'We Want to Believe' book explores the reality of UFOs: 'It's always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw' (interview)

"They're not supernatural or miraculous. If they really existed they'd exist in time and space and three dimensions like everything else."

UAPs are hot these days, whether they can be partially explained or wholly dismissed 

(Image credit: David Wall/Getty Images)

After all these years, we still want to believe.

Whether you're a bona fide believer or a staunch skeptic, we can all agree that UFO legends and lore is a fascinating subject that continues to fuel endless debate. And with pop culture feeding our lizard brains lurid tales of flying saucers and alien invasions, it’s no wonder humanity is always up for a good story of inexplicable aerial sightings or various uncanny encounters of the third kind.

In "We Want To Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream And Why It Matters" (Aug. 25, Columbia Global Reports), acclaimed literary critic and Senior Editor at The Atlantic Adam Kirsch explores this insatiable drive to wonder at unidentified phenomena. For Kirsch, the topic asks many of the same questions that human religions do. "For me, humanity's way into the subject is that UFOs are a way of thinking about a lot of the same questions we might also think about in religious or philosophical terms," Kirsch told Space in an interview. "Questions like what is unique about humanity, are we alone in the universe, are there other minds, what's our destiny as a species?"

Kirsch says the recent wave of alleged whistleblowers helped push him towards studying UFOs, or UAP, as they're now known.

"The real start of my interest in the subject was in 2017 when there was this sudden reporting in the mainstream media about the Pentagon UFO videos and the so-called secret program to collect UFO reports. For the first time, it seemed like maybe there was some legitimate news or evidence."

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Kirsch recognized that monumental occasion as a pivotal moment that truly altered the way that American culture and media talked about the titillating topic.

"I got more into the history and the lore of UFOs and partly out of just that basic idea that it would be really cool if there were other minds in the universe. It would be amazing if we could find proof of that. Over the years it's happened repeatedly in this history of UFOs. There's a lot of public excitement and then it peters out because there is no evidence and there isn't anything concrete to point to. And that's definitely what's happened over this last cycle."

Using grounded scientific logic and basic common sense, Kirsch brings a calm measured approach to the UAP hysteria that's been gripping the whole country.

"One of the interesting things about testimony that people like David Fravor and Ryan Graves gave about this is, 'When the camera sees something, the person doesn't see it. And when the person sees something, the camera doesn't see it.' It's always one or the other, it's never both at the same time. Even as long ago as the 1950s, people were saying that UFOs for some reason are not photogenic. No one ever seems to be able to get a real clear image of a UFO the way you’d think you'd be able to if they actually exist in the atmosphere."

"The obvious and logical explanation is that there's nothing to take a picture of. But it does get to this basic question of how do we go from, 'I had an experience' to 'This is what the experience tells me about the world.' I talk in the book about the difference between evidence and testimony. When they're talking about UFOs, people often blur that distinction. Testimony is an account and people are often wrong or misinterpret about what happened to them."

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After all the smoke clears, the test that Kirsch declares must be applied to these reports is the same test that 18th-century philosopher David Hume said when talking about religious miracles.

"You don't have to prove that a miracle didn't happen, all you have to do is prove that it's more likely that someone was wrong, than that the laws of nature were suspended," Kirsch adds. "The same is true of UFOs. They're not supernatural or miraculous. If they really existed they'd exist in time and space and three dimensions like everything else. Based on the way we understand the universe and space travel, makes the odds very small that a UFO report would really be an actual extraterrestrial spacecraft. It's always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw.

"Modern science and scientific education is all about learning to not trust your instincts. It's about learning to say that the way that I spontaneously understand the world is wrong and there's a better way to understand it. UFOs are a perfect example of this because there's no evidence for them, but there's lots of people that see things in the sky they don't understand.

"With these released UAP videos, we might not be getting the whole truth, but that doesn't mean the whole truth is as interesting as I want it to be, and that there's some cosmic secret."

"We Want To Believe" is available at bookstores and online outlets Aug. 25, 2026.

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{ https://www.space.com/entertainment }

Metals recovered by Russia from alleged UFO appear not to be from Earth: Coulthart

Rob Taub

(NewsNation) — Some metals from an alleged UFO recovered by Russia in Estonia were determined not to be of Earthly origin.

NewsNation special correspondent Ross Coulthart told “NewsNation Prime” the discovery by Russian scientists showed the metals were “not normal isotopic ratios that you would expect for similar metals that were found on this planet.”

The development follows Coulthart’s latest podcast, “Secret Soviet UFO,” which details a story from the 1960s where a suburban couple was doing routine work on their home when a worker digging a well struck a hard metallic object.

“The reality is the Soviet Union had its fair share of anomalous events and this is one of the most celebrated ones,” Coulthart said after visiting the site. “It’s been the subject of speculation in Estonia for many years, both before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain.”

KGB had files about the alleged UFO event: Coulthart

Coulthart noted the event was recorded in both KGB files and files of the former Overseas Intelligence Service, the KGB and now the FSB.

“We also know from multiple witnesses who were on the ground at the time that there was a massive investigation where the Soviet military came in, the whole house garden was dug up, there was a tunnel dug to the object, whatever it was, and there were reports — multiple reports — of people including a worker that tried to hit the object with a pickaxe,” he added.

“He was hit in the chest by some kind of propulsive force. We don’t know what that force was, but as a result of that incident and weird anomalous things that happened in and around the house that were witnessed and recorded again by multiple witnesses, the entire tunnel system was closed up and as best as we know, the object has never been recovered,” Coulthart said.

Metals discovered supposedly caused weird events: Coulthart

The object — now dubbed “Object M” — appeared to cause “weird phenomena” around the house, with multiple events recorded by multiple witnesses. Coulthart noted Russian files were discovered that exemplified diagrams of Object M under the ground.

“There were ground-penetrating radar tests done by scientists intriguingly at the very beginning of the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s; there was even a Japanese team that went and did their own ground-penetrating radar survey and they confirmed that there was indeed an anomalous metallic object about 30 metres, 30 feet under the house.”

Coulthart believes the discovery led to one of the biggest UFO investigations of all time.

“The Soviets in the era of the Cold War dedicated an investigation to over 10,000 UFO cases, and what they found proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that Russia was very, very interested in UFOs,” he acknowledged.

{ https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/ }

Did the Government Just Admit It Can’t Explain the UAP Orbs — Or Did It Just Hire Someone to Explain Them Away?

INSIDE THIS REPORT

• Avi Loeb says government sources asked him to build a science council because they can't explain UAP orbs as human-made tech.
• The wording raises a hard question: are officials seeking answers, or a credible cover story?
• A closer look at the "orb" phenomenon suggests something Loeb's framework may not be built to capture.

By Samuel López | USA Herald

WASHINGTON - Professor Avi Loeb has spent the summer of 2026 becoming the most quoted man in ufology, and his latest post on X may be the most consequential yet. Writing through the account of the UAP Science Advisory Council he now chairs, Loeb said reliable, national-security-focused U.S. government sources asked him to build the council because the nature of UAP orbs remains unresolved based on all publicly available data — and, as he put it in his own words, because they cannot explain the orbs "in terms of human-made technologies."

That single phrase deserves more scrutiny than it has received.

“Reliable US government sources who are focused on national security asked me to establish the UAP Science Advisory Council because they cannot explain UAP orbs in terms of human-made technologies. Given these circumstances, it is the duty of all genuine scientists to figure out who these strangers visiting our backyard are.” - Professor Avi Loeb @ProfAviLoeb

On its face, Loeb's statement reads as vindication for years of witness testimony: the government, by its own admission, is stumped. But read it again. "Cannot explain UAP orbs in terms of human-made technologies" is not the same sentence as "cannot explain UAP orbs." It is narrower, and the narrowness may be the point. It suggests a search confined to one hypothesis space — ours — rather than an open inquiry into what these objects actually are.

If the goal from the outset is to find a terrestrial, technological explanation, then the council isn't hunting for the truth. It's hunting for the most defensible version of a predetermined answer.

That distinction matters enormously, and it is worth asking plainly: are the agencies who approached Loeb genuinely trying to solve the orb phenomenon, or are they trying to acquire his credibility — his Harvard pedigree, his media fluency, his willingness to speak in public — to construct a narrative the public will accept?

A scientist of Loeb's stature lends enormous weight to whatever conclusion eventually gets announced. That weight is valuable whether the underlying goal is disclosure or damage control.

Loeb's own record complicates the picture further. Public reporting this year has repeatedly noted that the council formed after intelligence and defense officials, including the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the ODNI, and the FBI, tasked him with assembling a multidisciplinary panel to bring scientific rigor to the government's UAP files.

Loeb has framed his approach as a "whodunit" — better sensors, better data, elimination of competing explanations. That is a defensible scientific method. But method only gets you as far as the assumptions baked into it, and this investigation may be starting with the wrong ones.

Here is where independent research into the orb phenomenon diverges sharply from the official framework. Reports of sphere-like objects — the so-called Buga sphere, metallic ball-shaped craft, luminous circular objects tracked by military sensors — are typically treated as a single category: unknown physical craft awaiting classification. Loeb's council, understandably, wants better instrumentation and material data to sort that category out. But that approach assumes the orbs are objects in the conventional sense: solid, engineered, governed by the same physics as a drone or a satellite.

My own investigation into the orb phenomenon points somewhere else entirely. The pattern that recurs across credible sightings — orbs descending low, entering the atmosphere, and appearing to track their surroundings with something resembling awareness — does not fit the profile of hardware. It fits the profile of something behaving. Witnesses do not describe machines. They describe presence. That is not a materials-science problem, and it may not yield to a materials-science solution, no matter how sophisticated the council's sensors become.

None of this proves the government is running a cover story. It is entirely possible that officials approached Loeb in good faith, hoping rigorous science will finally cut through decades of speculation. But the phrasing he chose to publish — a search for a human-made explanation — leaves the door open to a less comforting possibility: that the mission was never to find out what the orbs are, but to find a way to explain them that the public, and perhaps Congress, will accept without asking what else they might be.

Genuine science does not start with the answer it's permitted to find. Until the council's mandate is stated without that qualifier, the public is right to keep asking the question Loeb himself raised: who — or what — are these strangers visiting our backyard?

{ https://usaherald.com/ }

ILLUSTRATIVE RECONSTRUCTION // NOT EVIDENCE

Overview

A bright streak of light seen over the Las Vegas sky just minutes before a family placed a 911 call reporting what they believed were alien figures was most likely a meteor, according to a scientist who reviewed the event. The flash, which briefly drew attention online and among local observers, has become the latest example of how a single sky event can quickly take on a life of its own when it overlaps with unexplained or emotionally charged reports.

The timing of the fireball — appearing shortly before the emergency call — fueled speculation among people following the story. But the scientific assessment points in a far more ordinary direction: a natural object entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. In other words, the dramatic light show was likely astronomical, not extraterrestrial.

What Scientists Concluded

Based on the available review of the event, the bright object was identified as a likely meteor, not evidence of alien activity. Scientists routinely use factors such as a streak’s brightness, motion, and duration to distinguish meteors from other aerial phenomena, and this case appears to fit that familiar profile. While the public conversation around Las Vegas has long included paranormal and UFO speculation, the fireball itself does not appear to provide support for those claims.

The distinction matters because fireballs are often mistaken for something more unusual, especially when they appear unexpectedly over populated areas at night. Their sudden brilliance can make them seem artificial or controlled, but that visual impact is consistent with a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. In this case, the scientific reading offers a grounded explanation for a moment that otherwise invited more fantastical interpretations.

Why the Incident Drew Attention

What made the Las Vegas episode stand out was not just the streak of light, but the proximity of that sighting to a 911 call involving claims of alien activity. That sequence gave the story a built-in tension that spread quickly beyond local news audiences. For many observers, the fireball and the emergency call seemed connected; scientists, however, say the two events should not be treated as evidence of the same cause.

This is a familiar pattern in unexplained-sky reporting: a plausible natural event occurs, then a separate human report adds a layer of mystery. When those timelines overlap, public interest often jumps ahead of the evidence. The meteor explanation helps separate what was seen in the sky from what was later reported on the ground.

Broader Context

The episode also lands in the middle of an ongoing national fascination with UFOs, paranormal claims, and unexplained aerial phenomena. In recent years, those topics have shifted from fringe conversation into mainstream debate, with new government transparency efforts and persistent public curiosity keeping the issue in the spotlight. That environment can make ordinary events feel extraordinary, especially when they happen in places already associated with spectacle and mystery.

For now, the best-supported explanation for the Las Vegas fireball is straightforward: a meteor. The 911 call may continue to fuel online debate, but the streak of light itself appears to have a scientific answer.

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{ https://usubjects.com/ }

5.5km UFO On Moon Watching NASA 1967 Mission, UAP Sighting News.

Date of photo: Feb 23, 1967

Date of discovery: Aug 22, 2026

Location of discovery: Earths moon

Source: 

• https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunarorbiter/frame/?3078

There is a long spacecraft hovering over the moons surface in a NASA photo from 1967. This is 100% proof that aliens were watching humans before we ever stepped on the moon. 

 

I took the measurement of the crater in the photo called Theophilus crater, which is 110km or 68 miles across by 4.4km or 2.7 miles deep and can conclude that this UFO is 1/20 the length of the crater...equals 5.5km or 3.4 mile long UFO. Thats huge to us humans but to aliens, its considered a small shuttle craft. 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily

 

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

The Atlantic has contained entire landscapes, ecosystems and geological worlds that were completely unknown to humans until very recently. As sea levels rose following the last Ice Age, entire inhabited landscapes disappeared beneath the ocean. 

Hidden beneath the Atlantic’s deep waters lie structures, lost cities, and clues that could rewrite what we know about Earth’s history, and challenge our understanding of the ancient world. Yet with more than 75% of its seafloor still unmapped, the Atlantic Ocean remains one of the least explored places on the planet. 

From sonar scans revealing geometric formations, like the Bimini road, beneath the waves, to vanished ships, underwater cities, and unexplained regions like the Bermuda Triangle, the Atlantic has become more than an ocean of currents and depth. Stories of lost civilizations, sunken continents, like Atlantis, and mysterious discoveries have only deepened the mystery. 

There are also the unexplained sonar/UFO reports in the Atlantic. These reports involve military sonar, classified data, unidentified underwater contacts and objects that apparently move in unusual ways.  

Given the numerous reports of UFOs emerging from and diving into the ocean, it is not unreasonable to speculate that ancient intelligent (extraterrestrial) civilizations could still be inhabiting hidden underwater bases deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean to this day. 

In this documentary, we explore what has been found in this ocean, the stories passed down through history, and how they may connect to what lies below the surface. We’ll examine the myths, the discoveries, and what makes it Earth’s most mysterious ocean.

  

{ https://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

Rock samples have been lying for several years in sealed tubes directly on the surface of the Red Planet. They were supposed to be retrieved by a joint program that was left without funding. It is now unclear whether they will ever reach Earth at all.

NASA’s Perseverance rover on the Red Planet. Illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP

A Decision Without Guarantees

Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh Charles Cockell said in an interview with Universe Space Tech that there is currently no guarantee that soil samples will be returned from Mars. Funding for a number of NASA programs was cut, and the Mars Sample Return program was affected by these reductions.

Rock and soil in Jezero Crater were collected using the Perseverance rover and sealed in tubes. The samples currently remain on Mars. The project under which this cargo was supposed to be lifted into orbit and delivered to Earth has been canceled. 

Charles Cockell himself puts it simply. The material has been collected, it is lying on Mars, but what happens to it next is unknown.

Congressional Decision

In the fiscal year 2026 budget process, Congress did not restore support for the existing architecture, retaining only part of the related technology work within the framework of future Mars missions. As Space writes, part of the scientific community had previously opposed shutting down the program.

This is not a pause but the dismantling of a specific plan under which two spacecraft were supposed to fly to retrieve the container with the collected material. Without it, the soil in Jezero Crater remains a scientific resource to which no one has access.

China’s Schedule

China, meanwhile, is moving according to its own schedule. Charles Cockell notes that the mission there will focus on landing at a single site and returning several samples, meaning a much smaller amount than that collected by the Perseverance rover.

The launch of Tianwen-3 is planned for around 2028, with the return of the payload to Earth scheduled for 2031. The mission architecture calls for two separate launches, drilling to a depth of up to two meters, and the return of at least 500 grams of Martian samples.

Tianwen-3 mission architecture. Source: Handout

The foldable quadcopter version proposed by Chinese researchers is capable of collecting up to 100 grams of samples.

Source: Handout

The ground segment of the program is also being prepared. A planetary protection laboratory for receiving extraterrestrial material is already being designed, according to CGTN. 

Who Will Study the Material

Any batch of Martian material will first be placed in a high-containment facility. There it will be checked for the presence of active microorganisms, and only afterward will it be released to the broader scientific community.

Competition for access then begins. Charles Cockell explains that many researchers want to study Martian material, while the amount available is small, so only laboratories with the appropriate equipment and clean-room conditions will be able to work with it.

According to him, the necessary equipment is also available at the University of Edinburgh. He says that studying Martian rock would be fantastic, although he assumes that his colleagues rather than he personally would carry out such work.

Foreign laboratories have already received access to Chinese extraterrestrial material. CNSA granted access to lunar soil from the Chang’e-5 mission through a competitive application process, with institutions from the United Kingdom and the United States among those selected. Five international projects have already been chosen for Tianwen-3, but they concern instruments carried aboard the mission. The procedure for distributing the Martian material itself has not yet been announced.

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

Deimos — the more distant of Mars’s two tiny moons — is named after the ancient Greek god of fear. Unlike its companion Phobos, which is covered in craters, Deimos has an unusually smooth surface buried beneath a thick layer of regolith. In addition, a giant crater about 10 km wide is located at its south pole. 

Mars’s moon Deimos. Image: Space Engine

For a long time, astronomers could not understand exactly what events had shaped such an unusual landscape. A new study published in Nature Astronomy provides answers to these questions. 

One Fatal Impact

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission, which took detailed images of Deimos from close range in March 2025, provided scientists with valuable new data. A team of researchers led by Dr. Sabina Raducan of the International Space Science Institute and the Free University of Brussels compared the images with large-scale computer simulations.

The animation shows how an asteroid impact could have changed the shape of Deimos and covered it with a layer of dust. Source: ESA

Using special code developed at the University of Bern, the scientists conducted about one hundred impact simulations, each of which took nearly a week. According to the calculations, the most likely scenario was the impact of an asteroid approximately 320 m in diameter that struck Deimos at an angle of 40°. 

This single catastrophic collision was enough to completely reshape the moon’s appearance. The impact blasted out an enormous amount of debris and dust, which settled back onto the surface, forming a “blanket” up to 200 m thick. This layer buried smaller ancient craters beneath it, making Deimos appear visually smoother than Phobos.

Why Did Deimos Not Break Apart?

A logical question arises: why did such a powerful impact not shatter a relatively small moon only about 12 km in diameter?

The answer lies in Deimos’s internal structure. Observations confirm that it has an extremely porous structure — its interior is more like a loose pile of space rocks held together by weak gravity. When the asteroid struck the surface, Deimos’s fractured interior acted like a shock absorber: it absorbed and softened the shock wave, saving the moon from complete destruction.

Answers from the MMX Mission 

The origin of the Martian moons themselves remains a matter of debate: they may either be asteroids captured by Mars’s gravity or fragments blasted off Mars itself during ancient collisions. Deimos’s porous structure inclines scientists toward the first hypothesis, but the upcoming Japanese MMX mission (Martian Moons eXploration) is expected to provide a definitive answer.

Mars’s moon Deimos. Image: Space Engine

The launch of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft is scheduled for the end of this year. In 2027, it will arrive in the Martian system, conduct detailed observations of both moons, and collect soil samples from Phobos, which are expected to return to Earth in 2031. The collected data will help not only verify the calculations concerning Deimos, but also provide a better understanding of the evolution of the entire Solar System during the early stages of its formation. 

Previously, we reported on how the moons of Mars turned out to be remnants of a destroyed comet.

• According to CNN 

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

Neptune possesses a ring system that was officially identified 37 years ago. However, the history concerning the existence of these rings extends significantly further and encompasses a mystery intricately linked to their characteristics

Neptune’s rings.  Source: Wikipedia

The discovery of Neptune’s rings

Neptune is recognized as the eighth planet from the Sun and is the most distant one in the Solar System. Its average distance from the Sun measures approximately 4.5 billion kilometers. Nonetheless, it is well known that Neptune possesses a ring system. However, evidence of these rings was observed much earlier. William Lassell first reported their discovery in 1846, shortly after the planet itself was identified.

However, it soon became evident that this was simply a consequence of the limitations inherent in the telescope he employed. The rings were neglected for a period of one hundred years. Their potential existence was reconsidered in 1966, when astronomers observed a planetary occultation and observed that it transpired marginally earlier than anticipated.

However, at that time, this report was disregarded and was not revisited until 1977, when Uranus’s rings were subsequently discovered through a similar methodology.

In 1984, astronomers resumed observations of the planet’s occultation of stars and made a noteworthy discovery: the eclipse was observed on one side of the planet, but not on the opposite side. This finding supported the hypothesis that Neptune is encircled by a system of open rings or arcs.

A pair of images of Neptune’s rings taken by Voyager 2. Source: Wikipedia

Scientists were unable to comprehend the mechanism behind this phenomenon; however, they were powerless to intervene, as the ground-based telescopes available at the time lacked the capability to observe the rings directly.

It was not until August 22, 1989, that the Voyager 2 spacecraft conducted a flyby of Neptune and, for the first time, captured photographs of Neptune’s rings, thereby confirming their existence. Additionally, it provided further insight by demonstrating that the majority of the planet’s rings are, in fact, closed.

Structure of the rings

Scientists have long debated whether at least one of Neptune’s rings is actually open, as this would strongly contradict orbital mechanics. However, they ultimately concluded that the planet’s four moons, which orbit within the ring system, exert a significant influence on the uniformity of the rings.

The structure of Neptune’s rings. Source: Wikipedia

The Galle ring is situated nearest to Neptune’s surface. Its innermost boundary is positioned 41,000 km from the planet, with a width of approximately 2,000 km. Comprising primarily fine dust, it is exceedingly faint.

Subsequently, the narrow and luminous Le Verrier ring is introduced, measuring merely 113 km in width with an outer radius of 53,000 km. Within this ring, in closer proximity to its inner boundary, orbits the Despina moon. Despina exhibits an irregular shape, with an approximate radius of 150 km. Additionally, two other moons, Naiad and Thalassa, are situated in the space between the Galle and Le Verrier rings.

Immediately beyond the Le Verrier ring lies the relatively sparse Lassell ring. Its width is approximately 4,000 km. At its outer edge begins the narrow and luminous Arago ring, which has a width of only 100 km.

Neptune’s moons. Source: www.techtimes.com

Subsequently, a gap is observed through which a secondary small satellite, Galatea, orbits. This is followed by the most notable object within the system — the Adams ring. The Adams ring is the subject of considerable debate among scientists, as it appears to comprise five distinct arcs. More comprehensive investigations reveal that these arcs are essentially irregularities along the edges of a continuous ring; nonetheless, the structure remains highly unusual.

The mystery of the rings’ origin

Presently, the most significant enigma concerning Neptune’s rings pertains to their origin. The dominant hypothesis posits that the rings emerged significantly after the formation of the planet, as a consequence of the disintegration of one of its natural satellites.

Nevertheless, in actuality, this entire configuration — with multiple distinct rings and medium-sized moons positioned between them — indicates a considerably more intriguing formation process. The Neptune system is abundant with peculiar phenomena. Specifically, some research demonstrates that the various rings originated from different dust fractions and diverse moons.

Triton. Source: Wikipedia

Among the moons themselves, there are no large ones, but there is one that is truly enormous — Triton — though it was clearly once captured by the gravitational pull of the ice giant. Additionally, several small moons in very low orbits exhibit mineral compositions that could only have developed in the presence of substantial liquid water — an element that could never have existed on them previously.

All of this indicates that the fundamental cause of Neptune’s remarkable rings was, indeed, the capture of Triton. Prior to this event, the planet was orbited by several large moons; however, the gravitational influence of the newly arrived Triton generated chaos, resulting in collisions that ultimately led to the current configuration of the system. Whether this hypothesis is accurate remains a subject of ongoing scientific investigation.

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

The closest distance between Earth and Apophis during the flyby will be a mere 38,000 kilometers, about one-tenth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Coordinating these planetary defense efforts among the Earth’s nations may be one of the biggest challenges as the object comes uncomfortably close.

Apophis Explained

As soon as astronomers first discovered Apophis in 2004, the asteroid’s 340-meter-wide diameter and close pass by Earth immediately made it a concern for scientists. Fortunately, it is expected that on April 13, 2029, it will safely pass our planet at a distance of close to 20,000 miles—closer than some of our weather and communication satellites, but still with no risk of an impact.

Yet the near-Earth asteroid still holds mysteries for scientists. Models of the object depend heavily on assumptions, not hard data, to predict not just its tidal effects but also its composition, size, internal structure, and spin state.

A series of images of the asteroid Apophis captured in March 2021

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech and NSF/AUI/GBO)

With so many open questions about the asteroid and the unique opportunity to collect data and test processes for future planetary defense operations, many countries are planning missions to Apophis, but in this new paper, the researchers note that some of these activities require increased international coordination to avoid interference.

Part of the paper synthesizes known data on Apophis, including radar observations, light-curve, and spectral data. From this data, the team then developed new predictions for the asteroid’s dust ejection, orbital and spin changes, internal structural response, and surface material displacement. These projections were crucial in the researchers’ evaluations of the feasibility of various currently proposed or authorized missions and their likely scientific value.

Apophis Missions are Gearing Up

Future Apophis missions fit into four primary categories: rendezvous, flyby sample return, and impactor experiments.

In the recent research, the team found that flyby missions should capture data at very fine scales, down to the centimeter or decimeter for surface changes and hours for changes in spin period. Additionally, these space-borne instruments should be able to measure dust ejection phenomena. Together, this data stream alone could provide important direct evidence for how such rubble-pile asteroids evolve structurally. Relatively low-cost sample return missions could push this even further.

The activities coordinated under the International Asteroid Warning Network constitute the largest multinational asteroid detection and observation effort ever assembled and are its first global joint exercise. The network will build experience responding to potentially deadly space threats in the future.

Earth Interactions

On the other hand, the asteroid’s close approach to Earth will affect Apophis as well. Our planet’s gravity is expected to alter Apophis’s orbit from an Aten-type to an Apollo-type, changing the object’s spin period and orbital uncertainty. 

Additionally, roughly 1% of Apophis may experience a surface material disruption, potentially altering the object’s spectral properties by exposing fresh material.

The asteroid’s extremely low gravity may also cause it to lose surface dust to Earth’s magnetosphere, posing an electromagnetic disturbance hazard to spacecraft. Space agencies will need to monitor the situation to protect our increasingly essential space-based communications infrastructure during the event.

While there is no immediate danger to our planet, the researchers say this event is shaping up to be a pivotal moment in international space cooperation and a turning point for organized space defense.

The paper, “The Apophis Encounter in 2029: A Rare Opportunity for Planetary Science and Defense,” appeared in Space: Science & Technology on August 22, 2026.

• Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org.

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

Mars's Funky Moon Deimos was Shaped by an Impact

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Dry Martian Meteorite Reveals Early Water in Mars's Crust

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Set in the year 2179, James Cameron's sequel follows a group of Colonial Marines who come face-to-face with extraterrestrial terrors beyond their wildest imaginations.

However, although humanity thankfully hasn't discovered the Xenomorph, scientists say this visionary film does make some surprisingly accurate predictions.

According to Professor Steve Benford, of the University of Nottingham, many of the film's sci-fi inventions are now commonplace items used by millions.

Aliens is set 153 years into our future, making it as far removed from the present day as we are from 1873, when gas lighting and steam power were the height of technology.

However, Professor Benford points out that our technology has already surpassed some of the gadgets seen in the film.

Professor Benford told the Daily Mail that the thing that Aliens predicted most accurately is 'sadly' the use of automatic guns and robotic weaponry.

But from synthetic humans to the iconic motion tracker, there are still a lot of things the film gets wrong.

This month, the cult science fiction classic Aliens celebrates its 40th anniversary. Now, a scientist has revealed what the film got right and wrong about the future of technology 

What Aliens gets right

Professor Benford says one of the most impressive things Aliens gets right isn't the big impressive pieces of technology, but the small things people carry with them.

While the apparent absence of personal phones might seem strange to modern audiences, the Colonial Marines do have plenty of wearables.

Professor Benford says that the motion detectors, wearable cameras and biosensors embedded into wristbands all feel quite 'current'.

From smart watches to fitness tracking rings, small wearable devices are now exceptionally common.

In fact, the watches worn by many people today are smaller, smarter, and more multi-purpose than many of the devices seen in the film.

Another surprising innovation that Aliens appears to have predicted is the development of exoskeletons.

At the climax of the film, Ellen Ripley climbs into an enormous mechanical suit known as a 'loader'.

Professor Steve Benford, of the University of Nottingham, says that the iconic 'loader' from Aliens is close to being replicated by modern exoskeleton technology 

What did Aliens get right... and wrong

What Aliens got right

* Wearable technology

* Exoskeletons

* Autonomous weaponry 

What Aliens got wrong

* Interstellar travel

* Motion trackers 

* No personal devices

* Synthetic humanoid robots  

This humanoid robot mirrors the wearer's movements, greatly enhancing their strength and mobility.

While that might seem far-fetched, real exoskeletons with a similar design are already starting to become commercially available.

For example, you can now purchase an Ascentiz H+K modular hip-and-knee exoskeleton for £1,250 ($1,699).

These small exoskeletons are designed to boost performance or make walking easier, but others will have a more serious purpose.

Professor Benford says: 'I think we will see them to help people walk and otherwise assist them.'

At the Consumer Electronics Show last year, developers revealed a $250,000 exoskeleton called XoMotion, which uses 12 motors to mimic natural human movements and balance.

While XoMotion was specifically designed for disabled people who have lost the ability to use their legs, developers say it could be used by factory workers to help them lift heavy boxes without damaging their joints.

However, Professor Benford says he doesn't think we will ever see Aliens-like loaders strutting around on factory floors.

Pictured above is the XoMotion, a futuristic high-tech exoskeleton allowing disabled people to walk forward, backwards and turn to either side. They can also sway their hips

Instead, he thinks it is much more likely that this role would be filled by robots, so that humans can stay safe out of harm's way.

'Some things are better controlled remotely,' Professor Benford explains.

But the thing that Aliens predicted most accurately was the growing use of autonomous weaponry.

In the film, we see the Colonial Marines deploying automatic sentry turrets that have the ability to detect targets, aim and fire without any human intervention.

The war in Ukraine has seen the rapid advancement of robotic and fully autonomous weapon systems.

These include robotic gun platforms capable of defending positions or roaming the frontlines with only minimal human supervision.

Some of these, such as the 'Buria' turret developed by Frontline Robotics, even bear a striking resemblance to those seen in the film.

What Aliens gets wrong

Professor Benford says that modern autonomous weapons, such as the 'Buria' turret developed by Frontline Robotics (pictured), bear a striking resemblance to the automatic weapons seen in Aliens 

The outbreak of the war in Ukraine has seen the rapid development of robotic weaponry, such as the DevDroid unmanned combat system (pictured)

Despite a few accurate predictions, this sci-fi classic also gets quite a few things wrong.

Most obviously, humanity is still nowhere near close to developing the ability to travel between the stars within a human lifetime.

Besides this glaring issue, the film also failed to predict just how personal technology and computer systems would develop.

One of the iconic pieces of technology in Aliens is the motion tracker, which the Colonial Marines use to track the hidden Xenomorphs.

What James Cameron couldn't have predicted is how fast surveillance and 'computer vision' – a field of AI where machines are trained to recognise objects – would advance.

Professor Benford says that a network of 'smart cameras' throughout the colony would have been able to track both humans and aliens alike far more effectively.

Similar systems, such as 'live facial recognition', are already being deployed on the streets today to monitor crowds and watch for suspicious behaviour.

On the other hand, some pieces of technology in Aliens feel futuristic right now, but could be achievable in the future.

Professor Bentford says that the film didn't anticipate how fast some personal AI tech would advance, making the film's iconic motion tracker seem quite outdated

In particular, Professor Benford points to the character of Bishop, played by Lance Henriksen, who acts like a human but is – spoilers for anyone who has yet to watch Aliens – a type of android known as a synthetic.

'Bishop can act autonomously and physically, making plans, moving through the world, manipulating stuff,' Professor Benford says.

'Today's mobile robots may be able to do some of this, but I think they are a long way off operating at human levels of improvisation and often require human support behind the scenes.'

However, some of Bishop's abilities are starting to seem more believable.

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Professor Benford says: 'Bishop clearly has the ability to converse with humans; this seems pretty plausible given today’s chatbots.

'We are getting used to AI that appears to talk to us intelligently.'

The big question, Professor Benford adds, is whether our technology will ever develop to the point that, like Bishop, it appears to become self-conscious and even act morally.

He says: 'Whether AI can become self-aware and even moral is a huge question people are asking now, and have been ever since Alan Turing first wrote about AI.'

KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY'S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE

Discovery of pulsars

British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.

Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.

Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.

'Wow!' radio signal

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data.

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the 'Wow! signal', which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.

Fossilised Martian microbes

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.

The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984. 

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.

Photographsere released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)

However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated. 

They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils. 

Behaviour of Tabby's Star in 2005 

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.

It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist's impression)

Recent studies have 'eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure', and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.

Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017 

In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.

Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star 'Trappist-1', and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.

Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them. 

Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: 'This is just the beginning.' 

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Noah's Ark mystery deepens as new scans show boat-shaped formation is more than just rock

• READ MORE: Bombshell discovery in soil at 'site of Noah's Ark' has convinced me Bible story is TRUE

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A mysterious boat-shaped geological formation in the mountains of eastern Turkey has long been dismissed as nothing more than a solid mass of natural rock.

But an international team investigating the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat believes it could contain the remains of Noah’s Ark.

According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved Noah, his family and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood that some biblical chronologies place more than 4,300 years ago.

Now, a new radar survey has detected strong subsurface anomalies and distinct layers inside the 515-foot-long formation, challenging the idea that it is one homogeneous block of rock.

Led by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, the survey used BakhtarRadar, a specialized imaging system developed through US Air Force research, to probe deeper beneath the site than earlier scans.

Noah’s Ark Scans founder Andrew Jones, who is part of the research team, said the deeper readings processed so far had yet to reveal a clear boundary between the formation and the underlying bedrock.

The team is still analyzing the data and will use the results to select locations for core drilling that could establish what lies beneath the formation.

‘We believe the Durupınar Formation is the remains of Noah’s Ark, and that is exactly why we want to put it through the strongest scientific testing we can,’ Jones said.

However, the researchers acknowledged that the results are preliminary and that radar anomalies alone do not prove the formation has an archaeological origin.

A new radar survey has detected strong subsurface anomalies and distinct layers inside the 515-foot-long formation, challenging the idea that it is one homogeneous block of rock

Bakhtar shared: 'My team and I are carefully evaluating the collected subsurface data, which aids in planning the core drilling pattern to be performed at the site. 

'We will use BakhtarRadar's unique capability to directly distinguish any still preserved petrified, man-worked timbers from the natural host formation and its varying mineralogy.'

The team expects to release a preliminary technical report in the coming weeks identifying the strongest anomalies, providing a clearer view of the underlying geology and determining the best locations for targeted core drilling. 

The samples would allow researchers to test the radar findings against physical evidence from inside the formation. 

Located just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak, the Durupinar Formation has only been known to the modern world for less than a century.

According to local reports, heavy rains and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away the surrounding mud, revealing the mysterious formation. It was then discovered by a Kurdish shepherd.

The Bible states that Noah's Ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living creature not sheltered inside the wooden vessel.

The radar captured 'a series of right angles' about 20 feet down, which researchers believe could be the rooms that held animals on the ark

What is intriguing is that the formation sits near a mountain with a peak that some believe matches the ark's shape and dimensions. 

According to biblical measurements, the ark was '300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high,' roughly 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall.

The idea that the ark landed on Mount Ararat has long sparked debate.

While many scientists argue that the formation is a naturally occurring geological feature, others are convinced it points to something far more extraordinary.

The team at Noah's Ark Scans firmly believes the latter.

Jones has been investigating the site since 2016, using ground-penetrating radar to see deeper underground, finding what he believes is a network of 'corridors' converging on a hollow central chamber he dubbed the atrium.

He linked the discovery to the Bible's description of the Ark, which states the boat contained three internal levels built to shelter Noah, his family and pairs of animals.

'God told Noah to bring the animals in. And so these animals would have stayed there, plus Noah and his family,' Jones told GB News.

Just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's tallest peak, the Durupinar Formation emerged less than a century ago

A team of American researchers working at the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat has uncovered evidence of hidden tunnels as described in the biblical account

What's interesting is that these voids are lining up below the ground - and they're not just random. These tunnels also follow a pattern. GPR is just a way to look below the soil using radar.'

He added that further studies using infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing technology that can uncover hidden structures underground, have also suggested the presence of a ship-shaped hull buried deep in the soil.

Jones told GB News that he and his team collected 88 samples from inside and outside of the ship in 2024.

Soil testing in the area showed extremely high levels of potassium, consistent with massive amounts of decomposed lumber.

'However, due to the extremely cold climate, many parts of the Ark are still intact and petrified. It spends almost six months out of the year completely frozen,' Noah's Ark Scans explained in an X post.

In 2024, Jones revealed that he and his team uncovered angular structures as deep as 20 feet beneath the surface, features that could represent rooms below a deck-like platform.

The researchers added further studies using infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing technology that can uncover hidden structures underground, have also suggested the presence of a ship-shaped hull buried deep in the soil

According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved humanity and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood more than 4,300 years ago

In Genesis 6:14, the Bible describes the ark: 'Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.'

'This is not what you'd expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris,' Jones told The Christian Broadcasting Network.

'But it is exactly what you'd expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah's Ark.'

The team has also performed soil testing, uncovering what Jones described as 'some interesting things.'

'We noticed that the grass growing within the boat-shaped formation is a different color compared to the area just outside it,' Jones said, suggesting this could point to a man-made origin rather than a natural one.

William Crabtree, another member of Noah's Ark Scans, added that a tunnel appears to run from the tip of the formation toward the middle, and it is large enough to walk through.

'The ultimate goal is not just soil test, which is great, or GPR scans, but to get inside the ship somehow,' Jones told Patterns of Evidence.

'Core drilling, getting samples deep inside of it to where we see the substructure, these voids, put a camera in it. This is an opportunity coming up that possibly will allow us to do that next season.

'Whatever happens, whenever God opens doors, we will continue working on the site.'

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UFO News Effect: Why A Third Of Americans Changed Their Minds About Aliens

Pentagon UFO scientist claims the US is hiding multiple alien species in top-secret facilities

by Michael Gwilliam

alien species in room

A scientist who previously consulted on Pentagon UFO programs claims the US government is storing bodies belonging to at least four alien species inside secret military facilities.

Dr Eric Davis made the extraordinary allegations during an appearance on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight, claiming he had viewed classified photographs and government records connected to crashed unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) and alien bodies.

“There’s a minimum of four that we know of, and I’ve seen the evidence, and I’ve seen the records,” Davis said.

Davis identified the alleged species as Grays, Nordics, Insectoids, and Reptilians. He described Grays as the short, large-eyed creatures commonly depicted in movies, while Nordics supposedly resemble tall, blonde humans.

Insectoids were compared to human-sized praying mantises, while Reptilians were described as humanoid creatures with lizard-like features. Davis claimed all four types have two arms and two legs.

“I don’t know what they eat. Most of them that I am aware were found dead,” he said.

alien species

Scientist claims US captured alien alive

Davis claimed officials once had an idea where the alleged bodies were stored, but said the operation was divided and moved during Barack Obama’s first presidential administration.

“We did have a hint of where those bodies went to when they were recovered,” he said. “That institute got split up into two or three components and relocated into different military medical institutes by the first Obama administration.”

He further added that he had heard former intelligence officer David Grusch knew of one being that was allegedly captured alive, but admitted he had no further information about it.

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The astrophysicist says he has investigated UAPs for 30 years and previously worked as a consultant on government programs including the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program.

He is now asking President Donald Trump to waive his non-disclosure agreement and protect UFO whistleblowers from prosecution.

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“With your signature, you could waive the NDA to protect UAP whistleblowers like myself,” Davis said. “I respectfully request that you take swift and decisive action, as the nature of UAP should not be kept deeply classified.”

However, Davis has not publicly produced the photographs or records he claims to have seen, and his allegations have not been independently verified.

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has previously said it found “no verifiable evidence” of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.

The claims come amid growing interest in possible alien life, including NASA’s discovery of a potential sign of ancient life on Mars and separate allegations that alien DNA has been detected in alleged abductees.

If there are advanced aliens out there potentially waiting to make a move, the world may not stand much of a chance. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb had previously told Dexerto that Earth has no plan for an invasion and has urged the UN to take precautions in the event of such a threat.

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Europe's never–ending scorching summer: Timelapse reveals the vast swathes of the continent that have hit 40°C over the last four months

• READ MORE: Area affected by wildfires in Europe will TRIPLE by 2100

BySHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

A timelapse video has revealed just how long–lasting Europe's scorching summer has been. 

Created using data from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), the timelapse shows the daily maximum surface air temperature across Western Europe from 1 May to 19 August. 

The darkest areas on the map indicate temperatures that met or exceeded 40°C (104°).

As the timelapse progresses, the dark red areas become more and more widespread across the continent.  

'Western Europe got its first hint of an unusual summer in May 2026, when a heat dome produced exceptional temperatures that shattered records in several countries,' NASA explained. 

'Remarkable as it was, that early heat wave turned out to be only the opening salvo.

'By mid–August, Europeans were sweating through their fifth heat wave of the season, with the latest onslaught pushing temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across a broad area. 

'During these bouts of extreme weather, high temperatures were often unrelenting, persisting for several days and sometimes weeks on end, and remaining overnight.'

Created using data from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), the timelapse shows the daily maximum surface air temperature across Western Europe from 1 May to 19 August

The timelapse starts on 1 May, at which point only small patches of the map are even light orange

The timelapse – which you can view here – starts on 1 May, at which point only small patches of the map are even light orange. 

However, by 22 May, you can see huge parts of the continent – including Portugal, Spain and Ukraine – darkening in colour. 

Fast–forward to mid–June, and several countries are dark red on the map, indicating temperatures of at least 40°C (104°).

Over the entire summer, heat records have been broken across the continent.

Back in May, temperatures in the UK hit 35.1°C (95.2°F), smashing the previous May record by a staggering 2.3°C (4.1°F).

In June, Bordeaux, France, broke its maximum–temperature record on three consecutive days, hitting 42.5°C.

By August, Slovakia set a new national records for both daytime and nighttime highs.

These scorching temperatures have taken their toll on people, animals, landscapes and infrastructure.

Greece, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Croatia have all been hit by wildfires that have displaced thousands of people. Pictured: a fire in Belgium on August 15

The UK's hottest days on record

40.3°C – 19 July 2022 in Coningsby, Lincolnshire

38.7°C – 25 July 2019 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

38.5°C – 10 August 2003 in Faversham, Kent

38.2°C – 18 July 2022 in Pitsford, Northamptonshire

37.8°C – 31 July 2020 at Heathrow, London

Greece, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Croatia have all been hit by wildfires that have displaced thousands of people.

Last week, a blaze spread rapidly across the Hautes Fagnes natural park in eastern Belgium, near the border with Germany.

It is the biggest fire on record for the nation, surpassing a blaze in 2011 that burned nearly 1,400 hectares, data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed.

Meanwhile, hundreds were evacuated from a beach resort in northern Greece and from a village in southwest France.

Likewise, the UK has now seen its worst fire season on record, with firefighters responding to over 1,132 blazes across the UK.

Preliminary reports suggest that heat may have been associated with as many as 10,000 excess deaths, including thousands of people in the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium.

'For a region accustomed to relatively mild summers, the heat upended everyday life. Hospitalizations and heat–related deaths spiked,' NASA said.

'Highways and train tracks buckled, forcing road closures and service disruptions.

Fast–forward to mid–June, and several countries are dark red on the map, indicating temperatures of at least 40°C (104°)

arge and destructive wildfires raged in areas where they were once rarely seen.

'The heat also worsened the severe drought that has gripped the region for months, contributing to record–low river water levels and disrupting water and power supplies, transportation routes, and agriculture.'

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Worryingly, scientists predict that future summers will be even hotter and drier, thanks to climate change. 

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UFO 'that looked like a giant nuclear weapon' stalked me before disappearing into sea, says NASA scientist

• MORE: UFO disclosure movement's astonishing new Trump claims: Secret Oval Office meetings... Air Force One plan... and 'imminent' next move

A NASA engineer has detailed a frightening experience involving glowing orbs over Florida and what the US military did when they intercepted the UFOs. 

Dr Charles Buhler, a physicist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, claimed that in 2014 he and his wife were at Cocoa Beach when they spotted a strange orb appear in the sky, which lit up like a 'nuclear bomb went off,' three miles away.

'It looked like a giant nuclear weapon. It wasn't a mushroom cloud with it, but it was just the brightness of it,' Buhler told podcast host Danny Jones.

'And we were like, "This is weird." So the helicopter hung over for a few minutes and then just went back and the light was still there.' 

The incident got even stranger after Buhler said a military helicopter from Patrick Air Force Base flew out to examine the UFO and then simply flew off without taking action.

Buhler said: 'They're like, "Okay, they know what it's not. It's not the Russians. It's not the Chinese. So, okay, it's not them. We'll be fine. Let's go back." That's my guess. They know what it's not.'

However, Buhler claimed the glowing orb began moving toward him after the military left the area, coming within 200 feet of the shore, following the scientist and then breaking into five or six separate basketball-sized orbs. 

The objects were allegedly seen rotating like a wheel, with half of them going underwater while the other half stayed visible from the beach. 

Pictured: NASA engineer Charles Buhler views glowing orb UFO encounters similar to his experience in Florida a decade ago

Pictured is an artistic impression of a 'mother orb' releasing the smaller 'orbs' as reported by the federal agents in October 2023 at a similar encounter to Buhler's

Despite similar sightings being recently released in the Pentagon's UFO disclosure files, and thousands of other orb encounters reported to civilian-run websites, the US government and NASA have maintained that there is no physical proof that UFOs or extraterrestrials exist. 

Buhler claimed the orb appeared around 10pm ET along the eastern coast of Florida, noting that countless people likely saw the craft from the nearby buildings and condos facing the Atlantic.

The scientist initially thought the object was a boat on the water before it pulsed with a light that illuminated the entire area and was too bright to be a standard signal flare.

'Then it gets real bright... It got so bright it lit up the whole beach as far as I can see. It made shadows of us against the buildings behind us,' Buhler said on the Danny Jones Podcast on August 14.

That was when one or two aircraft reportedly took off from the nearby military base and were seen hovering over the pulsating orb in the Atlantic.

Despite all of this taking place near a populated beach community and a major Air Force facility, Buhler said he could not find a single mention or report of the incident the following day.

However, his experience with the orbs is reportedly a well-known phenomenon in the area, with tour groups actively seeking them out and attempting to summon the orbs through psychic communication.

'Cape Canaveral is a huge port, and there's a lot of sightings off of cruise ships of these same red what you saw, what I saw, things following the cruise ships like dolphins do,' Buhler said. 'People have that on video. No one knows what the heck it is. I don't think anyone knows what it is.'

Dr Charles Buhler, a physicist and electrostatics specialist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, recently discussed a UFO encounter over Cocoa Beach, Florida

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While Buhler believed the orb UFOs were attempting to communicate in a friendly manner, he said the experience on Cocoa Beach quickly turned scary.

Within 15 minutes of the Air Force helicopters leaving the UFO, Buhler claimed the glowing orb began moving closer to the shore, getting within one mile of the beach and appearing to head directly toward the scientist and his wife.

At roughly a third of a mile out, Buhler said the object split into five or six smaller lights which moved to where the waves were breaking, just 200 feet offshore, and began spinning in and out of the water.

'They went and rotated, these five lights, five or six lights... Went like bicycle spokes into the water, halfway out of the water, halfway into the water, and they just kept doing this,' Buhler described. 'It was like the freakiest, I don't know what the hell it was.'

He then detailed how when he and his wife started sprinting away, the lights followed while continuing the spinning motion. 

Buhler claimed the whole episode lasted nearly 45 minutes.

A similar cluster of unknown flying orbs was spotted near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an Ohio military installation rumored to be linked to UFO activity, on April 8, 2026

Above is an artistic interpretation of a similar orb sighting described by law enforcement in the western US three years ago

Feeling scared, and drawing on things he had read about extraterrestrials as a child, Buhler said he closed his eyes and tried to tell the orbs to go away with his mind. 

Shortly after, the lights sank into the water and did not return.

'It wouldn't have gone away if I didn't tell it to. I don't think it would have gone away unless I told it to. It was completely gone after that,' Buhler said.

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What colours do you see? Mind-boggling optical illusion tricks your brain into seeing red and blue in a black and white spinning wheel

• READ MORE: Mind-boggling mirage off the coast of Cornwall baffles locals
  

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

A bizarre optical illusion tricks your brain into seeing colours in a black and white spinning disk.

The phenomenon, which has baffled scientists for hundreds of years, fools viewers into thinking they can see colours such as red and blue when they are not present.

The most famous example of this is 'Benham's top' – a disk painted in a black and white pattern which was initially sold as a toy.

When it is stationary, the opposing pigments appear unremarkable.

But when the top is spun, arcs of pale colour are visible at different places on the disk.

'When a pattern drawn only in black and white is rotated, people sometimes perceive colours that are not actually present,' researchers, from the National Institute for Basic Biology in Japan, said.

'This phenomenon is known as "subjective colour" and has been studied for approximately 200 years as one of the remarkable mysteries of vision.'

So, can you see the different colours in the video below?

When Benham's top is stationary, the black and white colours appear rather unremarkable. But when it is spun, colours such as red and blue can appear

As part of a new study, scientists wanted to work out the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.

They presented a black and white Benham's top to an AI model that had been trained to predict 'what kind of image will come next' after viewing a range of nature videos.

Although the input images contained no colour information at all, faint colours appeared in the images predicted by the AI.

The artificially generated colours were found to change depending on the colours of moving objects contained in the video used to train the AI.

This indicates that learning a link between movement and colour may be one factor that enables colours to emerge from black and white simulations, the researchers explained.

'This study suggests that subjective colour may not be a phenomenon completed solely within the retina, but may also be related to the brain's function of predicting future visual input based on past experience,' the team said.

'By using AI, the study provides a new clue to the classical mystery of why colours are perceived from a black-and-white spinning top.'

The conclusion, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reads: 'This framework provides a clear explanation for why colours appear on Benham's top arcs when they are conceptualized as moving objects.'

For the study, researchers presented a black and white Benham's top to an AI model that had been trained to predict 'what kind of image will come next' after viewing natural videos

This image plots the perceived hues that participants in a previous study reported. This phenomenon is known as 'subjective colour'

Benham's top was first developed in 1894 by British inventor Charles Benham, who created a black-and-white patterned spinning disc that produced the surprising illusion of coloured rings when rotated.

The effect became known as Fechner-Benham colours, or pattern-induced flicker colours, and quickly attracted the attention of scientists studying how the eye and brain perceive colour.

Over the following decades, researchers used the spinning disc in experiments investigating whether the colours were generated by the retina, the visual cortex, or interactions between different parts of the visual system.

Experiments found that the colours can change depending on the speed and direction of rotation, providing clues about how the visual system processes the timing and phase of light signals.

WHAT IS THE DELBOEUF ILLUSION?

The Delboeuf illusion is one type of visual illusion where a dot surrounded by a large ring is typically perceived to be smaller than the same-sized dot surrounded by a small ring.

This optical trick works because your brain perceives the dot in the context of the outer ring.

It was named after the Belgian philosopher and mathematician Joseph Remi Leopold Delboeuf (1831 – 1896), who created it in 1865. 

The Delboeuf illusion is one type of visual illusion where a dot surrounded by a large ring is typically perceived to be smaller than the same-sized dot surrounded by a small ring

In terms of plate size, the theory goes that having a smaller plate tricks people into thinking they have more food.

However, new research suggests that when people are hungry, they are able to identify food portion accurately, no matter how it is served.

According to the researchers, this indicates that hunger stimulates stronger analytic processing that is not as easily fooled by the illusion.

However, the Delboeuf illusion is widely believed to work in other contexts.

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