Deze vreemde radiocirkels zijn groter dan sterrenstelsels: wetenschappers ontdekken eindelijk wat ze zijn...

Tim Kraaijvanger

In 2019 vonden astronomen mysterieuze radiocirkels met een doorsnede van honderdduizenden lichtjaren. In vergelijking: de Melkweg heeft een doorsnede van ruim 100.000 lichtjaar. Waardoor ontstaan deze cirkels? Eindelijk lijkt het mysterie opgelost.

De radiocirkels worden ook wel ‘odd radio circles’ genoemd, oftwel ORC’s. De grote cirkels zijn op de frequentie van radiostraling zichtbaar en zijn sterk cirkelvormig. Ze zijn niet zichtbaar in het zichtbaar spectrum, infrarood of röntgenstraling. In totaal hebben astronomen vijf van zulke objecten gevonden.

Een team van wetenschappers meldt in een paper in Nature dat de cirkels ontstaan door supernova-explosies. Als sterren aan het einde van hun leven exploderen, dan stoten ze hete gassen uit. Stel, er exploderen meerdere sterren in korte tijd, wat in actieve stervormingsgebieden kan gebeuren, dan krijgt het gas genoeg snelheid om uit het sterrenstelsel te ontsnappen. Dit gas kan een snelheid van 2.000 kilometer per seconde bereiken. Dat is iets minder dan 1% van de lichtsnelheid (300.000 kilometer per seconde).

“Deze sterrenstelsels zijn heel interessant”, vertelt onderzoeksleider Alison Coil. “Als twee sterrenstelsels met elkaar botsen, dan wordt het gas op elkaar gedrukt. Hierdoor ontstaan er in korte tijd veel sterren. Deze massieve sterren sterven ook weer snel, waardoor er snelle galactische winden ontstaan.”

Coil en haar collega’s ontrafelden het mysterie door te kijken naar ORC 4, één van de gevonden radiocirkels. Zij ontdekten dat de sterren in ORC 4 ongeveer zes miljard jaar oud waren en dat er één miljard jaar geleden een periode van actieve stervorming had plaatsgevonden. Onderzoeker Cassandra Lochhaas draaide een aantal computersimulaties om de radiocirkel na te bootsen en ontdekte dat de galactische winden ongeveer 200 miljoen jaar lang actief waren, voor ze stopten.

Computer Simulation of Outflowing Galactic Wind

Er zijn nog niet veel ORC’s gevonden, maar dat komt doordat de omstandigheden perfect moeten zijn. Er moet in korte tijd veel materiaal uitgestoten worden én het gas buiten het sterrenstelsel moet een lage dichtheid hebben, anders stopt de schokgolf. “Deze sterrenstelsels zijn zeldzaam, maar ze bestaan”, concludeert Coil.

Nu astronomen weten waardoor ORC’s ontstaan, is het tijd om een belangrijke vervolgvraag te beantwoorden. Hebben alle grote sterrenstelsels een fase gekend waarin ze een radiocirkel hadden? Zo leren wetenschappers meer over de evolutie van sterrenstelsels.

Bronmateriaal

• "Space Oddity: Uncovering the Origin of the Universe’s Rare Radio Circles" - UC San Diego

• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: Bärbel Koribalski, Dark Energy Survey

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{ https://scientias.nl/ }

17-01-2025 om 21:59 geschreven door peter  

US Military Recovered UFO That ‘Distorted Space-Time’ & Craft Able To ‘Alter Our Reality’ As Mentioned In Bizarre Navy Docs

“Our understanding of reality is not complete, by far,” says Stanford University physicist Andrei Linde. “Reality exists independently of us.” If they exist, those universes are separated from ours, unreachable and undetectable by any direct measurement (at least so far). And that makes some experts question whether the search for a multiverse can ever be truly scientific.

In the realm of science, our quest for understanding alternate or higher dimensions remains ongoing. However, within the field of UFOlogy, intriguing cases have emerged suggesting the existence of not just other dimensions, but also the presence of entities residing within them. These beings seem to possess the ability to manipulate a bridge connecting their realm to ours, enabling them to embark on regular visits to our world.

Crashed UFO that ‘distorted space and time’

A very strange UFO case has been shared by American attorney Daniel Sheehan with Daily Mail. Sheehan involved in bringing UFO whistleblowers to Congress, claimed that a whistleblower told him a mind-boggling tale about a recovered crashed UFO. He revealed that a crashed UFO recovered by the US military had distorted space-time and was “bigger on the inside.” The whistleblower has reportedly briefed Senate Intelligence Committee staff on the matter.

According to Sheehan, one of the alleged recoveries described by the insider involved a 30-foot saucer partially embedded in the earth. When attempts were made to remove it using a bulldozer, the craft exhibited unusual behavior. As it was being pulled out, it seemingly detached in a pie slice-shaped section, suggesting that it was constructed in a unique way.

The anonymous whistleblower then entered the craft and was astonished to find that the interior was as large as a football stadium, while the exterior was only about 30 feet in diameter. The experience inside caused disorientation and nausea due to the vast size discrepancy. Furthermore, upon exiting the craft in a few minutes, the whistleblower found that four hours had passed outside, indicating time distortion as well.

Sheehan mentions that the craft’s distortion of space and time is consistent with the theories proposed by physicists regarding advanced propulsion systems. These theories suggest that warping space-time could be used to counteract the effects of gravity and achieve advanced forms of propulsion. However, Sheehan does not provide further specific details, such as the location or date of the incident, and admits to being unable to provide concrete evidence to support these claims.

Read also:

• Man Worked In Antarctica Saw Powerful Machines To Contact Alien Crafts In Deep Space
• Las Vegas UFO Crash Is Real, Claims Man Worked For NYPD: 10-Foot Alien Terrified Witness
• Ex-CIA Officer Encountered With Reptilian Alien; Says Reptilian Race Walking Among Us
• Whitley Strieber’s Alien Abduction & Stranger Who Told Him ‘Mankind Is Trapped

Moreover, on Jesse Michels’ show, astronomer and UFO researcher Jacques Vallee discussed another UFO case that includes experiencing another dimension by the witness. Valle said: “There was one case in San Jose. A woman had seen something over her house. It was a big disc, and I say, ‘How big was it?’ And she says, ‘Well, it was about the same size as her house. It was, you know, just like that.’ Then I say, ‘Well, when you went inside, you said, uh, you know, there was this being, and the being took you on a staircase.’ I say, ‘Where did the staircase go?’ Well, the staircase went up the side of this big round room. I say, ‘How would you compare it?’ Well, like a movie house, you know, like an M5 theater. I said, ‘That’s bigger than your house.’”

Luis Elizondo, the man who managed the UFO program inside the Pentagon, explains how space-time distortion works and hints that we can manipulate this physics for technological advancement. In an interview with George Knapp in 2018, Elizondo explains:

“Space-time is something we observe in the natural world all the time, especially in relation to gravity and GPS satellites. The clocks on these satellites need constant calibration. Even though the clocks on the satellites are identical to the ones on the ground station, they still require regular calibration. The reason for this is the effect of Earth’s gravity on space-time. The clocks on Earth run slightly slower compared to the clocks on the platforms above Earth.

How is this possible if the clocks are the same? Well, it’s because the closer you are to a massive object, like Earth, the more space-time warps. This phenomenon is explained by the theory of general relativity, which boils down to using the equation E=mc². Essentially, it means that a significant amount of mass or energy warps space-time. When you approach a supermassive object like the sun, the distortion becomes even greater. In fact, near a black hole, time becomes so distorted that it virtually stops.

We have observed this phenomenon through gravitational lensing when studying distant galaxies. We can actually see the effects of gravity on space-time with our own eyes, so it’s a scientific fact, not fiction. The question now is how we can manipulate this physics for technological advancement. Potentially, we could warp space-time in a way that allows us to travel from point A to point B more quickly.”

Is it possible that an advanced extraterrestrial civilization has already accomplished this kind of technology and has been using it to visit our world? Or perhaps we already have such technology?

In 2021, leaked documents revealed that the US Navy had conducted experiments on various far-fetched technologies, including a “space modification weapon.” These documents, disclosed by The War Zone, detailed the research carried out by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) between 2017 and 2019. The most interesting thing is that the technology written in those documents discusses propulsion system that defies gravity, or to devastating weapons that bends the laws of physics and craft that alters the fabric of time and space.

The man behind all the patents is Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais, who is an aerospace engineer at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). He has four patents registered in his name that contain the source of technology that would change the world. In these patents, a “Spacetime Modification Weapon” (SMW, a weapon that can make the Hydrogen bomb seem more like a firecracker, in comparison) is mentioned.

Are these patents a cover for the reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology? The Navy’s objective in testing this conceptual system was to keep pace with similar programs being developed in China. The researchers believed that the space modification weapon could revolutionize power and propulsion systems. The technology was based on the “Pais effect” aimed to push the boundaries of science.

Pais made ambitious claims about the potential of this technology, suggesting that it could lead to a propulsion system defying gravity or devastating weapons that bend the laws of physics. He even outlined plans for a “hybrid aerospace-underwater craft” capable of altering the fabric of time and space.

The Navy’s aerospace research enterprise supported Pais’s patents, stating that they filed them to keep up with similar technological advancements being pursued by the Chinese military. The “space modification weapon” described in the documents was envisioned to release extremely high energy levels, surpassing the destructive power of a Hydrogen bomb.

However, the experiments conducted between 2017 and 2019 were inconclusive. The elusive Pais effect was neither observed nor disproven during this period. The Pais effect refers to a theoretical physics concept that involves the controlled movement of highly electrically charged matter. If proven possible, it could enable the creation of powerful energy fields capable of fundamentally engineering the fabric of reality.

It is unclear whether the US Navy is continuing its experiments on the Pais effect or if the project has been discontinued entirely. None of the futuristic technologies described in the leaked UFO patents were developed, leaving the ultimate fate of the space modification weapon and related concepts uncertain.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

17-01-2025 om 21:34 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: 2024 was officially the hottest year on RECORD 

By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE 

Global warming is quickly spiralling out of control, the Met Office has warned. 

According to the forecaster, Earth is 'off-track' to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) - a key goal set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the Paris Agreement. 

Last year, measurements taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, revealed the fastest annual rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) since records began back in 1958.  

What's more, satellite measurements showed a 'very large rise' of CO2 across the globe. 

These were due to widespread hot, dry conditions, partly linked to El Niño and partly to other factors - including climate change, according to the Met Office. 

The study comes just one week after 2024 was confirmed to have been the hottest year on record.  

'Last week, it was confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record, with annual average temperatures higher than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time,' said Professor Richard Betts, who led the production of the forecast.

'While this does not represent a failure to achieve the Paris Agreement target, as that would require breaching warming 1.5°C over a longer period and we may see a slightly cooler year in 2025, the long-term warming trend will continue because CO2 is still building up in the atmosphere.'

Last year, measurements taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, revealed the fastest annual rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) since records began back in 1958

The study comes just one week after 2024 was confirmed to have been the hottest year on record. Pictured: wildfires in the West Hills section of Los Angeles on January 9

The measurements taken at Mauna Loa revealed a rise in CO2 of 3.58 parts per million (ppm) in 2024. 

This far exceeded the Met Office's prediction of 2.84ppm (± 0.54ppm). 

Worryingly, if global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C (2.7°F), calculations by the IPCC indicate that CO2 needs to be slowing by 1.8ppm per year. 

It's not all doom and gloom. 

Looking ahead, the CO2 rise between 2024 and 2025 is forecast to be less extreme than last year at 2.26 ± 0.56 ppm. 

According to the Met Office, this is due to a partial re-strengthening of carbon sinks linked to a shift from El Niño to La Niña conditions. 

However, even this slower rise will be too fast to limit global warming to 1.5°C. 

'La Niña conditions are expected to cause forests and other ecosystems to soak up more carbon than last year, temporarily slowing the atmospheric CO2 rise,' Professor Betts added. 

Worryingly, if global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C (2.7°F), calculations by the IPCC indicate that CO2 needs to be slowing by 1.8ppm per year

Hottest years on record

'However, stopping global warming needs the build-up of greenhouse gases in the air to come to a complete halt and then start to reduce. 

'Large, rapid emissions cuts could limit the extent to which global warming exceeds 1.5°C.

'But this needs urgent action internationally.'

The new study comes just one week after a report published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), revealed that temperatures last year were 0.12°C (0.22°F) above 2023, the previous warmest year on record.

That makes 2024 the first calendar year on record to exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.

Although this single year does not mean the targets of the Paris Agreement have already been missed, experts say that humanity is now 'dangerously close' to this milestone. 

The data shows that an exceptionally hot start to the year brought the average global air temperature in 2024 to 15.1°C (59.2°F).

While temporary patterns like El Niño helped push temperatures into the extremes, scientists say human-caused climate change remains the 'primary driver' of extreme temperatures.

And with the rate of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere even higher than in previous years, the planet's warming shows no signs of slowing any time soon.

Dr Friederike Otto, a climate policy expert from Imperial College London, says: 'This record needs to be a reality check. 

'The climate is heating to levels we've spent years trying to avoid because countries are still burning huge amounts of oil, gas and coal.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-01-2025 om 21:13 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: Scientists reveal where Jesus was born - and it WASN'T Bethlehem

By MICHAEL HAVIS FOR MAILONLINE

A place of worship sealed up by the ancestors of Jesus has been discovered in the ancient heart of Jerusalem, frozen in time for nearly 3,000 years.

Carved into the rock near Temple Mount, the structure comprises eight rooms, containing an altar, a sacred standing stone, and presses for olive oil and wine.

And experts believe its destruction may have featured in the Bible, which describes how Hezekiah – one of Jesus' ancestors – smashed idolatrous places of worship.

This was one such place, according to Eli Shukron, exacavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who dated it to Hezekiah's reign.

He said: 'The structure ceased to function during the 8th century BC, possibly as part of king Hezekiah's religious reform.

'According to the Bible, Hezekiah sought to centralise worship at the temple in Jerusalem, abolishing the ritual sites scattered across the kingdom.

'The Bible describes how, during the First Temple period, additional ritual sites operated outside the temple.

'It says two kings of Judah – Hezekiah and Josiah – implemented reforms to eliminate these sites and concentrate worship at the temple.'

A place of worship sealed up by the ancestors of Jesus has been discovered in the ancient heart of Jerusalem , frozen in time for nearly 3,000 years

Carved into the rock near Temple Mount, the structure comprises eight rooms, containing an altar, a sacred standing stone, and presses for olive oil and wine

Experts believe its destruction may have featured in the Bible, which describes how Hezekiah – one of Jesus' ancestors – smashed idolatrous places of worship

Both kings are identified as paternal grandfathers of Jesus by the Gospel of Matthew.

Hezekiah's crackdown against pagan places of worship – or 'high places' – is described in the second book of Kings.

It recounts how he 'removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones' and 'did what was right in the eyes of the lord'.

Remarkably, the sacred standing stone at the site survived his onslaught.

Shukron called it 'the most dramatic and important find in the excavation'.

'This is what makes this place a cultic site,' he said.

'When we uncovered it, we found it standing in its place, with stones around it.

'The standing stone was covered with earth; it was preserved – no one destroyed it.

This was a place of worship, according to Eli Shukron, exacavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who dated it to Hezekiah's reign

'The Bible describes how, during the First Temple period, additional ritual sites operated outside the temple,' Eli Shukron said

Archaeologists also found a hoard of artifacts from the 8th century BC, sealed behind a stone wall in a cave. These included cooking pots, jars with fragments of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, loom weights, scarabs, stamped seals with decorative motifs, and grinding stones used for crushing grains

'When we found it, it was exactly as it was here 2,800 years ago.'

Another room featured the remains of an altar, identifiable by a drainage channel which still ran from its corner.

And in one part of the site, mysterious v-shaped carvings marked the floor.

Their true purpose is lost to history, but they might once have supported some sort of tripod with ritual use.

Archaeologists also found a hoard of artifacts from the 8th century BC, sealed behind a stone wall in a cave.

These included cooking pots, jars with fragments of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, loom weights, scarabs, stamped seals with decorative motifs, and grinding stones used for crushing grains.

The site lies in the ancient heart of Jerusalem – sometimes called the City of David – just a few hundred metres from Temple Mount, and once co-existed with the First Temple there.

Excavations began in 2010, but the northern part of the ruins was discovered in 1909 by Montague Parker, a British adventurer searching for the Ark of the Covenant and other temple treasures.

A 1585 depiction of king Hezekiah smashing the pagan places of worship

Amichai Eliyahu, Israel's Minister of Heritage, said: 'This unique structure uncovered in the City of David is an exciting testimony to Jerusalem's rich past.

'Such discoveries make our connection and historic roots – going back thousands of years – tangible, in Jerusalem and other sites where the Jewish culture and belief system emerged.'

Shukron published his findings in 'Atiqot, the IAA's in-house journal.

READ MORE

• Scientists reveal exactly where Jesus was born - and say it probably WASN'T in Bethlehem

RELATED INFO AND VIDEOS

The new structure was found carved into the eastern slope of the City of David

Credit: Michael Havis

Various ancient artefacts were found sealed behind a stone wall

Credit: Michael Havis

An artist's impression of how the structure would have looked before it was destroyed

Credit: Michael Havis

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17-01-2025 om 20:54 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: Ancient meteor impact may have sparked life on Earth

By WILIAM HUNTER

From floating ghosts to potential UFOs, Ring doorbells have captured a lot of strange events.

Now, one couple's home security camera has recorded something entirely new to science.

For the first time ever, the terrifying sound of a meteorite striking the Earth has been revealed.

The groundbreaking video shows the exact moment a chunk of space rock hit the driveway of a home in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

In July 2024, Laura Kelly and her partner Joe Velaidum had just returned from walking their dogs when they found a mysterious star-shaped mark outside their home.

Checking the recording from their Ring camera, they watched as a rock hurtled out of the sky and exploded into a burst of dust on the ground. 

Thinking fast, the couple managed to gather up about seven grams of suspected space rock and sent it to Dr Chris Herd, head curator of the meteorite collection at the University of Alberta.

Dr Herd says: 'No other meteorite fall has been documented like this, complete with sound.'

Residents of Prince Edward Island, Canada were baffled to find that their Ring doorbell had recorded the stunning moment a meteorite slammed into their driveway 

The shocking video is the first time that the sound of an asteroid hitting Earth has ever been recorded 

When the rock smashed into their home, it was moving so fast that the camera only captured it for a single frame.

However, as soon as Dr Herd looked at the samples, there was no question that this was no ordinary stone.

As luck would have it, Dr Herd already had a trip planned to the area just 10 days after the impact and was able to make a diversion to the site.

There, he found that the meteorite had blasted a 2cm x 2cm hole in the walkway outside the home.

With the help of Joe and Laura, Dr Herd collected 95 grams of asteroid material which is now being held for further study at the University of Alberta.

Dr Herd's analysis shows that the rock, now dubbed the Charlottetown Meteorite after the capital of Prince Edward Island, was made of Chondrite - the most common meteorite material.

Chondrite meteors are leftovers from the formation of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago and have lurked almost untouched since then in the distant reaches of space.

This particular rock would have begun its long journey to Canada in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, around 204 million miles (329 million kilometres) from Earth.

In July 2024, Laura Kelly and her partner Joe Velaidum had just returned from walking their dogs when they found a mysterious star-shaped mark outside their home

This was particularly exciting since this is the only recorded meteorite impact in the island's history.

Dr Herd says: 'As the first and only meteorite from the province of Prince Edward Island, the Charlottetown Meteorite sure announced its arrival in a spectacular way.

'It adds a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Island.'

But most excitingly of all, this is the only time the sound of a meteorite impact has ever been recorded.

Dr Herd told CBC News: 'It's not anything we've ever heard before. From a science perspective, it's new.'

The violent crack of the impact which you can hear in the video is a product of the Charlottetown meteorite's incredible speed.

Meteorites typically arrive at the edge of Earth's atmosphere travelling at over 37,000 miles per hour (60,000 kmph) before slowing down.

Dr Herd estimates that the Charlottetown Meteorite was probably moving at around 125 miles per hour (200 kmph) when it hit the ground.

The meteorite is believed to have hit the ground at around 125 miles per hour (200 kmph), producing enough force to gouge a 2cm hole into the walkway 

Although the meteorite wasn't big enough to cause any serious damage to the property, it could have been quite dangerous, had Joe and Laura been nearby.

'The shocking thing for me is that I was standing right there a couple of minutes right before this impact,' says Joe.

'If I'd have seen it, I probably would've been standing right there, so it probably would've ripped me in half.'

Despite being a first for Prince Edward Island, events like this are actually surprisingly common.

Dr Greg Brown, Senior Public Astronomy Officer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, says: 'Meteors fall into the Earth’s atmosphere very often. Millions of minuscule particles of dust and rock burn up in the atmosphere each day, totalling around 15 thousand tonnes of material over the course of a year.

'If those particles are large enough, they can survive their entry to the atmosphere and impact the Earth with recent estimates suggesting around 17,000 impacts occur each year.'

However, most of those are so small that they arrive at the Earth's surface as grains of dust, having burned away their outer layers.

Although impacts with human settlements are rare, scientists estimate that there are around two 'damaging impacts' every year.

Further analysis at the University of Alberta shows that the meteorite (pictured) is made of Chondrite, a material left over from the formation of the Solar System 4.5 billion years ago 

One family from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire found that their windshield had been smashed by an iron-rich meteorite on Boxing Day last year. 

Likewise, in 2019 scientists confirmed the first ever 'damaging impact' in Uruguay after a 712-gram stone broke through the cement ceiling of a home, shattering a TV and bed frame below.

While no one has ever been killed by a direct impact from a meteorite, in 1953 an American woman named Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges became the first and only person to ever be hit by a space rock.

According to investigations at the time, a 3.8kg (8.5lbs) rock shot through the roof of her home, hit a radio console and bounced into her side.

The impact left Ms Hodges with severe bruising and the unique claim to be the only person ever directly injured by a meteor impact.

However, given how large the planet is and how little of it is actually inhabited, there is little reason to worry about these kinds of small impacts.

'The vast majority of meteorites are far smaller, limiting the potential damage they could do,' Dr Brown added. 

'What’s more, despite how widespread humanity is, the majority of the surface of the Earth is ocean, desert and other similarly sparsely inhabited places, meaning most impacts aren’t even noticed, let alone pose a threat to life and health.'

WHY DO METEORS MAKE A SOUND?

Meteors are fragments of space rock that enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up as a result of the friction created when they pass through, appearing as bright streaks of light in the sky.

As well as light, this friction also creates sound, with some meteors creating a 'sonic boom' as they break the sound barrier, in a similar way to a fast-moving aircraft.

Since meteors can be over a hundred kilometres in altitude, and their sound waves travel much slower than the light they generate, the sonic boom is often not heard until many minutes after the flash is seen.

The boom will also only be loud enough to hear from Earth if the meteor is particularly large, enters the stratosphere below an altitude of about 30 miles (50 km) and explodes as a bolide, or fireball.

As well as the boom, some stargazers claim to have heard hissing and buzzing sounds at the same time as a meteor is seen. 

This is because meteors also give off very low frequency radio waves, which travel at the speed of light.

These are inaudible, but can cause physical objects on the Earth's surface to vibrate and produce a sound, which our ears may interpret as hissing.

Sometimes, stargazers are able to hear a meteor as it creates a 'sonic boom', in a similar way that a fast-moving aircraft does

(stock image)

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-01-2025 om 18:38 geschreven door peter  

SpaceX Starship mega-rocket 'destroyed' in 7th test flight trying to bring Elon Musk closer to Mars

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Space X's seventh Starship test flight was 'destroyed' less than ten minutes after its launch, as Elon Musk continues his quest to reach Mars. 

The uncrewed test flight was Musk's latest attempt to make life on mars a reality after his sixth test flight exploded less than ten minutes into its flight. 

The new-generation ship launched from Texas on Thursday and successfully flew for around eight minutes, with the teams' second breathtaking booster catch, before contact was lost. 

Officials confirmed that the spacecraft was destroyed. 

'Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. Teams will continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root cause,' SpaceX posted on X. 

'With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability.'

Debris, with unclear relations to the spacecraft, was captured on camera flying across the Caribbean just minutes after the flight test. 

'Every Starship launch is one more step closer towards Mars,' Musk said before liftoff, as he hopes his ships will be the first to launch humanity into life on Mars. 

SpaceX posted on X that today's test flight featured 'significant upgrades.' 

The new Starship was rolled out taller - now standing at 403 feet - and with about 300 more tons of propellant than the last test flight ship, with added upgrades for 'reliability and performance'

'Every Starship launch is one more step closer towards Mars,' Musk said before liftoff, as he hopes his ships will be the first to launch humanity into life on Mars

Debris, with unclear relations to the spacecraft, was captured on camera flying across the Caribbean just minutes after the flight test

The new Starship was rolled out taller - now standing at 403 feet - and with about 300 more tons of propellant than the last test flight ship, with added upgrades for 'reliability and performance.'

SpaceX announced there would be 'hardware upgrades to the launch and catch tower to increase reliability for booster catch,' including enhancements to sensor protections on the chopsticks damaged during the last launch. 

As well as a redesigned upper-stage propulsion system that can carry 25 percent more propellant, along with slimmer, repositioned forward flaps to reduce exposure to heat during reentry. 

The company also added ten dummy satellites, the same size as SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites, for release in space. They were due to follow the same flight path as the spacecraft, ending up destroyed upon entry.

The post added that the flight 'set out to attempt Starship's first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster.' 

'Today’s flight test will launch a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster.' 

SpaceX's last successful launch happened in October on its fifth flight test. The sixth, which was witnessed by President-elect Donald Trump in November, made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The test flight launched just after 5.30 EST in Texas across the Gulf of Mexico. 

Around six and a half minutes into the flight, Super Heavy returned and was successfully caught by the launch tower for SpaceX's second time

While Stage 1 was successful, contact with the ship was reported to be lost just after the eight-and-a-half-minute mark

'With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,' SpaceX posted on X

 Just around 3 minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster successfully detached and performed a flip maneuver, making its way back to the launchpad. 

Around six and a half minutes into the flight, Super Heavy returned and was successfully caught by the launch tower for SpaceX's second time. 

'Even in this day and age, what we just saw is magic,' Dan Huot observed from close to the launch site after the booster touched down. 'I am shaking right now.'

'The tower has caught the rocket!!' SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X as the spacecraft made the dramatic touchdown.

While Stage 1 was successful, contact with the ship was reported to be lost just after the eight-and-a-half-minute mark. 

Just after the twenty-minute mark, it was confirmed that the ship was lost. 

Hours earlier, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin - launched their newest rocket, New Glenn, in Florida. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. 

However, the booster was destroyed and missed its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.

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17-01-2025 om 18:13 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE: Inside the daring rescue mission to save two NASA astronauts 

By WILIAM HUNTER

One of NASA's trapped astronauts got a much-needed change of scenery as she stepped outside the space station for the first time in seven months.

Suni Williams and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June last year.

The pair had intended to stay for just eight days after arriving in Boeing's Starliner capsule, but engine failures and helium leaks meant they could not safely return.

Yesterday, Williams and NASA astronaut Nick Hague embarked on a six-hour spacewalk to conduct repair work on the outside of the station. 

As Williams enjoyed her first moments outside the ISS, many social media users were shocked to realise she was still stranded in space. 

Outraged space fans flocked to X (formerly Twitter) with one even dubbing Williams a 'captive worker'. 

'They're like indentured servants at this point,' the furious commenter added. 

Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to return home in February this year, but further delays mean they will be stuck on the ISS until at least March.

Suni Williams (pictured), one of NASA's stranded astronauts, stepped outside the International Space Station for the first time in seven months 

Williams and Wilmore will likely remain on the station until at least March or April after the failure of the Boeing Starliner (pictured) 

Mission commander Williams and flight engineer Wilmore took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5 for a test flight of Boeing's new Starliner capsule.

The plan was to ride Starliner out of the atmosphere, perform a few test manoeuvres, and dock with the ISS for an eight-day stay before returning to Earth in the same capsule.

However, things almost immediately began to go wrong for the problem-plagued capsule as the craft experienced thruster failures and a helium leak.

In September last year, Starliner was sent back to Earth empty, touching down in New Mexico after slowing its descent with parachutes.

That choice left the Boeing test crew stuck aboard the ISS without their vehicle until someone could be sent to get them.

That means the pair might not get back to Earth until April at the very earliest - 10 months after they left home.

Since their arrival, yesterday's spacewalk was the first time that Williams has been able to escape the cramped confines of the station.

However, on social media, many expressed their shock and disappointment that Williams and Wilmore had not yet been able to return to Earth.

As Williams enjoyed her first moments outside the station, one commenter dubbed her a 'captive worker' due to the fact she is still trapped in space

Another pointed out that Williams was only meant to have a 'week's vacation' and has now spent the second longest time in space of any American

One commenter angrily demanded to know when Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth 

One commenter wrote: 'I appreciate that Suni Williams is just doing sidequests at this point.

'She was meant to be on a week's vacation to the ISS and now she's spent the second longest amount of time in space of an American.'

Another angrily asked: 'When are they going to be back on Earth?'

Meanwhile, other users joked that Williams was 'stepping out to get some fresh air after being unexpectedly cooped up for months.'

'Sometimes you just gotta get outta the house,' one commenter wrote.

Another joked: 'We can understand! Guys get pretty bored holed up inside the station & went out for a garden walk to loosen their limbs a bit!'

Likewise, some commenters suggested that Williams might be taking her resue into her own hands.

One commenter joked:  'Frustrated with NASA, astronauts figure it's easier just to walk home.'

Some commenters joked that Williams was only 'stepping out to get some fresh air' after her seven-month stint inside the ISS

Commenters felt they could relate to the feeling of just needing to get out of the house 

One commenter added that Williams had gone 'out for a garden walk' to stretch her legs 

While another cheekily added: 'If it'd been me I would've stepped outside and said 'F*** it, I'm walking home".'

Despite the social media reaction, the spacewalk had a more serious purpose which was to perform essential repairs outside of the ISS. 

After spending the last few days undergoing rigorous health checks and inspecting their equipment, Williams and Hague donned their suits early Thursday morning.

At 08:00 EST (13:00 GMT), the astronauts switched their suits over to battery power, marking the official start of the spacewalk.

'I'm coming out,' Williams radioed as she emerged from the orbiting lab 260 miles above Turkmenistan in Central Asia.

The astronauts replaced equipment, repaired one of the station's telescopes, and replaced a navigation device on a visiting vehicle.

Williams got a close-up look at the SpaceX capsule that will bring her home this spring, floating just a few feet away from the parked vessel as she struggled with a chore.

However, she managed to safely conduct the repairs without putting any dents in her ride home.

A commenter suggested that Williams was fed up with waiting and decided to make her own way back to Earth 

One commenter joked that they would have decided to walk home after remaining trapped in space for so long 

Suni Williams (left) arrived at the ISS with Butch Williams (centre) in June last year for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay. On Thursday, Williams was joined by NASA astronaut Nick Hague (right) for her first excursion from the station since arriving 

This marks Williams' eighth spacewalk and brings her total cumulative time spent in extra-vehicular activity to 56 hours and 40 minutes 

Williams also made important repairs to the 'rate gyro assembly', a key piece of equipment which helps the ISS stay in the same orientation.

At 08:01 EST (19:00 GMT), after six hours of work, NASA announced that the spacewalk was officially over.  

This marks Hague’s fourth time working outside the station and the eighth for Williams, making her one of the most experienced spacewalkers in NASA's history. 

Williams, who has stayed on the ISS before, has already spent 56 hours and 40 minutes in EVA, making her the 11th most experienced spacewalker ever.

If she spends just four more hours outside the station next week, that will make her the most experienced female spacewalker.

The record is currently held by Peggy Whitson who spent 60 hours and 21 minutes in space across 10 different spacewalks.

This is the first time that astronauts have undertaken 'extra-vehicular activity' (EVA) from the ISS since November 2023.

Earlier US EVAs were put on hold after astronauts found water leaking into the airlock from the cooling system in one of the space suits.

Williams and Hague spend six hours outside the station to make repairs and perform maintenance. Pictured: the view from Williams' helmet camera as she repairs a navigation device on a visiting spaceship 

Williams also made repairs to the 'rate gyro assembly', a key piece of equipment which helps the ISS stay in the same orientation (pictured)

Williams (left) will be joined by Butch Wilmore (right) for another spacewalk on January 23 to make repairs and take samples to see if bacteria are growing on the outside of the ISS

NASA says the issue has now been fixed as has already announced a second EVA to take place next Thursday.

On January 23, Williams will be joined by her fellow stranded astronaut Butch Williams on a second spacewalk.

Their goal will be to remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and prepare a spare elbow joint for the Candarm2 robotic arm which is mounted on the station.

Williams and Wilmore will also use the opportunity to take surface samples from the outside of the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock to see if any bacteria or fungi are growing on the ISS.

Last year, NASA found 13 strains of bacteria growing on the station that were not found anywhere on Earth.

Understanding bacteria in the harsh environment of space is key to learning how life might flourish on other planets and to protecting future space colonies against new diseases.

However, while Williams and Wilmore might be enjoying the chance to step outside the station, there is still a long way to go before they can return to Earth.

EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SITS 250 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH

The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000. 

Crews have come mainly from the US and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts. 

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems 

Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.

ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.

The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.

So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.

There is an ongoing debate about the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is thought some of the original structure will reach 'end of life'.

Russia, a major partner in the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around then, with Axiom Space, a private firm, planning to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time. 

NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, that would also include a base on the surface. 

This image, taken from NASA TV, shows astronaut Suni Williams working on the outside of the International Space Station on Thursday, just feet away from the parked SpaceX spacecraft. 

(NASA TV)

In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut Suni Williams tries on and evaluates her spacesuit aboard the ISS on Jan. 9.

(NASA via The Associated Press)

In this image, made from NASA TV, Williams works outside the International Space Station on Thursday. It marked Williams's eighth spacewalk. 

(NASA TV/The Associated Press)

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17-01-2025 om 17:48 geschreven door peter  

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

17-01-2025 om 13:13 geschreven door peter  

This New UFO Whistleblower Blowing The Lid Off Everything Says He Saw An “Egg-Shaped 

By Vicky Verma

In a new exclusive interview with investigative journalist Ross Coutlhart, Jake Barber, a US Air Force Veteran revealed that he saw an object that was white and egg-shaped. Mr. Barber said he has contracted as a helicopter pilot to retrieve all kinds of downed craft, some of which he believes are of nonhuman origin.

He shared the moment when he realized he was involved in recovering non-human technology, or alien technology. He explained that it became obvious when their communication procedures were changed, and when he saw the object on the ground. From its appearance, it was clear that the object was something extraordinary and different from anything human-made.

He was a helicopter pilot, and typically, he would work with a long line of about 150 to 200 feet. This time, he got within 150 feet of the object. When he got close enough, he saw something that looked like a white egg.

He was asked if there was any visible propulsion system on the object, but he said there was nothing like what we would recognize as an engine or any form of propulsion. He was operating at night, using night vision goggles. Even with the goggles, the object’s strange appearance remained clear. He would take the goggles off and on, examining the object from different angles to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

When asked how he knew the egg-shaped object wasn’t from humans, Jake explained that, based on his experience and everything he had seen before, it looked completely out of the ordinary.

It didn’t match anything he had ever seen. His teammates also had the same reaction—they all knew they were dealing with something far beyond what they were used to.

Ross asked if he had ever been directly told that the craft was of non-human origin. Jake replied that in the years following the event, senior members of the UAP task force had confirmed that the object was, indeed, non-human in origin. He emphasized that this wasn’t a one-time, unique experience; similar things had been encountered before.

“Over the last couple years, it’s been confirmed to me by ranking members of the UAP task force that what we were working with that night was, in fact, NHI (nonhuman intelligence) and it was not a unique experience,” Barber said.

In the history of Ufology, the case of Lonnie Zamora was registered as the most authentic and well-documented UFO sighting in the United States. It is hard not to believe a police officer when he/she claims to have seen something not from this world. A police officer from Socorro named Lonnie Zamora witnessed a white Egg-shaped craft in New Mexico when he was chasing a high-speed vehicle in 1964.

On April 24, 1964, at around 5:45 p.m., Zamora was chasing an overspeed vehicle in his cruiser on the outskirts of his town. Suddenly, he was diverted by a loud roaring sound and noticed a flame in the sky.

Zamora said that the flame had been orange and bluish in color. He described it as “funnel-like.” He explained that he drove for half a mile and saw a white object on the ground.

“Thought that it might be a car that had turned over. Crossed to go out there to investigate, thought maybe somebody might be hurt. At that time, I saw this white, like an egg-shaped looking object.”

Initially, he thought that the object was an overturned car. He could also notice two humans near the object, examining it. As the police officer began approaching them, he understood that they were either large kids or small people. Besides, the object was of white aluminum color.

He contacted his station and told them about the situation. As soon as he tried to get out of the car, a roar was heard again and the craft started emitting blue flame. This noise scared him, and he thought there might be an explosion. So, he took cover and made his way back to his cruiser while keeping his eyes on the scene.

The craft was moving upward with an increasing sound, and Zamora could once again see an orange-bluish flame coming out from under the craft. He also said that the object had an oval shape without any door or windows.

During his radio interview with Walter Shrode, Zamora said that the two people he had seen near the craft were not humans. The following is the conversation held between Zamora and Shrode.

SHRODE: Did they have helmets on like spacemen or anything?

ZAMORA: No sir, I wouldn’t say they were people, I just… I saw something white, white coveralls, that’s all I can say.

SHRODE: But you couldn’t identify them as actually being an actual human being, like you or I are?

ZAMORA: No sir, I couldn’t.

ZAMORA: It was very low to the ground, at the time I was seeing it, it was very low to the ground up to the perlite mill there, and then it started gaining in altitude.

There is no doubt about what Zamora had seen. Even the FBI investigated the case and discovered burned marks on the site where he had seen the craft land. The Air Force also recorded his case in detail for the Project Blue Book and concluded that they were definitely humans in white suits. What’s more, when the craft disappeared, another police officer Sergeant Sam Chavez arrived at the scene. He found his colleague totally lost and pale.

Read also:

• Tucker Carlson Says ‘There Are Forces That Are Not Human, Existing in a Spiritual Realm We Cannot See’
• CIA Built This Nuclear-Powered ‘Eagle’ Drone: Declassified in 2020, Developed in the ’60s at Area 51
• Tom DeLonge Claimed There’s A Massive Underground Pyramid In Alaska, Larger Than The Great Pyramid Of Giza, Potentially Suppressing Human Consciousness

According to the investigation conducted by NICAP officer Ray Stanford, there were more witnesses who heard the loud roar around the same time as claimed by Zamora. From the police records, he found out that three people had reported seeing a bright object in the sky.

On April 26, 1964, two days after Zamora’s case, a local farmer went to check on his horses as if something was bothering them. He said he had seen an object in the shape of a butane tank. He also noticed a bluish-orange flame, emitting from the bottom of the craft.

Additionally, in the Voronezh UFO landing case 1989, according to eyewitnesses, the object was oval, egg-shaped, approximately 15 meters long, and 6 meters high. The brightly-glowing ship stopped one meter above the ground, rocking back and forth. Four landing pillars emerged from the base of the object and sank to the ground.

After the landing, a hatch slowly opened, and two grim humanlike figures (one of them was 3-4 meters high) came out. The aliens were moving like robots. The shape of the aliens was described as boxes with arms and legs, and buttons were glowing on their chests.

At that very moment, a boy from the group of children playing nearby screamed in fear. The tall alien cast his gaze at him with his central eye, without moving his head. A light came out of his eye and hit the boy, which made him motionless for several minutes.

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17-01-2025 om 12:48 geschreven door peter  

KIJK. Indrukwekkende beelden tonen hoe puin ontplofte Starship-raket opbrandt in atmosfeer

Er zijn indrukwekkende beelden gemaakt van het puin van de Starship-raket die gisteren kort na de lancering in de Amerikaanse staat Texas ontplofte. Onder meer SpaceX-baas Elon Musk deelde een video die toonde hoe het ruimteschip uiteenviel in iets wat op een kleurrijke meteorenzwerm leek. “Succes is onzeker, maar entertainment gegarandeerd”, schreef hij erbij.

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17-01-2025 om 12:17 geschreven door peter  

Today’s test marked the first use of an upper stage that was upgraded with a redesign of the avionics, the propulsion system and the forward control flaps. Ship 33’s heat shield featured next-generation protective tiles as well as a backup layer of heat-resistant material. SpaceX had removed some of the tiles for this flight as a stress test for the heat shield.

During the webcast, an onscreen graphic suggested that Ship experienced engine problems during its ascent. “We saw engines dropping out on telemetry,” launch commentator Dan Huot said.

In a posting to X, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said preliminary indications were that there was “an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity.”

“Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area,” Musk wrote. “Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month.”

After Ship’s breakup, eyewitnesses posted videos showing a glittering hail of debris falling to Earth. Reuters reported that at least 20 commercial aircraft had to divert to different airports or alter their course to dodge the debris.

In response to an emailed inquiry, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of the anomaly that occurred during today’s flight test and would be assessing the operation. “The FAA briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space vehicle debris was falling,” the agency said via email. “Normal operations have resumed.”

If Ship had made it to space, it would have deployed 10 Starlink simulators that were about the same size and weight as SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites. This was meant to test the procedure that SpaceX plans to use to put scores of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit during a single Starship mission.

At the end of the flight test, Ship would have made a controlled re-entry and splashdown into the Indian Ocean.

Starship is the world’s most powerful launch system, with the booster’s 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines providing liftoff thrust of 16.7 million pounds. That’s more than twice the thrust of the Apollo-era Saturn V rocket, and almost twice the thrust of NASA’s Space Launch System, which was first launched in 2022 for the uncrewed Artemis I moon mission.

When fully stacked, Starship stands 403 feet (123 meters) tall. The system is meant to be fully reusable. Flight tests began in 2023, and SpaceX has made gradual progress. The first successful catch of the Super Heavy booster thrilled observers last October — and like that catch, today’s catch drew cheers from SpaceX employees watching the launch.

This year, SpaceX aims to demonstrate full reuse of Super Heavy and Ship, and promises to fly “increasingly ambitious missions.” The Starship system would be used for large-scale satellite deployments — and eventually for missions beyond Earth orbit. A customized version of Starship is slated to serve as a crewed lunar landing system for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which is currently scheduled for no earlier than mid-2027.

Musk envisions sending Starships on missions to Mars, perhaps starting in 2026. “These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars,” he said last September in a posting to X.

“If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years,” Musk said. “Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.”

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

17-01-2025 om 12:06 geschreven door peter  

EXCLUSIVE - Americans reveal who they think is behind New Jersey's drone invasion in new poll

• READ MORE:  Tucker Carlson reveals shocking source of New Jersey drones 

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Americans have revealed who they think is really behind the mysterious drone sightings that have plagued New Jersey since November. 

Exclusive polling from DailyMail.com and J.L. Partners found that nearly half (45 percent) of people believe the bizarre activity was more than just recreational or normal drone use, with the majority (26 percent) of those respondents pointing to foreign surveillance.

The foreign powers mentioned were China or Russia, which has been suspected among lawmakers like Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who said some of the unidentified aircraft are 'spy drones.'

But 19 percent of Americans do believe the sightings are nothing more than hobby drones and 18 percent stated they are 'normal flying actives that have been exaggerated.'

There are some Americans (17 percent) who believe the drones were government surveillance tools, but 10 percent said the craft was actually protecting citizens. 

And a small eight percent are sure the drones are alien vehicles. 

While Americans have shared their take on the drones, the US government has yet to provide hard answers to what's invading the skies over New Jersey.

The FBI admitted that it does not know who is behind the flying objects, while the US military insisted it is not responsible. All while, the White House said it was 'closely monitoring the situation.'

Numerous 'car-sized' drones first appeared over New Jersey in mid-November, and have since been reported by eyewitnesses all across the Northeast

Numerous 'car-sized' drones first appeared over New Jersey in mid-November, and have since been reported by eyewitnesses all across the Northeast, though the Garden State still appears to be the epicenter of the activity. 

The first sightings were over the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster, which raised concerns the drones are part of spy campaign.

Indeed, the unidentified aircraft have been reported over multiple US military sites in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, and even American bases in Germany and England.

But the White House said the sightings near or over Department of Defense (DoD) installations 'are not new.' 

'DoD takes unauthorized access over its airspace seriously and coordinates closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, as appropriate,' the statement continued.

The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI released a joint statement on the matter in mid-December.

The agencies said the sightings were 'a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.'

But McCaul has been very open in pushing back against these claims. 

Carlson did not provide details about the Beijing-operated GaoJing 1-02 satellite which he claimed the US shot down on December 21. It reentered Earth's atmosphere above New Orleans and headed north towards Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri

He claimed the Asian nation has to be responsible after it was revealed that the communist state had been snapping up strategically placed farmland next to military installations across the US.

'I believe they're spy drones and the [People's Republic of China] and communist China is very good at this stuff. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policy over the past couple of years,' he said.

'We're not getting answers and I think it's because our government does not know who is behind them and that is very disturbing to me.'

President-elect Donald Trump said last week that he would reveal the truth about the drones over New Jersey.

Trump makes bold prediction about drones and vows to release report

Read More

'I'm going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration because I think it's ridiculous that they're not telling you about what's going on with the drones,' Trump replied.

He went on to predict that it 'could be [the U.S.]' that's sending the drones, which he 'hopes is the cause' and 'not an enemy.'

This week, Tucker Carlson also claimed 'an intel person' told him that the drones 'were in fact Chinese,' explaining the US government took down a Chinese satellite 'that was a command and control satellite for these drones.'

Carlson appeared to hint at a Beijing-operated satellite known as GaoJing 1-02 which fell from space on December 21.

Others have pointed fingers at different foreign powers such as Iran and Russia.

But despite the wave of concern, the Pentagon has denied that a foreign country was behind the mysterious drones, even as they have been repeatedly spotted over sensitive US military sites.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in December there are more than one million drones registered in the US and 'there are thousands of commercial hobbyists and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day,' suggesting the sightings were likely any of these.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-01-2025 om 01:55 geschreven door peter  

NASA astronaut spots 'two metallic spherical orbs' flying by his airplane over Texas

• READ MORE: Nebraska police chief issues warning after UFOs terrorize his town

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A former NASA astronaut has come forward to reveal that he personally witnessed 'two metallic spherical orbs' whizz by his plane this August while flying above Texas.

Leroy Chiao, who served as the commander of Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005, was 9,000 feet in the air when objects 'zipped' on the left side of his airplane.

He said one flew on top of the other and each was about three feet in diameter. 

'It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Chiao.

The former NASA astronaut estimates that the orbs were only 'about 20 feet away.' 

'It could've been a bad result, if they had actually hit me,' Chiao said. 'It happened so quick, there wasn't even a chance to get scared.'

The NASA veteran, now an engineering consultant and entrepreneur, told NewsNation that the strange metallic orbs appeared to evade detection. 

'It wasn't on radar,' he noted, 'Air traffic control certainly didn't alert me. 

'[And] it wasn't on my display that shows other airplanes that are participating with the [Federal Aviation Administration] FAA-required transponders.' 

'I don't know what it was,' the baffled former astronaut confessed.

A former NASA astronaut has come forward to reveal that he personally witnessed 'two metallic spherical orbs' whizz by his plane while flying above Texas. Above, an example of a 'metallic sphere' weather balloon included in a 2023 report by NASA's UFO advisory panel

'It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Leroy Chiao (pictured), whose NASA missions saw him serve as the commander for Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005. Chaio believes these strange metallic orbs were a top secret drone test

Chiao unpacked the details of his odd late-summer UFO encounter to The Hill on NewsNation, stating that he 'got a good look at them' but 'only for a second.'

'I was flying back from Colorado and I had just refueled in the panhandle of Texas in my small airplane,' Chiao recalled. 

'I was flying back to Houston on an instrument flight plan,' he said, referencing a more formal set of flight rules that are coordinated with FAA air traffic control along known and pre-established flight corridors.

But with the benefit of hindsight, the former astronaut believes that these orb UFOs are still not only 'mysterious' — but that the government's lack of transparency on these and other mystery drones over sensitive US sites has 'scary' implications.

'They could tell us what they know,' Chiao opined, 'and if they really don't know, that's a little more disconcerting.'

Citizens, police and politicians have all put forward theories on who or what is behind this recent wave of drone reports — from mass hysteria to foreign spies to space aliens — Chiao said that he leans toward it being a test of top secret US tech.

'My first guess is that it's some kind of military program, a drone of some kind,' he told NewsNation, 'but you know it's hard to say, right?'

'Frankly, I think whoever was operating the drone wasn't aware that I was there.' 

Above: a leaked US military image of what appears to be a metallic-looking orb flying over Mosul, Iraq in April 2016, included in a classified briefing video on UFOs shown to multiple US government agencies - according to the UFO reporter who obtained the image, Jeremy Corbell 

While playing a 2022 military UFO video taken by an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Mid East, Pentagon UFO-hunter Dr Sean Kirkpatrick told a NASA panel that: 'We see these ['metallic orbs'] all over the world, and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers'

Chao, who saw dealt with an interesting, but ultimately terrestrial 'UFO' case when he lived on board the ISS, said that he is personally concerned about some of the possible worst-case scenarios for America's late 2024 mystery drone wave.

'It is pretty mysterious,' he weighed in. 'It's hard to believe that our government doesn't really know what's going on.'

'At first blush, to me, it seems like some kind of a military program, our military,' he continued, 'and if it's not that, then it gets a little more scary.'

Chiao said that the past month of drone sightings over New Jersey and nearby states, as well as those over US military bases at home and abroad, seem 'way too widespread and organized to be some kind of a prank.'

He added that he feels the Pentagon and the rest of the federal government 'could be a little more transparent.' 

The FBI and other agencies are investigating the alleged drones, but a representative from the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday, Dec. 11: 'We have no more information as to where these drones are coming from, where they're launching from, where they're landing'

In New Jersey, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham has also become a vocal critic of the federal government's lack of candor on the drone mystery, calling their response 'disappointing, to say the least.'

'Over 500 mayors were invited to an unprecedented 'mayors-only' briefing on such an important topic,' Mayor Melham told local network WABC last week.

'Many northern NJ mayors traveled nearly three hours round trip, on short notice, to be there,' he explained, 'only to learn what could have easily been said over a Zoom call. Many walked out.'

Journalist and author Michael Shellenberger, who testified to Congress last month on his reports of a hidden UFO data collection program, obtained a recording of the meeting, in which one NJ mayor complained of SUV-sized drones.

'The mayors are livid,' Shellenberger told Fox News. 'One of them got up there and said, 'I had two automobile-sized drones hovering over my house.'' 

Metallic orb UFOs have been the most common type of case reported by US military witnesses according to the first director of the Pentagon's UFO-hunting All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), ex-CIA physicist Dr Sean Kirkpatrick. 

'We see these ['metallic orbs'] all over the world,' Dr Kirkpatrick told NASA's UFO advisory group last year, 'and we see these making very interesting apparent maneuvers.'

After mysterious bright lights, according to AARO's most recent annual report, orb or spherical UFOs were still the most commonly reported this year at 22 percent of all US military sightings. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-01-2025 om 01:34 geschreven door peter  

• READ MORE:  NASA astronaut spots 'two metallic spherical orbs'

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

An Air Force veteran has made shocking claims about UFOs and alien retrieval programs long-rumored to be operated by the US government.

Jake Barber said he was working for the government to assist downed craft when one night, the 'communication process and procedure was modified' and he witnessed something that he believes was of extraterrestrial origin. 

He was told to fly a helicopter to a specific area when came 150 feet from an 'egg-shaped' object with no engine or thermal signals.

'I saw an egg, a white egg,' the pilot explained. 'It's inconsistent with anything I'd ever seen before,' Barber told NewsNation.

His next order was to retrieve it from the ground, which he said was when he knew for sure the craft was not of this world. 

'I can also tell you that the reaction by my team, we all knew we were dealing with something extraordinary,' the pilot said.

'Over the last couple of years, it's been confirmed to me by ranking members of the UAP task force that what we were working with that night was, in fact, NHI [non-human intelligence] and it was not a unique experience,' he said.

UAP stands for 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' and is a term used by the Department of Defense to describe mysterious objects in the sky. 

Three high-level military veterans are said to corroborate Barber's story, according to NewsNation.

Jake Barber, now a chief helicopter pilot in California, said he has witnessed alien craft while working for a secret UFO retrieval program

He spoke with NewsNation special network correspondent Ross Coulthart in his first whistleblower interview. 

When asked exactly how he knew the 'egg' was of alien origin, Barber said: 'Just visually looking at the object on the ground, you could tell that it was extraordinary and anomalous. It was it was not human.

Barber's LinkedIn profile states he is a 'disabled veteran,' but the account does not list his years in the Air Force. 

The page shows that he is from California where he works as a chief pilot at San Joaquin Helicopters & Coastal Helicopters.

The full interview with Barber, titled 'Hunting UFOs: The Crash Retrieval Whistleblower,' is set to air on Saturday, January 18th at 8pm ET.

Barber's description matched another witness report from 1957 when two Civil Aeronautics Administration controllers in the tower at New Mexico's Kirtland Air Force Base saw 'an egg-shaped object.' 

M. Kaser and E. G. Brink claimed they witnessed a white light traveling eastwards across the runway, left, then crossed other runways and areas of the airfield.

They claimed the mysterious object did not have wings, a tail or a fuselage, and was elongated vertically. 

Many military personnel claimed to have witnessed UFOs. This image, obtained April 28, 2020, was taken by Navy pilots in 2017.  Navy Cmdr David Fravor, who saw it, testified under oath in a hearing where he discussed the experience

And it appeared to be 12 to 20 feet tall, according to a report in UFO Evidence. 

The men reported the object was about the size of an automobile standing on its nose, and had a single white light at its base.

'When the object was about 3000 feet ENE of the tower, it stopped completely and hovered for about a minute,' reads the case report.

'Then it began moving again, slowly at first, but then suddenly climbing at an extremely rapid rate of speed until it disappeared into the overcast sky. 

'The object was in clear view at all time, with no intervening obstructions, according to the two men.' 

They requested the radar control team track the object as it moved east, with radar showing it turning south at very high speeds 'until it reached the vicinity of the Albuquerque Low-Frequency Range Station, where it circled for several minutes.'

The object was then said to circle back to the Air Force base and follow behind a plane that had just taken off if to avoid detection. 

 { https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

17-01-2025 om 01:20 geschreven door peter  

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

16-01-2025 om 22:31 geschreven door peter  

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16-01-2025 om 22:14 geschreven door peter  

Posted by Evan Gough

The Gaia Mission’s Science Operations are Over

The ESA has announced that Gaia’s primary mission is coming to an end. The spacecraft’s fuel is running low, and the sky-scanning phase of its mission is over. The ground-breaking mission has taken more than three trillion observations of two billion objects, mostly stars.

The ESA launched Gaia in December 2013. It’s an astrometry mission that measures the positions, motions, and distances of stars with extreme accuracy. It created the largest and most accurate 3D map of space ever, including about one billion objects, mostly stars but also quasars, comets, asteroids, and planets.

Gaia’s mission lasted twice as long as expected, and its data has changed astronomy. It serves as the foundation for many new discoveries and insights into the Milky Way. Astronomy and astrophysics would be far behind where they are now if it weren’t for Gaia. Regular Universe Today readers have encountered its data frequently.

“Today marks the end of science observations and we are celebrating this incredible mission that has exceeded all our expectations, lasting for almost twice its originally foreseen lifetime,” says ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell. “The treasure trove of data collected by Gaia has given us unique insights into the origin and evolution of our Milky Way galaxy, and has also transformed astrophysics and Solar System science in ways that we are yet to fully appreciate. Gaia built on unique European excellence in astrometry and will leave a long-lasting legacy for future generations.”

Gaia hasn’t always had it easy at its position at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. In April 2024, a tiny micrometeorite smaller than a grain of sand struck, puncturing a tiny hole in the satellite’s protective cover. The hole allowed a tiny bit of sunlight into the spacecraft, disrupting its sensors. In May 2024, a solar storm struck, and it suffered an electronics malfunction that led to an inordinately high number of false detections. In both cases, Gaia recovered and continued normal operations.

Gaia has three instruments that allow it to be so accurate. Its astrometric instrument (ASTRO) determines the positions of stars in the sky. By measuring the same stars multiple times over different years, Gaia can measure a star’s position and proper motion.

Gaia’s radial velocity spectrometer (RVS) measures the Doppler shift of a star’s absorption lines. This reveals the star’s velocity along Gaia’s line of sight.

The photometric instrument (BP/RP) provides colour information on stars, allowing astronomers to measure critical stellar characteristics like mass, chemical composition, and temperature.

These instruments have worked together to create the largest and most accurate map of the Milky Way ever.

Among its other achievements, Gaia has captured pinpoint precision orbits of more than 150,000 asteroids, accurate enough to uncover possible moons. It also discovered a new type of black hole revealed only through its gravitational influence on nearby stars.

Though its science operations are at an end, it still has data to deliver.

“After 11 years in space and surviving micrometeorite impacts and solar storms along the way, Gaia has finished collecting science data. Now all eyes turn towards the preparation of the next data releases,” says Gaia Project Scientist Johannes Sahlmann.

“This is the Gaia release the community has been waiting for, and it’s exciting to think this only covers half of the collected data.”

Antonella Vallenari, Deputy Chair of DPAC, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Padua, Italy.

Gaia’s Data Release 4 (DR4) is expected in 2026. The volume and quality of data have increased with each DR. DR 4 should contain 500 terabytes of data covering the mission’s first 5.5 years, corresponding to the length of the mission’s originally foreseen duration.

“This is the Gaia release the community has been waiting for, and it’s exciting to think this only covers half of the collected data,” says Antonella Vallenari, Deputy Chair of DPAC based at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Astronomical Observatory of Padua, Italy. “Even though the mission has now stopped collecting data, it will be business as usual for us for many years to come as we make these incredible datasets ready for use.”

The data release will feature more binary stars and exoplanets, among other things.

Gaia’s final data release, DR5, is a few years away. “Over the next months we will continue to downlink every last drop of data from Gaia, and at the same time the processing teams will ramp up their preparations for the fifth and final major data release at the end of this decade, covering the full 10.5 years of mission data,” says Rocio Guerra, Gaia Science Operations Team Leader based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) near Madrid in Spain.

Though the fuel that allows it to point itself with such accuracy is almost gone, Gaia won’t meet its demise just yet. It still has enough fuel for about 15 days of operations. Instead of using its final 15 days to take more astrometric measurements, it’s going to do some technology testing.

“The Gaia spacecraft has been constructed using a wide range of technologies which have been combined to create a unique machine that operates in a very stable environment,” the ESA explains. “The spacecraft’s stability is essential for the science observations. These technology tests would have disrupted the spacecraft for an extended period and, therefore, could not be performed during the normal science observation campaign.”

These tests will teach engineers more about Gaia’s instruments and will allow engineers to study their behaviour and the behaviour of the spacecraft as a whole. The goal is to improve the calibrations for future Gaia data releases. They will also inform the design of the next mission.

“Some of the Gaia technologies have already been re-used, for example the mirror-drive electronics and cold-gas thrusters on EUCLID,” the ESA writes. Other future missions like LISA will require extreme accuracy, and the results of these tests can help them achieve that.

Once its testing is complete, Gaia will be placed in a heliocentric orbit far away from Earth’s influence. At the end of March 2025, it will be passivated to avoid any potential harm or disruption to other spacecraft.

Though the mission will end, Gaia’s data will be used for decades. So, in that sense, it will live on.

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16-01-2025 om 22:01 geschreven door peter  

First, Sgr A* is relatively weak in the mid-infrared range compared to other ranges, so it doesn’t stand out as much against the background noise of the universe. Second, much of the mid-infrared emissions get obscured by the dust cloud surrounding the SMBH at the galaxy’s center, blocking it from detectors at Earth 28,000 light years away. Third, there were technological limitations to infrared sensors themselves. There were ground-based telescopes that could have detected the signal, but the Earth’s atmosphere blocked even more of it.

That required scientists to wait for the long-delayed James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). When it finally launched in late 2021, it was only a matter of time before they would get observational time to watch Sgr A* and hopefully observe a flare with the most powerful infrared detector ever launched into orbit. 

JWST did indeed get observational time with Sgr A* and saw a flare, representing the first-ever recording of a flare in the mid-infrared range. But the research team didn’t stop there – they were also watching with several other telescopes for confirmation of the JWST signal.

They didn’t find any in the X-ray range with Chandra, though that was probably because the flare wasn’t strong enough to emit a significant amount of X-rays. But they did see a signal from the Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) in Hawai’i, which detected radio waves following along about 10 minutes behind the detected mid-infrared signal.

That confirmation was necessary because it allowed the experimentalists to provide even more insight about the same flare to the theoreticians. Their job is then to confirm the models and simulations of what causes the flares in the first place. The current theory is that they occur when magnetic field lines in the SMBH’s accretion disk join up and emit massive amounts of radiation in a process known as synchrotron emission. In synchrotron emission, a bunch of charged particles – typically electrons – get pushed down the magnetic field lines like they were part of a massive particle accelerator.

The data from JWST fits nicely into that theory. However, there appear to be additional unanswered questions about whether that feature was specific to Sgr A* or whether it could be observed for other SMBHs such as M87*. For now, that remains to be seen, though given the interest in this particular black hole in this specific wavelength, while this might have been the first study published on the topic, it probably won’t be the last.

Learn More:

• CfA – Scientists Make First-Ever Detection of Mid-IR Flares in Sgr A*
• von Fellenberg et al – First mid-infrared detection and modeling of a flare from Sgr A*
  
• UT – Echoes of Flares from the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
  
• UT – A Black Hole Emitted a Flare Away From us, but its Intense Gravity Redirected the Blast Back in our Direction

Lead Image:

• This artist’s conception of the mid-IR flare in Sgr A* captures the variability, or changing intensity, of the flare as the black hole’s magnetic field lines approach each other. The byproduct of this magnetic reconnection is synchrotron emission. The emission seen in the flare intensifies as energized electrons travel along the SMBH’s magnetic field lines at close to the speed of light. The labels mark how the flare’s spectral index changes from the beginning to the end of the flare.
  Credit: CfA/Mel Weiss

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16-01-2025 om 21:44 geschreven door peter  

From what astronomers have learned about black holes, these gravitational behemoths are surrounded by infalling matter (gas, dust, and even light) that form swirling, bright disks. This material and energy is accelerated to near the speed of light, causing it to release heat and radiation (mostly in the ultraviolet) as it slowly accretes onto the black hole’s “face.” These UV rays interact with a cloud of electrically charged plasma (the corona) surrounding the black hole, which boosts the rays’ into the X-ray wavelength.

Since 2011, NASA’s XMM-Newton has been observing 1ES 1927+654, a galaxy located 236 million light-years away in the constellation Draco with a black hole of 1.4 million Solar masses Suns at its center. In 2018, the X-ray corona mysteriously disappeared, followed by a radio outburst and a rise in its X-ray output—what is known as Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO). UMBC associate professor Eileen Meyer, a co-author of this latest study, also recently released a paper describing these radio outbursts.

“In 2018, the black hole began changing its properties right before our eyes, with a major optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray outburst,” she said in a NASA press release. “Many teams have been keeping a close eye on it ever since.” Meyer presented her team’s findings at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), which took place from January 12th to 16th, 2025, in National Harbor, Maryland. By 2021, the corona reappeared, and the black hole seemed to return to its normal state for about a year.

However, from February to May 2024, radio data revealed what appeared to be jets of ionized gas extending for about half a light-year from either side of the SMBH. “The launch of a black hole jet has never been observed before in real time,” Meyer noted. “We think the outflow began earlier, when the X-rays increased prior to the radio flare, and the jet was screened from our view by hot gas until it broke out early last year.” A related paper about the jet co-authored by Meyer and Masterson was also presented at the 245th AAS.

In addition, observations gathered in April 2023 showed a months-long increase in low-energy X-rays, which indicated a strong and unexpected radio flare was underway. Intense observations were mounted in response by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and other facilities, including XMM-Newton. Thanks to the XMM-Newton observations, Masterson found that the black hole exhibited extremely rapid X-ray variations of 10% between July 2022 and March 2024. These oscillations are typically very hard to detect around SMBHs, suggesting that a massive object was rapidly orbiting the SMBH and slowly being consumed.

“One way to produce these oscillations is with an object orbiting within the black hole’s accretion disk. In this scenario, each rise and fall of the X-rays represents one orbital cycle,” Masterson said. Additional calculations also showed that the object is probably a white dwarf of about 0.1 solar masses orbiting at a velocity of about 333 million km/h (207 million mph). Ordinarily, astronomers would expect the orbital period to shorten, producing gravitational waves (GWs) that drain the object’s orbital energy and bring it closer to the black hole’s outer boundary (the event horizon).

However, the same observations conducted between 2022 and 2024 showed the fluctuation period dropped from 18 minutes to 7, and the velocity increased to half the speed of light (540 million km/h; 360 million mph). Then, something truly odd and unexpected followed: the oscillations stabilized. As Masterson explained:

“We were shocked by this at first. But we realized that as the object moved closer to the black hole, its strong gravitational pull could begin to strip matter from the companion. This mass loss could offset the energy removed by gravitational waves, halting the companion’s inward motion.”

This theory is consistent with what astronomers have observed with white dwarf binaries spiraling toward each other and destined to merge. As they got closer to each other, instead of remaining intact, one would begin to pull matter off the other, which slowed down the approach of the two objects. While this could be the case here, there is no established theory for explaining what Masterson, Meyer, and their colleagues observed. However, their model makes a key prediction that could be tested when the ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) launches in the 2030s.

“We predict that if there is a white dwarf in orbit around this supermassive black hole, LISA should see it,” says Megan. The preprint of Masterson and her team’s paper recently appeared online and will be published in Nature on February 15th, 2025.

Further Reading: 

• ESA, 
• NASA, 
• arXiv, 
• AJL

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

16-01-2025 om 21:30 geschreven door peter  

The Black Knight Satellite: A Perplexing Alien Visitor in Orbit - Part 1

The Black Knight satellite, a peculiar object that has allegedly been orbiting Earth for thousands of years, has sparked great speculation, debate, and fascination among conspiracy theorists and astronomers alike for well over a century since it was first detected.

Is it a classified United States military project, a derelict Cold War-era Russian spy satellite lost in the vastness of space, or an extraterrestrial probe monitoring Earth?

The Black Knight Emerges

When Russian Cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, who was a part of the six-member crew of the NASA STS-88 Endeavour mission looked out of the shuttle window to take photographs of an unknown object following NASA’s protocol for UFO sightings, little could he have imagined the incredible excitement and controversy his actions would cause back on Earth.

Although Krikalev was not the first to capture the strange-looking object on camera, his effort arguably produced the clearest pictures of the purported Black Knight Satellite in a hundred years. Intriguingly, those sensational photographs were published by NASA on their official website.

Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who was a part of the six-member crew of the NASA STS-88 Endeavour mission in December 1998.

(NASA).

Ufologists relished the opportunity to scrutinize the pictures, declaring they proved the Black Knight Satellite was no figment of imagination; and, that as they had contended all along, it was an object of alien origin, sent to surveil Earth from afar for undetermined purposes

The “Dark Satellite” or “Black Knight Satellite” grabbed the attention of scientists in the early days of space exploration during the 1950s, when puzzling signals were detected in near-polar orbit of the Earth.

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It was a time of heightened tensions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Inexplicable occurrences, whose sequence appears to have been orchestrated by some unseen hand, happened on the back of a series of events involving the United States.

An aerial photograph of the Trinity crater shortly after the atomic bomb test in 1945. White Sands, New Mexico.

(Public Domain).

These unprecedented episodes broadly include: The Battle of Los Angeles during the Second World War in February 1942; the detonation of the first atomic bomb in White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, in July 1945; the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of the same year; sightings of odd, aerial objects by pilot Kenneth Arnold in Washington State in June 1947, which were termed “flying saucers” in the Press; the alleged crash of an extraterrestrial disc and the subsequent retrieval of alien bodies in Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947, and finally the UFO sightings over Washington, D.C. on two consecutive Saturday nights in July 1952 that caused widespread fear in the Nation’s Capital.

A noteworthy addition to this list is the considerable panic that ensued during an October 1938 Halloween radio broadcast. Directed and chillingly narrated by Orson Welles, a radio dramatization of ‘The War of the Worlds,’ the classic sci-fi novel penned by H. G. Wells, left terrified listeners thinking a Martian invasion was underway.

All these events were still fresh in people’s minds and sightings of UFOs or unidentified flying objects became a regular feature, what with the paranoid citizenry having their eyes glued to the skies.

The 1950s were also an era when the possibility of life on other planets and alien visitations began to enter public consciousness more than it ever had over the past half-a-century. Newspaper reports and magazine articles, science fiction novels and Hollywood movies, and, of course, Ufology societies kept everyone informed and on the edge of their seats.

A reprint of ‘The War of the Worlds’ was featured on the cover of the July 1951 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries. 

(Public Domain).

Clear Signs in the 1950s

On May 14, 1954, bang in the middle of the Cold War, the Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine reported that the United States Air Force had detected “at least one and possibly two artificial satellites circling the Earth” and that they were being kept under close observation.

In the normal course, such news would have constituted run-of-the-mill reportage, hardly raising eyebrows among the public. Though it would doubtless have caused alarm in the defense department and echelons of political power, if these objects were assumed to be spy satellites.

But the Aviation Week article sent chills down everyone’s spines, because at the time it was published humans had still not achieved the capability to launch satellites in orbit.

Cover of the 1950 book 'The Flying Saucers Are Real' by Donald Keyhoe, one of the world’s first true ufologists.

(Public Domain).

The shocking information about the mysterious satellites was revealed by Donald Edward Keyhoe, a Marine Corps Major-turned-UFO researcher and founder of The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena or NICAP, who claimed government scientists working at White Sands, New Mexico, had made the discovery.

The Air Force issued a vehement denial to Keyhoe’s statement, maintaining they were, “… not watching any satellites — artificial or otherwise.” Skeptics on the other hand accused Keyhoe of making outlandish statements to promote his latest book on UFOs.

Yet, behind the scenes, the Pentagon swiftly swung into action, even as a stunned U.S. citizenry grappled with the implications of the news.

Upon tracking two satellites emitting radio signals as they circled at 400 miles and 600 miles above our planet, Pentagon officials immediately suspected the Soviet Union. The Russians were not just blamed of espionage, but were presumed to have beaten the United States in the space race. The Russians categorically denied these charges, and in turn held the Americans responsible for the satellites.

If neither the U.S. nor Russia had secretly sent a satellite into space, whom did it belong to? Aliens, claim UFO hunters, convinced that it was the Black Knight Satellite. Nevertheless, the Air Force sought the help of Dr. Lincoln La Paz, the then head of the Extra-Terrestrial Bodies Institute at the University of New Mexico, to determine the nature of the anomalous objects.

Dr. La Paz was no ordinary scientist. He possessed vast experience in conducting UFO investigations for the U.S. Air Force — particularly the alleged Roswell non-terrestrial vehicle crash incident of 1947. La Paz teamed up with astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto in 1930, to confirm that the near-Earth orbiting objects were “natural”, meaning, they were no more than meteors.

However, another version of events states that it was La Paz and Tombaugh who had originally detected the two objects in the murky darkness of space while working on behalf of the Air Force, hinting they could be artificially-built satellites. And that the duo later stoutly denied ever having made such an erroneous identification, or even working together at White Sands Missile Range.

Since the earlier Aviation Week article received tremendous traction amongst the Press and public, the Pentagon once again rushed to allay growing fears about the unusual outer space objects. They stated in an August 23, 1954 Aviation Week report: “[the]… scare over the observance of two previously unobserved satellites orbiting the earth has dissipated with the identification of the objects as natural, not artificial satellites.”

Ufologists, though, assert this was the convenient, conventional explanation; one meant to distract and steer the public away from the truth. They point to the fact that the Soviet Union launched the beach ball-sized Sputnik 1, humankind’s first-ever artificial satellite, into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan only in October 1957 — a full three years after the detection of the so-called Black Knight Satellite. Yet, no one could have imagined that there was much more to come in this extraordinary saga.

Artist's impression of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in orbit.

(Gregory R. Todd/CC BY-SA 3.0).

On February 11, 1960, a New York Times article reported that U.S. tracking stations had detected a mysterious “dark” and “silent” satellite wheeling overhead on a regular and roughly pole-to-pole or polar orbit. Such an orbit would endow the object with the exceptional capability to observe every part of the Earth’s surface.

The Navy had employed the latest component of the space watch program called Dark Fence, designed by the Naval Research Laboratory, to find and track this satellite. It was a kind of radar trip-wire that stretched across the width of the United States to help keep track of satellites whose radios had gone silent.

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When the object showed up during two passes of the Dark Fence, the news was communicated to President Eisenhower and marked top secret.

However, though initially classified as a Soviet spy satellite, it was later revealed that the object constituted “…the remains of an Air Force Discoverer 5 — one of the first photographic reconnaissance satellites built by the United States — that had gone astray.”

Scientists Vouch for Space Anomalies

UFO hunters were not the only ones to believe that the strange objects detected in outer space were other-worldly; men of science jumped on the bandwagon too.

In 1960, Ronald Bracewell, Professor of Electrical Engineering of the Space, Telecommunications, and Radioscience Laboratory at Stanford University, published an article in the authoritative scientific journal, Nature, in which he advanced the possibility of the presence of an alien probe that was trying to establish contact with Earth. As proof of his theory, Bracewell cited the phenomenon of delays in radio signals observed since the beginning of the 20th century.

Noted Ufologist, astronomer and author, Jacques Vallée.

(Christopher Michel, 2024).

In 1961 French astronomer, ufologist, and author Jacques Vallée divulged that while working on the staff of the French Space Committee, he had taken photos and filmed a bright oil tanker-sized satellite. While tracking its trajectory, Vallée realized it was in a retrograde orbit; meaning, in an East to West orbit, opposite to Earth’s rotation. However, when he showed the astounding scientific material he had gathered to his superiors, he claims it was not just confiscated, but destroyed.

Certain UFO researchers opine that amateur American astronomer, Steven Slayton, was the first to observe the mysterious object way back in 1958. While observing the Moon with a 20-inch telescope, Slayton is said to have witnessed a dark spherical object, moving at high speed on an unusual elliptical trajectory, before disappearing when it reached the edge of the lunar disk. Based on these characteristics, he concluded it was artificial.

But the U.S. military dismissed Slayton’s sighting as a meteorite flying near the Moon, as the object had not been recorded by any radar station.

The Black Knight Name

According to researchers, there are two possible origins of the name “Black Knight.”

The first one maintains that it was derived from a 1972 science fiction novel “The Destruction of Faena” by Soviet author Alexander Kazantsev. In the story a civilization from the planet Phaeton, that was destroyed in a nuclear disaster, had launched the Black Prince satellite into Earth’s orbit to communicate with us.

When Kazantsev’s novel was translated into English, the phrase “Black Prince” was changed to Black Knight. It is believed that this fictitious satellite lent its name to the space object discovered by Slayton.

The second option is connected to United Kingdom’s research ballistic missile, called the Black Knight, that was launched at Woomera, Australia, on September 7, 1958.

Whatever the origin of the mysterious satellite’s moniker, it has stuck like glue!

Black Knight Chronology

To gain a proper understanding of the subject, it is important to study key instances of signals received from the Black Knight satellite in chronological order.

In 1899, Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla erected a large tower at his laboratory in Colorado Springs to study atmospheric electricity and wireless power. While conducting experiments, he intercepted repeating signals from outer space.

At first, Tesla speculated the transmission had originated from a planet communicating with Earth, noting in a February 9th, 1901 Collier’s Weekly article titled ‘Talking with the Planets’: “The feeling is constantly growing on me that I had been the first to hear the greeting of one planet to another … it dawned upon me that I had observed something possibly of incalculable consequences to mankind. I felt as though I were present at the birth of a new knowledge or the revelation of a great truth.”

Nikola Tesla sitting in front of a spiral coil used in his wireless power experiments at his East Houston St. laboratory. 

(Public Domain).

Upon further study, Tesla believed the radio waves emanated from a satellite orbiting Earth. Until, finally, he formed the opinion that the signals came from an intelligent alien civilization based on Mars.

In a February 25th, 1923, article titled ‘A Giant Eye to See Round the World’ that appeared in the Albany Telegram, the genius scientist wrote: “I believe the Martians used numbers for communication because numbers are universal.”

The Global Mars Fixation

Radio waves, a type of electromagnetic radiation, have the lowest frequencies and longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, and can be larger than our planet. Given that the very first source of non-terrestrial radio waves were detected from the constellation of Sagittarius in the center of the Milky Way galaxy by an American physicist and radio engineer, Karl Jansky, only in April 1933, the scientific community has explained away Tesla’s signals as nothing more than radio wave pulses from a pulsar.

But this interpretation is hotly contested by Ufologists because Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave–based wireless telegraph system in 1896, also detected the same signals.

But what convinced Tesla that the transmission had come from Mars?

By the time H. G. Wells published ‘The War of the Worlds,’ the Red Planet had been observed through telescopes for nearly 300 years. Beginning with Galileo Galilei’s studies of the phases of Mars in 1610; Giovanni Cassini’s identification of the planet’s polar ice caps in 1666; and Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli’s observations of geological features which he called “canali” or channels in 1877.

The mistranslation of Schiaparelli’s “canali” into English as “canals” led to the popular belief that Mars was inhabited by an extraterrestrial race capable of engineering and agriculture.

Giovanni Schiaparelli's 1877 surface map of Mars. 

(Public Domain).

American mathematician and astronomer Percival Lowell was tremendously inspired by the research on Mars that had preceded him. From his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, he examined the Red Planet extensively for 15 years. These included studies conducted during the 1907 opposition, or the period when it was closer to Earth.

A prolific writer, Lowell postulated in his books "Mars" in 1895, "Mars and its Canals" in 1906, and "Mars as the Abode of Life" in 1908, that an advanced alien race indigenous to the planet had built canals to convey water from the polar caps to irrigate the remaining arable land in their arid, dying landscape.

As he confidently informed the editors of the journal Nature in London: “After the melting of the south polar cap had got well under way, canals began to make their appearance about it.”

“The planet is at present the abode of intelligent constructive life [and] I may say in this connection that the theory of such life upon Mars was... deduced from the outcome of observation [and] my observations since have fully confirmed it.”

Martian canals as depicted by Percival Lowell. 

(Public Domain).

Lowell accompanied his hypothesis with illustrations of imaginary geological features on Mars, just as Schiaparelli had done earlier.

But Lowell's grand pronouncements about Martian canals and their alleged-creators had been discredited by the time of his death in 1916. The Times trod delicately in a valedictory editorial, stating, “The present judgment of the scientific world is that he was too largely governed in his researches by a vivid imagination.”

Nevertheless, the determined efforts of Percival Lowell to unravel the mysteries of the Red Planet, and the way his scientific writings played a role in shaping Tesla’s thoughts, cannot be overlooked.

Part two of this article can be read here.

• Top Image: The purported Black Knight Satellite, enhanced image produced by author.
• Source: Anand N. Balaji.
• Independent researcher Anand N. Balaji is an Ancient Origins guest writer and author of the glowingly reviewed book ‘Seeking Smenkhkare: Was Nefertiti the Ephermeral One of Amarna?’

By Anand N. Balaji

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/mysterious-phenomena }

16-01-2025 om 20:59 geschreven door peter