For the study, the research duo compared two types of planetary tectonic processes: single lid (also called stagnant lid) and plate tectonics. Single lid refers to a planetary body that does not exhibit plate tectonics and cannot be broken into separate plates that exhibit movement by sliding towards each other (convergent), sliding past each other (transform), or slide away from each other (divergent). This lack of plate tectonic activity is often attributed to a planetary body’s lid being too strong and dense to be broken apart. In the end, the researchers estimated that 75 percent of planetary bodies that exhibit active convection within their interiors do not exhibit plate tectonics and possess single lid tectonics, with Earth being the only planet that exhibits plate tectonics. Therefore, they concluded that single lid tectonics “is likely to dominate the tectonic styles of active silicate bodies in our galaxy”, according to the study.

Additionally, the researchers investigated how planetary continents and oceans contribute to the evolution of intelligent life and technological civilizations. They noted the significance of life first evolving in oceans due to them being shielded from harmful space weather with single-celled life thriving in the oceans for the first few billion years of Earth’s history. However, the researchers also emphasize how dry land provides a myriad of benefits for the evolution of intelligent life, including adaptations to various terrains, such as eyes and new senses, which contributed to animals evolving for speed to hunt among other biological assets that enabled life to adapt to the various terrestrial environments across the planet.

In the end, the researchers concluded dry land helped contribute to the evolution of intelligent life across the planet, including abstract thinking, technology, and science. Therefore, what were the most significant results from this study, and what follow-up studies are currently in the works or being planned?

Dr. Gerya tells Universe Today, “That very special condition (>500 million years coexistence of continents, oceans, and plate tectonics) is needed on a planet with a primitive life in order to develop an intelligent technological communicative life. This condition is very rarely realized: only <0.003-0.2 of="" planets="" with="" any="" life="" may="" satisfy="" this="" condition="" span="">

Dr. Gerya continues, “We plan to study water evolution in the planetary interior in order to understand how stability of surface ocean volume (implying stability of coexistence of oceans and continents) can be maintained for billions of years (like on Earth). We also plan to investigate the survival time of technological civilizations based on societal collapse models. We also started a project on the oxygenation state evolution of planetary interior and atmosphere in order to understand how oxygen-rich atmospheres (essential in particular for developing technological civilizations) can be formed on planets with oceans, continents and plate tectonics. Progress in these three directions is essential but will greatly depend on the availability of research funding.”

As noted, this study was motivated and attempts to improve the Drake Equation, which proposes a multivariable equation that attempts to estimate the number of active, communicative civilizations (ACCs) that exist in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was proposed by in 1961 Dr. Frank Drake to postulate several notions that he encouraged the scientific community to consider when discussing both how and why we haven’t heard from ACCs and reads as follows:

N = R_* x f_p x n_e x f_l x f_i x f_c x L

N = the number of technological civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy who can potentially communicate with other worlds

R_* = the average star formation rate in the Milky Way Galaxy

f_p = the fraction of those stars with planets

n_e = the average number of planets potentially capable of supporting life per star with planets

f_l = the fraction of planets capable of supporting and developing life at some point in its history

f_i = the fraction of planets that develop life and evolves into intelligent life

f_c = the fraction of civilizations who develop technology capable of sending detectable signals into space

L = the length of time that technological civilizations send signals into space

According to the study, the Drake Equation estimates the number of ACCs range widely, between 200 to 50,000,000. As part of the study, the researchers proposed adding two additional variables to the Drake Equation based on their findings that plate tectonics, oceans, and continents have played a vital role in the development and evolution of complex life on Earth, which are as follows:

f_oc = the fraction of habitable exoplanets that possess notable continents and oceans

f_pt = the fraction of habitable exoplanets that possess notable continents and oceans that also exhibit plate tectonics that have been functioning for at least 500 million years

Using these two new variables, the study provided new estimates for f_i (chances of planets that develop life and evolve into intelligent life). So, what is the importance of adding two new variables to the Drake Equation?

Dr. Gerya tells Universe Today, “This allowed us to re-define and estimate more correctly the key term of the Drake equation f_i – probability of a planet with primitive life to develop an intelligent technological communicative life. Originally, f_i was (incorrectly) estimated to be very high (100%). Our estimate is many orders of magnitude lower (<0.003-0.2 which="" likely="" explains="" why="" we="" are="" not="" contacted="" by="" other="" civilizations="" span="">

Additionally, when inputting these two new variables into the entire Drake Equation, the study estimates a far smaller number of ACCs at < 0.006 to 100,000, which is in stark contrast to the original estimates of the Drake Equation of 200 to 50,000,000. Therefore, what implications could this study have on the search for life beyond Earth?

Dr. Gerya tells Universe Today, “It has three key consequences: (1) we should not hope much that we will be contacted (probability of this is very low, in part because the life time of technological civilizations can be shorter than previously expected), (2) we should use remote sensing to look for planets with oceans, continents and plate tectonics (COPT planets) in our galaxy based on their likely distinct (CO2-poor) atmospheres and surface reflectivity signatures (due to the presence of oceans and continents), (3) we should take care about our own planet and civilization, both are extremely rare and must be preserved.”

This study comes as the search for life beyond Earth continues to gain traction, with NASA having confirmed the existence of 5,630 exoplanets as of this writing, with almost 1,700 being classified as Super-Earths and 200 being classified as rocky exoplanets. Despite these incredible numbers, especially since exoplanets first started being discovered in the 1990s, humanity has yet to detect any type of signal from an extraterrestrial technological civilization, which this study referred to as ACCs.

Arguably the closest we have come to receiving a signal from outer space was the Wow! signal, which was a 72-second radio blast received by Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope on August 15, 1977. However, this signal has yet to be received since, along with a complete lack of signals at all. With this study, perhaps scientists can use these two new variables added to the Drake Equation to help narrow the scope of finding intelligent life beyond Earth.

Dr. Gerya concludes by telling Universe Today, “This research is part of an emerging new science – Biogeodynamics, which we try to support and develop. Biogeodynamics aims to understand and quantify relations between the long-term evolution of planetary interiors, surface, atmosphere, and life.”

How will these two new variables added to the Drake Equation help scientists find life beyond Earth in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-05-2024 om 21:12 geschreven door peter  

The Vatican has long been thought to be hiding something very telling when it comes to it - and The Pope's - involvement with alien cover-ups, with continued silence seemingly not helping

David Grusch is a US Air Force veteran and has often made claims about the US Government's involvement in covering up the truth about aliens and UFOs. However, last year he brought the Vatican into the fold by claiming that it knows about aliens and was involved in a cover-up as far back as 1933.

READ MORE: 

• Pope to hold press conference on aliens and the supernatural – and people are confused

What lies beneath the Vatican's walls inside the vault? Aliens, obviously

(stock) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

He said: “1933 was the first recovery in Europe, in Magenta, Italy. They recovered a partially intact vehicle, and the Italian government moved it to a secure airbase in Italy until around 1944-1945

“The Pope back-channelled that, and told the American's what the Italians had and we ended up scooping it.”

He was then asked by NewsNation to clarify whether or not the Catholic Church was aware of “non-human” existence on Earth, to which he replied: “Certainly.” And when asked why he should be believed, he said: “I have the credentials, and I was an intelligence officer.”

But when probed about the claims, the Vatican refused to respond – and has yet to do so to this very day.

Journalist Ross Coulthart suggested: "It's a very difficult situation for the Vatican because if Mr Grusch is telling the truth, it's a difficult thing for the Vatican to admit without the US concurring. I'm told the Vatican does have a very efficient intelligence service and it's long collaborated with intelligence services like the CIA providing useful intelligence, and especially in the wake of the Second World War."

Coulthart claims to be in touch with people with access to the Vatican’s archives, which consists of 53-mile-long shelves full of documents. Answers to Grusch’s claims may lie there, he added.

It has often been claimed that if the Vatican were to open its vault doors and be honest about what it knows, it could do irreparable damage to itself.

But for now, the truth remains . . . more hidden than “out there”.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/ }

18-05-2024 om 01:19 geschreven door peter  

Bizarre moment RADAR picks up a structure above 'UFO hotbed' during rocket experiment

• Scientists experienced a radar anomaly at Utah's Skinwalker Ranch
• The area is notorious for UFO sightings and paranormal activity
• Ground radar and rockets have found electromagnetic disturbances 

By JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 

A group of scientists have been trying to understand what is causing a radar blip in the middle of Utah wilderness that is a notorious 'UFO hotbed'.

In a series of experiments that see the group using both ground-penetrating radar and rockets, they try to determine what may also be causing the electromagnetic disturbance from above. 

The experiments were set at the 512-acre Skinwalker Ranch in northeastern Utah in the Uinta Basin.

The area is notorious for UFO sightings and other paranormal-related mysteries. 

A group of scientists have been trying to understand what is causing a radar blip in the middle of Utah wilderness

In a series of experiments that see the group using both ground penetrating radar and rockets, they try to determine what may also be causing the electromagnetic disturbance from above

The scientists used radar in order to detect what may be behind a specific anomaly they're repeatedly experienced at a specific area of the ranch called The Triangle. 

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) they used sends radio signals into the ground, but some are also sent up into the sky, enabling the detection of objects that might be lingering above. 

The team noted how in the past, when they were scanning the area using GPS, there were times when all data would suddenly be lost, and the GPS signal would give readings that were below the surface of the ranch. 

So far, the team have been unable to identify what is behind the sudden blocking of the GPS signal. 

The history of Skinwalker Ranch is steeped in mystery. It's been called a supernatural place while others say it's 'cursed'

The team used ground penetrating radar to analyze both above and below the ground

Rockets were fired into the sky in an attempt to detect any objects overhead

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) sends radio signals into the ground, but some are also sent up into the sky, enabling the detection of objects that might be lingering above

Rockets were fired into the sky only for the same GPS dead spots to appear as in previous experiments

In a curious result, the rocket appeared to head directly into the mesa despite being fired upwards

In this latest episode of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, the scientists attempt to uncover more of the mysteries of the area. 

Rockets were fired into the sky only for the same GPS dead spots to appear as in previous experiments. 

While a second team conducted GPR surveys, a similar phenomena was uncovered with major blips picked up at the exact same time as the rocket launch, some 40ft in the air.

Although the team had been attempting to uncover an underground tunnel that may lie below, the scientists were perplexed when the data they received appeared to have been altered by an unknown force. 

The scientists used all manner of equipment including rockets, cameras and radars

Despite the rockets being fired directly upwards, the readings showed it being fired into the mesa

The readings surprised scientists who were analyzing the results in real time

A radar blip appeared to occur at a spot that had been pinpointed previously, 40ft in the air

There appeared to be a disturbance in the radar and GPS readings for no obvious reason

The point where the rocket appeared to go inside the mesa is where a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon) was seen entering and exiting the area on a previous occasion

Only seconds after launch the data produced some unusual readings appearing to show that the rocket had gone directly into the mesa, despite them witnessing from the ground that the rocket had fired straight up, to a height of around 2000ft. 

However, the point where the rocket appeared to go inside the mesa is where a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon) was seen both entering and exiting the area on a previous occasion. 

The team at first believe they may have uncovered some sort of electromagnetic disturbance, but others in the group say an object was discovered that appears and disappears if only for a few seconds.

Earlier this month, the team believed they had exposed a possible 'portal' on the haunted ranch, where the team has witnessed a mutilated cow who died under mysterious circumstances. 

The discovery adds to the mystique surrounding Skinwalker Ranch, where past events have included encounters with mutilated cattle and other unexplained phenomena.

This discovery adds to the mystique surrounding Skinwalker Ranch, where past events have included encounters with mutilated cattle and other unexplained phenomena

Rancher Terry Sherman, who bought the property in the 90's became so spooked that he sold the property and moved his family of four away. Sherman found several heads of his cattle mutilated after purchasing the land in 1996

The history of Skinwalker Ranch is steeped in mystery. It's been called a supernatural place while others say it's 'cursed.'

Rancher Terry Sherman, who bought the property in the 90's became so spooked that he sold the property and moved his family of four away. 

Sherman found several heads of his cattle mutilated after purchasing the land in 1996.

Additionally, Sherman witnessed unexplainable encounters, one in which Sherman saw a wolf-like creature three times the size of a normal wolf. 

Another researcher saw an bizarre creature with piercing yellow eyes surveilling him from a tree, among other mysterious instances. 

The ranch later became the focus of Pentagon investigations into UFOs through programs like the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). 

In 2020, a bombshell report in Popular Mechanics describes the Pentagon's UFO program on 'Skinwalker Ranch.' 

Using black-budget money under the auspices of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in 2008 AATIP contracted private space technology company Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) to provide the government with technical reports and research into UFOs, according to the magazine.

The ranch later became the focus of Pentagon investigations into UFOs through programs like the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)

BAASS controlled 'Skinwalker Ranch' in Utah - which the company proposed as a 'possible laboratory for studying other intelligences and possible interdimensional phenomena.'

Two previously unreleased technical reports submitted through the contract were published in full or in part by Popular Mechanics, revealing research into the medical effects of contact with anomalous flying objects and the frequency of unexplained phenomenon near nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile silos. 

In 2008, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) awarded a $10 million contract to BAASS under a contracting program known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP).

A lifelong enthusiast of space travel and the paranormal, Bigelow purchases the Skinwalker Ranch, after various strange and paranormal events were reported there.

Bigelow proposed to use the ranch to study paranormal phenomenon, and a visit to the ranch by a DIA scientist in 2007 may have inspired the creation of the AATIP, according to Popular Mechanics.

Former AAWSAP contractor and astrophysicist Eric Davis shared what colleagues had told him of the DIA scientist's experience in an interview with researcher Joe Murgia.

A lifelong enthusiast of space travel and the paranormal, Bigelow (pictured left next to NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt) purchased the Skinwalker Ranch, after various strange and paranormal events were reported there

Bigelow proposed to use the ranch to study paranormal phenomenon, and a visit to the ranch by a DIA scientist in 2007 may have inspired the creation of the AATIP

'In the living room of the former NIDS double wide observation trailer/staff quarters. A 3D object appeared in mid-air in front of him and changed shape like a changing topological figure. It went from pretzel-shaped to Möbius strip shaped. It was 3D and multi-colored. Then it disappeared,' he said.

According to former Senator Harry Reid, whatever happened at Skinwalker was enough to convince the DIA to seriously investigate paranormal and UFO phenomena.

'Something should be done about this. Somebody should study it.' I was convinced he was right,' Reid told New York Magazine.

A 2009 BAASS report commissioned by the Pentagon mentions Skinwalker Ranch in Utah as a 'possible laboratory for studying other intelligences and possible interdimensional phenomena.'

In 2016, Bigelow sold Skinwalker Ranch for $4.5 million to 'Adamantium Holdings', a shell corporation whose true owners have never been traced.

After this sale, all roads leading to the ranch were blocked, the perimeter was secured with cameras and barbed wire, and signs went up warning strangers not to approach.

Anyone who approached the ranch after reported being immediately confronted by guards and ordered to leave.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

18-05-2024 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

Proof aliens exist? Federal agencies must now deliver all UFO reports for public disclosure - including classified material

• READ MORE: Congress finds claims about UFO crash retrievals 'have merit'

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Federal agencies have until October 20th to deliver every document, audio and video they have about UFOs to the US government for distribution to the public.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) issued the instructions this month — putting into action the UFO disclosure amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as signed into law last December.

The guidelines reveal the latest strategy to compel unwilling parts of the US military and the intelligence community into revealing everything they know about the mysterious airborne events, now called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). 

The move comes two months after the Pentagon's UFO office issued a controversial report to Congress, claiming it 'found no verifiable evidence that the US government or private industry has ever had access to extraterrestrial technology.'

The US National Archives is demanding all UFO records by October 20th, 2024. Above, the US Air Force once made public this image of a 1972 Viking space probe awaiting recovery at the White Sands Missile Range near Roswell to explain the 1947 Roswell UFO crash 25 years prior

Above, 'Archives II,' the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland which houses the most contemporary government documents available to scholars and the public. The newly demanded UFO records will be available here as well as online via a digital database

NARA archivists have issued guidelines mandating that all UFO or UAP documents be delivered in electronic formats with detailed metadata for inclusion a new searchable database to be made available to the public. 

The database will include classified material that the NARA will store independently, safe keeping the records until they can be declassified for the public.

Read More

• EXCLUSIVE

 What REALLY happened during Roswell crash? America's most famous UFO case is thrust back into the spotlight again by former NASA scientists who say new Pentagon report is 'bogus' 

NARA's guidelines make it clear that all government agencies are required label their records with each file's 'official security status' and any 'special controls' including 'special compartmented information' (SCI) and 'special access programs' (SAP).

Every federal agency, including branches of the US military and the intelligence community, like the CIA, are also required to explain to NARA and the public why certain UFO documents qualify as 'exempt' from disclosure under the new law. 

'If Released in Part or Withheld in Full,' the NARA guideline advisory posting stated, 'cite the specific grounds for postponement in section 1843 of the NDAA.'

The archives added that these agencies must adhere to either these provisions in the new UFO disclosure amendment of the 2024 NDAA or to the provisions 'outlined in Executive Order 13526.'

The order, put into effect by President Barack Obama in 2009, states that all classified material over 25-years old will be up for 'automatic declassification.' 

In the late 1990s, the US Air Force also pointed to this aeroshell from a 1967 NASA Voyager-Mars space probe (above) as an explanation for the 1947 Roswell UFO crash, two decades prior

Members of both houses of Congress expressed frustration over the watered-down nature of the UFO disclosure amendment signed into law with the 2024 NDAA.

'We got ripped off. We got completely hosed. They stripped out every part,' said Representative Tim Burchett, one of the lawmakers behind the act. 

And, unpersuaded by the Pentagon's latest UFO report this past March, members of the House Oversight committee in Congress have recently said that they are preparing two new public hearings on UFOs to keep the pressure on. 

'We don't have the facts yet,' as Republican congressman Representative Glenn Grothman explained to reporter with Ask a Pol late last month.

One of these hearings, according to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, will focus on undersea cases of unknown craft, known as Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs).

'We're working on doing something with USO,' Rep. Luna said this May, 'we're talking to some people.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-05-2024 om 23:30 geschreven door peter  

Amalthea: Juno Captures Solar System’s Reddest Object

NASA’s Juno orbiter captured these views of the tiny, red moon Amalthea and its parent planet and during a close flyby on March 7, 2024.

These views of Jupiter, captured by Juno during its 59th close flyby of the giant planet on March 7, 2024, provide a good look at Jupiter’s colorful belts and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot.

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

Also known as Jupiter V, Amalthea is the third moon of Jupiter in order of distance from the gas giant.

Discovered in 1892 by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, the moon is irregular, with dimensions about 250 x 146 x 128 km (155 x 91 x 80 miles).

Amalthea orbits 181,400 km (112,717 miles) from Jupiter and takes 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.

It rotates on its axis once for each orbit around Jupiter, always keeping the same side facing the planet.

Amalthea is the reddest object in our Solar System and it appears to give out more heat than it receives from the Sun.

This may be because, as it orbits within Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field, electric currents are included in the moon’s core.

Alternatively, the heat could be from tidal stresses.

These images from Juno show Jupiter’s tiny moon Amalthea.

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

“Amalthea has a potato-like shape, lacking the mass to pull itself into a sphere,” the Juno scientists said.

“In 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed some surface features, including impact craters, hills, and valleys.”

“Amalthea circles Jupiter inside Io’s orbit, which is the innermost of the planet’s four largest moons, taking 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.”

“At the time that the first of these two images was taken, Juno was about 265,000 km (165,000 miles) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 5 degrees north of the equator,” they added.

“Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt made these images using raw data from Juno’s JunoCam instrument, applying processing techniques to enhance the clarity of the images.”

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

17-05-2024 om 21:22 geschreven door peter  

Volgens een onderzoek heeft kunstmatige intelligentie ons mogelijk verhinderd contact te maken met buitenaardse wezens

 Door Janine

Als we nog steeds geen buitenaardse wezens kunnen vinden, kan kunstmatige intelligentie daar volgens een nieuw onderzoek de schuld van zijn. Waarom? Laten we daar samen achter komen.

De Great Filter theorie en de zoektocht naar buitenaardse contacten

Freepik

Wetenschappers zijn al zo lang ze zich kunnen herinneren op zoek naar buitenaards contact, maar in feite is er nog nooit bewijs verzameld van hun bestaan, hoewel het op zijn zachtst gezegd aanmatigend zou zijn om je voor te stellen dat je op de enige planeet in het hele universum zou leven waar levensvormen voorkomen. Een nieuw onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat kunstmatige intelligentie verantwoordelijk zou kunnen zijn voor het gebrek aan contact tussen buitenaardse wezens en de mensheid. 

Gezien de uitgestrektheid van de kosmos, die vol sterren en planeten is, is het nogal vreemd dat er nooit tekenen zijn geweest die getuigen van de aanwezigheid van buitenaardse beschavingen. Deze “absurditeit” wordt de Fermiparadox genoemd, die al lange tijd de wetenschappelijke belangstelling trekt en voor grote verbijstering zorgt. Nu vraagt een wetenschapper zich af of de snelle ontwikkeling van kunstmatige intelligentie niet het geheim is achter dit gebrek aan buitenaards contact. Het idee is gebaseerd op de theorie van de “Great Filter”, volgens welke intelligent leven grote obstakels en moeilijkheden moet overwinnen om zich te kunnen ontwikkelen tot een geavanceerde beschaving en zo de ruimte te kunnen verkennen.

Van AI tot ASI, kunstmatige superintelligentie

Michael Garrett, astrofysicus aan de Universiteit van Manchester in het Verenigd Koninkrijk, suggereert dat de mysterieuze Great Filter wel eens zou kunnen liggen in de evolutie van kunstmatige intelligentie naar kunstmatige superintelligentie. Na de ongelooflijke vooruitgang van AI richten wetenschappers zich nu op een verdere vooruitgang, namelijk ASI, oftewel kunstmatige superintelligentie. Dit is een vorm van kunstmatige intelligentie die niet alleen in staat is om de menselijke intelligentie te overtreffen, maar ook vrij zou zijn van menselijke leerbeperkingen in termen van snelheid.

Volgens het onderzoek zou de grenzeloze ontwikkeling van ASI ertoe kunnen leiden dat beschavingen mogelijk binnen tweehonderd jaar uitgeput raken. Een levensduur van slechts twee eeuwen zou kunnen verklaren waarom SETI, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, nooit het bestaan van technologisch geavanceerde buitenaardse beschavingen in ons melkwegstelsel heeft ontdekt.

"Dringende regelgeving noodzakelijk voor AI"

Freepik

Volgens Garrett is er dringend regelgeving nodig op het gebied van AI-ontwikkeling. Natuurkundige Stephen Hawking heeft gewaarschuwd voor de ontwikkeling van AI die die van de mens kan overtreffen. Garrett legde uit: "Zonder praktische regulering kan AI een ernstige bedreiging vormen voor de toekomst van niet alleen onze technische beschaving, maar van alle andere."

Uiteindelijk speculeert de astrofysicus dat onoverkomelijke obstakels in de loop van de evolutie van beschavingen hen ervan weerhielden om beschavingen in de ruimte te worden. "De snelle vooruitgang van AI zou kunnen samenvallen met een kritieke fase in de ontwikkeling van een beschaving: de overgang van een mono-planetaire soort naar een multi-planetaire soort.” Het risico is daarom dat we wankelen als AI ons vermogen om het te controleren en onze Melkweg te verkennen te boven gaat. "In dit scenario schat ik dat de typische levensduur van een technologische beschaving minder dan 100 jaar zou kunnen zijn, wat ongeveer de tijd is tussen het vermogen om signalen tussen de sterren te ontvangen en uit te zenden (1960) en de geschatte verschijning van de ASI (2040) op aarde. Het is aan ons allemaal om ervoor te zorgen dat wanneer we naar de sterren reiken, we dat niet doen als een waarschuwing voor andere beschavingen, maar als een baken van hoop - een soort die heeft geleerd om te gedijen naast kunstmatige intelligentie”, concludeert Garrett.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

17-05-2024 om 21:02 geschreven door peter  

Artikel door Kathleen Heylen

Al eeuwenlang spreken de Egyptische piramides tot de verbeelding. Ze werden gebouwd ten tijde van het oude Egypte en dienden als grafmonumenten voor de farao's, de heersers van het oude Egyptische rijk. Na hun dood werden de farao's gemummificeerd en samen met tal van schatten en persoonlijke bezittingen in het hart van de piramide begraven.

Enkele tientallen piramides zijn nog bewaard gebleven. Daarvan zijn de piramides van Gizeh waarschijnlijk de beroemdste. Die liggen in de necropolis van Gizeh, vlak bij de Egyptische hoofdstad Caïro. Meer dan 4.000 jaar geleden was dat een belangrijke begraafplaats voor de Egyptenaren.

De piramides zijn niet alleen een belangrijke toeristische trekpleister, maar ook een bron van vragen en mysterie. Hoe de oude Egyptenaren er precies in geslaagd zijn om zo'n majestueuze bouwwerken neer te zetten in de woestijn, is nog altijd niet helemaal duidelijk. Een team van internationale wetenschappers zegt nu een stap dichter bij de oplossing van het raadsel te zijn.

"Begraven rivieren en oude bouwconstructies"

Een van de huidige theoriëen is dat de oude Egyptenaren een waterweg hebben gebruikt om materialen te vervoeren. Zoals de massieve blokken natuursteen en kalksteen die nodig waren om de piramides te bouwen. Maar tot nu was niemand echt zeker van de locatie, de vorm, de grootte en de nabijheid van deze waterweg tot de sites waar de piramides staan.

Een team van de University of North Carolina Wilmington is er nu in geslaagd om een lang verloren gewaande oude tak van de rivier de Nijl te lokaliseren. De riviertak zou duizenden jaren geleden verdwenen zijn door grote droogte en zandstormen. Nu ligt hij verborgen onder woestijn en landbouwgrond.

De wetenschappers zijn erin geslaagd om "door te dringen onder het zandoppervlak en met radartechnologie beelden van verborgen structuren te zien". Die structuren omvatten "begraven rivieren en oude bouwconstructies" aan de voet van de heuvels waar de overgrote meerderheid van de piramides uit het oude Egypte stonden.

Het team maakte gebruik van radarsatellietbeelden, historische kaarten, geofysische onderzoeken en sedimentboringen. Bij geofysisch onderzoek wordt de bodem onderzocht zonder invasieve opgravingen, bijvoorbeeld met metingen van de elektrische weerstand in de bodem en van het aardmagnetisch veld. Bij sedimentboringen wordt bewijsmateriaal gezocht in stalen van de bodem.

Het lichtblauwe lijntje is de oude zijtak van de Nijl, dicht bij enkele bekende sites met piramides en grafmonumenten liggen.

© Foto: Nature/UNCW

"Actief en operationeel"

De oude riviertak van de Nijl zou volgens de onderzoekers ongeveer 64 kilometer lang geweest zijn, en tussen de 200 en 600 meter breed. De waterweg liep dicht in de buurt van 31 piramides die tussen de 4.700 en 3.700 jaar geleden gebouwd zijn.

De nabijheid van de riviertak tot die sites suggereert dat de tak "actief en operationeel was tijdens de bouwfase van deze piramides", zegt het onderzoek. Op dat moment zouden de piramidevelden makkelijk bereikbaar zijn geweest via het water.

Het team kon bovendien vaststellen dat veel piramides verhoogde wegen hadden, die eindigden bij de veronderstelde oevers van de zijtak. Volgens hen ook een bewijs dat de rivier gebruikt werd voor het transport van materiaal.

Ahramat

De onderzoekers hebben de riviertak niet toevallig Ahramat genoemd, 'piramides' in het  Arabisch. Volgens hen kan de aanwezigheid van die tak een verklaring zijn voor de vele piramides tussen Gizeh en Lisht, op zo'n 60 kilometer van Caïro. In een periode van 1.000 jaar zijn daar tal van piramides en andere monumenten gebouwd, te beginnen vanaf 4.700 voor Christus.  

Vandaag liggen die sites in een dor en onherbergzaam gebied in de Sahara-woestijn. De onderzoekers vermoeden dat een toenemende ophoping van zand, samen met een enorme droogte die zo'n 4.200 jaar geleden begon, de reden zou kunnen zijn waarom de Ahramat-tak verdwenen is.

Professor Enam Ghoneim onderzoekt de topografie bij de oude riviertak, met op de achtergrond de piramide van Cheops en de sfinx in Gizeh.© Foto: Eman Ghoneim/UNCW

"Het kost gewoon veel minder moeite"

"Velen onder ons die geïnteresseerd zijn in het oude Egypte, zijn zich ervan bewust dat de Egyptenaren een waterweg gebruikt moeten hebben om hun enorme monumenten te bouwen, zoals de piramides en de tempels in de valleien", zegt hoofdonderzoeker Enam Ghoneim.

"Ons onderzoek toont de eerste kaart van een van de belangrijkste oude riviertakken van de Nijl op zo'n grote schaal, en kan die linken aan de grootste piramidevindplaatsen in Egypte."

Aan de Britse openbare omroep BBC vertelt co-auteur Suzanne Onstine over het belang van het lokaliseren van die riviertak. "Dat we gegevens hebben waaruit blijkt dat er een waterweg was die gebruikt kon worden voor het transport van zware blokken, uitrusting, mensen... Dat helpt ons echt om te helpen verklaren hoe piramides gebouwd zijn."

"De oude Egyptenaren konden de energie van de rivier gebruiken om zware blokken te dragen, in plaats van menselijke arbeid", zegt Ostine. "Het kost gewoon veel minder moeite".

Meer lezen?

• Gondeim, E. et al. The E0gyptian pyramid chain was built along the now abandoned Ahramat Nile Branch. Gepubliceerd in Nature - Communications earth & environment.

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ } 

17-05-2024 om 18:44 geschreven door peter  

 By Chris Eberhart Fox News

Video

Let’s have ‘transparency’ on UFOs: Rep. Tim Burchett

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., discusses his push for answers on UFO information on ‘The Story.’

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. government would have 270 days to release all UFO-related documents to the public if a new congressional bill is passed. 

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who has been a leading voice for UFO transparency, will introduce a new bill Thursday that would require President Biden to direct the heads of each federal department or agency to declassify all documents related to UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), also known as UFOs. 

"It's simple. They spend all this time telling us they don't exist, then release the files, dagnabbit," Burchet told Fox News Digital in an interview, before introducing the "The UAP Transparency Act" on Thursday.

"I don't want some crazy, fancy name for it," he said. "I just want them to do exactly what the bill is about."

UNDERWATER UFOS DISPLAY CAPABILITY THAT ‘JEOPARDIZES' US MARITIME SECURITY,’ EX-NAVY OFFICER SAYS

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., participates in a meeting of the House Oversight and Reform Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on January 31, 2023, in Washington, D.C.  

(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Rep. Burchett has been at the forefront of the fight for UFO transparency, along with several other Republicans in the House and Senate, but there has been a bipartisan effort. 

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., are co-sponsors of the bill. 

In a previous interview, Burchett said he believes there has been a cover-up, and that tens of millions of dollars are being spent "on something that you say doesn't exist, (and) yet you continue spending the money on it. It makes you wonder."

• LAS VEGAS ALIEN VIDEO'S PREVIOUSLY MISSED DETAIL PROVES ‘AUTHENTICITY,’ EXPERT SAYS: ‘YOU CAN’T DENY IT'

The 1.5-page bill would not only force the president to direct federal agencies to declassify UFO-related files, but it would require the president to file quarterly reports that would update the House and Senate subcommittees on the progress toward releasing the information. 

"That's all it is," Burchett said. "It's about transparency."

Recording of a UFO flying by the USS Omaha off the coast of San Diego in July 2019 and then vanishing into the ocean without a splash or crash debris. 

(Jeremy Corbell/Weaponized Podcast)

WATCH: 'JELLYFISH UAP' FLIES OVER IRAQ 

Video

Burchett and other lawmakers have been frustrated by the bureaucrats' diversion tactics and stonewalling, while millions of dollars seemingly vanish into a black hole. 

"Like I said before, it's not about little green men or flying saucers," he told Fox News Digital in an April interview, "it's about tens of millions of dollars that our federal government is spending on something that at least some of the members of the federal government say does not exist. Yet, they will not release all the files."

• RUSSIAN UFO ENGAGEMENTS, SECRET ‘TIC TAC’ REPORT AND 3 KEY FIGURES SLIP UNDER RADAR AT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

To the Republican lawmakers' point, as recently as February 2021, an Intelligence Community Control Access program "was expanded to protect UAP reverse-engineering … without sufficient justification," the Pentagon's February report on UFOs said.

"This program never recovered or reverse-engineered any UAP or extraterrestrial spacecraft. This IC (intelligence community) program was disestablished due to its lack of merit," according to the report. 

"It's simple. They spend all this time telling us they don't exist, then release the files, dagnabbit."

— Rep. Tim Burchett

WATCH: REP. BURCHETT TALKS ABOUT WHY HE THINKS THERE'S A UFO COVER-UP

Video

Last month, there were about a dozen people (including Burchett) in a SCIF, a sensitive compartmented information facility, about UFOs, which is a highly classified briefing, and he left feeling "discouraged, as all this other stuff is."

He didn't see why the information discussed in the SCIF couldn't have been discussed in a public setting. 

"I really think the whole thing is so compartmentalized that we'll never get to the bottom of it until you have a commander-in-chief who says enough is enough," he said.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Instead of waiting for the executive branch, this short but pointed bill would essentially merge all the compartmentalized federal agency files and dump them into one declassified pool of information. 

"We just got to put this stuff out. Let's clear the air. And let's move on," Burchett said. 

Chris Eberhart is a crime and US news reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to chris.eberhart@fox.com or on Twitter @ChrisEberhart48.

{ https://www.foxnews.com/ }

17-05-2024 om 01:02 geschreven door peter  

Amid rising Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, anxiety over a missile gap soon led to an arms race, while wild rumours about the other’s technological innovation soon became rife.

But in 1947, these Earthly fears were eclipsed by a seemingly extraterrestrial ‘visitation’, which brought the city of Roswell, New Mexico, to the world’s attention.

The conspiracy theory: the US government covered up the crash of an alien spacecraft

In late June 1947, W W ‘Mac’ Brazel, a rancher living in New Mexico, discovered an unusual debris field on his land near Roswell.

Days later, he alerted the local authorities, who in turn notified Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF). Military personnel were dispatched to the location whereupon they supposedly recovered material from a damaged extraterrestrial spacecraft and even the bodies of its alien crew.

The base issued a statement confirming that a “flying disc” had been recovered in the vicinity and “inspected at the Roswell Army Air Field”. Yet the following day a correction was released that clarified the debris was in fact a downed weather balloon.

• Read more | Why we should remember the Roswell incident

Decades later, in 1978, the so-called ‘Roswell incident’ returned to the spotlight. According to a whistle-blower who had been involved in the operation, the weather balloon story was a cover-up. Photographs of the balloon wreckage had been carefully staged, while the actual spacecraft was spirited away for investigation. At the same time, everyone connected to the incident was sworn to silence.

Researchers tracked down several witnesses who corroborated that a crashed alien spaceship had indeed been salvaged and taken to the enigmatic Area 51 in Nevada where technicians had subsequently reverse-engineered it for the US military.

Not only that, but it was said that extraterrestrial beings had been retrieved from the crash site and had been subjected to autopsies.

What is the source of the theory?

To understand the origins of the Roswell incident, historian and broadcaster, David Clarke, believes it is necessary to begin two weeks earlier on 24 June 1947 and over 1,000 miles northwest.

“Kenneth Arnold, who was a private pilot, was out flying a small aircraft over the Cascade [Range] mountains in Washington state,” says Clarke, who was speaking on our Conspiracy podcast series. “As he was flying towards Mount Rainier, in the distance he saw what he described as a formation of ‘strange aircraft’. They were flying in echelon formation, the way that geese or ducks [do].”Arnold reckoned that these strange vessels, which he later described as ‘batwing-shaped’, were travelling at supersonic speed. Incidentally, the sound barrier would not be broken until 14 October later that same year by US Air Force officer, Charles Yeager.

“He radioed Yakima airbase and when he landed … [it had been] transmitted all around the United States that this guy had seen some weird objects in the sky. He was surrounded by newspaper reporters,” says Clarke.

His description of the objects’ movement as being akin to a saucer skipping over a pond caught journalists’ imagination, who coined the term ‘flying saucer’.

“The story went viral to use a modern expression,” says Clarke.

“Within 48 hours of Kenneth Arnold reporting what he’d seen, flying saucers were on the newswires across the United States, across North America and Europe. And people started seeing and reporting saucer-shaped flying objects in the sky”.

It was during this craze that the RAAF dispatched Major Jesse Marcel and Captain Sheridan Cavitt to inspect the debris found near Roswell.

But whereas Cavitt maintained that the wreckage was ostensibly ‘normal’, Marcel convinced himself “that it was something very, very unusual and not something that was manufactured in the United States”, explains Clarke.

The reasons why the theory of the Roswell Incident took hold

The airbase’s correction, insisting that the discovery was in fact that of a weather balloon, negated the idea that something more peculiar had been found. That summer in New Mexico soon faded from popular memory – at least for the time being.

“I’ve got a huge collection of books on UFOs and flying saucers from the 1950s up to the present,” says Clarke, “the Roswell incident is not mentioned in any of those books and articles and magazines during the 1950s, during the 1960s”.

Decades later, after trust in the US government had been badly damaged in the wake of the JFK assassination and the unpopular Vietnam War, a more cynical audience was primed to reconsider the official narrative around the Roswell incident.

• Read more | How UFOs conquered the world – without firing a shot

Clarke believes that this context is the reason why the 1980 book The Roswell Incident by Charles Berlitz and William Moore was so successful in introducing the idea of a government cover-up.

“They went and re-interviewed some of the people who were there at the time. Jesse Marcel, for instance – there’s no other way to describe him – he was a UFO believer. He bought into the idea that flying saucers were craft from outer space,” says Clarke.

According to conspiracists like Marcel, the cover-up even entailed intimidating would-be whistle-blowers with murder: “‘Bullets are cheap’ was the phrase that was used,” explains Clarke.

“There are people who worked in the morgue at Roswell [who] said that they remembered this truck turning up with armed guards and these small bodies of creatures being offloaded”.

By the end of the 20th century, the Roswell incident had acquired an iconic status within the ufology community but also within popular culture generally. During the 1990s, the conspiracy was woven into the X-Files TV drama series and the blockbuster movie, Independence Day.

“That shows how much it’s become a part of the collective American imagination – almost to rival the JFK conspiracies,” says Clarke.

The evidence that debunks the Roswell Incident

The UFO ‘wreckage’ that Brazel came across on his ranch – and later confirmed by Cavitt – consisted of balsa wood, tinfoil, metal strips and other detritus.

As was officially established that summer, these materials, though certainly incongruous to the location in which they were found, were the remnants of a high-altitude balloon.

Clarke points out that “there was a cover-up in some respects, in that when they announced that this thing that had been found was just a weather balloon that wasn’t true because it wasn’t just a weather balloon, it was [part of] a top secret balloon experiment”.

In 1994, the US Congress launched an official investigation into the events of summer 1947. Its conclusions formed part of a two-volume report that revealed that a highly clandestine operation code-named ‘Mogul’ had been conducted at the time from Alamogordo Army Air Field, less than 150 miles west of Roswell.

“The US Navy and the CIA were launching enormous balloon trains from Alamogordo. Everyone will remember at the beginning of 2023, the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the US Air Force. A very similar thing was going on in 1947,” says Clarke, citing a recent incident that sparked speculation about alien aircraft visiting Earth.

With the Cold War just getting underway at the time, the US was keen to establish whether the Soviets were conducting nuclear tests.

“They were sending these enormous balloons up,” explains Clarke, “and they were riding the jet stream across the Atlantic, and they had a gondola underneath with cameras inside and a radiosonde where they could track the balloons”.

“One of these balloon trains in the logbook from Alamogordo was lost in the desert shortly before the debris [at Brazel’s ranch] was found,” says Clarke – though he stresses that a direct link between the two cannot be definitively made despite the circumstances.

A few years later, in 1997, the US Air Force published another report. One of its findings attributed the reports about humanoid ‘creatures’ turning up at facilities in and around Roswell to false memories.

According to Clarke, the report “tried to explain where some of the ideas about bodies being retrieved from the desert came from”.

As part of that later investigation, “it turned out that they were actually throwing dummies from aircraft over the desert”.

These tests were part of a secret programme to assess the effect on the human body if pilots ejected from aircraft and fell from high altitudes.

For Clarke, the Roswell incident also bears many of the age-old tropes about celestial visitors descending to Earth in a revelatory fashion.

“Effectively you could see the aliens in the flying saucer as being representative of gods or angels coming to give us their sacred knowledge. And they always crash in a remote area. They’re never crashing in Tunbridge Wells or anywhere like that. It’s always some remote area of desert”.

More than this, Clarke asserts that Roswell became an urban legend for the atomic age and that its DNA is typical of American folklore.

He cites the case of Aurora, Texas – where, in 1897, a UFO allegedly collided with a windmill. The locals “retrieved the body of this Martian pilot, buried it in the local cemetery, and they retrieved bits of metal from this airship that had hieroglyphics on it”.

Clarke says that this was in fact a hoax concocted to attract visitors to the small town after the railway had bypassed it, and he notes that the story is almost “a carbon copy of the Roswell incident”.

Perhaps the most expedient angle on Roswell is that the longevity of this conspiracy theory serves the US military’s interests and may even explain why some ex-military and ex-intelligence personnel have gone on record to suggest that extraterrestrials crashed there in 1947.

For example, ongoing rumours about Area 51 and the back-engineering of otherworldly technology makes for a formidable strategy.

“There’s no two ways about it that there’s some very good evidence that they just encourage that story because it’s a useful disinformation tool against an enemy … don’t mess with us because we’ve got alien technology,” says Clarke.

As conspiracy theories go, he believes that Roswell is among the more ‘harmless’ ones. “The idea that out there in the cold dead Universe there is someone who is interested in us, that we’re not alone, that they’re going to come and save us, that’s quite a comforting thought,” says Clarke, “and I think that out of all the conspiracy theories and myths, this is probably the most positive one of all”.

Earlier this year the US Government admitted that it has developed, tested and flown prototype aircraft some of which have been seen and reported as UFOs.

The Pentagon said “some of these systems had a ‘saucer’ or triangle-shaped appearance and were capable of hovering aloft”.

The US Department of Defence’s All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), released the first volume of its historical investigation of UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) in February.

The report traces military technology linked to UFOs back to the end of the second world war and the famous Roswell incident of 1947. It says that all the evidence points to “misidentified authentic highly sensitive national security programs”.

{ https://www.historyextra.com/ }

17-05-2024 om 00:41 geschreven door peter  

New Research Provides Insights into Evolutionary History of Baobabs

Madagascar is the most plausible center of origin for the iconic baobabs, also known as upside-down trees, or the tree of life, according to new research.

The baobab tree in Senegal.

Image credit: Viajesunion2.

The genus Adansonia, better known as the baobabs and ‘mother of the forest’, has captivated botanists, tourists, naturalists and passers-by for centuries.

Probably the earliest record of humans marveling at these amazing trees can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians, around 2,300 BCE.

With their grotesque appearance, enormous size, reputed longevity and diverse uses, baobabs have become one of the most charismatic species on our planet.

Embedded in folklore and tradition, baobabs have inspired innumerable pieces of art and have been associated with human settlements and cultures over millennia.

Adansonia comprises eight morphologically distinct species: one widespread across Africa, one located in Northwestern Australia, and the other six endemic to Madagascar.

However, owing to the lack of fossil evidence, there has been a long-running debate about where the baobabs originated.

“Our work has uncovered new insights into the patterns of speciation in baobabs and shows how climate change has influenced baobab distribution and speciation patterns over millions of years,” said Dr. Ilia Leitch, a researcher Royal Botanic Garden Kew.

Dr. Leitch and his colleagues conducted genomic analyses of all eight baobab tree species and combined these datasets with ecological analyses.

The analyses indicate that the stem lineage of Adansonia originated around 41 million years ago and diversified around 20 million years ago.

The researchers found that the historical population dynamics of baobabs are closely related to both interspecific competition and geological changes in Madagascar, especially the change in sea level.

Based on data including phylogenetic relationship, gene flow and genetic diversity of different baobab species, they suggest that the hypothesis of Madagascar as the center of origin for baobabs offers the most reasonable explanation of the current data, as opposed to the hypotheses for mainland Africa and Australia.

The findings also enabled the scientists to re-evaluate the conservation strategies and status of baobabs.

For example, they propose that a higher conservation status should be assigned to the two endangered Malagasy baobab species, Adansonia suarezensis and Adansonia grandidieri.

High levels of inbreeding, low genetic diversity and declining population size all suggest that these endangered species are lacking in resilience to ecological perturbations and will potentially be under severe threat from climate change.

“We were delighted to be involved in this project uncovering patterns of baobab speciation in Madagascar followed by the astonishing long-distance dispersal of two species, one to Africa and another to Australia,” said Professor Andrew Leitch, a researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

“This was accompanied by the evolution of some fascinating pollination syndromes involving hawkmoths, lemurs and bats.”

• The study was published in the journal Nature.
• JN. Wan et al. The rise of baobab trees in Madagascar. Nature, published online April 19, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07447-4

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

16-05-2024 om 23:01 geschreven door peter  

The concept that CO2 and climate change are political fabrications is often propagated by those who believe powerful entities are behind the so-called global warming hoax, aiming to convince the public that human activities are to blame. However, it is argued that climate change is a natural process, similar to events that have occurred throughout history. The video below by Suspicious0bservers provides a detailed analysis of the actual causes of current planetary changes and offers insights into what we might expect in the coming years. 

The most recent complete magnetic pole reversal, known as the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal, occurred approximately 780,000 years ago. During this event, Earth's magnetic poles switched places. These reversals are part of Earth's natural geomagnetic processes and occur irregularly over geological timescales. 

However, there have been shorter, less complete shifts called geomagnetic excursions. One of the notable recent geomagnetic excursions is the Laschamp event, which occurred about 41,000 years ago. During this event, the magnetic field weakened significantly, and the poles nearly reversed before returning to their original configuration. 

Now, Earth is currently undergoing a cyclical magnetic pole shift, known as a geomagnetic excursion. This movement has been accelerating in recent decades, particularly with the North Magnetic Pole rapid movement from the Canadian Arctic towards Russia, which poses a significant extinction threat to many species. 

The weakening of Earth's magnetic field and the shifting of its magnetic poles are well-documented phenomena. 

In 2000, NASA and geophysicists reported a 10% decline in the magnetic field's strength. By 2010, the European Space Agency's Magnetic Mission updated this figure to a 15% loss, noting an acceleration from a 5% loss per century to 5% per decade. By 2020, another 5% decline was recorded, and the 2023 interpolated value showed further acceleration. The initial 10% reduction took 150 years, but the next 10% occurred within just 20 years. If this acceleration continues, we could lose 5% of the magnetic field every five years. 

We anticipate a 50% reduction in the magnetic field by the early 2030s, a level that could make our technological lifestyle unsustainable and lead to severe weather impacts. Around 2040, a full magnetic pole flip or geomagnetic excursion is expected, although this could occur a few years earlier or later. 

A critical concern in the coming years is the loss of ozone due to particle-driven molecular destruction, coupled with increased exposure to cosmic ray space radiation. This scenario would result in climate chaos and heightened radiation exposure. The only defense against these effects is Earth's magnetic field, which is currently weakening due to the ongoing pole shift. 

Recent studies consistently show that magnetic reversals and pole shifts are extreme environmental events that significantly impact the biosphere. The primary drivers of these impacts are increased radiation and ozone depletion. Numerous studies confirm that solar protons, electrons, and cosmic rays are penetrating the atmosphere more effectively due to the weakening magnetic field, reaching critical levels. 

This increased radiation has two main effects: ozone destruction allows more ultraviolet (UV) light into Earth's system, raising temperatures, and cosmic rays intensify extreme weather events, including heatwaves, cold snaps, storms, flooding, and droughts. 

These changes not only affect the climate but also harm living organisms. Extra UV light is dangerous for animals, plants, and microorganisms, including oceanic plankton and chlorophyll-based food chains. Cosmic rays similarly amplify particle radiation's detrimental effects, causing cancer, cellular dysfunction, and DNA mutations. 

Scientists clearly recognize that cyclical magnetic pole shifts pose significant challenges to life on Earth. Humans will face these challenges both directly and through their impact on the food chain.  

Moreover, our dependence on electricity makes us particularly vulnerable. A weakened magnetic field could allow solar activity to disrupt power grids, resulting in widespread loss of heat, water treatment, food transport, communication, and critical infrastructure. 

This growing issue highlights the planet's increasing vulnerability as it loses its protective magnetic shield.

  

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

16-05-2024 om 22:10 geschreven door peter  

Bijzondere zeedieren: de verbazingwekkende wonderen van de diepe oceaan

©Shutterstock

Bijzondere zeedieren: de verbazingwekkende wonderen van de diepe oceaan
Het is bekend dat Australië enkele van de meest spectaculaire wilde dieren ter wereld heeft, vooral als het gaat om diepzeedieren. Er is een reden waarom het een van de populairste bestemmingen is voor duikers! Het Groot Barrièrerif alleen al herbergt meer dan 1.500 vissoorten en in heel Australië leven er meer dan 4.000. Velen van hen vindt je nergens anders ter wereld en sommige zien eruit als buitenaardse wezens.

Klik verder om enkele van de vreemdste, engste en kleurrijkste zeedieren van Australië te zien

©Getty Images

Enypniastes eximia
In het Engels noemen ze dit interessante wezen ook wel letterlijk de 'Spaanse dansende zeekomkommer' of het 'kippenmonster zonder kop'. Het heeft zwemvliezen waarmee ze van de oceaanbodem naar boven drijven en vervolgens weer terugkeren naar de oceaanbodem om zich te voeden. Sommigen hebben een transparant lichaam waarin de darmen zichtbaar zijn. Ook kunnen ze bioluminescerend zijn.

©iStock

Volwassenen
Volwassen zeelelies zitten met een steel vast aan de zeebodem. Ongesteelde zeelelies worden ook wel veersterren of haarsterren genoemd.

©Shutterstock

Micromelo undatus
Dit dier staat bekend om zijn helderblauwe en witte kleur en zijn schelp met bruine lijnen.

©Shutterstock

Slakkensoort
Het is een zeldzame slak die leeft op rotsachtige riffen tot wel 5 meter diep.

©Shutterstock

Austrodromidia octodentata
Sponskrabben (ook wel: wolkrabben) zijn anders dan andere krabben: in plaats van zichzelf te beschermen met harde pantsers, camouflage of scharen, hebben ze sponzen op hun lichaam. Misschien dienden ze wel ter inspiratie voor 'SpongeBob SquarePants'?

©Shutterstock

Psychrolutes marcidus
De blobvis is misschien wel de lelijkste vis op aarde. Het is een diepzeevis die doorgaans wordt aangetroffen rond de kust van Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland.

©Shutterstock

Uiterlijk
Als gevolg van decompressie zien ze er wanneer ze uit diep water naar de oppervlakte stijgen bolvormig en gelatineachtig uit.

©Shutterstock

Achaeus japonicus
Deze krabben zijn klein van formaat (slechts 2 centimeter) en hebben een unieke roestbruine laag met zachte haartjes over hun hele lichaam, waardoor ze niet veel verschillen van de op takken levende orang-oetans die in de oerwouden van Borneo worden aangetroffen.

©Shutterstock

Indonesië
In het Engels worden deze dieren soms letterlijk 'orang-oetan-krabben' genoemd. Net als bij de aap is de naam van deze krab afgeleid van de Indonesische woorden voor 'bosmens' (oran hutan). Deze dieren zouden we dus als de 'boswezens' van de zee kunnen zien.

©Getty Images

Pezichthys amplispinus
Over deze vis, die alleen in Australië te vinden is, zei de Franse zeeman Nicolas Baudin in 1802: "De voorste vinnen van deze vis lijken net handen."

©Shutterstock

'Handvissen'
Hoewel ze vreemde kleuren en vormen hebben, hebben ze allemaal gemeen dat ze over vinnen beschikken die op handen lijken.

©Shutterstock

Slangsterren
Slangsterren zijn nauw verwant aan zeesterren en hebben meestal vijf lange armslierten die wel 60 cm lang kunnen worden.

©Shutterstock

Bioluminescentie
Er zijn meer dan 60 soorten slangsterren die bioluminescent (lichtgevend) zijn. Sommige soorten geven groen licht af, waar andere blauw licht afgeven.

©Shutterstock

Zeespinnen
Deze wezens zijn enger dan de gemiddelde geleedpotige op het land. Kijk maar eens naar hun kleine lichamen en extreem lange poten.

©Shutterstock

Pindaworm
De pindaworm kan in sommige gevallen wel 72 cm lang worden en wordt meestal aangetroffen in ondiepe wateren.

©Getty Images

Reuzenbekhaai
De reuzenbekhaai is een zeldzame en unieke haaiensoort. Er werd er een gevonden in Australië – de derde ooit in de geschiedenis.

©Shutterstock

Parelvissen
Er zijn 31 soorten parelvissen. Door hun slanke lichaam kunnen ze in de lichaamsholten van ongewervelde dieren leven. Vreemd genoeg leven sommige soorten uitsluitend in de anussen van zeekomkommers. Lekker!

©Getty Images

Koekjessnijder
De koekjessnijder behoort tot de familie van de doornhaaien. De haai staat bekend om zijn eetgewoonte waarbij hij visvlees in ronde stukken (in de vorm van koekjes) uitbijt.

©Shutterstock

Driepootvis
Een driepootvis of statiefvis kan 43 cm lang worden. Bovendien heeft hij lange, dunne stralen onder zijn buikvinnen en staartvin die wel 1 meter lang zijn. Met zijn drie poten staat hij als een soort statief op de bodem van de oceaan!

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/  }

16-05-2024 om 21:33 geschreven door peter  

The Joe Rogan Experience: George Knapp on Alien Abductions and Paranormal Phenomena

In a compelling episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, investigative journalist George Knapp discusses the eerie and often disturbing events at the infamous Skinwalker Ranch. This episode sheds light on a series of bizarre and unexplained phenomena, ranging from alien abductions to paranormal activities, that have plagued the ranch for decades.

Unexplained Auditory and Visual Disturbances

Residents and investigators at Skinwalker Ranch have reported hearing strange voices speaking in unknown languages and seeing large, humanoid shapes lurking outside their windows at night. These auditory phenomena were often accompanied by visual disturbances, such as mysterious shapes and lights. One rancher, initially suspecting government involvement, armed himself and patrolled the property only to realize that the source of these disturbances was something far more enigmatic and possibly extraterrestrial.

Chilling Animal Mutilations

Animal mutilations are among the most unsettling events at Skinwalker Ranch. Cows, cats, and dogs were found with precise, surgical mutilations. Often, these animals were discovered in places where tracks leading to or from the scene were nonexistent. The surgical nature of these mutilations suggested the use of advanced technology, pointing to an intelligence beyond known human capabilities. The animals appeared to be cut up with extreme precision, leading to speculation about extraterrestrial involvement.

UFO Encounters

The ranch has been a hotspot for numerous UFO sightings. Witnesses have reported seeing various types of unidentified flying objects, including lights that resembled headlights, which then ascended into the sky and vanished. Orbs of different colors—white, blue, and red—were also observed, with the blue orbs in particular inducing intense fear in both animals and humans. These orbs seemed to be intelligently controlled, further complicating the already perplexing situation at the ranch.

The Disappearance and Reappearance of Bulls

One of the most baffling incidents involved the sudden disappearance of four prized bulls. These large animals, each weighing around 2,000 pounds, were inexplicably found crammed into a small, locked trailer. The corral around the trailer was magnetized, suggesting the use of advanced technology. This event highlighted the mysterious forces at play and raised questions about the nature of the phenomena affecting the ranch.

Intensive Investigations and Elusive Evidence

The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), funded by aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, conducted extensive investigations at Skinwalker Ranch. Despite their efforts, the phenomena remained elusive, often evading documentation. Cameras would malfunction or be destroyed, and evidence was hard to come by. The intelligence behind these events seemed to be playing a cat-and-mouse game with the investigators, demonstrating its presence while avoiding capture on film or in photographs.

The Mutilation of a Calf

A particularly horrifying incident involved the mutilation of a calf. Within a brief period, the calf was found completely stripped of flesh and blood, with no tracks or signs of human or animal interference. The meticulous nature of the mutilation, with not a drop of blood left behind, suggested the use of advanced or extraterrestrial technology. This incident, documented with photographs and videos, provided some of the most compelling evidence of the strange activities at the ranch.

Theories and Speculations

The phenomena at Skinwalker Ranch have led to numerous theories and speculations:

• Extraterrestrial Experimentation: The precision of the mutilations and the advanced technology involved suggest that extraterrestrial beings might be conducting biological or environmental experiments.
• Interdimensional Beings: The ability of the phenomena to appear and disappear, as well as manipulate physical objects, suggests the possibility of interdimensional beings interacting with our reality.
• Government Experiments: The advanced technology and lack of concrete evidence might also point towards secret government experiments involving psychological operations or advanced robotics.

VIDEO:

• JRE: How Aliens Abducted Humans!

• https://youtu.be/V5kKBXxIj4A

The episode featuring George Knapp on The Joe Rogan Experience provides a gripping account of the mysterious and often terrifying phenomena at Skinwalker Ranch. The lack of concrete evidence and the evasive nature of the activities make it a challenging subject to study and understand. However, the consistency of reports from various witnesses and investigators suggests a significant and unexplained presence or activity at the ranch. This episode underscores the need for continued investigation and open-mindedness when it comes to understanding the unknown forces that may be at work.

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

16-05-2024 om 17:21 geschreven door peter  

Ex-Pentagon David Grusch: ‘We Have Dead Pilot Bodies From Extraterrestrial Craft’

Nobody would have ever thought that an individual from the US military with high credibility can come out and say we have partially intact extraterrestrial crafts. David Charles Grusch, a Former UAP Task Force member and US Air Force veteran, claims that the government, its allies, and defense contractors have been recovering partial fragments and intact vehicles related to these phenomena for decades.

According to Mr. Grusch, analysis of these objects has revealed their “exotic origin” and suggests the presence of non-human intelligence, whether extraterrestrial or of unknown origin. This determination is based on vehicle morphologies, material science testing, unique atomic arrangements, and radiological signatures.

Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, the New York Times reporters, are the first people who broke the story of Mr. Grusch. On June 5, 2023, they published an exclusive article in The Debrief, stating Mr. Grusch gave Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says possess retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.

In an exclusive interview with investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, Grusch, a 36-year-old Air Force veteran, exposed the top-secret military program that allegedly discovered fully intact UFO wreckage. During the interview, Mr. Grusch made bold claims about the existence of UFOs and their non-human origin.

He stated: “UFOs exist. The U.S. government found quite a number of them, and they are indeed of non-human origin.” Mr. Grusch’s assertions are supported by his insider knowledge as a former member of the U.S. government’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena task force and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Grusch discussed the classified nature of the program, saying: “For years, there have been whispers and rumors that the government had aircraft of non-human origin. This report is the first evidence it might be true.” He emphasized the secrecy surrounding the program, claiming that much of the information has been kept hidden from Congress and the public.

In the interview, Mr. Grusch described the retrieval of non-human origin technical vehicles, referring to them as spacecraft. He explained: “These are retrieving non-human origin technical vehicles, you know, call it spacecraft if you will. Non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed.” When asked about the number of such craft, Mr. Grusch astonishingly replied, “Quite a number. [You’re kidding?] No, I thought it was totally nuts at first.”

Mr. Grusch revealed that his initial skepticism had been challenged when current and former senior intelligence officers confided in him about their involvement in the program. He stated: “They approached me. I have plenty of current and former senior intelligence officers that came to me, many of whom I knew almost my whole career, that confided to me they were part of a program.” He also mentioned receiving oral testimony, documents, and other proof supporting the existence of the program.

During the interview, Mr. Grusch spoke about the potential cover-up and disinformation campaign surrounding UFOs. He claimed: “There’s a sophisticated disinformation campaign targeting the U.S. populace, which is extremely unethical and immoral.” Mr. Grusch emphasized the significance of his revelations, stating, “I am for real, and I’m sitting here at great personal risk and obvious professional risk by talking to you today.”

“Do we have bodies? Do we have species?” Coulthart asked. “Well, naturally when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed, sometimes you encounter dead pilots.” “And believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it’s true,” Mr. Grusch replied.

While Mr. Grusch’s claims are extraordinary, journalist Leslie Kean stated: “I believe it because of all the sources I have who have told me the same thing. So who am I to doubt these very, very high-level people who have been inside these programs for decades?” Kean emphasized that Grusch’s credibility is further bolstered by the fact that multiple high-ranking individuals have publicly vouched for him.

Despite Grusch’s testimony and the support he has garnered, the Pentagon released a statement in response to the report. The statement from the Pentagon’s All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (ARRO) said that no verifiable information has been discovered to substantiate claims of past or current programs involving extraterrestrial materials. However, ARRO acknowledged ongoing investigations and welcomed individuals with relevant information to come forward.

Soon after The Debrief’s exclusive publication on Mr. Grusch, Dutch website REVU journalist Max Moszkowicz disclosed that David Grusch has documents signed by the inspector general, indicating that one of the UFOs in US Holding was found in Sicily, Italy and taken from Mussolini during WW2.

Moszkowicz stated that in 1933, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was briefed by his secret service about a crashed air vehicle that was not recognized as human. It is suggested that the Italians initially believed the UFO to be a secret weapon from Germany, but it was later discovered to be of unknown origin. The object was studied in an Italian variant of Area 51 and eventually transported to the United States, possibly to Area 51/S-4.

Read also:

• Man Who Ran Area 51 Claimed They Had Alien Crafts & Non-Human Beings: So Bob Lazar Is telling Truth
• Karla Turner Claimed She Found Evidence That Aliens Are Manipulating Human Reality
• Bob Lazar Is Telling Truth, Says Those Worked On UFO Crash Retrieval Programs; Diana Pasulka Reveals
• Physicist Bob Lazar Who Exposed Area 51 Explains How Element 115 Used As UFOs Fuel

The claims of the UFO coverup directly come from the documents released from Mussolini’s office. According to them, Mussolini took all measures to silence the witnesses and classified the craft as top secret. Studying the craft was Mussolini’s next top objective. The best engineers and scientists in Italy came together to form a top-secret organization that was allegedly commanded by radio inventor and renowned engineer Guglielmo Marconi. (Click here to read the full article)

In an interview with Moszkowicz, a former AATIP Director Lue Elizondo gave this rumor some credit by saying he had seen documents from Mussolini’s office that he had found “compelling” before theorizing (as per the rumor) that pieces of the craft were transported to the USA. Mr. Sharp claimed that he has a source in the aerospace industry who told Liberation Times that something was recovered from Italy following World War II.

In an interview with French paper le Parisien, Mr. Grusch claims that the United States and its allies have been involved in secret programs for almost ninety years, recovering fragments and intact non-human objects. These objects have been subjected to analysis, which has provided proof of their non-human origin.

When asked about the origin of these objects, Mr. Grusch suggests they could be extraterrestrial or from other dimensions as described by quantum mechanics. He mentions that he has not seen enough data to determine the exact origin and believes that the U.S. government likely possesses more information on the matter.

Grusch reveals that one of the recovered “ships” was found in Italy in 1933. It was described as a bell-like craft, approximately ten meters in size, and was kept by Mussolini’s government until 1944 when it was recovered by agents of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Mr. Grusch states that this particular case predates well-known incidents like Roswell. He indicates that he was authorized to talk about it by the Department of Defense’s Office of Prepublication and Security Review.

Regarding his concerns about conspiracy theories, Grusch acknowledges the possibility of encouraging unfounded theories but points out that what was once a conspiracy theory has turned out to be true in this case.

Although Grusch mentions having seen interesting things that he is not currently authorized to discuss publicly, he confirms the involvement of a handful of U.S. subcontractors in reverse engineering, primarily from the Five Eyes alliance countries (Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand). He suggests that the potential uses of the studied materials could benefit advanced space programs, materials science, and other applications related to climate or health.

Mr. Grusch mentions that his freedom of speech is still limited by his confidentiality agreement with the U.S. government, preventing him from discussing classified information. He indicates that he has faced reprisals after alerting the Department of Defense Inspector General in 2021 but cannot provide many details due to the ongoing investigation.

When asked about his personal safety, Grusch acknowledges past threats and the risks involved in remaining anonymous or becoming a public figure. Despite the risks, he believes it is worth raising awareness and push for answers from elected representatives and the president. He plans to publish more information in the future and establish a non-profit foundation to facilitate scientific research and protocols on this subject within the university system.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

16-05-2024 om 00:54 geschreven door peter  

Ontdekking op onze buurplaneet kan hoop bieden op voorwaarden voor leven

Wetenschappers vinden de ontdekking van een bepaald element in gesteente op Mars opmerkelijk.

Al meer dan 10 jaar rijdt NASA’s Marsrover Curiosity rond om monsters te nemen van grond en gesteente. Zo wil NASA erachter komen of de omstandigheden op de planeet ooit gunstig waren voor leven.

In 2018 vond de rover moleculen die belangrijke bouwstenen zijn voor leven zoals we dat op aarde kennen.

En nu heeft de Curiosity mineralen in gesteente ontdekt die lijken op mineralen op aarde, wat bewijs kan zijn dat Mars vroeger leven kon herbergen.

Hoge concentraties gevonden

De onderzoekers beschrijven dat er een ongewoon hoog gehalte van het element mangaan is gevonden.

In het artikel, dat is gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift JGR Planet schrijven ze dat die hoge concentraties zijn gevonden in een gebied waar volgens hen ooit een meer was.

In een persbericht zegt Patrick Gasda van Los Alamos National Laboratory dat ze niet hadden verwacht mangaan in zulke hoge concentraties aan te treffen.

Hij legt uit dat afzettingen zoals ze die op Mars hebben gevonden op aarde voorkomen omdat er een hoog zuurstofgehalte is.

‘Op Mars is er geen bewijs van leven, en de mechanismen om zuurstof in de atmosfeer te produceren zijn onduidelijk. Hoe mangaanoxide is ontstaan en hoe de concentratie ervan is toegenomen, is een mysterie,’ schrijft Gasda.

Gesteente onthult leefbaar milieu

De metingen in Galekrater zijn gedaan met de Chemcam-apparatuur van de Curiosity.

‘Het milieu bij het Galemeer lijkt verrassend veel op bepaalde plaatsen op aarde, wat suggereert dat het leefbaar kan zijn geweest,’ voegt de leider van het Chemcam-onderzoek, Nina Lanza, eraan toe.

Ze legt uit dat mangaanmineralen vaak worden aangetroffen aan de oevers van ondiepe meren, maar dat het een opmerkelijke vondst is in oud gesteente op Mars.

{ https://wibnet.nl/heelal }

15-05-2024 om 23:35 geschreven door peter  

Finding seven of them in one system is a unique scientific opportunity to examine all kinds of interlinked questions about exoplanet habitability. TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf, and one of the most prominent questions about exoplanet habitability concerns red dwarfs (M dwarfs.) Do these stars and their powerful flares drive the atmospheres away from their planets?

New research in the Planetary Science Journal examines atmospheric escape on the TRAPPIST-1 planets. Its title is “The Implications of Thermal Hydrodynamic Atmospheric Escape on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets.” Megan Gialluca, a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program at the University of Washington, is the lead author.

Most stars in the Milky Way are M dwarfs. As the TRAPPIST-1 makes clear, they can host many terrestrial planets. Large, Jupiter-size planets are comparatively rare around these types of stars.

It’s a distinct possibility that most terrestrial planets are in orbit around M dwarfs.

But M dwarf flaring is a known issue. Though M dwarfs are far less massive than our Sun, their flares are way more energetic than anything that comes from the Sun. Some M dwarf flares can double the star’s brightness in only minutes.

Another problem is tidal locking. Since M dwarfs emit less energy, their habitable zones are much closer than the zones around a main sequence star like our Sun. That means potentially habitable planets are much more likely to be tidally locked to their stars.

That creates a whole host of obstacles to habitability. One side of the planet would bear the brunt of the flaring and be warmed, while the other side would be perpetually dark and cold. If there’s an atmosphere, there could be extremely powerful winds.

“As M dwarfs are the most common stars in our local stellar neighbourhood, whether their planetary systems can harbour life is a key question in astrobiology that may be amenable to observational tests in the near term,” the authors write. “Terrestrial planetary targets of interest for atmospheric characterization with M dwarf hosts may be accessible with the JWST,” they explain. They also point out that future large ground-based telescopes like the European Extremely Large Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope could help, too, but they’re years away from being operational.

Red dwarfs and their planets are easier to observe than other stars and their planets. Red dwarfs are small and dim, meaning their light doesn’t drown out planets as much as other main-sequence stars do. But despite their lower luminosity and small size, they present challenges to habitability.

M dwarfs have a longer pre-main-sequence phase than other stars and are at their brightest during this time. Once they’re on the main sequence, they have heightened stellar activity compared to stars like our Sun. These factors can both drive atmospheres away from nearby planets. Even without flaring, the closest planet to TRAPPIST-1 (T-1 hereafter) receives four times more radiation than Earth.

“In addition to luminosity evolution, heightened stellar activity also increases the stellar XUV of M dwarf stars, which enhances atmospheric loss,” the authors write. This can also make it difficult to understand the spectra from planetary atmospheres by creating false positives of biosignatures. Exoplanets around M dwarfs are expected to have thick atmospheres dominated by abiotic oxygen.

Despite the challenges, the T-1 system is a great opportunity to study M dwarfs, atmospheric escape, and rocky planet habitability. “TRAPPIST-1 is a high-priority target for JWST General and Guaranteed Time Observations,” the authors write. The JWST has observed parts of the T-1 system, and that data is part of this work.

In this work, the researchers simulated early atmospheres for each of the TRAPPIST-1 (T-1 hereafter) planets, including different initial water amounts expressed in Terrestrial Oceans (TO.) They also modelled different amounts of stellar radiation over time. Their simulations used the most recent data for the T-1 planets and used a variety of different planetary evolution tracks.

The results are not good, especially for the planets closest to the red dwarf.

“We find the interior planets T1-b, c, and d are likely desiccated for all but the largest initial water contents (>60, 50, and 30 TO, respectively) and are at the greatest risk of complete atmospheric loss due to their proximity to the host star,” the researchers explain. However, depending on their initial TO, they could retain significant oxygen. That oxygen could be a false positive for biosignatures.

The outer planets fare a little better. They could retain some of their water unless their initial water was low at about 1 TO. “We find T1-e, f, g, and h lose, at most, approximately 8.0, 4.8, 3.4, and 0.8 TO, respectively,” they write. These outer planets probably have more oxygen than the inner planets, too. Since T1-e, f, and g are in the star’s habitable zone, it’s an intriguing result.

T-1c is of particular interest because, in their simulations, it retains the most atmospheric oxygen regardless of whether the initial TO was high or low.

The potential habitability of T-1 planets is an important question in exoplanet science. The type of star, the number of rocky planets, and the ease of observation all place it at the top of the list of observational targets. We’ll never really understand exoplanet habitability if we can’t understand this system. The only way to understand it better is to observe it more thoroughly.

“These conclusions motivate follow-up observations to search for the presence of water vapour or oxygen on T1-c and future observations of the outer planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, which may possess substantial water,” the authors write in their conclusion.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

15-05-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

WASP-139b is de helft groter dan Jupiter, maar heeft een massa die zeven keer kleiner is. De "dichtheid" van de planeet is dus minimaal, 0,059 gram per kubieke centimeter om precies te zijn. Ter vergelijking: de dichtheid van water is bijna één gram per kubieke centimeter, bijna twintig keer zo veel.

"Hij is zo licht dat het moeilijk was om aan een vergelijkbare vaste materie te denken", zegt Julien de Wit, professor op Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) en een van de ontdekkers. Enter de suikerspin of de paardenbloem.

De planeet werd vorig jaar ontdekt. Onderzoekers hielden een ster, op een afstand van 1.200 lichtjaren, in het oog met het observatorium WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) en zagen dat die met momenten minder licht leek te geven. Er moest dus iets in de weg zitten van dat licht: een planeet die rond de ster draaide, telkens op iets meer dan 6 dagen. 

Kosmisch mysterie

Na die ontdekking gingen ze met andere meetinstrumenten aan de slag om in te schatten hoe groot de planeet is en hoeveel die weegt. Extreem weinig dus, en dat stelt de onderzoekers voor een raadsel. 

Ze vermoeden dat de planeet uit gassen bestaat, waterstof en helium, zoals andere zogenaamde "gasreuzen". In dit geval is de planeet zo "opgeblazen" dat haar atmosfeer tienduizenden kilometers verder reikt dan die van Jupiter, die nochtans bekend staat voor de wolkachtige atmosfeer. 

Jupiter, de planeet rechtsboven, heeft ook een redelijk lage dichtheid en is herkenbaar aan de wolkachtige atmosfeer

© Foto: Belga

"We kunnen niet verklaren hoe deze planeet zich heeft gevormd", zegt Francisco Pozuelos, een van de auteurs en onder meer verbonden aan de Universiteit van Luik. Er is geen enkele bestaande theorie die dat op dit moment verklaart. "Het is een kosmisch mysterie", besluiten de wetenschappers. Op de website van de Amerikaanse ruimteorganisatie NASA kan je een illustratie en meer info vinden. 

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

15-05-2024 om 23:29 geschreven door peter  

“Our headset appears to the outside world just like an everyday pair of glasses, but what the wearer sees through the lenses is an enriched world overlaid with vibrant, full-color 3D computed imagery,” said Stanford’s Gordon Wetzstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering.

“There is no other augmented reality system out there now with comparable compact form factor, or that matches our 3D image quality,” added Gun-Yeal Lee, a postdoctoral researcher in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the published paper outlining the team’s efforts.

BULKY HEADSETS HAVE LIMITED APPLICATION OF AUGMENTED REALITY

The Stanford researchers faced a number of technical hurdles in combining the benefits of current VR headsets with the versatility and ease of ordinary glasses. The first was reducing or replacing the complex optical systems used in bulkier headsets. That’s because these headsets don’t allow the viewer to see the landscape directly.

Instead, tiny cameras capture what the wearer is “looking” at and then project a viewable, 3D image on a tiny screen embedded within the device. For augmented reality purposes, any data used to aid the viewer is overlaid on this digital projection rather than appearing on top of the actual image.

“The user sees a digitized approximation of the real world with computed imagery overlaid,” explained Lee. “It’s sort of augmented virtual reality, not true augmented reality.”

Unfortunately, these types of headsets employ magnifying lenses between the user’s eye and the screen. To work properly, this layout requires a set distance between the eye, the lens, and the screen, resulting in the oversized, bulky headsets currently on the market. According to user experience, this setup can also detract from the overall immersive “realness” of the augmented reality experience, defeating the entire point of the system.

“Beyond bulkiness, these limitations can also lead to unsatisfactory perceptual realism and, often, visual discomfort,” explained Suyeon Choi, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-author of the paper.

80-YEAR-OLD TECHNIQUE MEETS CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE TO BREAK TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS

Determined to overcome these obstacles, the Stanford researchers turned to a Nobel Prize-winning technology first developed in the 1940s: holography. According to the team, this technique has seen limited use in VR and #D systems due to issues with the depth perception of visual cues, “leading to an underwhelming, sometimes nausea-inducing, visual experience.”

Still, the researchers believed that holography was the key to eliminating the bulky lens-and-screen technique and creating a true, augmented reality headset that allows the viewer to see the real image while simultaneously receiving overlaid information about that image in real time. The key, they determined, was improving the 80-year-old holography techniques with the power of 21st-century AI computing to dramatically improve the depth cues of the projected holographic images.

“With holography, you also get the full 3D volume in front of each eye increasing the life-like 3D image quality,” said Brian Chao, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and also co-author of the paper.

The team also employed modern breakthroughs in nanophotonics and waveguide technologies, which increased the complexity and overall realness of the projected images. According to the press release announcing the breakthrough, “A waveguide is constructed by etching nanometer-scale patterns onto the lens surface. Small holographic displays mounted at each temple project the computed imagery through the etched patterns which bounce the light within the lens before it is delivered directly to the viewer’s eye.”

As a result, someone wearing the team’s new ordinary-looking glass lenses can see both the “real world” and the 3D computer-enhanced augmented reality images displayed on top of the world.

Through holography and AI, these glasses can display full-color, 3D moving images over an otherwise direct view of the real world.

Image credit: Andrew Brodhead.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE GAMING, MILITARY SIMULATIONS, AND ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

Having completed their initial prototype, the team says they can now envision a number of potential applications for their system. Some obvious uses include enhanced gaming or other recreational uses that have thus far eluded current bulkier headsets. However, the team says they believe their system could dramatically improve the work done by highly-trained experts in medicine or engineering.

“One could imagine a surgeon wearing such glasses to plan a delicate or complex surgery or airplane mechanic using them to learn to work on the latest jet engine,” said Manu Gopakumar, a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the paper.

Although more work is expected before the augmented reality headset made from ordinary glasses is commercially available, the Stanford team says their ability to combine modern AI techniques and nanophotonic breakthroughs with 1940s holography is the step that folks in their industry have been waiting for.

“Holographic displays have long been considered the ultimate 3D technique, but it’s never quite achieved that big commercial breakthrough,” Wetzstein said. “Maybe now they have the killer app they’ve been waiting for all these years.”

• Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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

15-05-2024 om 16:52 geschreven door peter  

FBI Chilling UFO Reports: Recovered 3 UFOs With Alien Bodies In New Mexico & 27,000 mph Craft

An astonishing report was found in the archives of the FBI that reveals the chilling details about aliens, UFOs, and the way these objects maneuver. The documents suggest that some of the UFOs were apparently flying across the skies at an incredible speed of 27,000 miles per hour. The FBI report is dated back to the 1940s when federal agents investigated mysterious crafts in regard to a flurry of sightings. The report also suggests that several documents related to UFOs and aliens were subsequently destroyed by the government.

The FBI report revealed that some UFOs moved at speeds five times more than sound. It was during a time when the infamous Roswell event happened. Initially, it was reported that a flying saucer crash-landed in Roswell but soon, the military claimed that the crashed object was actually a weather balloon.

Many of the memos for the entire study of aliens were addressed to Director J. Edgar Hoover and then placed in the secret FBI archives. Now, they are declassified and stored as an open electronic file in the FBI archives.

FBI officials admitted in an August 16 memo to director Hoover that their office destroyed UFO reports “in great numbers.” But curiously another memo written in 1950, which was released with a huge cache of declassified documents, contains a remarkable statement from special agent Guy Hottel about Roswell.

According to the FBI, “Guy L. Hottel was born around 1902. He was a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he was a star football player. He was later inducted into the university’s athletic hall of fame. He entered the FBI as a special agent in 1934. In December 1936, he was named acting head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; he was appointed special agent in charge the following May and served until March 1941. Hottel was re-appointed special agent in charge in February 1943 and served until 1951, when he took a position in the Identification Division. He retired in 1955. Hottel was married three times and had two sons. Following his FBI career, Hottel served as executive secretary of the Horseman’s Benevolent Association. He died in June 1990.”

Read also:

• Four US Intelligence Directors Hint That UFOs Are Alien Spaceships & Believe There Are Other Dimensions
• Famous 19-Sec UFO Footage Could Be Greatest Leak: CGI Experts Say It Is Real Deal
• Einstein’s Student Claimed US Govt. Re-Engineered UFO & Studied Alien Bodies
• Ex-Apollo Astronaut Claimed Humans Are Ancient Aliens, Visited Earth From Space

The memo states that the three flying saucers recovered in New Mexico were approximately 50 feet in diameter. In each of them, there was one alien creature, and their figures resembled human bodies a lot, however, they were about three feet tall and dressed in peculiar metal suits.

A single-page March 22, 1950 memo by Guy Hottel

Source: fbi.gov

“They [the saucers] were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only three feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed fliers and test pilots.”

Presumably, these were specialized suits of foreigners, like those used by pilots, but made using alien technologies.

It is one of the popular declassified information released by the FBI that has been viewed more than a million times. Besides, the incident happened three years after the Roswell incident, and both have no connection with each other as stated by the FBI.

The document also said that the aliens were peaceful and really reminded people in some way of their behavior. The photo of two alien humanoids also became famous. It was taken before the intergalactic war between American intelligence and reptilians in 1979 at the Dulce Base in New Mexico.

Another declassified document from April 4, 1949, tells how three men, on patrols miles apart, each reported seeing a UFO break up over mountains north of Salt Lake City. Their accounts were sent to Hoover in a memo titled “Flying Discs.”

The file said that a policeman, a highway patrolman, and an army guard all “saw a silver-colored object high up approaching the mountains at Sardine Canyon” that “appeared to explode in a rash of fire.” And another file sent to Hoover, dated January 31, 1949, reveals the sighting by a pair of airline pilots.

They reported the “rocket ship” shaped object with no wings was hurtling out of a thunderhead at speeds of 2700 mph. And elsewhere in the document, further sightings are mentioned that can hit speeds of 27,000 mph (Mach 35).

“No scientific experiments are known to exist in this country which could give rise to such phenomena,” the agent from the San Antonio office writes.

Perhaps hammering home a possible danger from UFOs, special agent DM Ladd also wrote a letter to Hoover. He warned he had heard a report of a transport plane in Czechoslovakia which collided with an “unidentified missile.”

“The missile and the transport were completely disintegrated without recovery of parts or survivors,” Ladd wrote.

While the discussion on bizarre UFO reports is going on, this year, the Pentagon released 1,500 pages of UFO-related research as part of a FOIA request.

According to a massive database of U.S. government reports recently made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Encounters with UFOs have reportedly left Americans suffering from radiation burns, brain and nervous system damage, and even “unaccounted for pregnancy.”

The report includes a list of alleged biological effects of UFO sightings on human observers between 1873 and 1994, compiled by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) — a civilian non-profit group that studies reported UFO sightings. The reported effects of UFO encounters include “unaccounted for pregnancy,” “apparent abduction,” paralysis, and experiences of perceived telepathy, teleportation and levitation.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

15-05-2024 om 16:36 geschreven door peter  

Primeur in de ruimte: Belgische astronomen ontdekken ‘Speculoos’-planeet die even groot is als onze aarde

Een groep astronomen van de Universiteit van Luik is erin geslaagd om een nieuwe planeet te ontdekken die bijna even groot is als de aarde. De planeet heeft de naam ‘Speculoos-3 b’ gekregen. Dat is geen verwijzing naar het bekende koekje, maar wel naar de koele dwergster waarrond de planeet draait. “Eén jaar duurt er 17 uur en de dagen en nachten eindigen er nooit”, leggen de onderzoekers uit.

De astronomen maakten het nieuws dinsdag bekend. De ontdekking is het resultaat van het zogenaamde ‘SPECULOOS’-project – oftewel ‘Search for Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars’ – dat de Universiteit van Luik in 2019 opstartte. Het doel van het project is om met een netwerk van telescopen op zoek te gaan naar exoplaneten. Die draaien niet rond de zon, maar wel rond koele dwergsterren.

De nieuwe planeet heeft de naam ‘Speculoos-3 b’ gekregen, naar het gelijknamige project en de dwergster waarrond de planeet draait. Die ster is iets groter dan de planeet Jupiter, is kouder dan de zon en geeft ook honderd keer minder licht.

Geen kans op leven

“Speculoos-3 b is bijna even groot als de aarde en is ook rotsachtig”, legt hoofdonderzoeker Michaël Gillon uit. De planeet bevindt zich op zo’n 55 lichtjaar van ons. Dat is relatief dichtbij als je weet dat ons sterrenstelsel, de Melkweg, zich over 100.000 lichtjaar uitstrekt.

Een jaar op de planeet, oftewel één baan rond de ster, duurt ongeveer 17 uur. “Daarnaast eindigen de dagen en de nachten er wellicht nooit”, zegt Gillon. Zo zou de planeet zowel rond zichzelf als rond de dwergster draaien. “Daardoor is de ‘dagkant’ van de planeet altijd naar de ster gericht, net zoals de maan dat voor de aarde doet, terwijl de ‘nachtkant’ zich in de eindeloze duisternis bevindt.”

De kans dat er leven op de planeet is, is volgens Gillon zo goed als onbestaand. Speculoos-3 b ligt te dicht bij de dwergster en die heeft een temperatuur van 2.600 graden Celsius, ongeveer de helft van die op de zon. “Dat is dus veel te heet om bewoonbaar te zijn”, benadrukt de astronoom.

De planeet ontvangt per seconde ook bijna zestien keer meer energie van de zon dan de aarde. “Ze wordt dus letterlijk gebombardeerd met kosmische straling. In zo’n omgeving is de aanwezigheid van een atmosfeer dus zeer onwaarschijnlijk”, klinkt het.

Lees ook: 

• “Op aarde kunnen enkel levende organismen dit gas maken”: heeft James Webb ruimtetelescoop eerste teken van leven gevonden op exoplaneet? (+) 
  
• “Aarde warmt op, maar bovenste atmosfeer koelt af”: wat is de oorzaak van de atmosferische paradox? (+) 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

15-05-2024 om 14:59 geschreven door peter