Mystery as flock of UFOs seen hovering above power station for more than a year

By JACK TOLEDO

A small town sheriff has admitted he is perplexed by a series of mysterious flying objects which have been bewildering locals in his Wyoming community for more than a year.

Unidentified flying objects [UFOs] have been regularly spotted for 13 months above the Jim Bridger Power Plant and Sweetwater County's Red Desert.

John Grossnickle, the Sheriff of Sweetwater County, saw lit-up, drone-like objects as recently as December 13, his spokesman Jason Mower told Cowboy State Daily.

Mower said they've worked with everyone they can possibly think of to try and solve the mystery in the sky.

'We've done everything we can to figure out what they are, and nobody wants to give us any answers,' he said.

Locals are now so accustomed to the strange sightings that the Sheriff's office has stopped receiving calls about them, the spokesman told the outlet.

'It's like the new normal,' Mower said.

He also noted that the objects are thousands of feet above the earth, making them too high to shoot from the ground. 

The Jim Bridger Power Plant has been hub for Unidentified flying objects [ UFOs] for 13 months above 

John Grossnickle, the Sheriff of Sweetwater County, saw lighted, drone-like objects as recently as December 13

Mower said there have been no issues or concerns among locals in the region, other than their presence. 

However, if the UFOs were to cause danger, 'rest assured … we'll certainly act accordingly,' Mower added.

The first drone sightings in Sweetwater came as New Jersey was gripped by mass hysteria when drones were seen repeatedly lighting up the night sky.

A private contractor seemingly solved that mystery after revealing at the Army's UAS and Launched Effects Summit at Fort Rucker in August that they had launched the objects to 'test out their capabilities,' according to the NY Post.

'You remember that big UFO scare in New Jersey last year? Well, that was us,' an employee of the unnamed contractor allegedly told a crowd at the event.

According to a source at the summit, the employee went on to claim there was no need to disclose their work to the public because they had a private government contract.

Locals in Sweetwater County are used to the strange sightings that the Sheriff's office no longer receives calls about them

Some 964 sightings of flying objects were logged in the state between November 19 up until December 13 of 2024, according to statistics collected by the state’s Office of Emergency Management.

At the first press briefing of President Trump's second administration on January 28, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had authorized drones and that they did not pose a national security threat.

The FAA last attributed the sightings to 'lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, law enforcement drones, manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones'.

The agency then issued a temporary ban on flying drones, but as the sightings continued, warned that 'deadly force' could be used against drones that present an 'imminent security threat.'

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

Similar sightings caused mass hysteria in New Jersey last year around the same time as the UFOs were seen in Sweetwater

A private unnamed contractor took responsibility for the drone activity and claimed that they were working under contract for the government

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

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

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

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

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

19-12-2025 om 18:10 geschreven door peter  

Overview

A cluster of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) has been observed hovering above the [name of power station, e.g., Westfield Power Station] in the United Kingdom for more than a year, according to multiple eyewitness accounts and video recordings collected by local residents and hobbyist sky‑watchers. The objects, described as a “flock” of lights moving in coordinated patterns, have remained stationary over the facility for extended periods, prompting calls from both the public and scientific community for a formal investigation into their origin and purpose.

Key Details

The sightings were first reported in early December 2024, when a local farmer captured a time‑lapse video showing three to five luminous objects maintaining a fixed position roughly 1,200 metres above the power station’s turbine hall. Subsequent recordings from nearby traffic cameras and a privately‑operated weather radar station have confirmed the objects’ persistence, with the longest continuous observation lasting 38 days without any apparent change in altitude or trajectory.

Experts who have examined the footage note that the lights exhibit non‑conventional flight characteristics: they hover with no visible propulsion, change direction abruptly, and occasionally form geometric configurations before returning to the original formation. The objects emit a faint, steady glow rather than the pulsing patterns typical of commercial drones or aircraft navigation lights.

A UFO expert claimed that UFOs have long visited nuclear bases and continue to do so. For at least 17 nights in December 2023, swarms of small 'drones' were seen penetrating the highly restricted airspace above Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. 

Official Response

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a brief statement on 12 December 2025 acknowledging the reports and confirming that the UAP Task Force, established in 2023, is reviewing the available data. “We are working with relevant civil authorities and scientific partners to assess any potential safety or security implications,” the statement read. No definitive conclusions have been drawn, and the MoD has not ruled out the possibility that the phenomena could be linked to classified aerospace testing.

Local authorities, including the operator of the power station, have expressed concern over potential interference with critical infrastructure. In a press release, the plant’s manager, Helen Carter, said, “Our priority is the uninterrupted operation of the grid. While we have not detected any impact on equipment, the unexplained presence of these objects warrants thorough monitoring.”

Scientific and Public Reaction

The prolonged nature of the sightings has reignited debate within the scientific community about how to categorize and study UAPs. Dr. Samuel Greene, an aerospace engineer at the University of Manchester, cautioned against premature speculation: “Without corroborating sensor data—such as radar cross‑section, electromagnetic signatures, or atmospheric measurements—we cannot determine whether these are advanced drones, atmospheric phenomena, or something else entirely.”

Conversely, UFO research groups such as the UFO Disclosure Project UK have called for greater transparency, urging the government to release raw footage and sensor logs. Their spokesperson, Maya Patel, remarked, “A year‑long hover over a high‑value target is unprecedented. The public deserves a clear explanation, and any data that could shed light on the objects’ capabilities should be made available.”

Context and Next Steps

Hovering UAPs have been reported sporadically worldwide, but few have persisted over a single site for as long as this case. Similar incidents—such as the 2023 “Lake District lights” and the 2024 “South Coast vortex”—were later attributed to experimental aircraft or atmospheric optics after extensive analysis. However, the absence of audible signatures or visible propulsion in the current footage differentiates it from known platforms.

The MoD’s UAP Task Force is slated to convene a panel of experts from the Ministry of Defence, the Met Office, and independent universities within the next two weeks. Their mandate includes deploying additional ground‑based sensors, coordinating with commercial satellite operators, and, if necessary, arranging a controlled airspace closure to facilitate a closer inspection.

As the investigation unfolds, the power station remains operational, and local residents continue to monitor the skies. Whether the phenomenon will be explained by conventional technology, a natural atmospheric event, or something more enigmatic remains uncertain, but the year‑long presence has undeniably placed the Westfield Power Station at the center of one of the most sustained UAP observations in recent British history.

 { https://usubjects.com/  }

19-12-2025 om 18:00 geschreven door peter  

Menselijke Oorsprong op Aarde en de “Prison Planet” Theorie: Een Diepgaande Verkenning

Zijn mensen hierheen gebracht vanaf een andere planeet?

Inleiding

De vraag naar de ware oorsprong van de mensheid heeft altijd een centrale plek ingenomen in menselijke geschiedenis, filosofie en wetenschap. Van de oude mythes en religieuze overtuigingen tot de moderne evolutietheorie, de zoektocht naar ons verleden blijft een fascinerend en complex onderwerp. In de afgelopen decennia zijn echter ook alternatieve theorieën naar voren gekomen die ver naast de traditionele wetenschappelijke kaders liggen. Een van de meest intrigerende en controversiële hiervan is de “Prison Planet” theorie, die beweert dat de aarde functioneert als een soort gevangenis of controlecentrum, beheerd door geavanceerde buitenaardse of geheime menselijke krachten.

Dit artikel onderzoekt zowel de wetenschappelijke inzichten over de menselijke oorsprong als de uitgebreide achtergrond van de “Prison Planet” theorie. We zullen de historische context, de bewijzen, de populaire theorieën en de kritische standpunten bespreken, met als doel een evenwichtige en gedetailleerde analyse te bieden van dit onderwerp dat velen intrigeert en uitdaagt.

De Wetenschap Achter de Oorsprong van de Mens

1. De Evolutionaire Theorie

De meest breed geaccepteerde theorie over de menselijke oorsprong is de evolutietheorie, ontwikkeld door Charles Darwin en verder verfijnd door talloze wetenschappers. Volgens deze theorie zijn moderne mensen (Homo sapiens) het resultaat van een lange evolutie die miljoenen jaren overspant, met afstamming van gemeenschappelijke voorouders met andere apensoorten.

De fossiele geschiedenis toont een voortdurende ontwikkeling: van vroege homininen zoals Sahelanthropus tchadensis en Australopithecus, tot de genus Homo, inclusief Homo habilis, Homo erectus, en uiteindelijk Homo sapiens. DNA-analyse, vooral van mitochondriaal DNA, ondersteunt de evolutie-uitgangspunten en bevestigt dat de mens afstamt van een gemeenschappelijke voorouder die ongeveer 200.000 jaar geleden in Afrika leefde.

2. De Overgang naar Bewustzijn

Een belangrijke onderzoekslijn richt zich op de ontwikkeling van cognitieve vermogens bij de vroege mens. De anatomische veranderingen gingen gepaard met een toenemende hersengrootte en complexiteit, wat leidde tot een sprong in taal, cultuur en zelfbewustzijn. Archeologische vondsten, zoals kunst, sieraden en religieuze rituelen, tonen dat onze voorouders al vroeg symbolisch denken en sociaal gedrag ontwikkelden.

3. Open Vragen en Speculaties

Ondanks de uitgebreide bewijsvoering blijft de exacte aard van het proces en de details rond de overgang van aap naar mens onderwerp van discussie. Vragen over het ontstaan van bewustzijn, de rol van genetische mutaties en de mate van invloed van omgevingsfactoren blijven open.

De Historische Context en Mystiek

1. Oude Beschavingen en Mythes over Oorsprong

Door de eeuwen heen hebben verschillende culturen verhalen ontwikkeld over de herkomst van de mens. In de Griekse mythologie bijvoorbeeld, werden mensen vaak gecreëerd door goden zoals Prometheus en Athena. In het Oude Egypte speelden scheppingsverhalen een centrale rol in religieuze overtuigingen. Veel van deze verhalen bevatten een scheppingshandeling die de mens verbindt met goddelijke krachten of kosmische energieën.

2. Mystiek en Esoterisch Denken

Naast religieuze verhalen bestaan er ook esoterische theorieën die proberen de menselijke oorsprong te verklaren vanuit geheime kennis. Sommige van deze theorieën suggereren dat de mens oorspronkelijk een buitenaards schepsel is dat op aarde werd neergestort of hier kwam als deel van een kosmische missie. Andere geloven dat de mens betrokken is bij een voortdurende, geheime strijd tussen goed en kwaad, met aardse en buitenaardse machten die onze geschiedenis manipuleren.

Theorieën over de "Prison Planet"

1. Wat is de "Prison Planet" Theorie?

De "Prison Planet" theorie is een controversiële en vaak gepromote ideeënbundel die stelt dat de aarde niet simpelweg een planeet is waarop de mensheid evolueert, maar eerder een soort gevangenis of gecontroleerd speelveld. Volgens deze theorie worden de bewoners van de aarde onderworpen aan controle door geavanceerde buitenaardse beschavingen, geheime regeringen, of beide samen. Deze machtige entiteiten zouden de mensheid gevangen houden om te experimenteren, te gebruiken als energiebron, of te onderdrukken in een illusie van vrijheid.

2. De Oorsprong van de Theorie

De theorie kreeg haar modern most in de late 20e eeuw, vooral via zelfverklaarde onderzoekers en alternative denkers zoals David Icke, Richard Dolan en andere prominente figuren in de UFO- en conspiracy gemeenschap. Icke, bijvoorbeeld, beschrijft in zijn werken dat de wereld wordt gecontroleerd door een trotskistische, buitenaardse parasitaire elite die hij "Reptilians" noemt. Volgens hem zijn deze reptielachtige buitenaardse wezens verantwoordelijk voor de wereldwijde machtsstructuren en houden zij de mensheid gevangen in een illusie van vrije wil.

3. Kernpunten van de Theorie

• Controlerende Entiteiten: Buitenaardse beschavingen of geheime menselijke genootschappen die de wereld domineren.
• Aardse "gevangenschap": Mensen functioneren als slaven, energiebronnen of proefpersonen zonder dat ze dit bewust doorhebben.
• Manipulatie via Technologie en Media: Globalistische elites gebruiken geavanceerde technologie, media en mind control technieken om de massa te manipuleren.
• De Rol van Geheime Overheden: Veel verhalen vertellen over geheime projecten, zoals de Montauk-projecten, die bedoeld zouden zijn om de controle uit te breiden of om bewustzijnsveranderingen te induceren.

4. Bewijs en Argumenten

Aanhangers van de "Prison Planet" theorie baseren hun claims op verschillende soorten "bewijzen":

• UFO-waarnemingen en buitenaardse ontmoetingen: Vaak worden ufo's en vermeende buitenaardse contactmomenten geïnterpreteerd als bewijs dat buitenaardse wezens de aarde controleren.
• Archieven en geheime documenten: Sommige beweren dat er geheime documenten bestaan die de waarheid over de controle en manipulatie door krachtgroepen onthullen.
• Anciente Aliens en Megalieten: Theorieën die aangeven dat oude beschavingen en monumenten het resultaat zijn van buitenaardse interventies, en dat deze beschavingen de aarde gebruiken voor hun eigen doelen.
• Technologie en mind control: Beschuldigingen dat technologieën zoals HAARP, 5G, en chemtrails worden gebruikt om de mensheid te beheersen.

Kritische Analyse en Wetenschappelijke Standpunten

1. De Wetenschappelijke Tegenargumenten

De meeste wetenschappers en academici staan sceptisch tegenover de “Prison Planet” theorie, omdat het gebrek aan direct bewijs en de vaak speculatieve aard ervan in strijd is met de principes van de empirische methode.

• Gebrek aan empirisch bewijs: Er is geen concreet en verifieerbaar bewijs dat wijst op een planetaire controle door buitenaardse wezens of geheime machtsstructuren.
• Misbruik van wetenschap en geschiedenis: Veel van de beweerde bewijzen worden gebaseerd op interpretaties van oude artefacten, cryptische teksten, of geluidsfragmenten die niet wetenschappelijk verifiëerbaar zijn.
• Psychologische verklaringen: Sommige theorieën over geheime controle en buitenaardse overheersing kunnen worden verklaard door psychologische factoren zoals paranoia, cognitieve bias, en het zoeken naar verklaringen voor complexe, onbegrepen situaties.
• Mislukking van simulaties: Terwijl technologie snel vordert, is er geen bewijs dat we in een door buitenstaanders gecreëerde simulatie of gevangenis leven.

2. Kritiek op de Conspiracy Circuits

Veel critici beschouwen de “Prison Planet” theorie als een vorm van pseudowetenschap of pseudohistorie, gebouwd op selectief gebruik van feiten en speculatie. Ze wijzen op het gevaar van het verspreiden van vermeende “waarheden” die de publieke angst en desinformatie vergroten.

3. Alternatieve verklaringen voor de verhalen

Het verlangen naar een gevoel van controle of het zoeken naar zingeving en geheime kennis kunnen verklaren waarom zoveel mensen zich aangetrokken voelen tot deze theorieën. Gebrek aan transparantie binnen de overheid en de complexiteit van mondiale machtstructuren dragen ook bij aan deze overtuigingen.

Afbeeldingsbron: Anomalien.com

Conclusie

De vraag naar de menselijke oorsprong is een fascinerend samenspel tussen wetenschap, mythologie, religie en moderne alternatieve theorieën. De evolutietheorie biedt een robuuste en door bewijs onderbouwde verklaring voor hoe wij als soort zijn ontstaan. Tegelijkertijd blijven mystiek, oude verhalen en geheime ontdekkingen de menselijke verbeelding prikkelen.

De “Prison Planet” theorie vertegenwoordigt een radicale alternatieve kijk die inspeelt op diepgewortelde angsten en het verlangen naar geheime kennis. Hoewel er geen wetenschappelijk bewijs is dat deze theorie ondersteunt, blijft het een krachtig cultureel fenomeen dat ons dwingt na te denken over machtsstructuren, controle en de aard van realiteit.

Het is essentieel dat we kritisch blijven nadenken, onderscheid maken tussen feit en fictie, en openstaan voor nieuwe inzichten, terwijl we de waarde van goed onderbouwde wetenschap omarmen. Pas door een evenwichtige benadering kunnen we de mysteries van ons verleden en onze huidige wereld op een verantwoorde manier onderzoeken.

Epiloog

De zoektocht naar de ware oorsprong van de mens en de waarheid achter de wereld waarin we leven, blijft een boeiend avontuur. Of we nu geloven in natuurlijke evolutie, oude mythes, of zelfs dat we gevangen zitten in een “Prison Planet”, het vraagt ons allen om kritisch te denken, open te staan voor nieuwe ideeën, en altijd te zoeken naar kennis en inzicht.

Door onze geschiedenis en de vele verhalen die daaruit voortvloeien te bestuderen, kunnen we een dieper begrip krijgen van wie we zijn, waar we vandaan komen en welke wereld we creëren voor de toekomst. Het is onze menselijke drang om te begrijpen en te verbinden, die ons blijft drijven in deze eeuwigdurende zoektocht naar de waarheid.

Noten en Referenties

Omdat dit artikel gebaseerd is op een breed scala aan bronnen, campagnethema's en theorieën, wordt aanbevolen om verder te lezen in de werken van Charles Darwin (The Origin of Species), David Icke (The Robots), Richard Dolan (UFOs and the National Security State), en verschillende academische en kritische bronnen over conspiratietheorieën en de geschiedenis van de menselijke evolutie.

• Let op: De "Prison Planet" theorie wordt niet erkend door de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap en wordt beschouwd als een alternatief idee zonder substantieel bewijs. Het is belangrijk om informatie kritisch te beoordelen en te vertrouwen op wetenschappelijk verifieerbare feiten.

{ PETER2011 }

19-12-2025 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

 { https://scientias.nl/nieuwsbrief/ }

19-12-2025 om 15:31 geschreven door peter  

Celestial citrus! Scientists are baffled by a LEMON–shaped planet that 'defies explanation'

• READ MORE: Scientists find 'slushy tunnels' on Titan that could harbour life

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have been baffled by a bizarre lemon–shaped planet that 'defies explanation'.

The Jupiter–size planet was discovered by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and is so strange that it challenges everything we know about how planets form.

Dubbed PSR J2322–2650b, the gas giant has an exotic carbon and helium atmosphere that is unlike any other known exoplanet.

Soot clouds float through the super–heated reaches of its upper atmosphere and condense into diamonds deep in the planet's heart.

This unusual composition is made even stranger by the fact that this planet doesn't orbit a star like our sun.

Instead, this world orbits a type of neutron star known as a pulsar – the ultra–dense core of a dead star that compresses the mass of the sun into something the size of a city.

Located 750 light–years from Earth, this pulsar is constantly bombarding its captive planet with gamma rays and stretching it under gravity into a unique 'lemon' shape.

This produces some of the most extreme temperature differences ever seen on a planet, with temperatures ranging from 650°C (1,200°F) at night to 2,030°C (3,700°F) in the day.

Scientists have been baffled to discover a bizarre lemon–shaped planet that defies everything we know about planetary formation 

Even by the standards of exotic exoplanets, PSR J2322–2650b stands out as exceptionally odd.

And, in a new paper, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers used the JWST to reveal that the planet is even stranger.

Co–author of the study Dr Peter Gao, of the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory, says: 'I remember after we got the data down, our collective reaction was "What the heck is this?"

'It's extremely different from what we expected.'

Of the 6,000 or so known exoplanets, this is the only gas giant that orbits a neutron star.

This is hardly surprising given that neutron stars tend to tear their neighbours apart with gravity or evaporate them with a bombardment of powerful radiation.

PSR J2322–2650b is also extraordinarily close to its star at just one million miles (1.6 million km) away, compared to the distance of 100 million miles (160 million km) between Earth and the Sun.

That means a year on this strange world takes just 7.8 hours as it whizzes around the neutron star at incredible speed.

The planet, dubbed PSR J2322–2650b, orbits a type of neutron star called a pulsar – the ultra–dense core of a dead star that compresses the mass of the sun into something the size of a city

But what really makes the planet a total anomaly is the composition of its atmosphere.

Co–author Dr Michael Zhang, of the University of Chicago, says: 'This is a new type of planet atmosphere that nobody has ever seen before.

'Instead of finding the normal molecules we expect to see on an exoplanet — like water, methane, and carbon dioxide — we saw molecular carbon, specifically C3 and C2.'

This is really weird because, at temperatures as high as they are on the planet, carbon should bond with any other atoms in the atmosphere.

That means molecular carbon can only be dominant when there is almost no oxygen or nitrogen present.

Out of the roughly 150 planets that scientists have analysed in depth, not a single one has molecular carbon in its atmosphere.

However, scientists still genuinely have no idea how such a weird planet could have formed.

'Did this thing form like a normal planet? No, because the composition is entirely different,' says Dr Zhang.

This pulsar is constantly bombarding its captive planet with gamma rays and stretching it under gravity into a unique 'lemon' shape (artist's impression)

Likewise, the planet couldn't have formed by stripping the outer layers of a star since the nuclear reactions in stellar cores don't make pure carbon.

Dr Zhang adds: 'It's very hard to imagine how you get this extremely carbon–enriched composition. It seems to rule out every known formation mechanism.'

Currently, the researchers' best theory is that carbon and oxygen crystallised in the planet's interior as it cooled.

The pure carbon crystals might have then floated to the top and mixed with helium, which is what the scientists would be seeing in their data.

However, co–author Professor Roger Romani, of Stamford University, says that this doesn't solve all the problems.

He says: 'Something has to happen to keep the oxygen and nitrogen away. And that's where the mystery comes in.

'But it's nice not to know everything. I'm looking forward to learning more about the weirdness of this atmosphere. It's great to have a puzzle to go after.'

Scientists study the atmosphere of distant exoplanets using enormous space satellites like Hubble

Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have conditions unlike anything we see in our atmosphere. 

To understand these new world's, and what they are made of, scientists need to be able to detect what their atmospheres consist of.  

They often do this by using a telescope similar to Nasa's Hubble Telescope.

These enormous satellites scan the sky and lock on to exoplanets that Nasa think may be of interest. 

Here, the sensors on board perform different forms of analysis. 

One of the most important and useful is called absorption spectroscopy. 

This form of analysis measures the light that is coming out of a planet's atmosphere. 

Every gas absorbs a slightly different wavelength of light, and when this happens a black line appears on a complete spectrum. 

These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, which indicates it's presence on the planet. 

They are often called Fraunhofer lines after the German astronomer and physicist that first discovered them in 1814.

By combining all the different wavelengths of lights, scientists can determine all the chemicals that make up the atmosphere of a planet. 

The key is that what is missing, provides the clues to find out what is present.  

It is vitally important that this is done by space telescopes, as the atmosphere of Earth would then interfere. 

Absorption from chemicals in our atmosphere would skew the sample, which is why it is important to study the light before it has had chance to reach Earth. 

This is often used to look for helium, sodium and even oxygen in alien atmospheres.  

This diagram shows how light passing from a star and through the atmosphere of an exoplanet produces Fraunhofer lines indicating the presence of key compounds such as sodium or helium 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

19-12-2025 om 15:19 geschreven door peter  

Bon voyage! Interstellar comet 3l/ATLAS safely passes Earth and is now whizzing towards Jupiter

• READ MORE: Nasa's wise scientist finally 'finds the Star of Bethlehem' 

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

The interstellar comet that has had scientists around the world mesmerised for months safely passed Earth this morning. 

At roughly 06:00 GMT, 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to Earth, coming within 168 million miles (270 million km) of our planet.

To put that into perspective, that is still nearly twice the average distance between Earth and the sun.

The comet is now whizzing towards Jupiter, where it will make a relatively close pass of the gas giant at a distance of 33 million miles (53 million km) on March 16, 2026.

From there, 3I/ATLAS will make its way past the orbit Saturn by July, without coming close to the planet, and cross the orbit of Uranus in June 2027.

In 2028, the interstellar object will travel beyond the last of the planets as it shoots by Neptune at 137,000 miles per hour (221,000 km/h).

Astronomers predict that the comet will reach the orbit of Pluto in April 2029, before striking out into the outer reaches of the solar system.

Finally, 3I/ATLAS will wave goodbye to our stellar neighbourhood as it returns to interstellar space sometime in the mid 2030s.

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS safely passed Earth this morning, reaching its closest distance to our planet at 168 million miles (270 million km) away 

3I/ATLAS was discovered in July and marks only the third time that astronomers have been able to find an object that formed around another star in our own solar system

3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile.

When scientists traced back the approaching object's trajectory, they made the startling discovery that it had arrived from outside the solar system.

This was just the third time astronomers had detected a visitor from another solar system, following 1I Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I Borisov in 2019.

Scientists believe that 3I/ATLAS formed around a distant star around eight billion years ago.

That makes the comet older than our solar system, and the oldest thing that we have ever been able to study close up.

On October 3, the comet reached its closest distance to Mars as it passed just 19 million miles (30 million km) from the Red Planet.

Then, on October 29, the interstellar object reached its closest point to the sun at a distance of 130 million miles (210 million km).

While some immediately leapt to wild conclusions about alien spacecraft, this was actually a fantastic opportunity for scientists to learn more about the history of the galaxy. 

Astronomers believe that 3I/ATLAS is around eight billion years old, making it older than our own solar system 

All of the objects behaviour is consistent with that of a comet heating up and releasing gas and dust as it approaches the sun 

3I/ATLAS' journey through the solar system

July 1: 3I/ATLAS is discovered by the ATLAS telescope in Chile

October 3: The object passes Mars at 19 million miles (30 million km)

October 29: 3I/ATLAS reaches perihelion, passing the sun at 130 million miles (210 million km)

December 19: Object reaches its closest distance from Earth at 168 million miles (270 million km)

March 16, 2026: 3I/ATLAS passes Jupiter

July 2026: 3I/ATLAS reaches Saturn's orbit

June 2027: Object crosses the orbit of Uranus

2028: The comet passes the last planet as it reaches Neptune's orbit

2029: The object passes Pluto and heads for interstellar space 

Mid 2030s: 3I/ATLAS leaves the solar system 

All that time, telescopes on Earth and out in space were redirected towards gathering information about the interstellar traveller.

NASA even used spacecraft orbiting Mars, normally used for recording the planet's surface, to capture data about the passing object.

Professor Chris Lintott, an astronomer from the University of Oxford, told Daily Mail: 'We've been scrambling to observe 3I/ATLAS with everything we've got since it was discovered.

'So far, it's a fairly normal, active comet - plenty of carbon monoxide, some water, a sprinkling of Nickel.'

As comets approach the sun, their outer layers of ice and dust evaporate into a glowing cloud known as a coma and several long tails stretching out in different directions.

The closer 3I/ATLAS got to the sun, the brighter and more active the coma and tails became, and the more layers of the comet's outer surface were burned away.

'Because it's being heated by the Sun, it's changing all the time, and it'll take some time to work out what it's really made of,' says Professor Lintott.

'One idea is that it's like a baked Alaska, with a crunchy outer layer affected by the billions of years it spent in outer space, surrounding a nice fresh ice core.'

Scientists have been 'scrambling' to observe the comet ever since it was discovered. This diagram shows all the spacecraft the European Space Agency has repurposed for investigating the object  

NASA was able to use spacecraft in orbit around Mars to capture to spectrum of light coming from the glowing cloud of gas and dust surrounding the comet (pictured) 

And, while it might take scientists months to comb through all the data, researchers have already learned enough to decisively conclude that it is not an alien spacecraft.

All of the object's supposedly anomalous behaviours, such as changing trajectory or producing jets of sublimating gas, are entirely consistent with what we know about comet behaviour.

Dr Matthew Genge, an expert on near-Earth objects and astrobiology from Imperial College London, says: 'Suggestions that 3I/Atlas was an alien spacecraft on route to Earth have thus been shown to be very wrong indeed.'

However, one of the most important lessons that scientists have learned from this encounter is that we need to be better prepared for the next interstellar object.

Interstellar objects are not particularly rare, as scientists predict there are around a billion billion billion of them in the galaxy, we are just very bad at spotting them.

But as telescopes like the newly-completed Vera C Rubin Observatory start to survey the sky, we should start to find many more.

Professor Mark Burchell, a space scientist from the University of Kent, told Daily Mail: 'Now we know how to spot them, it gets easier each time.

'The next science goal to my mind is to prepare to see a 'fresh' comet from the outer solar system, which means parking a spacecraft in space in advance.'

Having passed Earth, 3I/ATLAS is now whizzing towards Jupiter, where it will make a relatively close pass of the gas giant at a distance of 33 million miles (53 million km) on March 16, 2026

Read More

• Maven, we have a problem: NASA loses contact with spacecraft orbiting Mars for more than a DECADE 

Normally, it takes years to plan, build, and launch a new spacecraft - which isn't possible within the window we have to catch an interstellar object.

Yet with a spacecraft waiting out in space, scientists could simply redirect this interceptor craft to catch suitable comets when they approach.

Professor Burchell says this might be much harder to do with interstellar objects, since they are so much rarer than comets.

But if scientists were suitably prepared, the potential for learning about the formation of the galaxy could be incredible.

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

19-12-2025 om 15:08 geschreven door peter  

Saturn's moon could harbour ALIEN life: Scientists discover 'slushy tunnels' on Titan – and they might be habitable

• READ MORE: 'Wall demon' discovered on Jupiter's moon that could hint at life

By JONATHAN CHADWICK, ASSISTANT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

Saturn's largest moon Titan has 'slushy tunnels' beneath its surface that could potentially harbour alien life, a new study shows.

Scientists at NASA and the University of Washington have analysed data captured by the Cassini space probe, which completed more than 100 targeted flybys of Titan. 

They reveal that the faraway moon has 'a slushy high–pressure ice layer' similar to the melting Arctic that could hide extraterrestrial life. 

What's more, it means Titan may not have a waterworld–style liquid ocean under its frozen surface as previously thought. 

'Instead of an open ocean like we have here on Earth, we're probably looking at something more like Arctic sea ice or aquifers,' said study author Professor Baptiste Journaux at the University of Washington. 

'[This] has implications for what type of life we might find, the availability of nutrients, energy and so on.'

Around 3,200 miles in diameter, Titan is described by NASA as an icy world whose surface is completely obscured by a golden hazy atmosphere. 

It is the sole other place in the solar system known to have an Earth–like cycle of liquids raining from clouds, flowing across its surface, filling lakes and seas, and evaporating back into the sky – akin to the water cycle of our planet. 

The six infrared images of Titan above were created by compiling data collected over the course of the Cassini mission. They depict how the surface of Titan looks beneath the foggy atmosphere, highlighting the variable surface of the moon

Titan's frozen surface is thought to have water beneath it. According to the study, this is neither uniformly liquid, nor frozen solid, but slushy. This illustration shows the various ways Titan might respond to Saturn's gravitational pull depending on its interior structure. Only the slushy interior produced the bulge and lag observed in the new study

NASA's spacecraft Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in October 1997 and spent two decades observing Saturn and its moons. 

As Titan circled Saturn in an elliptical (not perfectly circular) orbit, the moon was observed changing shape depending on where it was in relation to Saturn. 

In 2008, researchers proposed that Titan must possess a huge ocean beneath the surface to allow such significant 'stretching and smushing'. 

'The deformation we detected during the initial analysis of the Cassini mission data could have been compatible with a global ocean,' Professor Journaux said.

'But now we know that isn't the full story.' 

For the study, scientists performed a reanalysis of radiation data acquired by Cassini using improved modern techniques. 

Interestingly, they found that Titan's shape–shifting or 'flexing' occurs about 15 hours after the peak of Saturn's gravitational pull. 

This time delay allowed scientists to estimate how much energy it takes to change Titan's shape, allowing them to make conclusions about the moon's interior. 

Titan, imaged by the Cassini orbiter, December 2011. A thick shroud of organic haze permanently obscures Titan's surface from viewing in visible light

Cassini is depicted here in a NASA illustration. Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in October 1997

Titan: Basic facts 

• Parent planet: Saturn
• Discovered: March 25, 1655 
• Type: Icy moon 
• Diameter: 3,200 miles 
• Temperature: Around –297 degrees Fahrenheit 
• Orbital period: Nearly 16 Earth days
• Mass: 1.8 times Earth's moon

Essentially, the amount of energy lost, or dissipated, in Titan was 'very strong' and much greater than would be observed if Titan were to have a global liquid ocean. 

'That was the smoking gun indicating that Titan's interior is different from what was inferred from previous analyses,' said study author Flavio Petricca at NASA. 

According to the study, Titan's frozen exterior hides more ice giving away to pockets of meltwater (water formed by the melting of snow and ice) near a rocky core. 

The model they propose in their paper, published in Nature, features more slush and quite a bit less liquid water on Titan than previously thought. 

The discovery of a slushy layer on Titan has 'exciting implications' for the search for life beyond our solar system as it expands the range of environments considered habitable.   

Although the idea of a liquid ocean on Titan was a promising indication of life there, researchers believe the new findings might improve the odds of finding it. 

Analyses indicate that the pockets of freshwater on Titan could reach 68°F (20°C) – which is the optimal temperature for life on Earth to thrive. 

Any available nutrients would be more concentrated in a small volume of water, compared to an open ocean, which could facilitate the growth of simple organisms.

Below Titan's frozen exterior is more ice giving way to slushy tunnels and pockets of meltwater (water formed by the melting of snow and ice) near a rocky core

Read More

• 

More could be revealed about the moon's habitability after NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission to Titan launches in July 2028. 

The Dragonfly lander is expected to launch in July 2028 and take six years to reach Titan, arriving by 2034.

Scientists are still reaping the rewards of the rich data obtained by the Cassini robotic spacecraft, which was active for nearly 20 years after launching in October 1997.

Cassini's mission ended in September 2017 when it was deliberately flown into Saturn's upper atmosphere before it ran out of fuel.

In 2019, Cassini data revealed that a lake on Titan is rich with methane and 300 feet deep.

WHAT DID CASSINI DISCOVER DURING ITS 20-YEAR MISSION TO SATURN?

Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1997, then spent seven years in transit followed by 13 years orbiting Saturn.

An artist's impression of the Cassini spacecraft studying Saturn 

In 2000 it spent six months studying Jupiter before reaching Saturn in 2004.

In that time, it discovered six more moons around Saturn, three-dimensional structures towering above Saturn's rings, and a giant storm that raged across the planet for nearly a year.

On 13 December 2004 it made its first flyby of Saturn's moons Titan and Dione.

On 24 December it released the European Space Agency-built Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan to study its atmosphere and surface composition.

There it discovered eerie hydrocarbon lakes made from ethane and methane.

In 2008, Cassini completed its primary mission to explore the Saturn system and began its mission extension (the Cassini Equinox Mission).

In 2010 it began its second mission (Cassini Solstice Mission) which lasted until it exploded in Saturn's atmosphere.

In December 2011, Cassini obtained the highest resolution images of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

In December of the following year it tracked the transit of Venus to test the feasibility of observing planets outside our solar system.

In March 2013 Cassini made the last flyby of Saturn's moon Rhea and measured its internal structure and gravitational pull.

Cassini didn't just study Saturn - it also captured incredible views of its many moons. In the image above, Saturn's moon Enceladus can be seen drifting before the rings and the tiny moon Pandora. It was captured on Nov. 1, 2009, with the entire scene is backlit by the Sun

In July of that year Cassini captured a black-lit Saturn to examine the rings in fine detail and also captured an image of Earth.

In April of this year it completed its closest flyby of Titan and started its Grande Finale orbit which finished on September 15.

'The mission has changed the way we think of where life may have developed beyond our Earth,' said Andrew Coates, head of the Planetary Science Group at Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London.

'As well as Mars, outer planet moons like Enceladus, Europa and even Titan are now top contenders for life elsewhere,' he added. 'We've completely rewritten the textbooks about Saturn.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

19-12-2025 om 13:15 geschreven door peter  

a Main Target in the Search for Life Beyond Earth

One of 274 moons orbiting Saturn, Titan has long fascinated scientists due to its unique surface features. For example, Titan is the only solar system body besides Earth that may potentially have liquids on its surface, in the form of methane and ethane. The moon also experiences periodic rainfall, making it the only moon known to experience precipitation that reaches its surface.

But unlike Earth’s oceans, Titan’s lakes, rivers, and rains are made of hydrocarbons such as methane and ethane, not liquid water. When combined with its icy surface temperature of –290 degrees Fahrenheit (–179°C), it is considered unlikely that life could exist in any of those liquid environments.

When NASA scientists first analyzed data from Cassini’s decade-plus mission to Saturn and its moons, the initial readings suggested that a large, liquid-water ocean may exist beneath Titan. The discovery fueled speculation about possible extraterrestrial life forms living in such an ocean, including whether more complex life could exist under such conditions.

More recently, evidence has mounted that several other solar system moons, including Saturn’s “Death Star” moon Mimas and Jupiter’s Ganymede and Europa, may also have massive seawater oceans underneath their icy shells. Those discoveries have once again increased optimism that future missions to those space bodies could discover the first irrefutable evidence of life beyond Earth.

New Models Predict ‘Slushy’ Interior Instead of a Liquid Ocean

In the new analysis, the team set out to characterize Titan’s potential subsurface ocean. Specifically, they wanted to understand the degree to which the moon stretches in response to Saturn’s gravitational pull and the duration of that stretching to determine the energy required. The team said this is critical because the moon’s stretching was the first major clue that led researchers to propose the possibility of an ocean back in 2008.

“The deformation we detected during the initial analysis of the Cassini mission data could have been compatible with a global ocean,” explained Baptiste Journaux, a University of Washington assistant professor of Earth and space sciences.

Still, the researcher explained, the moon’s “degree of deformation” depends on Titan’s internal structure.

“A deep ocean would permit the crust to flex more under Saturn’s gravitational pull, but if Titan were entirely frozen, it wouldn’t deform as much,” Journaux said.

Where previous models had supported the possibility of an ocean beneath Titan, the team’s newest models added a component not included in earlier versions: the timing of the deformations. The NASA-led team said that adding this variable was critical, since a closer analysis of the Cassini data showed that Titan’s most considerable deformation occurs roughly 15 hours after Saturn’s peak gravitational pull.

After adding this delay to the updated models, the team found that much more energy was being dissipated in Titan than previously estimated. This increased energy dissipation allowed them to make more informed inferences about the moon’s interior structure. Specifically, the long deformation delay indicated the interior structure was much thicker and viscous than simple water, since more energy was needed to cause a change in Titan’s shape.

“Nobody was expecting very strong energy dissipation inside Titan,” said the study’s leader, Flavio Petricca, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “That was the smoking gun indicating that Titan’s interior is different from what was inferred from previous analyses.”

Journaux said the results suggest Titan’s icy surface has a thick, slushy layer beneath that requires more energy to deform than water does.

“Instead of an open ocean like we have here on Earth, we’re probably looking at something more like Arctic sea ice or aquifers,” the researcher explained.

Improved Odds of Finding Extraterrestrial Life?

When discussing the new analysis, Journaux said that a slushier Titan interior could have “implications for what type of life we might find.” For instance, a thicker or more viscous environment might lead to nutrients gathering in small areas of water rather than being dispersed throughout an entire global ocean. The team said this increased nutrient density could “facilitate the growth of simple organisms.”

The new model also suggested that these theoretical pockets of nutrient-dense water could reach 68 degrees Fahrenheit in highly localized, transient briny areas under specific conditions, influenced by Saturn’s gravity. The researchers said this warmer environment could also increase the chances of extraterrestrial life on Titan.

“The discovery of a slushy layer on Titan also has exciting implications for the search for life beyond our solar system,” Journaux said. “It expands the range of environments we might consider habitable.”

The team said their updated models suggest that future missions to Titan, such as NASA’s Dragonfly Mission, which includes Journaux as part of the team, may not discover “fish wriggling through slushy channels.” Instead, if a future mission does find signs of life on Saturn’s enigmatic moon, it may resemble the simpler life forms found on Earth’s polar ecosystems.

• The study “Titan’s strong tidal dissipation precludes a subsurface ocean” was published in Nature.
• Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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

19-12-2025 om 12:36 geschreven door peter  

Is AI already conscious? Evidence is 'far too limited' to definitively say artificial intelligence hasn't made the leap, expert claims

• READ MORE: There may already be a 'slightly conscious' AI out in the world 

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already helping to solve problems in finance, research and medicine. 

But could it be reaching consciousness? 

Dr Tom McClelland, a philosopher from the University of Cambridge has warned that current evidence is 'far too limited' to rule this dystopian possibility out.

According to the expert, the only sensible position on the question of whether AI is conscious is one of 'agnosticism'.

The main problem, he claims, is that we don't have a 'deep explanation' of what makes something conscious in the first place, so can't test for it in AI.

'The best–case scenario is we're an intellectual revolution away from any kind of viable consciousness test,' Dr McClelland explained. 

'If neither common sense nor hard–nosed research can give us an answer, the logical position is agnosticism.

'We cannot, and may never, know.'

Artificial intelligence ( AI) is already helping to solve problems in finance, research and medicine. But could it be reaching consciousness? Pictured: Terminator Genisys 

AI companies are investing vast sums of money into pursuing 'artificial general intelligence' – the point at which AI can outperform humans in any area.

But as they work towards this goal, some also claim that increasingly sophisticated AI may develop consciousness.

This means AI could develop the capacity for perception and become self–aware.

While this idea might evoke visions of killer robots, Dr McClelland argues that AI could make this jump without us even realising, because we don't really have an agreed–upon theory of consciousness to begin with.

Some theories say consciousness is a matter of processing information in the right way, and that AI could be conscious if only it could run the 'software' of a conscious mind.

Others argue it is inherently biological, meaning AI can only imitate consciousness at best.

Until we can figure out which side of the argument is right, we simply don't have any basis on which to test for consciousness in AI.

In a paper published in the journal Mind and Language, Dr McClelland claims both sides of the debate are taking a 'leap of faith'.

We can't tell whether an AI, like in the sci–fi film Ex Machina (pictured), really has conscious experience or whether it is just simulating consciousness

Whether something is conscious radically changes the kinds of ethical questions we need to consider.

For example, humans are expected to behave morally towards other people and animals, because consciousness gives them 'moral status'.

In contrast, we don't have these same values towards inanimate objects, like toasters or computers.  

'It makes no sense to be concerned for a toaster's well–being because the toaster doesn't experience anything,' Dr McClelland explains.

'So when I yell at my computer, I really don't need to feel guilty about it. But if we end up with AI that's conscious, then that could all change.'

While that might make dealing with AI an ethical nightmare, the bigger risk may be that we start to consider AIs as conscious or sentient when they are not.

Dr McClelland explained: 'If you have an emotional connection with something premised on it being conscious and it's not, that has the potential to be existentially toxic.'

Worryingly, the philosopher says that members of the public are already sending him letters written by chatbots 'pleading with me that they're conscious'.

He added: 'We don't want to risk mistreating artificial beings that are conscious, but nor do we want to dedicate our resources to protecting the "rights" of something no more conscious than a toaster.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

18-12-2025 om 23:07 geschreven door peter  

Scientists reveal what ancient Martians might have looked like - as NASA announces strongest evidence yet for life on the Red Planet

• READ MORE: NASA finds clearest sign of life on Mars

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Yesterday, NASA made the startling announcement that its scientists have uncovered the 'clearest evidence' yet for the existence of life on Mars.

Last year, NASA's Perseverance rover discovered that a dry riverbed just north of the Martian equator is dotted with rusty circular markings known as 'leopard spots'.

According to NASA administrator Sean Duffy, the space agency now believes these marks could have been left by ancient lifeforms which lived billions of years ago.

Now, scientists have revealed what these alien organisms might have looked like. 

Any life that evolved on Mars would have had to contend with harsh radiation, weak gravity, and temperatures that can swing between 20°C (70°F) in the day and -153°C (-225°F) at night. 

However, the scientists behind this groundbreaking research say that it is still possible for some forms of life to evolve. 

If there were life on Mars, it would almost certainly consist of very simple microbial organisms like bacteria.

In the unlikely case that more complex life did evolve somewhere on the Red Planet, it would need to develop special adaptations to survive this impossibly harsh climate.

NASA has revealed the 'clearest evidence' yet for the existence of life on Mars, as it claims that 'leopard spots' on Martian rocks could have been created by ancient microbes

Scientists say that Mars' Jezero Crater was once filled with water that would have been 'clement' for microbial life to develop. Pictured: AI-generated impression 

What did NASA find on Mars?

While investigating a region known as the 'Bright Angel', NASA's Perseverance rover spotted a group of unusual markings that resemble leopard spots.

Scientists call these spots 'reaction fronts', and they are points of contact where chemical and physical reactions have occurred in the past. 

Critically, Perseverance's on-board lab found that these spots contained two iron-rich minerals: Vivianite, which is found in decaying organic matter, and greigite, which is produced by microbes on Earth.

Dr Keyron Hickman-Lewis, an Earth scientist from Birkbeck, University of London and co-author of the NASA report, told Daily Mail: 'The kinds of organic–mineral associations observed at Bright Angel that are reported in this paper are known to be generated by microbial life on Earth, and so it is a very promising observation to see something so similar on Mars.

'Certainly, I think that this is the most compelling potential evidence of life on Mars found to date.'

The scientists can't yet rule out that these spots could be caused by non-biological processes, and Dr Hickman-Lewis says that this is not a 'smoking gun'.

However, after spending a year reviewing the evidence and looking for alternative explanations, the researchers are now confident enough to say that this could be a 'biosignature', an elusive sign which proves the existence of life.

These signs of life were found by the Perseverance rover in a region called 'Bright Angel'. Researchers say that chemicals found in the leopard spots are produced by biological processes on Earth 

Although Mars is now a barren desert, billions of years ago, it would have been covered with rivers and lakes that could have supported life 

Dr Hickman-Lewis adds: 'The Mars 2020 team does not use the term "potential biosignature" lightly.'

What would this life look like?

The potential signs of life were found in a region called Jezero Crater, an impact basin just north of the equator.

Although it is now a barren wasteland, billions of years ago, the Jezero Crater was filled with water that could have been home to life.

If life did exist in these waters, the most plausible explanation is that it was some sort of simple microorganism.

Dr Hickman-Lewis says: 'The environment in which these potential biosignatures were found seems to be a low-temperature water-rich setting and therefore very clement for microbial life.'

In their paper, published in Nature, the researchers suggest that microbes could have fed on the naturally occurring carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus in the rocks.

These microbes would have then 'excreted' the minerals which we now see as leopard spots.

NASA Administrator Sean Duffy (center) revealed that a sample collected by Perseverance is the 'clearest sign of life' on Mars ever found in 30 years

The Jezero Crater, where the potential signs of life were found, was once a river delta. Observations from orbiting spacecraft show patterns of sediment that are similar to those made by rivers on Earth.

Pictured: AI-generated impression 

As microbes fed on the carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus in the rocks, they might have released iron-rich chemicals which permanently stained the rocks to leave 'leopard spots'. Pictured: AI-generated impression 

The conditions on the surface would have been incredibly harsh, but the researchers say that life still could have eked out a simple existence.

Dr Sanjeev Gupta, an Earth scientist from Imperial College London and member of the research team, told Daily Mail: 'There was liquid water present at the surface at the time billions of years ago, so it was a habitable environment. 

'This would have been simple microbial life. We can say much more than that.'

Since we can only see the possible traces left behind by these microorganisms, it's difficult to know what they might have looked like or how they behaved.

However, it is possible to make some very general predictions based on parallels from Earth.

Professor Michael Garrett, an astronomer from the University of Manchester and Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics who was not involved in the study, told Daily Mail: 'Think of hardy bacteria, similar to terrestrial extremophiles that thrive in very salty, cold, or low-oxygen conditions here on Earth.

'Good analogues are the microbial mats in very salty lakes or microbes that live kilometres underground in Earth’s crust or in the high desert in Chile.

'These examples show us that life can be tough, minimalistic, and persistent even in places where surface conditions are brutal.'

Scientists say that the best parallels for what life might have looked like are the microbial mats that form in extremely salty lakes on Earth. Pictured: AI-generated impression 

It is unlikely that more complex life could have evolved since Mars' climate changed rapidly about a billion years after the first microbes could have appeared. This means complex organisms like animals probably didn't have time to develop.

Pictured: AI-generated impression 

Could more complex life have evolved? 

If these leopard spots really are biosignatures, then the researchers say it's unlikely that they only existed in one place.

Perseverance is currently studying very ancient rocks outside of the Jezero Crater to look for signs of more widespread life.

However, it is extremely unlikely that more complex life evolved anywhere on the Red Planet.

The researchers think that microbes emerged on Mars around the same time that life was getting started on Earth.

However, after about one billion years, Mars' climate began to change rapidly as solar winds stripped away its atmosphere - leaving the planet very cold and dry.

Professor Garrett says: 'Those harsh conditions on Mars after 1 billion years would put strong limits on body size and complexity of any lifeform.

'It took really complex life, like animals, another 3 billion years before they appeared on the Earth, where the conditions were much better to support energy-hungry complex life forms.'

If complex life had emerged, it would have needed to develop adaptations like thick skin or live underground to avoid the intense radiation of the Martian surface. Pictured: AI-generated impression 

On Earth, some of the first animals to evolve were simple filter feeders. Filter feeders also survive in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents, so complex Martian life might have followed a similar evolutionary trajectory. Pictured: AI-generated impression 

Read More

• Earth-sized planet just 40 light-years away could have an atmosphere capable of sustaining life 

In the unlikely case that more complex life did evolve, Mars' harsh conditions would also put strong constraints on what it might look like.

'It would need to be adapted to survive the intense UV radiation from the Sun, extreme cold, and limited liquid water - we don’t really see complicated animal life in such environments,' says Professor Garret.

He adds: 'If they were present, they would need protection from the UV radiation from the sun – maybe a thick skin, for example, or perhaps mostly living under the Martian soil.'

That means complex life might resemble creatures on Earth that live in exceptionally harsh environments, such as desert-dwelling lizards or the simple filter-feeders that survive near hydrothermal vents.  

MARS: THE BASICS

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, with a 'near-dead' dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. 

Mars is also a dynamic planet with seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, extinct volcanoes, and evidence that it was even more active in the past. 

It is one of the most explored planets in the solar system and the only planet humans have sent rovers to explore.

One day on Mars takes a little over 24 hours and a year is 687 Earth days.

Facts and Figures 

Orbital period: 687 days

Surface area: 55.91 million mi²

Distance from Sun: 145 million miles

Gravity: 3.721 m/s²

Radius: 2,106 miles

Moons: Phobos, Deimos

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18-12-2025 om 22:53 geschreven door peter  

The trailer for Disclosure Day has been released, providing a haunting glimpse at what first contact with an alien intelligence might be like.

In the clip, a newsreader, played by Emily Blunt, is seized by an extraterrestrial force and breaks into a chilling series of clicks and chirps.

But would aliens really sound like this?

Some of the world's leading experts have now revealed what noises life beyond Earth might really make – and they say Steven Spielberg's trailer might not be far off.

Although aliens might be vastly different to humans, scientists believe they probably still follow the same rules of evolution as life on Earth.

So, if a species evolves on an Earth–like planet, their means of communication might not be all that different from our own.

According to the experts, extraterrestrials really might use a spoken language just like Emily Blunt's bizarre clicking.

However, whether or not aliens will be friendly enough to spark up a conversation remains to be seen.

As the trailer for Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day shows Emily Blunt seized by an extraterrestrial force, scientists have revealed how aliens would really communicate 

Dr Douglas Vakoch, chair of METI (Messaging to Extra–Terrestrial Intelligence) International, told Daily Mail: 'To guess how aliens will communicate with one another, we need to know how they encounter one another face–to–face.

'If, like humans, aliens live in an environment where it is vital to communicate even when it's too dark to see one another, then they too might communicate with something akin to human speech.'

We can't say exactly what that speech might sound like, but it's likely to resemble the variety of sounds we already hear on Earth.

'From the warbling of birds, to the trumpeting of elephants, to the chirping of crickets, [animal communications] all operate on the same principle,' says Dr Vakoch.

'Animals create sounds that vary over time.

'It's through the distinctive patterning of these manifold sounds that meaning arises.

'We would expect the same in any aliens who want to communicate with one another through the medium of air.'

Although the noises created by Emily Blunt in the Disclosure Day trailer seem bizarre, they are just as likely as any other type of sound.

While the alien messages in the trailer (pictured) seem bizarre, scientists say that alien life would probably use a spoken language to communicate if they lived on a planet with air 

In fact, Dr Vakoch points out that the clicks which 'sound eerily out of this world' to our ears are a defining feature of the Khoisan family of languages spoken in West Africa.

However, the researchers caution that the movie trailer doesn't get everything right.

The big problem is that we have no reason to believe aliens would use sound alone to communicate.

Mia Belle Parkinson, a PhD candidate at the UK Centre for Astrobiology, told Daily Mail: 'It's easy to think about intelligent alien beings that look and sound like us. 

'However, this would not be the case at all. What if these beings evolved on a world completely dissimilar to ours?'

Just as life at the bottom of the ocean has evolved to flash messages to each other with bioluminescence, aliens might have evolved with different means of communication. 

Mrs Parkinson adds: 'I think we shouldn't discount anything because the only example of life we have is Earth. And what if Earth truly is unique?'

So, in a scientifically accurate movie, Emily Blunt would be just as likely to start flashing a torch about or releasing noxious chemicals as to start chatting away.

Just as life at the bottom of the ocean has evolved to flash messages to each other with bioluminescence, aliens might have evolved with different means of communication. Pictured: Humboldt squid

Scientists say the biggest mistake in the trailer is that aliens wouldn't really communicate with humans using their own language. They are more likely to send a simple, repeating radio signal, which would be picked up by Earth's telescopes.

Pictured: The Green Bank Observatory radio telescope 

But where the trailer really goes wrong is with the idea that aliens would try to speak with us in their own language in the first place.

Dr Sheri Wells-Jensen, an astrobiologist from Bowling Green State University, told Daily Mail: 'The sounds here seem to have been strategically designed to freak out the average human filmgoer. But our first contact is likely to be a little less filmable.

'They will email us, not crawl out from under our beds.'

Due to the massive distance involved, any communication with aliens will require sending signals that could take millions of years to reach their destination.

That means first contact will likely come through a reliable, tried and tested means that has the highest likelihood of being recognised.

Dr John Elliott, a researcher at the University of St Andrews and Chair of the UK SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Research Network, told Daily Mail: 'The scenario depicted here is a sensationalised fiction.

'Communication is most likely to take the form of a remote signal or beacon, which will manifest itself as detectable by radio or optical telescopes.

'If an intended communication for us, it will likely comprise, at first, repeated patterns or images, to provide us with clear evidence of intent from another intelligent civilisation.'

WHAT IS THE FERMI PARADOX?

The Fermi Paradox questions why, given the estimated 200-400 billion stars and at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy, there have been no signs of alien life. 

The contradiction is named after its creator, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi.

He first posed the question back in 1950.

Fermi believed it was too extraordinary that a single extra-terrestrial signal or engineering project has yet to be detected in the universe — despite its immense vastness. 

Fermi concluded there must a barrier that limits the rise of intelligent, self-aware, technologically advanced space-colonising civilisations.

This barrier is sometimes referred to as the 'Great Filter'.

Italian physicist Enrico Fermi devised the so-called Fermi Paradox in the 1950s, which explores why there is no sign of alien life, despite the 100 billion planets in our galaxy

If the main obstacle preventing the colonisation of other planets is not in our past, then the barrier that will stop humanity's prospects of reaching other worlds must lie in our future, scientists have theorised.  

Professor Brian Cox believes the advances in science and engineering required by a civilisation to start conquering the stars will ultimately lead to its destruction.

He said: 'One solution to the Fermi Paradox is that it is not possible to run a world that has the power to destroy itself.

‘It may be that the growth of science and engineering inevitably outstrips the development of political expertise, leading to disaster.'

Other possible explanations for the Fermi Paradox include that intelligent alien species are out there, but lack the necessary technology to communicate with Earth.

Some believe that the distances between intelligent civilisations are too great to allow any kind of two-way communication.

If two worlds are separated by several thousand light years, it's possible that one or both civilisations would become extinct before a dialogue can be established. 

The so-called Zoo hypothesis claims intelligent alien life is out there, but deliberately avoids any contact with life on Earth to allow its natural evolution. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

18-12-2025 om 22:38 geschreven door peter  

Speculation around imminent UFO disclosure is intensifying, especially now with Steven Spielberg’s upcoming UFO film, Disclosure Day, has released its first trailer and the timing is raising eyebrows. Set for a June 12, 2026 release, the film explores a world on the brink of official extraterrestrial disclosure. 

The teaser follows a meteorologist (Emily Blunt) and a UFO whistleblower (Josh O’Connor) who insist the public has a right to know the truth. The film’s central question is chilling: If you were proven we’re not alone, would you be afraid? 

The idea of a real life “Disclosure Day” has circulated in UFO research circles for decades, referring to the moment governments finally confirm the existence of non-human intelligence. While no date has ever been confirmed, speculation is now surging. 

On Polymarket, a major prediction market, bets on “Trump declassifies UFO files in 2025?” have surged past $7 million, with odds jumping from just 6% in early December to an astonishing 98% by mid-month. UFO filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee suggests the sudden surge may point to insider knowledge close to the White House. 

This spike in interest follows the release of The Age of Disclosure, (read here), a documentary that reignited debate over government secrecy around UFOs. 

As Hollywood narratives, documentary findings, and political speculation converging, some observers view this as "predictive programming", a concerted effort by media to subtly prepare the public for a historic disclosure moment.

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

18-12-2025 om 21:54 geschreven door peter  

The mystifying 3I/ATLAS interstellar comet is blazing toward Earth and will in a matter of days come as close to our planet as it ever will.

The impending cosmic rendezvous – if you want to call it that, since 3I/ATLAS will still be pretty far away – has been anticipated for months ever since the strange visitor was first spotted in Earth's neighborhood. Since its discovery in our solar system in July, 3I/ATLAS has passed within the orbit of Mars and come within 130 million miles of the sun.

Now, the ancient space object is due to approach Earth – offering the world's scientists an unprecedented opportunity to study a comet that formed in an entirely different part of our Milky Way. Of course, the public may also have an interest in spotting the object that many sincerely believe could be an alien spaceship.

Want to know how you can track and glimpse 3I/ATLAS as it comes near Earth? Here's everything to know.

• 3I/ATLAS: NASA's Hubble telescope gets another look at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

What is 3I/ATLAS? Why scientists say it's an interstellar comet

The object known as 3I/ATLAS made news in July 2025 when it was confirmed to be the third object ever discovered originating outside Earth's solar system. When it was spotted, 3I/ATLAS was traveling 137,000 mph, according to NASA.

Observations of 3I/ATLAS' speed and trajectory confirmed to astronomers that it formed in another star system and was ejected into interstellar space – the region between the stars, according to NASA. For possibly billions of years, the comet has drifted on a journey from the general direction of the constellation Sagittarius in the center of the Milky Way that recently brought it into our solar system.

• Related video: Here’s everything you need to know about 3I/ATLAS (The Weather Channel

Though astronomers don’t yet know exactly how big 3I/ATLAS could be, estimates range from a few hundred feet to a few miles across, according to the European Space Agency. But data from the Hubble Space Telescope helped astronomers estimate the size of the comet’s solid, icy nucleus as anywhere from about 1,400 feet to 3½ miles in diameter.

Unlike comets bound to the sun's gravity, 3I/ATLAS is traveling on a hyperbolic orbit that eventually will carry it out of the solar system and back into interstellar space.

Are there photos of 3I/ATLAS? See all NASA images of comet

On Nov. 19, NASA released a trove of never-before-seen images of 3I/ATLAS that revealed new characteristics of the object.

A look at all of the photos NASA has released of 3I/ATLAS since its discovery, including detailed explanations of each, are available below.

Will 3I/ATLAS hit Earth? How close will it get?

The comet, which is not a danger to Earth, is projected to pass within about 170 million miles of our planet Dec. 19. That's nearly twice the distance of Earth to the sun and more than 700 times the distance of Earth to the moon.

Will you be able to see 3I/ATLAS from Earth? Where is it now?

Though 3I/ATLAS is not visible to the naked eye, viewers with even a small telescope can observe the comet in the predawn sky until spring 2026, according to NASA.

During the comet's closest approach to Earth, skywatchers looking east to northeast could catch the comet right under the star Regulus – one of the brightest stars visible to Earth – in the constellation Leo, according to NASA's December skywatching guide.

The agency's online simulation Eyes on the Solar System shows the location and path of 3I/ATLAS as it moves through our solar system.

"Look for observatories and skywatching events in your local area," Chelsea Gohd, a science communicator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, explained in a video.

Is 3I/ATLAS an alien spaceship? NASA leaders reject extraterrestrial conspiracy

The strange outsider's jaunt through Earth's cosmic neighborhood has sparked plenty of conspiracy theories.

One particularly infamous idea – put forth by a Harvard astrophysicist named Avi Loeb – is that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spaceship. Though Loeb has conceded on the publishing platform Medium that the object is "most likely a comet of natural origin," he has not ruled out the possibility that it could be extraterrestrial technology.

NASA authorities, though, have sought to put that notion to rest.

In a social media exchange with reality TV star Kim Kardashian in October, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy affirmed: "No aliens. No threat to life here on Earth."

Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, also rejected the alien conspiracy theory at a news conference in November, saying, "We certainly haven't seen any technosignatures or anything from it that would lead us to believe it was anything other than a comet."

Hubble, James Webb among fleet of instruments to study comet

Scientists who are eager to study planetary material that formed from another star have for months trained ground and space telescopes on 3I/ATLAS. The Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope have returned images and data from the comet.

Hubble's latest sighting of the interstellar object came Nov. 30, NASA said in a December blog post.

At the time, 3I/ATLAS was about 178 million miles from Earth. Because Hubble was tracking the comet as it moved across the sky, stars in the background appear as streaks of light, NASA said.

• Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
• This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is 3I/ATLAS now? How to track interstellar comet as it nears Earth

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{ USA TODAY }

17-12-2025 om 22:37 geschreven door peter  

Lost Egyptian temple is unearthed 4,500 years after it was built in honour of the sun god Ra

• READ MORE: Egypt restores colossal statues of Amenhotep III after 3,200 years

By JONATHAN CHADWICK, ASSISTANT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

Archeologists have unearthed the remains of a 4,500-year-old Egyptian temple where visitors would sky-gaze while on the roof. 

The building's remains were found at Abu Ghurab, about nine miles south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and five miles west of the River Nile. 

A 'huge' building exceeding 10,000 sq ft (1,000 square metres), the temple was dedicated to the deity Ra, the sun god and father of all creation. 

It was constructed on the orders of Pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, who reigned from approximately 2420 BC to 2389 BC during Egypt's Fifth Dynasty.  

According to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, it had a public calendar of religious events carved into blocks and a roof for astronomical observation.

Photos show several well-persevered elements recovered from the site, including wall fragments featuring hieroglyphics and shards of pottery. 

'With a unique architectural plan, it makes it one of the largest and most prominent temples of the valley,' the ministry said in a translated Facebook post. 

'Carved stone fragments of fancy white limestone are also found, alongside large quantities of pottery.'  

The lost Egyptian temple about 10 miles south of Cairo has been unearthed 4,500 years after it was built in honour of the sun god Ra

The roof of the valley temple was probably used for astronomical observations, according to archaeologists from Italy who led the expedition 

The site was identified as early as 1901 by the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, but groundwater levels were too high for excavations to be carried out.

But the latest excavations, which commenced in 2024, have uncovered more than half of the temple, previously buried under sediment, the ministry said. 

Work there has revealed the entrance of the temple, including the original entrance floor and the remains of a circular granite column, likely part of the entrance's porch. 

Portions of the original stone cladding of the corridor walls have also been unearthed, as well as a number of architectural elements such as granite shingles and doors. 

The mission has also discovered the remains of an internal staircase leading to the roof in the northwestern part of the temple – likely a secondary entrance – and a slope believed to have linked the temple to the Nile or one of its branches.

'The roof of the valley temple was probably used for astronomical observations but not for the celebration of the festivals,' Massimiliano Nuzzolo, an archaeologist and excavation co-director, told Live Science. 

Meanwhile, the lower level was 'used as a landing stage for the boats approaching it from the Nile or, more likely, from one of its side channels'. 

The expedition also found a distinctive collection of artifacts, including two wooden pieces of the ancient Egyptian 'Senet' game, resembling modern chess.

The ancient Egyptians enjoyed playing board games, archeological remains of playing piece fragments show, including 'Senet' resembling modern chess 

Photo show several well-persevered elements recovered from the site, including wall fragments featuring hieroglyphics and shards of pottery

'The sanctuary thus became a dwelling and one of the favourite local [games] was probably playing senet,' Nuzzolo added. 

Preliminary studies indicate that the temple, after ending its role as a place of worship, was transformed into a small residential area inhabited by locals.

Further excavation work at the site could reveal more about its history before it was smothered by sediment from the Nile. 

'The mission is preparing to continue its work in the coming seasons to explore more elements of this important archaeological site,' the ministry statement added. 

'Removing the curtain on new details [will] add much to understanding the origin and evolution of the Sun Temples in ancient Egypt.' 

Known for his devotion to the sun god, Pharaoh Nyuserre Ini was the sixth of nine kings who reigned during Egypt's Fifth Dynasty, which ruled Egypt for about 150 years. 

The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs closely identified themselves with Ra, building temples in the deity's honour. 

Hieroglyphic inscriptions found in the valley temple include a public calendar detailing religious events

The mission has first succeeded in uncovering more than half the temple, where a huge building exceeding 1000 square meters appeared

According to the belief at the time, Ra was the king of the deities and the father of all creation, as well as the deity who governed the actions of the sun. 

The Egyptians were an agricultural society living in a desert, so not surprisingly, the sun – and thereby Ra – was an integral component of their cosmos, guiding their thoughts and actions. 

Egyptians in this region relied on the sun and the Nile and the rich, fertile soil that surrounded the river for sustenance, such as bread, beer and vegetables. 

Beer was not simply a staple food for the living, but 'a symbol of status and authority', important in elite feasting and burial rituals 'in this life and the next'.  

It would have been 'a thick porridge' – likely cloudy and sweet with a low alcoholic content – that was mostly made from wheat, barley and grass. 

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 { https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

17-12-2025 om 22:13 geschreven door peter  

Pink fog descends over the UK: Brits are baffled as the skies turn rose-coloured due to rare weather phenomenon

• READ MORE: Confused Brits question the strangely balmy December weather

By JONATHAN CHADWICK, ASSISTANT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

Brits have been left baffled by a rare weather phenomenon that has turned the December skies a brilliant rose colour. 

'Pink fog' occurs when sunlight passes through fine material such as dust or moisture in the air, according to meteorologists at the Met Office. 

'When the sunlight comes through lots of layers, it filters out the blue and scatters it, leaving the red to come through,' said Met Office spokesman Graham Madge.

'It’s effectively a sunrise filtered through the atmosphere and through the fog, giving it that pinkish hue.' 

On social media, Brits posted their snaps of the spectacular sight, which has blanketed the sky in regions across the southeast of England. 

TikTok user @crazytailsuk insisted that their video clip had 'no filter' as the sky appeared as a brilliant Barbie-style shade. 

One person replied to say 'it was soooo pink this morning in Hertfordshire', while another wrote: 'Sunrise pink fog…….. I would have been thrilled.' 

Another TikToker joked that she was 'up in the mountains' and needed to be rescued as she walked down a residential street. 

No filter: On social media, Brits posted their snaps of the spectacular sight, which depends on local conditions

'Pink fog' occurs when sunlight passes through fine material such as dust or moisture in the air, according to meteorologists at the Met Office

This shot from west London on Wednesday morning (December 17) showed the bizarre pink fog over traffic on Wednesday morning 

According to Mr Madge, pink fog – effectively a sunrise filtered through the atmosphere – depends on local conditions and can be easily missed.  

One January morning last year, a 'surreal' pink fog hit parts of British Columbia in Canada, according to a CBC report. 

Darius Mahdavi, climate specialist and science communicator at the network, called pink fog 'an incredibly rare phenomenon'. 

'Sunlight has to pass through more layers of atmosphere – or in this case, the suspended water droplets that make up the fog,' he said.

'Some of the colours, especially the blues, [then] get scattered out, leaving the reds and oranges and pinks to reach your eyes.

'But the conditions have to be just right and are near impossible to predict, so it's really a matter of being in the right place at the right time.' 

At the time, one Kelowna resident said it lasted somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, rising up into the sky then coming down before dissipating into a normal grey. 

A pink fog previously covered parts of England's southwest in February 2019, including Somerset and Shropshire. 

Pink fog refers to a natural atmospheric phenomenon where sunlight filtering through particles (dust, moisture) scatters blue light, leaving reds and pinks. Pictured, Dunsden, Oxfordshire this morning (December 17) 

According to an expert at the Met Office, pink fog is 'effectively a sunrise filtered through the atmosphere'. Pictured, Dunsden, December 17

The beautiful natural occurrence provides a stunning - and rare - photo opportunity for early morning photographers and dog walkers. Pictured, Dunsden, December 17

Mr Madge added that the spectacular sight would have likely been seen by a lucky few who were in the right place at the right time. 

'It will depend on the local conditions, and those conditions were optimal for a few lucky people to have witnessed it,' he told the Sun at the time. 

According to today's outlook from the Met Office, London and the southeast endured a 'foggy and frosty start', colder than previous mornings recently.  

But freshening winds and increasing cloud cover through the morning are allowing the fog and frost to slowly clear.

There is, however, a chance of rain in the afternoon and this evening is set to be cloudy with the odd outbreak.

Rain and fog could cause flooding and travel disruption on Wednesday in parts of south Wales and south-western, central and eastern England. 

The Met Office said: 'A period of rain, heavy at times, especially over high ground, will move slowly east across this region during Wednesday. 

'Coming off the back of recent very wet weather, some travel disruption and flooding is likely across much of the warning area.' 

The rarely-seen weather phenomenon depends on local conditions and can be easily missed. Pictured, Dunsden, December 17

According to today's outlook from the Met Office, London and the southeast endured a foggy start on Wednesday which triggered the effect 

Also this week, meteorologists have confirmed that it has been unseasonably warm in Britain in the lead-up to Christmas. 

In some parts of the country, temperatures have risen as high as 15°C (59°F), while conditions have rarely fallen below freezing. 

Jim Dale, senior meteorologist at British Weather Services and co–author of 'Surviving Extreme Weather', told Daily Mail that the UK is currently facing an unusually energetic jet stream.

This is the system of fast–moving air flowing about five to seven miles above the ground that steers weather fronts and low–pressure systems towards the UK.

Since November, Mr Dale says that the jet stream has been 'more or less over us', causing a wave of warm, wet, and windy weather.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

17-12-2025 om 21:57 geschreven door peter  

3I/ATLAS Still Shows an Anti-Tail, as it Gets Closer to Earth

Avi Loeb

An image of 3I/ATLAS, taken on December 13, 2025 at 21:30:26 UTC with a 0.26-meter telescope in Rayong, Thailand. The field of view spans 0.72 million kilometers on a side at the distance of 3I/ATLAS from Earth, 271 million kilometers. The bottom three panels show the projected brightness map in false colors and black & white, respectively. The top panel shows a rotational-gradient brightness map with a Larson-Sekanina filter. A prominent anti-tail, uncommon for comets, points in the direction of the Sun towards the lower left.

(Image Credit: Teerasak Thaluang)

As of today, December 14, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is at a distance of about 270.5 million kilometers from Earth. Its images are delayed by a quarter of an hour, as it takes light from 3I/ATLAS 15 minutes to reach us. On December 19, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will get closest to Earth at a perigee distance of 268.9097 (+/-0.0060) million kilometers.

The latest image of 3I/ATLAS was taken by Teerasak Thaluang on December 13, 2025 at 21:30:26 UTC with a 0.26-meter telescope in Rayong, Thailand (as reported here). The rotational-gradient brightness map shows a prominent anti-tail, uncommon for comets, pointing in the direction of the Sun.

Whereas an anti-tail had been seen for solar system comets as a temporary perspective effect when the Earth crossed the comets’ orbital plane, this is clearly not the case with 3I/ATLAS. The anti-tail was apparent in the first Hubble Space Telescope image, taken on July 21, 2025, when 3I/ATLAS was approaching the Sun from a geocentric distance of 2.98 times the Earth-Sun separation (AU) — as reported here and analyzed here, and was also apparent in the second Hubble image taken on November 30, 2025, when 3I/ATLAS was receding away from the Sun at a distance of 1.91 AU from Earth — as reported here. The anti-tail was also apparent in thousands of images taken in between these dates.

The anti-tail of 3I/ATLAS is therefore not a perspective effect. It is a real physical jet, with a glow extending from 3I/ATLAS towards the Sun. Its nature is a mystery because gas and micrometer-dust particles are expected to be pushed away from the Sun by solar radiation pressure and the solar wind, creating the appearance of a tail — as routinely seen in solar-system comets. There was no mention of this mystery at the NASA press conference about 3I/ATLAS on November 19, 2025 (accessible here).

To explain the physics of the anti-tail of 3I/ATLAS, I have written three scientific papers. The first two of these peer-reviewed papers, co-authored with Eric Keto (accessible here and here), associate the anti-tail with scattering of sunlight by fragments of ice shed from the sun-facing side of 3I/ATLAS. These tiny ice particles evaporate before they get pushed back significantly by the solar radiation pressure and so they never appear as a conventional cometary tail. The third (single-authored) paper, published on December 8, 2025 here, associates the anti-tail with a swarm of objects that lag behind 3I/ATLAS because of its non-gravitational acceleration away from the Sun (as reported by JPL Horizons here). Analysis of the latest Hubble image could potentially favor one of these explanations.

By recognizing anomalies, we can learn something new. By ignoring them, we remain ignorant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Avi Loeb is the head of the Galileo Project, founding director of Harvard University’s — Black Hole Initiative, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University (2011–2020). He is a former member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies. He is the bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” and a co-author of the textbook “Life in the Cosmos”, both published in 2021. The paperback edition of his new book, titled “Interstellar”, was published in August 2024.

{ https://medium.com/ }

17-12-2025 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

16-12-2025 om 23:37 geschreven door peter  

Steven Spielberg finally reveals 1st trailer for new UFO film 'Disclosure Day', and now we're terrified

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

16-12-2025 om 23:21 geschreven door peter  

The Real-Life Influence of Mythical Creatures in Ancient Cultures

Gary Manners

For centuries, many ancient civilizations were truly fascinated by mythical beings and beliefs that they thought were nothing short of real. In fact, mythical creatures are present in virtually every ancient culture, and span from believable to those bordering something truly alien. From dragons, sea monsters, and griffins, all the way to fauns, centaurs, and minotaurs, these fantastical beings usually mirrored the fears, beliefs, and aspirations of ancient societies. In this way, they often shaped their literature, art, and lifestyles, showing how ideals can be embodied in things imagined. But could there be a real-life origin to these beliefs and creatures? Could they have been inspired by real-world phenomena, or simply misinterpreted natural events?

• Largest Jade Dragon Unearthed at Hongshan Culture Mound
• Ye Olde Dragon Slayer: The Legend of St George (Video)

Guardians, Destroyers, Prophets

Amongst the most enduring mythical creatures, which were present in so many ancient cultures, are the dragons. Appearing frequently in folklore and tales from China in the east to Europe in the west, and elsewhere, these mighty creatures continue to captivate even today, in the modern age. What makes them so popular, and how did they influence cultures? In China for example, and in East Asia in general, where civilizations flourished for thousands of years, the dragon (known as lóng (loong)) usually symbolized wisdom, wealth, prosperity, and power. Usually depicted as serpentine and brooding, they were connected with the water, rain, fertility, and good fortune in general. Their influence was so great that even emperors adopted them as symbols of divine authority and might. Their garments, thrones, and palaces were decorated with flowing dragons, both carved and painted. In this way, the dragons became intermediaries between the heavens and the earth.

• Marduk: Babylonian King of Gods and Reportedly Liberator of the Jews
• The Supernatural Beliefs of Medieval People—From Elves and Fairies to Abductions and the Undead

Long dragon. Fragment of the Nine Dragon Wall in Forbidden City, Beijing

(Jakub Hałun/CC BY-SA 4.0)

In stark contrast, however, the dragons of the Western world were not benevolent creatures. Instead, they were often seen as destructive and greedy, hoarding great treasures and devastating the peaceful countryside. In many European legends, heroes arose to slay dragons and put an end to their devastation. Notable such legends are Siegfried in the German heroic tales, or Saint George the Dragonslayer. Their victories over dragons symbolize the triumph of good over evil and the human conquest of chaos. These contrasting perceptions highlight cultural differences in humanity’s relationship with nature: Eastern traditions revered balance, while Western myths often portrayed nature as a force to be subdued.

Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau, 1889/1890.

(Public Domain)

The myth of the dragons often had real-life origins. In Europe, the ancient cultures personified the destructive nature of the summer sun, which caused droughts and crop failures, with dragons - fire breathing monsters. Their appearance, which endures to this day, could have been inspired by fossils of large prehistoric animals, or through exaggerated tales of encounters with crocodiles and monitor lizards. Early mapmakers placed dragon illustrations in unexplored territories, reinforcing fears of the unknown and cautioning against venturing into uncharted lands.

The Fear of the Unknown

Mythical creatures in the ancient world often influenced real-life experiences as symbols of danger or something to be cautious about. This often pertains to early maritime navigation, as the oceans - and the lands beyond them - were often perilous to explore. This gave birth to the myths of sea monsters. In imaginations of ancient maritime cultures, these beings were aplenty, symbolizing the dangers of the sea. In Greek mythology, for example, there were creatures such as Scylla and Charybdis, posing as major threats to all sailors, just as seen in the Odyssey. These tales, however, were reflected in real life. They highlighted themes of perseverance and ingenuity, teaching mariners to respect the unpredictable power of the ocean and to, paradoxically, motivate them to persevere in maritime exploration.

Painting of Odysseus's boat passing between mythical creatures, the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Scylla has plucked Five of Odysseus's men from the boat. The painting is an Italian fresco.

(Public Domain)

Such myths existed even in the murky ages before the Greeks arose. In Mesopotamian mythology, the sea monster Tiamat represented the primordial chaos, the salt water, and the creation. Her defeat by the god Marduk, as recounted in the epic tale Enūma Eliš, marked the establishment of order and the birth of the cosmos. Similarly, the Leviathan in Hebrew scriptures symbolized divine power and judgment, underscoring humanity’s vulnerability in the face of the divine.

There is no doubt that many of these sea monster myths were inspired by real-life encounters with large marine creatures. For example, ancient mariners who sighted giant squids or the enormous oarfish, might have described mighty krakens. Similarly, sightings of whales, walruses, or narwhals could have sparked the imaginations of any who saw them. But ultimately, they served as cautionary tales for would-be navigators, and influenced ancient cultures to preserve their own territories, instead of venturing into the great unknown.

Imagination Running Wild

To better convey real-life lessons and concepts, ancient mythical creatures were often larger-than-life, extraordinary beings, with inexplicable and impossible features. How else were the people to fear them and, after all, believe in their existence? And so it was that unique, “hybrid” creatures, which combined the elements of several beings, came to play a significant role in ancient art and belief. A notable example is the griffin, a mythical creature with origins in Ancient Greece. With the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, this mighty being symbolized strength and vigilance. Revered in Persian, Greek, and Scythian cultures, griffins were often depicted guarding treasures or sacred sites. Their protective role extended to royal power, as seen in gold artifacts adorned with griffin motifs. Interestingly, the Greeks fervently believed that these creatures actually existed, particularly in the northern lands, amongst the Scythians.

A similar creature is the chimera, also originating in Greece, which had the heads of a lion, goat, and serpent. This abhorrent being represented chaos and danger, serving as a warning in real-life concepts. Mythical heroes such as Bellerophon, who defeated the chimera with the help of the horse Pegasus, embodied the virtues of bravery and resourcefulness. In this way, these mythical beings served as a way to promote good virtues in real life, contributing to an orderly and noble society. By reinforcing cultural values and providing tales of human triumph over evil and hardship, these creatures influenced men to always strive to do better, and to fight and protect what was their own.

Such creatures were present in other major cultures of the ancient world, usually having protective roles. In Ancient Egypt, the lion-human hybrids - the Sphinxes - guarded temples and protected the people, while in ancient Assyria the similarly-looking Lamassu stood proudly as sentinels near city gates. By blending artistry with spirituality, these majestic beings conveyed a sense of awe, fear, and inspiration, ensuring protection and instilling fear in all opponents. As such, they were an effective deterrent of enemies, many of whom believed in the wrath of these guardian beings. 

Cast from the original in Iraq, this is one of a pair of five-legged lamassu with lion's feet in Berlin 

(Lusitana/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Could These Beings Have Origins in Nature?

There are many popular theories indicating that the mythical creatures of ancient history have origins in something natural, or some real-world phenomena. It is possible that ancient peoples, having discovered fossils and large animal bones, having no knowledge about prehistoric creatures, crafted imaginary tales of giants, dragons, and centaurs. A notable example is the theory that Protoceratops dinosaur fossils found in Central Asia could have influenced the legends of the griffins. Their skeletons resemble winged creatures, and the people could simply have built their myths upon such remains. There are those, however, who dispute this theory.

“Invoking a role for dinosaurs in griffin lore, especially species from distant lands like Protoceratops, not only introduces unnecessary complexity and inconsistencies to their origins, but also relies on interpretations and proposals that don’t withstand scrutiny. It is important to distinguish between fossil folklore with a factual basis - that is, connections between fossils and myth evidenced by archaeological discoveries or compelling references in literature and artwork - and speculated connections based on intuition. There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea that ancient peoples found dinosaur bones and incorporated them into their mythology, but we need to root such proposals in realities of history, geography and paleontology. Otherwise, they are just speculation.”

Dr. Richard Hing, University of Portsmouth (Source)

Encounters with unfamiliar animals also fueled myths. The narwhal’s tusk, often mistaken for a unicorn horn, contributed to the enduring legend of the unicorn. Similarly, the exaggerated accounts of sailors encountering manatees may have given rise to mermaid stories. These examples highlight how human curiosity and imagination transformed natural observations into fantastical narratives. We can only imagine the shock and awe an ancient person could have experienced upon seeing an exotic animal. Ancient Greek explorers, venturing into Africa or Asia, could have seen elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, pythons, crocodiles, or any other odd-looking animals and - being in disbelief - instantly characterize them as beings of myth and legend.

A traditional depiction of the griffin

(Public Domain)

The Influence of Mythical Creatures on Art and Literature

Just one glimpse at ancient art of major civilizations, such as the Greeks, the Minoans, the Romans, or Egyptians, is enough to tell us that their myths were very important to them. From pottery to frescoes, to complex sculptures and architecture, the mythical creatures of old are represented everywhere. And they weren’t mere decorative elements, but served as cultural symbols as well. A notable example is the famed Ishtar Gate of Babylon, adorned with dragons and bulls, which clearly showed the integration of mythical creatures into monumental architecture.

Epic literature was likewise heavily influenced by mythology, with many references to mythical beings. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh features Humbaba, a guardian monster, while Beowulf recounts the hero’s battles with the monstrous Grendel and a dragon. These stories not only entertained but also imparted moral lessons and preserved cultural values. Ancient Greek literature was likewise heavily steeped in mythology, containing many encounters with beings such as centaurs, unicorns, minotaurs, the Medusa, the cyclops, and many others. And in all of these tales a unified message was contained - the man’s fight against the forces of evil.

Humbaba, demon guardian of the Cedar Forest.

(Rama/CC BY SA 3.0)

And even today, real life is influenced by ancient mythical creatures. Popular movies often contain many of these creatures, and old legends still serve as inspiration, centuries later. Dragons, elves, giants, unicorns, and phoenixes remain a staple in literature, films, and art, embodying themes of power, purity, and resilience. Their enduring appeal clearly reflects humanity’s deep-seated fascination with the unknown and the extraordinary, which endures for thousands of years.

Myth and Reality, Entwined

In ancient cultures, mythical creatures were more than imaginary beings, they were mirrors of human fears, hopes, and beliefs. Whether as symbols of divine power, representations of natural phenomena, or lessons in morality, these creatures shaped the cultural and spiritual landscapes of civilizations. And as we explore their origins and significance, we gain a richer understanding of the ancient world and the timeless power of myth.

Looking back at our own histories, of our respective nations, we can quickly stumble upon odd myths and unique creatures that have far-reaching roots. All that is left is to ask ourselves - how did they influence or inspire us?

• Top image: Myth of Tiamat the primordial goddess of the ocean rising from the waters ancient Mesopotamian myth swirling sea serpents chaos and creation.
• Source: Stock Source/Adobe Stock

By Aleksa Vučković

References

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{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

16-12-2025 om 22:54 geschreven door peter  

Bermuda Mystery

The 181-island chain of Bermuda has long puzzled geologists. The oceanic crust beneath the islands sits at a higher elevation than the surrounding seafloor due to a mysterious swell. Typically, volcanic activity would account for such uplift, yet geologists believe the region hasn’t experienced an eruption in 31 million years—a discrepancy that has fueled decades of speculation.

The newly discovered structure may help resolve that puzzle. Despite the extreme age of Bermuda’s last known eruption, the massive rock layer suggests that ancient volcanic activity could have injected a significant volume of mantle material into the crust. That slab now appears to be pushing the ocean floor upward by nearly 1,700 feet relative to nearby areas.

Similar mantle quirks may explain the formation of other islands worldwide. At certain locations known as mantle hotspots, rising plumes of hot material generate volcanic activity that builds islands from below—Hawaii being a prime example. In most cases, however, the crust eventually moves away from the hotspot, causing the uplift to subside over time.

Bermuda’s uplift, persisting for more than 31 million years, defies that pattern. What exactly is occurring beneath the island remains the subject of active debate.

Imagining the Bermuda Rock

The team behind the discovery, spread across multiple U.S. institutions, including Yale and Smith College, reported their findings in a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters. They relied on seismic data to make their discovery, drawing from a seismic station located on Bermuda, which collected the data by observing large earthquakes occurring at great distances from the island. 

These observations allowed scientists to image the Earth below Bermuda to a depth of 31 miles. Changes in the signal received as the tremors reached Bermuda enabled the teams to identify the anomalous rock layer, which varied in density, thereby altering the seismic waves.

Earlier research on Bermuda’s geology revealed that the archipelago’s ancient lava was low in silica, indicating that it was produced from high-carbon rock. Further analysis of the material’s zinc content revealed that the lava originated deep in the mantle. Geologists believe that the rock originally entered the mantle during the formation of the Pangea supercontinent some 900 to 300 million years ago.

Understanding Island Formation

Although these geological events occurred long ago, the Atlantic Ocean itself is relatively young, forming only after the ancient supercontinent of Pangea broke apart. In contrast, the Indian and Pacific oceans predate Pangea, which may explain why island chains such as Hawaii have very different rock compositions.

Studying an outlier like Bermuda offers researchers valuable insights into rare geological processes. It also offers a useful comparison point for more typical island-forming environments, helping geologists understand the full range of ways Earth’s crust can evolve over vast timescales.

Going forward, the team now hopes to identify other islands with comparable anomalies to determine whether Bermuda is truly unique or if it represents the first offering in a wave of similar unique geological discoveries.

The paper, “Zinc Isotope Constraints on the Cycling of Carbon in the Bermuda Mantle Source,” appeared in the Geophysical Research Letters on September 15, 2025.

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

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

16-12-2025 om 22:33 geschreven door peter