The European Space Agency (ESA) has published an interesting image taken by the Mars Express spacecraft. It shows a very unusual crater, whose structure resembles a butterfly.

Usually, in a collision that causes a crater to form, material will be ejected in all directions. However, this is not always the case. In the case of the butterfly crater, the space rock fell at a low, shallow angle, resulting in the interesting and unusual shapes that can be seen in the Mars Express image.

As a result of the collision, two separate sections of material were ejected north and south of the crater, creating two elongated “wings” of raised ground. The “wings” of this unique butterfly crater are rather vague and irregular, but they can be seen in the lower left and upper right parts of the main crater, which resembles a walnut. It has an atypical oval shape and measures 15 by 20 km.

Some of the debris forming the wings (mainly visible just above the crater) also appears smoother and more rounded, almost resembling a mudflow. This indicates that it mixed with water or ice from beneath the surface of Mars, which melted during the impact.

The butterfly crater is far from the only interesting feature of this place. The rest of the frame is mostly flat, drawing attention to a group of steep, flat-topped rock formations known as mesas. The higher areas of land here have been gradually eroded away, and the remaining hills are those that have managed to withstand erosion over time.

The mesas stand out sharply against the brownish surroundings thanks to layers of exposed dark material at their edges. As on Earth, it is probably rich in magnesium and iron and was formed by eruptions. In the past, this region experienced fairly powerful volcanic activity, resulting in the accumulation of lava and ash deposits over time, which were buried by other materials.

Signs of lava can be seen in the form of “wrinkled ridges”: folded patterns that formed when lava flows cooled and contracted, causing the surface to crumple.

Earlier, we reported on how mysterious rocks revealed the history of Mars’ tropical climate.

• According to ESA

• Posted in News, Science

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

03-12-2025 om 22:23 geschreven door peter  

The Harsh Red Planet

The surface of Mars is highly inhospitable to human life, due to billions of years of catastrophic changes that likely erased any past habitability. Any colonists will need an artificial air supply, as the planet’s atmosphere is extremely thin and composed chiefly of poisonous carbon dioxide. That atmospheric weakness also prevents effective regulation of the planet’s temperature, resulting in wild swings from a comfortable 79°F to an unsurvivable -194°F.

On top of all this, brutal cosmic radiation, bringing with it a significant cancer risk for future astronauts, showers the planet’s surface, unimpeded by its thin atmosphere.

Such a challenging environment—inimical to most complex life, let alone humans—will require robust shelters and life-support systems if any permanent settlement is to occur. Given long journeys, limited payload, and the tremendous expense of landing humans on Mars, mission planners are understandably concerned about using any available local resources.

Life on Mars Once and Again

Samples collected from Mars’ Jezero crater do not conclusively contain life, but they do hint that microbes may have inhabited the soil long ago. Although such microbes are not readily apparent, they still populate the Red Planet, and microbial life on Earth offers a chance to study how such organisms could impact Mars. One such process is biomineralization, in which microbes produce hard minerals, shaping the terrestrial landscape over long periods and operating in some of the most extreme environments on Earth.

Now, a team of international researchers has devised a way to harness natural biomineralization to produce sturdy building materials from Martian regolith. Among the methods the team studies, biocementation, a process where microbes generate calcium carbonate at room temperature, emerged as the most promising for practical implementation.

Bacterial Powerhouses

The team identified two bacteria that, when working in tandem, produce remarkable results. The first is Sporosarcina pasteurii, which, through a process called ureolysis, produces the desired calcium carbonate. The other is a cyanobacterium called Chroococcidiopsis, an extremely resilient organism capable of weathering environments as challenging as the Martian surface.

When co-located, Chroococcidiopsis acts as a natural life-support system, creating an oxygen-rich microenvironment in which Sporosarcina pasteurii can thrive. Additionally, Chroococcidiopsis secretes a substance that protects its microbial mate from the harsh UV radiation pouring over the Red Planet. In this protective bubble, Chroococcidiopsis is safe to secrete polymers, which turn the loose Martian regolith into a sturdy building material similar to concrete.

Bio-Based 3D Prints On Mars

Producing the raw materials is a massive step toward human permanence on the Red Planet, but the researchers did not stop there. They have also begun exploring the optimal method for erecting structures on the Martian surface from their microbial concrete.

The optical solution, the team says, would be to use giant 3D printers, fed on a mixture of their microbial pair and Martian soil. 3D-printed concrete buildings are a technology already well established on Earth, with one notable example being their use in constructing a Starbucks in Texas earlier this year.

The researchers’ focus on these two microbes doesn’t end with construction, as the team believes both could be useful for long-term life support operations. Chroococcidiopsis could be used to produce oxygen not just for microenvironments but also on a larger scale to produce breathable air for astronauts. On an even larger timescale, Sporosarcina pasteurii produces ammonia, which could be utilized in terraforming efforts, to fundamentally change Mars from the barren wasteland it is today into something more habitable.

For now, any practical implementation of such processes to permanently colonize Mars is likely to be at least a few decades away, though ongoing advancements are paving the way for a lasting human presence on the Moon and Mars to become a 21st-century reality.

The paper, “From Earth to Mars: A Perspective on Exploiting Biomineralization for Martian Construction,” appeared in Frontiers in Microbiology on December 2, 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.

{ https://thedebrief.org/ }

03-12-2025 om 22:09 geschreven door peter  

“We wanted to address one of the biggest limitations in soft robotics today: the dependence on heavy, rigid power systems,” said Professor Wei Tang, a lead author of the study, in a statement. “Our goal was to create a pump that is soft, lightweight, and capable of operating autonomously, just like biological tissues.”

Future Space and Sea Missions 

The team’s research is important because it addresses one of the most significant limitations in robotics and wearables: the need for heavy batteries or external power sources. Mimicking the human lymphatic system allows the creation of robotic systems that can flow autonomously.

Such technologies could lead to wearable smart gloves that regulate temperature and circulation when a person moves, as well as robots that can perform tasks in hazardous environments, such as deep-sea exploration or even outer space. 

The Design

Using low-cost 3D printing techniques, the team created pumps in various shapes and sizes, making them customizable for a wide range of applications, from medical devices to remote robotics. This led to the development of the soft fiber pump (SFP), a slender, highly flexible device that can bend, twist, and stretch in various ways.

Two designs were developed from the research: a high-performance version that uses spiral electrodes to boost pumping capabilities, and a durable version with parallel electrodes inspired by the human lymphatic vessels. Both designs offer flexibility and strength in environments where traditional pumps would fail.

What makes the technology different from others before is its built-in ability to generate its own power. The researchers integrated a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) (a device that converts mechanical motion into electricity) directly into the pump system. When in rotation or motion (such as wind, water flow, or human movement), the TENG provides all the energy the pump needs.

“This turns everyday motion into a power source,” said Professor Jun Zou, co-lead of the project. “It moves us closer to machines that power themselves, without batteries or external electrical systems.”

To showcase the pump’s true potential, the team built several functional prototypes, including artificial muscles capable of lifting weights to mimic a lifelike robotic movement. This, in addition to microfluidic control systems to enhance lab-on-a-chip diagnostic devices, and a temperature-regulating smart glove that uses the pump to circulate fluid and adjust temperature comfort.

“By fusing biological inspiration with advanced materials and energy harvesting,” said Tang, “we’re creating systems that are not just functional—but genuinely alive with autonomy.”

The study “Lymphatic-Inspired and TENG-Powered Soft Fiber Pumps for Soft Robots” was published in SmartBot.

• Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com.

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

03-12-2025 om 18:35 geschreven door peter  

Now that samples are safely in labs for examination, this new study, led by Angel Mojarro of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined tiny fragments of Bennu’s rocky surface. Because these samples were taken directly from the asteroid and sealed before re-entry, they preserve a pristine record of early Solar System chemistry, free from contamination by Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere.​

“Our findings expand the evidence that prebiotic organic molecules can form within primitive accreting planetary bodies and could have been delivered via impacts to early Earth and other solar system bodies, potentially contributing to the origins of life,” the researchers wrote in their study. 

The team focused on two main types of organic material within the Bennu samples. One is a tough, tar-like “insoluble” organic sample made of large, interconnected carbon-rich structures, similar in some ways to very old coals or kerogen on Earth. The other is a “soluble” sample made up of smaller, more mobile molecules that can be extracted with liquids, such as amino acids and nucleobases, the molecules life uses to build proteins and to store genetic information in DNA and RNA. 

To study both, the team used a combination of heating samples to release volatile compounds and a wet-chemistry method that chemically tags small molecules for detection with high-sensitivity mass spectrometry.

Mojarro and his co-authors identified 15 of the 20 standard amino acids used by terrestrial life to assemble proteins, along with all five nucleobases that form the “letters” of DNA and RNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. Earlier work on other Bennu fragments had already shown that the asteroid carries 14 protein-forming amino acids and the full set of nucleobases, but the new study adds one more amino acid to the list.

In a historical first, a tentative detection of the amino acid tryptophan in the aggregate Bennu sample indicates that a relatively complex amino acid exists in extraterrestrial objects. Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids used by life, and on Earth, it plays roles in both protein structure and cellular signaling. In the Bennu samples, it appears at trace levels across multiple subsamples and is absent from blank laboratory controls, so the team argues that it is unlikely to be a contamination artifact, while still stressing that further measurements will be needed to confirm the detection beyond doubt. 

If confirmed, its presence would suggest that some fragile organic molecules are missing from meteorites because they do not survive the heating and shock of atmospheric entry, highlighting the importance of sample-return missions for capturing the full range of prebiotic compounds in space.

• MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

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

02-12-2025 om 22:08 geschreven door peter  

SuperCam

“These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration,” lead author Dr Baptiste Chide told Reuters.

Just one day after landing on Mars, SuperCam’s microphone recorded audio from the Red Planet for the first time. The SuperCam instruments, responsible for some of Perseverance’s most interesting finds, inadvertently picked up the audio and electromagnetic signatures suggesting the presence of mini lightning on Mars.

Unfortunately, while the early data is promising, SuperCam was designed to look for life, not lightning. Despite the audio evidence, there is debate about the presence of Martian lightning due to the lack of visual evidence. Although SuperCam collected some evidence of unexpected atmospheric electricity on Mars, researchers say that more specialized instruments and sensitive cameras would help confirm the initial findings.

Discovering Lightning on Mars

The work is a collaboration between the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Université de Toulouse, and the Observatoire de Paris (PSL), working alongside other international researchers.

The French researchers behind the discovery combed through 28 hours of microphone recordings Perseverance made over 1,374 Earth days. Their results indicated that the electromagnetic and acoustic signatures were similar to minor static electrical events on Earth. Researchers have previously theorized that the Martian atmosphere may host such electrical activity, but this is the first direct evidence.

Martian Dust Devils

Violent surface activity, particularly dust devils and dust storm fronts, was strongly correlated with electrical activity. Dust devils are whirlwinds of swirling dust, produced as hot air rises off the Martian surface. The swirling internal movements of these dirt twisters produce electrical discharges as friction develops between tiny dust particles charged with electrons. Electrical arcs several centimeters long, along with an audible shockwave, result from these interactions.

On Earth, dry regions, such as deserts, are most prone to producing static electricity. Mars features even more optimal conditions for producing static electricity than even Earth’s driest regions, as the thin carbon dioxide atmosphere allows sparks to form through much weaker charges than on our planet.

Understanding Mars

The team’s findings may have a substantial impact on our understanding of Martian habitability. Specifically, discovering this extent of atmospheric electrical activity alters our understanding of the Red Planet’s chemistry.

The atmospheric charge is strong enough to speed up the formation of highly oxidizing compounds, which can destroy organic compounds and strongly alter the atmosphere’s photochemical balance. One immediate implication is that this may finally explain the long-debated rapid loss of methane from the Martian atmosphere.

Mars’ climate dynamics are poorly understood at present. The team suggests that static electricity may be affecting dust movement, which would significantly affect Martian weather. Electricity could also pose a threat to electronic equipment on which current robotic and future crewed missions rely. Further supplemental research, aided by specialized instrumentation, will be required to deepen our understanding of Martian climate dynamics and support safe and reliable crewed landings in the future.

 The paper, “Detection of Triboelectric Discharges During Dust Events on Mars,” appeared in Nature on November 26, 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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02-12-2025 om 21:49 geschreven door peter  

Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes born during the Big Bang – 'if it's real, then it's enormous'

• READ MORE: What would happen if you walked into a primordial black hole?

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes, born in the very first seconds of the Big Bang.

These tiny singularities can be smaller than a single atom but contain almost as much mass as our sun.

Until now, no one has been able to prove that these bizarre, ancient objects exist.

But by looking for ripples in the fabric of spacetime, known as gravitational waves, researchers think they could have found the 'smoking gun' to prove they are real.

On November 12, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational–Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its European counterpart, Virgo, detected an unusual signal from deep space.

The gravitational wave looked like it was coming from colliding black holes, but was much smaller than any known black hole could possibly be.

If it wasn't a glitch, the only remaining possibility is that the objects producing these faint ripples are the elusive primordial black holes.

Dr Djuna Croon, an astro–particle theorist at Durham University who was not involved in the observation, told Daily Mail: 'If it's real, then it's enormous.'

Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes, born in the very first seconds of the Big Bang. These tiny singularities can be smaller than a single atom but contain almost as much mass as our sun (artist's impression) 

This gravitational wave (pictured) appeared to have been made by objects as dense as a black hole but with less mass than that of the sun. No known object in the universe has these properties

When extremely dense objects like black holes merge, they spiral in on each other with such force that it whips up ripples in the fabric of spacetime.

These gravitational waves allow scientists on Earth to 'listen' for the shockwaves produced by these collisions, even when they occur billions of light–years away.

Using two obervatories – the American LIGO and the Italian VIRGO – scientists detected a signal on November 12 from an object smaller than the mass of our sun.

Dr Croon says: 'What is special about this alert is that the masses that we've identified are smaller than anything we know could have formed astrophysically and still be so compact.

'We've observed loads of black holes, and loads of neutron stars, and loads of white dwarfs, but this detection points to something very different.

'That's really, really significant because, if this is real, you need to explain how you ended up with such a compact remnant that is this light.'

Black holes usually form when stars many times larger than our sun run out of fuel and collapse, compressing their core into a dense point.

However, some scientists believe that primordial black holes could have formed directly out of overly dense regions of the boiling sea of matter that filled the cosmos right after the Big Bang.

Scientists believe that the signal might have been caused by the merger of two primordial black holes, which would explain why the gravitational wave comes from such small yet dense objects. Pictured: A NASA simulation of merging black holes

Scientists may have just spotted the first sign of ancient primordial black holes by capturing the faint ripples in spacetime produced by their collision (illustrated)

What are primordial black holes?

Primordial black holes are microscopic pieces of ultra-dense matter, just like normal black holes but smaller.

Scientists think they may have been formed at the very beginning of the universe rather than out of collapsing stars. 

Their initial masses could have range between 100,000 times less than a paperclip to 100,000 times greater than the sun. 

We haven't found proof that they exist, but they might form part of the 'dark matter' which makes up a large part of the mass of the universe. 

To form a black hole, all you need to do is concentrate a lot of energy in a really small volume,' Dr Croon explains.

'This could happen because a star collapses, or it could happen in the early universe just from a fluctuation in energy.'

On its own, a primordial black hole would go undetected. 

However, if two collided, they could produce a gravitational wave signal that looks a lot like the one VIRGO and LIGO found on November 12.

This prospect has scientists very excited, as it could be the first real proof of primordial black holes.

That is a big deal because primordial black holes are often put forward as one of the best candidates for the mysterious substance known as dark matter, which makes up around a quarter of the universe.

Since these black holes don't interact with light and contain a lot of mass, they are a perfect explanation for why the universe seems to have mass we can't see.

Dr Christopher Berry, a LIGO member at the University of Glasgow, wrote on BlueSky: 'If this merger is verified it could amount to smoking gun evidence of a population of primordial black holes.'

If true, this would be the first definitive evidence that primordial black holes (artist's impression) really exist 

However, scientists are still urging caution and say that we can't yet say for certain whether this really is a primordial black hole.

Researchers from the LIGO and VIRGO collaborations have assigned a 'false alarm rate' for this detection of about one in four years.

Read More

• Dark matter seen for the first time: Eerie image shows first direct evidence of elusive substance 

That wouldn't be terrible for a normal black hole merger, but for an extremely rare event like this, it's too high for researchers to be overly confident.

The best possible evidence that this is real would be for the detectors to find another signal in the future.

With big upgrades planned for the LIGO and VIRGO detectors, the hope is that this could soon become a reality.

Dr Croon says: 'If this is real, we'll just see many, many more of such events that we can study, so we'll learn more and more about it.'

What would happen if you fell into a black hole?

A black hole is a point of matter so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational pull.

If a human fell into one of these cosmic monsters, the forces of gravity would be so strong that they would undergo 'spagettification'.

Since a black hole's gravity is so strong, there is an extremely steep 'gravitational gradient'.

This means the forces affecting your feet nearer the black hole would be much more powerful than those affecting your head.

That means your body would be yanked into a long line like a piece of spaghetti being sucked up by a black hole.

At the same time, the intense radiation from orbiting material in the 'accretion disk' would blast you with incredibly powerful X–rays.

Strangely, as your elongated body approaches the black hole, your perception of time would start to radically diverge from anyone observing from outside.

Due to a process called time dilation, your passage through time would halt to a crawl. 

While you experience time passing normally, you would slow down from the perspective of anyone outside. 

Once you hit the event horizon, the point of no return, you would slip past the point where conventional physics can make sense of your situation.

From your view, all directions would lead towards the centre of the black hole as you are compressed to an infinitely dense point.

However, from the perspective of anyone watching from afar, you would essentially cease to exist.  

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

02-12-2025 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

In a promising update, scientists have revealed that the ozone hole is healing – and it could soon close up for good. 

The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) found that the hole – which appears yearly over Antarctica – closed on Monday (December 1).

This is not only earlier than expected, but also marks the earliest closure since 2019.

What's more, the 2025 ozone hole at its maximum extent was the smallest in five years, at 8.13 million sq miles (21.08 million km2). 

It marks the second consecutive year of relatively small holes compared to the series of large and long-lasting ozone holes from 2020-2023.

And it fuels hopes for the ozone layer's complete recovery – potentially within the next couple of decades. 

Dr Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), called the earlier closure and relatively small size 'a reassuring sign'. 

'It reflects the steady year-on-year progress we are now observing in the recovery of the ozone layer,' he said. 

 

Scientists confirm the 2025 ozone hole at its maximum extent was the smallest in five years, at 8.13 million sq miles (21.08 million km2)

The ozone hole is not technically a ‘hole’ where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone over the Antarctic.

Generally, it opens every August, reaches its maximum size in September or October and closes in late November or early December.

In 2025, the ozone hole developed relatively early through mid-August, following a similar trajectory to the large ozone hole of 2023.

Towards the end of August 2025, its size reduced slightly before growing to a maximum area of 8.13 million sq miles/21.08 million km2 in early September. 

This size is 'fairly typical' at this point but well below the maximum of 10.07 million sq miles/26.1 million km2 observed in 2023.

During September, the size of the ozone hole started to gradually reduce but 'remained at a considerable size', experts found. 

Through September and October, it was between 5.7 million sq miles/15 million km2 (roughly the area of Antarctica) and 7.7 million sq miles/20 million km2. 

But the area of the ozone hole declined quickly during the first half of November, indicating the possibility of an early closure. 

The ozone hole is not technically a ‘hole’ where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic. Pictured, November 1, 2025

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) confirms that the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole came to an end December 1, marking the earliest closure since 2019 

A persistent small area of low ozone persisted through the second half of the month, until it fully closed on December 1. 

It marks the the earliest closure since 2019 (November 12) and one of the earliest closures of the ozone hole in the past four decades. 

Located in the stratosphere (the second layer of Earth's atmosphere), the ozone layer absorbs almost all of the sun's harmful incoming ultraviolet radiation (UVB) – making it fundamental to protecting life on Earth's surface 

Without the ozone layer, there would be severe increases of solar UV radiation, which would damage our DNA and make skin cancer more common. 

Having a hole in the ozone layer therefore increases the amount of UV that reaches Earth's surface – and the bigger the hole is, the more we're exposed. 

It wasn't until the 1980s that the ozone hole was first discovered, by British meteorologist Jonathan Shanklin, making global headlines. 

As scientists explained, the hole was created by the release of human-made chemicals, particularly CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), into the atmosphere. 

It led to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to halt the production of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), signed in December 1987. 

While the Montreal Agreement phased out 99 per cent of all ozone-depleting chemicals, the remaining one per cent still lingers in Earth's upper atmosphere. 

During the southern hemisphere's winter, a large pillar of extremely cold, rotating air forms above the Antarctic.

Maximum yearly extent of the ozone hole: The 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 ozone holes were particularly large and long lasting

This concentrates the remaining CFCs in an area where cold conditions and solar radiation enable them to deplete the layer of ozone gas.

Experts hope CFCs will eventually be eliminated from the atmosphere, although this process is slow due to their chemical stability. 

READ MORE

• The ozone layer is healing! Hole over Antarctica is recovering – and could soon close for good, promising study reveals

It is estimated that the ban will enable a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050 and 2066, according to experts at CAMS. 

'This progress should be celebrated as a timely reminder of what can be achieved when the international community works together to address global environmental challenges,' said Dr Rouil. 

Meanwhile, a UN report said the ozone hole could heal over by 2040. 

The Ozone layer sits in the stratosphere 25 miles above the Earth's surface and acts like a natural sunscreen

Ozone is a molecule comprised of three oxygen atoms that occurs naturally in small amounts. 

In the stratosphere, roughly seven to 25 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and also damage plants. 

It is produced in tropical latitudes and distributed around the globe. 

Closer to the ground, ozone can also be created by photochemical reactions between the sun and pollution from vehicle emissions and other sources, forming harmful smog.

Although warmer-than-average stratospheric weather conditions have reduced ozone depletion during the past two years, the current ozone hole area is still large compared to the 1980s, when the depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica was first detected. 

In the stratosphere, roughly seven to 25 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation

This is because levels of ozone-depleting substances like chlorine and bromine remain high enough to produce significant ozone loss. 

In the 1970s, it was recognised that chemicals called CFCs, used for example in refrigeration and aerosols, were destroying ozone in the stratosphere.  

In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was agreed, which led to the phase-out of CFCs and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer. 

The upper stratosphere at lower latitudes is also showing clear signs of recovery, proving the Montreal Protocol is working well.

But the new study, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, found it is likely not recovering at latitudes between 60°N and 60°S (London is at 51°N).

The cause is not certain but the researchers believe it is possible climate change is altering the pattern of atmospheric circulation - causing more ozone to be carried away from the tropics.

They say another possibility is that very short-lived substances (VSLSs), which contain chlorine and bromine, could be destroying ozone in the lower stratosphere.

VSLSs include chemicals used as solvents, paint strippers, and as degreasing agents.

One is even used in the production of an ozone-friendly replacement for CFCs.

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

02-12-2025 om 20:45 geschreven door peter  

Story by Soniya

Image sourced via science.nasa.gov

​For the past few weeks, many people online have been talking about 3I/ATLAS, the fast-moving object seen in our solar system. Some were excited, some were confused, and a few even wondered if it might be something artificial.

But now NASA has given a clear answer after studying it closely with more than 20 telescopes and spacecraft.

NASA has confirmed that 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet, not alien technology and not anything man-made. It is simply a rare visitor from another star system.

A natural comet, not an artificial object

3I/ATLAS was first spotted on July 1, 2025, by NASA’s ATLAS telescope in Chile. It quickly drew attention because it was moving very fast and coming from deep space.

This makes it only the third confirmed interstellar object ever seen passing through our Solar System.

In a recent briefing, NASA officials explained that everything about the way the object moves and behaves matches a normal comet.

Amit Kshatriya from NASA said,

“This object is a comet … it looks and behaves like a comet.”

Nicky Fox, another NASA scientist, added that there are no signs of technology, no signals, and nothing that would suggest it was made by intelligent life.

She also reassured people that the comet is not dangerous.

Even during its closest approach, it will still be extremely far away from Earth — about 1.8 AU, which is almost twice the distance between Earth and the Sun.

A rare chance to study material from another star system

Even though it is natural, 3I/ATLAS is still something very special: scientists believe it formed around a completely different star far beyond our Solar System, which makes it an exciting object to study. 

By using powerful telescopes such as Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists discovered that the comet emits unusual gases.

They have found high levels of carbon dioxide and nickel vapour, not commonly seen from comets that originate from our own Solar System.

These rare chemicals give scientists an idea of what other star systems might be composed of.

NASA scientist Tom Statler commented that knowing this comet may contain material from before our Sun was even born “gives me goosebumps.”

​Rumors settle as the science becomes clear

With NASA’s final confirmation, the online theories can finally calm down. There is no sign that 3I/ATLAS is a spaceship or an artificial device. It is simply a natural comet from another part of the galaxy.

{ primetimer.com }

 

02-12-2025 om 20:08 geschreven door peter  

Over the past few decades, scientists have conducted numerous searches for extraterrestrial life and are now summarizing some of the results of this work. The conditions for the emergence of organic beings similar to those on Earth are more than favorable. However, no reliable traces of intelligent beings have been found.

New analysis of the search for extraterrestrial life

Since the 1950s, humanity has been searching for extraterrestrial life with increasingly sophisticated tools. But after decades of space probes, meteorite analysis, radio telescopes, and UFO investigations, what have we actually found?

A new piece of analysis by a team led by Seyed Sina Seyedpour Layalestani from the Islamic Azad University in Iran has looked at the most compelling evidence to date, from ancient space rocks that fell to Earth carrying the building blocks of life itself. The paper is published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.

Organic molecules in ancient meteorites

The Murchison meteorite, which crashed into Australia in 1969, is older than our solar system at 7 billion years. Recent analysis revealed something extraordinary: that all five nucleobases that form DNA and RNA (adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, and uracil) were present in this ancient stone. These molecules, confirmed as extraterrestrial in origin, fundamentally challenge the assumption that life’s ingredients formed exclusively on Earth.

The Orgueil meteorite that exploded over France in 1864 tells a similar story. This carbonaceous rock contains not just amino acids like glycine and alanine, but structures resembling microfossils, tiny forms that look similar to magnetotactic bacteria found in Earth’s oceans. While scientists initially dismissed these as contamination or mineral formations, recent studies have confirmed their extraterrestrial origin.

Conditions for the emergence of life beyond Earth

Space probes have expanded the search beyond meteorites. Rovers on Mars discovered liquid water streams and ice. The Cassini spacecraft found massive glaciers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The Phoenix lander confirmed water ice just three centimeters below the Martian surface. These discoveries reveal that the basic requirements for life, water, organic compounds, and energy sources, seem to exist throughout our solar system.

Radio telescopes have detected more than 100 organic molecules in interstellar dust clouds, including amino acids and nucleic acid components. These findings strengthen the panspermia hypothesis, the idea that life’s building blocks are distributed throughout space, potentially seeding planets across the galaxy.

But what about intelligent alien civilizations? Despite decades of UFO reports and SETI programs broadcasting messages into space, no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence exists. Most UFO sightings have conventional explanations, from ball lightning in the atmosphere to plasma phenomena in the thermosphere. The supposed alien bodies presented to Mexico’s Congress in 2023 were quickly dismissed as artificial constructs.

The search for extraterrestrial life and the help of artificial intelligence

The challenge isn’t a lack of evidence for life’s ingredients; instead, it’s proving that these ingredients actually formed living organisms elsewhere. The presence of DNA building blocks in billion-year-old meteorites doesn’t confirm that alien bacteria existed, only that the chemistry for life occurs naturally in space.

Enter artificial intelligence. New AI algorithms can analyze meteorite chemistry to distinguish biological from non-biological origins of organic compounds. Machine learning helps filter noise from radio signals and identify atmospheric biosignatures on distant exoplanets. Where human analysis might overlook subtle patterns in vast datasets, AI excels.

We’ve found the pieces. The building blocks of life exist throughout space. Whether those pieces assembled into living organisms, microbial or intelligent, remains the universe’s most tantalizing unanswered question.

• Provided by: phys.org

• Posted in News, Science

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01-12-2025 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

Miranda is Uranus’ icy moon, scarred by deep ravines that give it a very unusual appearance, even from a distance. For many years, scientists have been racking their brains trying to figure out what it went through in the past to acquire such a strange shape.

A ball made of crushed ice

There are plenty of strange natural objects in the Solar System. But when people see a photo of Uranus’ moon Miranda, few can contain their surprise. At first glance, it looks like a scoop of ice cream with uneven lines revealing the filling.

However, closer examination may reveal even stranger things. These structures turn out to be crevices several kilometers deep, which seems quite unusual considering that the diameter of the satellite itself is only 470 km. How can all this be explained? The story behind it is long and complicated.

Firstly, until 1948, no one had heard of Miranda. It was discovered by Dutch astronomer Gerard Kuiper, the same man who postulated the existence of an outer asteroid belt in the Solar System, which is now named after him.

As for the name Miranda itself, the satellite was traditionally named after one of the characters in Shakespeare’s plays – Miranda, the daughter of the sorcerer Prospero from The Tempest. At the time of its discovery, it was already clear that this celestial body was quite unusual.

First, Miranda was about 500 km in size, which is transitional between small icy bodies, whose gravitational force is usually insufficient to give them a perfect spherical shape, and large ones, which resemble icy spheres.

Secondly, Miranda orbited Uranus closer than the four previously known satellites. Its distance from its nominal surface is only 129,900 km, which is only one-third of the distance from Earth to the Moon. At the same time, unlike Titania, Oberon, Ariel, and Umbriel, Miranda’s orbit is almost circular.

Mysterious cliffs

However, until 1986, no one paid much attention to these features. That is, until the Voyager-2 spacecraft approached Uranus. Miranda turned out to be the closest of the planet’s large moons to its flight path. It is not surprising that it was able to see it best. It is one of the few moons that automatic probes have photographed from almost all sides, so that we can more or less talk about a map of the planet.

And it was this map that caused scientists to argue for many years. The fact is that on it, Miranda looked as if it had been assembled from different pieces that were poorly glued together. Huge cliffs stretch across the surface of the satellite. The largest of these is the Verona escarpment, named after the city where the events of Romeo and Juliet took place. According to various estimates, its height ranges from 5 to 20 km.

Some cliffs form an enormous graben. This is the name given to narrow valleys where the earth seems to have collapsed.

Miranda also has plains covered with hills, but the most impressive features are the unique landforms known as crowns. These giant areas of the surface appear to have been raised above the surrounding terrain by unknown forces, with the same cliffs located along their edges. In total, there are three crowns on Miranda: Inverness, Arden, and Elsinore. Again, they got their names from places mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays.

The ridges and other relief features are impressive not only for their shape but also for their scale, especially considering that Miranda’s diameter is only 470 km.

Complex geological history

The situation is made even more mysterious by the fact that a count of craters on Miranda’s surface showed that there are significantly fewer of them than on other Uranus moons. What is worse, some areas are much younger than others. For example, the Inverness ring has a surface age of only 500 million years, the Elsinore ring is between 400 million and 3.1 billion years old, and most of the moon’s surface is 3.5 billion years old.

All this leads some researchers to suggest that Miranda’s surface has been renewed at least several times. What processes led to this remain a mystery. For several decades, a popular hypothesis was that at some point, Miranda was split into pieces by a powerful impact, and then the fragments came back together again. However, a 2011 study refuted this possibility.

Currently, most researchers are focusing on two factors: Miranda’s proximity to the surface of the gas giant and its interaction with other satellites. The first factor is indeed capable of creating amazing landforms, because bodies orbiting gas giants are mainly composed of water ice, which can temporarily turn into liquid in the presence of heat and form a smooth surface in place of old craters.

And there is such a source of heat – tidal heating, which the satellite could have experienced in the past. The gravitational gradient deforms satellites close to giant planets, and mechanical energy is converted into heat. Thus, Jupiter’s satellite Io also has canyons and table mountains. And on Enceladus, which is very similar in size to Miranda, there are giant cracks from which geysers shoot into space.

Therefore, surface renewal because the ice inside Miranda heated up, melted, cracked on the surface, and then everything froze is more than likely. As for the influence of other satellites, scientists are paying attention to Miranda’s orbit. It is quite possible that it previously rotated in a slightly more elongated orbit, was in resonance with other icy bodies, and they also contributed to its deformation, so it is quite possible that its surface was molten for some time. Then something happened, and Miranda moved into its current orbit, and its surface froze in its present state.

Unique conditions

Be that as it may, the combination of small size and huge vertical cliffs creates truly unique conditions on Miranda. It is the best place in the Solar System for rock climbing. The acceleration of free fall here is only 7.9 cm/s2. That is 140 times less than on Earth. In such conditions, you can climb vertical cliff walls for hours.

Or fall from them. Miranda is the only place in the Solar System where you can fall from cliffs for several minutes. However, you will still need to stop your fall somehow, for example, with a jetpack, because parachutes do not work on Miranda due to the lack of atmosphere.

However, overall, we still know very little about this moon. Voyager 2’s flyby remains the only one to date. So we do not really know if Miranda’s icy cliffs are truly dead, or if we were just unlucky not to see any local geysers. If liquid water still exists beneath the surface, that could explain a lot, and this tiny world would not seem so mysterious.

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30-11-2025 om 18:43 geschreven door peter  

Subsurface Oceans

“Not all of these satellites are known to have oceans, but we know that some do,” said lead author Max Rudolph, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis. “We’re interested in the processes that shape their evolution over millions of years, and this allows us to think about what the surface expression of an ocean world would be.”

Despite their liquid water and potential for habitability, these moons are very different environments from Earth. On Earth, the surface geology stems from underground rock activity: the hot core melts rock into lava, and tectonic plates shift. Icy moons, however, are shaped by the actions of ice and water rather than hot rocks.

The tidal forces from the planets they orbit provide the moons with subsurface heat, which keeps their oceans liquid. Since a planet like Saturn has many moons, those bodies can interact as they orbit, increasing or decreasing heating for a period. As the heat increases, the thick layer of ice covering the moon may begin to melt and thin, then thicken again as the heating subsides.

The Geology of Icy Moons

The researchers investigated the effects of this activity over time. Typically, the ice shell would thin or thicken from underneath. Since ice has a greater volume than liquid water, more water would be squeezed into a smaller space as the ice thickened. This means that the shell would be under increased pressure to contain the water beneath it, which may be a potential explanation for the “tiger stripes” seen on Enceladus.

However, the researchers also considered the opposite scenario, when the shell begins to melt. Surprisingly, this could cause the ocean to boil, the team says. With an increase in relatively low-density liquid water, the pressure beneath the shell would drop. On some smaller moons of Uranus’s Miranda and Saturn’s Mimas and Enceladus, that pressure drop could reach such an extreme that ice, liquid water, and water vapor could all co-exist at the same time.

The ridges and cliffs on Miranda, observed by the Voyager 2 space probe, may be the result of such ocean boiling, the researchers suggest. At a mere 250 miles wide, Mimas is a tiny moon nicknamed “Death Star” for a large, prominent crater that makes it reminiscent of the space station from the Star Wars films. Although observations suggest that Mimas is geologically dead, a wobble in the moon’s orbit is indicative of a subsurface ocean. The strange contradiction of a liquid ocean and geologically frozen surface is reconciled by the fact that its ice shell is estimated to be strong enough that tanning would not crack it.

Cracking the Shell

Larger moons fare far differently. The icy covering of Uranus’s moon Titania would likely experience cracks well before ice melt would allow water to reach the triple point, according to the team’s calculations. Therefore, the team believes that the surface geology on Titania is likely driven by the thickening and thinning of its ice shell.

The new paper shows how even within a relatively small category of objects within our local solar system, such as icy moons, very different conditions may be present. Geology explains the surface features of planets like our own as they develop over tremendous periods of time. In the new research, it is revealed that geology influenced by factors very different from our own can also explain an object’s surface evolution.

The paper, “Boiling Oceans and Compressional Tectonics on Emerging Ocean Worlds,” appeared in Nature Astronomy on November 24, 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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30-11-2025 om 17:56 geschreven door peter  

By Ashley Strickland

The latest images of an interstellar comet shared by NASA have captured how an array of spacecraft witnessed a flyby that was truly out of this world, revealing clues to the object’s composition.

Astronomers first detected the rare comet, known as 3I/ATLAS, on July 1. It’s only the third observed interstellar object, or ISO, to originate outside of our solar system and pass through it.

When the interstellar comet flew by the red planet in October, multiple NASA missions pivoted from their explorations to capture tantalizing images of the object that originated outside of our solar system.

Stacked images of 3I/ATLAS, taken by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft, show it speeding at 130,000 miles per hour in September. 

NASA/Lowell Observatory/Qicheng Zhang

The US space agency released the new observations on Wednesday since it had been unable to share them during the government shutdown.

While none of the spacecraft have cameras perfectly designed to spot comets zipping by at speeds up to about 153,000 miles per hour (246,000 kilometers per hour), astronomers didn’t want to miss what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It’s a little bit as if our NASA spacecraft were at a baseball game, watching the game from different places in the stadium,” said Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA. “Everybody has got a camera and they’re trying to get a picture of the ball and nobody has a perfect view, and everybody has a different camera.”

The Lucy spacecraft captured a faint halo of gas and dust around the comet on September 16. 

NASA/Goddard/SwRI/JHU-APL

Missions capture images of a rare interstellar comet

Nearly 20 mission teams collaborated to capture images of the comet, said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

“Everything we’re learning about the comet is possible because of the distribution of all of the different instruments on our spacecraft with different capabilities,” Fox said. “We’ve even pushed our scientific instruments beyond the things that they were designed to achieve, to allow us to capture this amazing glimpse at this interstellar traveler.”

Ahead of the Martian flyby in September, the Lucy and Psyche spacecraft, en route to study asteroids, and solar-focused missions, like the Parker Solar Probe, SOHO and PUNCH, caught glimpses of the comet in action.

Combining the data from Lucy and Psyche with Earth-based telescopes can reveal more about the three-dimensional structure of the comet and the nature of the dust coming off of it due to the heat of the sun, Statler said.

“It’s a rare opportunity to compare ancient dust from a distant solar system to that from our own,” he said.

3I/ATLAS appears as a faint smudge against a background of stars from the Perseverance rover's perspective on October 4. 

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Perseverance rover also tracked the comet as it zoomed past the red planet in October. The orbiter was the spacecraft physically closest to the comet, Fox said.

The comet arrived at its closest point to the sun when Earth was on the wrong side for ground-based telescopes to conveniently observe, but Mars had optimal viewing conditions, according to Statler. “Our Mars assets were able to observe the comet, and also several of our other spacecraft were on the correct side of the sun,” he said. “We could not get this view from the vantage point of the Earth.”

Two spacecraft that will study Jupiter and its moons, Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, and Europa Clipper, will also aim to capture the comet’s movements as it nears the orbit of Jupiter in the spring.

The comet came within about 18 million miles (29 million kilometers) of Mars on October 3. The ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which has been circling the red planet since 2016, was about 10 times closer to the comet than telescopes on Earth — and it captured images from an angle that Earth-based telescopes couldn’t see. The fresh perspective on 3I/ATLAS enabled scientists to predict the comet’s future path with a tenfold jump in accuracy.

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A multitude of other spacecraft, including the Hubble and James Webb Space telescopes, have also observed the object.

While scientists have been using telescopes around the world to study 3I/ATLAS, spacecraft missions provide some key observational advantages, said Dr. Theodore Kareta, planetary astronomer and assistant professor in the department of astrophysics and planetary science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Cameras and instruments on different spacecraft are geared toward various goals and measurements, and they can provide distinct vantage points that might be otherwise impossible to capture, he said.

“Comets are three-dimensional objects, and looking at them from different angles will give us a much clearer picture of not just where they are and the trajectory they’re on, but also how large the nucleus of the comet is and the nature of any structures or patterns we can see in its atmosphere,” Kareta said.

Scientists currently think the comet is anywhere from a couple of thousand feet to a couple of miles in diameter, but they are still refining their measurements, Statler said.

Psyche tracked 3I/ATLAS over the course of eight hours on September 8 and 9 when the comet was about 33 million miles from the spacecraft. 

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

A comet’s behavior

NASA officials were also quick to address rumors that have swirled around the comet’s interstellar nature, including the idea that it’s an alien spacecraft.

“It looks and behaves like a comet, and all evidence points to it being a comet,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “But this one came from outside the solar system, which makes it fascinating, exciting and scientifically very important.”

Fox said that NASA’s close monitoring of the comet since its discovery has not yielded any evidence that would lead them to believe it was anything other than a natural celestial object, like technosignatures — a signal that could be created by extraterrestrial life.

“But the super cool thing is not that it’s exactly like all the comets that we see in our solar system,” Fox said. “It’s the differences that are so tantalizing for us.”

Kshatriya said he was actually excited to see much of the world speculating about the comet while NASA was unable to share comment about it due to the constraints of the recent shutdown.

“It expanded people’s brains to think about how magical the universe could be,” he said. “In fact, we want very much to find signs of life in the universe. But 3I/ Atlas is a comet.”

Comparing 3I/ATLAS with more common comets

The comet made its closest approach of the sun on October 30, coming within 130 million miles (210 million kilometers) according to NASA.

A comet that originates within our solar system is like a dirty snowball. Its nucleus, or solid core, is a frozen mashup of rock, gas, dust and ice leftover from the formation of the stars, planets and other celestial bodies. As comets approach stars like our sun, they heat up, forming tails of sublimating material that streak behind them.

The MAVEN orbiter captured the comet in ultraviolet light, spying its hydrogen atoms on September 28. 

NASA/Goddard/LASP/CU Boulder

Because 3I/ATLAS is from another solar system, astronomers are eager to see how different or similar its composition is to the comets they are used to witnessing.

3I/ATLAS has been releasing more carbon dioxide than water, and more nickel than iron, compared with comets that originated in our solar system — something that is still being investigated, Statler said.

The comet has also shown increased activity, which has caused some observers to question whether the object broke apart during its close pass of the sun.

The “jets” observed releasing from the comet can mean there are particularly active areas on the surface of the comet where more material is evaporating than elsewhere, Statler said.

“Comets frequently show ‘jets’ or ’spiral’ features in their inner atmospheres related to which parts of their surfaces are active and releasing gas and dust, so taking a picture of them from one angle only can be challenging to interpret,” Kareta added.

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Now, the object is starting to reappear on the other side of our star for Earth-based telescopes. The object will swing within 168 million miles (270 million kilometers) of Earth on December 19 before beginning to make its way out of our solar system.

The SOHO mission spied the comet between October 15 and 16. 

Lowell Observatory/Qicheng Zhang

“The fact that so many NASA missions have tried observing this interstellar visitor should tell you how seriously we all take this opportunity,” Kareta said. “Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are fundamentally rare, and ISOs as bright as 3I should be rarer still — this object might very well be the ISO we learn the most about for many years to come.”

While the exact age of the comet is unknown, the object’s speed suggests it is much older than anything in our solar system, Statler said.

“3I/ATLAS is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past — and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun,” Statler said.

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29-11-2025 om 17:08 geschreven door peter  

Since the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered this past July — just the third confirmed object to arrive from another star — astronomers have been closely following its passage through our solar system.

As the icy visitor brightened on its coast toward the sun, the public narrative brightened too, with online rumors casting it as a possible alien spacecraft during the recent 43-day-long government shutdown when NASA could not comment on the object or release new images. Last week, with the shutdown over, NASA held a long-awaited briefing in which it shared observations and early analysis from more than 20 missions across the solar system, assembling the most complete picture yet of this rare visitor — and made one point immediately clear: 3I/ATLAS is of natural origin, not an example of alien technology.

"We very much want to find signs of life in the universe," NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said during the briefing. "But 3I/ATLAS is a comet."

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, imaged by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

3) A rare window into distant, older star systems

Scientists say that 3I/ATLAS has likely been traveling through interstellar space for a long time. Based on how fast it was moving upon entering the solar system, Statler said the circumstantial evidence points to the comet originating in a very old planetary system, possibly one older than our own.

That "gives me goosebumps to think about, frankly," he said, noting that 3I/ATLAS may reveal insights into cosmic history that predates the formation of both Earth and the sun.

"It is a new window into the makeups and histories of other solar systems," he said.

4) Intriguing chemical clues

So far, 3I/ATLAS has behaved exactly as a comet should as it warms near the sun, shedding water and carbon dioxide, but with some intriguing twists. Scientists have detected a higher-than-usual ratio of carbon dioxide to water compared with typical solar system comets, as well as gas unusually rich in nickel relative to iron. Both findings are scientifically compelling and worth further investigation, researchers said.

The dust around the comet also shows slightly atypical properties, suggesting its grain sizes differ from those of local comets. One especially curious behavior was the dust was initially blown toward the sunward side before solar radiation gradually pushed it back, a longer and less common sequence than scientists usually observe in homegrown comets.

"We're still learning even about what questions we still need to ask," said Statler. "And this, of course, is the scientific process in action."

Like this article? For more stories like this, follow us on MSN by clicking the +Follow button at the top of this page

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29-11-2025 om 16:47 geschreven door peter  

100,000 mph 'comet fragment' explodes in green fireball over Great Lakes, eerie videos show

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28-11-2025 om 21:58 geschreven door peter  

An international team of researchers has managed to record electrical discharges on Mars for the first time. These discharges originate from dust devils.

Martian winds constantly stir up whirlwinds of fine dust, which regularly appear in photographs taken by rovers exploring the Red Planet. Scientists have long suspected that these whirlwinds are capable of generating electrical charges. The mechanism of the phenomenon is as follows. As a result of friction between tiny dust particles, they become charged with electrons and then release their charge in the form of electric arcs several centimeters long, accompanied by audible shock waves.

It is well known on Earth that dust particles can become electrically charged, especially in desert regions, although this rarely leads to actual discharges. On Mars, due to its thin atmosphere, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide, the probability of this phenomenon occurring is much higher. This is because the amount of charge required to form sparks is much less than on Earth.

In order to confirm the existence of electrical discharges on Mars, a team of French scientists analyzed data collected by the microphone of the SuperCam instrument installed on board the Perseverance rover. They managed to identify electromagnetic and acoustic signatures comparable to small static electricity discharges that can be experienced on Earth by touching a door handle in dry weather. Their source was two dust devils.

The discovery of electrical discharges radically changes our understanding of the chemistry of the Martian atmosphere. It shows that the atmosphere of the Red Planet can reach a sufficient charge level to accelerate the formation of highly oxidizing compounds. Such substances can destroy organic molecules on the surface, as well as numerous atmospheric compounds, thereby profoundly disrupting the photochemical balance. The discovery may explain the surprisingly rapid disappearance of methane on Mars, which has been the subject of scientific debate for several years.

The electrical charges required for these discharges likely influence dust transport on Mars, playing a central role in the Martian climate, the dynamics of which remain largely unknown. They may also pose a risk to the electronic equipment of current robotic missions and create a hazard for potential future human missions.

• According to CNRS

• Posted in News, Science

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28-11-2025 om 17:41 geschreven door peter  

Russian launch pad 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome has been damaged. This could disrupt the supply schedule for the International Space Station.

The accident occurred during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket was damaged during lift-off from the launch pad. Judging by the live broadcast footage, the service cabin located under the launch pad and designed to provide access to the lower stages of the rocket collapsed. It is deployed during operations and retracted into a concrete niche before launch.

Launch pad number 31 is currently the only Russian launch complex suitable for manned launches of Soyuz spacecraft. It is also used to launch Progress supply vehicles.

At this point, it is unknown how serious the damage is and how it may affect the ISS. Prolonged repairs to the complex could disrupt the station’s supply schedule and crew rotation. The next launch from launch pad 31 (Progress MS-33) is scheduled for December 19.

It is worth noting that Roscosmos has acknowledged the accident. However, its official statement claims that all the necessary spare parts are available to repair the launch complex and that the damage will be repaired in the near future.

As for the Soyuz MS-28, it did not sustain any damage. The spacecraft has already successfully docked with the ISS.

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28-11-2025 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

The team’s discovery was reported on November 17 in a new paper that appeared in Geophysical Research Letters.

An antenna sticks out like whiskers from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in this artist’s concept depicting the spacecraft, which has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2006. This antenna is part of SHARAD, a radar that peers below the Martian surface.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A Discovery Below Martian Ice

In 2018, NASA first revealed the discovery of a mysterious feature beneath the Red Planet’s south pole, sparking a surge in interest over the possibility that a subsurface lake might exist there.

The discovery offered a tantalizing prospect, due primarily to the obvious associatio

However, new findings reported by a pair of MRO Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument scientists, Gareth Morgan and Than Putzig, throw cold water on the subsurface lake theory, pointing instead to the likelihood that this unusual feature hidden beneath the icy Martian south pole isn’t water at all, but instead a thick layer of rock and dust.

Based at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and in Lakewood, Colorado, Morgan and Putzig now say that their use of radar techniques made possible by SHARAD may be useful in future reconnaissance of the Red Planet, as scientists continue to search for subsurface resources like water that might not only be home to life, but which could be crucial for the survival of future crewed missions to Mars.

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter captured this view of Mars’ south polar ice cap Feb. 25, 2015. Three years later, the spacecraft detected a signal from the area to the right of the ice cap that scientists interpreted as an underground lake.

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

A Special Rolling Maneuver

To obtain the recent data, the MRO performed a unique maneuver that involves rolling 120 degrees, which allows the SHARAD radar’s signal to penetrate deeper underground, and thereby producing enhanced imagery of the Martian subsurface regions it penetrates.

Use of this specialized technique has already proven to be effective enough in the past that scientists are now eager to use it at other sites on the Red Planet, including those where past observations may not have revealed promising indications of buried subsurface ice.

Previously, the researchers and their colleagues with the SHARAD team had unsuccessfully tried to observe the Martian South Pole region where the suspected lake existed. To overcome this, the SHARAD team went to the MRO’s operations team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on finding a way of increasing the size of the spacecraft’s rolls.

With the MRO’s radar antenna located near the back of the spacecraft, its body shields its view, which weakens the sensitivity of the instrument. However, JPL engineers were able to find a workaround with a little help from engineers at Lockheed Martin Space who built the spacecraft: this resulted in a series of commands that enabled the spacecraft to complete a 120-degree roll, allowing the MRO to direct its radar’s signal more effectively at the Martian surface

This map shows the approximate area where in 2018 ESA’s Mars Express detected a signal the mission’s scientists interpreted as an underground lake. The red lines show the path of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which flew both directly overhead as well as over an adjacent region.

Credit: Planetary Science Institute

Large Rolls Lead to Stronger Signals

The plan came to fruition earlier this year, when in late May SHARAD completed its initial very large roll, which successfully struck the target area. Penetrating nearly a mile of ice, the radar’s reflections revealed that the unusual subsurface feature that has intrigued scientists since its discovery in 2018 was likely not what they initially thought it might be.

“We’ve been observing this area with SHARAD for almost 20 years without seeing anything from those depths,” said Putzig in a statement. Now, with the data made possible by the MRO’s large roll, deeper radar penetration revealed a fainter signal than Putzig and Morgan expected, followed by no signal at all from an adjacent region they examined.

Their conclusion: something is causing the odd radar signal at the same location, revealed during past observations made using the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument aboard the ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Express orbiter.

“While this new data won’t settle the debate, it makes it very hard to support the idea of a liquid water lake,” said Putzig in a statement, acknowledging the work that went into formulating the subsurface lake hypothesis.

Since the Martian south pole features a large cap of ice positioned above the planet’s very cratered terrain, the region beneath the icy exterior revealed with the SHARAD data appears very uneven. One possibility that could account for the 2018 observations made by MARSIS could be a large smooth feature, such as the remnants of an ancient flow of lava.

Going forward, additional observations using the MRO’s new very large roll capability could help to resolve the mystery once and for all, in addition to revealing clues to other longstanding mysteries associated with sites like Medusae Fossae along the Martian equator, which is also known to produce little in the way of radar returns.

Morgan, Putzig, and their colleagues’ paper, “High Frequency Radar Perspective of Putative Subglacial Liquid Water on Mars,” appeared in Geophysical Research Letters on November 17, 2025.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

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28-11-2025 om 15:35 geschreven door peter  

Fluisteringen van het Heelal: Een Wetenschappelijke Verkenning van Extraterrestrische Signalen en Kosmische Mysteries

Inleiding

De menselijke fascinatie voor het buitenaardse en het onbekende is al even oud als de mensheid zelf. Sinds de vroege geschiedenis van de mythologie en de astronomische observaties is de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven en de mysteries van het heelal een universeel thema geweest. In het moderne tijdperk, gekenmerkt door technologische vooruitgang en uitgebreide wetenschappelijke onderzoeken, blijft deze fascinatie onverminderd. Het online artikel "Whispers of the Cosmos," gepubliceerd door Alienated Media op 27 december 2024, vertegenwoordigt een synthese van poëtische beschrijvingen en wetenschappelijke observaties, die samen een beeld schetsen van de recente ontdekkingen en de resterende raadsels die het heelal omhullen. In deze scriptie wordt het artikel kritisch geanalyseerd, waarbij de kernwetenschappelijke aspecten worden uitgelicht en gekoppeld aan bredere kosmische vraagstukken, inclusief andere kosmische raadsels en patroonmodellen die de zoektocht naar buitenaards leven en de aard van het universum kenmerken.

AFBEELDING GECREEERD DOOR ARTIEST

Signalen uit Kepler-186f: Een Voorbode of Simpel Toeval?

Een van de meest intrigerende elementen uit het artikel is de melding van 'fluisteringen' – zwakke radiofrequenties die van de exoplaneet Kepler-186f zouden komen. Deze planeet bevindt zich in de leefbare zone van een rode dwergster, op ongeveer 490 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde. De onderzoekers van het SETI-instituut meldden een laagfrequente, smalle-band-band emissie die herhaaldelijk werd waargenomen en niet kon worden toegeschreven aan bekende natuurlijke of menselijke bronnen.

De wetenschappelijke bron, artikel gepubliceerd in The Astrophysical Journal (juni 2024), geeft aan dat de herhaalde waarnemingen aanleiding geven tot optionele interpretaties; maar het blijft onzeker of deze signalen daadwerkelijk duiden op buitenaardse intelligentie. Dr. Maya Patel, die leiding geeft aan de onderzoeksgroep, geeft aan: “We hebben terrestrische interferentie en natuurlijke bronnen uitgesloten, maar de herkomst blijft ambigu.” Deze voorzichtigheid is kenmerkend voor de moderne wetenschappelijke houding – het bevestigen van het bestaan van buitenaardse communicatie vereist meer bewijs dan een enkele waarneming.

De zoektocht naar intelligente signalen uit exoplanetensystemen is niet nieuw. Sinds de beginjaren van SETI is men betrokken bij de poging om technologische signaturen te detecteren die niet natuurlijk kunnen worden verklaard. De verkenning van Kepler-186f voegt een nieuw hoofdstuk toe aan deze zoektocht, die vaak wordt gekleurd door populaire media en UFO-verhalen. Het onderscheid tussen serieus wetenschappelijk onderzoek en de volksverhalen over UFO’s en buitenaardse contacten blijft een breed debatpunt.

Illustratie van de aarde-achtige exoplaneet Kepler-186f. 

(Science)

Op een hoger abstractieniveau kunnen deze signalen worden geïnterpreteerd als een mogelijke component binnen het framework van SETI, dat de speurtocht naar technologische 'activiteiten' in het heelal betreft. Tegelijkertijd past deze waarneming binnen het patroon van signalen die worden aangemerkt als ‘possible communicatiesignalen’ of natuurlijke ruis, een proces dat zich herhaalt in verschillende exoplaneet-systemen. Daarmee wordt de vraag gesteld: is het mogelijke bewijs van buitenaards intelligent leven (BEL) een uitzondering, of een regel die we nog niet volledig kunnen plaatsen binnen onze wetenschappelijke paradigma's?

Donkere Materie en de Kosmische Raadsels

Een andere kernaspect uit het artikel is de verwijzing naar de ‘fluisteringen van donkere materie’, dat ongeveer 27% uitmaakt van de totale massa-energie van het heelal. Donkere materie is sinds de ontdekking van haar existentie in de jaren 1970 een van de grootste raadsels van de kosmologie. Ondanks uitgebreide observaties, waaronder de recente gegevens van de Euclid-telescope van het European Space Agency (ESA), blijft haar aard ondoorgrondelijk.

De gravitational lensing-effecten die door Euclid zijn gemeten, verstrekken gedetailleerdere inzichten in de verdeling en aanwezigheid van donkere materie, maar vormen geen aanwijzingen voor haar bestaan als een deeltje dat interactie heeft met licht of materie op een directe wijze. Dr. Luis Ortega van CERN wijst op de limieten van onze kennis: “We kunnen de voetsporen zien, maar de dader blijft verborgen.”

De invloed van donkere materie op de structuurvorming in het heelal is enorm. Zonder haar zou het universum niet de grote kosmische structuur kunnen hebben ontwikkeld zoals wij dat nu waarnemen. Hoewel donkere materie niet rechtstreeks lijkt te opereren binnen de context van UFO-rapportages (die doorgaans betrekking hebben op zichtbare, verdachte of niet-natuurlijke verschijnselen), stimuleert haar mysterieuze aard bredere speculaties over onbekende krachten en dimensies die verder gaan dan de huidige wetenschappelijke modellen.

Naast donkere materie kun je het patroon van zogenaamde ‘onverklaarbare verschijnselen’ op grote schaal binnen het universum opmerken, waaronder de waarnemingen van anomalieën in de kosmische achtergrondstraling en mogelijk zelfs fenomenen die wijzen op extra dimensies of multiversa. Deze theorieën bieden een kader waarin de onverklaarbare en onzichtbare aspecten van het heelal worden geïntegreerd, en bieden wellicht een breder kosmisch raamwerk waarin de ‘fluisteringen’ en mysteries kunnen passen.

Nieuwe Horizons en de Voortdurende Ontdekkingen

De rol van de ruimteverkenner New Horizons in deze context is cruciaal, hoewel niet direct gericht op het detecteren van buitenaardse bewijzen. Sinds diens succesvolle flyby van Pluto in 2015 verzamelt de missie data over de uiterste regionen van ons zonnestelsel en de Kuiper-asteroïdenbelt. De uitgebreide instrumentatie, ontworpen voor het meten van elektromagnetische signalen en fysische kenmerken, wordt beschouwd als een basislijn voor het detecteren van afwijkingen die kunnen wijzen op natuurlijke of artificiële bronnen.

Mission manager Emily Zhang benadrukt dat deze missie, ondanks haar oorspronkelijke doelstellingen, waardevolle gegevens levert die kunnen worden gebruikt om het elektromagnetische landschap van het heelal nader te bestuderen. De mogelijkheid dat buitenaardse signalen zich kunnen manifesteren als fonkelende zwaluwen in het elektromagnetisch spectrum wordt door haar en andere astrofysici niet uitgesloten.

Hoewel New Horizons niet specifiek is ontworpen voor UFO-detectie, illustreert haar rol het belang van langdurige, diepe-ruimte verkenningen waarin anomalieën kunnen worden gedocumenteerd en begrepen. Door systematisch gegevens te vergelijken en anomalieën te rangschikken kunnen wetenschappers patronen ontdekken die wellicht passen binnen groter kosmisch raamwerk, inclusief patronen die nu nog als ‘ongeïdentificeerd’ worden beschouwd.

Patroon herhaling en kosmische resonantie: nieuwe mustertheorieën

Naast de genoemde thema's is het belangrijk om in deze context ook andere patroonmodellen te overwegen die de kosmische raadsels kunnen verrijken. De wetenschap heeft zich bijvoorbeeld verdiept in de concepten van ‘kosmische resonantie’ en ‘patroonherhaling’ op grote schaal.

Het idee van resonantie in het heelal stelt dat bepaalde frequenties en patronen zich herhalen op verschillende schaalniveaus, van kwantummechanica tot galactische structuren. Het bekende voorbeeld hiervan is de ‘Galactische Ring’, een structureel patroon dat opnieuw lijkt te verschijnen in verschillende galactische schema’s, vergelijkbaar met muzikale resonanties die zich in verschillende toonhoogtes manifesteren. Sommige wetenschappers speculeren dat dergelijke patronen mogelijk verbonden zijn met onderliggende fundamentele natuurkrachten – of zelfs met hogere dimensies en multiversa – en dat zij als 'kosmische signalen' kunnen fungeren die wij willen interpreteren als mogelijke communicatie of raadsels.

Daarnaast worden patronen zoals de ‘delende fractalen’ in de structuur van het universum, en de herhaalde patronen in de kosmische achtergrondstraling, vaak aangevoerd als bewijs dat het heelal mogelijk is ingericht volgens een ‘cosmisch architectonisch patroon’. Hoewel deze theorieën nog controversieel blijven, geven ze ruimte voor nieuwe interpretaties waarin het universele patroon zich uitstrekt tot het onzichtbare en het onbekende, en wellicht zelfs tot verborgen communicatie met buitenaardse intelligenties.

Conclusie

De analyse van het artikel "Whispers of the Cosmos" onthult dat hoewel de recente wetenschappelijke observaties – van de exoplaneet Kepler-186f tot dark matter en de buitenplanetaire verkenningen met New Horizons – veel vragen oproepen, zij vooral de complexiteit en de mysterieuze aard van ons heelal onderstrepen. De waarnemingen van potentiële buitenaardse signalen blijven voorlopig in de sfeer van probabilistische plausibiliteit; ze vereisen meer bewijs en gedegen analyse voordat zij kunnen worden bestempeld als bewijs van buitenaards intelligent leven.

Tegelijkertijd weven deze waarnemingen zich in de bredere context van kosmische raadsels en patroonmodellen die het universum mogelijk volgens hogere ordeningen of resonantieprincipes laten functioneren. Donkere materie en energie, de patronen in de kosmische structuren, en de onbestemde signalen uit exoplaneet-systemen maken onderdeel uit van een groter intellectueel mozaïek dat nog lang niet volledig doorgrond is.

De rol van technologische instrumenten zoals New Horizons wijst op een belangrijke factor – dat systematisch, langdurig en geïntegreerd onderzoek noodzakelijk is voor het ontmaskeren van het onbekende. Gelijktijdig onderstrepen these ontdekkingen dat de meest waardevolle kennis voortkomt uit een combinatie van poëtische nieuwsgierigheid en rigoureuze wetenschappelijke methodologie.

De voortdurende zoektocht naar antwoorden op deze kosmische fluisteringen vereist niet alleen technologische vooruitgang en fundamenteel wetenschappelijk onderzoek, maar ook een open geest en een bereidheid om de patronen in het heelal te ontdekken die misschien meer vertellen dan wij nu kunnen vermoeden. Het is vooral aan de menshheid om de juiste vragen te blijven stellen en de antwoordende fluisteringen van het heelal te blijven luisteren.

Bronnen:

• The Astrophysical Journal, juni 2024
• Euclid Space Telescope Data, European Space Agency
• Interviews met Dr. Maya Patel (SETI Institute) en Dr. Luis Ortega (CERN)
• Observaties van New Horizons, NASA/ESA
• Theoretische modellen over kosmische patronen en resonanties

{ PETER2011 }

27-11-2025 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

Scientists are baffled as a mysterious halo of red light appears over a small Italian town for the second time in 3 years

• READ MORE: Dark matter is seen for the first time in eerie image  

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have been baffled by a mysterious halo of red light that has appeared over a small Italian town for the second time in three years.

An incredible image captures the bizarre UFO–like ring floating above Possagno, a tiny town in the foothills of the Italian Alps.

The photograph was taken by photographer Valter Binotto, who watched as the glowing structure flashed in the sky at 10:45 local time on November 17.

Strangely, this ring bears a striking resemblance to another red halo that was spotted by Mr Binotto in the same location in March 2023.

This year's halo was estimated to be 150 miles (200 kilometres) across and hovered at an altitude of around 60 miles (100 kilometres).

However, Mr Binotto does not believe that there are any extraterrestrial forces to blame.

Instead, these rings are likely to be a rare lighting–related phenomenon called an 'emission of light and very low–frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources', or ELVEs for short.

These glowing rings are so rare that they were only discovered by NASA in the 1990s, making spotting two over the same tiny town extremely unlikely.

A photographer has captured a baffling image of a red UFO–like halo floating over the small Italian town of Possagno (pictured)

Scientists believe that ELVEs are triggered when enormously powerful lightning bolts send an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) shooting through the upper atmosphere.

These pulses collide with a part of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere, which stretches between 50 and 400 miles (80–644 kilometres) above the ground.

Here, the electromagnetic radiation excites charged particles of nitrogen, causing them to give off a red glow.

This is a similar process to how electromagnetic radiation from the sun causes the glow of the Northern Lights.

However, ELVEs are enormously difficult to photograph because they only last for one thousandth of a second.

That is 100 times less time than it takes for you to blink.

For this reason, Mr Binotto says he has to use a specialised camera setup to record extremely high–framerate video and start recording as soon as the right conditions arise.

When the lightning has passed, he is then able to select the few frames when the ELVE is visible.

This is the second time that a red ring has appeared over the town, with a similar structure appearing in March 2023

But, even with all this preparation and years of attempts, Mr Binotto has only ever captured an ELVE on three occasions.

Mr Binotto told Daily Mail: 'It is a very rare phenomenon. Only a few lightning strikes are capable of generating it, and sometimes they occur when conditions are not suitable for photographing them – because it is daytime, the sky is covered with clouds, or simply because I am asleep.

'With the first one, I couldn't believe my eyes. I had seen others in photos, but never so powerful and well–defined. Even with the others, the emotion was immense.'

Given that these events are so rare and difficult to spot, it might seem unusual that two have been seen above Possagno in just two years.

However, this strange coincidence likely has less to do with any special characteristics of Possagno and more with Mr Binotto's skills as a photographer.

ELVEs are extremely large and appear at very high altitudes, meaning they can be seen from hundreds of miles away.

For example, Mr Binotto's 2023 ELVE was actually caused by a lightning strike near Vernazza, around 185 miles (300 kilometres) to the south.

Likewise, this latest halo was the product of a storm above Ancona, which is roughly 174 miles (280 kilometres) to the southeast.

This ring is likely a structure known as an 'emission of light and very low–frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources', or ELVEs for short. These are rings of red or green light created by electromagnetic pulses produced by powerful lightning strikes 

ELVEs are just one part of a class of strange phenomena known by scientists as transient luminous events (TLEs), which include so–called 'red sprites' that sometimes appear above storms. Pictured: Red Sprites seen from the International Space Station

Since these halos only need a powerful lightning strike to occur, there is nothing preventing them from being seen over any town in the world.

Read More

• Radical new theory of consciousness could finally explain what happens when you die 

ELVEs are just one part of a class of strange phenomena known by scientists as transient luminous events (TLEs).

These events are rarely seen, poorly understood, and extraordinarily tricky to study.

Some of the strangest TLEs include 'sprites', which appear like gigantic red jellyfish reaching their tendrils above the clouds.

The largest sprites can extend up to 60 miles (96 kilometres) above the cloud tops of large storms, but are so faint they can only be seen at night or from space.

WHY DOES LIGHTNING STRIKE?

Lightning occurs when strong upward drafts in the air generate static electricity in large and dense rainstorm clouds.

Parts of the cloud become positively charged and others negatively charged.

When this charge separation is large enough a violent discharge of electricity happens — also known as lightning.

'Lightning is a major hazard that claims many lives every year,' the UN's World Meteorological Organization says

Such a discharge starts with a small area of ionised air hot enough to conduct electricity.

This small area grows into a forked lightning channel that can reach several miles in length.

The channel has a negative tip that dispels charges to the ground and a positive tip that collects charges from the cloud. 

These charges passes from the positive end of the channel to the negative end another during a lightning flash, causing the charge to be released. 

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27-11-2025 om 18:33 geschreven door peter  

UN confirms planetary defenses will observe interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it races through our solar system

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

The United Nations (UN) has confirmed that Earth's planetary defenses will be observing the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it races through our solar system. 

Starting on November 27, a global team of scientists with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) will kick off a two–month campaign to track the comet as it nears our planet.

'While it poses no threat, comet 3I/ATLAS presents a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and high interest to the scientific community,' the UN explains on its website. 

'This 3I/ATLAS campaign is the 8th IAWN observing exercise since 2017 – IAWN holds these exercises roughly once a year.'

While 3I/ATLAS was only discovered in July 2025, the UN explained that this 'comet campaign' has long been planned. 

'IAWN had been planning to do a Fall 2025 comet campaign since 2024 to exercise capabilities for measuring the position of comets, which pose additional astrometric challenges as they appear as fuzzy extended objects compared to point–like asteroids in a telescope's field of view,' it added. 

The news comes shortly after NASA put claims that the object could be an alien spacecraft to bed once and for all. 

'We want very much to find signs of life in the universe... but 3I/ATLAS is a comet,' said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, at a press conference. 

Stargazers recently captured brand new clear images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS using lower quality telescopes compared to those used by NASA

NASA's sophisticated HiRISE camera was supposed to provide a detailed image of the interstellar object near Mars, but the photo shown on Wednesday was blurry and vague

Since it was first spotted in July, the object – dubbed 3I/ATLAS – has captivated scientists and internet users alike, even prompting Kim Kardashian to ask NASA for answers.

Many scientists maintained it was merely a comet visiting us from a different solar system. 

However, others – including a member of US Congress and a Harvard researcher – were convinced that the object was an alien spacecraft. 

Last week, NASA released photos snapped by three of its Mars spacecraft as they passed just 18 million miles away from the object. 

These pictures finally put any speculation to rest, as they confirmed the object's identity.

And unfortunately for alien hunters, the US space agency says that 3I/ATLAS is a comet.  

The one man holding on to hope that the object could be extraterrestrial is Harvard professor Avi Loeb, who has shared new amateur telescope images of the interstellar object, captured between November 22 and November 24.

The photos reveal a glowing, fuzzy 'head' called a coma, along with a narrow tail stretching over 600,000 miles and pointing toward the sun instead of away from it like a typical comet.

Recent telescope images have produced clearer views of the object than the photos shared by NASA on November 19

NASA maintained that 3I/ATLAS was a comet with no signs of extraterrestrial life

One appears to reveal the shape of 3I/ATLAS, showing a cone–like object covered in a bright haze.

The images came from everyday skywatchers using small backyard telescopes around the world, including in Japan, Spain, and Chile.

Professor Loeb noted that a clear shot of the object on November 22, which showed its bright green body and long 'anti–tail,' was taken by Mitsunori Tsumura using a common 20–inch backyard telescope used by stargazers worldwide.

Another caught a sharp image of the interstellar visitor over Spain that same night using a 12.4–inch telescope - a very popular size used by hobbyists in their backyards.

Perhaps the sharpest picture Professor Loeb highlighted came from Paul Craggs of Canada, who was able to capture a clear image of the comet's current shape while traveling over North America on November 21.

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27-11-2025 om 18:18 geschreven door peter