NASA's most wanted: The 5 most dangerous asteroids to Earth

Elon Musk May Be Draining The Black Budget...And That’s a Big Problem For Alien Tech Programs, UFO Sighting News.

This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. Elon Musk...yes, that Elon Musk, the face of SpaceX and Tesla...may be doing something he doesn't even realize: taking money away from the U.S. black budget. And if you know anything about how the black budget works, you’ll understand how dangerous that could be.

Let’s be real. The black budget isn’t just for high tech fighter jets and spy satellites. It funds everything the U.S. doesn’t want the public to know about: back engineered alien tech, secret underground bases, reverse engineered craft from crash sites...like Roswell, like the one in South Africa, and others we’ve never even heard about. And yeah, off world operations.

Let’s talk about that.

Back in 2001, UK hacker Gary McKinnon broke into NASA and U.S. military systems and found files labeled "non-terrestrial officers" and references to “fleet-to-fleet transfers.” Think about that. A fleet. Not a ship. A fleet! He said he found the names of ships that aren’t in any public registry. That sounds like a U.S. military space program completely off the books...probably funded by, you guessed it, the black budget.

Now, when Elon Musk gets billions in contracts to launch satellites or resupply the ISS, where is that money coming from? A huge chunk of it may be siphoned directly from top-secret programs. Which ones? We don't know, because they don't officially exist.

 But here’s where it gets wild...some of these programs are rumored to operate independently of the U.S. government. We're talking about rogue groups, possibly linked to the so called Men in Black. But these guys don’t go by names, ranks, or any public agency. They answer to no one. They protect alien tech and information, and some believe they’re even hybrid or entirely non human.

So what happens if Musk takes too much attention...and too much funding? Those rogue ops could go dark or lose control over the advanced tech they've been hiding for decades. Or worse, they retaliate and go after Musk. Musk could unknowingly be poking a hornet’s nest that stretches beyond Earth. Maybe that's why he keeps saying he's never seen aliens...because he's being watched and he knows it.

I’m not saying Musk is the bad guy here. But when you tamper with things buried this deep down the rabbit hole, someone notices. Someone always does.

Scott C. Waring – UFO Sightings Daily

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

Uncovering the Hidden Alien Face in the Mona Lisa: A Da Vinci Mystery. UFO UAP Sighting News.

Okay, so hear me out: there’s this wild theory that Leonardo Da Vinci secretly hid an alien face in the Mona Lisa. I know, it sounds crazy, but after watching this video, you can’t unsee it! I made the video and it makes a lot of sense.

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

UAP DEFINITIE EN BETEKENIS: Understanding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Ongeïdentificeerde Luchtverschijnselen (UAP's) Een still uit een video waarop een onbekend object te zien is, vastgelegd door een vliegtuig van de Amerikaanse marine.

Inleiding

In de afgelopen decennia hebben onopgeloste luchtverschijnselen zowel de nieuwsgierigheid als de scepticisme van wetenschappers, overheid en het grote publiek gewekt. Wat ooit bekend stond als UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects) heeft zich ontwikkeld tot de bredere term UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). Dit document biedt een analytische verkenning van deze evolutie, de opkomst van de UAP-era en de voortdurende zoektocht naar antwoorden op deze intrigerende verschijnselen.

De Evolutie van UFO naar UAP

De term UFO werd voor het eerst populair in de jaren vijftig, toen een golf van waarnemingen van ongeïdentificeerde vliegende objecten de media en het publiek in een greep hield. In die tijd werden UFO's vaak geassocieerd met buitenaards leven en samenzweringstheorieën. De meeste waarnemingen konden echter niet worden verklaard en leidden tot een toenemend aantal speculaties.

In de loop der jaren is de terminologie veranderd en is de term UAP in zwang geraakt. De verschuiving van UFO naar UAP weerspiegelt een bredere en meer neutrale benadering van deze fenomenen. UAP omvat niet alleen vliegende objecten, maar ook andere ongeïdentificeerde luchtverschijnselen zoals lichtflitsen en ongebruikelijke bewegingen. Deze evolutie is mede gestimuleerd door een groeiende behoefte aan wetenschappelijke objectiviteit en een grotere bereidheid binnen overheidsinstanties om dergelijke fenomenen serieus te onderzoeken.

Wetenschappelijke en culturele impact

De evolutie van UFO naar UAP heeft niet alleen invloed gehad op de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap, maar ook op de popcultuur. Films, boeken en documentaires hebben bijgedragen aan de fascinatie voor deze fenomenen. De term UAP heeft in deze context geholpen om de discussie te verbreden en minder te focussen op het idee van buitenaardse wezens, wat het mogelijk maakt om de fenomenen vanuit een wetenschappelijker perspectief te benaderen.

De UAP Era Begint

De recente toename van rapporten en studies over onverklaarde luchfenomenen (UAP's) heeft geleid tot de zogenaamde UAP-era. Deze fase, die de wereldwijde belangstelling voor het onderwerp heeft aangewakkerd, werd in gang gezet door de vrijgave van videomateriaal door de Amerikaanse marine in 2017. Dit materiaal bevatte beelden waarop verschillende UAP's werden vastgelegd door gevechtsvliegtuigen. De beelden toonden objecten die zich met onverklaarbare snelheid en wendbaarheid bewogen, wat de aandacht trok van zowel wetenschappers als beleidsmakers. De impact van deze onthullingen heeft geleid tot een hernieuwde en serieuze discussie over de aard van deze fenomenen en hun mogelijke implicaties voor de mensheid.

Belangrijke publicaties en onderzoeken

In 2020 en 2021 publiceerde de Amerikaanse regering verschillende rapporten over UAP's, waaronder een rapport van de Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Deze rapporten gaven een overzicht van de waarnemingen die door verschillende militaire en civiele instanties waren gedaan. Ze benadrukten de noodzaak voor verder onderzoek naar deze fenomenen. Het rapport concludeerde dat de meeste waarnemingen niet konden worden verklaard, maar dat ze ook niet noodzakelijkerwijs bewijs voor buitenaards leven waren. Dit leidde tot een groeiende bezorgdheid over nationale veiligheid en de noodzaak om te begrijpen wat deze objecten waren en waar ze vandaan kwamen.

De UAP-era heeft geleid tot de oprichting van speciale onderzoekscommissies binnen de overheid, zoals de UAP Task Force. Deze instanties hebben als doel de fenomenen verder te bestuderen en te begrijpen, evenals de mogelijke implicaties voor de nationale veiligheid. De oprichting van deze taskforces is een belangrijke stap, omdat het aangeeft dat de overheid serieus genomen wil worden in het onderzoeken van deze mysterieuze waarnemingen, en dat er een bereidheid is om informatie te delen met het publiek.

De rol van technologie

Technologische vooruitgang heeft ook een belangrijke rol gespeeld in de UAP-era. Verbeterde radarsystemen, infraroodcamera's en andere sensortechnologieën hebben het mogelijk gemaakt om UAP's nauwkeuriger te detecteren en te analyseren. Dit heeft geleid tot een groeiend aantal waarnemingen en een grotere hoeveelheid data die kan worden bestudeerd. De ontwikkeling van nieuwe technologieën heeft niet alleen de detectie verbeterd, maar ook de mogelijkheid om deze objecten te volgen en hun gedrag te analyseren.

Bovendien hebben sociale media en de opkomst van smartphones het voor getuigen gemakkelijker gemaakt om hun ervaringen vast te leggen en te delen. Dit heeft geleid tot een grotere verzameling van getuigenissen en video-opnamen, die onderzoekers kunnen gebruiken om patronen te identificeren en meer inzicht te krijgen in de aard van UAP's. Wetenschappers en onderzoekers zijn nu beter uitgerust dan ooit om deze fenomenen te bestuderen, wat de kans vergroot dat we in de toekomst meer te weten komen over wat deze objecten zijn en waar ze vandaan komen.

UFO's, UAP's en de Quest for Answers

De zoektocht naar antwoorden op de mysteries rondom UAP's is een multidisciplinaire inspanning die wetenschappers, ingenieurs, militaire analisten en zelfs filosofen omvat. Er zijn verschillende benaderingen en theorieën ontwikkeld om deze fenomenen te begrijpen. De diversiteit aan disciplines die betrokken zijn bij het onderzoek naar UAP's weerspiegelt de complexiteit van het onderwerp en de verschillende perspectieven die nodig zijn om het volledig te begrijpen.

Wetenschappelijke benaderingen

Wetenschappelijke benaderingen omvatten het gebruik van statistische analyses om patronen in waarnemingen te identificeren, evenals het ontwikkelen van hypotheses over de aard van UAP's. Sommige wetenschappers pleiten voor het toepassen van de methodologie van de natuurwetenschappen om UAP's te onderzoeken, terwijl anderen pleiten voor een meer interdisciplinaire aanpak die ook sociale en culturele aspecten in overweging neemt. Dit betekent dat onderzoekers niet alleen naar de technische aspecten van UAP's kijken, maar ook naar hoe deze fenomenen in de context van de menselijke ervaring passen.

Een belangrijk aspect van de wetenschappelijke benadering is de noodzaak om objectieve gegevens te verzamelen en te analyseren. Dit kan inhouden dat onderzoekers gebruikmaken van geavanceerde algoritmen en kunstmatige intelligentie om grote hoeveelheden data te verwerken en patronen te identificeren die anders misschien over het hoofd worden gezien. Daarnaast is er ook een groeiende belangstelling voor het begrip van de psychologische impact van UAP-waarnemingen op individuen en gemeenschappen, wat kan bijdragen aan een breder begrip van hoe deze fenomenen worden waargenomen en geïnterpreteerd.

Filosofische en ethische overwegingen

De zoektocht naar antwoorden op UAP's roept ook belangrijke filosofische en ethische vragen op. Wat betekent het voor de mensheid als we bewijs van buitenaards leven zouden vinden? Hoe zouden religies reageren op dergelijke ontdekkingen? De implicaties zijn enorm en vereisen een zorgvuldige overweging. Deze vragen zijn niet alleen academisch van aard; ze raken aan de kern van ons begrip van onszelf en onze plek in het universum.

Filosofen en ethici zijn begonnen na te denken over de gevolgen van het ontdekken van buitenaards leven of technologie. Zou dit onze morele en ethische kaders veranderen? Hoe zouden we moeten reageren op een mogelijk contact met een andere intelligentie? Dergelijke overpeinzingen zijn cruciaal, omdat de antwoorden die we vinden niet alleen ons begrip van UAP's kunnen beïnvloeden, maar ook de manier waarop we ons als soort ontwikkelen en ons verhouden tot andere levensvormen in het universum.

UAP's: aliens of iets anders? Enkele van de meest voorkomende oorzaken voor UAP-waarnemingen

De rol van de overheid en transparantie

De rol van de overheid in de UAP-onderzoeken is cruciaal. Transparantie over waarnemingen en studies kan helpen om het vertrouwen van het publiek te winnen. De recente beweging naar openheid, zoals het vrijgeven van vertrouwelijke documenten en rapporten, is een positieve stap in de richting van een beter begrip van UAP's. Deze transparantie kan ook bijdragen aan het verminderen van de stigmatisering die vaak gepaard gaat met het melden van UAP-waarnemingen.

De overheid heeft de verantwoordelijkheid om het publiek te informeren over de bevindingen van UAP-onderzoeken, niet alleen om de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap te betrekken, maar ook om een breed scala aan perspectieven en inzichten te verzamelen. Dit kan helpen om de vragen en zorgen van burgers aan te pakken en een inclusieve discussie over het onderwerp te bevorderen.

De impact van publieke perceptie

De manier waarop het publiek UAP's waarneemt is ook van groot belang. In de afgelopen jaren is er een verschuiving geweest in de publieke perceptie van UAP's, van een onderwerp dat vaak werd belachelijk gemaakt tot een serieus onderzoeksgebied. Dit is in grote mate te danken aan de toegenomen media-aandacht en de betrokkenheid van wetenschappers en overheidsinstanties. De rol van sociale media en online gemeenschappen heeft ook bijgedragen aan deze verschuiving, waardoor mensen hun ervaringen en gedachten over UAP's kunnen delen en bijdragen aan een bredere dialoog.

Met deze verschuiving in de publieke perceptie komt ook een grotere verantwoordelijkheid voor zowel de media als de overheid. Het is belangrijk dat ze nauwkeurige en eerlijke informatie verstrekken over UAP's, om speculatie en desinformatie te verminderen. Een goed geïnformeerd publiek is essentieel voor een constructieve discussie over de implicaties van UAP's en wat ze voor onze toekomst kunnen betekenen.

Conclusie

De UAP-era heeft ons geconfronteerd met een aantal van de meest intrigerende en uitdagende vragen die we ons als mensheid kunnen stellen. Terwijl we verder gaan in onze zoektocht naar antwoorden, is het essentieel dat we een multidisciplinaire benadering blijven hanteren, waarbij de inzichten van wetenschappers, filosofen, ethici en het grote publiek worden meegenomen. De mysteries rond UAP's zijn nog lang niet opgelost, maar de vooruitgang die we maken in ons begrip van deze fenomenen biedt ons de kans om niet alleen meer te leren over de wereld om ons heen, maar ook over onszelf.

De evolutie van UFO naar UAP markeert een belangrijke verschuiving in hoe we denken over ongeïdentificeerde luchtverschijnselen. De UAP-era, gekenmerkt door een toename van waarnemingen en een grotere bereidheid om deze fenomenen serieus te onderzoeken, biedt een unieke kans voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek en maatschappelijke reflectie. De zoektocht naar antwoorden op de mysteries van UAP's is nog maar net begonnen, maar de vooruitgang die tot nu toe is geboekt, wijst op een fascinerende toekomst waarin we mogelijk meer zullen leren over de onbekende aspecten van onze lucht en het universum.

De weg vooruit zal ongetwijfeld vol uitdagingen en nieuwe ontdekkingen zijn, maar met de juiste samenwerking, transparantie en een open geest kunnen we misschien eindelijk de antwoorden vinden waar we al zo lang naar op zoek zijn. De UAP-era is nog maar net begonnen, en de mogelijkheden zijn eindeloos.

Referenties

1. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. (2021). Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
2. Hynek, J. A. (1972). The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry.
3. McWest, J. (2020). The Science of UFOs: A Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
4. Vallee, J. (1990). Confrontations: A Scientist's Search for Alien Contact.

• Dit document biedt een overzicht van de huidige staat van kennis over UAP's en de vele vragen die nog beantwoord moeten worden. Het is een uitnodiging aan wetenschappers en het publiek om samen te werken aan het ontrafelen van de mysteries die de lucht boven ons blijven omhullen.

{ PETER2011 MET AI-technologie}

By: Allison Troutner & Austin Henderson  

U.S. Navy pilots tracked and photographed what appeared to be a fast-moving object off the Florida coast in 2015.  Department of Defense

As you gaze up at the vast night sky, spotting flying objects and flashing lights, you might wonder if you're witnessing evidence of extraterrestrial visitors or simply natural phenomena. Historically, most people would label these mysterious objects as UFOs or Unidentified Flying Objects.

But did you know that there's a more modern terminology now in play? Enter "UAP" or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. So, what exactly is the UAP meaning?

Contents

1. The Evolution from UFO to UAP
2. The UAP Era Begins
3. UFOs, UAPs and the Quest for Answers

1. The Evolution from UFO to UAP

Throughout history, from ancient Greece to present times, people have reported sightings of unidentified objects in the sky. These events, often linked with extraterrestrial origin, have been the focus of many enthusiasts and government agencies alike.

But the term UFO isn't without its issues.

When we hear "UFO", our minds often jump straight to alien spacecraft. Blame it on pop culture or the association the term has built over the years.

A Brief History of UFOs

The term "UFO" came into our lexicon after a significant event on June 24, 1947. Pilot Kenneth Arnold reported nine bright, flying discs moving at high speeds near Mount Rainer.

This report birthed the terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc," laying the groundwork for what we commonly refer to as UFOs. Following Arnold's report, government officials and military units started establishing UFO investigation task forces.

Over the past decades, UFO sightings became synonymous with aliens. Reports from pilots, military personnel, and civilians alike about flying saucers, hovering lights and objects moving at high speeds always seemed to suggest visitors from outer space.

2. The UAP Era Begins

This screenshot of a leaked video of a flashing, triangle-shaped object that flew over a U.S. warship was confirmed by the Pentagon as real, though it declined to label it a UAP.  SETI

The shift from "UFO" to "UAP" was subtle but significant. UAPs encompass a broader definition, including any unidentified anomalous phenomena in the sky. This change in terminology was partly due to recent years of data collected by national security departments and civilian star gazers.

In 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a comprehensive report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena called Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

This report mentioned the rigorous scientific methods applied to UAP research, using advanced technologies like radar. It was no longer just about eyewitness accounts. The focus had shifted to hard evidence and understanding the nature of these events.

In a leap towards understanding these phenomena better, NASA has now commissioned an independent team of 16 scientists and astrophysicists. They aim to analyze unclassified UAP data and work towards ensuring aircraft safety.

3. UFOs, UAPs and the Quest for Answers

Whether it's UFOs or UAPs, the essence remains the same: unidentified flying objects in the sky. Both terms, while carrying different connotations, point towards humanity's eternal exploration and desire to understand the unknown.

While UAPs might be the preferred term in government circles, it doesn't exclude the possibility of extraterrestrial origins. The UAP terminology might just be the scientific community's way of embracing these unidentified objects without fear of, well, sounding a bit out of this world.

The change in terminology represents a more data-driven, scientific approach to understanding mysterious flying objects in our sky. As the stars twinkle and mysterious objects continue to whizz by, our search for answers continues, regardless of what we call them.

• This article was updated in conjunction with AI technology, then fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.

• Now That's Interesting

One of the earliest known discussions of the possibility of alien life appears in a book written around 50 B.C.E. by a protégé of Epicurius, Lucretius. In his book "De rerum natura," or "On the Nature of Things," he writes, "... 'Tmust be confessed in other realms there are / Still other worlds, still other breeds of men / And other generations of the wild."

{ https://science.howstuffworks.com/ }

By: Robert Lamb & Desiree Bowie   

For many, the term "UFO" conjures the image of a flying disc soaring through the night sky. But what is a UFO, really?  Joe McBride / Getty Images

You glimpse a light in the night sky. It's not a star or an airplane — but something radically different. It moves with baffling speed, pulsates with radiance beyond anything you've witnessed. Three letters immediately enter your mind: U-F-O. And you likely have Hollywood to thank for this line of thinking.

These mysterious objects have played a prominent role in pop culture, captivating imaginations and fueling speculation. From classic films like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" to TV shows like "The X-Files," UFOs have become symbols of mystery and the unknown and mainstays in literature, music and art.

We know what Hollywood has to say about these mystery objects, but what are UFOs actually doing up in the sky in real life? And is there a massive government cover-up surrounding their existence? In this article, we'll take a closer look at these airborne objects, their potential link to extraterrestrial life and popular conspiracies about them.

Contents

1. What Is a UFO?
2. The Scientific Stance on Unidentified Flying Objects
3. Fire in the Sky
4. Evaluating UFO Reports and Alien Abductions
5. Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: A New Term Emerges
6. UAPs and the Government

1. What Is a UFO?

Technically, an unidentified flying object (UFO) can be anything when you get right down to it, but the term has become synonymous with spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin.

Alleged sightings became a popular topic of conversation in the mid-20th century and continue to this day. Exact descriptions of alien spacecraft vary with each telling, but witnesses and UFO enthusiasts often describe a lighted object capable of hovering silently and zigzagging in midair.

The technology for such a craft and the ability for a living passenger to survive its g-forces are well beyond humanity's modern technology. Additionally, given the massive distance between habitable star systems, such craft would have to travel at impossible speeds or with patience that staggers the imagination.

2. The Scientific Stance on Unidentified Flying Objects

For decades, scientists didn't have much to say about these unidentified objects. From a scientific standpoint, there was never enough sufficient evidence in UFO records to make a case for alien visitation. Most UFO sightings depend on fallible human accounts, imperfect footage and conspiracy theory.

All of this tends to crumble under the scrutiny of the scientific method, humanity's best sieve for separating reality from fantasy.

In recent years, the field has begun to approach UFOs with a stance of curiosity and skepticism. NASA, guided by administrator Bill Nelson, now aims to play a more prominent role in this research, emphasizing the importance of scientific methodology and instruments to gather data.

This shift signifies a desire to move beyond sensationalism and tabloid speculation, toward a more rigorous scientific approach.

3. Fire in the Sky

This painting by Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich depicts biblical shepherds experiencing an angelic encounter.

Imagno/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The sky has always teemed with sights to stir the imagination: atmospheric anomalies, wildlife, optical illusions, aurora borealis, shooting stars and distant supernovae, just to name a few. Even in our scientifically informed age, countless phenomena escape our understanding.

As Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung pointed out, these sights have no intrinsic meaning, but even the earliest humans jumped at the chance to project their hopes, dreams and nightmares into the vastness of the sprawling void. They personified the sun and moon as deities and poured their belief systems into the wheeling movements of the stars. And when they glimpsed strange lights, they read them as omens.

Just as the emotional resonance of a UFO sighting falls to the observer, so too does the explanation. Humans have always experienced brushes with the unknown, and they've always fished for explanations in the waters of their cultural worldview. In the absence of science, they turned to their religious beliefs, folktales and myth.

Religious Interpretations

Consider the UFO encounter that took place in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. In what has subsequently been explained as everything from stratospheric dust to mass hallucination, thousands of witnesses in the predominantly Catholic town claimed to see an aerial event brought on by the Virgin Mary.

During this event, known as "the Miracle of the Sun," witnesses say the sun appeared to dance, change colors and spin.

Before the advent of Christianity, the same event would have likely been viewed through the lens of a pagan belief system. How do you think such an event would be interpreted in the entirely different world we know today?

By framing a bizarre occurrence within the context of a belief system or worldview, an individual attributes both a "what" and a "why" to the phenomenon. Such a view also helps sanction the experience and allow the individual to feel like they are both special for having experienced it and normal for sharing such experiences with others. Perform an online search for "UFO support group," and see for yourself.

4. Evaluating UFO Reports and Alien Abductions

Alien abduction experiences are often traumatic.

Chip Simons/Taxi/Getty Images

Accounts of alien abduction often factor into UFO sightings, and this is also an area where one's worldview, belief system and culture play a vital role in framing an extraordinary experience.

Fortunately, alien abduction accounts generally provide more room for serious evaluation, typically by medical doctors or psychiatrists.

Doctors believe that sleep paralysis and waking, hypnopompic hallucinations factor into many abduction experiences. This is a kind of temporary paralysis accompanied by visual and auditory hallucinations, which are often charged by the person's sexual fantasies, belief system and pop culture.

Imagine waking in your bed, unable to move and experiencing sexual hallucinations colored by your subconscious. The exact nature of the hallucinations would likely depend, like dreams, on the nature of your belief system and cultural literacy. You might experience the visitation of an angel or ghost. Likewise, you just might experience a transcendent walk through an alien spacecraft or endure uncomfortable probing at the hands of extraterrestrials.

Consider the case of science writer and Skeptic magazine editor Michael Shermer, who himself experienced an alien abduction. Or rather, he collapsed from sleep deprivation and exhaustion following an 83-hour bike ride in a transcontinental race.

As Shermer's support team rushed over to him, the bicyclist saw them through the filter of a waking dream and perceived them as aliens from a 1960s TV series [source: Shermer].

Other Potential Causes

Researchers may attribute abduction experiences to a host of additional causes, including schizophrenia, organic brain syndrome, bipolar disorder, delayed post-traumatic stress disorder or even food allergies.

Neuroscientist Michael Persinger points the finger to the brain's temporal lobe. Persinger believes that temporal lobe anomalies, when combined with certain cultural expectations (such as beliefs in aliens or angels) can mislabel imagined experiences as actual experiences.

Even without the aid of neurological misfiring, human memory is a complex and fallible thing. Every day, we experience something new and turn that experience into an imperfect narrative. We can convince ourselves of nearly anything — especially when it fulfills a need.

So why do humans need visiting alien spacecraft and alien encounters? Perhaps Jung put it best in a 1958 interview: "In our world, miracles do not happen anymore, and we feel that something simply must happen which will provide an answer or show the way out. So now these UFOs are appearing in the sky."

In the late 1990s, psychologists Roy F. Baumesiter and Leonard S. Newman furthered this viewpoint by arguing that abduction encounters are essentially subconscious attempts to rid oneself of self-awareness through masochistic fantasy. In lieu of mystic conviction, our minds staff these fantasies with aliens.

In addition, our cultural frame of reference continually changes. Some observers have even equated the recent decline in UFO sightings to the rise of the internet. Cultural critic Ziauddin Sardar suggests that instead of projecting our hopes and fears into space, we project them into cyberspace.

So what are UFOs really? You might not find the answer amid the stars after all, but rather in the labyrinthine chambers of the human mind.

5. Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: A New Term Emerges

Breaking news: The term "UFO" is on its way out. Well, for the U.S. government, that is.

The feds began making the shift from "unidentified flying object" to "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP) in 2020 when the UAP Task Force was established to encourage pilots to report sightings without fear of stigma or career repercussions. The scientific community is actively seeking better data on UAPs to gain a deeper understanding.

NASA also gathered a panel of 16 experts to assess how data on UAPs is collected across government and private sectors. Their final report, released in September 2023, found no evidence of extraterrestrial origins for UAPs but acknowledged that a small subset of encounters defies explanation.

6. UAPs and the Government

During a 2023 congressional hearing on UAPs, three military veterans testified about their experiences and concerns. One former Air Force intelligence officer alleged the existence of a secret government program for decades, involving the reverse engineering of recovered UFOs and the retrieval of non-human biological materials from alleged crash sites.

However, much of the discussion during the hearing focused on improving the reporting process for UAPs. The veterans called for destigmatizing UAP reporting and ensuring government program oversight. The Defense Department stated that it had not found any verifiable information supporting claims of extraterrestrial material possession or reverse engineering.

Retired Maj. David Grusch, a whistleblower who had been part of the Pentagon's UAP Task Force, claimed to know the exact locations of UAPs in U.S. possession but couldn't provide further details publicly. He stated his information came from reliable sources and shared evidence kept secret from Congress.

The hearing also featured testimony from former Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves, who described encountering unusual aircraft off the coast of Virginia Beach, and retired Cmdr. David Fravor, who witnessed a mysterious "Tic Tac"-shaped flying object in 2004. Both emphasized the need for transparency and acknowledged the superior technology of the encountered objects.

The hearing aimed to pressure intelligence agencies for greater transparency on UAPs, citing potential national security threats. Lawmakers, witnesses and advocates called for a centralized reporting system to encourage reporting and eliminate stigma, emphasizing the importance of understanding these phenomena for both safety and scientific reasons.

• This article was updated in conjunction with AI technology, then fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.

{ https://science.howstuffworks.com/ }

{ https://science.howstuffworks.com/ }

1. Marfa Mystery Lights of West Texas

The Marfa lights, sometimes called the "Marfa ghost lights" due to theories that they are ghosts of Spanish Conquistadors or Native Americans, are unexplained phenomena that consistently appear near a small town in West Texas.

Alleged "Marfa ghost lights" as viewed in west Texas.

Beakal Alemayehu / Shutterstock

The Marfa Lights Viewing Center is a park that has become the main attraction point in the region, where you have the best chance to see these bouncing blue and yellow orbs a few times a month.

The famous actor James Dean became obsessed with the lights while filming "Giant." He would spend hours watching the desert through his telescope, which he set up at his hotel window.

Another James — former NASA engineer James Bunnell — spent the early 2000s setting up automatic infrared cameras to capture evidence of the mysterious lights on the horizon.

Marfa Lights: The Great Texas Mystery

{ https://science.howstuffworks.com/ }

Mystery of eerie ‘ghost’ lights plaguing town finally solved

The mystery of ‘ghost lanterns’ haunting a town in South Carolina might have been solved.

The glowing balls of light have often been spotted by an old railway track and were said to belong to the ghost of a woman who lost her husband in a train accident.

Now a scientist believes earthquakes might be behind the spooky phenomenon.

'Ghost lights' have been spotted all over the world for generations, but few have been explained by actual science. 

Kim Westerskov/Getty Images

The ghostly glowing lights in a remote area of Summerville, South Carolina, have been recorded since mid-20th century, alongside reports of slamming doors, footsteps, and disturbed animals and birds.

Legend has it the lights are lanterns, carried by a ghost whose husband lost his head in a train accident.

But a seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Susan Hough, has crashed the party for ghost hunters, as she believes the lights are nothing to do with paranormal at all.

She argued in a research paper in January the ‘lanterns’ were actually a phenomenon called earthquake lights.

Earthquake lights have been reported across the world, and are described as ‘balls of light, streamers, and steady glows’ which are visible around the time of an earthquake.

Seismologists are yet to agree a theory for why these lights appear in the first place.

One expert has suggested they are a result of underground gases like methane or radon ignited by static electricity or rock movements.

Hough says this theory makes the most sense when it comes to the Summerville ghost lanterns.

She studied the first reports of the glowing lights in the 1950s and 1960s and found they coincided with three magnitude 3.5 to 4.4 earthquakes that took place only a few kilometres away.

The theory is that even smaller unrecognisable earthquakes have occurred since.

The steel rails of the defunct rail line as well as nearby scrap heaps could be igniting the underground gases.

As for why sightings of the ghost lights are only on dark and misty nights, Hough said these ignitable gases might be trapped in water droplets before lighting up.

Earthquakes would also explain other paranormal reports such as shaking cars and swinging doors and spooked animals.

The scientist acknowledges her theory is unproven, but it could be tested by measuring gas emissions from the ground in areas where the ‘ghosts’ are seen.

The area was the scene of the infamous 1886 Charleston earthquake, which caused 60 deaths and up to $6million (equivalent to $186.51million in 2023) in damage.

 { https://metro.co.uk/news/ }

Robotic dogs could be coming to your door with Evri parcel delivery trial

 Jen Mills

Evri is testing out a robotic dog that can jump in and out of vans, climb stairs, and drop packages on your doorstep.

The 70kg robodog is the size of a Great Dane and zips around on wheels, using cameras to sense where to go.

It can hand parcels to customers directly, or can squat down and drop packages from its backside.

It’s not a belated April Fool though: this dog really will be let off the lead for the first trial of its kind in the UK, working alongside human couriers to deliver people’s parcels this summer.

Metro travelled to Evri’s HQ near Barnsley yesterday to see the dog in action, and we were surprised by the size and speed of it. It is no dalek thwarted by steps, and leaped around in a startling demonstration of how the robot future is upon us.

It is able to climb flights of stairs and open gates, and makers say it could could one day deliver parcels or takeaway food for companies on its own.

So would you think this dog was a good boy if it appeared with your Vinted parcel?

Rivr, the company which invented it, said that robotics is having an ‘iPhone moment’, comparing the tech to the revolutionary launch of the smartphone which changed our lives.

Co-founder and CEO of the Swiss company, Marko Bjelonic, told Metro that we are living through a second industrial revolution, and compared robotic dog deliveries to the automation of parcel warehouses, which is now standard.

He predicted that within the next three years, we will see ‘more and more’ robots on the street, and within the next five to seven years he plans to have sold more than a million.

The robotic delivery dog

Weight: 70kg

Top speed: 6.5m/s

Endurance: 5 hours

Capacity: 50kg of weight in the drawer on its back

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work the robot dog goes (Picture: Joel Goodman)

The AI-powered dog has sensors, cameras, 4G and 5G wi-fi routers, two-way audio, internal navigation, and a 45 Ah, 58V battery.

It can carry a box on its back for higher volume of parcels, or it can have an additional arm to ring doorbells and hand parcels directly to customers.

This is not just dreaming, as Rivr has been backed by Jeff Bezos, has secured $27 million in funding, and is already trialling the robots for parcel delivery in Switzerland.

Mr Bjelonic said it is possible that one day robotic delivery dogs could hang off the back of a self-driving van to leave more room for parcels inside, with fewer humans employed as couriers but new roles created to manage the robot fleet.

But for the ‘foreseeable future’, the focus is on human and robot working together for the physically intensive last stretch of a parcel reaching our homes.

Marcus Hunter, chief technology officer at Evri, said he hoped the robodog trial could help customers with disabilities who may take longer to answer the door.

The dog could wait up to ten minutes while a courier kept going with other parcels, rather than risk leaving the parcel unattended.

Referring to high profile trials of drone deliveries, Mr Hunter said: ‘Everybody does drones, but there’s a limitation to drones and you need quite a lot of approvals. So the next best thing is man’s best friend… a delivery driver’s best friend now.’

He admitted he would be ‘surprised’ to see a robotic dog at his door delivering parcels, so the trial will be opt-in to avoid giving any customers nightmares about the Terminator.

‘The courier is the heart of our business,’ he added, saying the point of this for Evri was not to replace human drivers but help them deliver more easily: ‘The more parcels they get to facilitate on their rounds, everybody’s happy.’

Parcel volumes are increasing because people do so much online shopping, and the UK in particular relies on doorstep deliveries rather than collecting things from a locker.

Yorkshire-based Evri delivers over 800 million parcels a year, with around 2.5 million deliveries a day.

The Rivr dog is not the only robot they are trying out. They’re also trialling one by Delivers AI, which looks like a coolbox on wheels that rolls itself along pavements independently.

Mr Hunter said using electric robots could reduce the carbon footprint of parcel delivery. Some couriers in London are already using ‘e-cargo bikes’, which are both battery and pedal powered.

He said: ‘If you link that up with the dog, you’ve got a really green solution. You could send them off into a block of flats and it could easily deliver five to ten parcels to the same block while the courier is doing other things and supporting it.’

Meanwhile, Amazon is investing in parcel delivery by drone and has chosen Darlington as the first location to test it in the UK.

Last week, the government announced £20 million in funding to make everyday use of flying taxis and drone deliveries a reality.

{ https://metro.co.uk/news/ }

Cloud Orb Over Colombia Lands Near Person, March 2025, UFO UAP Sighting News

Date of sighting: March 2025

Location of sighting: Colombia

 

Now this is just nuts! I have never seen a video where an orb lands near a person as if it wants that person to come to it in a secluded location so that it could...study the person more closely. This person must have been someone important in this lifetime or the last. At the end of the video the person records the orb dropping into some dense shrubs as if waiting for him. The video ends there...and we are left wondering what he experienced, what he saw, heard felt. Many UFO researchers are trying at this minute to contact the witness, who...appears to want to remain anonymous. This orb which is often called a cloud orb, or an orb which came from a mother orb maker...this object may have given knowledge to the person recording. He may know of something big coming soon. This might just be the beginning. 

Scott C. Waring 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

The contentious debate surrounding conspiracy theories about the existence of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) seems to not just be what forms a three-hour-long Joe Rogan podcast. On the contrary, the fascination surrounding UFOs, and perhaps also the sighting of them, if they really do exist, is a phenomenon that has been around for ages.

Scientists and art critics have analysed artefacts, such as early cave paintings that seem to represent what are believed to be UFOs. Bobble-headed creatures with bug-like eyes and antennas, flying disks in the sky, and much more. But can we really be sure that these are what UFOs look like, or have we just grown accustomed to what the human mind has imagined them to look like?

One of the first examples of a UFO-looking figure in an artwork was identified in an Italian cave painting from c.10,000 BC. It features a cult-looking group of figures casting a spell on an alien-looking specimen with abnormally long arms that wrap around a smaller alien person. What’s creepy is that the arms of the larger alien also seem to be the antennae that belong to the small alien, somehow fusing them.

It’s rather wild to think that a belief in aliens might have been established even before Christ walked on water. However, I wonder if our interpretation of this cave painting depicting aliens is because we haven’t grown accustomed to seeing humans being portrayed in this unrealistic and anthropomorphic way. Indeed, the further we go back into art history, the more humans were represented as simple stick figures with geometric bodies. It was only much later, when artistic principles prioritised hyper-realism, such as Renaissance and Baroque, that we changed the way humans were portrayed in paintings.

Carlo Crivelli’s The Annunciation with Saint Emidius of 1486 is another example of a UFO sighting. What seems to be a seemingly ordinary religious painting of the Annunciation is actually very futuristic and dystopian. First of all, why is there an abnormally large pickle and apple sitting on the tiled floor? This randomly comical detail is suddenly interrupted when one notices the Virgin Mary being targeted by a laser-like light shining down from the sky.

Traditionally, the Annunciation is painted with the Virgin being doused in a golden light, greeted by the graceful Angel Gabriel. Instead, here it looks like she is being targeted from the heavens by a light that is more akin to Tweety’s laser pointer from the Looney Tunes than the divine light of God.

Some artworks haven’t even been left up to interpretation and flatly announce the presence of a UFO. That’s the case with Hans Glaser’s Celestial Phenomenon Over Nuremburg of 1561. In this illustrated newspaper-looking artefact, Glaser explicitly portrays the sighting of a “dreadful apparition” above the city, in which flying objects battle each other in the sky. There’s a large black spear-headed object looming over the city and smaller coloured objects flying around the sun.

Glaser’s broadsheet is arguably the closest we’ve gotten in recent times to proving that UFOs have always existed and might have been spotted, but I might be closer to moving to Mars than waiting for a web-footed specimen to come knocking at my door.

RELATED VIDEOS

{ https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/art/ }

Rendlesham UFO incident 'could be secret weapons test between UK and US governments'

A sketch by Peter Parish, one of the first investigators of the Rendlesham UFO claims a main craft landed before a recovery team came in and cleared trees to access a helicopter with a winch that lifted it out of the forest and to the Woodbridge base.

James Webb telescope takes emergency look at 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 ahead of close encounter in 2032

"While an Earth impact by 2024 YR4 on December 22, 2032 has now been ruled out, it continues to have a non-zero probability of impacting the Moon at this time," the researchers wrote in their preliminary report, which has not yet been peer-reviewed. A second round of JWST observations is planned for May 2025, before the asteroid disappears into the outer solar system for the next several years.

Related: 

• NASA's most wanted: The 5 most dangerous asteroids to Earth

Tracking a "city-killer"

Astronomers first discovered asteroid 2024 YR4 in December 2024. Initial observations with ground-based telescopes indicated that the space rock had a diameter of about 180 feet (55 meters) — roughly as wide as the Leaning Tower of Pisa is tall.

Its orbital trajectory frequently crosses Earth's route around the sun, making a direct collision with our planet possible. If such a strike were to occur, it could wipe out an entire city with the equivalent force of 500 Hiroshima bombs.

While analyzing the asteroid's trajectory, researchers briefly estimated that 2024 YR4 had up to a 3.1% chance of crashing into Earth in 2032 — the highest probability ever recorded for an object of this asteroid's size. NASA eventually refined this prediction down to 0%. But, while uncertainty reigned, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that several hours of JWST's emergency discretionary time would be used to study the potentially hazardous space rock's size and trajectory.

Key to these observations are JWST's infrared sensors, which can directly detect heat emitted by the asteroid and provide insight into both its size and composition. Ground-based telescopes that observe visible light can only see the sunlight reflected off of the asteroid's surface, leaving big questions about its true nature.

"In general, the brighter the asteroid, the larger it is, but this relationship strongly depends on how reflective the asteroid's surface is," ESA officials wrote in a Feb. 10 blog post. "2024 YR4 could be 40 m [130 feet] across and very reflective, or 90 m [295 feet] across and not very reflective … the hazard represented by a 40 m asteroid is very different from that of a 90 m asteroid."

JWST made its first observations of the asteroid on March 26, watching the asteroid rotate once every 20 minutes over a five-hour period. The researchers then converted the asteroid's brightness to mid-infrared wavelengths, taking into account the known distances and angles between the asteroid, the sun and JWST.

With these data, the team estimated that asteroid 2024 YR4 is slightly larger than was previously estimated, measuring about 200 feet (60 m) in diameter. The thermal analysis also suggests that the asteroid is cooler than is typical for objects of this size, hinting that it may be rockier than previously thought as well.

Front-row seats to a lunar impact?

But even if 2024 YR4 is a bit bigger and harder than we thought, it still poses no imminent threat to Earth, the JWST data confirm. But there does remain a roughly 2% chance that the asteroid will slam into the moon in 2032, report co-author Andrew Rivkin, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University, told New Scientist.

While a lunar impact may sound scary, the moon endures thousands of tiny meteor strikes every year and has the cratered scars to prove it has survived much larger impacts. But seeing a known asteroid, with a known size and trajectory, gouge open a new crater in real time would be a world-first opportunity for lunar researchers.

"We've got our fingers crossed for a moon impact," Alan Fitzsimmons, a physics and math professor at Queen's University Belfast in the U.K. who was not involved in the JWST observations, told New Scientist. "It would have no effect on Earth, but would allow us to study the formation of a lunar crater by a known asteroid for the very first time."

The second round of JWST observations, scheduled for May, will further help to refine the asteroid's orbital trajectory and its chances of hitting the moon.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

Ancient Egypt: Facts about the ancient civilization known for its pyramids, mummies and pharaohs

5 fast facts about Ancient Egypt

• Ancient Egyptian pyramids were sometimes tombs for pharaohs and other important people.
• Because hieroglyphics were complicated to write, ancient Egyptians invented cursive versions called hieratic and demotic.
• The Book of the Dead was an ancient Egyptian manual for how to travel through the afterlife.
• Pharaohs wore different kinds of headgear to symbolize their power. The most famous of these were striped headcloths called "nemes."
• Ancient Egyptians sometimes mummified their pets, including pet cats, dogs and monkeys, and even other animals, like crocodiles, fish and beetles.

Everything you need to know about Ancient Egypt

When did ancient Egypt start and end?

Humans have lived in Egypt for at least 400,000 years, so it's tricky to establish exactly when the ancient Egyptian civilization began. However, because around 3100 B.C. — or 5,100 years ago— Egypt unified under a pharaoh and the writing system of hieroglyphics emerged, Egyptologists commonly use this date as the starting point. Ancient Egyptian history is usually divided into "dynasties" — time periods when a specific family of pharaohs ruled over the kingdom. Around 30 dynasties ruled over ancient Egypt, and the first pharaoh of the first dynasty might have been a ruler named Menes. Cleopatra is considered the last pharaoh. She died in 30 B.C. That means the ancient Egypt civilization lasted around 3,000 years.

Who built the ancient Egyptian pyramids?

People might claim that the Egyptian pyramids were built by aliens, or even the inhabitants of Atlantis. But that's not true — they were built by people thousands of years ago.

A pharaoh named Djoser ordered the construction of a "step pyramid" (a pyramid that looks like it has giant steps on its walls) around 4,600 years ago. The pharaoh Snefru ordered the construction of the first true pyramid around 100 years after that.

Though pharaohs ordered the pyramids to be constructed, the pharaohs didn't build the pyramids themselves. A team of workers moved the giant bricks that make up the pyramids. Egyptologists aren't sure exactly who the workers were, but they may have been farmers or a professional construction crew.

Why did the Egyptians build pyramids?

Most pyramids were royal tombs where the mummies of pharaohs and other important people, like nobles and government officials, were buried when they died.

Mummification was a complex ritual that took 70 days. Priests dried out the body of the person who died with salt and wrapped it in linen cloth before conducting the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony, in which a priest touched different parts of the mummy with a special instrument. The ancient Egyptians believed this allowed the person to use their senses in the afterlife.

Then, the mummies were placed in a coffin and the coffin was put in a special room in the pyramid called the burial chamber. Ancient Egyptians also buried "grave goods" with the people who had died — valuable objects they could use in the afterlife.

Who are the most famous pharaohs?

The most famous pharaohs are perhaps Ramesses II and Tutankhamen. But others — including Cleopatra, Hatshepsut and Ptolemy I Soter — accomplished great things.

Hatshepsut was a woman who reigned from 1473 to 1458 B.C., or about 3,500 years ago. She ruled on behalf of her young stepson and nephew for several years before officially becoming a co-ruler in 1473, and one of the few known female pharaohs. She ordered important building projects, including a great temple at Deir el-Bahari, and established good relationships with a nation called the land of Punt, which probably existed somewhere in northeastern Africa.

Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, reigned from 1336 to 1327 B.C., roughly 3300 years ago. He is known more for the famous discovery of his extravagant tomb than for anything he did. He inherited the throne when he was just 9 or 10 and died at just 18 or 19 years old.

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, inherited the throne in 1279 B.C. after his father died. He was perhaps the most powerful ancient Egyptian ruler; he vastly expanded the Egyptian empire and built many large monuments. He also reigned for more than 60 years, dying in 1213 B.C.

Ptolemy I Soter was a general of Alexander the Great and started the last dynasty of Egypt — the Ptolemies, which included Cleopatra — before the Roman Empire took over. When Alexander the Great died in what is now Iraq, Ptolemy moved Alexander's body more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) — about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Miami — to start a new city in Egypt, called Alexandria. He reigned from 367 to 282 B.C., or about 2,300 years ago.

Cleopatra, who reigned from 51 to 30 B.C., was the last pharaoh and perhaps one of the most famous female rulers of all time. She convinced the Roman emperor Julius Caesar to help put her in power, during which she ruled over Egypt, parts of Libya and regions of the Middle East.

What was the religion of ancient Egyptians, and what did it say about the afterlife?

Ancient Egyptians worshipped many different gods and goddesses. The most important ones included Osiris (the god of the underworld who was later resurrected), Amun-Ra (the god of the sun), Isis (the goddess of healing and magic), Horus (a falcon-shaped god of war and the sky) and Maat (the goddess of order).

Ancient Egyptians believed that pharaohs were related to the gods, and religion played a role in all aspects of life. They also believed in the existence of life after death. When someone died, they were turned into mummies and buried with tools to help them navigate and live comfortably in the afterlife.

Part of the journey in the afterlife included weighing their soul on a scale — if the soul was lighter than a feather, it meant the person had committed more good deeds than bad deeds and was allowed to continue.

Ancient Egypt pictures

(Image credit: Ricardo Liberato)

The Pyramids of Giza

Ancient Egyptian pyramids were tombs for pharaohs and other important people.

(Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0)

A statue of Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was one of ancient Egypt's few female pharaohs.

(Image credit: stellalevi via Getty Images)

The weighing-of-the-soul ceremony

Ancient Egyptians believed that after people died, their souls should be weighed on a scale. If they had committed more good deeds than bad ones, their soul would be lighter than a feather and they would be allowed to continue into the afterlife.

(Image credit: skaman306 via Getty Images)

Tutankhamun's tomb and burial chamber

Tutankhamun died when he was just 18 or 19, but he's famous because of his extravagant tomb, which was discovered in 1922.

(Image credit: dpa picture alliance via Alamy)

A mummy in an archaeology museum

Mummification was an important part of ancient Egyptian burial practices.

(Image credit: Hoberman Collection via Getty Images)

One of Ramesses II's temples at Abu Simbel

Ramesses II ordered many impressive constructions during his reign.

Discover more about Ancient Egypt

• Ancient Egypt: History, dynasties, religion and writing
• Who built the Egyptian pyramids?
• What is the ancient Egyptian 'mummy's curse'?

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{ https://www.livescience.com/archaeology }

Watch this humanoid robot perform a side flip for the first time

Scientists just showcased a humanoid robot performing a complicated side flip.

The company that makes the robot, Unitree, posted a video to Youtube showcasing its acrobatics. In the video, the silver-grey G1 crouches slightly, then launches up before rotating sideways through the air.

The robot catches itself primarily with its left leg and stabilizes almost immediately as the other foot makes contact with the floor. As impressive as it is at full speed, it's even more mesmerizing in slow motion, particularly the ease with which the robot seems to balance and right itself after landing.

{ https://www.livescience.com/technology }

Watch eerie video of humanoid robot 'army' marching naturally, thanks to a major AI upgrade

Robots have been running, cartwheeling, doing backflips, breakdancing, and beating us at chess for years now. But performing tasks that appear simple to humans, such as walking in a straight line, gripping objects, tying shoelaces, and navigating social situations, have proven tough for robots to master.

Related: 

• Chinese humanoid robot is the 'fastest in the world' thanks to its trusty pair of sneakers

The problem, known as Moravec's Paradox, emerges because computers excel at problems that require complex calculations and large datasets, but lack our real-world experience honed by millions of years of evolution. This makes robots' shuffling gaits, well, robotic at best. At worst, it gives them the appearance that they may have soiled themselves.

To tackle the robot's unnatural gait, Figure's engineers used a learning technique called reinforcement learning — placing thousands of virtual robots inside a physics simulator that recreates various terrains, thereby improving their walking through trial and error.

By rewarding the virtual robot army for natural motions, they refined their gaits to appear more human-like. With this task accomplished, they uploaded the refined "Learned Natural Walking" model to a real-world Figure 02 robot. The result is an android that can move somewhat naturally, with heel strikes, toe-offs and synchronized arm swings.

Figure's reinforcement learning technique is key to the California company's plans to roll out its robots on factory floors. It has already tested its humanoid robots in a BMW factory in 2024 and plans to introduce more this year. Meanwhile, Apptronik, a Texas-based competitor, is also commercializing its humanoid robot, Apollo, for use in Mercedes-Benz factories by the end of 2025. Agility Robotics' Digit will also be introduced into warehouses this year.

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{ https://www.livescience.com/technology }

Ze leefden niet alleen samen, maar deelden ook met elkaar in technologie, levensstijlen en begrafenisrituelen, zo toont een nieuwe studie aan.

Wetenschappers zijn nog steeds bezig de mysterieuze band tussen Neanderthalers en moderne mensen te ontrafelen. We weten dat ze het bed met elkaar deelden, aangezien we Neanderthaler-DNA in ons hebben. Maar er wordt ook gesuggereerd dat de komst van de moderne mens misschien wel de nekslag voor de Neanderthaler heeft betekend. Opgravingen in de Tinshemetgrot in centraal Israël werpen nu nieuw licht op de nog steeds raadselachtige band tussen deze twee mensensoorten.

Tinshemetgrot
Opgravingen in de Tinshemetgrot zijn al sinds 2017 aan de gang. Een van de belangrijkste doelen van het onderzoeksteam is om te begrijpen hoe de relatie tussen Homo sapiens en Neanderthalers was gedurende het midden-Paleolithicum in de Levant, een deel van Zuidwest-Azië (een regio die de huidige landen Israël, Palestina, Libanon, Syrië en Jordanië omvat).We weten namelijk dat beide mensensoorten tegelijkertijd in dit gebied leefden. Maar waren ze rivalen die om middelen streden, vreedzame buren, of werkten ze zelfs samen?

Begrafenissen
Een recente ontdekking in de Tinshemetgrot onthult nu dat er veel meer wederzijdse invloed was dan vroeger werd gedacht. De grot, rijk aan archeologische vondsten, heeft meerdere menselijke begrafenissen onthuld – de eerste uit het midden-Paleolithicum in meer dan vijftig jaar. Dit levert sterk bewijs op dat Neanderthalers en moderne mensen in de regio niet alleen samenleefden, maar ook aspecten van hun dagelijks leven, technologie en begrafenisrituelen met elkaar deelden. Deze bevindingen benadrukken de complexiteit van hun interacties en suggereren een nauwere relatie dan voorheen werd gedacht.

Een stenen voorwerp ontdekt in de Tinshemetgrot dat is vervaardigd met een techniek die zowel door Homo sapiens als Neanderthalers werd gebruikt. Afbeelding: Marion Prévost

Interacties
Kortom, de bevindingen duiden erop dat verschillende Homo-groepen in het midden-Paleolithicum in de Levant dus belangrijke praktijken met elkaar deelden, zoals begrafenisrituelen en het symbolisch gebruik van minerale pigmenten. Zo vonden de onderzoekers in de Tinshemetgrot bijvoorbeeld oker, dat vermoedelijk werd gebruikt voor lichaamsversiering. Het betekent dus dat de twee mensensoorten veel met elkaar in contact stonden. Deze interacties zorgden vervolgens voor culturele uitwisseling, meer sociale complexiteit en nieuwe gedragingen, zoals formele begrafenissen.

Overnemen
Het is echter nog niet duidelijk welke groep welke praktijken van de ander overnam — bijvoorbeeld of moderne mensen de jachttechnieken van Neanderthalers leerden, of Neanderthalers de begrafenisrituelen van moderne mensen overnamen, of dat ze samen nieuwe tradities ontwikkelden. Wat de onderzoekers in ieder geval vermoeden, is dat de interacties tussen Neanderthalers en Homo sapiens geen toevallige ontmoetingen waren, maar dat er wezenlijke contacten waren die leidden tot het overnemen van elkaars gedragingen.

Kerkhof
De clustering van menselijke begrafenissen in de Tinshemetgrot roept daarnaast interessante vragen op over de rol van de grot in de samenleving van die tijd. Zou het misschien een speciale begraafplaats of zelfs een kerkhof kunnen zijn geweest? Als dat het geval is, zou dit kunnen wijzen op gedeelde rituelen en sterke gemeenschappelijke banden. Het plaatsen van belangrijke voorwerpen, zoals stenen werktuigen, dierenbotten en oker, in de begrafeniskuilen kan ook duiden op vroege overtuigingen in het leven na de dood.

Smeltkroes
Op basis van de interessante bevindingen omschrijft onderzoeksleider Yossi Zaidner de vindplaats als een ‘smeltkroes’ waar verschillende menselijke groepen elkaar ontmoetten, met elkaar omgingen en samen evolueerden. “Onze gegevens laten zien dat menselijke connecties en interacties tussen populaties essentieel zijn voor het stimuleren van culturele en technologische vernieuwingen door de geschiedenis heen”, legt hij uit.

De ontdekkingen in de Tinshemetgrot geven een fascinerend inzicht in de sociale structuren, symbolische gedragingen en het dagelijks leven van vroege menselijke groepen. Ze laten een tijd van grote demografische en culturele veranderingen zien en werpen nieuw licht op het complexe netwerk van interacties die de wereld van onze voorouders bepaalden. De voortzetting van de opgravingen in de Tinshemetgrot zal ongetwijfeld nog meer inzichten bieden in de oorsprong en evolutie van menselijke samenlevingen.

Bronmateriaal

• "First burials: Neanderthal and Homo sapiens interactions in the Mid-Middle Palaeolithic Levant" - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (via EurekAlert)
  
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: gordenkoff van Getty Images (via Canva Pro)

{ https://scientias.nl/nieuws/mens-gezondheid-psychologie/ }