NASA Finally Pried Open Stuck Space Capsule Revealing 4.5 Billion-Year-Old Asteroid Sample

Hidden Bennu samples have finally emerged.

BY DORIS ELÍN URRUTIA

NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

Officials at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have spent the past several months designing new tools to access the goods inside. On January 11, NASA announced that they had finally pried the pair of pesky fasteners off.

The new tools designed to open the device “include newly custom-fabricated bits made from a specific grade of surgical, non-magnetic stainless steel,” NASA officials wrote in the update. It’s “the hardest metal approved for use in the pristine curation gloveboxes,” the update said.

Now, this past Friday, officials announced they had successfully opened the capsule and shared an image of the asteroid material. The blackish material harvested from Bennu, a small, carbon-rich, near-Earth asteroid, is ripe for scientific investigations about the origins of the Solar System and possibly life, too.

A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector.

NASA/ERIKA BLUMENFELD & JOSEPH AEBERSOLD

ASTEROID SOUVENIRS

In a pleasant surprise, the capsule ferried back more dirt than planned. Even before TAGSAM’s head was pried open, curators had access to more than 70 grams of extra material curators found on the outside of the sampler head.

Now, the next steps are weighing the material, cataloging, and ultimately, sharing the sample profiles with scientists and institutions around the world for experiments.

Meanwhile, OSIRIS-REx is now on its way to its next asteroid target, Apophis, which it will reach in April 2029.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

‘Overmassive’ Black Holes Dominated Early Galaxies, Study Finds

And you thought Sagittarius A* was big.

BY KIONA SMITH

CFA/Melissa Weiss

Peering back into the early universe with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) over the past few months, astronomers have noticed something odd. The supermassive black holes lurking at the heart of ancient galaxies are smaller than the ones in our nearby, modern slice of the universe. However, compared to the mass of stars in their host galaxies, these black holes almost seem too big.

In a new paper, Harvard University astrophysicist Fabio Pacucci and his colleagues suggest that these early black holes were thousands of times our Sun’s mass, likely spawned by enormous clouds of gas collapsing under their own gravity. These early black holes were also relatively more massive than their galaxies, but these galaxies gained stellar mass over time. The scientists published their work in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in October, and Pacucci presented the study at the 243^rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) this week.

This image illustrates how the ratio of black hole mass to stellar mass differs between nearby (recent) and distant (ancient) galaxies.

CFA/MELISSA WEISS

“OVERMASSIVE” BLACK HOLES

We think of supermassive black holes as immense, star-swallowing leviathans lurking at the center of galaxies, but the stars in any given galaxy actually outweigh the supermassive black hole at the center by a factor of 1,000 to 1. That’s the case in our Milky Way Galaxy, and in most of the other galaxies we see in the nearby universe, but these galaxies have had billions of years to grow and evolve since the beginning of the universe.

Over the last few months, astronomers have published what Pacucci describes as “an explosion of studies” reporting ancient, distant galaxies with supermassive black holes that seem too massive – or “overmassive,” as Pacucci puts it to the AAS crowd.

Because JWST lets astronomers look farther back in the universe to see smaller, more distant objects, this has shed more light on how galaxies — and the supermassive black holes at their hearts — evolved. And it turns out that between 12 and 13 billion years ago, some galaxies’ stars accounted for only ten times as much mass as their supermassive black holes, meaning early galaxies sort of grew into the larger supermassive black holes at their centers as billions of years passed.

A BLACK HOLE ORIGIN STORY

While these “overmassive” black holes indicate how galaxies evolved and grew, they could also resolve a debate about what the “seeds” of modern supermassive black holes were like. The first black holes formed a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, and eventually, they evolved into supermassive black holes like the one at the heart of our own galaxy. But astronomers still don’t agree on how large a “seed” our friendly neighborhood supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, started out as — or exactly how it formed.

One option is that the first black holes formed when the first generation of massive stars burned out their fuel and collapsed, leaving behind black holes of just a few hundred times the mass of our Sun.

The other possibility is that the seeds of supermassive black holes formed even earlier in time when giant clouds of very dense gas collapsed under their own gravity. These clouds, according to the theory, would have been too enormous and too dense to form a mere star, and instead, they collapsed into black holes between 10,000 and 100,000 times more massive than our Sun. These heavy black hole seeds would have contained about as much mass as all the stars in their host galaxies.

According to Pacucci and his colleagues’ models, smaller black hole seeds couldn’t have grown quickly enough to become the “overmassive” black holes like the ones JWST sees in galaxies dating back to 12 billion years ago.

“Many studies suggest that if seeds formed heavy, then in the distant universe, the ratio between stellar mass and black hole mass should be [smaller],” says Pacucci. “This discovery suggests that black hole seeds may have formed heavy.”

AN OVERSIZED MYSTERY

So why did early galaxies’ supermassive black holes weigh so much in comparison to all the stars in the galaxy? One possibility, suggests Pacucci, is that those newborn black holes were active and voracious, and because black holes are messy eaters, that meant the young black holes were flinging radiation and electrically charged gas all over the place.

That turbulence and radiation would have made it difficult for clouds of gas to settle down in and form stars.

Eventually, as the black holes calmed down and spent less time feeding, they allowed more stars to form in the galaxy, tilting the balance more in the stars’ favor. Over time, smaller galaxies merged to form larger ones (a process that’s still happening today). Although those mergers would have led to larger supermassive black holes, they also would have triggered new waves of star formation, further boosting the galactic ratio we see today.

“Over cosmic time, we know that the ratio of stellar to black hole mass progressively catches up with the local 1000 to 1 ratio of the modern universe. This happens as the black hole and its host galactic system evolve together, merging with other galaxies and forming legions of stars,” says Pacucci. “What we're still working on is seeing deeply enough into the universe to piece together how this all got started.”

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

Is this another Chinese spy balloon moment? Famous 'cube in a sphere' UFO spotted at military bases along the East Coast may have been a high-tech ENEMY drone, says ex-Pentagon UFO investigator dubbed 'Dr. Evil'

• The Pentagon's first ever UFO boss pointed to a Chinese-made 'spherical' drone in an uncut version of his new interview, made available to DailyMail.com 
• Retired UFO chief Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick was called 'Dr. Evil' for his laser research 
• READ MORE: UFO whistleblower held secret talk with 'Wall St. bigwigs' and CIA officials in Manhattan and claimed US was in possession of 40ft Tardis-like craft

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The Pentagon's former UFO chief has revealed his conclusion to one of the most famous UFO cases of the modern era: the Navy's baffling 'cube in a sphere' UFO was just a super high-tech drone.

US Navy fighter pilots had reported seeing these other-worldly craft near the Atlantic coast between 2014 and 2015, which nearly tore the wing off an F/A-18 Super Hornet that was flying with the USS Roosevelt during one incident.

Now Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the Pentagon's recently retired UFO chief, says that the objects were likely 'next generation,' 'spherical' drones that move 'very accurately.'

While not confirmed, his description matches a drone-prototype made public by Chinese researchers in 2022 — a silver orb with eight thrusters configured at the tips of an internal cube, making it capable of unprecedented mid-air twists and turns.

The case highlights why UFOs must be taken seriously and not be subject to ridicule, Kirkpatrick suggested. 

The Pentagon's departing UFO chief, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, cited public 'next generation' drone research by academics in Singapore in an effort to explain the Navy's 'cube in a sphere' UFO sightings. Above a 'SpICED (Cube)' drone prototype published by Chinese researchers in 2022

In an op-ed published by Scientific American last week, Dr. Kirkpatrick dismissed US Air Force veteran David Grusch as one of several 'conspiracy-minded 'whistleblowers'' on UFOs. He emphasized that the Pentagon's UFO mission should be focused on US foreign adversaries

Dr Kirkpatrick's new comments come ahead of the Pentagon's congressionally mandated 'Historical Record Report' on UFOs, due to lawmakers in June of 2024. 

DailyMail.com was given an early draft transcript of Dr. Kirkpatrick's appearance on Fresh Produce Media's 'In the Room with Peter Bergen,' in which the physicist delved deeper into the national security risk that has come from stigmatizing eyewitness reports of UFOs.

'That gap could potentially be exploited by somebody,' Dr. Kirkpatrick told Bergen, 'put a platform in [the] continental United States that nobody knew was there.'

A longtime laser physicist, Dr. Kirkpatrick's government service took him to the Air Force Research Laboratory, the CIA and a position at America's highly secretive spy satellite agency the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) before chasing UFOs.

The physicist's Air Force colleagues once nicknamed him 'Dr. Evil' after the laser-obsessed villain in the Austin Powers series of spy film spoofs. 

'One of my going away presents, as I was leaving the National Reconnaissance Office,' Dr. Kirkpatrick told CNN national security reporter Peter Bergen, 'was one of my close colleagues gave me a shark with a laser pointer strapped to its head.'

Dr. Kirkpatrick headed up the Pentagon's then-brand new All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) from July 2022 until the end of December 2023, leveraging his scientific expertise toward the tricky task of investigating military UFO cases.

Last May, Dr. Kirkpatrick briefed NASA's UFO advisory panel that AARO had logged roughly 800 cases of flying, spherical 'metallic orb' UFOs.

'This is a typical example of the thing that we see most of,' Dr. Kirkpatrick told the panel. 'We see these all over the world and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers.' 

It's unclear just how similar these metallic orbs may be to the UFOs first brought to public attention by former Navy lieutenant and fighter pilot Ryan Graves, who described them to Congress as 'a dark gray or black cube inside of a clear sphere.'

But Dr. Kirkpatrick told the podcast these otherworldly craft may very likely have been a foreign espionage platform.

'There's a large number of people, pilots, others, who have said, 'Hey, I saw this giant sphere. It had a cube in it,'' he said, ''I don't understand it. It must be an alien.''

Swiss-based drone maker Flyability has also been producing spherical 'gimbal' drones since at least 2015. Both Flyability and the Singapore-based makers of the SpICED drone cited collision safety as their reasoning for pursuing these aircraft's round designs - not airborne spying 

DailyMail.com has been given an early draft transcript of Dr. Kirkpatrick's appearance on the 'In the Room with Peter Bergen' podcast (above) in which the physicist discussed 'spherical' drones made by researchers in Singapore, comparing them to the US Navy's UFO sightings

'Well, actually, no, there's a number of papers out,' Dr. Kirkpatrick continued in this early, uncut draft of his podcast interview with CNN analyst Peter Bergen.

'The most recent one was from, University of Singapore, I believe, where the next generation of drones that are being built are spherical.'

'They've taken about a two-meter size, inflatable, and they put a cube inside of it,' Dr. Kirkpatrick continued. 'And everywhere the corner of the cube touches the sphere, they've fused it, cut it out, and put little thrusters in.'

READ MORE: 

• US Customs and Border Protection quietly released a tranche of 10 videos of mysterious 'craft' whizzing around US skies - as one senior ex-intelligence officer says they are a THREAT

US Customs and Border Patrol, the agency responsible for keeping terrorists and weapons out of the country, uploaded 10 videos that appear to show craft moving in strange ways in our skies. The videos document a fighter jet pursued by an apparently baffling flying orb, as well as something that appears to be a propeller-powered hang-glider, and another apparent orb hovering near a parked 16-wheeler truck

'So, now I have eight thrusters. And I can put cameras on it and anything else I want,' the ex-AARO chief told Bergen. 

'With eight thrusters in a cube configuration, I can maneuver this drone around very accurately.' 

Scientists with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in China did, in fact, prototype a spherical drone along these lines, dubbed the 'Spherical Indoor Coandă Effect Drone (SpICED)' in a September 2022 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Drones. 

The research team in Singapore noted that their new prototype, which benefited from an internal propulsion system with eight nozzles in a cube configuration, showed a promising 40 percent reduction in 'trajectory control error' during their test flights. 

The SUTD's 'cube in a sphere' drone prototype, they wrote, proved to be more swiftly and accurately maneuverable than their past internal 'tetrahedron' configuration.

But the Chinese-made drone is not the only novel unmanned spherical craft in production: Swiss-based Flyability has been producing 'spherical' drones since at least 2015, when it won a $1 million competition in the United Arab Emirates.

The makers of Flyability's 'gimbal' drone and the SpICED balloon drone both cited collision safety as their reasoning for pursuing these unmanned aircrafts' round designs — not high maneuverability for clandestine spying.  

But they are not the only actors pursuing this kind of aerospace research, according to AARO's departing director. 

'They've tried these all over the place,' Dr. Kirkpatrick said.

'There are a number of advanced technologies that are being commercialized that people don't recognize,' he said. 'Why they go immediately to 'this is extraterrestrial' is another conversation.'

While playing a 2022 military UFO video taken by an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Mid East, AARO director Dr. Kirkpatrick told NASA's UFO advisory panel last May, 'We see these ['metallic orbs'] all over the world, and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers'

Speaking to Bergen's podcast, Dr. Kirkpatrick emphasized that he sees more terrestrial, counter-intelligence and defense-oriented tasks as AARO's primary reason for being.

'The office's mission is not to prove the existence of extraterrestrials,' he said.  

'The office's mission is to minimize technical and intelligence surprise. That is the primary mission.'

The laser physicist noted that last February's Chinese spy balloon drama, when multiple objects were tracked and shot down within US and Canadian airspace, could be attributed to AARO's work focusing on anomalous aerial activities.

'Four major candidates' have been interviewed to replace Pentagon UFO boss, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick (above), an anonymous source told DailyMail.com, following heated public sparring between the former CIA physicist and UFO whistleblowers, who 'never did trust Sean,' according to one UFO whistleblower's attorney Daniel Sheehan  

For years, national security reporters have speculated that the Navy's 'cube in a sphere' UFOs might be related to a 1949 patent for an 'airborne radar reflector' (schematic above) filed with the US Patent and Trade Office by Washington DC resident Leon Chromak

In the past, Dr. Kirkpatrick said, 'in the long list of things that they need to be paying attention to, this one was at the bottom of that list.' 

'So, there is a gap — and no one fully, I think, appreciated until the last few years that that gap could potentially be exploited by somebody,' he explained, 'put a platform in, you know, [the] continental United States that nobody knew was there.' 

But Dr. Kirkpatrick's terrestrial approach during his 18-month tenure at AARO has not been without its critics — particularly over his very public disagreements with UFO whistleblower and fellow NRO veteran David Grusch. 

Dr. Kirkpatrick expanded his own criticisms of Grusch in his new interview with Bergen, describing him as someone who had 'fallen to the influence' of UFO 'True Believers' within the US military and private defense contractor Bigelow Aerospace, which investigated UFO cases on contract for the Pentagon from 2007 to 2012.

In a new op-ed published by Scientific American last week, Dr. Kirkpatrick further dismissed Grusch as one of several 'conspiracy-minded 'whistleblowers.'' 

Grusch, a former high-ranking US intelligence official, has accused the US military and its private contractors of illegally hiding evidence of crashed UFOs, recovered 'beings,' and even UFO-related deaths, both under oath to Congress and in the press. 

For their part, these same UFO whistleblowers have accused Dr. Kirkpatrick of fostering an 'atmosphere of disinterest,' while others have suggested his superiors are secretly holding back AARO's UFO investigation efforts. 

Daniel Sheehan, the Harvard-trained lawyer who represented UFO whistleblower Luis Elizondo in his complaint to the Pentagon's Inspector General, said last year to DailyMail.com, 'really knowledgeable' UFO whistleblowers 'never did trust Sean.' 

Instead, 'what they were doing is they were going straight through to the Senate Intelligence Committee,' Sheehan said. 

(To be sure, however, some military UFO witnesses have also described 'really positive' experiences with the Dr. Kirkpatrick's office.)

Scientists with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in China, published their prototype spherical drone (above) in a Sept. 2022 issue of the journal Drones. The cube configuration, they wrote, showed a 40 percent reduction in 'trajectory control error'

Swiss-based Flyability entered their own spherical drone (above) into a contest launched by the Prime Minister's Office of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE competition was billed as the 'World Cup of Drones,' with over 800 submitted entries from 57 countries

Flyability won $1 million in the UAE's 'Drones for Good' competition in 2015 for their 'gimbal'

In portions of Dr. Kirkpatrick's new podcast interview, which appear to have been cut before air, the retired government scientist commented that AARO's benefit to the US Intelligence Community (IC) was its latitude to conduct domestic surveillance 'We filled a gap,' he said

In portions of Dr. Kirkpatrick's podcast interview — which appear to have been cut before air — the retired government scientist commented that AARO's benefit to the US Intelligence Community (IC) was its latitude to conduct domestic surveillance.  

'We filled a gap,' Dr. Kirkpatrick said. 'The intelligence community is prohibited by law from observing [the] continental United States, right?' 

'And so, the only people that actually have authority to do that, really, are FBI, Homeland Security, [and] a few other counter-intelligence elements across the IC,' he noted, 'but that's pretty much it.'

'No one fully, I think, appreciated until the last few years that that gap could potentially be exploited by somebody [...] And that's where you ended up with Chinese balloons,' he said. 

When DailyMail.com reached out to Peter Bergen and a spokesperson for his podcast, the spokesperson noted that, based on conversations with the 'In the Room' team, 'those excerpts were cut for time.' 

'Episodes generally don't go over 45 minutes,' they said.

 { https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Mars Express Finds New Evidence for Ice-Rich Layered Deposits in Medusae Fossae

Over 15 years ago, ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft studied the Medusae Fossae Formation, revealing enigmatic deposits up to 2.5 km deep. From those early observations, it was unclear what the deposits were made of, but the new research has an answer.

This image shows a height map of the Martian surface, with lowest land in blue and highest in white.

Image credit: ESA.

The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) — a massive, unusual deposit of soft rock near Mars’ equator — is about one-fifth as large as the continental United States and 100 times more massive than the largest explosive volcanic deposit on Earth.

It consists of several wind-sculpted features measuring hundreds of km across and several km high.

Found at the boundary between the Martian highlands and lowlands, the features are possibly the biggest single source of dust on Mars.

Initial observations from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft showed the MFF to be relatively transparent to radar and low in density, both characteristics we’d see from icy deposits.

However, planetary scientists couldn’t rule out a drier possibility: that the features are actually giant accumulations of windblown dust, volcanic ash or sediment.

“We’ve explored the MFF again using newer data from Mars Express’ MARSIS radar, and found the deposits to be even thicker than we thought: up to 3.7 km thick,” said Dr. Thomas Watters, a planetary researcher at Smithsonian Institution.

“Excitingly, the radar signals match what we’d expect to see from layered ice, and are similar to the signals we see from Mars’ polar caps, which we know to be very ice rich.”

“If melted, the ice locked up in the MFF would cover the entire planet in a layer of water 1.5 to 2.7 m deep: the most water ever found in this part of Mars, and enough to fill Earth’s Red Sea.”

“Here’s where the new radar data comes in! Given how deep it is, if the MFF was simply a giant pile of dust, we’d expect it to become compacted under its own weight,” said Dr. Andrea Cicchetti, a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy.

“This would create something far denser than what we actually see with MARSIS.”

“And when we modeled how different ice-free materials would behave, nothing reproduced the properties of the MFF — we need ice.”

“The new results instead suggest layers of dust and ice, all topped by a protective layer of dry dust or ash several hundred meters thick.”

In this image, the white line on Mars’ surface (top) shows a stretch of land that was scanned by Mars Express’ MARSIS radar. The graph below shows the shape of the land and the structure of the subsurface, with the layer of dry sediments (likely dust or volcanic ash) in brown and the layer of suspected ice-rich deposits in blue. The graph shows that the ice deposit is thousands of meters high and hundreds of km wide. If all the suspected water ice in the MFF melted, it would cover Mars in an ocean of water up to 2.7 m deep.

Image credit: CReSIS / KU / Smithsonian Institution.

“This latest analysis challenges our understanding of the MFF, and raises as many questions as answers,” said Dr. Colin Wilson, ESA project scientist for Mars Express and the ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.

“How long ago did these ice deposits form, and what was Mars like at that time?”

“If confirmed to be water ice, these massive deposits would change our understanding of Mars climate history.”

“Any reservoir of ancient water would be a fascinating target for human or robotic exploration.”

• The results will be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
• Thomas Watters et al. 2024. Evidence of Ice-Rich Layered Deposits in the Medusae Fossae Formation of Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, in press;

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

Unraveling the Mystery of the “Jellyfish UAP”: An In-Depth Analysis

In recent times, the topic of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has captured public imagination like never before. Among the plethora of cases, one particular sighting, colloquially termed the “Jellyfish UAP,” stands out due to its unique characteristics and the intriguing investigation surrounding it. It was filmed back in 2017 in Iraq.

Background 

The Jellyfish UAP, so named for its distinctive appearance, was reportedly observed near an airbase in Iraq. The footage, believed to be captured from an aerostat balloon, shows an object with peculiar features hovering in the sky. This sighting, initially circulated among military personnel, has since garnered widespread attention.

Investigation and Analysis 

A detailed analysis of the Jellyfish UAP footage was spearheaded by experts, including Mick West and a team from the Metabunk forum. Their investigative approach combined advanced geolocation techniques and image stabilization methods to deduce the object’s origin and nature.

Read more:

• Marine Veteran Reports Witnessing ‘Jellyfish’ UAP Footage in Iraq
• UFO Expert Suggests ‘Jellyfish’ UAP Video Could Be Authentic
• Unraveling the Mystery of the Jellyfish UFO: A Fascinating Encounter Over Iraq

The investigation pinpointed the exact location of the sighting to an airbase in Iraq, utilizing landmarks and structures visible in the footage. This breakthrough was achieved by meticulously matching video imagery with satellite photos from Google Earth, corroborated by first-hand accounts of personnel previously stationed at the base.

Challenges and Speculations 

The Jellyfish UAP case is shrouded in mystery, primarily because of claims about the object’s behavior. It was reported to have submerged underwater for an extended period – a characteristic atypical of conventional balloons or aircraft. This claim, however, remains unverified and is a subject of ongoing scrutiny.

The analysis also addressed common misconceptions, such as the object being a mere smudge or artifact on the camera lens. Upon closer inspection, these theories were dismissed, solidifying the object’s presence as an external entity in the environment.

Technological Implications 

One significant aspect of the investigation involves understanding the equipment used to capture the footage. The aerostat balloon, equipped with sophisticated imaging technology, plays a critical role in surveillance and reconnaissance. The analysis of the footage also delves into the nuances of camera gain settings, essential in interpreting aerial imagery.

VIDEO:

• Chris Lehto – Marine confirms “Jellyfish UAP” video legit – Chandelier image

• https://youtu.be/paPqfn_avNA

The Jellyfish UAP remains an enigmatic occurrence in the realm of aerial phenomena. While the investigation has made significant strides in demystifying aspects of the sighting, many questions linger. The case exemplifies the complexities involved in UAP investigations and underscores the need for rigorous scientific inquiry in unraveling these mysterious occurrences.

In summary, the Jellyfish UAP case is not just a testament to the persistent curiosity surrounding unexplained aerial phenomena but also a beacon for the methodical and scientific approach needed in their investigation. As we continue to explore these uncharted territories, the Jellyfish UAP serves as a fascinating chapter in the ongoing narrative of humanity’s quest to understand the unknown.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPrYVmYkL5w

How Is The Jellyfish UAP Being Discussed Online?

Naturally, these UAP videos are subjected to lots of scrutiny and discourse online. But this one's special. In this case, it doesn't really matter if you care about UFOs, or if you believe aliens are real and have been visiting Earth. The jellyfish UAP is gaining tons of attention online, and not just for conspiracy theorists or alien fans.

For the most part, it's people trying to picture exactly what the UAP looks like up close, or what it could be. Then, people redraw it, with varying degrees of detail or humor. There are the typical alien interpretations:

And then, because the other half of the internet would never take something like this too seriously, there are the more … creative interpretations or some good old-fashioned memes

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

Dit 'zombievirus' wordt misschien wel onze volgende pandemie!

Dit 'zombievirus' wordt misschien wel onze volgende pandemie!

© Pixabay

Wetenschappers van een laboratorium in het Franse Marseille hebben gewaarschuwd voor de mogelijkheid van een nieuwe pandemie in de toekomst. Deze zou immers kunnen worden veroorzaakt door een virus dat al meer dan 30.000 jaar bevroren is.

Microben in het noordpoolgebied zouden de oorzaak kunnen zijn, nadat de opwarming van de aarde, de toegenomen menselijke activiteit en de aanwezigheid van schepen in de regio het ontdooi- en smeltproces versnellen.

Volgens de onderzoekers is de kans groot dat deze en andere virussen, als het ontdooiproces doorgaat, zich vrij zullen verspreiden en uiteindelijk nieuwe ziekten veroorzaken.

Dit ‘zombievirus’ werd door laboratoriumonderzoekers ontdekt in een laag Siberische permafrost die duizenden jaren bevroren was in het noordwesten van Siberië.

Het nieuws werd in The Guardian becommentarieerd door de Nederlandse viroloog Marion Koopmans, die beweerde dat “we niet weten welk virus zich in de permafrost bevindt. Maar ik denk dat er een reëel risico bestaat dat er één virus is dat een epidemie kan veroorzaken, bijvoorbeeld een oude vorm van polio. We moeten aannemen dat zoiets zou kunnen gebeuren”, waarschuwde ze.

• (Tagtik/Source: The Guardian/Illustration: Pixabay)

{  https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

{ https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/ }

Op 14 november 2004 stijgt de aanvalsjager Boeing F/A-18 op van het vliegdekschip USS Nimitz in de Stille Oceaan, zo’n 160 kilometer ten zuidwesten van San Diego, Californië.

Aan boord bevindt zich David Fravor.

Met 18 jaar in de cockpit van de US Navy heeft de ervaren piloot veel meegemaakt in de lucht.

Maar over een paar minuten zal David Fravor iets zien dat alle logica tart.

Sinds enkele weken observeert een ander Amerikaans vliegdekschip, de USS Princeton, een reeks onverklaarbare objecten die rondvliegen in het omringende luchtruim. Nu moet David Fravor ze nader onderzoeken.

De gevechtspiloot doorklieft de wolkeloze hemel, tot hij plotseling een van die objecten ziet waar de bemanning van de USS Princeton zich het hoofd over brak.

Uit het raam van de cockpit ziet David Fravor een wit voorwerp met een glad oppervlak dat met circa 222 km/h door de lucht vliegt. Het object is ongeveer 14 meter lang en heeft de vorm van een Tic Tac. Het heeft geen vleugels, straalt geen warmte uit en lijkt op niets wat hij ooit eerder heeft gezien.

neens zoeft de enorme Tic Tac naar zee, waarbij hij in enkele seconden bijna 2 kilometer aflegt – een manoeuvre die met de toenmalige vliegtuigtechnologie niet mogelijk is.

In de loop der jaren zijn er talloze onverklaarbare vliegende objecten gezien. Vaak zijn er natuurverschijnselen in het spel, maar wat de Amerikaanse marine de afgelopen tien jaar heeft meegemaakt, blijft een mysterie.

In 2021 bracht de Amerikaanse inlichtingendienst een rapport over ufowaarnemingen uit, en misschien hebben we wel bezoek van levensvormen van elders gehad.

VIDEO: Bekijk de ufowaarneming van 2004

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWOtrke0HY

Archeologen: Wereldberoemde ‘aliens’ uit Peru zijn helemaal geen aliens

Het veroorzaakte nogal wat opschudding toen de ET-achtige wezens voor het eerst in de media kwamen. In werkelijkheid hebben de twee ‘aliens’ een nogal macabere oorsprong.

DOOR SIMON CLEMMENSEN

Op 14 september 2023 rolden er twee kisten het Mexicaanse Congresgebouw binnen.

De twee kisten met glazen deksels trokken wereldwijd veel aandacht, want volgens de Mexicaanse journalist en zelfbenoemd ufo-liefhebber José Jaime Maussen waren dit echte buitenaardse wezens.

Maar na een grondig onderzoek hebben forensisch archeologen in Peru nu eindelijk een einde gemaakt aan de ufo-speculaties.

De ET-achtige figuren zijn namelijk van een heel andere, verrassende afkomst.

Macabere poppen van botten

De buitenaardse wezens die op mysterieuze wijze opdoken op het vliegveld van de Peruaanse hoofdstad Lima zijn volledig van aardse oorsprong.

Het zijn objecten gemaakt van papier, metaal, lijm en botten van mensen en dieren zoals honden en vogels.

‘Het zijn geen buitenaardse wezens. Het zijn poppen gemaakt van botten van deze planeet in elkaar gezet met moderne synthetische lijm. Het is een compleet verzonnen verhaal,’ zei Flavio Estrada, archeoloog aan het Peruaanse Instituut voor Juridische Geneeskunde en Forensische Wetenschap.

Tijdens de presentatie in het Mexicaanse Congres werd ook onthuld dat de twee lichamen naar verluidt implantaten hadden die gemaakt waren van zeldzame metalen zoals osmium. Dit lijkt nu echter ook een compleet verzinsel te zijn.

© Ritzau Scanpix

In 2015 veroorzaakten ze ook al opschudding toen ze beweerden dat ze gemummificeerde resten van een buitenaards wezen hadden gevonden.

Later werd ook deze ontdekking als nep afgedaan.

Toen bleek dat het ging om de resten van een menselijk kind.

{ https://wibnet.nl/heelal }

Finally, Let’s Look at the Asteroid Treasure Returned to Earth by OSIRIS-REx

The next step is to remove the round metal collar and place the sample into trays. Each tray will be photographed, weighed, packaged, and stored. The final mass will be determined in the weeks ahead, including the 70.3 grams (2.48 oz) removed previously. That material was on the sampling machinery but outside of the capsule. OSIRIS-REx’s goal was to return 60 grams of material, so it’s already exceeded that amount.

The curation team will catalogue all of the samples later this year. After that, scientists from around the world can request access.

Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid, a primitive chunk of rock that forms a link to the past when the rocky planets were forming. Scientists have already found carbon and water in the previously removed material. In fact, according to initial analysis, its carbon concentration is close to 5%. That’s among the highest non-terrestrial carbon percentages ever measured. “The OSIRIS-REx sample is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever delivered to Earth and will help scientists investigate the origins of life on our own planet for generations to come,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at the time.

Once scientists get their hands on more of the material, they’ll doubtlessly find other interesting components. Maybe even some of life’s building blocks, like amino acids. Bennu’s water and carbon content could indicate that life’s building blocks originated in asteroids like Bennu.

The sample also gives researchers an opportunity to test their findings against previous observations of Bennu. Astronomers studied the asteroid’s composition with OSIRIS-REx’s instruments as it approached Bennu, and the samples will tell them how accurate their efforts were. It’s an opportunity to verify and improve spacecraft instruments and remote sensing methods.

Scientists suspect that Bennu could actually be older than our Solar System. If that’s true, then it’s a window into the distant past when only the solar nebula and the proto-Sun existed. It may contain insights into how everything formed, including the Sun.

Bennu may also be one of the remaining pieces of a much larger body. Scientists think that the parent body broke apart between 700 million and two billion years ago. Scientists hope to learn more from the Bennu sample about its parent body and how Bennu migrated to the inner Solar System.

In a notable act of foresight, 75% of the sample will be stored for the future. Instruments and analysis techniques will only improve over time, and these pristine samples will be available when they do. NASA has done the same with other materials like lunar samples, and it’s paid off.

The Bennu samples can only enhance our understanding of our Solar System and how everything came to be. From its ancient early beginnings in the solar nebula to its present-day location in the inner Solar System, Bennu is a well-travelled message-bearer. Now that we have some of that message in our labs, scientists can reveal what Bennu has to say.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

This is the Oldest Black Hole Ever Seen

There’s an incredibly ancient black hole out there that’s challenging astronomers to explain how it could exist only 400 million years after the Big Bang. It’s at the heart of a galaxy called GN-z11. Astronomers using JWST saw evidence of it gobbling up that galaxy, which is one way a black hole can grow.

In JWST observations, GN-z11 appears to be about 13.4 billion light-years away and is about 100 times smaller than the Milky Way Galaxy. Yet, it has a very bright nucleus, which tells us there’s a black hole at its heart. An accretion disk surrounds the black hole, and it feeds material into the hungry black hole. The motion of the material in the disk heats it, causing it to glow in ultraviolet light. That’s what we see as the active galactic nucleus.

Artist’s representation of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at the center of a galaxy. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

A team of astronomers, led by Cambridge University professor Roberto Maiolino, used the JWST observations to study the motions of material in the galaxy. Finding a black hole like this early in cosmic history is a giant leap forward, he said. “It’s very early in the Universe to see a black hole this massive, so we’ve got to consider other ways they might form,” said Maiolino. “Very early galaxies were extremely gas-rich, so they would have been like a buffet for black holes.”

What Does GN-z11 Tell Us About Black Holes in the Early Universe?

No one is quite sure exactly when the first black holes began to form in the early Universe. If you look at standard models about their creation, it looks like they take a while to get started. Supermassive black holes—like the ones in the hearts of galaxies—could get started as stellar-mass black holes that continue to accrete matter. If that’s how this one in GN-z11 got started, it would have been born when a supermassive star died. Then, somehow it grew to be 6 million times the mass of the Sun. But, there’s a gotcha. It would take nearly a billion years to accumulate that kind of mass. JWST observations show this black hole at a time when the Universe wasn’t even a billion years old. So, something doesn’t add up and perhaps early black holes grew faster than astronomers suspect.

Maybe there’s another way for a black hole to grow that fast. The hint lies in its enormous appetite. Very early galaxies like this one have a lot of material to form stars. However, that also provides food for black holes. As it turns out, GN-z11’s black hole is devouring matter much faster than other black holes do in their galaxies in more modern times. That’s great for the growth of the black hole, but not so great if the galaxy wants to make more stars.

Artist concept of a growing black hole, or quasar, seen at the center of a faraway galaxy. This may be how they looked in the early Universe. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The hungry black hole is actually harming GN-z11. Since it’s consuming a lot of gas, it pushes the gas away in an ultra-fast wind. That stops the process of star formation. Since stars are what galaxies produce, the black hole’s gobbling can actually “kill off” the galaxy. The bad news (at least for the black hole) is that its appetite for gas will spell its doom as it runs out of material to eat.

Going Back to the Beginning

Ultimately, astronomers want to see the “seeds” of the earliest supermassive black holes in galaxies. These seeds likely formed very early in cosmic time, perhaps no later than 200 million years after the Big Bang. The first galaxies assembled fairly quickly and harbored very massive stars that lived perhaps only a few million years. Then, they exploded as supernovae and probably left behind the first stellar-mass black holes. Some have suggested that dark matter helped form early black holes by forcing matter in dense regions to collapse.

Artist view of merging black holes in the early universe. Supermassive black holes early in cosmic time could have experienced many such “mergers and acquisitions”. Credit: LIGO/Caltech/MIT/R. Hurt (IPAC)

However, they formed, black holes in early galaxies got swept up in early galactic mergers. Those seeds merged, too, creating ever more massive black holes. That’s probably why astronomers suspect that supermassive black holes grew by accretion, but not just with each other. They also grew by accretion of material inside their gas-rich galaxies, as GN-z11 seems to show.

Future observations using JWST (and future telescopes) should uncover evidence of those black hole “seeds”. That means GN-z11 may not be the oldest black hole for long. Studying black hole seeds should give Maiolino and other astronomers more clues to unravel the story of how these objects formed not long after the Big Bang.

For More Information

• Astronomers Detect Oldest Black Hole Ever Observed
• A Small and Vigorous Black Hole in the Early Universe
• A Small and Vigorous Black Hole in the Early Universe (arXiv PDF)

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

NASA satellite imagery has revealed the thermal signature of volcanic activity that reawakened on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula this month, following an eruption late last year that prompted evacuations.

Following a surge that began in mid-January, new fissures opened near the town of Grindavík that released lava over 48 hours. Barriers constructed in the area helped divert the flow away from the town, which remains perilous as volcanic activity continues.

The recent eruptions were the fifth that have occurred on the peninsula since 2021.

Watching from above as the hazardous activity has unfolded in recent weeks, NASA’s Landsat 9 satellite and its Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) instrument have collected data that reveals key areas where the volcanic activity is concentrated.

TIRS-2 can detect thermal radiation at two different wavelengths, which conveys the intense heat concentrated around areas where lava flows earlier this month made their way to the surface.

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, which provides data, imagery, and resources related to climate, geology, as well as other Earth systems, TIRS-2 collected the thermal data as Landsat 9 passed overhead on January 16, which has now been superimposed over a digital elevation model of the affected region.

In the imagery provided by Earth Observatory below, the central warmest regions are shown in yellow, with surrounding the lightest temperatures in the region, shown in light blue, indicating cloud coverage.

(Credit: NASA/Earth Observatory)

In December, nearly 4,000 residents were evacuated from Grindavik, followed by a volcanic fissure eruption on December 18 on Sundhnúkagígaröðin, located east of Mt. Sýlingarfell, according to a statement provided by Iceland’s Meteorological Office.

The December eruption was preceded by a “powerful seismic swarm” that began at approximately 21:00 the same day.

Activity has continued since that time, with an additional fissure eruption that began on the morning of January 14, 2024, just one kilometer away from Grindavík. Although barriers constructed in the area since the recent eruptions began were able to divert some of the lava flow, a second fissure that opened shortly after noon local time erupted outside the barrier, resulting in lava flows that reached three homes on the edge of the town.

Fortunately, the volcanic activity subsided within 48 hours, according to the Icelandic Met Office. Although barriers have been used to prevent the flow of the lava from reaching residences during the recent eruptions, in decades past, efforts have included the use of millions of tons of sea water used to cool lava before it could destroy homes and infrastructure.

Based on current models, magma has moved beneath the region, causing uplift and deformation of the surrounding Earth.

“Clear signals of a continued land uplift are still being detected beneath Svartsengi,” read an update from Iceland’s Met Office on January 19. “It is yet too early to assert whether the rate of the land uplift has increased since prior to the eruption on January 14.”

The Met Office says that although it does appear that uplift has increased based on initial measurements, these readings “can fluctuate from one day to the next, and a longer timeline of measurement is needed to be able to interpret the long-term development of the land uplift.”

Fortunately, the Office says that seismic activity overall continues to decrease in the area and that current data suggests a “significant slow down of ground movement compared to previous days.”

“This information suggest[s] that magma is no longer flowing into the dyke and the eruption has ended,” the January 19 statement read.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.

 { https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

Terry Lovelace Alien Abduction Is Most Convincing UFO Encounter With Biological Evidence

In 1973, Lovelace joined the U.S. Air Force immediately after graduating from high school. He received training as a medic/EMT and was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which was previously called Sedalia Air Force Base. The base served as a B-2 bomber base and missile base and was home to the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, with many Minuteman II nuclear-armed ICBM silos scattered across the rural area.

Lovelace was assigned as a base medic and drove an ambulance during the graveyard shift from 11 PM to 8 AM along with his partner, who he referred to as “Toby.” One night in January 1975, while on their regular shift, they were outside the ambulance stargazing when Toby, an amateur astronomer, pointed out the constellations and planets. Typically, their shifts were uneventful, but that night turned out to be very significant, altering the course of their lives.

Lovelace (now 69) went camping with Toby at Devil’s Den state park in northern Arkansas. While conversing near a crackling fire, they had difficulty hearing each other due to the loud sounds of crickets and tree frogs. Suddenly, an eerie silence enveloped them. “That sounds kind of clichéd – out of a movie – but that is exactly what happened to us,” he said.

As they gazed toward the horizon, three bright UFOs emerged and advanced in their direction. As the lights drew closer, the two partners could see that they were emanating from a black triangular prism as wide as two city blocks.

 Alien sketch by Terry Lovelace

 Terry’s re-drawn sketch originally dated Sep 4, 1977, of the massive 5-story-tall craft he and his friend “Toby” encountered in the clearing at Devil’s Den State Park in June of that year. Credit: Terry Lovelace

Lovelace noticed a blue laser beam rapidly moving across them, possibly scanning their presence. Soon after it stopped, they lost consciousness. Upon awakening, he noticed Toby gazing outside the tent, and spotted a triangle-shaped object hovering above a group of approximately twelve children who were standing in a meadow below them. Lovelace questioned, “Why are these children out here at this time of night?”

“They aren’t little kids. Don’t you remember they took us and they hurt us?” Toby answered.

According to Lovelace, when Toby uttered those words, he experienced a sudden recall of memories of being inside a UFO. In later years, he resorted to hypnosis to recover his missing memories. Through one of these sessions, Lovelace recollected an incident where he had been taken aboard a spacecraft and subjected to medical experimentation by peculiar entities.

Those entities were humanoid forms, but their characteristics were distorted and almost non-human. They communicated with each other through telepathy and seemed to be performing a medical procedure on Lovelace. During his hypnosis sessions, Lovelace experienced flashes of memory where he was on an examination table and screaming, but no sound was coming out of his mouth. He could hear telepathic messages in his head, urging him to stop screaming because they did not intend to harm him and would take him back.

Lovelace said that they had a terrible experience that left their skin red and sore like a bad sunburn all over their body, even the soles of their feet. They had to go to the hospital at the base for two days because they were very dehydrated.

While they were there, they were questioned many times by some men who said they were from the “Office of Special Investigations.” They searched his home and car for a camera that Lovelace said he did not have, but they did not believe him. They also told him not to see his partner Toby again, who was sent to another base. The whole experience made Lovelace have nightmares and affected him mentally for a long time.

Read also:

• Man Who Ran Area 51 Claimed They Had Alien Crafts & Non-Human Beings: So Bob Lazar Is telling Truth
• 9-Minute UFO Footage Captured By Chilean Navy Still Baffles Scientists
• Scientists & Astronauts Claim That Extraterrestrial Beings Live Among Us
• Jacques Vallee On Footage Of UFO Landing At Holloman AFB: Occupant Carried Vertical Staff With Spiral Antenna

Terry Lovelace was profoundly disturbed by his encounter and left with numerous unanswered queries. Subsequently, he authored a book titled “Incident at Devils Den: A True Story,” with the intention of uncovering the facts about extraterrestrial abductions and inspiring others to share their experiences.

During a routine X-ray of his leg in 2012, a foreign object was discovered in his leg above the knee. The X-ray revealed an artificial object, about the size of a fingernail, with two wires attached, which the radiologist believed resembled an “RFID compute device.” The radiologist also noticed a collection of foreign objects in his’s calf muscle and was surprised that there was no corresponding scar in the skin. This discovery led Lovelace to recall a traumatic event from 1977 that they had never intended to disclose to anyone.

The most astonishing aspect of this discovery was that there were no signs of incision or surgery on Lovelace’s leg, and the radiologist who detected the object claimed that an absent scar would mean Lovelace was born with this thing in his leg.

On his personal blog, Lovelace writes:

“September of 2017, I was a guest speaker at a UFO event in Houston. It was my first public appearance and opportunity to speak candidly on the topic of alien abduction. This was the time when I decided to write a book. It’s an important topic. We deserve to be informed and not mislead.

I fear we’ve been desensitized about the UFO phenomena by the media especially the motion picture industry. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released in November 1977. my experience happened in June that same year. Now, YouTube provides a flood of valid information mixed with confabulation and deception. Know the truth. Alien’s really exist and some live and walk among us without so much as a second look. There are probably many species from different worlds or different dimensions here on Earth today.

Some aliens may actually be our ‘benign space brothers’ as some have claimed. Here to join hands and walk mankind into a new era of peace and higher consciousness. Maybe so, but not the ones we met. The beings we met were monsters. They kidnap people and subject them to terror and brutality in pursuit of their agenda. They are 100% purpose-driven and void of empathy for human or animal suffering. We are their lab rats. Once you’re tagged as their specimen you’re tagged for a lifetime. Like a wild animal on the Serengeti Plane.”

Five years ago, Terry Lovelace published a book that caused significant issues, leading to a year-long harassment incident over his home outside Dallas. Lovelace reports that following the book’s publicity, military aircraft, including two and four-seaters, as well as Airbus 350s with no registered “N” numbers, flew over his house. These aircraft, which were drab-olive in color, were spotted making flyovers at least twice a week, often every day. Lovelace captured many photos of the incidents, including one that appears to show a UFO in the same frame as one of the intruding aircraft.

After publishing a book about his experience, Lovelace received a call from Tom DeLonge, founder of To The Stars Academy, along with General Neil McCasland and Lue Elizondo, who were interested in the X-rays of Lovelace’s leg, which had been injured during the encounter.

Bill Cox writes:

“I can attest to the fact that TTSA was interested in speaking with Terry regarding possible biological effects that he may have suffered,” states former AATIP manager Elizondo in an email. “Biological effects (are) a potential serious aspect of what we studied in AATIP and we now know that certain elements with the U.S. Government are equally concerned as we were. If Terry is suffering any medical consequences as a result of an alleged encounter with a UAP while serving in the military, then he deserves medical care.

“It is my experience that helicopters of unknown utility have been reported by certain individuals. It is not yet known if this is some sort of intentional harassment or simply a matter of being near a congested flight corridor. Obviously, flying a helicopter is expensive and logistically intense if this were some sort of campaign to intimidate individuals on a regular basis. We would need to do additional research to better determine the nature of these incidents,” he added, “before making any sort of proclamation.

“Terry is a good person who is also credible. I believe Terry and others are convinced their experiences are legitimate.”

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

Private Axiom Mission 3 is Off to the Space Station

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

In recent times, the topic of extraterrestrial presence on Earth has been the subject of much debate and speculation. While mainstream science continues to seek definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life, a growing body of anecdotal reports, whistleblowers’ testimonies, and conspiracy theories suggest a more profound and potentially sinister aspect of alien interaction with our planet.

The Assertion of Alien Presence in Ancient Times and Today

The theory posits that an advanced extraterrestrial race has been present on Earth since ancient times. According to ancient texts like the Sumerian clay tablets, these beings, often referred to as the Anunnaki, allegedly came from the stars and played a pivotal role in shaping early human civilization. These accounts suggest that humans were initially created as a labor force for these beings, leading to the development of agriculture, culture, and even religion under their guidance.

In modern times, the suggestion is that the influence of these extraterrestrial entities persists, albeit in a more covert manner. Conspiracy theories speculate that aliens have continued to manipulate human society, potentially with a long-term agenda that goes beyond mere observation or benign interaction.

Whistleblowers and Their Startling Claims

One of the most notable figures in this debate was Phil Schneider, a former government geologist and engineer, who claimed to have had direct encounters with hostile extraterrestrial beings. Schneider’s allegations, made public in the mid-1990s, included descriptions of underground bases, secret government deals with aliens, and advanced alien technology being used by hidden factions within the U.S. government. His untimely and suspicious death further fueled speculation about the truth and potential cover-ups of his claims.

Alien-Human Hybrids and the New World Order

A particularly disturbing aspect of these theories is the idea of creating alien-human hybrids. The purpose of these hybrids, as some theorists suggest, is to create beings with the resilience of humans and the advanced mental capabilities of aliens. This hybridization is believed to be part of a larger agenda to implement a New World Order – a totalitarian world government controlled by or heavily influenced by these extraterrestrial forces.

The Role of Governments and Secret Agendas

It is alleged that various global events and political shifts are steps towards establishing this New World Order. These include the formation of international organizations and agreements that supposedly erode national sovereignty and individual freedoms. Theorists argue that the ultimate goal is to replace national governments with a singular, authoritarian world government.

Skepticism and the Need for Critical Analysis

While these theories are compelling to many, they are met with skepticism by the scientific community and mainstream society. The lack of tangible evidence, the often fantastical nature of the claims, and the reliance on anecdotal testimonies make it challenging to accept these theories at face value.

VIDEO:

• Sinister Secrets of Advanced Extraterrestrials Revealed | Aliens Among Us | Absolute Documentaries

• https://youtu.be/o8a7usVCdkE

The debate over extraterrestrial influence on Earth raises significant questions about our place in the universe and the unseen forces that may be shaping our destiny. Whether these theories are grounded in reality or are the product of imaginative speculation, they reflect deep-seated human concerns about control, freedom, and the unknown aspects of our existence.

As the search for extraterrestrial life continues both within our solar system and beyond, the discourse around alien influence on Earth reminds us of the vast, unexplored mysteries of the cosmos and our ongoing quest to understand our place within it.

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

Objectsof this size are typically categorized as “astrophysical compact objects,” and they generally come in one of two varieties: black holes or neutron stars. Still, there is an enormous mass gap between the smallest black hole and the largest neutron star. For example, the largest neutron stars range between 2.2 to 2.5 solar masses, while black holes smaller than 5 solar masses are considered extremely rare. The result is a mass gap where these objects simply should not be.

As a result, discovering a compact astronomical object situated within this gap is a major event. Astronomers Ewan Barr and Arunima Dutta from the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, who made the discovery, say that previous objects in this mass gap have also been spotted, but “the nature of these objects and the mechanisms through which they formed remain unknown.”

The astronomers made the discovery while scanning a globular cluster known as NGC 1851 using the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) in South Africa. There, they spotted a pulsar in a binary orbit with an unknown compact object with a mass that landed in the lower range of the mass gap.

“The nature of these mass gap objects is unknown, as is the formation of their host binary systems,” the researchers write in the study detailing their findings. They also point out that the companion’s mass of 2.09 to 2.71 (solar masses) is in the mass gap, “indicating either a very massive NS (Neutron Star) or a low-mass BH (Black Hole).”

FINDING COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR UNKNOWN PHYSICS

The research team theorizes that these types of systems evolve from collisions between neutron stars that result in a binary system with a millisecond pulsar (MSP) and a Neutron Star. However, they think that given the correct conditions, “the same exchange process could also produce an MSP–black hole (BH) binary system.”

“We propose that the companion formed in a merger between two earlier (Neutron Stars),” they explain.

Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics researcher Maya Fishbach, who wrote a perspective piece to accompany the published study outlining the finding, says that even though the object’s origin is still unknown, the fact that it lies within this huge gap is incredibly significant.

“Regardless of its origin … the discovery of a compact object with a mass between 2.09 and 2.71 solar masses in a globular cluster has fascinating implications,” Fishbach explained.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }