The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
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UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
26-08-2025
NASA telescopes studied interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA telescopes studied interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and SPHEREx to study the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. They were able to determine the composition of its coma.
Images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained by the James Webb Telescope at different wavelengths. Source: NASA / SPHEREx
3I/ATLAS was discovered in early July. It became only the third object of interstellar origin found in the Solar System, which led to increased attention from the scientific community. Although speculative claims that the comet is actually an alien spacecraft have not been confirmed, it is of enormous scientific value. Analysis showed that 3I/ATLAS most likely came from the thick disk of the Milky Way. This means that it is billions of years older than our Solar System.
As 3I/ATLAS approaches the Sun, its nucleus heats up and the ice and volatile substances on its surface sublimate, forming a gas and dust cloud called a coma. Its analysis provides insight into the nature of the interstellar visitor and a better understanding of the conditions in which it formed.
NASA used two of its space telescopes to study the coma of an interstellar comet: JWST and the recently launched SPHEREx. Preprints of scientific articles written based on the results of their observations are already available online.
Image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS captured by the SPHEREx telescope. Source: NASA/SPHEREx
JWST managed to capture images of the 3I/ATLAS coma. At the time of imaging, it was located at a distance of 3.32 AU from the Sun. Analysis showed that the coma consisted mainly of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Traces of water, carbon monoxide, and carbonyl sulfide were also detected. The ratio of carbon dioxide to water in the coma of an interstellar comet is one of the highest ever observed in comets. This may indicate that 3I/ATLAS contains ice exposed to higher levels of radiation than comets in the Solar System, or that it formed near the CO₂ ice line in its parent protoplanetary disk. Low water content in comets may also be due, for example, to the difficulty of heat penetrating the comet’s core.
As for SPHEREx, it also managed to detect carbon dioxide in the comet’s coma at low water vapor content. Researchers suggest that the comet ejects pieces consisting of a mixture of water and dry ice. The evaporation of the latter creates a cooling effect that suppresses the sublimation of water ice and the formation of water vapor.
Scientists have re-examined the raw data from the “Wow!” signal that came to us from space in 1977. They discovered a number of inaccuracies in previous studies, one of which was that its power had previously been underestimated.
In 1977, the Big Ear Radio Telescope in Ohio (USA), while conducting routine monitoring of the sky, picked up a brief signal that did not resemble any known to astronomers. This mysterious pulse was named “Wow!” Recently, a group of enthusiasts discovered new details about it.
Over the decades since then, this event has been repeatedly cited as proof of the existence of extraterrestrials, refuted, and written about in a ton of analyses devoted to questions about what the signal actually could have been and where it came from. The observatory has been converted into a golf course, but all the raw records from it have been preserved.
It was these 75,000 pages of text that volunteers analyzed, combining manual recognition with the capabilities of modern computing technology. This allowed them to refine several signal parameters.
Refined data
The first thing scientists determined was that the signal frequency was not 1420.4556 MHz, as previously thought, but 1420.726 MHz. It’s not such a big difference, but it led to a reassessment of the characteristics of the hypothetical source.
The second is the narrowing of the section of the sky from which the signal came. This action has been taken before, but now scientists can significantly narrow down the list of candidates for its source. Third and most importantly, the strength, or more precisely, the density of the signal flow has increased.
Ultimately, the signal remains as mysterious as ever, although the article attempts to shed light on potential sources. They completely rule out any artificial sources, pointing out that there were no known operating television stations in Ohio at the time, as well as no satellites overhead that could have caused the signal. The moon was also on the other side of the planet at that time, so nothing was reflected from it.
The sun was also not very active that year. Therefore, the most likely candidates for the source remain some objects in deep space. More precisely, there is a high probability that there is some kind of cloud of ionized hydrogen.
UAP crash sites en bewustzijn: wetenschap ontmoet het onbekende
UAP crash sites en bewustzijn: wetenschap ontmoet het onbekende
In de afgelopen jaren zijn de gesprekken over onopgeloste anomalieën en niet-erkende fenomenen (UAP) verder uitgebreid dan alleen waarnemingen in de lucht. Waar men vroeger vooral sprak over mysterieuze lichtverschijnselen en onverklaarbare vliegende objecten, verschuift de focus nu richting fysieke bewijzen en de diepere, minder tastbare dimensie van bewustzijn. Onderzoekers zoals Dr. Garry Nolan van Stanford University en Dr. Diana Pasulka, bekend van haar werk American Cosmic, hebben de laatste jaren baanbrekend onderzoek gedaan naar de mogelijke verbinding tussen fysieke crash sites en de niet-tastbare, maar potentieel cruciale, rol van menselijke perceptie en bewustzijn in het begrijpen van UAP-verschijnselen.
Hun werk suggereert dat UAPs niet alleen fysieke sporen achterlaten, maar mogelijk ook in directe interactie treden met menselijke perceptie, perceptuele processen en gewijzigde bewustzijnstoestanden. Dit opent een geheel nieuwe dimensie in de studie van het onbekende, waarin niet alleen de materiaalkwestie centraal staat, maar ook de innerlijke wereld van de waarnemer en diens staat van bewustzijn.
Bewijsmateriaal van crash sites
Een van de meest intrigerende gevallen die Pasulka en Nolan bespreken, betreft een locatie in New Mexico. Volgens Pasulka werd zij en haar kleine onderzoeksgroep geleid naar een terrein waar vreemde brokstukken werden gevonden. Deze resten bestonden uit materiaal dat leek op een honingraatstructuur van metaal, glanzende legeringen en patronen die niet direct te herleiden waren tot bekende aardse materialen. Het terrein was een dorre, onherbergzame vlakte, waardoor de locatie op zichzelf al bijzonder was.
Nolan analyseerde enkele van deze monsters met behulp van spectrometrie en andere technieken. Aanvankelijk leek zijn analyse te wijzen op een anomalie: de isotopische ratios in sommige monsters leken niet volledig overeen te komen met bekende aardse of zelfs maan- en planetair voorkomende isotopen, hetgeen de hypothese van een niet-terrestrische oorsprong ondersteunde. Later, na overleg met metallurgie-experts en een verfijning van de analysemethoden, concludeerde Nolan dat bepaalde afwijkingen konden worden verklaard door bekende wetenschappelijke processen, zoals diatomische bindingen tijdens het massaspectrometrisch onderzoek.
Toch benadrukt Nolan dat een “normale” elementaire samenstelling niet automatisch een aardse oorsprong uitsluit. Het feit dat het materiaal een mengsel was van geavanceerde aerospace-grade legeringen en alledaagse voorwerpen zoals plastic en glas, in een afgelegen gebied, roept de vraag op of er sprake was van opzettelijke vervalsing of contaminatie. Het is mogelijk dat deze mengelmoes bedoeld was om een echt crashsite te verbergen of te vervalsen, of dat het simpelweg een product was van een complex samenspel van menselijk handelen en natuurlijke processen.
Wat de fysieke bewijzen nog complexer maakt, is de mogelijkheid dat dergelijke crash sites niet alleen incidenten van fysieke botsingen zijn, maar dat ze misschien onderdeel uitmaken van een groter, nog onbegrepen geheel dat ook de rol van bewustzijn en perceptie omvat.
Bewustzijn als interface
Naast het fysieke bewijsmateriaal benadrukken Pasulka en Nolan een consistente en opvallende thema in hun werk: dat bewustzijn mogelijk het ware toegangspunt is tot niet-menselijke intelligenties (NHI). Pasulka, die zich onder meer baseert op archieven van het Vaticaan en katholieke visionaire literatuur, wijst op eeuwenoude verslagen waarin gewijzigde bewustzijnstoestanden, visioenen, levitaties en mystieke ervaringen vaak worden gekoppeld aan waarnemingen van luchtverschijnselen en buitenaardse wezens.
Verschillende religieuze tradities hebben protocol ontwikkeld voor het veilig omgaan met deze ervaringen en beschouwen ze vaak als poorten naar communicatie met hogere of niet-menselijke entiteiten. In deze context kan het betreden van bepaalde bewustzijnstoestanden – door meditatie, rituelen, of het gebruik van psychedelica – fungeren als een soort “deur” naar het onbekende.
Nolan benadert deze vraag vanuit de neurowetenschap. Hij wijst erop dat praktijken die het brein in een staat van rust of transie brengen, zoals meditatie en het gebruik van psychedelica, de zogenaamde “default mode network” (DMN) kunnen uitschakelen of verstoren. Hierdoor ontstaan nieuwe perceptuele vaardigheden en creatieve ideeën, en kunnen mensen mogelijk contact maken met niet-alledaagse vormen van bewustzijn.
Volgens Pasulka lijkt bewustzijn zelf een toegangspoort te vormen tot niet-menselijke intelligentie. Religies en spirituele tradities hebben door de geschiedenis heen protocollen ontwikkeld om met deze contacten om te gaan, en gebruiken innerlijke ervaringen als een soort communicatiemiddel. Het zou kunnen dat de UAP-verschijnselen niet alleen fysieke manifestaties zijn, maar ook verbonden met de innerlijke wereld van de waarnemer en diens staat van bewustzijn.
Patronen door de geschiedenis heen
De onderzoekers stellen dat de ervaringen en waarnemingen rondom UAPs niet iets van de moderne tijd zijn, maar dat ze een continuüm vormen dat al eeuwenlang bestaat binnen menselijke culturen. Net zoals meteorieten vroeger werden afgedaan als onverklaarbare lichtverschijnselen totdat voldoende betrouwbare getuigen en wetenschappelijke bewijzen hun bestaan bevestigden, lijken UAP-gerelateerde rapporten een vergelijkbare evolutie te ondergaan.
Pasulka benadrukt dat patronen van luchtverschijnselen, gecombineerd met visioenen en andere veranderde bewustzijnstoestanden, in vele culturen en tijdperken voorkomen. Zij interpreteert dit als bewijs dat de moderne waarnemingen van UAPs mogelijk slechts een voortzetting zijn van een veel oudere menselijke ervaring: de interactie met niet-menselijke intelligences die zich niet altijd in fysieke vorm manifesteren, maar zich ook kunnen voordoen in de innerlijke wereld van de mens.
Nolan voegt hieraan toe dat de hoeveelheid getuigenverslagen – vaak ondersteund door radarbeelden, fysieke resten en andere technologische metingen – inmiddels de drempel van geloofwaardigheid heeft overschreden. Het echte vraagstuk is niet meer of de fenomenen bestaan, maar hoe ze geplaatst moeten worden binnen een breder wetenschappelijk en filosofisch kader. Het is een uitdaging om de data te contextualiseren en te begrijpen wat de onderliggende mechanismen zijn.
Brug tussen wetenschap en spiritualiteit
De convergence van harde wetenschappelijke methoden en de eeuwenoude spirituele tradities biedt een fascinerend nieuw kader voor onderzoek naar UAP. Aan de ene kant staan de technologische analyses: materiaalonderzoek, isotopentests en sensoren die meetbare data opleveren. Aan de andere kant staan de historische teksten en bewustzijnsstudies die laten zien dat de mens door de eeuwen heen op allerlei manieren heeft geprobeerd het onbekende te begrijpen en te benaderen via innerlijke ervaringen.
Pasulka en Nolan pleiten voor een paradigmaverschuiving: dat het doorgronden van UAP-verschijnselen niet uitsluitend kan plaatsvinden binnen het materialistische wereldbeeld. Hoewel fysieke artefacten en crash sites waardevolle aanwijzingen bieden, kan het begrijpen van het fenomeen mogelijk ook afhangen van onze capaciteit om het bewustzijn te bestuderen en te begrijpen.
Het idee dat bewustzijn een brug vormt tussen de menselijke ervaring en de niet-menselijke of buitenaardse intelligentie opent nieuwe perspectieven voor zowel wetenschap als spiritualiteit. Het vraagt om een integrale aanpak, waarin niet alleen technische instrumenten worden ingezet, maar ook innerlijke, subjectieve ervaringen worden erkend en bestudeerd.
Conclusie
De studie van UAPs is niet meer beperkt tot ooggetuigenverslagen of militaire radarbeelden. Door de combinatie van veldonderzoek naar vermeende crash sites en diepgaande exploraties van menselijke bewustzijnstoestanden, zoals die door Pasulka en Nolan worden voorgesteld, ontstaat een nieuw onderzoeksparadigma.
Hun boodschap is duidelijk: het fenomeen kan net zozeer over de menselijke geest gaan als over mysterieuze objecten in de lucht. Als bewustzijn daadwerkelijk fungeert als een brug tussen ons en het onbekende, dan zal de toekomst van UAP-onderzoek afhankelijk zijn van onze bereidheid om niet alleen de technologische kant te ontwikkelen, maar ook de innerlijke wereld van perceptie en bewustzijn te verkennen.
Een bijkomend teken van impact is de aanwezigheid van fysieke sporen, zoals een grote cipressenboom die was omgewaaid in de richting van een vermeend traject van een UAP. Zulke aanwijzingen kunnen niet alleen wijzen op fysieke botsingen, maar ook op de invloed van de waarneming en perceptie op de omgeving en het fenomeen zelf.
In de toekomst ligt de uitdaging in het integreren van deze verschillende dimensies: het materiële en het immateriële, het objectieve en het subjectieve. Alleen door deze holistische benadering kunnen we wellicht de ware aard van UAPs en hun relatie tot menselijke bewustzijn ontsluiten en begrijpen.
{ PETER2011 }
26-08-2025 om 21:30
geschreven door peter
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:ALIEN LIFE, UFO- CRASHES, ABDUCTIONS, MEN IN BLACK, ed ( FR. , NL; E )
UAP Crash Sites & Consciousness: Science Meets the Unknown
UAP Crash Sites & Consciousness: Science Meets the Unknown
In recent years, conversations around unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) have expanded beyond sightings in the sky. Researchers such as Dr. Garry Nolan of Stanford University and religious studies scholar Dr. Diana Pasulka (author of American Cosmic) have begun to connect the material evidence of alleged crash sites with the less tangible, but potentially crucial, dimension of consciousness.
Their work suggests that UAPs may not only leave behind physical traces but also interact directly with human perception and altered states of mind.
Evidence from Crash Sites
One of the most intriguing cases discussed by Pasulka and Nolan is a location in New Mexico where unusual debris was reportedly found. According to Pasulka’s account, she and a small research group were led to a site where fragments resembling metallic honeycomb structures, silvery alloys, and patterned materials were scattered across a barren landscape.
Nolan, who analyzed some of these samples, initially believed the isotopic ratios hinted at something anomalous – possibly non-terrestrial. Later, after consulting metallurgists and refining the methods, he concluded that some readings could be explained by known scientific processes, such as diatomic bonding during mass spectrometry.
Even so, he stresses that “ordinary” elemental composition does not rule out extraordinary origins. The setting itself was unusual: aerospace-grade material mixed with discarded domestic objects in the middle of nowhere, alongside signs of impact such as a large cypress tree that had been toppled in the direction of the supposed trajectory.
This mixture of everyday artifacts and advanced material raises the possibility of deliberate contamination, an attempt to disguise or obscure a genuine crash site.
Consciousness as an Interface
Beyond physical traces, Pasulka and Nolan emphasize a consistent theme across history: consciousness may be the true access point to non-human intelligence (NHI).
Pasulka, drawing on Vatican archives and Catholic visionary literature, highlights centuries of records where altered states, visions, levitation accounts, and mystical experiences, align with aerial phenomena. Traditions across religions developed protocols for safely interacting with such states, often treating them as gateways to communication with higher intelligences.
Nolan approaches the question from neuroscience. He notes that meditation, psychedelic compounds, and other practices that quiet the brain’s “default mode network” seem to open pathways to novel forms of perception and creativity. These altered states, he suggests, might be the same doorway through which contact with UAP-related intelligences occurs.
“Consciousness seems to be an access point for what we would call non-human intelligence,” Pasulka explains. “Religions have their own protocols for dealing with this type of contact.”
Patterns Across History
The researchers argue that UAP encounters today mirror older human experiences. Just as meteors were once dismissed as impossible until enough credible witnesses forced science to acknowledge them, UAP-related reports may be undergoing a similar transition.
Pasulka emphasizes that patterns of aerial encounters combined with human visionary states appear across cultures and centuries. For her, this suggests that what modern witnesses describe as UAPs may be part of a much older continuum of human–other intelligence interaction.
Nolan adds that the sheer volume of witness testimony – thousands of accounts, often supported by radar or physical evidence, has already passed the threshold of credibility. The real challenge now lies in contextualizing the data, not in proving that it exists.
Bridging Science and Spirituality
The convergence of hard science and religious tradition creates a fascinating framework for UAP research. On one side, materials analysis, isotopic testing, and sensor technology bring measurable data. On the other, historical texts and consciousness studies reveal how human beings have long engaged with the unknown through inner experiences.
Together, Pasulka and Nolan suggest a paradigm shift: that understanding UAPs may require moving beyond strict materialism. Crash sites can yield physical artifacts, but consciousness itself may be the most sensitive instrument for contact.
Conclusion
The study of UAPs is no longer confined to eyewitness reports or military radar tracks. By combining field investigations of alleged crash sites with deep explorations of consciousness, researchers like Diana Pasulka and Garry Nolan are charting a new path.
Their message is clear: the phenomenon might be as much about the human mind as it is about mysterious craft in the sky. If consciousness truly acts as a bridge, then the future of UAP research will depend not only on better sensors and laboratories, but also on our willingness to explore the depths of human perception itself.
The Cosmic Catastrophe That Changed Christianity Forever
Few, if any, people truly understand the underlying reasons why Ephesus became such a pivotal center in early Christianity. It wasn’t merely because of its strategic location or its status as a thriving port city. Instead, the city’s prominence can be traced back to a complex web of mythological, astronomical, and geological phenomena that intertwined to shape its religious and cultural landscape. To comprehend why Ephesus held such significance—particularly for early Christian figures like Paul and John—and why it became associated with key biblical narratives, we must delve into ancient myths, celestial events, and natural disasters that reshaped the region long before Christianity emerged.
Why Ephesus? The Strategic and Mythological Significance
Ephesus, located on the coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), was one of antiquity’s most important urban centers. Known for the magnificent Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was a hub for commerce, religion, and culture. But beyond its material grandeur, Ephesus’s mythological and celestial significance made it uniquely central in the spiritual consciousness of the ancient world.
The early proponents of Christianity, especially Paul and John, were drawn to Ephesus, not just for its population or trade routes but because of the city’s deep-rooted mythic connections to celestial phenomena and cosmic upheavals. These phenomena, often recorded in ancient mythologies as divine or supernatural events, provided a backdrop for understanding the spiritual transformation that Christianity represented. The myth of Artemis’s birth, in particular, offers critical insights into these cosmic influences.
The Myth of Artemis’s Birth: A Cosmic Event in Mythology
The story of Artemis’s birth is well-known: she was born to Zeus and Leto, after a divine pregnancy marked by extraordinary circumstances. However, beneath this familiar narrative lies a deeper, more complex myth rooted in astronomical and geological phenomena, specifically a cataclysmic event involving an airburst, tidal waves, and volcanic eruptions.
Ancient mythologists and modern researchers alike have long suspected that such stories encode memories of real natural disasters. In the case of Artemis’s birth, the myth appears to be a narrative reflection of a significant cosmic event—an airburst caused by a comet or asteroid passing near Earth, triggering a chain of geological disturbances.
The Role of Celestial Events in Myth Formation
To understand the significance of these myths, we must analyze the celestial events that likely inspired them. The mythological imagery of a bright, growing light—associated with Artemis’s birth—can be linked to a comet or meteorite entering Earth’s atmosphere. Such an event would produce a spectacular display, akin to a "bright light growing larger," seen from countless ancient sites.
Historical and paleo-climatological studies suggest that around 1327 BC, the Aegean region experienced a massive airburst and volcanic eruption, possibly connected to the explosion of a comet or asteroid. The resulting tsunami and ash fallout would have devastated coastal communities, including Ephesus, and left an indelible mark on collective memory. These events could have been mythologized into stories of divine birth and celestial phenomena, forming the basis for the myth of Artemis.
The Etymology of Key Mythological Names
Understanding the myth’s astronomical roots requires examining the names of the deities involved, as they often encode metaphorical meanings linked to natural phenomena.
Coeus and Phoebe: Traditionally, Coeus is considered the Titan of intellect, and Phoebe symbolizes the radiant or bright one. However, deeper analysis suggests their names may represent celestial events. The name Coeus could derive from the Greek coein, meaning "to swell" or "to grow larger," evocative of a swelling comet or asteroid approaching Earth. Meanwhile, Phoebe comes from phoibos, meaning "bright" or "radiant," aligning with the luminous appearance of a comet or meteor.
Antalya Archaeological Museum. Ivory sculpture ( 620-590 BC ) a woman with two children found in a tumulus in Bayindir village ( Elmali ).
Leto / Lato / Latona: The name Leto’s meaning is more ambiguous. Neo-Platonist philosopher Proclus linked Leto to the word Lethe, meaning "concealment" or "obscurity." In this context, Leto could symbolize the divine concealment or the moment when a celestial object is hidden behind the horizon before re-emerging—much like a comet’s appearance following an eclipse or volcanic ash cloud.
This interpretation aligns with the myth of Artemis’s birth occurring during a cosmic upheaval, perhaps when a celestial object was initially concealed by atmospheric disturbances and then revealed spectacularly.
The Natural Disasters Encoded in Myth
The story of Artemis’s birth, therefore, may be a mythic record of a real event: a comet or asteroid striking near the Aegean, causing atmospheric disturbances, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The eruption could have been so intense that it generated a vast tidal wave, destroying coastal settlements and creating a cloud of ash that concealed the sun, creating an impression of divine concealment.
This natural disaster would have been remembered as a divine event—a birth of a goddess born from cosmic fury. The widespread destruction and the subsequent recovery would have been woven into the local mythology, shaping stories of celestial birth and divine intervention.
The Impact on Ephesus and Its Religious Significance
The aftermath of this cosmic catastrophe left a lasting impression on the region’s cultural and religious landscape. The Temple of Artemis, rebuilt multiple times after destruction, can be seen as both a tribute to the goddess and a memorial to the cosmic event that birthed her myth.
Early Christians, particularly Paul and John, may have been attracted to Ephesus precisely because of these mythic and celestial associations. The city’s history of cosmic upheaval and divine birth stories resonated with their message of spiritual transformation, renewal, and the overcoming of chaos.
John’s Exile and the Revelation: A Cosmic Revelation
The Apostle John’s exile to the island of Patmos and the subsequent writing of the Book of Revelation can also be viewed through this cosmic lens. Revelation’s vivid imagery of stars falling from the sky, apocalyptic upheavals, and divine judgments echo the mythic themes of celestial destruction and rebirth.
The apocalyptic visions in Revelation might symbolize the aftermath of a cosmic event—an ancient catastrophe—that restructured the spiritual universe as well as the physical world. The imagery of cosmic chaos and divine intervention would have been familiar to the early Christian community, rooted in the collective memory of natural disasters encoded within myth.
Mary of Ephesus: The Final Connection
The story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, coming to Ephesus with John and her subsequent burial there, gains new meaning when viewed against this backdrop of cosmic upheaval and divine birth. Early traditions held that Mary died in Jerusalem, but the Catholic Church’s later narratives, supported by local legends, suggest she spent her final days in Ephesus.
This shift could symbolize the continuity of divine presence through cosmic and earthly upheavals. Mary’s association with Ephesus ties her to the divine feminine archetype rooted in Artemis, the goddess born from celestial fury and chaos. The convergence of her story with that of Artemis underscores the enduring influence of cosmic myth on Christian traditions.
The Broader Implications: Astronomy, Mythology, and Religion
Understanding the myth of Artemis’s birth as a reflection of real astronomical events enriches our comprehension of early religious development. It demonstrates how ancient peoples encoded cosmic disasters into myth, which later influenced religious narratives, including Christianity.
The city of Ephesus, therefore, was not just a strategic or commercial hub but a sacred site where myth, astronomy, geology, and spirituality intertwined. Its prominence in early Christianity can be seen as a continuation of this tradition, where divine stories serve as metaphors for cosmic truths.
Conclusion: A Cosmic Perspective on Christianity’s Origins
The so-called “cosmic catastrophe” that shaped Ephesus’s mythological landscape and early Christian history was a monumental natural disaster—likely a comet impact or volcanic eruption—that left an indelible mark on human consciousness. The stories of Artemis’s birth, the apocalyptic visions of John, and the veneration of Mary in Ephesus all encode memories of these celestial upheavals.
By exploring these myths through the lens of paleoastronomy and geology, we gain a deeper understanding of how early civilizations interpreted their world and how these interpretations influenced the development of religious thought. The narrative of divine birth, cosmic chaos, and rebirth continues to resonate, revealing that the roots of Christianity are intertwined with the universe’s most profound and explosive events.
This perspective not only enriches our understanding of ancient mythology but also highlights the enduring human fascination with the cosmos and our place within its grand, tumultuous story. The cosmic catastrophe that shaped Ephesus—and by extension, early Christianity—serves as a reminder of the powerful connection between natural disasters, myth, and faith, illustrating how humanity has long sought meaning in the chaos of the universe.
The Strangest thing about Saturn is that this Man, who worked on the Voyager missions, said he discovered Enormous, Living, Electromagnetic Vehicles inhabiting its Rings.
Dr. Norman Bergrun concluded, based on his analysis of Voyager 1 and 2 data, which he detailed in his 1985 book, Ringmakers of Saturn, that he discovered enormous, living, electromagnetic vehicles inhabiting the rings of Saturn.
Dr. Bergrun, who had worked for NASA, claimed that there were massive alien spacecraft proliferating in the rings of Saturn. He is the author of the books “Ringmakers of Saturn” and “Tomorrows Technology Today,” which document the existence of extraterrestrial vehicles of immense power. A scientist who pioneered the methodology of thermal ice prevention design, he is also credited with roll-stability laws for airplanes and missiles.
Dr. Bergrun was manager of test planning and analysis for the Polaris Underwater Launch Missile System and evaluated satellite system applications. Also a director of Information Systems, he founded his own company in 1971 and is cited in “Who’s Who in the World” and other reference works. He was an alumnus of Ames Research Laboratory, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), predecessor of Ames Research Center, NASA, where he worked for 12 years as a research scientist.
Dr. Norman Bergrun played a key role in the Voyager missions, the probes that were sent out to photograph Saturn, its rings, and its moons. There is a photo shown below from that mission, which he was able to obtain from the agency of a large unidentified flying object hovering just outside Saturn’s rings. It is huge, approximately the size of Earth, and is published in his book, “Ringmakers of Saturn.”
Dr. Bergrun claimed that these rings were not made of ice and rock as is commonly believed, but were actually the exhaust from these massive craft, which he calls “ringmakers.” He asserted that these vehicles are proliferating and are now also present at Jupiter and Uranus, creating new rings on planets that previously had none.
He suggested these vehicles had strong nuclear power sources and advanced electromagnetic technology. They appeared capable of creating massive electrical fields, lightning bolts larger than those on Earth, and disturbances across the entire ring system.
Dr. Bergrun recounted his professional history, mentioning his work at Lockheed on the first generation of the Polaris underwater launch vehicle. This had led him to work in a top-secret area behind closed doors, where he had been required to sign a 30-year non-disclosure agreement.
He explained that he eventually left this role due to “claustrophobia,” clarifying that it was not a fear of small spaces but rather the mental strain of being confined to the same secret room day after day.
It was during this period that he received his first clue about unusual things in space after being given a set of data that no one else could make sense of. When he plotted it, he realized that it showed something strange. (Source)
He claimed that he faced significant opposition and cover-ups from official bodies such as NASA. He recounted a story about a source allegedly connected to NASA who asked him how he had found a particular image from the moon, remarking, “I thought we darkened that enough that you wouldn’t find it.”
Dr. Bergrun also stated that his personal data and images, which he had stored in a supposedly impenetrable vault, were tampered with. He claimed that unknown parties had “garbled” his files on laptops and disks, sometimes erasing them completely. Despite this interference, he believed he did not need the old data because he was so familiar with the subject that he could reconstruct his work at any time.
He claimed that he faced significant opposition and cover-ups from official bodies such as NASA. He recounted a story about a source allegedly connected to NASA who asked him how he had found a particular image from the moon, remarking, “I thought we darkened that enough that you wouldn’t find it.”
Dr. Bergrun also stated that his personal data and images, which he had stored in a supposedly impenetrable vault, were tampered with. He claimed that unknown parties had “garbled” his files on laptops and disks, sometimes erasing them completely. Despite this interference, he believed he did not need the old data because he was so familiar with the subject that he could reconstruct his work at any time.
Regarding the purpose of these vehicles, Dr. Bergrun disagreed with the theory that they were mining the rings. Instead, he suggested that they were “nursing” from the rings, using them as a source of energy to power themselves and to create new, smaller vehicles that later grew, much like living organisms.
He was open to the idea that they might also fly close to the sun to “get pumped up” with energy, since their apparent ability to withstand extreme heat made that possible.
According to him, these could not be fully explained by natural processes. He suggested that the vehicles had electromagnetic capabilities and emitted streams of material, which then formed the rings and gaps seen around Saturn. He gave examples and measurements to support his claims, and pointed to historical observations by Galileo and others that showed unexplained phenomena.
Dr. Bergrun also claimed that similar effects were seen on some of Saturn’s moons. He described mysterious lighting and unusual markings, which he thought were possible “scars” left by the vehicles. He went even further, suggesting that Earth’s Moon, the Tunguska explosion in Siberia, and strange weather events might all be related to visits or actions by these powerful spacecraft.
He argued that these vehicles are evidence of a super-advanced intelligence in the universe and that they have been visiting our solar system for a long time. Bergrun warned that their power could pose risks if not understood, but also noted that they might not necessarily threaten humanity directly.
Dr. Bergrun believed that the situation was becoming “critical” because the activity was increasing, as evidenced by the new rings appearing around Uranus and Jupiter.
His urgency was not necessarily from the idea that the craft were coming to Earth, but from his sense that there was a strong possibility they could, and that the public and the scientific community had to be made to understand that these objects were real.
He noted that his conclusions were too controversial for his professional organization to address. He distinguished between his work, which he said was based on data, and the “theories” of others, such as John Lear’s idea that Saturn was a portal into another dimension.
He also touched on other topics, including his belief that humans were not capable of communicating with these entities, which rendered efforts by organizations like SETI ineffective.
He confirmed that plasma had been scientifically measured in Saturn’s rings, which he saw as supporting his claims. When asked about the hexagonal shape seen at Saturn’s north pole, he acknowledged it but regarded it simply as another geometric form that these advanced entities were capable of creating, rather than holding a special symbolic meaning.
Finally, he revealed that he had spent ten years earning a law degree so that he could better understand the mindset of the people “running the country,” whom he felt often made decisions without comprehending the underlying science.
He died on July 1, 2018, at Tracy Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at the age of 96. Unfortunately, Dr. Bergun was just another name on the list of NASA whistleblowers who are forgotten and ignored due to a lack of followers and media attention.
The paper of the famous "Wow!" signal. Credit - Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)
The “Wow!” signal has been etched red marker in the memory of advocates for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) since its unveiling in 1977. To this day, it remains one of the most enigmatic radio frequency signals ever found. Now a new paper from a wide collection of authors, including some volunteers, provides some corrections, and some new insights, into both the signal and its potential causes.
Data from 1977 was hard to parse, given the lack of modern computer systems, but volunteers from the Big Ear Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, where the original signal was collected, preserved the records after the observatory was shut down in 1998 and turned into a golf course. Using modern computing technology, the volunteers ran over 75,000 pages of original data through an optical character recognition routine, with visual help from human validators, allowing in-depth computational analysis of the original signal for the first time.
This more detailed analysis led to slight changes in three of the signal’s main characteristics. It narrowed the part of the sky the signal could have emanated from, with a corresponding increase in the statistical certainty of its location by two thirds. Its frequency was also tweaked slightly, but importantly, from 1420.4556 MHz to 1420.726 MHz. While that might not seem like much, the source would have to be spinning rapidly faster to create that much of a frequency difference.
Fraser discusses the Wow! signal and its impact on SETI.
Potentially the most interesting update to the signal was a new estimate of its flux density (i.e. its strength). In the language of radio astronomy, the new value is 250 Janskys (which are 10-26 watts per m2 per Hz), whereas previous estimates put it somewhere between 54 and 212 Janskys, so the signal was actually notably higher than original estimated.
Other minor errors, such as a 21 second clock offset didn’t have as much of an impact on the signal, but does on astronomer’s understanding of it. And probably the largest change was a correcting for a mislabeled channel in the filter bank that caused a recalculation of the frequency.
Ultimately, the signal remains as enigmatic as ever, though the paper does try to shed some light on potential sources. They definitively rule out any man-made sources, pointing out that there were no known TV stations operating in Ohio at that point in time, nor were there any satellites overhead that could have caused the signal. The moon was also on the other side of the planet at the time, so nothing bounced off of it.
Fraser discusses the newest data on what the Wow signal probably was.
The Sun wasn’t particularly active in 1977, lowering the chances for it being caused by some sort of solar phenomena. According to the researcher’s analysis, an internal software error also isn’t likely due to the high “Gaussian” (i.e. natural) looking pattern.
That means the signal was likely astronomical in origin, though the most likely explanation still isn’t extraterrestrials. The most likely culprit is a HI cloud - clouds of neutral atomic hydrogen floating in space that have been known to produce narrow-band signals that look similar to the “Wow!” Signal, but never on anything approaching the power levels seen that one time in 1977.
While the SETI community continues to puzzle over what might have caused their most famous signal, it's good to know that, even after almost five decades, scientists can still find, refine, and draw new conclusions from data. And who knows, with this update and our increased understanding, this might not be the last surprise the signal has in store for us.
From Aerial Pursuits to Creatures Roaming in the Woods: Fascinating UFO and Alien Encounters of Brazil!
The entire South American continent is a hub of UFO activity, and has been since the start of the Modern UFO Era. There is little doubt, though, that one of the most active countries, in terms of UFO and alien encounters, not only in South America but in the world, is Brazil, which has boasted regular and consistent reports since the 1950s, at least. Moreover, many of these encounters feature multiple witnesses and also include veteran military and commercial airline pilots. In short, while we should treat all encounters from anywhere in the world with a cautionary pinch of salt, there is good reason to suggest that many of the following accounts are very credible.
Perhaps a great place to start when delving into the UFO and alien case files of Brazil would be with São Paulo, which has played host to a plethora of encounters over the decades, encounters that cover the entire UFO and alien spectrum, from reports of strange lights in the sky to claims of alien abduction.
A particularly intriguing encounter unfolded at a little after 11 pm on May 28th, 1974, over the Placa Quarry in the Santa Helena region of the city. On this evening, one of the quarry’s employees, Jaimie Belizario, was at the plant, standing near Belizario’s truck, when they noticed a strange object appear overhead. He immediately called out to his two colleagues – Rafael and Mario – and asked them to turn off their machinery. They did so, and he immediately motioned upwards to alert them to the strange object’s presence. This object was seemingly circling the plant, passing over it several times.
Belizario later described the object as having the shape of a “Ferris wheel with green, red, and yellow lights on the edges” and moving in complete silence. He and his two colleagues watched the object for several moments before he called out to the object in an attempt to get it to land. However, no sooner had he done so than the object suddenly shot off into the distance and disappeared. It would, however, return several hours later.
At around 1:40 am that same night, another employee at the place, Salvador Pinto da Silva, was driving his truck back to the “crusher” when he noticed a strange object heading toward a set of nearby television towers at an approximate altitude of 300 feet. Even from this distance, he could clearly see red, yellow, and green lights around the edge of the craft, some of which flashed seemingly randomly. As he was driving his truck at the time, he couldn’t hear over its engine if the object made any sound or not. He kept the object in his view until it disappeared. He kept the sighting to himself until he learned of the previous sighting the following day.
Just over four years later, at around 5:45 pm on July 3rd, 1978, the Legnaioli family had their own strange and bizarre encounter at their home. Odirlei Legnaioli was with his son, Dalton, in the kitchen of one of the outbuildings on their land. As Odirlei was busy, Dalton decided to take the family dog outside for some fresh air. While doing so, however, he suddenly spotted something metallic in the nearby woodland. At first, he thought a helicopter had landed in a clearing. However, as he approached, he realized he was looking at something a lot stranger than a helicopter. He later stated that this bizarre object looked like “two overlapping plates facing each other with two elevations, one at the top and one at the bottom, and one located in the center of it!” He elaborated that the craft had “a metallic surface, without portholes, visible hatches, and joints!” At the top of the craft was a “hook device” while “three apparently transparent spheres revolved around themselves, emitting yellow, red, and blue lights” at the bottom. He further recalled that the craft appeared to be hovering a very short distance above the ground and that it was approximately 30 feet in width.
In complete awe as to what he was seeing, Dalton remained motionless and as quiet as he could. The family dog, however, barked intensely at this strange sight in front of it. A moment later, a laser-like beam emerged from the object and temporarily enveloped the canine. Almost immediately, it ceased barking and backed away before sitting on the ground. A moment after this, several flashes came from the spherical objects at the bottom of the craft, and Dalton felt a sudden “breath of hot air” wash over him that made his shirt and hair feel as if they were full of static. A moment after that, the sound of a car coming to a sudden stop reached his ears. At the same time, the object suddenly rose into the air. As it did so, the young boy, along with the family dog, returned inside the house.
Odirlei immediately noticed that both the dog appeared nervous and agitated, and that his son had a look of fear and shock on his face. He rushed over, thinking Dalton had been involved in some kind of accident. Once he was satisfied that he was uninjured, he asked what had happened. However, rather than speaking clearly, Dalton simply pointed outside. This behavior alone made Ordirlei realize that something truly out of the ordinary must have taken place. Ordirlei quickly made his way outside. As soon as he did so, he saw the strange object that Dalton had witnessed much more closely. It was still rising into the air. They both continued to watch it until it disappeared out of sight. He later stated that, in the wake of the sight, the streetlights, which were normally a warm orange color, instead glowed a deep red. Even stranger, he noticed that the street was almost completely deserted, something that was strange in itself, as it was almost always busy.
Another perplexing, if intriguing, incident occurred on the evening of February 19th, 1980, in Goiania. At around 7 pm on the night in question, a control operator at Goiania Airport became aware of a strange “light in his eastern sector” that simply shouldn’t have been there. He contacted the Approach Control Center to ask “if there was any traffic there (for them) to inform him” about. The reply was swift and short - negative; there was no traffic in that section. Then, further to the operator’s confusion, two more anomalous lights appeared in the same area. Realizing something strange was afoot, he contacted the Anapolis control tower, telling them he had several “UFOs” on his screen. In turn, Anapolis contacted the Military Operations Center, which immediately went into action.
By pure chance, a VASP airplane was preparing to land at the airport, but when they noticed “an unidentified light crossing in the vicinity of the plane,” they decided to abandon the landing and investigate the aerial anomaly. As they did so, the radar at Anapolis picked up the three objects on its systems, while the Military Operations Center scrambled several jets on an intercept mission. A short time after this, a second VASP aircraft spotted an “unidentified light in the 4-hour position and also at its flight level”. Moreover, the light, it appeared, was pursuing them. This object was confirmed by the airport control tower. Then, things decidedly strange – and suspicious.
Out of nowhere, orders were issued for the scrambled jets to return to base and for the VASP planes to land as soon as it was safe to do so. Ultimately, all airports and pilots were being ordered to, essentially, forget about the incident and go back to business as usual. Even to this day, it is unclear where those orders came from and why they were given.
Several years later, another truly remarkable event unfolded. At some time between half past midnight and 1:30 am in the early hours of November 11th, 1984, it appeared that multiple unknown objects of unknown origin surrounded the entire Sao Paulo region. The Brasilia Area Control Center and São Paulo Control were the first to detect something unusual on the radar screens just after half past midnight. They immediately notified the Military Operations Center, which also confirmed that there were no military vehicles in the area of concern. Not long after, several other control towers in the region also picked up the strange object. Then, without warning, the object went from moving rather slowly to a considerable pace of over 500 knots. The next thing, the object disappeared completely. A moment later, it reappeared directly over the top of the city of São Paulo. Calls were immediately placed to the São Paulo Control Tower. However, the radar operator on duty had left his post to view the anomalous object with his binoculars.
The next thing the Military Operations Center realized, they were receiving call after call of reports of strange objects from all over the Sao Paulo region. These reports continued until just after 1:30 am when the objects suddenly disappeared. The events of that evening not only remain unexplained, but the evening remains one of the strangest in the history of Brazilian aviation.
While São Paulo certainly has many UFO encounters to boast of, there are many other reports from other regions of Brazil. During the early hours of February 8th, 1982, for example, a commercial Boeing 727 (Flight 169) was cutting through the dark skies over Patrolina when, 33 minutes after take-off, the pilot, Commander Gerson Marcial de Britto, noticed a bizarre glowing object on his left-hand side. Moreover, this object appeared to be heading in their direction. By the time it was only a short distance away, Britto could see that it was a strange, luminous orb.
At this point, Britto contacted air traffic control to request information on any other aircraft operating in his vicinity. Air traffic control – who were, in actuality, the Integrated Center of Defense and the Control of the Air Traffic (CINDACTA) – responded that there was no other aircraft anywhere near his current position. With this in mind, Britto contemplated whether the object might, in fact, be a small airplane. Hoping to get a better look at the object, Britto turned off the signal and fuselage lighting. As soon as he did so, both he and his co-pilot could make a central white-blue glow, which was surrounded by a separate yellow-orange glow. After watching the way this object moved for several moments, not to mention its bizarre appearance, Britto realized he was looking at something much more unusual than a small plane.
Now, looking to ensure that he wasn’t misidentifying the object, he located both Venus and the Moon in the night sky, and given he could see both as well as the object, he could dismiss that he was seeing something that wasn’t there. Besides, the object continued to fly alongside his plane.
Although CINDACTA insisted they had no signs of the aerial anomaly on their systems, several other planes that had been listening to the exchange and were relatively nearby did offer corroboration, with a Transbrasil TR177 and an Aerolines Argentinas both confirming the curious craft on their radars.
Realizing he would receive minimal assistance and information, at best, from CINDACTA, Britto decided to attempt to communicate with the anomalous object and began flashing the plane’s landing lights. However, although the craft continued to follow the plane, it didn’t respond in any way to the flashing lights. Britto continued these attempts several times as the plane continued through the night sky at an altitude of just over 30,000 feet. By the time the plane was over the Belo Horizonte region, CINDACTA confirmed they now had the strange object on their radar. Then, the curious events of that night turned even stranger.
Out of nowhere, a bright, blue light suddenly emanated from the object and seemed to engulf the plane, the entire cockpit suddenly being bathed in the bright, blue wash. However, because of this, Britto and the co-pilot managed to get a much better look at this strange craft. They would go on to describe it as being disc or saucer-shaped, that “shone like a mercury street lamp” but was also clearly solid.
At this point, Britto suddenly realized that if he and the co-pilot could see the bizarre object, then the rest of the crew and the passengers would also be able to. With this in mind, he announced the speaker system, urging people not to panic and assuring them that everything was under control. He even urged them to go to the windows of the plane so they could view the object for themselves, and many of them did just that. This bizarre object remained with the plane until it reached its destination of Rio de Janeiro, after which it simply disappeared into the night without further incident. However, by the time the plane had landed, the incident was already known to the media, who were immensely interested in speaking to as many of the passengers as they could, as well as the pilots. When they did so, several of the passengers corroborated Britto’s account, having witnessed the events in their entirety. Almost all other passengers – including several celebrities of their day – saw at least part of the encounter. Interestingly or not, the only passengers on the plane who claimed to have seen nothing unusual were a group of priests and bishops who were on their way to the General Assembly of the National Confederation of the Bishops of Brazil. Whether they genuinely didn’t see anything (which is unlikely), whether they “chose” not to see anything (more likely), or whether their faith somehow prevented them from seeing the events that evening is perhaps still up for debate.
In the days that followed, VASP – the company that owned the airline – conducted its own investigation into the bizarre events of that February evening. They eventually issued a public statement that endorsed Britto’s account, stating that they could find no sound reason not to believe his version of events, not least due to the multiple other witnesses. Despite this, however, several days later, higher-ranking Brazilian aviation officials began to cast doubt on the incident. However, despite these attempts to reduce the credibility of the incident, it remains one of the most intriguing and credible UFO cases to come out of Brazil.
Four years later, another encounter that heavily involved CIONDACTA unfolded – one that stretched from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo, and featured several military jets being scrambled. Moreover, there were at least 20 separate UFO reports from radar controllers around the region, and the incident would last for several hours. In fact, such was the bizarre nature of the events that it would be dubbed The Night of UFOs by Brazilian UFO researchers and residents alike.
It was around 6:30 pm on the evening of May 19th, 1986, when several staff at the control tower at São José dos Campos Airport in São Paulo saw “two intense lights” overhead, seemingly directly in line with the runway. Around half an hour later, at just after 7 pm, confirmation came on radar that there were three “unknown targets” overhead. By 8 pm, CINDACTA had been informed, and they quickly identified eight unknown targets on their radar screens. Another physical sighting occurred 30 minutes later, when an employee at São Jose Airport saw a curious aerial object that had “defined edges and (a) red-orange color”. The witness watched the object for several moments through his binoculars, stating that it seemed to be moving closer and then back away again, over and over.
Around half an hour after that, at around 9 pm, the pilot of a jet owned by the oil company Xingu, Commander Alcir Pereira, reported seeing several “luminous objects” ahead of him. He followed them for several minutes before requesting permission to land at São Paulo Airport, which was granted. By the time he was descending towards the runway 10 minutes later, one of these strange, glowing objects was heading in his direction. Although it moved away before it reached him, its approach forced him to abandon the landing and circle the airport as he prepared to make another attempt. The control tower could see both the Xingu plane and the anomalous object on their radar screens. Then, at around 9:20 pm, the strange object disappeared, leaving the jet alone in the skies overhead and free to land unimpeded. At this point, a decision was made to contact the Air Defense Command. Meanwhile, the Xingu jet made a second attempt to land. However, as it approached the runway for a second time, another of the bizarre objects broke off and approached his aircraft. Once more, Pereira abandoned the landing and immediately began pursuing the strange craft.
By the time he had reached 10,000 feet, he broke off the pursuit and made a third attempt at landing. However, before he had a chance to do so, the control tower at the Air Control Center advised that there were suddenly three more objects in his immediate vicinity. A moment later, Pereira confirmed visual sighting of the three new anomalous objects. These three objects were below him and seemed to be flying directly over the Petrobras refineries and in the direction of Serra do Mar. At this point, Pereira began to become concerned that his fuel would be running dangerously low and so made his fourth attempt to land at São Paulo Airport. This time, the landing was successful.
While Pereira was bringing his jet to a stop on the runway, however, visual sightings of further objects were being reported. All of these were of a “solid round object” moving overhead. Then, at 9:50 pm, an official report stated that a “luminous yellow object surrounded by smaller lights” was directly over Sao Paulo Airport. With the sightings now into their third hour, and with no possible explanation for them within reach, a decision was close to being made to scramble military jets. The first of these F-5E jets left the runway of Santa Cruz Air Force base at 10:23 pm, and was piloted by Kleber Caldas Marinho. Just over 20 minutes later, at 10:45 pm, Brisola Jordao guided his F-5E jet from the same runway, while at the same time, from Anapolis Air Force Base in Goias State, Captain Viriato left the runway in his Mirage F-103 jet, armed with Sidewinder and Matra missiles.
Only 10 minutes later, radar operators at Anapolis Air Force Base noticed several unknown objects on their radar screens. Meanwhile, from the air inside his Mirage F-103, Viriato confirmed he too had multiple unknown objects on his radar screen, although he couldn’t physically see anything out of the ordinary. Cutting through the sky at around 850 miles per hour, he used the radar to pursue the strange objects. Just as he was approaching the objects – at a distance from which he should have been able to physically see them – the objects vanished from the radar screens. Five minutes after this curious event, a second Mirage F-103 left the runway at Anapolis Air Force Base.
Meanwhile, around the same time, Kleber reported a visual sighting from his F-5E, stating he could see a “ball of light” and that he was going to pursue it. He later stated that:
“I had one visual contact and one contact with my aircraft radar of something that looked like a luminous point, which was 12 miles in front of me, a distance confirmed by ground radar. The object was moving from left to right and then began to climb!”
Kleber continued to follow the object, even heading out over the Atlantic Ocean. While he was doing so, a third Mirage F-103 left the runway at Anapolis Air Force Base.
Ultimately, the jets remained airborne until after 1 am before they returned to their respective air bases. All of the pilots involved had enthralling encounters to tell. Brisola Jordao, for example, claimed that after he had noticed the object on his on-board radar, the control tower informed him that several of the objects appeared to be “closing in” on him. The control tower updated him throughout this, even stating at one point that they were just 10 miles from his position, a distance from which he should have clearly seen them. However, there was no visual sign of them. Then, as if they had been switched on, 13 of the bizarre objects suddenly appeared behind his plane – “six on one side, and seven on the other!” He continued in the direction he was headed, and, after several moments, the objects disappeared.
Given the number of witnesses from two separate airbases, including several very experienced military pilots, as well as the multiple residents who had made reports to the military, police, and media, several high-ranking officials immediately attempted to down-play the incident, with some even offering that nothing out of the ordinary had taken place at all. In fact, the official narrative for the events that evening quickly became one of people witnessing a “meteorological event”. Officials claimed that when comets enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they “heat up and emit light!” This also, they claimed, explains why they would appear to vanish when, in fact, they had burned out.
Many people, especially the pilots and control tower employees at various airports and air bases involved in the incident, simply didn’t accept this official story. And by the time the 2000s were unfolding, many of them were prepared to speak much more openly about the events of that strange night. Then, in 2016, three decades after that bizarre evening in May 1986, a Freedom of Information request resulted in new information regarding the encounter entering the public arena. It was this information that really prompted many of the witnesses – many of whom were free from the control of their employers – to come forward.
Sergio Mota de Silva, for example, the person who first spotted the aerial anomaly half an hour before the first radar sighting, confirmed it was he who had informed the pilot of the Xingu plane, Alcir Pereira, of the bizarre lights. He stated that:
“I’ve been a pilot for many years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. It was too agile, impossible that there was a human inside it. I do not know if it was a disc, but it was a very strong glow!”
Mota de Silva also stated that he and all other employees at the airport were given strict instructions that they were not to speak of the incident to the media, nor should they comment on the official explanation. He further stated that officials told them that the sightings were part of an “electronic war,” and they left the heavy insinuation that the objects were experimental military aircraft. Whether there is any truth in this official explanation or not remains open to debate. It is perhaps interesting to note the words of Brigadier General Otavio Moreira Lima, the Minister of Aeronautics at the time, who stated that “radar doesn’t have optical illusions”, while Air Force Major Ney Cerqueira stated that the way the objects disappeared and reappeared was something unexplained, not least as the “technical instruments used for identification of these lights had problems in registering them!”
It is also worth our time examining some of the claims and statements of one-time Brazilian Air Force Minister Socrates Monteiro, who, after a long career in the Brazilian Air Force, served in the position from 1990 to 1992, and who gave a rather revealing interview with a Brazilian UFO magazine. And these revelations were as bizarre as they were fascinating. He claimed, for example, that there was regular “interaction of other cosmic species” in Brazil, and that such radar sightings of strange, anomalous objects occurred regularly. Moreover, although most of these sightings stayed with the organization, some were the subject of secret investigations by high-ranking members of the Brazilian Air Force.
He also told of an encounter with a “disc-type object of great proportions” that flew over a radar station in Gama. This encounter, he recalled, caused “great panic” at the facility – so much so that several personnel opened fire on the bizarre craft. It was Monteiro himself who gave the orders for the personnel involved to cease firing immediately. He stated, “They have a technology far more advanced than ours. And we don’t know how they would react to our (hostile) action!”
Monteiro also had several intriguing details to reveal about the Night of UFOs incident in May 1986. He stated, for example, that whenever any of the pilots attempted to close in on the bizarre objects, they would simply disappear at an “extremely high speed!” He further stated that the entire episode was recorded on the radar tapes of the facilities involved. However, the whereabouts of those tapes, if they still exist, remains unknown. He also offered that, in part, because of their research and knowledge of the Mantell incident decades earlier, their aircraft approached these “electronic abnormalities” with extreme caution. He then ended this interview by claiming that it was an open secret behind the closed doors of the world’s high-ranking military officials that we are “being visited by other cosmic species!”
Just short of a decade later, another UFO encounter unfolded, also on the road between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. According to the report, which comes to us from the files of Brian Vike, after attending training conference on flight simulation training in Rio de Janeiro, in the early hours of May 6th, 1994, an experienced airline pilot, his girlfriend, a senior airline captain, and a flight engineer, were being driven by a chauffeur back to Sao Paulo. At a little after 3 am, the pilot’s girlfriend woke him while they were near Guarantingueta to show him something strange in the sky. He looked in the direction she was pointing, and was shocked to see a “red star-like object”. To begin with, he thought the red light was simply a radio antenna on a nearby mountain. However, a quick scan of his surroundings revealed that there were no mountains around them, only flat land as far as the eye could see. Then, he saw the object move, dispelling any notion that the object was stationary or that a rational explanation was likely.
The object moved in a particularly erratic fashion, although it seemed to maintain its distance relative to their car. The red light then changed color, going from red to yellow, then to white, and finally to blue, allowing the witness to rule out that they belonged to a helicopter, not least as the lights had a strangeness about them, almost as if they were a “disco ball” rather than navigation lights. They watched the object for several minutes as their car traveled along the road at an approximate speed of 90 miles per hour. When the vehicle slowed its speed to somewhere around 40 miles per hour, to their shock, the object slowed down also. They could also now see that several other motorists had also seen the object and had pulled their respective vehicles to the side of the road in order to get a better look. With their vehicle now traveling much slower, the witness estimated that the strange craft was around a mile away from them and at an approximate altitude of between 3000 and 4000 feet.
Now, beyond curious, the witness asked the driver to stop the car and pull to the side of the road, which he duly did. The witness, along with his girlfriend and the other two passengers, all stepped out onto the roadside. As soon as they did so, the object began to descend and head in their direction. The witness later stated that the closer it got, the more they could see it was a typical “flying saucer dome-shaped object” that moved in complete silence. After watching the aerial display for a moment or two, the witness suddenly remembered his camera was in his bag in the car, and so he reached inside to retrieve it. However, he was dismayed to discover that he had used all of the film. He returned to the roadside where his girlfriend was standing, the object now only several hundred feet away from them. The witness began walking toward the object, his girlfriend following behind him. However, after taking only several steps, she stopped.
The witness, however, continued forward, eager to get as close a look as possible. He only stopped when the barbed wire at the roadside prevented him from entering the field on the other side of it. He was now barely 200 feet away from this strange craft. From this close proximity, he could see that there were several square lights on the side of the object that pulsed and grew bigger before returning to their normal size. Underneath the craft, he could see a “bluish vapor,” and he could also feel a “soft breeze” that he assumed was also coming from this curious craft, given that there was no wind to speak of on this particular night. He further stated that as the object moved, it had a “rocking motion” to it that reminded him of how a boat would move on the water. Moreover, he could feel a strong “electrical charge” in the air that he was also convinced was emanating from the object. He later estimated that the object was around 70 feet across and around 30 feet in height with a “reddish-grey” exterior.
Suddenly, one of the onlookers down the road took a flashlight and shone it directly at the craft, hitting it square on. As soon as the beam hit it, the rocking motion increased dramatically. Then, things turned even stranger. A “faint bluish-greenish glow” began shining on the underside of the craft while on the top, there were several sudden “flashes of multi-colored lights”. The object also began to ascend and head away from the witnesses. To begin, this ascent and departure were slow and controlled. However, within moments, the pace had increased somewhat. As it headed off, the witness recalled hearing a “faint, low-pitched humming sound!” Another display of flashing lights followed by the object’s speed increased even more, and within a second, it had disappeared. Strangely, the witness stated that during this final part of the sighting, the witness could detect an “aroma of ionization” in the air, as well as a strange metal taste in his mouth.
He looked around and could see that other people were returning to their respective cars, and he did likewise. Incidentally, as the four people got back inside their car, the chauffeur, who had remained inside the vehicle throughout, stated that when the object hovered close to the roadside, an intense static had overtaken the radio. They set off back on their way to São Paulo, eventually coming to a stop at a highway restaurant where they could use the bathroom and purchase a coffee. While inside, they spoke to several locals about what they had seen. They were informed that this area had “lots of sightings” and had done so for many years.
Incidentally, when the witness made his report of the sighting, he detailed another encounter he had two decades earlier in 1972. He claimed he was flying his plane on the night in question when he heard the pilot of another plane state that he could “see a UFO!” He listened to the exchange between the pilot and the control tower, as well as several other planes in the area, including a United States military aircraft. Although he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary himself that evening, when he landed, he managed to speak to the pilot who had. They assured him that they had seen something “out of this world!” The witness also stated that during his time in the world of aviation, he had heard multiple stories from other pilots and control tower operators of sightings of strange and anomalous objects. Despite making his report to the Brazilian authorities and to several others once he returned to the United States several weeks later, he never heard any more of the incident, and it remains completely unexplained.
Without a doubt, one of the most fascinating encounters to come out of Brazil took place in January 1996 in the town of Varginha, an event that would go on to make international headlines. And when claims began to swirl of the involvement of the Brazilian military attempting to suppress the encounter, interest in the incident only intensified. Multiple UFO investigators have studied the encounter, with leading British UFO researcher and author, Timothy Good, dedicating an entire chapter to the affair in his 2000 book Unearthly Disclosure.
According to the account, at around 3:30 pm on January 20th, 1996, three young women – 16-year-old Liliane da Silva and her 14-year-old sister, Valquiria, along with 22-year-old Katia Xavier – were walking in Santana (just to the north of Varginha) when they came to an opening and vacant plot of land. To their utter shock, in this clearing, was a strange “demon-like” creature that was huddled against the wall of an abandoned and decrepit building. They later stated that it had a “triangular-shaped head” and its skin was a leathery brown color. They estimated that this creature was only around two and a half feet in height and that its arms appeared too short for its body. They further noticed that the creature appeared to be pressing itself against the wall, as well as trying to “crouch lower”, as if it was frightened.
After several moments, the three girls turned and ran back to the main street, and from there they went to the sisters’ home. Once there, they relayed what they had seen to their mother. Around 20 minutes later, the girls’ mother and their neighbor set out to return to the spot where they had witnessed the strange creature. However, by the time they returned, the bizarre entity was no longer there. All those present could see a distinct impression in the grass where it had been sitting, and they could all detect a strong ammonia odor in the air. It would soon come to light, though, that the three girls were not the only witnesses to this bizarre event.
A short distance away, an elderly lady and her granddaughter had heard the three young women scream. By the time they arrived at the clearing, the three girls had already turned and gone. They not only saw the strange creature, but they also witnessed the events that followed. Remaining hidden and out of the way, the elderly lady and her granddaughter claimed that a short time after they arrived, a vehicle from the city’s fire department arrived, with several firemen quickly “securing” the creature. They then placed it in their vehicle and drove away.
News of the incident quickly leaked out into the wider community, and before long, journalists and UFO investigators alike were aware of the alleged events. One researcher, Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues, took a particular interest in the case. He spoke with the three girls in question and was convinced of their “sincerity!” Moreover, he managed to unveil further corroborating witnesses. One of these was a local bricklayer – Henrique Jose de Souza – who claimed to have witnessed a fire department vehicle at the location of the encounter, although, interestingly, he claimed to have seen this vehicle several hours before the three girls came upon the seemingly frightened creature.
Another witness, local resident Oralina Augusta, had even more remarkable testimony to volunteer. She claimed that she was woken up suddenly at around 1 am in the early hours of January 20th – just over 12 hours before the three girls found the creature in the clearing – by the sound of “bellowing cattle” from a nearby farm. She got out of bed and walked over to the window, more than shocked to see the cattle “stampeding” past her home in sheer fright and agitation. When she looked upward, she could see why. There, a short distance above the ground, was a “submarine-shaped” glowing object. At this point, she woke her husband, who also saw the bizarre scene when he made his way to the bedroom window. As they looked on, they could see what appeared to be “grey smoke” coming from one side of the craft. A moment later, it began to rock in a “stop-start” motion. It was clear to them that the object – whatever it was – was damaged in some way.
Now, here, it is worth clarifying that the fire department is under the control of the military police, so it makes sense that the fire department – officially or not – would be dispatched to investigate strange activity. And Rodrigues’ investigation would soon bring further details to light. For example, at 8:30 am on the morning of January 20th, a call was received by the Varginha City Fire Department. This call, according to the records, was reporting a “strange creature” who had been seen roaming the woodlands on the outskirts of the city. Moreover, the fire department records show that when they first arrived in the area, they spoke to three young boys who also claimed to have seen the strange creature. Even more interesting, the direction the boys claimed the creature had been heading would have taken it straight to the clearing where the three young women saw it later that afternoon. Yet another pair of witnesses – an anonymous man and woman – corroborated the young boys’ account, even recalling that the youngsters were initially throwing stones at the creature, which the woman told them to stop doing. They did, and the creature quickly disappeared into the woods.
According to what Rodrigues could find out, the fire department had sent another vehicle to the woodland where the creature was eventually found. This unit, though, searched the immediate area, and while it took several hours to locate the creature, they eventually did so, managing to “net it” a short time later. The report stated that the creature had offered no resistance, leading some researchers to suggest it might have been injured and was simply unable to do so. After securing it, the unit radioed their commander. He arrived a short time later and ordered that the entire area be completely shut off and informing all those at the scene that the operation was now classified top-secret. Even more remarkable, at least according to what Rodregues discovered, there were more than one of the creatures in the woodland and discreet searches for them continued under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Olimpio Vanderlei Santos.
With two of the strange creatures now in the custody of the Brazilian authorities, a third creature was discovered and captured later that afternoon. Following this, and something which could be relevant, an intense rainstorm broke out almost immediately following this second apprehension, and continued until around 6 pm that evening. As soon as it cleared, the search units ventured back into the woodland. According to the reports, a fourth creature was discovered by two “officers”, who some researchers have dubbed “plain-clothed agents. Whoever they were, they didn’t have any of the tools or devices of the fire department, and so forced the creature into the back of their car. They seemingly drove the creature to a small, quiet, local clinic. However, the doctor refused the two men entry to his premises, and he refused to look at or treat the bizarre creature, insisting they take it to the hospital in the city.
Interestingly, one of these supposed plain-clothed agents – apparently named as Marco Chereze – had handled the figure with his bare hands as he attempted to apprehend it and then get it into the car. Several days later, he suddenly became extremely sick, and a short time after that, he was admitted to the hospital due to having lost the use of all of his limbs. The hospital was perplexed as to what was wrong with him, and he failed to respond to any treatments. He deteriorated extremely quickly, and on February 15th, less than a month after the incident, he passed away. These grim events, though, would turn even more ominous in the days after his death.
There was no explanation for Chereze’s death from the hospital. However, they ordered that his body be placed in a sealed coffin and that his funeral should take place “within hours!” This order was carried out, and the military was eventually sued by his family. As a result of this lawsuit, two pieces of information entered the public arena. The first being that there was a “small amount of toxic material” discovered in Chereze’s body, a material that was unidentified, or at least, undisclosed. Moreover, there was clear evidence of altering official records regarding Chereze’s movements on the night in question.
There were, though, more revelations to come as a result of Rodrigues’ investigation. It came to light, for example, that authorities had taken over an entire wing of the hospital in the days following the incident. During this time, the military ordered a meeting with all of the hospital employees. They were told that the events they had witnessed were a “training exercise for doctors and military personnel” and that they were to “deny everything” if anyone asked them about it.
Even more suspicious, on the afternoon of January 22nd, three large military vehicles were witnessed directly outside the hospital. From what Rodrigues could piece together, at this point, at least one of the creatures was at the hospital and was still alive. However, by 6 pm, it was dead, and the military was there to transport it away from the premises in a sealed high-tech container. Even stranger, according to further research, at around 4 am in the early hours of January 23rd, a small convoy of military vehicles – led by a “yellow Volkswagen van” – made their way out of the city. It is not known where they were going or why.
There were also claims from some researchers of autopsies being performed on these strange creatures, with some even claiming that the person who carried them out was Fortunato Baden Palhares, something we should note that he always denied, at least publicly. According to one of his students who asked him about the alien autopsy claims several years later, Palhares told him that he would “really love to give you an answer, but please, ask this question in 10 or 15 years from now!” Make of that what you will.
As if the incident couldn’t get any stranger, further investigations into the incident added further twists to the case. It was revealed, for example, that there was at least one United States intelligence agent in Varginha between January 20th and January 23rd. Even more remarkably, some researchers have suggested that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had issued a warning to the Brazilian authorities the previous week on January 13th, informing them that they had “tracked a number of unidentified objects over the western hemisphere that night. And that one or more had penetrated Brazilian airspace!” Whether or not these objects are connected to the strange creature in Varginha remains open to debate, as does whether one of these objects crashed, resulting in the creature roaming the woodland. There is, though, an intriguing account on record that is very much worthy of our time here.
According to the report, in the early hours of January 13th, Carlos da Souza was driving along the Fernao Dias highway, approximately five miles outside of Varginha. Suddenly, he heard a “muffled roaring sound” that seemed to be coming from above his vehicle. He looked up momentarily and was shocked to see a silver, cigar-shaped object moving across the sky at an approximate speed of 50 miles per hour. He estimated that the craft was around 40 feet long, and he recalled seeing at least four windows along the side of it. Of more concern, though, he could see what seemed to be a crack or “jagged tear” in the front section of the object, out of which came thick, white smoke. Within moments, the craft had overtaken his vehicle and was ahead of him. For the next 10 minutes, he followed behind the damaged craft. Then, however, it suddenly took a “dive” over the trees and disappeared. Although he couldn’t physically see it, he was almost certain, due to the trajectory of it, that the craft had come down somewhere in the surrounding woodland.
Now beyond curious, Carlos headed in the direction he believed the object came down. Several minutes later, he brought his vehicle to a stop and got out, standing just in front of the truck. There, a short distance ahead of him in a field, were several large pieces of silver debris. It was clearly the remains of the silver, cigar-shaped craft he had witnessed only moments earlier. It was then that he spotted military personnel in the field, seemingly gathering up the debris and transporting it to several heavy-duty military vehicles close by. In total, he estimated there were around 40 soldiers in the field with the debris. He was perplexed as to how they had arrived there in a matter of minutes. Of course, Carlos was unaware that the unit was likely acting on intelligence given to them by NORAD.
At this point, a small piece of silver wreckage caught his eye, sitting just slightly in front of where he was standing. Unable to resist, he stepped forward to retrieve. As soon as he did, though, he heard one of the soldiers call out to him, ordering him to leave immediately. Not wanting to risk being arrested, or worse, he left the debris and returned to his truck. He took one more quick look around and then restarted the engine and set off down the road. After traveling several miles, he stopped at a service station to purchase a coffee. To his shock and unsettlement, “two military men in civilian clothes” arrived at the service station not long after he did and immediately approached him. Even more shocking to him, they knew his name and told him that he was not to speak about what he saw in the field. Needless to say, he agreed, if only to ensure he could get away.
While Carlos was the only witness to these bizarre events, they do resonate very nicely with the apparent warnings from NORAD to the Brazilian authorities, and we need to remind ourselves that there is simply no way that he would have been aware of those details at the time.
Ultimately, while many people, even some in the UFO community, insist that the Varginha case is nothing but a hoax or fabrication, it would appear that there is, at the very least, much more to it than that. Did a craft from elsewhere crash land just outside the city in January 1996, resulting in several alien entities roaming the woodlands for several days? And did the Brazilian authorities manage to capture each of these creatures? Although we know of four, there could have been others. Were they all captured? And if so, did any of them survive? And where are they now? Perhaps most intriguing, outside of the NORAD warning, how did the American intelligence agent fit into all of this, and was he there with permission from the Brazilian authorities or without their knowledge? Indeed, the case continues to fascinate UFO researchers and investigators today, almost three decades later.
These sightings here are just a tiny example of the UFO encounters that have unfolded in the skies over Brazil. It is safe to say we will return here with more accounts in the very near future. We might ask, though, what makes this location so rife with UFO sightings and encounters with strange creatures? Does its location in the South Atlantic, not to mention its proximity (relatively speaking) to such mystical locations as Antarctica, make it an attractive location to these otherworldly visitors? Or perhaps the Amazon rainforests provide ideal shelter for the intelligence behind these mysterious craft, and, as such, they are spotted much more. Whatever the reasons for it, Brazil is one of the hottest UFO hotspots on the planet, with sightings and reports continuing today in the 2020s. Indeed, Brazil is a location that UFO researchers might want to keep very much on their radars over the coming years, as we collectively strive for the truth to the UFO and alien question.
The term “geology” should only be used in relation to Earth, since in Greek it means “the science of Earth”. However, when astronomers study other planets in the Solar System, they naturally take the most studied one, i.e., ours, as a “reference point”. Mars has a lot in common with Earth, but in some ways it is very different. Some of its features are strange: although it has the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, there is currently virtually no volcanic activity. Clearly, there is still much we do not know about our neighbor.
Mars as a planet
Mars, like Earth, is a rocky planet. Its shape is nearly spherical, its chemical composition is mainly silicates and aluminates, it has a dense core, and it is covered by a relatively thin crust. This is where the similarities between the two celestial bodies end and their differences begin.
Mars. Source: NASA
The fourth planet from the Sun is half the size of Earth. The average radius of Mars is only 3,389.5 km. Its surface area is 1.4437×108 km2, which is only 28% of that of our world, if we include the oceans. This means that the geological formations found on Earth would appear gigantic on Mars. Incredibly, the mountains, canyons, and depressions there are indeed much larger than those on Earth.
The surface of Mars is very uneven compared to Earth. In particular, its northern hemisphere is almost entirely low-lying, while the southern hemisphere is dominated by mountain ranges and plateaus. To explain this striking difference, some scientists point to the specific mechanism of Martian tectonic plate formation, while others believe it is the result of a collision with a large space object.
Whatever caused this strange dichotomy between the hemispheres of Mars, astronomers are certain that it arose at the dawn of the planet’s existence. Therefore, all subsequent evolution there took place in conditions where there were lowlands in the north and highlands in the south.
Volcanoes of Mars
Approximately 4.5 billion years ago, when Mars was just formed, it was a red-hot ball. Then its crust solidified, but liquid magma remained inside. This created conditions for volcanic activity. However, it occurred in a way that was very different from what we are used to on Earth.
Olympus Mons. Source: NASA
On our planet, the crust consists of separate lithospheric plates that are constantly in motion. Magma erupts mainly through cracks between them, which is why most volcanoes are located along the joints of large sections of the lithosphere. Only occasionally can another type of volcanism be found on Earth, when a flow of hot magma literally melts its way to the surface. Such volcanoes are called shield volcanoes.
It is not known for certain whether lithospheric plates ever moved on Mars. At least, no traces of them have been found there. For billions of years, Martian volcanoes have appeared exclusively due to hot flows that melt the crust, and this happens in a rather strange way. Some volcanoes are indeed similar to those on Earth. However, the largest of them, due to their tendency to group, have formed large provinces that have no analogues not only on Earth, but in the entire Solar System.
Tharsis
The best example of strange Martian volcanism is Tharsis, located in the northwestern part of Mars. Its area is 30 million km², which is larger than Canada, the United States, and China combined. It is here that the largest volcano in the Solar System rises – the 26-kilometer-high Olympus Mons, approximately three times higher than Everest.
Topographic map of Tharsis. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Arizona State University
However, the most interesting thing about this giant is not its height, but its width. The diameter of Olympus’ base is 624 km, which means that on Earth it would hardly fit in Ukraine. So, despite its dizzying height, it looks almost flat. More precisely, its upper part forms a plain with a minimal slope, while its edges are slopes up to 7 km high.
At the center of the giant volcano is a caldera measuring 85×60 km. Several craters actually merge into one giant pit up to 3 km deep, so large that the entire city of Kyiv could fit inside it.
At the same time, Olympus is the largest, but not the only, giant volcano in Tharsis. To the southeast of it, there are three more very similar structures – the Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons. Each of them is much higher than Everest, and their diameters are measured in hundreds of kilometers.
Incidentally, the highest of the Tharsis Olympus volcanoes is by no means the record holder in terms of area. Alba Mons is “only” 6.8 km high, but its diameter reaches 1,350 km. And in general, it is difficult to call it a mountain, because its slope reaches only 0.5°, which means that it is essentially a sloping elevation. Previously, the term “patera” was used to describe such relief features.
Elysium
Another volcanic province, Elysium, is also located in the northern hemisphere of Mars. There are also several giant shield volcanoes there: the Hecates Tholus, Mount Elysium, and the Albor Tholus. They are significantly smaller than Olympus, but their size is still impressive. For example, Elysium rises 16 km above the Martian surface and has a diameter of 240 km.
Topographic map of Elysium and its surroundings. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Arizona State University
Although the two volcanic provinces are very similar, they were formed in completely different periods. Tharsis is extremely ancient, its origin dating back to the Noachian period of Martian history, meaning it is about 4 billion years old. Elysium is much younger. It was formed about 600 million years ago. This is relatively young by the standards of the Red Planet and closer to the time when multicellular life appeared on Earth.
Why shield volcanoes regularly form in such large groups on Mars is still unclear. Apparently, this is related to the peculiarities of the rise of the same hot magmatic flows in its depths, which scientists call plumes. Perhaps the fact that they abut against a solid crust rather than separate plates somehow affects the nature of volcanism.
In addition, Mars’s smaller size plays a role. If there are irregularities in the distribution of heat inside it, they will manifest themselves much more strongly than on Earth. It is quite possible that at a certain depth below the Martian surface, there are large pockets of lava that manifest themselves as volcanic provinces.
Giant faults
In addition to giant volcanoes, Mars has equally amazing surface faults. From a geological point of view, they are very different from those we encounter on Earth, where structures similar to the Dniester Canyon or the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in the United States are formed as a result of soil particles being washed away by water.
Fault lines in the Valles Marineris. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Arizona State University
However, liquid water never flowed on the Red Planet long enough to wash out gorges tens and hundreds of meters deep. The nature of canyon formation there is completely different and is related to the same volcanic provinces. Giant mountains of solidified lava are so massive that they literally collapse under their own weight into the depths of the planet. As a result, the much thinner crust around them stretches and cracks.
Over time, cracks formed by erosion and other processes can reach truly enormous sizes. The largest of these is the Valles Marineris. It is often compared to the Grand Canyon in Colorado, but this only complicates its perception. The total length of this structure is 4,500 km, which means that on Earth it would stretch from Great Britain to the Caspian Sea.
In addition, the average width of the Valles Marineris is 200 km. This means that standing on one edge, you are unlikely to see the other. The picture will be more like a giant precipice, the bottom of which is lost somewhere below.
Another feature of the Martian landscape is related to the giant fractures on the surface: chaos terrains. This is the name given to areas where hills and furrows are scattered haphazardly, forming a veritable labyrinth. They appeared at a time when Mars still had plenty of ice and streams flowed across its surface. When the subsurface ice melted, the ground subsided. The water, flowing outwards, went to lower areas and eroded the already damaged rocks along the way. This happened extremely unevenly, resulting in the formation of chaos.
Sedimentary rocks on Mars
Although more large impact craters have been found on Mars than on the Moon or Mercury, smaller traces of collisions are much less common there. This is due to wind and water erosion.
Sedimentary rocks at the bottom of a Martian crater. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Wind and water cause the destruction of solid rock and transport small particles. Several billion years ago, when the planet’s atmosphere was denser and the northern basin was filled with an ocean into which water flowed, these processes were much more intense. They can still be seen on the surface in the form of dry riverbeds of ancient rivers.
Traces of erosion on Mars include not only certain landforms, but also the presence of rocks that we call sedimentary. These include sand, gypsum, and clay. These conglomerates of extremely fine particles can only form in the presence of large amounts of water, usually near or at the bottom of rivers and lakes.
Despite the similarity between Martian sedimentary rocks and those on Earth, they contain almost no organic matter, which is common on Earth. More precisely, it may be there, and scientists are eager to find it, but this will only be possible after samples of the substance have been brought from Mars to Earth.
Scientists have also not yet found any traces of a developed biosphere on Mars. This means that minerals commonly found on Earth, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, are most likely not present there, as they are the remains of living organisms.
Is Mars really dead?
No matter how spectacular the volcanic eruptions on Mars were, no matter how long water flowed in its streams, forming clay deposits, all this is now a thing of the distant past. This view of the planet has become mainstream over the last few decades.
Eruption of Olympus Mons (concept). Source: Getty Images
However, this trend has recently begun to change. One of the main reasons for this is the InSight probe. It operated on the surface of Mars for many months, while the seismograph on board recorded what was happening in the depths of the planet. Imagine the surprise of scientists when it began to register one surface vibration after another!
In general, astronomers had previously assumed the possibility of Marsquakes even in the absence of lithospheric plate movement. After all, tectonic vibrations occur even on the Moon, which is definitely “dead” in this sense. However, the events recorded by InSight turned out to be too frequent and too strong to be caused, for example, by the collapse of some underground cavities. More and more scientists are now inclined to believe that there is still liquid magma inside the Red Planet.
Research on Mars increasingly suggests that our current understanding of its “inner world” is not entirely accurate. However, humanity began exploring our neighboring planet relatively recently, so our knowledge of it is quite limited. It is quite possible that in a few thousand years, it will surprise researchers with active volcanoes… but that is a completely different story.
This article was published in issue No. 1 (190) of Universe Space Tech magazine in 2024. You can purchase this issue in electronic or printed form from our store.
Introduction: The Unseen Doorway to the Impossible
Imagine driving home on a dark, deserted highway, the moon bright, the radio playing softly. Then, a strange light appears, maneuvers impossibly, and suddenly, hours vanish from your life. You arrive home, shaken, clothes torn, shoes scuffed, with no memory of the intervening time, only a gnawing sense of dread laced with fragmented, disturbing images. This unsettling scenario, echoing the foundational experience of Betty and Barney Hill in 1961, marks the entry point into the perplexing world of alleged alien abductions for many. It's a world characterized by profound trauma, bewildering gaps in memory, and an overwhelming search for answers.
These experiences often leave individuals feeling isolated, grappling with anxieties and symptoms—nightmares, unexplained marks, sudden phobias—that defy conventional explanation. Mental health professionals may offer diagnoses, but for some "experiencers," these labels feel insufficient, failing to capture the sheer strangeness of what they sense occurred. It's in this crucible of confusion and isolation that many turn towards a controversial yet frequently sought-after tool: Abduction Hypnosis.
Presented as a key to unlock buried memories, hypnotherapy, specifically hypnotic regression, is employed to navigate the fog of "missing time" and piece together fragmented recollections. Proponents believe it allows direct access to subconscious memories of encounters with non-human intelligences, bypassing conscious filters or even alleged alien-induced amnesia. Critics, however, warn of the perilous paths of suggestibility and false memory creation inherent in the process. Does this practice illuminate genuine, hidden encounters with otherworldly beings, or does it inadvertently construct elaborate narratives born from the depths of the human psyche, influenced by culture and trauma? We will explore the history, methodology, profound claims, and troubling controversies surrounding abduction hypnosis, examining its complex role within the persistent narrative of alien encounters.
The Call for Memory: Why Individuals Seek Abduction Hypnosis
The journey into abduction hypnosis often begins not with a clear memory, but with a void – the perplexing and deeply unsettling awareness of "missing time." Driving home might take hours longer than it should, leaving a gaping hole in recall. As Betty and Barney Hill discovered, this missing time isn't just a curiosity; it's a psychic wound demanding explanation. What happened in those lost hours? This question becomes an obsessive pursuit for many.
Alongside missing time, other strange breadcrumbs often lead individuals to seek hypnotic exploration. Disturbing nightmares, far too vivid and visceral to be dismissed as mere dreams, plague their sleep. Betty Hill’s nightmares following her 1961 experience were key drivers in seeking help. Fleeting, fragmented images or sounds flash through the mind during waking hours – a glimpse of a large, dark eye, a snippet of humming sound, a feeling of paralysis. The body, too, might bear witness: unexplained bruises appear, odd scoop marks or triangular patterns are found on the skin, or a persistent, localized pain lingers without a medical cause. Barney Hill’s scuffed shoes and torn binocular strap, Betty’s ripped dress – these seemingly minor details become significant clues pointing towards an unremembered event.
Beyond the physical, inexplicable phobias can suddenly manifest – a sudden terror of owls, deer, doctor's offices, or even specific visual patterns. Underlying it all is often a powerful, pervasive feeling that something happened, something profound and possibly violating, coupled with a frustrating inability to grasp or articulate it. This dissonance can lead to significant psychological distress: anxiety, panic attacks, depression, insomnia, and obsessive behaviors. As described in research on Post-Abduction Syndrome (PAS), individuals may feel alienated from themselves, struggling with dissociation or a numbing of emotions.
Facing skepticism from friends, family, and even medical professionals only deepens the isolation. Many seeking help report feeling dismissed or pathologized, with some even stating they'd rather be seen as mentally unbalanced than have their experiences invalidated. In this context, abduction hypnosis emerges not necessarily as a first choice, but often as a last resort—a potential pathway to understanding, healing, and perhaps, validation. It represents a hope for retrieving the missing pieces, for constructing a coherent narrative out of baffling fragments, and ultimately, for finding relief from the haunting ambiguity.
Pioneers and Practitioners: Figures Shaping Abduction Hypnosis
The landscape of abduction hypnosis has been significantly shaped by a few key figures who brought the practice into the public eye and developed specific methodologies, often amidst considerable controversy.
Budd Hopkins
Budd Hopkins, an artist turned UFO researcher, stands out as a foundational figure. Beginning in the 1970s, Hopkins became deeply invested in abduction reports, particularly those involving "missing time." He fervently believed that hypnosis was not just helpful, but essential for retrieving memories he theorized were deliberately blocked by aliens. Through books like "Missing Time" and "Intruders" (later a TV miniseries), Hopkins popularized many core elements of the modern abduction narrative, including the focus on reproductive procedures and hybrid beings, largely based on accounts elicited through hypnosis. He established support groups and positioned himself as a central hub for abductees, advocating for the reality of their experiences based on the consistency he observed in hypnotically retrieved accounts.
Dr. John E. Mack
Perhaps the most academically credentialed proponent was the late Dr. John E. Mack. A professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, Mack's involvement lent significant, albeit controversial, weight to abduction claims. Initially skeptical, Mack became convinced of the phenomenon's authenticity after interviewing hundreds of "experiencers" starting in the late 1980s. He employed hypnosis as part of his therapeutic work, concluding that his patients were sane individuals recalling genuinely traumatic, albeit inexplicable, events. Mack argued forcefully that the consistency, emotional power, and detail of these accounts defied conventional psychological explanations. His stance led to a formal inquiry by Harvard in 1994, though he ultimately retained tenure. Mack emphasized the profound, often spiritually transformative, impact these experiences had on individuals, suggesting they might challenge our fundamental understanding of reality.
Yvonne Smith
Yvonne Smith represents a dedicated clinical hypnotherapist who built her practice specifically around alleged alien abduction cases. Certified in the early 1990s, she founded the Close Encounter Resource Organization (CERO), providing support groups and individual hypnotherapy sessions. Smith has worked with hundreds of clients, often referred by physicians and psychologists. Like Hopkins and Mack, she highlights the striking similarities in narratives recalled under hypnosis by people from vastly different backgrounds who have never met. Her work, detailed in her book "Chosen: Recollections Of UFO Abductions Through Hypnotherapy," focuses on helping individuals cope with the PTSD-like symptoms resulting from their perceived encounters.
Laurie McDonald
Adding a contemporary voice is Laurie McDonald, another clinical hypnotherapist specializing in abduction regression. With reported experience involving over a thousand cases, McDonald integrates modern concerns, even using apps to detect potential hidden surveillance during sessions with high-profile clients. She speaks internationally on the topic and works to create "psychological profiles" of the different types of entities described by experiencers during regression, reinforcing the idea of distinct alien races (Grays, Reptilians, Mantis beings, etc.) involved in the phenomenon.
It's crucial to note, however, that the field includes not just licensed therapists but also self-proclaimed "UFO Investigators" who utilize hypnosis. As David Jacobs, another prominent abduction researcher who uses hypnosis, has acknowledged, there is often "no systematic training" specifically for this niche application. This lack of standardization means methodologies can vary significantly, raising further questions about the consistency and reliability of the "memories" retrieved.
The Hypnotic Journey: Accessing the Depths of Memory
Embarking on a hypnotic regression session aimed at uncovering abduction memories typically involves a structured process designed to relax the conscious mind and facilitate access to deeper levels of awareness. The setting is usually calm and controlled, perhaps an office like Yvonne Smith's, where the therapist aims to create a safe and reassuring atmosphere.
The process often begins with guided relaxation techniques. The therapist, adopting a calm and pleasant demeanor, might instruct the individual to focus on their breathing, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, releasing tension with each breath. Imagery is frequently employed – picturing a peaceful waterfall, descending a metaphorical staircase step-by-step, or arriving in a tranquil, safe personal space. The hypnotherapist's voice acts as a guide, encouraging the individual to sink deeper into a relaxed, focused, trance-like state. As one practitioner puts it, tension melts away "like warm wax over the edge of a burning candle."
Once a sufficient depth of hypnosis is achieved – a state characterized by heightened focus and suggestibility – the therapist gently guides the individual's recall. They might direct the person back to the specific time period where memory seems fragmented or missing, or towards the feelings and sensations associated with the inexplicable event. Prompts are crucial here: "Describe what you see or hear," "What are your feelings right now?", "Tell me what happens next." The therapist encourages the subject to "just let it flow, even if it sounds weird."
During this phase, fragmented sensations, fleeting images, and disconnected feelings often begin to surface. Hypnotherapy aims to help the individual organize these pieces, allowing a more coherent narrative to emerge from the subconscious. It's described as accessing and processing subconscious memories, allowing them to rise to conscious awareness.
Crucially, this process is often accompanied by intense emotional release, known as catharsis. As the narrative unfolds, individuals may re-experience the terror, fear, pain, or sense of violation associated with the alleged events. Recordings of sessions, like those from the Betty and Barney Hill case or those played by Yvonne Smith (with permission), reveal subjects weeping, gasping, and expressing profound distress as they seemingly relive traumatic moments. This intense emotional reaction is often cited by proponents as evidence for the authenticity of the underlying experience, arguing that such powerful feelings wouldn't accompany mere fantasy. However, critics point out that strong emotions can also be associated with vividly imagined scenarios or falsely recalled events, especially under the influence of suggestion.
Unveiling the Narrative: Common Themes in Hypnotic Recollections
As individuals journey through hypnotic regression, remarkably consistent themes and sequences tend to emerge across different accounts, forming what might be called the classic abduction narrative. While variations exist, the core elements appear with striking regularity.
The Beginning of the Experience
The experience often begins subtly, perhaps with an unusual feeling or a compulsive urge to be somewhere specific. Then comes the “Oz Factor,” a shift in consciousness where the surrounding world fades, replaced by an internal focus, sometimes accompanied by strange lights (electric red, bright white, or blue) or a mist. Paralysis frequently sets in, rendering the individual unable to move or scream. Figures then appear – often the small, large-headed Grays with their unnerving, dark, almond-shaped eyes. Reports describe being moved, either walking numbly or being levitated, sometimes passing through solid objects like walls or windows, often drawn upwards by a beam of light into an unseen craft.
Inside the Craft and the Examination
Inside the vessel, descriptions commonly include sterile, metallic environments, often with curved hallways and unusual, shadowless illumination, sometimes described as blue or fluorescent. The centerpiece of the narrative is almost invariably the medical examination. Placed upon a cold table, often nude, the abductee reports being subjected to invasive procedures by beings who exhibit a cold, clinical detachment. There's a distinct focus on reproductive biology: men describe painful probing, sperm extraction, and sometimes having instruments inserted into them, occasionally leaving marks like triangular scoops. Women recount gynecological exams, ovum extraction, and terrifyingly, the insertion of long, needle-like instruments into their navel, as Betty Hill vividly described – an experience so traumatic her session had to be stopped. The beings often seem unfamiliar with human physiology or clothing, struggling with zippers, yet carrying out complex procedures.
Other Interactions and Communication
Beyond the core exam, other strange interactions are reported. "Imaging" involves being shown scenes on screens designed to evoke strong emotions – Whitley Strieber recalled seeing images of global destruction. "Envisioning" projects similar scenes directly into the mind. In "staging," the abductee interacts within these mental projections. "Testing" involves operating complex alien devices, finding they instinctively know how, despite initial confusion. Communication is rarely verbal in the human sense; instead, it's often telepathic – a direct mind-to-mind transfer, sometimes perceived as a cacophony of voices or a "hive mind." Messages conveyed might include warnings about environmental destruction or nuclear war, prophecies of future cataclysms (a theme Yvonne Smith noted increasing in recent years), or assignments for the abductee, positioning them as unwilling ambassadors or participants in an alien agenda.
The Hybrid Program
One of the most disturbing and emotionally charged elements is the "hybrid program." Both male and female abductees report being used for reproductive purposes. Later, they might be presented with children – beings appearing part-human, part-alien (often described as having features similar to the abductee but with large, Grey-like eyes or fair hair). This "child presentation" evokes profound feelings of connection, loss, and grief, with experiencers like Jacqueline lamenting, "Where's my baby?"
The Return
The return is often as abrupt as the departure. Abductees find themselves back where they started, often with no conscious memory of the event, only the jarring realization of "missing time." Sometimes, small errors occur – clothes are on backward, or they are returned to a different location, even locked outside their own home. Paradoxically, alongside the trauma, some report a "theophany" upon return – an overwhelming feeling of love, peace, or oneness with the universe or even their captors, a phenomenon researchers struggle to explain, suggesting possibilities from medical manipulation to a form of Stockholm Syndrome. This complex tapestry of events, recalled under hypnosis, forms the core of the abduction mystery.
The Psychological Puzzle: Decoding Hypnotic Abduction Accounts
While the narratives emerging from abduction hypnosis can be compellingly consistent and emotionally charged, the scientific and psychological communities largely approach them with significant skepticism, offering alternative explanations rooted in the known workings of the human mind and memory.
Memory Malleability and Suggestibility
Central to this skepticism is the understanding that human memory is not a perfect recorder. It's reconstructive, malleable, and highly susceptible to distortion, especially under stress, trauma, or suggestive influences. Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus's groundbreaking work demonstrated that false memories, even of complex and emotional events like being lost in a shopping mall, can be implanted through suggestion. This raises serious questions about memories retrieved under hypnosis, a state known to significantly increase suggestibility. Critics argue that hypnotists, even well-intentioned ones, can subtly or overtly guide the subject, embedding ideas or shaping ambiguous feelings into a coherent, but potentially false, abduction narrative. The subject, eager to find answers or please the authority figure, may confabulate – filling in memory gaps with plausible-sounding details drawn from imagination or cultural scripts.
Sleep Paralysis and Hallucinations
A powerful alternative explanation for many abduction experiences, particularly those described as starting in bed at night, is the combination of sleep paralysis and hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations. During sleep paralysis, the mind wakes up while the body remains temporarily immobilized – a natural mechanism to prevent acting out dreams. This state can be accompanied by vivid, often terrifying hallucinations: seeing figures in the room (historically interpreted as demons like the Incubus/Succubus or the "Old Hag"), hearing buzzing sounds, feeling pressure on the chest, sensing a presence, or experiencing sensations of floating or flying. For someone unfamiliar with this common neurological hiccup, especially if they possess a vivid imagination or pre-existing belief in the paranormal, these sensations could easily be interpreted as an alien encounter. Harvard researcher Richard McNally's work suggests abductees often exhibit traits like fantasy proneness and "magical ideation," making them potentially more likely to interpret anomalous experiences in extraordinary ways.
Cultural Influence
The pervasive influence of culture cannot be ignored. Skeptics like Robert Sheaffer point out that the appearance and behavior of reported aliens often mirror depictions in science fiction, from early films like Invaders From Mars (1953) to the iconic "Grey" popularized through books and shows like The X-Files. The details of the Betty and Barney Hill account itself have been noted to resemble elements from an episode of The Outer Limits broadcast shortly before their hypnosis sessions. Furthermore, abduction narratives seem to shift with cultural knowledge; initial reports featured Martians and Venusians, but as science deemed those planets uninhabitable, the claimed origins shifted to more distant star systems. This suggests the narratives draw heavily from a shared cultural pool of ideas about extraterrestrials.
Accidental Awareness Under Anesthesia
A more recent and fascinating hypothesis links some abduction accounts to "accidental awareness under general anesthesia." Psychoanalyst David V. Forrest noted the striking parallels: the subject lying on a table, bright lights overhead, masked figures (surgeons/nurses) looming, invasive procedures, feelings of paralysis and terror, and strange bodily sensations. A traumatic experience of waking during surgery, perhaps partially recalled or distorted by anesthetic drugs, could potentially be reconstructed later, possibly under hypnosis, as an alien abduction memory. Barney Hill, under hypnosis, even compared the feeling of being probed to a prior tonsillectomy, noting the coldness and his closed eyes.
Ultimately, the skeptical perspective argues that abduction hypnosis doesn't retrieve objective memories of extraterrestrial encounters but rather facilitates the construction of narratives based on suggestibility, false memory, misinterpretations of natural phenomena like sleep paralysis, personality factors, and powerful cultural influences.
The Human Impact: Trauma, Healing, and Community
Regardless of whether alien abductions are objectively real physical events, the psychological impact on those who believe they have experienced them is undeniable and often profound. Many report symptoms consistent with significant trauma, leading to the informal designation "Post-Abduction Syndrome" (PAS) within the experiencer community. This cluster of symptoms, as described by researchers like Rick Nielsen and Rose Hargrove, mirrors Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – persistent intrusive memories or flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, hypervigilance, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, emotional numbing, and avoidance of stimuli associated with the perceived event. The key difference highlighted is that alleged abductions can be recurring, making it harder to pinpoint a single originating trauma.
Crucially, research has shown that the trauma experienced is physiologically real. Studies conducted by researchers like Richard McNally at Harvard, using measures like heart rate and skin conductance while subjects listened to scripts of their abduction accounts, found that the physiological responses were as intense, or even more so, than those of combat veterans or victims of sexual assault recalling their verified traumas. This underscores a critical point: the emotional distress and psychological suffering are genuine, even if the underlying memory is contested. As McNally noted, it highlights "the power of emotional belief."
Given this real suffering, the role of abduction hypnosis becomes complex. While heavily criticized as a potential source of false memories, some proponents and even some experiencers view it as a therapeutic tool. For individuals tormented by inexplicable anxiety, physical symptoms, or fragmented memories, the hypnotic process – even if it leads to a narrative deemed false by outsiders – can provide a sense of understanding, coherence, and control. Constructing a story, any story, can sometimes be preferable to living with terrifying ambiguity. Some individuals report significant relief after hypnotherapy, experiencing reduced anxiety, better sleep, and the ability to integrate the perceived experience into their lives, finally feeling they understand what happened to them.
Beyond individual therapy, the sense of community offered by support groups, like Yvonne Smith's CERO, plays a vital role. Alien abductees frequently face disbelief and ridicule, leading to profound isolation. These groups offer a haven where experiences can be shared without judgment, providing validation and mutual support. Hearing similar stories from others can lessen the sense of being alone or "crazy." This communal reinforcement is essential for coping, though critics also point out that such environments can potentially solidify or elaborate upon potentially false narratives through group dynamics.
For some, navigating these experiences, whether through hypnosis, support groups, or personal reflection, leads to a shift in identity. They may come to see themselves as "experiencers," individuals chosen for contact, perhaps even imbued with a unique purpose or insight, sometimes related to reported alien warnings about the planet's future. While fraught with challenges, the journey for some involves finding a way to live with these extraordinary beliefs and integrate them into a meaningful life narrative.
The Ongoing Debate: Science, Belief, and the Unknown
Decades after the Betty and Barney Hill case brought alien abduction into the mainstream, the phenomenon, and the use of hypnosis to explore it, remains deeply contentious. The core tension lies between the rigorous demands of scientific methodology and the powerful, subjective reality reported by experiencers. Science, prioritizing empirical evidence and testable hypotheses, largely favors psychological and neurological explanations – false memory, suggestibility, sleep paralysis, cultural scripting, misinterpretation of mundane events. The lack of consistent, verifiable physical evidence (like unambiguously non-terrestrial implants) remains a significant hurdle for literal interpretations.
Yet, for those who undergo these experiences, the memories – whether accessed consciously or through hypnosis – often feel profoundly real, accompanied by genuine emotional and physiological trauma. Researchers sympathetic to experiencers, like the late John Mack, argued that simply dismissing these accounts as purely psychological phenomena failed to address the full scope of the reported experiences – the consistency across cultures, the occurrence in young children seemingly unexposed to media tropes, the occasional correlation with contemporaneous UFO sightings by others, and the sheer transformative power of the events on individuals' lives. Mack suggested that the phenomenon might force us to reconsider our very definitions of reality, proposing that these encounters could occur in a liminal space not fully captured by conventional physics or psychology.
The debate is unlikely to be resolved soon. Abduction hypnosis sits squarely at the nexus of this conflict. Is it a tool capable of piercing amnesia, revealing interactions that defy our current understanding of the cosmos? Or is it a process that, interacting with belief, trauma, and the inherent suggestibility of the human mind, constructs convincing facsimiles of impossible experiences? Without definitive proof either way, the interpretation often hinges on pre-existing beliefs.
What remains clear is that the alien abduction narrative, often brought into focus through the lens of hypnosis, taps into deep-seated human anxieties about violation, control, identity, and our place in a vast, unknown universe. It challenges our understanding of memory, consciousness, and the boundaries of believable experience, leaving us face-to-face with an enduring, and for many, deeply personal, mystery.
Additional Resources and Support
For individuals seeking further information or support related to experiences discussed in this article, the following resources (mentioned in the research) may be starting points, though critical evaluation is always advised:
Close Encounter Resource Organization (CERO): Founded by Yvonne Smith, provides support groups.
Online communities and forums: Numerous online groups exist for experiencers to connect (examples provided in source links like crystalinks.com/support., abduct.com/support.php, etc., though link validity may vary over time).
Books by researchers: Works by Budd Hopkins, John Mack, David Jacobs, Yvonne Smith, and Thomas E. Bullard offer detailed perspectives, though often reflecting the author's specific viewpoint.
Skeptical resources: Organizations and publications dedicated to critical thinking and scientific skepticism often analyze abduction claims (e.g., Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Skeptic magazine, Skeptoid podcast).
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Exploring the Potential Link Between Crop Circles, Alien Abductions, and UAPs
Exploring the Potential Link Between Crop Circles, Alien Abductions, and UAPs
Over the past several decades, numerous unexplained phenomena have captivated the public and scientific communities alike. Among these are crop circles, reports of alien abductions, and the increasing sightings and investigations of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). While each of these phenomena has been studied independently, an intriguing question persists: could there be a connection linking them? To explore this, we must analyze their characteristics, the evidence supporting their existence, and the potential theoretical frameworks that might unify these phenomena.
Crop Circles: An Overview
Crop circles are large geometric patterns that appear mysteriously overnight in fields of cereal crops. First gaining widespread attention in the late 20th century, these formations often feature complex, symmetrical designs. While many crop circles have been revealed as hoaxes—created by human pranksters using simple tools—some remain unexplained due to their intricate patterns, timing, and occasionally, their apparent lack of human origin. Researchers have proposed various theories, ranging from natural phenomena (such as wind patterns) to extraterrestrial activity or even advanced human engineering.
From a scientific standpoint, the majority of crop circles have been demonstrated as human-made hoaxes. However, a subset remains unexplained, raising questions about their origin. Some researchers suggest that these formations could be a form of communication or art from extraterrestrial sources, or perhaps a manifestation of unknown natural processes. Notably, reports of anomalous electromagnetic effects and localized animal behavior around certain crop circles have fueled speculation about their potential extraterrestrial connection.
Alien Abductions: An Overview
Reports of alien abductions involve individuals claiming to have been taken against their will by extraterrestrial beings. These accounts often include descriptions of medical examinations, communication with alien entities, and a sense of missing time. While skeptics attribute such reports to psychological factors such as sleep paralysis, hallucinations, or memory distortions, some researchers argue that the consistency and detail in many accounts point to a genuine phenomenon.
Psychologically, abduction reports often feature themes of trauma, curiosity, or a desire for understanding of the unknown. From a scientific perspective, there is limited empirical evidence supporting the physical reality of abductions. Nonetheless, the phenomenon persists in cultural consciousness, possibly reflecting deeper societal fears or curiosity about extraterrestrial life.
UAPs: An Overview
UAPs, formerly known as UFOs, have garnered renewed attention following recent official disclosures and military reports. UAPs are aerial phenomena that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Modern UAP investigations leverage advanced sensor technology, radar, infrared imaging, and pilot testimonies. Many UAP sightings involve rapid, maneuverable objects exhibiting capabilities beyond current human technology.
While most UAPs are eventually identified as natural or man-made objects (e.g., aircraft, weather phenomena), a subset remains unexplained. The U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies have acknowledged that some UAPs could pose national security concerns, emphasizing the need for scientific investigation.
Potential Connections Between the Phenomena
The question of whether crop circles, alien abductions, and UAPs are interconnected hinges on several considerations: the possibility of a common extraterrestrial origin, shared communication methods, or a broader phenomenon of contact.
Shared Themes of Contact and Communication
All three phenomena involve interaction—either direct or indirect—with extraterrestrial entities or unknown forces. Crop circles could serve as a form of visual communication or art from alien visitors, perhaps conveying messages or marking landing sites. UAPs might represent the physical manifestation of alien crafts observed during sightings, while abduction reports could be accounts of direct contact or experimentation.
Temporal and Spatial Overlap
Some researchers have noted temporal overlaps where crop circles appear near UAP sightings, or reports of abductions coincide with increased UAP activity. For instance, certain crop circles have been reported in regions with frequent UAP sightings, leading some to speculate about a coordinated phenomenon or a shared source.
Psychological and Cultural Factors
The widespread cultural narratives about extraterrestrials could influence the perception and reporting of these phenomena. For example, individuals experiencing abduction phenomena may interpret anomalous aerial sightings as evidence of alien activity, or vice versa. This suggests that cultural frameworks shape how such phenomena are experienced and reported.
Scientific and Theoretical Considerations
From a scientific perspective, there is currently no empirical evidence directly linking crop circles, abductions, and UAPs as manifestations of a single phenomenon. However, some hypotheses propose that these phenomena could be different expressions of an overarching process, such as:
Interdimensional or Multidimensional Hypotheses: Suggesting that extraterrestrial entities operate across multiple dimensions, leading to observable phenomena in our physical realm, including crop circles and UAPs, and influencing human consciousness to produce abduction narratives.
Quantum or Electromagnetic Interactions: Proposing that unknown natural forces or advanced technology could produce electromagnetic effects associated with crop circles, UAPs, and psychological phenomena related to abduction reports.
Psychophysical or Consciousness-Based Models: Asserting that human consciousness interacts with unknown forces, leading to sightings, crop circle formations, and abduction memories, all interconnected through shared subconscious or collective unconscious processes.
Critical Evaluation and Scientific Challenges of Crop Circles, UAPs, and Abduction Claims
The phenomena of crop circles, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), and alleged extraterrestrial abductions have fascinated the public and researchers alike for decades. These phenomena are often intertwined in popular culture, leading to widespread speculation about their origins and implications. However, despite numerous intriguing correlations and hypotheses, establishing rigorous scientific validation remains a significant challenge. This essay aims to critically evaluate these phenomena, explore the scientific obstacles in studying them, and discuss the factors that complicate objective analysis.
Crop circles, characterized by intricate patterns appearing overnight in fields of crops, have long been a subject of debate. While some posit that these formations are evidence of extraterrestrial activity or other supernatural forces, the majority of scientifically validated evidence indicates that most crop circles are human-made hoaxes. Skilled artists and pranksters have demonstrated the ability to create complex designs using simple tools, such as planks, ropes, and GPS devices. Investigations into these formations often reveal telltale signs of human craftsmanship, including tool marks and deliberate geometric patterns. Despite this, a subset of enthusiasts claims that some crop circles exhibit anomalous features that defy human explanation, such as unusual electromagnetic effects or unexplained energy signatures. Nonetheless, these claims lack consistent, reproducible scientific evidence to substantiate the involvement of non-human agents.
Unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), formerly known as UFOs, represent another complex area of investigation. Modern technology has allowed for increased documentation of aerial objects that exhibit flight characteristics beyond current human-made aircraft capabilities, such as abrupt accelerations, instantaneous changes in direction, and hypersonic speeds. Military and civilian radar data, along with visual sightings, have contributed to the growing body of UAP reports. In recent years, official government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, have acknowledged the existence of UAPs and have established task forces to analyze these phenomena. Despite these efforts, conclusive evidence regarding their origins remains elusive. Many UAP observations are attributed to natural atmospheric phenomena, sensor artifacts, or misidentifications of conventional aircraft or drones. The lack of comprehensive, physical evidence—such as recovered materials, high-resolution imagery, or direct scientific measurements—limits the ability to definitively determine whether UAPs are of extraterrestrial origin, advanced human technology, or natural phenomena.
Claims of extraterrestrial abductions further complicate the scientific landscape. These reports typically involve individuals asserting they have been taken against their will by non-human entities, often with detailed descriptions of encounters and medical examinations. While such claims are emotionally compelling, they lack verifiable physical evidence. Many scientists interpret abduction reports through psychological frameworks, including sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and cognitive biases. Factors such as stress, trauma, and cultural influences can shape individuals’ perceptions and memories, leading to false or distorted accounts. Extensive research into sleep disorders and altered states of consciousness supports the notion that many abduction experiences may be psychological phenomena rather than physical events.
The phenomena are also subject to cognitive biases that hinder objective analysis. Pareidolia, the tendency to perceive meaningful images in random patterns, can lead observers to interpret crop markings or aerial shapes as deliberate symbols or messages. Confirmation bias influences researchers and enthusiasts to focus on evidence that supports their preconceived notions while dismissing contradictory data. Cultural influences, media portrayals, and societal beliefs about extraterrestrials shape perceptions and interpretations of these phenomena. As a result, objective scientific inquiry is often compromised by subjective interpretations and anecdotal evidence.
The scientific community emphasizes the importance of reproducible, empirical evidence before establishing causal links or explanations. For phenomena as elusive as crop circles, UAPs, and abduction claims, this requirement poses a significant challenge. Rigorous scientific validation necessitates high-quality data, controlled experiments, and peer-reviewed research—standards that are difficult to meet given the nature of these phenomena. Without tangible physical evidence, such as artifacts, biological samples, or consistent measurement data, the hypotheses remain speculative.
In conclusion, despite the widespread fascination with crop circles, UAPs, and extraterrestrial abduction claims, the scientific validation of these phenomena remains limited. Many crop circles are demonstrated to be human-made hoaxes, UAPs often lack conclusive physical evidence to confirm extraterrestrial origins, and abduction reports are predominantly explainable through psychological mechanisms. These phenomena are further complicated by cognitive biases and cultural influences, which hinder objective analysis. The scientific community rightly calls for more rigorous, reproducible empirical evidence before drawing definitive conclusions. Until then, these phenomena should be approached with scientific skepticism, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to evidence-based investigation
Conclusion
While the phenomena of crop circles, alien abductions, and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) share common thematic elements such as contact, communication, and unexplained activity, current scientific evidence does not definitively establish a direct causal or causal relationship among them. These phenomena have long fascinated both the public and researchers, largely because of their mysterious nature and the potential implications they hold for our understanding of life beyond Earth and the universe’s hidden dimensions. Despite the intriguing overlaps in timing, geographic distribution, and thematic content, the scientific community remains cautious, emphasizing the need for rigorous investigation and empirical validation.
The recurring appearance of crop circles, often in specific regions and during particular periods, raises questions about their origins—whether they are elaborate hoaxes, artistic expressions, or potentially signals from extraterrestrial sources. Similarly, reports of alien abductions often involve consistent narratives of contact and communication, yet lack conclusive physical evidence. UAPs, meanwhile, have been documented through radar, visual sightings, and increasingly sophisticated sensor technology, which complicates initial assumptions about their nature, whether they are secret military projects, natural atmospheric phenomena, or something else entirely.
Despite the absence of definitive proof linking these phenomena, their simultaneous occurrence and overlapping themes motivate ongoing multidisciplinary research. Advances in sensor technology, data analysis, and consciousness studies offer promising avenues for future exploration. For instance, improved imaging and tracking systems could better analyze UAPs, while psychological and neuroscientific research might deepen understanding of abduction reports and perceptual phenomena. Additionally, interdisciplinary approaches combining physics, psychology, anthropology, and cultural studies are essential to comprehensively examine the societal and psychological impacts of these mysterious events.
In conclusion, crop circles, alien abductions, and UAPs continue to be compelling mysteries at the intersection of science, psychology, and cultural perception. While current evidence does not confirm a direct link among them, their shared themes suggest they could be interconnected aspects of a broader, perhaps extraterrestrial or multidimensional, reality. As technology and scientific methodologies advance, future discoveries may illuminate these phenomena’s true nature, potentially transforming our understanding of the universe and our place within it. Until then, they remain intriguing enigmas that challenge our curiosity and scientific rigor.
References
Hynek, J. (1972). The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry. Henry Regnery Company.
Maccabee, B. (2000). "Crop Circles: The Scientific Evidence." Journal of Scientific Exploration, 14(3), 319-341.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (2021). "UAPs and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life." NASA Science Briefings.
McDonnell, J. A., & Mendez, M. (2019). "UAPs: An Overview of Recent Developments." Journal of Advanced Aerospace Studies.
Kean, L. (2010). UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record. Harmony Books.
Note: This analysis synthesizes current scientific perspectives and hypotheses. The phenomena discussed remain subjects of ongoing investigation and debate.
Artist's illustration of future lunar astronauts. (Credit: NASA)
How can thermoelectric generators (TEGs) help advance future lunar surface habitats? This is what a recent studypublished in Acta Astronautica hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea investigated a novel technique for improving power efficiency and reliability under the Moon’s harsh conditions. This study has the potential to help mission planners, engineers, and future astronauts develop technologies necessary for deep space human exploration to the Moon and beyond.
For the study, the researchers conducted a first-time analysis of how a novel TEG system could function under lunar surface conditions, specifically regarding the extreme temperature differences between the lunar day and lunar night, which ranges from 121°C (250°F) to -133°C (-208°F), respectively. Previous studies have hypothesized that drastic temperature ranges could enable greater efficiency for TEGs, also called a transient-state operation.
The goal of this study was to discuss how switching heat storage (HS) systems, also called multiple-HS systems, under lunar conditions could produce the transient-state operation. In the end, the researchers found the multiple-HS system under lunar conditions resulted in a 48.9 percent power generation increase, indicating the temperature range could benefit TEGs and a potentially long-term lunar habitat.
The study notes, “Deep space exploration, including missions such as the establishment of human bases, especially on the Moon and Mars, has garnered significant interest worldwide. As stated by scientists helming missions such as the Artemis project, a manned lunar base is an integral part of deep space exploration as it can serve as a base for future missions in the solar system. Consequently, production of sufficient power for maintaining such a base has become the focus of this research.”
The study discusses other potential power sources like Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) but discourages their use for long-term missions due to the half-life decay of radioactive isotopes. Despite this, RTGs have successfully been used on instruments that were left on the lunar surface by the Apollo missions and are currently being used by NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars.
Going forward, NASA plans to use RTGs on the agency’s upcoming Dragonfly mission, which is currently slated to launch in July 2028. The researchers briefly mention how solar and nuclear power could be used as viable power sources on the Moon, with nuclear fission reactors previously being suggested for use on the lunar surface.
NASA’s Artemis program, specifically with the goal of establishing a long-term human presence on the lunar surface, enhances the relevance of this study. The continued development of new technologies on the lunar surface not only ensures a long-term human presence on the Moon but also establishes technologies that could be used on future crewed missions to Mars, as outlined in NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture. Additionally, the use of a reliable power source on the lunar surface mitigates the need for bringing power sources from Earth, enhancing a practice called in situ resource utilization (ISRU), which uses available resources to maintain a successful mission. In this case, TEGs use the wide temperature range on the lunar surface for their power generation needs.
As humanity continues its journey towards developing long-term settlements beyond Earth, studies like this demonstrate a growing interest in using Earth-based technologies for improving life beyond Earth. Perhaps TEGs could serve as a starting point for powering long-term lunar habitats until a more advanced and reliable system is established.
How will thermoelectric power generation help advance lunar habitats in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
The lunar north pole, captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
How do you tell how old an astronomical object is? I mean, the next time the Moon is in the sky, take a look at it. How would you even begin to answer that question?
I won’t leave you in suspense. Astronomers use a technique called crater counting and it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The idea is that worlds like the Moon, Mercury, and many of the moons of the outer system are not active. They’ve been dead, in almost every sense of the word, for a very long time. And when a comet or asteroid strikes them, the crater they leave behind sticks around. There’s no air to blow it away. No water to wash it down. No plate tectonics to pull it under the surface.
And so craters just pile up, one after another, and often on top of each other. But not all dead worlds are created equal. Some of them were molten in the recent past, and lava is really good at covering up craters. So if you compare two worlds and count their craters, you can get a relative sense of which worlds solidified sooner.
And some had molten parts alongside the solid parts for some time. Planets and moons don’t always cool down all at once. There might be active volcanic regions over here and just plains of solid nothingness over there. So if you scan across the surface of a world, the places with more craters are probably going to be older (in the sense that they solidified in the more distant past) than the places were fewer craters.
For example, on the Moon we have those two broad regions: the dark basins, or mare, and the lighter-colored highlands. Just by looking at the craters you can tell that the maria are younger because they have fewer craters.
But…how old? If I see a world with tons of craters, how old it is? Not in a relative sense, as in this planet is older than this other one. But in an absolute sense. Like billions of years. Give me a number.
The Apollo missions held the key to unlocking crater records not just on the Moon, but across the solar system.
That’s because scientists have been able to apply radiometric dating to the moon rocks returned from the Apollo missions. If you’re not already familiar, radiometric dating is where you look at the abundances of various radioactive elements and compare their proportions to the numbers of elements that they decay into. Since we know the half-life of those elements, we can calculate the absolute age of that sample.
And since the Apollo missions visited many places on the Moon, we’ve been able to build a detailed accounting of which parts cooled and solidified when. For example, the edge of the Sea of Tranquility, the site of the Apollo 11 landing, is just over 3.5 billion years old, while some other regions in the highlands reach right up to 4 billion years old.
By far the youngest features on the Moon are some of the large impact craters. The Copernicus, Tycho, and Cone craters are all less than a billion years old. The youngest crater of all is probably the Giordano Bruno crater, named after the Italian renaissance smart/crazy guy, and is only 4 million years old. These craters are so young because the impacts carry so much energy that they’re able to erase everything in their vicinity, wiping the slate clean and starting the whole process over.
With these absolute numbers in hand, we can now calibrate crater counts across the entire solar system. Now we can look at regions of Mercury or Callisto and know how old they are, even though we’ve never been there, thanks to the Apollo missions and their geologic handiwork.
We also know thanks to the Apollo missions that the Moon is slowly slipping away from us. This was hypothesized all the way back in the early 1800’s when Sir Edmund Halley (of Halley’s comet fame) read through ancient eclipse records and realized we were slowly getting further and further apart. And we had a pretty good explanation for WHY the moon might be going away – the tides raised by the moon get carried in front of it by the spin of the Earth, and that extra gravitational tug pulls the moon into a higher orbit - but we had no good way of putting a precise number on this.
In 1962 Princeton graduate student James Faller proposed placing reflectors on the Moon’s surface. This would allow us to more easily bounce lasers back and forth from the Moon to here, and use that to measure a distance, the same way you can use one of those little laser measurement thingies to…measure distances.
While measurements had been taken before by just reflecting off the lunar soil, with the reflectors the measurements became much more accurate. We now know that the Moon is receding from the Earth at an average rate of 3.8 centimeters per year. Which isn’t very quick, but over the course of, you know, an eon or two, it really adds up.
In fact, in just a few hundred million years the combined effect of the Moon spiraling away from us and the Sun getting brighter and larger (different article) will mean that total solar eclipses will become impossible.
For over 90 years, the UFO enigma has captivated people’s minds worldwide, sparking curiosity, debates, and countless investigations into the phenomenon. The wait is over, as David Grusch, David Fravor & Ryan Graves are set to testify before the US Congress during the congressional meetings scheduled for July 26, 2023.
Meanwhile, various theories were postulated by United States Representative Mike Gallagher on the possible origin of UFOs while he appeared on Pat McAfee’s show on June 27, 2023. The former Marine suggested that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) might possibly represent an enigmatic “ancient civilization” that had remained hidden on Earth until recently when they began to surface.
“This should be an opportunity for the government to be transparent,” he said. “If we have information that disconfirms the extraterrestrial hypothesis, or all these other ones, at least it shows the government doing something competent and being forward-leaning by declassifying information to the public.”
Rep. Gallagher made this statement in response to the wild interview of David Grusch with Ross Coutlhart that hit the media. Mr. Grusch, who is confirmed to testify before Congress in the upcoming hearings, claimed that the US government has proof of alien life and that there are spacecraft from another species. He mentions that there is a significant number of these spacecraft, some of which have landed while others have crashed.
When asked about the duration of the cover-up, Grusch mentions that the first recovery of a UAP occurred in 1933 in Magenta, Italy, during the regime of Benito Mussolini. He explains that the Italian government moved the recovered craft to a secure air base until 1944-1945 when the Vatican informed the Americans about it.
Appearing on the sports talk show, Gallagher suggested that one possible explanation of supposed UFO sightings was the so-called “Terminator” theory — derived from the film of the same name — that aliens were actually human beings from the future. Gallagher further put forth another theory, suggesting the following: “Instead of us from the future, it might indeed be an ancient civilization that has been lurking here, and suddenly it’s making its presence known.” Ancient Aliens, does it ring a bell?
A similar theory was also proposed by Tim Peake, one of Britain’s famous astronauts. He said that the UFOs filmed by the US military over 100 times could either time traveling humans or aliens from other civilizations. During an interview with Good Morning Britain in June 2022, Briton astronaut Tim Peake, who spent more than six months on the International Space Station, was asked about the UAP videos, which the Pentagon recently declassified.
Peake said: “I heard one theory where a pilot was talking about that potentially in the future, they’ve developed time travel – is it something that’s come back from the future?” He did not exactly say what the UFOs are but shared some theories that have long been discussed by UFOlogists.
“I don’t think it’s a development of any state nation or non-state organization at all. I think it’s quite remarkable when you see the video footage. It does seem extraordinary as to what these machines are capable of.”
There is a huge buried UFO hidden outside the US, and Ross Coulthart claimed that he knows the location of this immovable craft. There is no confirmation from Coulthart about the nature of this craft if it was retrieved. However, some have speculated this could be an archeological dig. Could this particular craft potentially be a remnant of a bygone civilization?
Considering Rep. Gallagher’s theory, scientists have explored the possibility of detecting ancient civilizations in Earth’s geological record. A recent paper called “The Silurian Hypothesis” discusses how traces of industrial civilizations could be found. While fossils and artifacts are unlikely to survive over millions of years, anomalous changes in chemical compositions could serve as clues. By studying geological anomalies and applying models to other planets, scientists hope to understand if civilizations existed in the distant past.
NASA has spent many years seeking the truth regarding extraterrestrial life. Furthermore, the space agency has never denied the existence of non-human life beyond Earth in any form. This is sufficient to discuss the idea of non-human life existing beyond Earth in any form, from the microscopic to the macroscopic. Avi Loeb, a professor at Harvard, has supported the idea that there may have been earlier civilizations on both Earth and Mars, and that these civilizations may have been the origin of UAPs. (Click here to read the full article)
Mr. Loeb writes: “Planets like Mars or Earth could have given multiple births to technological civilizations that were a billion years apart and hence were not aware of each other. Like stable parents, the planets recovered from the environmental impact of these civilizations over time. We may have been separated in time from siblings that we never had the opportunity to meet and so we are unaware of their existence.”
Former Pentagon UFO official, Lue Elizondo, shared intriguing insights in an interview about crash retrievals and materials related to UFOs/UAPs. He believes the US government possesses exotic materials but lacks transparency on the matter. (Click here to read the full article)
Elizondo used an analogy of finding an out-of-place object in King Tut’s tomb to emphasize the significance of finding advanced materials before our known technology existed. Some interpreted this analogy as a hint that UFOs could be considered archaeological findings, possibly ancient rather than just old.
Interestingly, Bob Lazar, on the Joe Rogan Experience, mentioned hearing that at least one recovered UFO was found during an archaeological dig, suggesting its ancient origin. Astronomer Avi Loeb suggested that some advanced devices made by early inhabitants of Mars and Earth might still be operational elsewhere in the Solar System, potentially accounting for some Unidentified Aerial Phenomena reports.
Physicist John E. Brandenburg’s 2015 study speculated about a massive thermonuclear explosion that destroyed Mars’ once-Earthlike atmosphere, considering the Cydonian Hypothesis and Fermi’s Paradox. These ideas explore the possibility of ancient advanced civilizations in our solar system.
Some researchers believe that there was once a highly developed culture on Earth. But as a result of unknown circumstances, civilization was destroyed. This is evidenced by archaeological finds that cannot be explained from the scientific point of view of modern society. There is a theory that in the past, our planet was visited by alien representatives who shared their knowledge and technologies with people, so maybe they donated incredible technologies thousands of years ago, but then these technologies brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
Some people claim that our ancestors used so advanced technologies that in our time, it is difficult to imagine them. But some of the modern technologies may have been borrowed from the past, although almost no one knows about it. You may have heard of the ancient nuclear war hypothesis or ancient flying vehicles, which can also be found in ancient texts. It is said that our ancestors could even move in space and had knowledge about the universe that surpasses all modern knowledge.
A 450-page manuscript was examined in 1963 by Romanian engineer Doru Todericiu in Sibiu’s national archive (former Hermannstadt). Todericiu examined the manuscript’s scientific and technological substance before classifying it as a work on various artillery and ballistics difficulties, despite the fact that it had previously been known as such. He learned that Conrad Haas, the author of the manuscript’s third section, had written about some amazing concepts related to rocketry.
The Sibiu manuscript does not fit into the present history, so it draws increased attention. There aren’t many details available concerning Conrad Haas’s life. He was born not far from Vienna in Dornbach. He worked for the Imperial court of Vienna as an artillery guard and commissioned officer. He most likely traveled to Transylvania in 1551 with Imperial forces to fulfill this role, when he took the position of chief of the artillery camp at the Hermannstadt arsenal.
He penned the manuscript between 1529 and 1569, and it appears to contain, among other things, the earliest explanation of the multistage rocket’s basic operating principle. He talks about bundling rockets, stabilizing fins, and employing liquid fuel as well as describing and showing two and three-stage rockets.
The Sibiu manuscript is written in German. Many people believe that it was written using some even more ancient texts. The manuscript texts describe in detail the principles of rocketry, and there are also drawings of models of space three-stage rocket. The document contains a description of technologies for combining fireworks with weapons and even the construction of a hang glider, as well as instructions for creating fuel mixtures as liquid rocket fuel.
3-Stage Space Rockets description in Sibiu Manuscript
What’s more, there are references to flights to the moon. According to researchers from Romania, the manuscript contains stories about a man who was able to get to the Earth’s satellite due to a unique flying machine. There are also descriptions of prehistoric fuel, which consisted of several rare elements. The rockets of this type were later launched at Cape Kennedy and used by cosmonauts in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
It looks like this chronicler visited the future world. The handwritten text of Sibiu is quite long as it consists of 450 pages. It is known that the Sibiu manuscript is genuine and the experts do not doubt this, but they are in no hurry to comment on the contents of this text.
It could be claimed that this case is just science fiction if researchers of anticity did not find other strange texts and technologies. In addition, multiple artifacts found by archaeologists confirm that our ancestors were much more civilized than modern historians imagine. Manuscripts such as Sibiu have the potential to change the way people think about our history.
Description of a rocket by Conrad Haas
It remains a mystery whether Haas succeeded in using his designs and bringing them to life. However, there are people who claim that a rocket was launched in Sibiu in 1550. It is believed that Conrad Haas created the first rocket. According to Haas, it took him more than 25 years to develop a unique aircraft. The biggest challenge, in this case, was the search for a fuel that would be sufficient to lift it into the air.
The main focus of the paper is the fuel issue. In addition to the conventional powder components of saltpeter, sulfur, and coal, Haas also used “brandy”, with the help of which the thrust development of the rockets was to be increased: “Again, take a little crushed powder and pour in enough brandy to make a little dough. Then take it and paint the little chamber (= rocket chamber) together with the little hole (= ignition hole) on the rocket by heart.” Haas also tried and used other “fuels” – significantly, the missile’s purpose dictated the particular fuel combination.
In summary, one can say that the following developmental solutions and developments can be attributed to Conrad Haas:
Multistage and cluster rocket
Arrangement of fuel sets in stage rockets
Use of different fuel mixtures depending on the rocket type, performance, area of application and design
Use of liquid fuel
delta-shaped stabilizing fins
Anticipating the idea of the modern spaceship
Although Conrad Haas designed weapons to kill, he secretly believed in basic human values. His basic humanistic attitude is particularly clear from the following statement: “But my advice is more peace and no war, leave the rifles under the roof, so the bullet won’t be fired, the powder won’t be burned wet, so the prince kept his money, the gun master his life; that is the advice Conrad Haas does.”
The technical characteristics of the rocket are similar to those of modern vehicles. It was made of wooden parts covered with a layer of special stone dust, which was supposed to protect the body from burning when rubbed against the air. Contemporaries note that in the 16th century, researchers did not know the intricacies of physical processes in the air, which is why scientists could receive information from aliens.
In addition, from his youth, he was engaged in research on ancient writings found in the territory of modern Egypt. A mission to the Moon could take place in 1550. But there is no documentary evidence to support all these claims.
Lady Sala Shabazz, the founder of the Black Inventions Museum who passed away on March 28, 2002 said once: “… Unfortunately, the individuals who are commissioned to write textbooks many times exhibited prejudice and omitted other historical information. In an effort to cover large spans of time, they have briefed history and left out so many other important facts and that’s something that many people have not been aware of.”
The city of Sibiu is known to many of us because it is the birthplace of Hermann Oberth, considered to be one of three fathers of rocketry and modern astronautics. Additionally, there is a dedicated document (ID 19770026087) in the NASA archives about the Sibiu manuscript.
For some reason, UFOs mostly seem to come in three shapes: the standard flying saucer shape, a sphere or an orb, and a triangle. There aren’t any publicly official numbers on how many each shape get spotted each year, but based on the number of stories that pop up week-to-week, it’s pretty safe to say that those are the three most common UFO shapes that get reported.
The latest report making waves in the UFO community involves the third shape on the list: a triangle. According to an eyewitness account filed with the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), a person in St. Peters, Missouri recently had an encounter at night with a triangular UFO. Luckily, in this case, they were able to take some footage of the UFO.
Eyewitness reports
“I stopped where it stopped and it began to hover and loiter with no noise other than its visible triangular shape,” the eyewitness explained. “It was about 100 feet overhead and a football field length away. It was maneuvering in an odd way. Almost like it was submerged taking banks and angular dives. It would cloak in a ball of light than [sic] reappear nearby elsewhere hovering.”
The witness says this was the third time that they had seen a UFO like this in the area. One of the encounters was during the day time and was “seen by multiple neighbors.” The other sighting was at night over his subdivision and “it was only 50-80 feet high flying low and silently passing overhead,” they wrote.
“Other accounts by neighbors date back to the early 90’s … describing the same thing,” the witness added. “Apparently this area is a hot spot for almost weekly activity for 3 decades. I also see them near Adventist Church or by South High in daylight where the triangles are white and very bright and reflective you see them pop out for a few seconds then go invisible again.”
The UFO Capital of Missouri
Earlier this month, KSDK News reported that Piedmont, Missouri, located about two-and-a-half hours south of St. Peters, was named the UFO Capital of the Show Me State.
“I had a gentleman set at my desk and cry about how things that he has seen have illuminated and changed his life over the years,” said Sara Phillips, executive director of the Piedmont Area Chamber of Commerce. “My husband and I moved back here years ago and he swears he saw some kind of lights.”
“One resident said that if they had to estimate half the residents had seen something in the sky. Clearwater Lake becomes kind of the epicenter of this,” said Sean Rost of the State Historical Society of Missouri. “There are people reporting seeing lights above the water. There are people seeing lights under the water.”
Phillips says there have been over 500 reporting sightings of UFOs in the area and, for some unknown reason, the sightings continue to this day near Clearwater Lake.
Fake footage of an alien autopsy may have been based on real ‘original frames’
Fake footage of an alien autopsy may have been based on real ‘original frames’
EXCLUSIVE: Though fakers behind the grainy 18-minute film admit they staged it, they insist it was a reconstruction of real footage shot by the US military after UFO crash near Roswell
Footage of an alien autopsy faked in Camden may have been based on real ‘original frames’, according to the maker of a new TV shock doc.
In 1995 the world was stunned by 18 minutes of grainy film that appeared to show scientists in hazmat suits dissecting the corpse of an ET recovered from a reported UFO crash site near Roswell in New Mexico, US, in 1947.
The footage became an international sensation baffling film experts, military analysts and even the Secret Service. In 2006 the team that made it admitted the film was a fake confessing it was shot on a set constructed in a living room in Camden, north London.
Its alien bodies were hollow plaster casts filled with offal, sheep brains and raspberry jam.
The footage became an international sensation(Image: Warner Brothers)
But Brit film-maker John Dower, who has made a new Sky Original documentary series about the scam, said his investigation showed it may have been based on real footage.
He said the makers of the bogus post-mortem film insisted it was a reconstruction of an actual clip that has since gone missing.
John, who made My Scientology Movie and BAFTA award-winning Lockerbie, said: “Over a decade after the eerie black and white footage of an alien autopsy was released in the mid-90s and affected many in a similar way to The Blair Witch Project the film was revealed to have been produced in a small flat in Camden, north London, and not in the New Mexico desert of Roswell.
“With its makers describing it as ‘a restoration’ it is still possible that it's based on original frames from an existing post-war film. I've directed some bonkers documentaries in my time but never one in which it is so difficult to work out what is real and what isn’t.”
A Sky spokesman said the team behind the footage insisted ‘it was based on a genuine film recorded by the US military’ in what was a ‘stranger-than-fiction documentary series’.
The series will be screened on Sky Documentaries(Image: Getty Images)
Hayley Reynolds, Sky’s acting director of documentaries and factual, said: “The 90s were the golden age of UFO fever - before smartphones, before streaming - when grainy footage, The X-Files, and Roswell ruled the headlines.
“Alien Autopsy remains one of the most debated mysteries of the 20th Century.”
Arron Fellows, creative director of production company Mindhouse, said the series ‘taps into our timeless fascination with extraterrestrial life’.
“It’s incredible that the Alien Autopsy story has never been told in a premium documentary before,” he added.
The series will be screened on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW.
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Flying object that crashed in Poland was a Russian drone, Polish officials say
Flying object that crashed in Poland was a Russian drone, Polish officials say
Poland's defense minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia.
At a news conference in Warsaw, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz accused Russia of provoking NATO during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighboring Ukraine are underway, the country's news agency PAP reported.
"Russia is provoking us once again," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, just as peace talks have given hope that the war "has a chance of ending."
Local police said they received reports of the crash around 2 a.m. and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. As a result of the explosion, windows were broken in some houses but nobody was injured, PAP reported.
Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command said Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighboring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight
Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller.
Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz later said the object was most likely a drone, adding that an analysis was underway to determine whether it was a military or smuggling one, PAP reported.
A police officer sets up a police tape, after an unidentified object fell and exploded in a cornfield overnight, according to Polish authorities, in the village of Osiny, eastern Poland, Aug. 20, 2025.Kacper Pempel/REUTERS
"I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang," local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website Lukow.tv. "It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook."
Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators — both civilian and military — were examining the crash site.
"We have a lot of manpower, we have the army to help us. I hope that we will be able to finish the operation by the evening," Trusiewicz said.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace, raising alarm in the European Union and NATO member state and reminding people how close the war is.
In 2023, a Russian missile went through Polish airspace near the Ukrainian border during one of Russia's barrages.
In 2022, a Ukrainian air defence missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, near the border, killing two people.
Earlier this year, unidentified crashed objects were found on the ground in two locations in Poland. Authorities said it was possible those objects came from a SpaceX rocket after debris entered the atmosphere over Poland.
"Our work is a new piece of evidence that suggests that Mars was once a much more complex and active planet than it is now."
A HiRISE image of the heavily eroded ridge of an inverted channel left behind by a dried up river billions of years ago.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.)
Mars was a rainier, wetter place than planetary scientists previously thought, according to a new study of ancient, inverted river channels that span more than 9,000 miles (14,484 kilometers) in the Red Planet's southern Noachis Terra region.
"Our work is a new piece of evidence that suggests that Mars was once a much more complex and active planet than it is now, which is such an exciting thing to be involved in," study leader Adam Losekoot of the U.K.'s Open University said in a statement.
We've known Mars was once a wet planet ever since the Mariner 9 orbiter mission from the '70s photographed a surface covered in dried-up river channels. These channels were dated back to over 3.5 billion years ago. However, channels cut into the ground are not the only evidence for running water on Mars.
When that water ran-off, or evaporated, it left sedimentary deposits. Sometimes we see these in craters that were once lakes filled with water: NASA's Curiosity rover is exploring Gale Crater, which has a central three-mile-tall (five-kilometer-tall) peak covered in sediment.
Other times, these sediments were laid down on river beds. Over the eons, the sediments would have hardened, while the river channels and the land around them would have weathered and eroded away. That left the sediments, which are more resistant to erosion, sticking out as tall ridges. Geologists today call them fluvial sinuous ridges, or, more plainly, inverted channels.
Now, Losekoot, who is a Ph.D. student, has led the discovery of a vast network of these channels in Noachis Terra based on images and data taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera and the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on the defunct Mars Global Surveyor mission.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/The Murray Lab)
Previously, Noachis Terra had not been given due attention because it lacked the more classical river channels that form more obvious evidence of water. However, by mapping the network of inverted channels, Losekoot realized there was lots of evidence there had once been plentiful water in the region.
"Studying Mars, particularly an under-explored region like Noachis Terra, is really exciting because it's an environment which has been largely unchanged for billions of years," said Losekoot. "It's a time capsule that records fundamental geological processes in a way that just isn't possible here on Earth."
Some of the inverted channels appear as isolated segments that have survived the elements for billions of years. Others are more intact, forming systems that run for hundreds of miles and stand tens of yards tall.
This double inverted ridge signifies where an ancient river split into two before reconnecting downstream. Between the two ridges we can see a mesa, which may be the harder material that caused the river to diverge to get around it. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Such a widespread network of inverted channels does not suggest these channels were caused by flash floods, argues Losekoot. Rather, they seem to have formed in stable climatic conditions over a geologically significant period of time during the Noachian–Hesperian transition, which was the shift from one geological era into the next around 3.7 billion years ago.
What's particularly intriguing is the most likely source of water to have formed these inverted channels is precipitation — be it rain, hail or snow. Indeed, given the size of the inverted channel network in Noachis Terra, this region of Mars may have experienced lots of rainy days in a warm and wet climate.
It's more evidence that Mars was once more like Earth than the cold and barren desert it is today.
Losekoot presented his findings at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting held at the University of Durham in the U.K., which ran between July 7 and July 11.
On July 24, 2025, the 4,608th Martian day, or Sol, of the mission, NASA’s Curiosity rover imaged wind-eroded rocks shaped like a piece of coral in the Gale crater on Mars.
This image of the Paposo rock was taken by Curiosity’s MAHLI instrument on July 24, 2025.
Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
One of the wind-eroded rocks was captured by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of its robotic arm.
“Nicknamed Paposo, the rock was about 5 cm (2 inches) from MAHLI when this image was taken,” members of the Curiosity team wrote in a statement.
On the same day, Curiosity used its Remote Micro Imager, part of its ChemCam instrument, to view another coral-shaped rock.
This image of a wind-eroded rock was taken by Curiosity’s Remote Micro Imager on July 24, 2025.
£Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
“Curiosity has found many small features like these, which formed billions of years ago when liquid water still existed on Mars” the researchers said.
“Water carried dissolved minerals into rock cracks and later dried, leaving the hardened minerals behind.”
“Eons of sandblasting by the wind wore away the surrounding rock, producing unique shapes.”
“This common process is seen extensively on Earth and has produced fantastic shapes on Mars, as well, including a flower-shaped rock.”
Curiosity rover took this selfie on October 11, 2019. The rover drilled twice in this location, nicknamed Glen Etive. Just left of the rover are the two drill holes, called Glen Etive 1 (right) and Glen Etive 2 (left).
Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
Launched November 26, 2011, Curiosity is the fourth rover the United States has sent to Mars.
Led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission involves almost 500 scientists from the United States and other countries.
Curiosity explores the 154-km- (96-mile) wide Gale crater and acquires rock, soil, and air samples for onboard analysis.
The car-size rover is about as tall as a basketball player and uses a 2.1-m- (7-foot) long arm to place tools close to rocks selected for study.
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
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Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.