birthplace of the UFO phenomenon with the crash at Corona, near Roswell, New Mexico. Kenneth Arnold might disagree, but it hardly matters. While initial reports at the time indicated a UFO had crashed and recovered at the scene, the story that followed changed to reflect a weather balloon, planting seeds of doubt that continue to this day.
Another of what are considered the “classic” mass UFO sightings in the United States that have made their way into the lore and legends of UAP studies is the event that has come to be known as the St. Clair Triangle sighting of 2000 in southwestern Illinois. It’s also referred to as “the UFO Over Illinois,” the name of a television documentaryreleased later the same year. Other shows and books have featured it prominently. Today The Debrief will look at the lore surrounding this event and compare it to the significant amount of original source data available.
We’ll begin with a brief summary of the details frequently seen in the ufology literature. The tale begins early in the morning on a frigid January 5th, 2000, in Highland, Illinois. 66-year-old miniature golf course owner Melvern Noll was stopping by his business to ensure the pipes hadn’t frozen. Upon exiting his building he saw a brightly lit object in the skies that he would go on to describe as looking like “a flying house with windows on the top and bottom.”
The stunned Noll quickly called the police to report what he had seen. The dispatcher he spoke to forwarded the information to Police Officer Ed Barton in Lebanon, Illinois. Barton initially responded skeptically, asking if the caller had been drunk, but went to investigate as instructed. Observing a bright light in the sky as he drove his cruiser, he closed in on the object before pulling over and exiting his vehicle. He would go on to report seeing a “huge” object in the sky that was triangular, longer than it was wide, with three white lights and one red light. It accelerated away at high speed to the southwest toward Shiloh, Illinois.
Shiloh Police Officer David Martin was on the lookout for the object and reported seeing something very similar before he too claimed that the slow-moving object sped off in the same direction at amazing speed. A third officer in Millstadt, Illinois, Craig Stevens, picked it up and reported it next. He even managed to snap a picture of it with a Polaroid camera. A fourth officer in Dupo, Illinois would later report seeing ‘something’ that might be related. Other civilian witnesses would chime in with their own accounts at later dates, but the object eventually disappeared after more than an hour of confirmed sightings.
Interestingly, musician Sufjan Stevens would go on to write a song about the event:
EXAMINING THE SOURCE DATA FOR MORE DETAILS
One of the larger challenges involved in examining any of these legendary sightings is how much “legend” winds up being inserted into popular reports over the years. Television documentaries and books supporting the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) can tend to focus on the more exotic aspects of a report while downplaying or even ignoring inconvenient anomalies in the data. Similarly, skeptics and debunkers will tend to latch onto inconsistencies while failing to acknowledge some of the more credible evidence. Today The Debrief will look at both with a (hopefully) more critical eye.
Rather than being forced to rely on the potentially fading memories of witnesses or the video simulations provided by video producers, the St. Clair triangle UFO event offers substantial original evidence from the time of the sighting. This trove includes not only transcripts of conversations between dispatchers and police officers, but original recordings of radio traffic and interviews with witnesses conducted shortly after the sighting. These are included in an excellent 2014 documentary from an investigative reporter who collected and released all of the source material.
One of the first areas of evidence to examine is the collection of descriptions of the UFO as originally reported by the witnesses. Some do seem to be consistent while others demonstrate disparities that have been seized upon by skeptics.
Melvern Noll, the miniature golf course owner, described “a flying house with windows in the top and bottom.” This is starkly different than the descriptions offered by law enforcement officials. But it has been suggested that Noll only saw the object for moments with no forewarning at four in the morning in the freezing cold before rushing to contact the police.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE POLICE OFFICERS
Officer Ed Barton in Lebanon, Illinois, at 4:21 am, described a triangular object, “longer than it was wide.” Barton estimated the altitude of the object as being between 1,000 and 1,500 feet. He described seeing three white lights and one red light. The object suddenly sped away, going eight miles in three seconds in the direction of Shiloh, Illinois. It is worth noting that in the original radio traffic recording, Barton describes how he was reaching into the squad car to grab his microphone. When he emerged, the object was far away. He did not actually see it accelerate at exotic speeds.
Shiloh Officer David Martin offered a roughly similar description at 4:23 am. He described it as being an “arrow shape, triangular-shaped object… floating in this sky over this field… with three big bright lights, lighting up the entire sky just beneath the flying object.” He put the altitude at 1,000 to 1,500 feet before the object moved to the far end of the fields “in the snap of a finger, the wink of an eye.” He heard no sound from the object despite having the windows of his cruiser down.
At 4:39 am Millstadt Police Officer Craig Stevens reports that he has an object in sight. “It’s huge.” He describes it as an “arrowhead-shaped object.” Stevens describes the craft as having “three lights to the rear, one in the center and two to either side.” Stevens adds an additional detail, saying that it is “concaved in the rear” rather than a pure triangle. But he also says “in the concave section” there is a strobing white light going side to side. His drawing makes it clear it’s the rear of the craft, not the bottom. He further describes a “red blinking light” that is on the bottom. He estimates that the object is between 500 and 2,000 feet in altitude. The object then “banked” and headed toward Dupo, Illinois.
At that point, Stevens grabbed a Polaroid camera out of his car and took a picture as it flew away. That should have been the most compelling piece of evidence, but sadly it’s not a very good photograph, showing only some blurry lights against a dark background.
One of Officer Stevens’ original polaroid images depicting illuninations purportedly associated with the massive traingular craft he observed
(Credit: Craig Stevens).
Perhaps significantly, Officer Stevens says that he could hear a “low frequency buzzing noise” that seemed to be related to the craft.
At 5:03 am the final purported sighting by a law enforcement official is recorded. Officer Matt Jany is located in Dupo, Illinois, and has been on the lookout for the craft after following the radio traffic generated by the previous sightings. He claims to have spotted the object, but reports that it is “pretty far off” and he was looking at it through binoculars. He thought the lights looked “pretty bright” but it was “hard to tell.”
Officer Stevens is still on the radio and reiterates that the object was “about 500 feet above me and it was huge.” Jany responds, saying that “it’s usually where planes are. It’s not low at all.”
This discrepancy in the perceived altitude ties in with Jany’s description of the lights, at one point mentioning a blinking green light. The other reports only mentioned white and red lights. Green blinking lights (along with red ones) are typical of commercial airliners and are required by the FAA. These factors have led many analysts to conclude that Officer Jany did not see the same craft the other officer described and instead was simply seeing a conventional aircraft flying over the area. This would not be unusual since Dupo is located between the international airports in St. Louis and Chicago and also not far from an Air Force base.
At that point, Jany reports that dispatch told him that Lambert Airport is on the phone saying there is nothing in the area on their radar. This was a reference to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
THE AIR FORCE CONNECTION AND RADAR DATA
Some analysts seeking explanations for this event have put forth suggestions that nearby Scott Air Force Base might be involved, launching either misidentified conventional craft or experimental classified aerial vehicles. This is where the source data becomes highly intriguing and may suggest a governmental or military coverup. Two conflicting descriptions of Scott Air Force Base have emerged in previous analyses. One theory describes the base as having a 24-hour, fully staffed control tower, but claims that it was not online due to “an unexplained suspension of operations.” The other says that it’s primarily a hospital base with a small airfield and had no operations at 4 am. The original sources suggest that both of these descriptions miss the mark.
In the documentary linked above, the St. Clair Police radio dispatcher claims to have called Scott Air Force Base and was told they could see nothing on the radar. But later, Scott AFB personnel told a reporter from the Lebanon Advertiser that “Scott Air Force Base has denied any knowledge of the sighting, reporting that it “no longer has radar on the field and that control tower personnel were not on duty at that hour.”
The information supplied to both the police and journalists by Scott Air Force Base is not only contradictory but highly suspicious, to say the least. Also, the claims about the base in previous documentaries are frequently inaccurate, leading to many justifiable questions. First of all, the idea that the base is a small medical facility with limited airfield capability is flatly wrong.
Scott Air Force base has been in continuous operation since shortly after World War 2. It’s true that they have an impressive medical facility there (the 375th Medical Group), including a fleet of Learjet C-21 twin turbofan-engine aircraft used for medical transport and evacuations which can take place at any hour of the day. They also host a fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers used for in-flight refueling of other aviation assets at any time. These massive planes require a sizable airfield. On top of that, Scott Air Force Base boasts a group of C-40 B/C transports that ferry dignitaries around the globe and are the size of Air Force 1.
The idea that a base such as Scott would have “removed their radar” or not had anyone manning the control tower is implausible in the extreme. So the answers provided to both police dispatchers and local media outlets seem dubious. The responses were also contradictory in two regards. If you had no radar, why would you bother staffing an air control tower? And why would they say they had “nothing on the radar” if there was no radar? The Debrief reached out to the Public Affairs Office of Scott Airfield for comment but received no answer prior to publication.
THE SKEPTICS HAVE THEIR SAY
Debunkers have madespirited attemptsto shoot down this story, raising some interesting possibilities. The most common of these is that all of the witnesses actually misidentified a blimp. It’s true that the location of the sightings was not far from the base of the American Blimp Company, later bought out bythe Van Wagner Airship Group. Blimps are large and very quiet, often equipped with a variety of different types and colors of lights for advertising purposes. Also, the top speed of these blimps is roughly 45 mph depending on the wind, so a blimp could have made it from Lebanon to Dupo in the one-hour and three-minute period when the live reports were recorded.
The main problem with this avenue of debunking is that it’s entirely speculative. As already noted, a blimp could have made that journey and displayed lights that would be considered unusual. Some have spoken with people in the airship industry who agree that it’s plausible. But investigators checked with the American Blimp Company and later Van Wagner and none was able to produce a record of a flight by one of those ships on that date, though one would imagine that all trips by such an expensive aircraft would be recorded.
Further, a blimp could have made the trip in the time allowed if it flew directly to Dupo. But the various witnesses described the craft as slowing, stopping, and changing directions. Also, unless we are to dismiss the testimony of the officers in Lebanon and Shiloh, the craft they observed not only hovered but shot away at a stunning velocity. Blimps are simply not capable of that type of behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
As we have discovered, there are complicated aspects to the St. Clair Triangle sighting, and the legends that have grown around it in books and television programs do not always match the record. For one thing, such shows frequently depicted the “classic” triangle, with one bright white light on each corner of the craft fixed to the bottom and a red light in the center. None of the witnesses described the lights in that fashion. And the original witness, Melvern Noll, described something that sounded entirely different, so some level of skepticism may be warranted.
With that said, the descriptions provided by all but one of the law enforcement witnesses (who likely saw a conventional aircraft) are similar enough in terms of its physical appearance and curious flight characteristics that they are difficult to ignore. Their stories remained unchanged over the years.
The baffling responses from Scott Air Force base do little to discredit the witnesses. While it seems unlikely that such a base would be home to highly classified, exotic aircraft programs, they should have been able to provide corroborating radar data or at least a confirmation that they recorded no targets in the subject area. It is not inconceivable that they had standing orders to never comment on anything UFO-related. This is a pattern the Air Force has adhered to ever since the days of Project Blue Book.
The poor quality of the photograph taken by Officer Stevens is disappointing to researchers, but the fact that it was taken at night on a dated Polaroid Instamatic pointing up at the night sky makes it understandable. Additional electronic data would make the case much stronger, but the inexplicable responses from Scott Air Force Base at least suggest that such may have existed at one point.
In conclusion, the viability of this case rests heavily on the credibility of multiple professional witnesses from different locations who would seem unlikely in the extreme to have cooked up a tale of this sort as a hoax. The lack of electronic signature data is disappointing but perhaps understandable as we already discussed. And the alternative options offered by skeptics do little to explain away the recorded, original observations as misidentified mundane phenomena. As with most of these famous, multiple-witness sightings, the final determination remains in the eye of the beholder. But the available source evidence is compelling and none of the alternate explanations are very satisfying.
Follow and connect with author Jazz Shaw on Twitter:@JazzShaw
Analysis, conclusions, and some alternate explanations included in this article are the opinions of the author and not the official position of The Debrief.
The former head of Britain's UFO investigation squad has accused the government and military top brass of not taking the 'threat' posed by unidentified flying objects seriously.
Alien hunter Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence's UFO project in the 1990s before it was disbanded, said it was 'outrageous' ministers are not taking 'meaningful action' to probe unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) - better known as UFOs.
The UFO expert also accused defence chiefs of 'falling back on a lazy, closed-minded "it can't be, so it isn't" mindset', meaning potential foreign threats to UK shores could be missed.
He claimed the MoD's position of no longer investigating sightings made 'little sense' considering the stance taken by the US government, which has ramped up its investigations into the phenomena this year.
His comments come as a map today revealed Britain's UFO hotspots, with almost 1,000 reported sightings recorded in the past two-and-a-half year.
'If the US assessment is that UAP pose a threat to national security that requires a proper investigative response, it seems illogical for the MoD not to follow suit,' Mr Pope told MailOnline.
Have youfilmed a UFO? Do you think you were abducted by aliens and want to tell your story? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk
More than 1,000 sightings have been reported in the UK in almost three years - sparking calls for the Government to re-open its UFO investigation team
(file image)
'The Ministry of Defence needs to restart UAP investigations, a task force of some sort needs to be set up, and the defence committee needs to start holding the MoD to account on UAP, as the armed services committees are doing in the US Congress, in both the Senate and the House.'
Poll
Should the government do more to investigate UFO sightings in Britain?
Yes
No
The MoD closed its UFO desk in 2009 and nothing has ever replaced it, with a spokesman saying the Ministry of Defence has 'no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life'.
Prior to this, it carried out what at the time was a highly-secretive and extensive UFO investigation of more than 10,000 possible sightings over several decades - many of which were by military personnel.
Known as the Project Condign report, it concluded that 80 per cent of the sightings were easily explained, 19 per cent were secret military craft and just one per cent were mysterious in origin.
'One thing that is clear, however, is that the UFO phenomenon, whatever it may be, does not recognise any international borders, therefore any such study surely must be international in scope rather than national,' said Philip Mantle, the former director of investigations at the British UFO Research Association.
Data, compiled by experts at UFO Identified, showed that Liverpool, London and Glasgow are all hotbeds for sightings of potential extraterrestrials, with dozens of reported encounters recorded since 2021.
Between January 2021 and May this year, the UFO spotter website documented a total of 957 sightings. That includes 410 in 2021, 494 in 2022, and 53 as of May 20 this year.
Of all counties in the UK, more UFOs were spotted in skies of Greater Manchester than anywhere else, a total of 54 documented sightings. That was followed by Greater London (52), Cheshire (37), and West Sussex (34).
Reported sightings included:
A 'dark, large oblong shaped object' that was spotted from a plane flying above the city of Glasgow, Scotland, in February of last year
And a 30ft to 40ft wide 'round saucer-like object with detailed outer rim' was observed 'hovering over a house' in Bedworth, Warwickshire in January.
A 'long cigar-shaped craft with three or four roundish patterns on it' which was witnessed in Chester, Cheshire, for 20 minutes before it 'vanished like a light being switched off' in October last year.
Ash Ellis, who runs UFO Identified, told MailOnline the reported sightings in Britain over the past couple of years could be the tip of the iceberg.
He added: ‘Sightings continue to be reported across the UK with close to 500 documented in our database annually. It’s estimated that only around 15 per cent of sightings are actually reported so the figure is 500 is more likely to be around 4,000 sightings a year in the UK, a huge amount that can't be ignored.'
The space agency's independent panel of experts stressed there was 'no reason to conclude' any were extraterrestrial in origin, but warned that mysterious flying objects were a 'self-evident' threat to American airspace.
Mr Pope said if the US was worried about this then Britain, as an NATO ally, should be too.
He added: 'The UK can make a significant contribution to the wider search for the truth about UAP, by leveraging its world class intelligence community imagery analysis resources and capabilities... The bottom line is that we need action.'
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence told MailOnline: 'The MoD has no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life and no longer investigates reports of sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena or Unidentified Flying Objects.
Footage released by the US Department of Defence captured the moment military pilots spotted a UFO dubbed the 'Tic Tac' - a wingless oblong filmed by a fighter jet's camera
In the US, NASA released its highly-anticipated report into more than 800 potential alien sightings over a period of three decades. NASA chief Bill Nelson (pictured) announced that a new director for UFO research would help implement the panel's recommendations
'This is because, in over 50 years no such reporting to the department indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK, and it was deemed more valuable to prioritise MoD staff resources towards other defence-related activities.'
The news comes amid dramatic claims from a former intelligence officer who suggested that people have been murdered by the US government as part of the conspiracy to keep UFOs a secret.
David Grusch - a former high-ranking American intelligence official - is one of three military whistleblowers who testified under oath that they had firsthand encounters or knowledge about secret government programs involving technology that is 'non-human.'
He claimed the US has been in possession of UFOs since 'the 1930s' and has been secretly back-engineering them and carrying out a public disinformation campaign to prevent the details from leaking publicly.
At one point during the first-of-its-kind hearing in July, Representative Tim Burchett asked Grusch: 'Personally, have you heard anyone [has] been murdered?' Grusch said: 'I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities.'
Grusch was sworn in along with Ryan Graves, an esteemed former pilot, and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor, who witnessed the 2004 'Tic Tac' UFO.
Opening the hearing, Rep Burchett promised their testimonies would be a landmark moment in uncovering 'the biggest cover-up in history.'
Grusch also claimed he had been told by multiple credible intelligence officials the US government had recovered non-human aircraft that had biological pilots inside them.
The former US Intelligence agent also said he knows of 'multiple colleagues' who were physically injured by UFOs either after encountering them or working on them as part of these special access programs.
While Grusch is still forbidden from disclosing certain information, per the terms of his Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review agreement with the Pentagon, he did to clarify his statements in a later interview with the BBC in August.
'There's certain things that I have firsthand access to that I can't publicly discuss at this time,' Grusch told the BBC.
Ryan Graves, a former pilot, Air Force and intelligence agency veteran David Grusch and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor have been sworn in and are ready to share their experiences
The hearing kicked off with opening statements from Representative Tim Burchett, who said: 'We are going to uncover the UFO coverup'
'However, myself and other colleagues interviewed 40 individuals, both current and former highly distinguished intelligence and military personnel that were specifically on these [UFO crash retrieval] programs.'
'And those that were willing I directed to the Intelligence Community Inspector General. So, the Inspector General was able to interview these people that do have direct firsthand information.'
The UFO investigator presented two allegedly 'non human' bodies to a congress full of astonished officials.
Mr Maussan, who has led investigations into alien phenomena for decades, stood with scientists to unveil the corpses in what he called a 'watershed' event.
The researchers made the extraordinary claim the corpses, presented in windowed boxes and supposedly recovered from Cusco in Peru, were not part of 'our terrestrial evolution', with 30 per cent of their genetic composition still 'unknown', according to Mexican media.
The mummified bodies were presented to photojournalists and deputies at Mexican congress
The presentation caused a frenzy online among UFO conspiracy theorists but also drew scepticism
A closer view shows remains of an allegedly non-human being at the event on September 12
Carbon dating by the National Autonomous University of Mexico found the bodies, pictured with three-fingered hands, no teeth and stereoscopic vision, were more than 1,000 years old, Maussan claimed.
The bizarre presentation triggered a frenzy of excitement among conspiracy theorists online - but it has also drawn scepticism from the scientific community.
Speaking of the revelation, stargazing Professor Brian Cox said 'extraordinary' claims had been made, but without 'extraordinary evidence' to back it up.
Have you filmed a UFO? Where you abducted by aliens or experienced an encounter with a UFO? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk
Artist rendition of a radio telescope discovering ultra-fast radio bursts that were recently discovered and the focus of this recent study. (Credit: Daniëlle Futselaar/www.artsource.nl)
Now Astronomers have Discovered “Ultra-Fast Radio Bursts” Lasting Millionths of a Second
A recent study published in Nature Astronomy examines the discovery of what astronomers are dubbing “ultra-fast radio bursts”, a new type of fast radio bursts (FRBs) that the team determined lasts for a mind-boggling ten millionths of a second or less. Traditionally, FRBs have been found to last only thousandths of a second, but this study builds on a 2021 study that hypothesized FRBs could possibly last for millionths of a second. This also comes after astronomers recently announced the discovery of the oldest and farthest FRB ever observed, approximately 8 billion light-years from Earth.
“During our group meetings, we often talked about it,” said Mark Snelders, who is a Ph.D. candidate at ASTRON and the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), along with being lead author of the most recent study and a co-author on the 2021 study. “By coincidence, I found out that there was a public dataset that we could use for this.”
For the study, the team was able to obtain five hours of data on a known FRB called FRB 20121102A, which was discovered in November 2012 and is located approximately three billion light-years from Earth, along with being considered the first known repeating FRB, according to a 2022 study. The data was obtained from the Breakthrough Listen project, which is a worldwide scientific collaboration with the goal of finding evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, with the data specifically coming from the Breakthrough Listen at Green Bank portion of the Open Data Archive.
Upon obtaining the data, the team took the first 30 minutes and split each second into 500,000 separate images, then incorporated machine learning and software filters to isolate outliers within the data to identify eight ultra-fast radio bursts lasting a mere ten millionths of a second or less. For context, ten millionths of a second is equivalent to 0.0000001 seconds.
The researchers note, “In detecting and characterizing these microsecond-duration bursts, we show that there exists a population of ultra-fast radio bursts that current wide-field FRB searches are missing due to insufficient time resolution. These results indicate that FRBs occur more frequently and with greater diversity than initially thought. This could also influence our understanding of energy, wait time, and burst rate distributions.”
While questions remain as to how these ultra-fast radio bursts are produced, the team does expect to identify more ultra-fast radio bursts in the future. However, the difficulty lies in finding data files capable of being split into 500,000 separate images per second, as some files lack the necessary specifications to make such splitting possible.
The long-term goal for the tea, is to use FRB data to map the space that exists between stars and galaxies, which they hope will help them gain better insights into the interactions between galaxies and the gas in the surrounding environment.
FRBs are some of the most mysterious celestial phenomena ever studied ever since they were first discovered in 2007, and astronomers have made incredible strides in both understanding their potential origins and the number of FRBs that exist in the universe. This includes discovering that most FRBs come from outside our Milky Way Galaxy.
However, in 2020, astronomers found one source of FRBs was from a magnetar within our own Milky Way Galaxy. Also, while FRB 20121102A is designated as the first known repeating FRB, a 2023 study identified 25 regularly repeating FRBs found using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), which is located in British Colombia, Canada, and has found more than 1000 FRBs to date.
What new discoveries about FRBs ultra-fast radio bursts will astronomers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
When it comes to the current era of space exploration, one of the most important trends is the way new technologies and processes are lowering the cost of sending crews and payloads to space. Beyond the commercial space sector and the development of retrievable and reusable rockets, space agencies are also finding new ways to make space more accessible and affordable. This includes NASA, which recently built and tested an aluminum rocket engine nozzle manufactured using their newReactive Additive Manufacturing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution(RAMFIRE) process.
Additive manufacturing (AM), otherwise known as 3D printing, has led to a revolution in manufacturing. Unlike traditional machine production, which fashions things from raw materials and throws away what is not used, 3D printing builds made-to-order components from the bottom up. This production process creates virtually no waste and is very rapid, cost-effective, and efficient compared to traditional methods. Whereas it was once confined to modeling and prototyping, the technology’s applications have expanded considerably in recent years – including the aerospace industry.
The aluminum nozzle was developed by NASA’s Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity in partnership with the leading AM company Elementum 3D. Based in Erie, Colorado, Elementum 3D specializes in metal alloy additive manufacturing research, material and print process development, and scaled-production methods. In 2020, the company was selected as part of an Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity to create a weldable type of aluminum that is heat-resistant enough to be used in rocket engines, leading to the aluminum variant known as A6061-RAM2.
Compared to other metals, aluminum has a lower density and can enable high-strength, lightweight components. However, with conventional manufacturing, a rocket nozzle may require a thousand individually joined parts. This makes aluminum impractical since it has a low tolerance to extreme heat and a tendency to crack during welding. The RAMFIRE process, which was funded under NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), does away with this by producing aluminum components as a single piece, requiring far fewer bonds and significantly reduced manufacturing time.
In addition, the nozzles are designed with small internal channels that keep the nozzle cool enough to prevent melting. Meanwhile, the RAMFIRE 3D printer and process were developed by another commercial partner, RPM Innovations (RPMI). This South Dakota-based company specializes in Directed Energy Deposition (DED), where layers of powdered alloy are deposited and fused by lasers. When combined with Elementum 3D’s specialized aluminum powder, the resulting process is known as laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED).
Earlier this summer, two RAMFIRE nozzles completed a series of hot-fire tests at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s East Test Area in Huntsville, Alabama. The nozzles performed well using liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), as well as LOX and liquid methane fuel configurations, and at pressures exceeding 5690 kilopascals (825 psi) – higher than what is anticipated for launches. The nozzles successfully completed 22 start tests and fired for nearly 10 minutes, demonstrating that they can operate in the most demanding deep-space environments. Paul Gradl, RAMFIRE principal investigator at NASA Marshall, said in a NASA press release:
“Industry partnerships with specialty manufacturing vendors aid in advancing the supply base and help make additive manufacturing more accessible for NASA missions and the broader commercial and aerospace industry. This test series marks a significant milestone for the nozzle. After putting the nozzle through the paces of a demanding hot-fire test series, we’ve demonstrated the nozzle can survive the thermal, structural, and pressure loads for a lunar lander scale engine.”
Liftoff of Terran 1, the first rocket made entirely using 3D-printed parts.
Credit: Relativity Space/Michael Baylor
NASA also demonstrated the effectiveness of 3D-printed components in March 2023 when Relativity Space test-launched their Terran 1 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This test rocket was the first to be made entirely of 3D-printed parts, including nine engines made of an innovative alloy known as Glenn Research Copper (GRCop). These engines were additively manufactured at NASA’s Glenn Research Center under the agency’s Game Changing Development program, and were able to tolerate temperatures approaching 3,315 °C (6,000 °F) – up to 40% higher than traditional copper alloys.
In addition to rocket nozzles and engines, RAMFIRE has also manufactured a 91-centimeter (36-inch) diameter aerospike nozzle incorporating components for cryogenic fuel applications. These innovations are crucial to NASA’s Moon to Mars program, which includes Project Artemis and returning astronauts to the Moon, and the creation of the lunar infrastructure necessary to mount crewed missions to Mars. Intrinsic to this program is the capability of sending larger payloads to the Moon, Mars, and other deep-space destinations.
By manufacturing lightweight rocket components capable of withstanding higher structural loads and extreme temperatures, NASA is one step closer to returning to the Moon (to stay) and placing boots on Martian soil. Said John Vickers, the principal technologist for STMD advanced manufacturing:
“Mass is critical for NASA’s future deep space missions. Projects like this mature additive manufacturing along with advanced materials, and will help evolve new propulsion systems, in-space manufacturing, and infrastructure needed for NASA’s ambitious missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Image of Jupiter taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) in July 2022 displays striking features of the largest planet in the solar system in infrared light, with brightness indicating high altitudes. One of these features is a jet stream within the large bright band just above Jupiter’s equator, which was the focus of this study. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI))
A New Weather Feature was Hiding in JWST’s Picture of Jupiter
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) used its NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) to capture stunning infrared images of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. Within these striking images, scientists recently discovered a jet stream in the northern latitudes just over Jupiter’s equator and 20-35 kilometers (12-21 miles) above Jupiter’s cloud tops. This jet stream stretches approximately 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) with speeds of 515 kilometers per hour (320 miles per hour), more than double the speed of a Category 5 hurricane on Earth.
“This is something that totally surprised us,” said Dr. Ricardo Hueso, who is a lecturer at the University of the Basque Country in Spain and lead author of the study published in Nature Astronomy that describes these incredible findings. “What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter’s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet’s fast rotation.”
The reason this jet stream is traveling so fast is due to the Coriolis effect, as all planetary bodies spin faster at their equator to cover the same amount of distance as everything else. However, while the Earth spins on its axis at approximately 1,600 kilometers per hour (1,000 miles per hour) at its equator, the speeds experienced at Jupiter’s equator are a mind-bending 43,000 kilometers per hour (28,273 miles per hour), resulting in not only a rotation at 9 hours and 50 minutes at the equator (9 hours and 56 minutes at the poles), but also result in the extremely fast and powerful wind storms within its massive clouds.
This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) in July 2022 shows a narrow jet stream traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour) sitting over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks, which was the focus of this study. Scientists hypothesize the multitude of bright white ‘spots’ and ‘streaks’ are possibly very high-altitude cloud tops of comprised of condensed convective storms. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI))
While JWST made its observations within Jupiter’s high altitudes, the team used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make observations in lower altitudes just one day later, which helped the team estimate changes in wind speeds with respective to altitude within the clouds, also known as wind shears. While they found the jet stream of 515 kilometers per hour (320 miles per hour) higher in the clouds, these wind speeds decreased as the altitude decreased, with speeds of 362 kilometers per hour (225 miles per hour) and 402 kilometers per hour (250 miles per hour) occurring only a few miles lower in Jupiter’s massive atmosphere. Essentially, the team of astronomers briefly played the role of meteorologists as they analyzed and calculated Jupiter’s weather patterns.
“Jupiter has a complicated but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, high above the winds in the clouds and hazes measured at these wavelengths,” said Dr. Leigh Fletcher, who is a Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester and one of several co-authors on the study. “If the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next 2 to 4 years – it’ll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come.”
This is not the first time that scientists have observed jet streams on Jupiter, as NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observed such activity in the early 2010s. These jet streams were also observed just above the gas giant’s equator and estimated to be traveling at 523 kilometers per hour (325 miles per hour).
Along with this jet stream, these incredible images from July 2022 also revealed Jupiter’s faint rings, its northern and southern aurorae, and two of its smaller moons, Amalthea and Adrastea. Jupiter’s rings were discovered by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1979 as it flew past the gas giant, and scientists hypothesize they were formed from meteoroids striking one of Jupiter’s small moons. Like Earth, Jupiter’s massive aurorae are produced from its even more massive magnetic field, which is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field. The two small moons, Amalthea and Adrastea, were discovered in 1892 and 1979, respectively, with both orbiting within the orbit of Io, the first Galilean Moon of Jupiter.
What new discoveries will JWST continue to make about Jupiter and its amazing features in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
Meer van UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
Lunar Astronauts Will Need Easy Walking Trails Around the Moon's South Pole
