Senior SETI Scientist Believes YOU Might Be a Martian

Seth Shostak, Senior Researcher for SETI and a leading astronomer, says life on Earth derives from life on Mars.

 

 

He writes : “It’s possible that billions of years ago, tiny bits of biology quit the Red Planet and infected ours. If so, your family tree — and that of every other terrestrial life form — has its deepest roots not in the ancient oceans of Earth, but in the vanished seas of Mars.”

 

Panspermia is a theory suggesting life on Earth was generated from micro-organisms coming not necessarily from other planets, but from outer space. Shostak reminds us the idea is very old but no scientist or astronomer could ever completely rule it out even today.

 

Some have even brought up the idea that microorganisms would be strong enough to travel through space and arrived here being carried by different forces along the cosmos, but Shostak disagrees and says no living organism could survive out there. He believes it would be much easier to make the journey if the organisms were buried inside sediments (rocks).

 

 

"After all, space is hardly benign: cosmic rays, extreme temperatures, and prolonged desiccation will relentlessly corrode any biology that takes too much time en route. Being inside a rock helps.”

 

This theory’ deriving from the one explained earlier, is called lithopanspermia.

 

Shostak says that if microorganisms somehow survived space travel, they couldn’t have done so for a very long period of time, so they’re likely to be from Mars, which is closest. He also points out that not long after the Big Bang, there was a period when the Earth was constantly showered with debris coming from Mars. Although most took longer, few of these rocks arrived here in just around a year. His opinion is that there could be living organisms tough enough to endure that amount of time in space.

 

"Astrobiologists have identified terrestrial bacteria able to zone out in spore form for a million years. If you eventually put them in contact with water, they’ll come back to life like sea monkeys.”

 

In 2013, a biochemist and professor from the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology called Steven Banner released a paper on the theory that life here came from Mars. He claims to have found proof that the red planet had safe enough environment to host life sometime long ago.

 

Scientific American responded:

 

"The new argument, in a nutshell, is that young Mars had a more oxygen-rich atmosphere than Earth did 4 billion years ago, and was drier. This would have resulted in a different mineralogical surface environment, one that could have provided a catalyst for the assembly of key RNA molecules and all the biotic chemistry leading to life as we know it.

 

Subsequent asteroid impacts on Mars would have spewed chunks of rock into space, carrying life (presumably in microbial form) through the solar system and onto the surface of a youthful Earth.”

 

Scientists from the University of Sheffield believe human kind is already in possession of a multitude of such organisms and say more of them keep coming to our planet but we just haven’t been interested.

 

"The evidence points towards theories that complex living organisms are falling from the skies to Earth,” professor Milton Wainwright declared last year for the Daily Express. “There is growing evidence that says this DNA comes from space and it is carried into our atmosphere on micro-meteorites before dissipating.”

 

 

 

Lee Speigel also told the Huffington Post that : “I am absolutely convinced that life is not restricted to planet Earth because I have found the remains of life forms that are absolutely, conclusively extraterrestrial.” The organisms he’s referring to, of course, came from Mars.

 

Returning to Seth Shostak, he recently added: “As intriguing as it is, panspermia doesn’t offer any clues about life’s origins. Indeed, it only seems to push the problem of biology’s beginnings to another planet. But there’s this: If life can spread, then countless worlds could be encrusted with biology even if generating it in the first place is difficult or highly improbable.”

 

Next time something, no matter how small, falls on your shoulder, remember. It could be a martian.

 

http://ufoholic.com/

{ http://7tales.net/index.php }

13-11-2015 om 18:16 geschreven door peter  

Vlaamse toerist fotografeert ‘ufo’ in Barcelona - nieuwsblad.be

Foto: Belgisch UFO-meldpunt

Het beeld wordt nu onderzocht door het Belgische ufo-meldpunt. “De foto is niet nep”, zegt Frederick Delaere. Toch zijn ze er niet van overtuigd dat de witte schijf die door de lucht lijkt te zoeven, echt een ‘on­geïdentificeerd vliegend object’ is, “aangezien niemand anders iets opmerkte op het moment dat de foto ­genomen werd. Ook de fotograaf had niets door.”

“We denken dat het een insect of een vogel is, die toevallig dicht bij de cameralens vloog. De foto werd genomen vanop de Mont­juïc, een heuvel in het zuidwesten van de stad waar veel planten en bomen staan. Als het een insect was, moet het een vlinder geweest zijn. Drie Spaanse onderzoekers die we hebben aangeschreven, denken dan weer dat het om een zeemeeuw gaat.”

{ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/ }

13-11-2015 om 18:09 geschreven door peter  

Vlaamse toerist fotografeert ‘ufo’ in Barcelona - nieuwsblad.be

Foto: Belgisch UFO-meldpunt

Het beeld wordt nu onderzocht door het Belgische ufo-meldpunt. “De foto is niet nep”, zegt Frederick Delaere. Toch zijn ze er niet van overtuigd dat de witte schijf die door de lucht lijkt te zoeven, echt een ‘on­geïdentificeerd vliegend object’ is, “aangezien niemand anders iets opmerkte op het moment dat de foto ­genomen werd. Ook de fotograaf had niets door.”

“We denken dat het een insect of een vogel is, die toevallig dicht bij de cameralens vloog. De foto werd genomen vanop de Mont­juïc, een heuvel in het zuidwesten van de stad waar veel planten en bomen staan. Als het een insect was, moet het een vlinder geweest zijn. Drie Spaanse onderzoekers die we hebben aangeschreven, denken dan weer dat het om een zeemeeuw gaat.”

{ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/ }

13-11-2015 om 18:02 geschreven door peter  

Wheel of Giants: Prehistoric 'Stonehenge' Monument In Golan Heights Fuels Mystery

13-11-2015 om 17:54 geschreven door peter  

Russian General: “We’ve Been Summoning UFOs for Over 30 Years”

Russia is said to have knowledge about extraterrestrial beings for more than 20 years, and many respected former high ranking officials have been trying to disclose certain aspects for some time, but face a lot of adversity from the media, who either ignore them or cite them as untrustworthy sources.

 

 During the Soviet era, the Defense Ministry worked on engineering a human with superpowers. In the course of these experiments, a team of scientists was somehow able to communicate with alien life forms. The man in charge of this classified assignment later talked to journalists.

 

Also a member of the Natural Sciences Academy, and now lieutenant-general in reserve Alexey Savin tells us that in the late 80s, a team of Russian scientists were able to get in touch with a similar delegation representing a foreign civilization.

 

Former major-general Vasily Yeremenko was the first to inform the press of his duty during the Soviet era, which was the retrieval of evidence and intelligence from UFO encounters. He says the amount of such information back then was vast beyond modern comprehension.

 

 

The main objective was to stop any opportunities of war from arising between mankind, or at least Russia, and extraterrestrial civilizations. The KGB conducted an ample study of unexplained phenomena near Vladimirovska in 1984. The location wasn’t picked randomly, as most documented UFO encounters took place at sites where weapons or dangerous technology were tested.

 

"We can say that we learned to summon UFOs in Vladimirovka. To do this, we dramatically increased the number of military flights and movement of the equipment. If the intensity on our side increased, UFOs appeared with the probability of 100 percent.”

 

After more than half a year of such tests, the authorities stopped in order to count the results. They concluded that science, at least as it was back then, couldn’t visibly see any peculiar phenomena and even if anyone did, any aircraft spotted was more probably coming from enemies like the United States or Japan.

 

Yeremenko added: “The UFO topic today is ubiquitous. Precisely because of its scandalous nature serious scientists are not willing to identify their position on this issue. Pilots often see such objects, but they have a veto on this topic, so do astronauts. In confidential conversations they talk about their experiences meeting with UFOs, but they are afraid to speak publicly about this.”

 

He says this topic should be taken seriously because it’s a matter of security at a global level.

 

 

Then Alexey Savin spoke of the government and the KGB’s attempts to manipulate an individual’s brain, which is capable of supernatural powers, in order to spawn a superhuman, the ultimate weapon.

 

"In the process of research, we came to the conclusion that a human was an energy and information system that receives information from outside. This is precisely why a human can manifest paranormal abilities.”

 

People working on the project were either military staff or scientists, but there was also a group assembled solely out of women, and it was them who made the most important research.

 

Savin explains how they had mastered a way to make the human brain function like a radio and contact other civilizations. “We wanted to make a contact with representatives of other civilizations. And we did it. We had to tune energy-contour of the human brain to a particular wave, like a radio.”

 

No chemicals or drugs were used on subjects during testing, and the scientists also came up with a way to tell if individuals were making progress or just hallucinating. What happened next was amazing. Six individuals were able to actually touch extraterrestrial life forms and one was even invited to visit a ship.

 

 

The aliens did give away some information about the structure of their society, but left out important parts like any military details. They supposedly also left knowledge of medical procedures that could cure most diseases. Savin told journalists that the human race is so precariously evolved that they would compare us to infants.

 

"Our civilization is too young to be of interest to them as a subject for a dialogue. Because we are also a part of the universe, we may harm ourselves and other civilizations with our foolish actions, so they are looking out for us. “

 

In 1993, politics came in the way, the whole project was abandoned and the team disbanded, but the brain manipulation method remained in use at the Gagarin Academy, where a core team of scientist continued to work.

 

Savin says “Four years ago we tried to repeat the experiment, and we were successful. Brains and talented people are still present in the defense industry.” He then asks “Why hide something from people? Instead, they need to prepare for new challenges.”

 

But if the aliens were so peaceful and even revealing, why does Savin think we should all prepare for a new challenge or treat UFOs like a global security issue?!

 

http://ufoholic.com/

{ http://7tales.net/index.php }

13-11-2015 om 17:12 geschreven door peter  

Mysterieus object WT1190F stort neer op vrijdag de dertiende

Het mysterieuze object WT1190F is vanochtend rond 07.00 uur Nederlandse tijd neergestort boven de Indische Oceaan.

Wetenschappers zijn er kort geleden in geslaagd om de baan van het object, dat in oktober dit jaar werd ontdekt, te berekenen. Zodoende voorspelde het Europese ruimteagentschap ESA dat WT1190F op vrijdag 13 november zou neerkomen op zo’n 100 kilometer van de zuidelijke kust van Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka zaten heel wat enthousiastelingen klaar om het gebeuren te volgen, maar de wolken gooiden roet in het eten. Het is ook mogelijk dat het ruimteobject in de atmosfeer is verbrand voordat het de aarde kon bereiken.

Zekere voor het onzekere

De autoriteiten namen het zekere voor het onzekere. Zo mochten er geen vliegtuigen vliegen over het gebied waar WT1190F zou neerstorten en ook mocht er niet gevist worden.

De onderzoekers weten niet zeker wat het is. Wel weten ze dat het een hol object is met een doorsnee van een paar meter. Ze vermoeden dat het onderdeel is geweest van een raket die al enkele jaren in de ruimte zweeft. Na analyse bleek dat het object al eerder was waargenomen in 2012 en 2013.

Vragen

WT1190F blijft de nodige vragen oproepen. Er hangt veel ruimtepuin rond de aarde, maar dit object zat in een heel langwerpige elliptische baan om de aarde. Gezien de baan denken onderzoekers dat het een restant kan zijn van een maanmissie, eventueel van de Apollomissies eind jaren zestig.

Omdat dit één van de weinige grote brokstukken is die terugkomt naar de aarde, is er wereldwijd heel wat aandacht voor het neerstorten van het object.

Shalika Galawala @shalikaa

[VTM]

13-11-2015 om 16:51 geschreven door peter  

Antarctisch UFO-mysterie wordt groter: “Crashplek bewaakt door tanks”

Complottheoristen claimen bewijs te hebben gevonden van ‘legervoertuigen’ die de crashplek van een mysterieuze UFO ‘bewaken’. Dat meldt de Britse Daily Express.

Eerder dit jaar zei de Russische onderzoeker Valentin Degterev uit Nizjni Nagil op Google Earth een ongeïdentificeerd object te hebben gespot. Andere onderzoekers hebben satellietbeelden gevonden van dezelfde plek, die dateren van april en december 2011.

Volgens sommigen tonen de beelden vier tanks bij een vreemde scheur in het oppervlak op Google Earth, alsof een UFO na een noodlanding een spoor door de sneeuw heeft getrokken. Op eerdere foto’s is de ‘crashplek’ wel te zien, maar ontbreken de vier extra objecten.

Degterev zette de beelden afgelopen zomer op internet, waarna ze al snel viraal gingen. Hij is ervan overtuigd dat het enorme object een ‘vliegende schotel’ is, die half onder de sneeuw bedolven ligt. De beelden die hij heeft gebruikt zijn gemaakt op 15 februari 2012.

Hij schat dat het object 62 bij 12 meter moet zijn. Sommige reageerders waren er zeker van dat het niets meer dan een kloof is, terwijl anderen zich afvroegen wat er met de inzittenden is gebeurd.

[Express]

13-11-2015 om 16:45 geschreven door peter  

Spinning UFO Over Portugal Neighbourhood On Nov 12, 2015, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: November 12, 2015

Location of sighting: Portugal

 

This spinning UFO was seen over Portugal this week. Many UFOs have been seen in the past with this spinning motion. Once over a football game on live TV back in Oct of 1979 during a Dallas game. This UFO in Portugal looks very similar.

Scott C. Waring

www.ufosightingsdaily.com

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

13-11-2015 om 16:36 geschreven door peter  

White Glowing UFO Over Santa Tecla, El Salvador On Oct 29, 2014, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: October 29, 2014
Location of sighting: Santa Tecla, El Salvador
News source: MUFON #61227

Usually I won't post an older video, but MUFON just put this one up on their Youtube channel, and it does show how white and cloud like these UFOs can appear. This is why they are hard to notice when the sky is filled with clouds. The video is short, but most importantly shows us the movement of the craft.
Scott C. Waring
www.ufosightingsdaily.com

Eyewitness states:
By the end of the noon, I was trying to take some photos of the sky by its colours when, suddenly, I saw the oject. So I took the photo right on the object When I noticed the object I guessed it would be a helicopter The object was comingo due to south from San Salvador vulcano, suddenly but slowly change its direction right to the east and I can't see anymore because here it's a residential area and other houses don't let see it anymore Well, I was happy to see a rare object Because it's a residential area, other houses don't let see a little more the traffic of the object.

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

13-11-2015 om 16:30 geschreven door peter  

Bright UFO hovering above Arizona

Here’s one interesting sighting of an bright object hovering in the sky above Bullhead City in Arizona. This happened on 30th October 2015.

Witness report: UFO observed for 30 minutes or More. Bright intense, changing lights, Changed into two objects than back to One. Witnessed for three nights in a row.
My father was walking to the grocery store right down the street. He noticed a long bright light up on the mountain ridge to the West. He came in and got me and his girlfriend and we went out in the front yard to watch this strange light. It was there for a good 30 minutes or more, and for three nights we saw this. The unidentified objects most mysterious thing was that it would be a small white light and then all of a sudden get brighter and brighter to where it was blinding and we could hardly look at it. It would move up and down a little but mostly kept its path going slowly back and forth in a North and South direction. It would blink, change color to red, Disappear then reappear. A few times it changed from one object into two than back as one again. I have many short video recordings on my camera. Every time I try to submit them it knocks me offline. This is my forth attempt at submitting this so I am just going to attach one video and one picture. You can let me know if you would like to see the rest. To see everything this UFO was doing you would have to watch

 all the videos. What is going on in Bullhead City ?? My father and I are very interested in finding out what that was we were watching for three days.

Author (source: MUFON)

13-11-2015 om 16:14 geschreven door peter  

UFOs Have Allegedly Been Scanning Above The Martian Surface

Extraterrestrial researchers – who have been claiming to have seen evidence of alien fossils, statues, buildings, ET beings, and other objects from the Red Planet – now claim to have finally found proof of alien craft.

Several pictures from NASA Curiosity rover allegedly show a four-wheel-drive droid that believed to be doing exploration on the surface and taking photos and rock samples.

In one of the pictures taken on November 3 and made available online by NASA on the next day, seems to show a dark object in the sky at the distance. When zoomed in, the photo reveals what looks like a flying saucer.

In different pictures captured on the same day, two dark objects allegedly appear in the sky. It seems that the two rear cameras of the Curiosity both caught the objects in different positions. Then a little earlier it took place again. Online alien chasers think that it is clear evidence that something is flying above Mars.

In a YouTube video of paranormal channel Streetcap1, it shows a separate image in November showing a third UFO during a sunset on the Red Planet. The UFO is thought to be tilted to an angle and looks like a drone.

However, skeptics suggested that inexplicable images in photographs do not automatically make them alien craft, and they could be just dirt on the lens.

13-11-2015 om 16:10 geschreven door peter  

(exclusive video)Colossal Green Fireball Captured While Dashing Over Thailand’s Sky

12-11-2015 om 23:25 geschreven door peter  

Large Blimp Like Alien Craft Spotted In Texas

(Before It's News)

12-11-2015 om 23:13 geschreven door peter  

A Brief History of UFO Sightings in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Examiner's photo of the Battle of Los Angeles via USC Libraries

Late last week, Angelenos were confused/awed/terrified by the sight of a mysterious streak of light illuminating the night sky across its entire length. For hours, no official explanation was offered, leading everyone in town to speculate wildly on Twitter about what it was. It turns out that it was the Navy testing their Trident II missile, which is used to deter nuclear attacks; to prevent the prying eyes of the Russians, the Navy released no details to the public prior to the launch. It was a reasonable, if not slightly off-putting explanation, but it didn't take long for people to cry conspiracy. Was it a comet? Was it an alien? What was the government hiding? We may never know, but for some conspiracy theorists, speculation will probably continue for years. And the Trident incident is not alone—Los Angeles actually has a rich history of unexplained phenomenon in its skies. Here's a rundown of LA's best UFO stories throughout history:

12-11-2015 om 22:27 geschreven door peter  

Daily UFO Headlines 11/12/2015

(Before It's News)

openminds.tv

• UFO in Houston? Mysterious light spotted in Houston sky over ‘Be Someone’ sign – Houston Chronicle
• Brief History of UFO Sightings in Los Angeles – Curbed LA
• Second Missile Test Fire Triggers Fewer UFO Reports – Patch
• Bright Lights, Strange Shapes and Talk of U.F.O.’s – The New York Times
• UFOs or DEMONS? Skywatchers claim they SUMMONED a fleet of flying saucers to Earth – Daily Express

12-11-2015 om 22:19 geschreven door peter  

Is dit de belangrijkste exoplaneet ooit ontdekt? - HLN.be

Bron: Science Daily, The Guardian

Een impressie van GJ 1132b, die rond een rode dwerg cirkelt. © Dana Berry.

STERRENKUNDE Een rotsachtige planeet ter grootte van de aarde, op amper 39 lichtjaren - een steenworp, in astronomische termen - hier vandaan. GJ 1132b, in het sterrenstelsel Vela, zou volgens astronomen wel eens de belangrijkste exoplaneet zijn die tot nu toe werd ontdekt.

12-11-2015 om 22:14 geschreven door peter  

Police Remains Clueless About the Appearance of Crop Circles On Wheat Fields In Argentina

Police investigators have no idea as to who or what is making a series of strange crop circles in Argentina.

The unusual pattern of wheat fields have appeared in the northern province of Salta in 2015, and the latest one was on a plantation in Chicoana.

Mercedes Casas, a crop circle investigator, said that the latest pattern has nine circles that begin big and get smaller until the last one.

The first circle has seven metres in diameter and gradually gets smaller until four metres with some interesting markings, Casas described. She added that lines connect the circles, approximately a metre wide and a few centimetres tall.

Another formation of crop circles appeared in Salta in February.

Mercedes believes humanoids designed these rings. These humanoids, according to Mercedes, are extra-terrestrial entities in the form of humans that appear tall and blonde.

A physics professor at Truman State University, Taner Edis, said these circles all fall within the range of hoaxes so far. Edis explains that he’s aware of claims of obscure natural causes or alien origin, but there’s no scientific evidence for such explanations.

12-11-2015 om 21:56 geschreven door peter  

Door de ontdekking van dit hemellichaam wordt er weer volop gespeculeerd over planeet X

Astronomen hebben een nieuw object ontdekt in ons zonnestelsel, dat drie keer verder van de aarde staat dan Pluto. “We weten niets over de omloopbaan van dit object,” zei Scott Sheppard van het Carnegie Institute of Washington. “We weten alleen dat het gaat om het meest afgelegen object in ons zonnestelsel.”

Het nieuwe object is V774104 gedoopt en staat op ongeveer 103 astronomische eenheden (afstand tussen de aarde en de zon) van de zon. De twee Pioneer-sondes, die sinds 1972 en 1973 door de ruimte reizen, staan op ongeveer dezelfde afstand van ons af.

Wetenschappers schatten dat het hemellichaam tussen de 500 en 1000 kilometer in doorsnee moet zijn. In de buurt van V774104 zijn nog meer hemellichamen aangetroffen. Omdat ze zo langzaam rond de zon draaien, zal het ongeveer een jaar duren voordat er meer bekend is over hun omloopbaan en herkomst.

Donkere rotsachtige planeet

Als ze richting Neptunus bewegen, zijn ze waarschijnlijk uit het binnenste deel van het zonnestelsel verstoten. Het is ook mogelijk dat ze uit de binnenste Oortwolk komen. Er zijn tot op heden maar twee objecten ontdekt die daar vandaan komen: dwergplaneet Sedna en 2012 VP113.

“Sedna en VP113 zijn de enige objecten in het nu bekende zonnestelsel met een omloopbaan die niet kan worden verklaard,” zei Michael Brown van het California Institute of Technology.

Eén mogelijke verklaring voor de vreemde omloopbaan van deze objecten is de aanwezigheid van een hele donkere rotsachtige planeet, die de objecten als een soort schaapsherder bij elkaar houdt.

Superaarde

Het is goed mogelijk dat voorbij Pluto nog een Neptunus-achtige planeet of superaarde staat die niet kan worden gedetecteerd met de huidige telescopen. Het is ook mogelijk dat de objecten zijn beïnvloed door een passerende ster.

Als blijkt dat de omloopbaan van de objecten niet wordt beïnvloed door bekende reuzenplaneten, zal worden gekeken of de banen kunnen worden gelinkt aan een nog onbekende reuzenplaneet in de buitenste regionen van ons zonnestelsel.

[Popular Mechanics via New Scientist]

12-11-2015 om 18:29 geschreven door peter  

The psychology of Conspiracy Theories……why we believe in Conspiracy Theories

The psychology of Conspiracy Theories…..why we believe in Conspiracy Theories    (an excellent page by Rob Brotheton)

“Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory.  The plots of countless Hollywood blockbusters, bestselling books, and beloved TV shows revolve around conspiratorial shenanigans, and surprising numbers of people believe that the kinds of vast, insidious conspiracies that Mulder and Scully routinely unearthed on The X-Files are happening right now in the real world.  Yet conspiracy theories are not a recent invention, and they are not always a harmless curiosity.

In  “SUSPICIOUS MINDS: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories”  (Bloomsbury / November 17, 2015 ), Rob Brotherton, a research psychologist and leading expert on the psychology of conspiracy theory, explores the history and consequences of conspiracism, and offers insights into why so many of us are drawn to implausible, unproven and unprovable conspiracy theories.  They resonate with some of our brain’s built-in quirks and foibles, and tap into some of our deepest desires, fears, and assumptions about the world. But conspiracy theories are not unique in eliciting our brain’s biases.  From our love of heroic underdogs to our tendency to see hidden hands behind ambiguous events, the same mental quirks that make conspiracy theories appealing are constantly shaping how we think about the world. Most of the time our biases simply slip by unnoticed.

The fascinating psychology of conspiracy theories tells us a lot about how our minds are wired and, indeed, why we believe anything at all.  Conspiracy theories are not some psychological aberration—they’re a predictable product of how brains work.  And, of course, just because your brain’s biased doesn’t always mean you’re wrong. Sometimes conspiracies are real. Sometimes, paranoia is prudent.

Conspiracy theorists aren’t just a few kooks lurking on the paranoid fringes of society with bizarre ideas about shape-shifting reptiles secretly running society.  According to Brotherton, we’re all conspiracy theorists—some of us just hide it better than others.

And here’s what people are saying about it…

 “[Brotherton] casts doubt on the assumption that far-fetched beliefs are reserved for the simple-minded or the exceedingly paranoid…Although we like to think our judgments are based on evidence, Brotherton reveals that a host of psychological factors come into play whenever we choose what to believe.” –Scientific American

“The world of conspiracy theory is a minefield of manic personalities, but Brotherton uses a measured scientific tone to explain our more creative anxieties. His writing style is inviting and even cheeky, and the book is a page-turner. A thoughtful, general analysis of conspiracy theories arguing that belief in secret plots is neither new nor unusual but a time-tested part of the human experience.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Clearly written and with liberal use of humor and numerous examples from scholarly research, this title provides a valuable look at why conspiracy theories abound and why we should continually assess our thinking.” –Library Journal, starred review

“Over the course of this all-too-short book, Brotherton illustrates how incomplete, contradictory, coincidental, and incongruent information can allow people to see conspiracies and connections where there are none, due in part to the theories’ plausibility and humans’ innate desire for order, as well as a given individual’s understanding of how the world works. Put simply, people want to believe. Brotherton maintains an educational approach to the material, leading readers through the logic behind each concept as he explores subjects as diverse as the Illuminati, the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion (“not a very good fake”), the Kennedy assassination, and birthers. While Brotherton might not convince all believers to remove their tinfoil hats (a concept whose origin he explains), it’s sure to make readers question their worldview.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review”

Norio Hayakawa’s CIVILIAN INTELLIGENCE NEWS SERVICE

E-mail = noriohayakawa@gmail.com

{ https://noriohayakawa.wordpress.com/ }

12-11-2015 om 18:16 geschreven door peter  

Scientists think they just found the most important planet outside our solar system

© Dana Berry/Sky

A small planet, just a bit bigger than Earth, has been spotted in our stellar neighborhood, just 39 light-years away.

Known as GJ 1132b, it is the closest rocky exoplanet to have ever been found, and astronomers say it could provide our most in-depth look yet at an alien world not so different than our own.

Drake Deming, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, was so excited about the findings, published this week in Nature, that he described the new world as "arguably the most important planet ever found outside the solar system" in an accompanying News and Views article.

The newly discovered planet is just 16 percent larger than Earth, and it is made of rock and metal like our own planet. However, scientists say it is not likely to host life as we know it.

Its small, dim, sun is just one-fifth the size of our own sun, but GJ 1132b circles it at a distance of just 1.4 million miles, completing a full orbit once every 1.6 Earth days. (For perspective, Mercury orbits the sun from a distance of 36 million miles.)

The exoplanet's close proximity to its host star keeps its temperature at a broiling 500 degrees Fahrenheit — or about as hot as the highest setting on your home oven, said Zachory Berta-Thompson, a post-doc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

At that temperature, liquid water cannot exist on the planet's surface, although scientists say it is likely the planet still has an atmosphere.

"Our best guess is that this planet looks like Venus," said Berta-Thompson, who was also the first author on the study. "But we won't have to guess for long. This is the first rocky planet for which we have the chance to go out and observe its atmosphere."

GJ 1132b was discovered with the help of the MEarth-South Observatory, a Harvard University lead array of eight 16-inch wide robotic telescopes stationed in the mountains of Chile. The array is specifically tasked with looking among nearby stars exoplanets that in some way resemble Earth.

"The idea is if we can find the planet in a small telescope, we can study it in much more detail with a large telescope," said Berta-Thompson.

The researchers first detected GJ 1132b in May 2014, when they noticed a telltale dip in the brightness of a small red dwarf star that suggests a planet had passed in front of it, blocking some of its light.

After confirming the finding with a smattering of other telescopes, the researchers proceeded to do a series of measurements and calculations to characterize the exoplanet.

By measuring how much the star dims each time the planet passes in front of it they were able to determine the planet is just a bit bigger than Earth.

By looking at the frequency of the dips in the star's brightness they could say with certainty that the planet orbits its sun once every 1.6 Earth days.

The orbital period of the planet can also be used to calculate how far the exoplanet is from its host star, which in turn helped the researchers estimate how much the planet is likely heated by its star.

And there's more.

Planets exert a slight gravitational pull on their host stars, causing them to wobble. By measuring how much a star wobbles, astronomers can determine an exoplanet's mass. Because they also know its size from looking at how much light it blocks, they can also figure out the planet's density.

"The mass was telling us that this planet is for the most part a big ball of rock and iron, and not just big puffy ball," Berta-Thompson said. "For example, we could have measured that the density was the same as a bag of feathers."

But Berta-Thompson said these initial investigations of the newly found planet are just the beginning of what he hopes will be a lot more study yet to come — especially once the powerful James Webb Space Telescope is launched in October 2018.

"We've come up with theories about rocky planets — how they formed, how they got into their current orbits, what physical processes occur on them — but we have not been able to test many of them," he said. "The discovery of this planet gives us the opportunity to switch our focus from imagining what is out there to testing our theories observationally."

{ http://www.latimes.com/ }

12-11-2015 om 18:11 geschreven door peter