The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
18-03-2025
The 'baby pictures' of the universe: Stunning images reveal what the cosmos looked like just 380,000 years after the Big Bang
Most people have at least a few embarrassing photos from their early childhood - and the universe is no different.
Scientists from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration have reevaled the 'baby pictures' of the cosmos, revealing the clearest images of the universe's infancy.
These stunning images measure light that has travelled for more than 13 billion years to reach Earth, showing the universe as it was just 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
That is the earliest cosmic time accessible to humanity and is equivalent to a baby photo taken just hours after birth.
This has given scientists their best look yet at the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) - the leftover radiation from the Big Bang which fills the entire observable universe.
What looks like clouds of light are actually hills and valleys light-years across in the boiling sea of hydrogen and helium which filled the early universe.
Over millions to billions of years, these more or less dense regions were pulled together by gravity to form the structure of the universe we see today.
Professor Suzanne Staggs, a physicist from Princeton University and director of the ACT, says: 'We are seeing the first steps towards making the earliest stars and galaxies.'
Scientists have revealed the 'baby pictures' of the cosmos, showing how the Universe appeared just 380,000 years after the Big Bang. This image shows the vibration directions of the radiation produced by helium and hydrogen for the first time
On the left is part of the new half-sky image from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. Three wavelengths of light have been combined together to highlight the Milky Way in purple, and the cosmic microwave background in grey
After the Big Bang, the cosmos was filled with a superheated soup of plasma.
For the first few hundred thousand years, that plasma was so dense that light couldn't move through it, making the universe essentially opaque.
The CMB is essentially the fossilised heat of the infant universe, allowing scientists to see the cosmos at its very first observable moment.
To capture an image of that extraordinarily faint signal, scientists at the ACT used a very sensitive telescope to take a photograph of space with a five-year exposure time.
In 2013, the Planck space telescope captured the first high-resolution images of the CMB, but those captured by the ACT reveal even more detail.
Dr Sigurd Naess, a researcher at the University of Oslo and a lead author of a paper related to the project, says: 'ACT has five times the resolution of Planck, and greater sensitivity.'
These images show the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the oldest energy observable in the universe. The scientists' observations are even more detailed than those captured by the Plank space telescope from 2013 onwards (pictured)
To record the extremely faint light from the Big Bang the researchers used the sensitive Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile to take an image of the sky with a five-year exposure time
These images don't just show the light and dark areas within the CMB but also capture the polarisation - the direction of oscillation - of light in the early universe.
This polarisation allows the researchers to actually see the movements of the helium and hydrogen gases.
Professor Staggs says: 'Before, we got to see where things were, and now we also see how they're moving.
'Like using tides to infer the presence of the moon, the movement tracked by the light’s polarization tells us how strong the pull of gravity was in different parts of space.'
The subtle variations in density and movement are what would go on to determine the formation of the first galaxies and stars as the clouds of gas collapsed into themselves under gravity.
Just as you might learn more about how someone grew up by looking at their baby photos, these images are also helping scientists unpack the development of the universe.
Professor Jo Dunkley, an astrophysicist from Princeton University and ACT analysis leader, says: 'By looking back to that time when things were much simpler, we can piece together the story of how our universe evolved to the rich and complex place we find ourselves in today.'
By studying these images, the researchers have confirmed that the observable universe extends almost 50 billion light-years in every direction around us.
This cosmological sky map shows the levels of radiation in the very earliest moments of the universe. Orange areas show more intense energy and blue shows less intense, revealing the different areas of density in the cosmos. The zoomed-in portion shows an area of sky 20 times the moon's width as seen from Earth
The standard model of cosmology suggests that the universe started off expanding rapidly, then slowed down thanks to the gravitational pull of so-called dark matter — before finally speeding up again thanks to the mysterious force of dark energy
What is the standard model of cosmology?
The standard model of cosmology is the conventional wisdom about the underlying physics of the universe.
Often called the Lambda-CDM theory, this suggests the universe has three major components: matter, dark matter, and dark energy.
This explains the existence and pattern of the cosmic microwave background, the lingering echo of the Big Bang, and the distribution of galaxies.
However, it doesn't align with new observations of the Universe's rapidly accelerating expansion.
These findings also show that the universe contains as much mass as 1,900 'zetta-suns', a unit equivalent to 10^21 suns, or almost two trillion times the mass of our sun.
Of those 1,900 zetta-suns, conventional matter, which we can see and observe, makes up just 100.
Of the conventional matter in the Universe, almost three-quarters is hydrogen and around a quarter is helium.
These new images have also helped scientists confirm the age of the universe.
As matter in the early universe collapsed in on itself it produced soundwaves which spread out through space like ripples on a pond.
By measuring how big those ripples appear in the CMB image, scientists are able to work out how far the light has travelled to reach the telescope and, therefore, how long ago the Big Bang occurred.
Professor Mark Devlin, ACT deputy director and astronomer at the University of Pennsylvania, says: 'A younger universe would have had to expand more quickly to reach its current size, and the images we measure would appear to be reaching us from closer by.
These latest measurements of the CMB show that the universe's expansion has accelerated since the Big Bang. The lack of a rival theory that fits with the ACT data suggests that the current standard model of cosmology is still the best explanation
'The apparent extent of ripples in the images would be larger in that case, in the same way that a ruler held closer to your face appears larger than one held at arm’s length.'
The ACT's new measurements confirm that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, with an uncertainty of only 0.1 per cent.
Additionally, these new images have helped to support the standard cosmological model, our current best theory about the universe's formation, by measuring the speed of the universe's expansion.
By comparing their findings to other possible models, the researchers found that no other explanation would fit the data better than the current standard model.
Dr Colin Hill, assistant professor at Columbia University and lead author of one of the new papers, says: 'We wanted to see if we could find a cosmological model that matched our data and also predicted a faster expansion rate.
'We have used the CMB as a detector for new particles or fields in the early universe, exploring previously uncharted terrain. The ACT data show no evidence of such new signals.'
Dark energy is a phrase used by physicists to describe a mysterious 'something' that is causing unusual things to happen in the universe.
The universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together.
Then came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope observations of very distant supernovae that showed that, a long time ago, the universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today.
The universe is not only expanding, but it is expanding faster and faster as time goes by,' Dr Kathy Romer, scientist at the Dark Energy Survey told MailOnline, as illustrated in this Nasa graphic
So the expansion of the universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been accelerating.
No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.
'The universe is not only expanding, but it is expanding faster and faster as time goes by,' Dr Kathy Romer, scientist at the Dark Energy Survey told MailOnline.
'What we'd expect is that the expansion would get slower and slower as time goes by, because it has been nearly 14 billion years since the Big Bang.'
Uranus Is Hiding More Heat Than Scientists Ever Expected
Uranus Is Hiding More Heat Than Scientists Ever Expected
This breakthrough not only changes what we know about Uranus but also raises new questions about its past, its atmosphere, and the violent event that may have shaped its evolution.
For decades, Uranus stood out as the oddball among the gas giants, seemingly lacking the internal heat that its planetary neighbors generate. However, two independent research teams (the studies are available here and here) have now revealed that Uranus is actually emitting more heat than previously believed, challenging long-standing assumptions based on data from Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby. The findings, which are currently undergoing peer review, suggest that Voyager may have captured an unusual moment in Uranus’s orbit, leading scientists to the wrong conclusion about the planet’s internal dynamics.
This breakthrough not only changes what we know about Uranus but also raises new questions about its past, its atmosphere, and the violent event that may have shaped its evolution.
Uranus’s Heat Mystery Just Got Even More Puzzling
Planets generate heat through three main sources:
Leftover formation heat – energy trapped from the planet’s formation.
Radioactive decay – energy released as elements inside the planet break down.
Solar radiation – heat from the Sun, which varies based on a planet’s distance.
For years, Voyager 2’s observations suggested that Uranus was missing the excess heat seen in Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, making it an anomaly in the solar system. Scientists speculated that Uranus lacked sufficient radioactive elements, meaning it had cooled more than expected. But this didn’t sit well with many researchers—especially given how similar Uranus and Neptune are in size, mass, and composition.
Now, new infrared data from advanced telescopes tell a different story.
The Latest Observations Flip the Script
Professor Patrick Irwin from the University of Oxford and his team analyzed observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini North, and NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility spanning nearly a decade. They wanted to see how Uranus’s heat signature changed
At the same time, Xinyue Wang and a team from the University of Houston took a broader approach, compiling decades of Uranus observations dating back to the mid-20th century. They used modern instruments to refine older data, tracking how Uranus’s heat fluctuates across its entire 84-year orbit around the Sun.
Both teams arrived at a strikingly similar conclusion: Uranus does emit more heat than Voyager 2 reported. The difference likely comes down to timing—Voyager 2 passed Uranus near its solstice, meaning seasonal variations in the planet’s heat output may have given a misleading impression of its true energy balance.
Uranus and Neptune. Credit: NASA
Just How Much Heat Is Uranus Giving Off?
Both teams calculated that Uranus radiates between 12.5% and 15% more heat than it absorbs from the Sun. While this is still far less than Neptune—whose internal heat emission more than doubles the energy it receives—it’s clear that Uranus is not the cold, lifeless world we once thought.
“This finally puts Uranus back in line with the other gas giants,” Irwin told ScienceNews. However, even with this adjustment, Uranus remains an outlier, raising fresh questions about why its heat output is so much lower than its planetary neighbors.
What’s Causing Uranus’s Low Heat Emission?
One leading theory suggests that Uranus’s violent past is to blame. Scientists believe the planet was struck by a massive object early in its history, tilting it completely onto its side. This extreme tilt may have trapped heat deep within the planet, preventing it from escaping at the same rate as the other gas giants.
Wang’s team emphasized that further investigation is needed, stating:
“The Uranus flagship mission, as recommended by the recent decadal survey, will provide crucial observations to address unresolved questions and advance our understanding of this enigmatic ice giant.”
A dedicated mission to Uranus would provide the definitive answers that scientists are searching for, but time is running out. If launched in 2032, a spacecraft could use a gravity assist from Jupiter to drastically reduce both travel time and mission costs. However, with limited funding for planetary exploration, there’s no guarantee that such a mission will move forward in time. For now, scientists will continue observing Uranus with the most advanced telescopes available, hoping to refine their models and unlock more of the planet’s hidden secrets.
RELATED VIDEOS
Uranus Is Hiding Something Big, Here’s What We Just Found Out
What is the Mysterious Extraterrestrial World of Uranus like ? | Space Documentary
Supervolcano eruption on Jupiter's Moon Io but how extreme was it?
Supervolcano eruption on Jupiter's Moon Io but how extreme was it?
Io, Jupiter’s famous volcanic moon, is already the most volcanically active place in the solar system. But between Halloween and Christmas of 2024, something happened that was extreme, even by Io’s standards.
Its south pole erupted in a way astronomers weren’t even sure was possible. A super volcano exploded with such force that it was visible from space as a massive dark blotch in the atmosphere. In infrared, the eruption was so intense that it saturated scientific sensors.
How Big Was This Eruption? To grasp the scale, imagine Io were the size of Earth. This super volcano would cover an area larger than Texas, larger than Egypt. The aftermath would trigger a global volcanic winter lasting years, possibly decades.
The eruption unleashed energy equivalent to 260 Yellowstone's and its lava field could bury everything from New York to Kansas under 10 feet of molten rock or stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. Every minute, the eruption released energy equal to 1.5 million Hiroshima bombs.
Just think about this: Earth’s most devastating volcanic event, the Siberian Traps eruption, lasted for a million years and led to one of the worst mass extinctions in history. Io’s super volcano, at its current rate, would surpass that in just 800 years. Over a million years, it could spew out the equivalent of 1% of Earth’s entire mantle. If the volume of this eruption were spread evenly across Earth, our planet’s landscape would be completely transformed in a matter of days.
Even in a solar system filled with astonishing phenomena, Io continues to shock and surprise us.
Io- Jupiter’s Moon: Over 400 Active Volcanoes
NASA Captured a Huge Volcanic Eruption on Jupiter's Moon IO!
Jupiter's Moon Io Shoots Lava 300km Into Space | Moon Explorers | BBC Earth Science
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore boarded a SpaceX Dragon capsule docked at the International Space Station and began their journey back to Earth. Joining Williams and Wilmore for the voyage are the two spacefarers of a mission known as Crew-9, who in September arrived at the orbital laboratory aboard that particular Dragon spacecraft.
Astronauts stuck in space finally return to Earth
Later Tuesday evening, the Dragon carrying the four astronauts – including NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – is due to splash down off the Florida coast.
In that time, the pair of experienced astronauts have become near-household names, with their ordeal capturing public fascination and later becoming politicized when President Donald Trump decided to weigh in.
But the stage was finally set for Wilmore and Williams to embark on their long-awaited return trip with the arrival Saturday of the Crew-10 astronauts, who have now replaced the outgoing Crew-9 mission aboard the space station.
What time will Starliner, Crew-9 astronauts splash down?
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft departs early Tuesday morning from the International Space Station. Aboard are the four Crew-9 members, who since September have included Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who piloted the Boeing Starliner.
The departure of the Starliner astronauts with Crew-9 is a little earlier than expected after NASA initially announced that the four spacefarers wouldn't head back to Earth any earlier than Wednesday.
But after examining weather forecasted off the Florida coast, NASA and SpaceX opted to bump up the return date to when conditions should be better for the Dragon's landing.
The Dragon Freedom capsule undocked right on schedule at around 1:05 a.m. EDT Tuesday from the ISS Harmony module, a port and passageway onto the station. The astronauts are now on about a 17-hour voyage back to Earth, where they are expected to make a water landing at about 5:57 p.m. EDT off the Florida coast, according to NASA.
As it did for the undocking, NASA will provide a livestream of the landing on its streaming service NASA+. Coverage is expected to begin at 4:45 p.m.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. From left, are NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore.
What happened with the Boeing Starliner?
As the two NASA astronauts selected for the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner, Wilmore and Williams arrived in June at the space station for what was meant to be a brief orbital stay.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams walk June 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The experienced astronauts ended up launching June 5 on the Boeing's Starliner's first crewed flight test mission.
That was before NASA and Boeing engineers discovered a slew of technical issues with the spacecraft, including helium leaks and propulsion problems. Instead of departing on the spacecraft that bore them to the space station, Wilmore and Williams had no choice but to watch as the the troubled Starliner undocked in September to head back to Earth without them.
NASA ultimately decided to keep Williams and Wilmore at the station for a few extra months rather than launch an emergency mission to return them to Earth in order to keep the space station fully staffed. In September, the space agency launched the SpaceX Crew-9 mission with two astronauts instead of four to leave two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams.
For their part, the astronauts have regularly spoke about relishing the extra time in the cosmos, including in an exclusive interview in January with USA TODAY. Wilmore and Williams have also sought to dispel the notion that they are "stuck" at the station, insisting that the extended stay is all part of the job.
"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short," Wilmore said earlier this month in a news conference with journalists from the station.
Boeing and NASA teams work around NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft after it landed Sept. 6, 2024 without its crew at White Sands, New Mexico.
Trump, Musk weigh in on Starliner saga
The Starliner astronauts' insistence that they are not in distress at the space station hasn't stopped their unexpectedly long stay from becoming politically charged.
Since Trump took office, he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have made assertions that the vehicle's crew were "abandoned" or "stuck" in space as a result of the Biden Administration. Trump also recently claimed that it was he who "authorized" Musk to retrieve the astronauts, despite the return plan being in place before he was elected.
Wilmore was diplomatic about Trump and Musk earlier this month when reporters asked multiple questions about their claims.
“The words they said, well, that’s politics. I mean, that’s part of life,” Wilmore said during the news conference. “From my standpoint, politics has not played into this at all.”
Crew-10 begins mission at International Space Station
Members of the newly arriving SpaceX Crew-10 join with the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station for a brief ceremony shortly after docking on Sunday morning.
The crew, under the command of NASA astronaut Anne McClain, includes NASA pilot Nichole Ayers and two mission specialists from other space agencies: Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
After a two-day delay, the Crew-10 mission launched Friday night from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelling the astronauts into orbit aboard a Dragon capsule. Once separated from the rocket, the Dragon Endurance, which has flown on SpaceX crew mission before, used its own thrusters to autonomously power on to the space station.
Before the outgoing astronauts departed the station, they spent a few days helping the new arrivals familiarize themselves with the orbital laboratory and station operations during a handover period. Ayers, McClain, Onishi and Peskov will soon be part of Expedition 73 and will remain at the station for about six months on a rotation conducting scientific experiments.
The SpaceX crew missions are contracted under NASA's commercial crew program, which allows the U.S. space agency to pay SpaceX to launch and transport astronauts and cargo to orbit aboard the company's own vehicles. The Boeing Starliner is meant to one day become a second operational vehicle for NASA under the program, though its path toward certification remains fraught after its botched inaugural crewed flight test.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
Exploding Stars May Have Caused Two of Earth's Mass Extinctions
Exploding Stars May Have Caused Two of Earth's Mass Extinctions
By Evan Gough
Artist’s impression of a Type II supernova. New research shows that two of Earth’s most perilous extinctions were caused by nearby supernovae explosions. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STSci.
Nothing can withstand a powerful supernova explosion. Only distance can dull their power, and that distance is measured in light years. New research suggests that two of Earth's most devastating mass extinctions were caused by supernova explosions within 65 light-years of Earth.
The pair of mass extinctions attributed to SN explosions are the Late Devonian and the Late Ordovician extinction events. They are two of Earth's five largest mass extinctions.
"If a massive star were to explode as a supernova close to the Earth, the results would be devastating for life on Earth. This research suggests that this may have already happened." - study co-author Dr. Nick Wright from Keele University
The Late Devonian extinction occurred roughly between 372 million and 359 million years ago and wiped out between 70% to 80% of marine species. It wasn't a single event but rather a sequence of small extinctions that played out over a long period of time. The extinction's exact time span and consequences are still being pieced together. Scientists think it involved changes in ocean levels and ocean anoxia triggered by a cooling climate and undersea volcanoes.
The Late Ordovician occurred roughly 445 million years ago when about 85% of marine species were wiped out. It occurred in two pulses. In the first pulse, the Earth changed from a greenhouse climate to an icehouse climate. In the second, the oceans were severely depleted of oxygen.
The research doesn't identify specific supernovae behind these extinctions. Supernova remnants only last for a few hundred thousand years before they dissipate and fade into the background. Instead, the researchers took a census of supernova progenitors called OB stars. OB stars are massive and hot and tend to end their lives as supernova explosions.
The short-lived nature of supernovae remnants means individual historic SN from hundreds of millions of years ago can't be tracked down. In this research, the team took a different approach. By taking a census of OB stars within 1 kiloparsec (3261.56 light-years) of our Solar System, the researchers hoped to build an understanding of how star clusters and galaxies form. As a side result, they calculated the rate of SN explosions.
This is a false colour image of Cassiopeia A (Cas A), a supernova remnant from an explosion about 11,000 years away and about 340 years ago from Earth's perspective. As the material in the remnant expands and cools, it will become indistinguishable from the interstellar medium.
Image Credit: NASA/Hubble/Spitzer/Chandra
The astronomers used the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the populations of OB stars to determine their ages. They also used the surface density star formation rate to understand how efficiently regions in the galaxy convert their gas and dust into stars.
"We have characterized and mapped 24,706 O- and B-type stars within 1 kpc of the Sun," the authors write in their paper. They also write that they "exploited our list of OB stars to estimate...a local core-collapse supernova rate of ~15–30 per Myr."
This figure from the research shows the surface density of the SED-fitted OB stars in Galactic Cartesian coordinates. The black circle shows the 24,706 stars within 1 kpc. Some known star-forming regions and complexes are labelled.
Image Credit: Quintana et al. 2025.
From there, they determined that there are 0.4–0.5 core-collapse SN per century, which is slightly lower than that shown by previous research. " Our extrapolated ccSN rates of 0.4–0.5 per century are notably lower than most previous estimates due to a combination of the smaller size of our OB catalogue and improved stellar evolutionary models," the authors explain.
"We calculate a near-Earth core-collapse supernova rate of ~2.5 per Gyr that supports the view that nearby supernova explosions could have caused one or more of the recorded mass extinction events on Earth," they write. They argue that their ccSN rate "is consistent with the rate of historical mass extinction events on Earth that are linked to ozone depletion and mass glaciation."
"Supernova explosions are some of the most energetic explosions in the Universe," said study co-author Dr. Nick Wright from Keele University. "If a massive star were to explode as a supernova close to the Earth, the results would be devastating for life on Earth. This research suggests that this may have already happened."
The Universe acts like a great recycler in some respects, and massive exploding stars are part of it. When they explode, they forge elements heavier than hydrogen and helium and spread them out into space. These elements are critical for rocky planets to form and for life to appear. The powerful shock waves from SN also compress the interstellar medium and can trigger another round of star formation.
However, planets too close to an SN explosion are doomed. The explosion can strip away atmospheres and expose anything living on the surface to deadly radiation.
"It is a great illustration for how massive stars can act as both creators and destructors of life," said lead author Quintana in a press release. "Supernova explosions bring heavy chemical elements into the interstellar medium, which are then used to form new stars and planets. But if a planet, including the Earth, is located too close from this kind of event, this can have devastating effects."
We may never find the exact causes of Earth's ancient extinctions. They were too long ago, and the evidence is scant. But we know that stars explode and that the explosions can have devastating effects. Even from a distance, a supernova's cosmic rays can ionize the atmosphere and trigger cloud formation that can cool the climate. Their powerful UV radiation could destroy the ozone and also create more aerosols that add to global cooling.
Astrophysicists have tried to determine how close a supernova has to be to Earth to destroy the biosphere. Early estimates were about 25 light-years, while later estimates were closer to 50 light-years. There are no known supernova progenitors within 50 light-years, and the nearest eventual SN astronomers have identified is Betelgeuse, which is about 600 light-years away. We're safe for now.
When it comes to supernova extinctions, there is no certainty and a lot of debate. We may never know if supernovae were behind the Late Devonian and the Late Ordovician mass extinctions.
However, we do know that we live inside a great mystery where massive exploding stars could have changed the course of life on Earth. Supernovae can both annihilate life on existing worlds and help create the conditions for it to appear on new rocky planets. They can also wipe the slate nearly clean and make room for new types of life.
What Will the Betelgeuse Supernova Be Like - And Will It Hurt Us?
What Will the Betelgeuse Supernova Be Like - And Will It Hurt Us?
By Paul Sutter
Artist’s conception of a red giant star. Credit: Royal Astronomical Society/ ESO/ L. Calçada.
When Beetlejuice goes off, it's going to be the show of a lifetime. But it’s not going to hurt us.
Betelgeuse is the shoulder of Orion, a red giant sitting about 500 light years away. It’s huge, weighing somewhere between 15-20 solar masses, but so extended and bloated that if you plopped it down in our own solar system, it would stretch to roughly the orbit of Mars.
And it's not doing so great. Massive stars do not live very long lives, with their precise lifetimes depending on a host of factors like their mass, their metallicity, and spin rate. On the low side, we're talking only a few hundred thousand years. On the high side, we've got a few million.
But either way, as stars go, that's not a lot. Our own Sun will outlive multiple generations of such giants, and red dwarfs, the smallest stars in the universe, can stretch for trillions of years at a time. In fact, just a fun side note, red dwarfs live for so long that the entire universe isn't even old enough for them to start dying yet.
No matter how you slice it, Betelgeuse is on its last legs.
It's in what's called the red giant phase, and it's pretty obvious to see why astronomers picked that name for this phase in a stellar life cycle. It's red, and it's gigantic. And it is so close to being dead that it is in an incredibly unstable phase. In fact, we saw some very dramatic dimming episodes a few years ago where it dimmed by around 15% out of nowhere over the course of a few weeks. And then just after a few months, it popped back up to full brightness.
When a star is near the end of its life, it’s all chaos. Sometimes it's fusing hydrogen, sometimes it's fusing helium, sometimes it will shut down for a while, sometimes it'll start back up. The outer edges of the atmosphere are so far away from the central core that they start getting a mind of their own. It just gets complicated.
Estimates based on the mass of Betelgeuse, its rotation rate, the group of stars it was born with, and the amount of metals we can measure in the upper layers of its atmosphere, all suggest that it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a few hundred thousand years from now, it's going to go supernova. But honestly it could be tomorrow. In fact, because it's 500 light years away. It could have gone off a hundred years ago, and we won't find out for a while. It may already be dead.
When Betelgeuse goes off as a supernova, it will be a sight to behold. Keep in mind that typical supernova can outshine entire galaxies of over a hundred billion stars. And at a distance of a few hundred light years, Betelgeuse is going to put on an impressive show.
It will be visible during the day. It will be brighter than any planet. It will be almost as bright as the full moon. You'll be able to read a book by the light of the Betelgeuse supernova at midnight.
But it will actually be painful to look at because unlike the full moon that is this gorgeous disc in the sky, Betelgeuse is still going to be a tiny pinprick of light. So it won't be comfortable to look at, and it will last a few months before fading away as all supernovae do. But as impressive as it is, it won't be dangerous.
What saves us from most supernova dangers is that as bright as they are, as much radiation as they pour into the universe, stars are really stinking far apart. What helps here is something called the inverse square law. There's a fixed amount of light that a star or a supernova or any radiating object in the universe gives off.
And so that light moves away from the star, that same amount of light has to cover more and more area. If you double the distance, the radiation in any one spot gets cut to 25%. If you go to ten times the distance, then you get a factor of a 100 drop off. It goes as the square of the distance.
If you're trying to stay warm by a fire, you will notice if you stand really close to the fire that it’s maybe a little bit too hot, but then you take one step back, and all of a sudden, you’re cold again. That's because of that inverse square law of the infrared radiation being emitted by the fire. But in the case of a supernova, we're going to be grateful for the inverse square law. Because we're talking about a giant star turning itself into an uncontrolled nuclear bomb and detonating with enough energy to overwhelm an entire galaxy's worth of starlight.
From our perspective, Betelgeuse will go from a dot of light in the night sky to a brighter dot of light in the night sky. It's simply not going to be a threat.
RELATED VIDEOS
When Betelgeuse Goes Supernova This is What Happens
JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 1: Exoplanets and Habitability
JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 1: Exoplanets and Habitability
By Matthew Williams
Artist's illustration of JWST
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has announced the science objectives for Webb's General Observer Programs in Cycle 4 (Cycle 4 GO) program. The Cycle 4 observations include 274 programs that establish the science program for JWST's fourth year of operations, amounting to 8,500 hours of prime observing time. This is a significant increase from Cycle 3 observations and the 5,500 hours of prime time and 1,000 hours of parallel time it entailed.
These programs are broken down into eight categories, ranging from exoplanet habitability and the earliest galaxies in the Universe to supermassive black holes, stellar evolution, and Solar System astronomy. They were selected by the Cycle 4 Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) in February 2025, which comprised two Executive Committee Chairs, 36 Panel Chairs and Vice Chairs, 183 Discussion Panelists, 315 External Panelists, and 220 Expert Reviewers.
In terms of exoplanet studies, the observation programs for Cycle 4 focus on exoplanet characterization, formation, and dynamics. In particular, the programs address ongoing questions about exoplanet habitability and the types of stars that can host habitable planets. For instance, program GO 7068, titled "Surveying Stellar Shenanigans: Exploring M dwarf Flares for Exoplanetary Insights," focuses on the question of red dwarf stars and the hazards posed by their flare activity.
The field of exoplanets has undergone a major transition in recent years. With over 5,800 confirmed candidates (5,849 as of the writing of this article), scientists are moving from the discovery process to characterization. This consists of obtaining spectra from exoplanet atmospheres to determine what chemical signatures are present. By detecting potential biosignatures (i.e., oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, methane, etc.), scientists can measure planetary habitability more accurately.
Interestingly, the JWST was not originally designed for exoplanet characterization. However, its extreme sensitivity to infrared (IR) wavelengths and advanced spectrometers mean that Webb can obtain transit spectra from exoplanets as they pass in front of their suns. Combined with its coronographs (which block out light from a system's star), it can also detect the faint light reflected by exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces.
Red Dwarfs
In the past decade, astronomers have detected numerous rocky planets orbiting nearby M-type (red dwarf) stars. Of the 30 potentially habitable exoplanets closest to Earth, 28 orbit red dwarf stars. This is particularly good news for astronomers and astrobiologists since red dwarf stars are the most common in the Universe and account for about 75% of stars in the Milky Way. What's more, research has indicated that there may be tens of billions of potentially habitable rocky planets orbiting red dwarf stars in the Milky Way.
On the other hand, red dwarf stars are also known for being variable and prone to significant flare activity compared to Sun-like stars. Recent studies have detected several "superflares" events from red dwarfs powerful enough to remove the atmospheres of any planets orbiting them. However, recent observations by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have shown that red dwarf stars tend to emit superflares from their poles, thus sparing orbiting planets.
Learning more about M-type stars and their effects on planetary habitability is the purpose of GO 7068, "Surveying Stellar Shenanigans: Exploring M dwarf Flares for Exoplanetary Insights." Dhvani Doshi, a PhD student at McGill University's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, is the principal investigator of this program. Using Webb's Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument, the team will observe five active M-type stars for 5 to 10 hours each to obtain spectra as they transit in front of their stars.
They also anticipate recording 400 flare events with energies exceeding 10^{30} erg, or 6.24^42 electronvolts (ev). Per the program description:
"Through detailed analysis of flare properties and behavior in the NIR regime, our proposal aims to address critical gaps in our understanding of stellar flare phenomena on M dwarfs, refining existing models and enhancing our ability to interpret exoplanetary spectra in the presence of stellar activity."
Direct Imaging
As noted, Webb's advanced instruments also make it uniquely qualified for Direct Imaging studies. These involve observing exoplanets directly as they orbit their suns, which was previously restricted to massive planets with wide orbits. Thanks to Webb's extreme sensitivity and advanced instruments, Cycle 4 GO includes several programs that will conduct DI studies of nearby exoplanets.
This is the purpose of the GO 6915 program, titled "Direct Detection and Characterization of a Nearby Temperate Giant Planet." The Principal Investigator of this program is William Balmer, a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). He and his colleagues propose directly imaging HD 22237 b using Webb's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Imager (MIRI) coronographs.
This nearby gas giant is about 37 light-years from Earth and is 5.19 Jupiter masses. As the team described in their proposal:
"These observations will constrain key atmospheric model uncertainties, like the strength of water-ice cloud opacity, the abundance of ammonia, and the strength of disequilibrium chemistry in the planet's atmosphere. This program is designed to efficiently detect the planet at high confidence, photometrically characterize the atmosphere, and refine the planet's sky-projected orbit ahead of Cycle 5; doing so will allow the community to estimate the feasibility of follow-up spectroscopy on the fastest timescale."
Another interesting program is GO 7612, "We can directly image super-Earth-sized planets near the habitable zone of Sirius B with JWST/MIRI." The PI for this program is Logan Pearce, a postdoctoral researcher from the University of Michigan. The team will conduct a direct imaging campaign using Webb's Mid-Infrared Imager and its coronagraph to search for super-earths and cold gas planets near the outer edge of Sirius B's habitable zone (HZ).
Located 8.7 light-years away, Sirius B - the companion star of Sirius A (an A-type main sequence white star) - is the closest white dwarf to the Solar System. For decades, scientists have wondered if white dwarf stars can support habitable planets. In recent years, research has indicated that planets would need to orbit closely to white dwarfs to be in their HZs. Similar to exoplanets that orbit M-type stars, rocky planets orbiting in the HZs of white dwarfs are likely to be tidally locked, with one side absorbing potentially dangerous levels of radiation.
"Our program holds the potential to detect rocky planets and cold (>70K) gas giants—a feat unlikely to be possible until the next generation of observatories comes online decades from now. If a planet-like signal is detected, follow-up proper motion measurements or spectroscopy will confirm its planetary nature and provide a detailed characterization of its physical and atmospheric properties. This program could be JWST's singular chance to directly image rocky planets in a nearby system, offering profound insights into planetary evolution around post-main sequence stars and in binary systems."
Rocky Exoplanets
In terms of exoplanet studies, Webb is also especially qualified for studying smaller, rocky planets that orbit more closely to their suns - which is where Earth-like planets are likely to reside. This presents astronomers with the exciting opportunity to examine Earth-like planets near the Solar System more closely. This includes the closest exoplanet to the Solar System, which is the purpose of the GO 7251 program, "Does Our Closest M-Dwarf Rocky Neighbor Have An Atmosphere? We Need to Find Out."
The rocky neighbor in question is LTT 1445A b, the nearest transiting rocky planet considered the most likely to have an atmosphere. The planet is a Super-Earth that orbits the primary star in a triple M-dwarf system located 22 light-years away. The planet's size (1.3 Earth radii and 2.73 Earth masses) and its equilibrium temperature (150.85 °C; 303.5 °F) are promising indications that it may have an atmosphere.
The program will follow up on recent observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that obtained accurate measurements of the planet's size. While previous observations were made using Webb, the planet's proximity to its host star saturated most of its near-infrared observing modes. But thanks to the implementation of the NIRCam Short-Wavelength Grism Time Series, astronomers can now observe LTT1445A b without risk of saturation.
Katherine Bennett, a Ph.D. student in Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, is the program's principal investigator. Their planned observations will monitor LTT1445A b during eight transits using the NIRCam Grism Time Series template. As Bennet and her colleagues indicated in the program description:
"We note that LTT1445Ab's hotter and smaller sibling, LTT 1445Ac, is being targeted by the STScI Rocky Worlds DDT Program. By coupling the DDT emission photometry study with our NIRCam transmission spectroscopy study, we can map the presence of atmospheres within a single system. What's more, if LTT 1445Ab does not have an atmosphere, this would have profound implications for M-dwarf habitability in general."
Similarly, program GO 7875 ("The only known atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet?") will dedicate observation time to 55 Cancri e. This Super-Earth, located 41 light-years away, measures 1.875 Earth radii and has a mass 7.99 times that of Earth. Its close orbit to 55 Cancri A means it is extremely hot, with an estimated equilibrium temperature of 2000 K (1725 °C; 3140 °F). This has led astronomers to theorize that the entire planet is covered in an ocean of lava.
While not a good candidate for astrobiology studies, it is currently the only rocket exoplanet with evidence of an atmosphere. The program's principal investigator is Michael Zhang, an Inaugural E. Margaret Burbidge Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. This program will conduct MIRI MRS observations of the exoplanet during three eclipses, which will allow them to confirm the existence of an atmosphere, obtain spectra, and constrain its carbon dioxide abundance. Per the program description:
"As an old, ultra-hot (Teq=2000 K), and ultra-short-period planet, 55 Cnc e may seem a-priori like a particularly hostile place for any gaseous envelope. Understanding whether and/or how such an envelope exists on 55 Cnc e, the most observationally favorable super-Earth, has strong implications for the survivability of rocky planet atmospheres more generally."
Another exciting program is GO 7953, "Exo-Geology: Surface Spectral Features from a Rocky Exoplanet." Led by PI Kimberly Paragas, a graduate student in the Planetary Science option at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This program will leverage the JWST's capabilities to conduct the very first spectroscopic characterization of a rocky exoplanet's surface.
This program will observe LHS 3844 b, a Super-Earth orbiting an M-type star 49 light-years from Earth. This exoplanet is considered the most promising surface characterization target in the exoplanet census. "This will allow us to leverage the vast expertise developed for Solar System rocky bodies to establish a new field of 'exo-geology' whose goal is to explore the geological histories and mantle compositions of rocky exoplanets is to explore the geological histories and mantle compositions of rocky exoplanets," states the team in their proposal.
Planet Formation
The Cycle 4 General Observations will also use Webb's IR imaging capabilities to explore how planets form from debris disks. This will address key questions in astrobiology, not the least of which is how habitable planets evolve. To this end, program GO 6940, "Determining the Origin of Water Ice in the Beta Pictoris Debris Disk," was selected as part of Cycle Four. This campaign is led by PI Sarah Betti, an STScI postdoctoral fellow.
This program will use Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) and spectrograph to obtain medium-resolution spectroscopy to resolve water and carbon dioxide ices in the Beta Pictoris debris disk. Recent spectrometric observations have the presence of ices across the whole disk for the first time in a debris disk, including a hint of a significant ice population at its outer edge. These grains were not expected to survive, leading to a shift in scientists' understanding of debris disk chemistry.
This discovery also raised new questions about the role of giant collisions in producing the observed ice grains. As a result, the characterization of the origin and composition of these ices is vital to our understanding of late-stage planet formation and ice transport in disks. To this end, this program aims to conduct MIRI spectroscopy of the system's disk to resolve frozen volatiles, allowing astronomers to learn more about how planet formation occurs in debris disks.
"By mapping the whole dust clump, we can uncover the origin, chemical composition, and thermal history of the ices in this disk," per the program proposal.
These programs offer a small taste of what the JWST will study during this observation cycle. In addition to exoplanet studies, teams from around the world will use observation time to learn more about a wealth of cosmological phenomena and unresolved questions in astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, cosmology, and planetary geology.
JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 2: The Distant Universe
JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 2: The Distant Universe
By Matthew Williams
Faraway galaxies dot the void like scattered jewels or grains of sand in this deep field image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The most distant galaxies in such images tend to appear as small, reddish blobs. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Earlier this week, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) announced the science objectives for the fourth cycle of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) General Observations program - aka. Cycle 4 GO. This latest cycle includes 274 programs that will make up the JWST's fourth year of operations, amounting to 8,500 hours of prime observing time. These programs are broken down into eight categories that encompass Webb's capabilities.
This includes exoplanet study and characterization, the study of the earliest galaxies in the Universe, stellar populations and formation, and Solar System Astronomy. As we addressed in the previous installment, Cycle 4 includes many programs that will leverage Webb's extreme sensitivity and advanced instruments to observe exoplanets, characterize their atmospheres, and measure their potential habitability.
In keeping with Webb's major science objectives, many of the Cycle 4 programs will also focus on studying the earliest stars and galaxies in the Universe. These programs will build on previous efforts to observe high-redshift galaxies (those that formed shortly after the Big Bang), the first population of stars in the Universe (Population III), and examine the role Dark Matter (DM) played in their formation.
Central to this is the cosmological period known as the "Cosmic Dark Ages," which occurred between 370,000 and 1 billion years after the Big Bang. During this time, the Universe was permeated by neutral hydrogen, and there were only two main sources of photons: the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang - the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) - and those occasionally released by neutral hydrogen atoms.
This period is also when the first stars and galaxies are believed to have formed (ca. 13.6 billion years ago). This led to the gradual ionization of the clouds of neutral hydrogen, which led to the "Epoch of Reionization," which led to the Universe becoming "transparent" (visible to modern instruments). Cosmologists refer to the period where the first galaxies emerged from the Dark Ages as “Cosmic Dawn."
Previous instruments lacked the resolution or sensitivity to capture light from this epoch, which is shifted into parts of the infrared spectrum that are very difficult to observe. However, Webb's sensitivity and infrared optics allow astronomers to finally pierce the veil of the "Dark Ages."
The Planck legacy, inflation and the origin of structure in the universe
High Redshift Galaxies
The earliest galaxies in the Universe are designated "high redshift," which refers to how the wavelength of their light has become elongated due to the expansion of the Universe ((aka. the Hubble-Lemaitre Constant). This causes the light to become "shifted" towards the red end of the spectrum. Light from galaxies that existed during the early Universe (more than 13 billion years ago) is redshifted to the point where it is only visible in the infrared spectrum.
This is the purpose of the GO 7208 program, titled "THRIFTY: The High-RedshIft FronTier surveY." This observation campaign will build on JWST's detection of several luminous galaxies with redshift values greater than 9 (z>9). This corresponds to galaxies that existed up to 13.5 billion years ago, one of Webb's greatest discoveries to date. The abundance of galaxies this early in the Universe and their apparent brightness was a surprise to astronomers and has led to a revision of theories on early galaxy formation.
The program's PI is Romain Meyer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva (UNIGE). As he and his team described in their GO 7208 program proposal, "THRIFTY will determine the true number density of ultra-luminous galaxies at z>9 by targeting a sample of 123 candidates selected from >1 million sources over a total of 0.3 square degrees (out of the Galactic plane) from all existing prime and pure-parallel JWST imaging surveys."
One of Webb's earliest discoveries from Cycle 1 was of a population of small, red-tinted galaxies during the early Universe that may have contained growing SMBHs. These "Little Red Dots" (LRDs), as they were nicknamed, were thought to be Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), or quasars, but many astronomers. While they were declared one of the biggest discoveries in physics in 2023, there is still no consensus on what they actually are.
Enter the GO 7404 program, titled "How I wonder what you are -- do JWST's Little Red Dots twinkle? Testing broad-line and continuum variability on week, month, and six-month." Rohan Naidu, a NASA Hubble Fellow and the Pappalardo Fellow in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is this program's Principal Investigator (PI). Using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), they will conduct the first longwave systematic LRD monitoring campaign to determine their exact nature.
Next, there's the GO 7814 program, titled "MINERVA: Unlocking the Hidden Gems of the Distant Universe and Completing HST and JWST’s Imaging Legacy with Medium Bands." This program, led by PI Dr. Adam Muzzin of York University, will build on the deep imaging surveys conducted with the JWST Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). While revolutionary, these surveys were limited to broad-band observations with low spectral resolution.
For their program, they will use Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to examine the primary fields observed by the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) and the JWST. In the process, they plan to increase the surveyed area nearly by a factor of 10 compared to existing medium-band programs, leading to the discovery of rare and previously undetected populations in existing deep-field catalogs.
These observations, they state, will allow them to:
"efficiently identify and characterize galaxies with unusual SEDs including z>12 candidates, high-redshift Balmer breaks, metal-poor extreme emission line galaxies, and extremely red/dusty sources,
improve stellar mass and star-formation rate density measurements at 2 < z < 10 by factors of 2-4, and
create resolved maps of stellar mass and star formation across 10 Gyr of cosmic time to model galaxy growth in two dimensions."
Epoch of Reionization
In addition to the earliest galaxies, one of Webb's biggest objectives is the detection of the first stars in the Universe. These Population III stars are believed to have been ultra-hot, massive, and short-lived, remaining in their main sequence phase for a few dozen million years. They also emitted tremendous amounts of ultraviolet radiation, which led to the "Epoch of Reionization" (EoR). Until the deployment of the JWST, this population of stars remained entirely theoretical.
This is the reason for programs like GO 7677, "Pushing the Faintest Limits: Extremely Low-Luminosity and Pop III-like Star-Forming Complexes in the Early Universe." Using the JWST's NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU), the team - led by Eros Vanzella, a First Researcher of the INAF Astrophysics and Space Science Observatory in Bologna - will observe two stars at z=5.663 and z=4.194, corresponding to distances of 11.7 billion and 11.425 billion light-years away. As they state in their proposal:
"This study will allow us to measure the metallicity of both sources and assess the presence of massive stars in such elusive systems by evaluating their ionizing photon production efficiency. These observations will expand (at least double) the sample of ultra-faint sources with these measurements which only JWST can perform, pushing the frontier of understanding toward Population III-like star formation conditions. The fortunate angular proximity of the two targets allows for simultaneous observation within the same IFU field of views."
There's also the GO 7436 program, "The Last Neutral Islands at the End of Reionization? Characterizing the Nature of the Longest Dark Gaps in IGM Transmission at z~5.3." During this cosmic epoch, ionized regions gradually grew and overlapped in the intergalactic medium. However, how and when it took place is still unknown, and placing accurate estimates is crucial to studying the formation of galaxies in the early Universe. It is led by PI Xiangyu Jin, a graduate student with the Stewart Observatory at the University of Arizona.
He and his team plan to use the JWST to observe galaxies with redshifts of around z=5.5, corresponding to distances of about 12.4 billion light-years away. At this point, roughly 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, the intergalactic medium (IGM) appears highly ionized to modern instruments, but "dark gaps" have still been observed. "These long dark gaps could be the last remaining neutral islands in the IGM at the end of a highly inhomogeneous reionization process," they propose. "If confirmed, it will have a profound impact on the physics of reionization."
To this end, they propose observations using the W. M. Keck Observatory and Webb's NIRCam. While the Keck observations will probe the Lyman-alpha emissions from roughly 230 galaxies (about 75 in the "dark gap" regions), NIRCam Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy (WFSS) will conduct redshift measurements of these galaxies. "We will also characterize the galaxy density field around long dark gaps," they added. "This joint program will allow us to directly test the ultra-late reionization model and to place robust constraints on the topology of reionization and the nature of inhomogeneous reionization."
Then there's GO 8018, titled "DIVER: Deep Insights into UV Spectroscopy at the Epoch of Reionization." Led by PI Xiaojing Lin, a graduate student with the University of Arizona Steward Observatory. , this program will build on Webb's early observations of the EoR. These revealed hard radiation fields and bursts of star formation that were sometimes accompanied by the detection of extreme conditions in the interstellar medium (ISM) and unusual chemical abundance.
According to Lin and her colleagues, high-quality rest-frame UV spectroscopy of galaxies during this period is urgently needed. The team proposes conducting a deep spectroscopic survey of over 140 galaxies in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North (GOODS-N) field at redshifts of z=5 to 9 (12.469 to 13.11 billion light years away). As the team wrote, this will establish the largest and deepest UV spectral database for EoR galaxies:
"DIVER will directly (1) clock the star formation history by determining the distribution and redshift evolution of carbon abundance and (2) probe the prevalence of extremely high electron density and its connection to bursty star formation and chemical peculiarity. DIVER will also lead to various high-profile science, including the UV demographics of AGNs and massive stellar populations, and constraining the reionization history through LyA. With great legacy values, DIVER will advance our understanding of star formation and chemical enrichment history in the early Universe, providing a crucial foundation for studies of z>10 galaxies."
Dark Matter Halos
According to the Standard Model of Cosmology - the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model - Dark Matter (DM) played a vital role in the formation of galaxies in the early Universe. In theory, DM halos (DMHs) formed from the gravitational collapse of density perturbations after the Big Bang and provided the gravitational "wells" that allowed clouds of gas to form Population III stars and the first galaxies. Like many other aspects of the early Universe, this process has remained entirely theoretical until this point.
The purpose behind the GO 7519 program, "How do dark matter halos connect with supermassive black holes and their host galaxies?" is to address the role these played in galaxy formation. Previous observations with Webb have played an important role in measuring the mass of DMHs in high-redshift quasars, but these measurements were limited to bright quasars. Per their proposal, the team will rely on NIRCam WFSS observations to identify emission lines from doubly ionized oxygen (O III) around 12 faint quasars at distances of about 12.716 billion light-years.
"In this new effort, we will measure the average DMH mass from the cross-correlation analysis of quasars and surrounding [O III] emitters and evaluate the DMH mass probability density function for individual quasars based on cosmological simulations. This program will allow us, for the first time, to obtain a quasar sample in which the black hole mass, stellar mass, and halo mass are all measured simultaneously. This sample will reveal their lifetime and the scaling relations in the early universe, underlying the SMBH growth of SMBHs over cosmic time."
For decades, astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists have had to contend with limitations on what they could see within the cosmos. Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, they were able to observe galaxies that existed about 1 billion years after the Big Bang. Thanks to missions like the COsmic microwave Background Explorer (COBE), the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), and Planck, they were able to measure the earliest light in the Universe.
Thanks to the JWST, scientists are now able to get a look at what came in between. By observing galaxies and cosmic structures as they existed shortly after the Big Bang, we may someday be able to chart cosmic evolution all the way back to the beginning of time.
Concept of the META-LUNA architecture for SPS construction / decommissioning. Credit - H Oqab et al.
Solar Power Satellite (SPS) advocates have been dreaming of using space resources to build massive constructions for decades. In-space Resource Utilization (ISRU) advocates would love to oblige them, but so far, there hasn't yet been enough development on either front to create a testable system. A research team from a company called MetaSat and the University of Glasgow hope to change that with a new plan called META-LUNA, which utilizes lunar resources to build (and recycle) a fleet of their specially designed SPS.
Let's start with that SPS. The Multi-domain Operations using Rapidly-responsive PHased Energy Universally Synchronized (MORPHEUS) SPS system is a "sandwich-type," meaning the solar panels are on one side of the satellite, the electronics to convert the electricity from solar panels into a microwave are in the middle, and the microwave transmitters are on the other side—like a sandwich.
According to the MetaSat authors of a recent paper, which was presented at the International Astronautical Congress in October, it is the first SPS system to undergo a combination of "eco-design principles" and life-cycle assessment (LCA), which is commonly used on Earth to quantity the environmental impact of a piece of technology. When they did the LCA on MORPHEUS, the authors found that the numbers didn't look good. It required significant resources to construct on the Earth and then even more resources to launch its massive bulk into space. Simply making up for the energy to get it into position to start producing its energy would take years to repay.
Reflectors are one SPS model that could provide almost unlimited energy.
So, the authors decided to take a different approach - build it out of materials already available in space - particularly on the Moon. The Moon is covered in a substance known as "regolith" down to a few meters. It consists of fragments of rocks from the Moon's surface that were blasted about by meteoroid impacts, which already created materials called "agglutinates," which are basically melted glass particles that contain an agglomeration of materials. It is also extraordinarily abrasive and can cause potential long-term health problems for humans or maintenance problems for machines.
However, it has useful materials, and META-LUNA plans to use them to build MORPHEUS power satellites automatically. The paper describes, admittedly at a very high level, the key components needed to build not only a fully autonomous manufacturing line for the various components of an SPS but also additional pieces of the factory itself, allowing it to grow over time in a way that would be familiar to John von Neumann.
Utilizing readily available materials in the regolith, like silicon and aluminum, and advanced 3D printing techniques, an autonomous factory on the Moon could, in theory, at least produce almost all of what the MORPHEUS SPS would need. It would even be capable of making its own propellant to launch the SPS components into lunar orbit.
SPS is coming - it's just a matter of time, according to Isaac Arthur. Credit - Isaac Arthur YouTube Channel
One glaring exception though, is advanced microcontrollers commonly used for control and communication. These, assumedly, would have to be made on Earth and then flown to the Moon, though there's no detailed discussion in the paper of how that would work. Luckily, microcontrollers are light, and only a few kilograms could supply significant parts for the automated factory.
Another critical factor is that the factory can recycle the SPSes themselves. The paper describes getting them back into lunar orbit by using a series of tugs that are also used to drag the original satellite from lunar orbit to Earth orbit and then disassembling them at the same on-orbit construction yard used to assemble the parts. However, the paper doesn't describe how to get the disassembled satellites back down to the surface, where they could be scavenged without causing a massive dust explosion.
The environmental modeling from this different architecture looks vastly superior to the original LCA done on the Earth-constructed MORPHEUS - which comes as no surprise as there's no environment to disturb on the Moon, and the energy cost of launching something to geostationary Earth orbit is dramatically reduced. However, there's still a long way to go before any of the technologies necessary to make it happen are available. As the authors describe, advances in robotics and AI technology bring this dream closer daily. But, the true melding of SPSes and ISRU is still a long way off.
Artist's depiction of Nighthawk flying over a volcano. Credit - D Loya & P Lee
Ingenuity proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a helicopter can operate on another planet. Over 72 flights, the little quadcopter that could captivated the imagination of space exploration fans everywhere. But, several factors limited it, and researchers at NASA think they can do better. Two papers presented at the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held March 10-14 in The Woodlands, Texas, and led by Pascal Lee of NASA Ames and Derric Loya of the SETI Institute and Colorado Mesa University, describe a use case for that still-under-development helicopter, which they call Nighthawk.
There are plenty of interesting places to explore on Mars, but one has stood out to fans of Mars exploration. Dr. Lee is undoubtedly one of those fans, as one of his roles is as the Founder of the Mars Institute, a non-profit dedicated to research on the Red Planet. The place that stands out is called Noctis Labyrinthus—the Labyrinth of the Night.
Noctis Labyrinthus is interesting for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important is its geographic location. It's sandwiched between Valles Marineris to the East and Tharsis, the giant shield volcano, to the west. One particular site, known as Noctis Landing, in the east of the region, has regularly been proposed as a potential human landing site for future crewed missions.
Fraser discusses using resources on Mars - which Noctis Labyrinthus might have a lot of.
However, the terrain of Noctis Labyrinthus is challenging, to say the least. It contains dune fields, ancient lava flows, giant boulders, and even deeper canyons. In other words, it's not somewhere a rover would be very effective at traversing.
But a helicopter would be. Landing safely in the area might be tricky, but a helicopter could soar above the fray, landing only when it found a safe spot and taking dramatic aerial pictures while doing so.
So why not just use Ingenuity or a similar class of helicopter? That is the focal point of one of the papers, and the answer is three specific reasons:
Ingenuity relies on a rover (Perseverance) to relay communications back to Earth - and rovers aren't particularly useful in Noctis Labyrinthus
Ingenuity could only reach a height of about 25 m off the ground, which is too small of a height differential to circumvent some obstacles in the region—the authors estimated 100m above the ground as a minimum.
Ingenuity wouldn't have enough thrust to fly in the less dense Martian atmosphere in the region, at least for most of the year. And it definitely wouldn't have enough to carry a 3kg payload, as the authors would want for their science mission.
Fraser discusses the life and legacy of Ingenuity - Mar's first helicopter.
That's where the NASA Mars Chopper comes in. It is being designed as a stand-alone, SUV-sized drone capable of carrying a science payload of up to 5kg up to 3km per day. That aligns much more closely with the team's science goals for Nighthawk. They expect a 3kg payload consisting of a color camera, a near-infrared one, and a neutron counter that also serves as a water detection instrument.
Nighthawk is expected to complete around a 300 km journey throughout its primary science mission. It will look for evidence of potential water deposits and study the evolution of this part of the Red Planet. A "light tone deposit," or LTD, is of particular interest near the Relict Glacier, which could hold much water closer to the equator than the known deposits near the poles.
There are already many missions that hope to utilize the Mars Chopper, though Nighthawk stands out as a very well-thought-out plan, and it already has the backing of one of NASA's premiere Mars scientists. Currently, there is no set date for the competition of the new Mars Chopper. Still, as it continues its development, mission planners will undoubtedly start looking at architectures like Nighthawk to determine where the newly designed massive drone will go first.
The European Space Agency's Hera mission flew by Mars and its lesser-known moon Deimos on March 12, 2025, for a critical gravity assist for its journey.
Credit: ESA
A European spacecraft on a journey to study NASA's asteroid crash site did a quick pop-in of Mars on its way, capturing unprecedented images of Mars' lesser-known moon, Deimos.
Mars has two moons, Phobosand Deimos, but scientists know relatively little about them, especially the smaller one, Deimos. Nearly all of the images they have of it were taken from the Martian surface by rovers, and because the moon is tidally locked— meaning one full spin matches the amount of time it takes to complete its orbit of Mars — only one side has been seen on the Red Planet.
The Hera mission spacecraft captured views of the moon's far side, swinging within 625 miles of Deimos in space.
While the car-sized spacecraft flew around the Mars system, flight controllers on Earth temporarily lost communication with Hera because the signal was blocked. Though the blackout was planned for the maneuver, Ian Carnelli, the European Space Agency's Hera mission manager, said it was deeply emotional.
"I was almost in tears. I mean, I know probably this is normal for a flight for spacecraft operators, but every time we lose contact with a spacecraft, I'm super nervous," he said during a webcast following the flyby. "Then I was running to the room where the scientists were [watching for images], and as soon as I opened the door, they were screaming — really screaming."
Among those scientists was one of the co-founders of Queen. When Brian May isn't playing guitar riffs, he is an astrophysicist. As part of Hera's science team, May brings his expertise in stereoscopic imaging. That means he helps decipher complex scientific data into 3D pictures.
During a webcast on Thursday, May described some of the topographical details of the moon already brought to life through the raw data. A depression in the city-sized moon was visible, a feature May described as a "saddle" on the left side and some little craters at the bottom.
"You feel like you're there, and you see the whole scene in front of you," he said. "The science that we get from this is colossal, and I think we're all like children."
Deimos, one of Mars' two moons, is eight miles wide and orbits about 14,600 miles away from the Red Planet.
Credit: ESA
The flyby of Mars and Deimos wasn't a detour but a necessary maneuver to put the spacecraft on the right trajectory toward its ultimate destination. Swinging within 3,100 miles of Mars, Hera used its gravity to adjust its course.
Scientists would like to understand where Deimos and its partner Phobos came from — whether they were once asteroids captured in orbit around Mars or are chunks of the planet itself, blown out by a giant impact.
NASA’s Mars Photos Reveal 'TikTok UFO': Is This Proof of Alien Life?"
CREEPY new images of the “Tic Tac UFO” have surfaced after it was spotted on Mars - causing alien fans to draw resemblance to the infamous UFO sighting.
The shocking discovery was made by the NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Cam, before the image was posted to Reddit sending space fanatics into a frenzy.
This AI enhanced image shows a Tic Tac-shaped object on Mars
Credit: NASA
The images were captured by a NASA robot on the planet
Credit: NASA
Users speculated the origin of the shape online, and many compared it to the infamous Tic Tac UFOCredit: NASA
The user said: “A Tic Tac has been spotted on Mars by the NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Mast Cam on Sol 2692 3 March 2020!
“Check out how it’s casting a shadow on the surface!”
Viewers of the post replied, comparing it to the notorious Tic Tac UFO sighting that went viral a few years ago.
One excited alien-head said: “This is exciting because it's a testable prediction. If that thing ain't there when we come back, it's f*****g aliens.
“If it is there, we either get high res images of an alien craft or the weirdest rock formation in the solar system.
“Someone tell NASA to get back out there.”
Other fans doubted the existence of a UFO sitting on Mars in this image.
One user said: “I'm a believer but this ain't it. Just a smooth rock. If it were a tic tac UFO it would be tiniest, and why is it there?”
The images showed a perfectly smooth "Tic Tac" shaped object, which due to the shading on the photo, appears to be floating above the surface of Mars.
Its colour appears to be a pale white shade, and the user uploaded an AI improved version of the image to provide greater detail.
This caused rampant speculation that this object may be a UFO, floating mid-air, potentially parked on the planet or exploring it too.
It comes after decades of growing UFO speculation, which came to a head in 2023 when the issue was discussed during congressional hearings from ex-military personnel.
Former military official and whistleblower David Grusch shared his testimony in front of the House Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs.
He made bombshell claims about an alleged UFO retrieval program that he said was hidden by the U.S. government.
Numerous reports have been released documenting various UFO sightings
Credit: DoD/US Navy
Former military official and whistleblower David Grusch made bombshell claims to Congress about the government's knowledge of UFOsCredit: Getty
Former serviceman David Fravor witnessed a "Tic Tac" space shipCredit: ABC
Other military personnel claimed that they encountered objects in the air which moved in ways they could not understand.
And around this time governments in several different countries such as Mexico revealed “dead alien corpses” which were displayed in Congress.
A groundbreaking report into UFOs was released by NASA in September 2023, in order to improve AI so it can help locate and identify alien life.
Two game changing videos released in 2019 which were reviewed in the report appeared to show three encounters between warplanes and what the navy called “unidentified aerial phenomena”.
The craft was described by one of the pilots mentioned in the report as "solid white, smooth, with no edges... uniformly coloured with no nacelles, pylons or wings", and looked like "an elongated egg or Tic Tac".
What is the "Tic Tac
The Tic Tac UFO is a mysterious flying object that U.S. pilots and experts have claimed to have witnessed over the last few decades.
The first famous sighting with footage took place off the San Diego coast in 2004, after pilots on the USS Nimitz carrier strike group detected the object.
Commander David Fravor believed it to be something beyond human technology - as it possessed extreme acceleration and no visible propulsion.
Then in 2015, pilots on the USS Roosevelt off the East Coast captured footage of unidentified moving objects.
They also showed no means of propulsion and moved at high speeds.
Speculation online has caused alien fanatics to look for more Tic Tac-shaped space paraphernalia, including a Russian military base which appeared to be a Tic Tac UFO "charging hub".
The Pentagon has also acknowledged other declassified videos of encounters, but have been unable to explain them.
Additionally, Commander Dave Fravor and Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich told of their harrowing experience off the coast of San Diego, which was documented in videos from the Navy.
While flying their plane across the ocean, the pair said they witnessed a "Tic Tac" object above white water.
In 2021, a YouTuber spotted a building on Google Earth that he likened to a Tic Tac UFO base.
Strange footage of the site showed a “charging hub” for the pods, which was later believed to have been a Russian military base.
UFOs have also been spotted in the UK, with ex-MoD investigator Nick Pope claiming that "Tic Tac UFO" clips, like the ones in the US, are being hidden by the British government.
Former US Pilot Alex Dietrich described her UFO sighting as unsettlingCredit: Alex Anne Dietrich
Former Navy pilot Chad Underwood broke his silence 15 years after spotting UFOsCredit: Chad Underwood
"Tic Tac" UFOs have also been spotted in the UKCredit: Lucy Jane Castle
Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams have spent nine months aboard the International Space Station following the failure of Boeing’s Starliner mission. Their rescue rocket has finally been launched.
The Crew-10 Dragon capsule rests atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ahead of launch.
(Image credit: SpaceX)
NASA has launched its Crew-10 mission, bringing relief to the U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who’ve been stuck aboard the International Space Station(ISS) for the last nine months — and finally allowing them to return to Earth.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:04 p.m. EDT on Friday (March 14), as part of a routine ISS staff rotation.
Riding aboard its top-mounted Dragon capsule are four astronauts: NASA’s Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, Roscosmos astronaut Kirill Peskov and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Takuya Onishi. If everything goes to plan, the capsule will dock at the ISS at 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday (March 15).
The astronauts of NASA and SpaceX's joint Crew 10 mission, (from left) Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi and Anne McClain, prepare for launch Wednesdayat the Kennedy Space Center before the voyage to the International Space Station was delayed.Show less
Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY/USA TODAY NETWORK
Wilmore and Williams arrived at the ISS as part of Boeing's first Starliner Crew Test Flight. Starliner blasted off on its inaugural crewed test flight from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5, 2024. But not long after entering orbit, a number of issues cropped up — including five helium leaks and five failures of its reaction control system (RCS) thrusters.
This caused the mission, originally slated to last as few as eight days, to drag on for more than two months before NASA announced its abandonment on Aug. 24. The Starliner capsule undocked from the ISS on Sep. 6, returning to Earth without a crew.
While awaiting the Crew-10 rotation, Wilmore and Williams have been performing a number of maintenance tasks and participating in scientific projects.
Their stay has been largely safe but not entirely without incident. On June 27, a defunct Russian satellite broke apart in orbit, sending debris toward the ISS and forcing Williams and Wilmore, along with the other seven astronauts on board, to take cover inside their respective space capsules.
Following a handover ceremony from Crew 9 to Crew 10, Wilmore and Williams, along with the NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos's Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return home aboard the docked Crew-9 capsule on March 19. The Starliner astronauts’ total time in space will amount to nearly 300 consecutive days — nowhere near the current record of 437 days set by Russian Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov in 1995, but still a long haul.
Tonight’s launch is the third attempt to launch the Crew-10 mission, the first on Wednesday (March 12) being scrubbed after a hydraulic system issue and the next on Thursday (March 13) being grounded by high winds and precipitation across the rocket’s flight path, according to NASA.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams walk at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, ahead of Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission on a UnitedLaunch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 5, 2024.Show less
Joe Skipper, REUTERS
"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short," Wilmore said during a news conference beamed back from the ISS on March 4. "That's what we do in human spaceflight. That's what your nation's human spaceflight program's all about — planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies. And we did that."
Image Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.
New research suggests that powerful supernova explosions in our cosmic neighborhood may have triggered at least two of Earth’s most devastating extinction events. These findings add weight to the theory that celestial forces have played a significant role in shaping the planet’s biological history.
Supernovae are the explosive deaths of massive stars, unleashing immense radiation and high-energy particles. If such an event occurred close enough to Earth, it could strip away the ozone layer, exposing life to lethal ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This mechanism has long been considered a possible cause of past extinction events, but a new study led by astrophysicist Alexis Quintana from the University of Alicante strengthens this link.
By analyzing the rate of supernovae in our galaxy, Quintana and his team found that their timing aligns with two of Earth’s most catastrophic mass extinctions: the Late Ordovician (445 million years ago) and the Late Devonian (372 million years ago). These periods saw the disappearance of vast numbers of species, with evidence pointing to a severe depletion of the ozone layer.
Cosmic Forensics: Tracking Past Supernovae
To test the plausibility of a supernova-driven extinction, researchers examined a census of massive OB-type stars—short-lived but incredibly energetic stars that frequently end their lives in supernova explosions. The team focused on stars within a 3,260-light-year radius of the Sun, determining that at least 24,706 OB stars exist within this range.
Using this data, they calculated that supernovae occur at a rate of 15 to 30 per million years across the Milky Way. However, for an explosion to significantly impact Earth, it must occur within about 65 light-years. Based on their findings, the researchers estimated that such close-proximity supernovae occur roughly 2.5 times per billion years—matching the timeline of the Ordovician and Devonian extinctions.
How a Nearby Supernova Could Reshape Earth’s Ecosystem
A supernova within 65 light-years would bombard Earth with cosmic rays, potentially destroying atmospheric ozone and allowing dangerous levels of UV radiation to reach the surface. This would disrupt ecosystems, severely damaging plant life and marine organisms at the base of the food chain, ultimately leading to a mass extinction.
Notably, previous research has found spikes of radioactive isotopes such as iron-60 in Earth’s geological record—an element produced in supernova explosions. These discoveries further suggest that our planet has been directly exposed to supernova debris in the past.
Should We Be Concerned About Future Supernovae?
At present, no nearby stars are poised to explode within a dangerous range. The well-known red giants Betelgeuse and Antares are approaching the end of their lifespans, but they are located hundreds of light-years away—far enough that their eventual explosions will pose no threat to Earth.
Of course, cosmic disasters aren’t the only extinction threats humanity faces. Large asteroid impacts and massive volcanic eruptions are also capable of triggering global devastation. While we have little control over these cosmic events, understanding their effects can provide deeper insight into Earth’s history and the forces that shape life.
When Earth Nearly Lost Everything: Top 5 Mass Extinctions
5 Mass Extinctions, and We're Looking at the Sixth
Using the largest digital camera in the world, Rubin Observatory will soon be ready to capture more data than any other observatory in history
Vera Rubin was a leading American astronomer who provided the first compelling evidence for the existence of dark matter and revolutionised our understanding of the cosmos. She earned the National Medal of Science in1993 and NASA honoured her legacy by naming an observatory in Chile after her. Now, the observatory named in her honour, has reached a significant milestone with the installation of the LSST Camera ahead of first light expected mid-2025.
Vera Rubin at Work, NOIRLab
(Credit : KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
The build of the camera was completed in April 2024, after which it was safely transported to Chile for installation. This 3200-megapixel device forms the centrepiece of the observatory's advanced optical system, which includes an 8.4-meter primary/tertiary mirror and a 3.5-meter secondary mirror. The installation process was complex, requiring months of testing in a clean room before using a platform lift to move the camera gently to the telescope floor. The team then used a custom made lifting device to precisely position this massive instrument on the Simonyi Survey Telescope.
Vera Rubin Observatory with the Milky Way
(Credit : NSF/AURA/B)
The installation of the camera represents the culmination of decades of design and construction work and was mounted on the telescope at Cerro Pachón in Chile in early March. It will shortly enter a period of testing before starting to capture its first images and begin the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The project is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy's Office of Science, with operations to be collaboratively managed by NSF NOIRLab and DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
The LSST Camera will undergo final testing and integration before capturing massive night sky images, each one large enough to fill 400 ultra-high-definition TV screens. As someone who has dabbled in astronomical imaging, one decent UHD screen full of an image is impressive but 400! I cannot wait for the first image to be released at a ‘First Look’ event later this year.
LSST Camera Project Manager Travis Lange praised the diverse team behind the world's largest camera, highlighting their incredible achievement, “It has been a treat to watch the biggest camera the world has ever seen being built by such a talented group of people with such a wide range of backgrounds.” He continued “It’s a wonderful example of what teams of scientists and engineers can accomplish when they are called upon to do what has never been done before.”
NASA's Punch and SPHEREx Missions Safely Blast Off
NASA's Punch and SPHEREx Missions Safely Blast Off
By Mark Thompson
Four small suitcase-sized spacecraft, designed and built by Southwest Research Institute headquartered in San Antonio, launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on March 11. NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH, constellation has deployed. When it reaches final configuration in low Earth orbit, it will provide a clear view in all directions for its two-year primary mission.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 is a reusable two-stage orbital launch vehicle that has revolutionised launches into orbit. Standing at 70 meters tall with a diameter of 3.7 meters, it can carry payloads of up to 22,800 kg to low Earth orbit and 8,300 kg to geostationary transfer orbit. Its most recent launch powered off the launchpad at 8:10 p.m. PDT on March 11th taking two separate missions into space.
A Falcon 9 night launch
(Credit : Space X)
NASA's SPHEREx observatory was one of the missions on board the Falcon 9 and its objective is to investigate the universe's origins, galaxy evolution, and search for life-supporting molecules within our galaxy. Its name stands for "Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer,” really quite the mouthful so I can see why it’s been shortened to SPHEREx! Sharing the same launch were four small satellites making up NASA's PUNCH mission, the ‘Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere,’ and its objective is to study the transformation of the Sun's outer atmosphere into the solar wind.
The SPHEREx and PUNCH missions will both operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit along Earth's day-night boundary. This keeps the Sun at a constant position relative to the spacecraft making observations far easier for PUNCH and so that SPHEREx is shielded from solar interference. After launch, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully made contact with SPHEREx at 9:31 p.m. PDT, following which there will be a one-month checkout period before its two-year mission. The four PUNCH satellites separated from the rocket about 53 minutes after launch, with ground controllers confirming communication with all spacecraft. PUNCH now enters a 90-day commissioning phase before beginning scientific operations to study the solar wind.
Artist impression of SPHEREx
(Credit : NASA/JPL)
SPHEREx mission is to create complete 3D maps of the sky every six months to complement NASA's more detailed but narrower-view from telescopes like Webb and Hubble. Using spectroscopy, it will measure distances to a whopping 450 million galaxies, providing insights into the inflationary period of the Universe that occurred shortly after the Big Bang. It will also measure the collective glow from all galaxies across the sky to reveal new information about galaxy formation and evolution.
The PUNCH mission on the other hand will conduct three-dimensional observations of the Sun's corona and the inner Solar System to investigate how solar material ejected from the Sun transforms into the solar wind.
Artists impression of one of the four PUNCH satellites
(Credit : NASA)
It will also study the formation and evolution of phenomena like coronal mass ejections, which can create dangerous levels of radiation affecting spacecraft and astronauts in orbit. Understanding more about stellar wind production and the development of hazardous space weather events helps to understand how it impacts our planet but will also highlight that interplanetary space is not empty but filled with solar wind that interacts with our planet.
NASA’s Perseverance took two drill-core samples from the rock nicknamed "Rochette" on Mars, Sept. 7, 2021. Plans for returning these and other Martian samples to Earth are unclear, but it will likely happen in the next decade. How can we be sure these samples don’t host Martian microbes? Image Credit: NASA
Many sci-fi plots revolve around alien life reaching Earth and causing problems. In "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," alien pods arrive on Earth and replace humans. In "The Thing," a shape-shifting alien creature takes over an Antarctic research base and begins killing people. While frightening and titillating, these are easily dismissed as highly unlikely.
However, in "Life," a single-celled alien life form arrives in a Mars sample and rapidly evolves into a dangerous hostile creature. While rapid evolution seems unlikely, the premise isn't far-fetched: Mars samples could host microbial life and must be handled carefully.
A mission will likely return Martian samples to Earth in the next decade or so. Scientists hope that those samples will provide conclusive evidence of life on Mars when they arrive. But what if the samples contain actual, extant life? It could be disastrous if Martian life came into contact with Earth.
That's why we need to be sure if anything is alive in those samples. A team of researchers are developing stringent techniques to scan these samples and determine if they contain anything living.
"It’s an exciting time to work in this field. It might only be a matter of years before we can finally answer one of the greatest questions ever asked." - Yohey Suzuki, University of Tokyo
"For near-future missions planned for Mars Sample Return (MSR), an international working group organized by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) developed the sample safety assessment framework (SSAF)," the authors explain in their paper. "To prepare for MSR, analytical instruments of high sensitivity need to be tested on effective Mars analogue materials."
The eventual Mars Sample Return mission is classified by COSPAR as a 'Category V restricted Earth return'. That means that any unsterilized samples must be kept strictly contained and subjected to only the most sensitive analytic techniques. To advance this, the sample safety assessment framework (SSAF) was developed.
"The SSAF targets living organisms, their resting states (e.g. spores, cysts), or their remains in Martian materials," Suzuki and his co-authors explain in their research. "The tentative level of safety assurance is a risk value of 1 in a million chance of failing to detect life if it is present." The only way to approach this level of assurance is to study Earthly analogues of Martian rocks.
Earth and Mars are wildly different planets in many ways, but they're similar in their bulk compositions. They share major compositional elements like oxygen, silicon, iron, and magnesium. They also share silicate minerals like olivine and clay minerals like smectites, though Earth has greater mineral complexity. This points out that finding Earthly analogues for Mars sample materials isn't an overwhelming challenge.
Suzuki and his colleagues chose basalt as their Mars analogue in their research. Basalt is common in both worlds and is known to host microbial life on Earth. Perseverance has already sampled basalt on the floor of the Jezero crater. "Two basalt samples with aqueous alteration cached in Jezero crater by the Perseverance rover are planned to be returned to Earth," the researchers write.
The Maaz formation on the floor of Jezero Crater is rich in basaltic lava, and the Perseverance Rover has already collected samples from the formation for return to Earth.
Image Credit: Udry et al. 2023.
In previous research, the researchers developed techniques to examine basalt and detect microbial life. These techniques were based on nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The authors write that these methods "revealed microbial colonization at clay-filled fractures." However, these methods are destructive testing methods. When your samples come from a different planet that spends most of its time almost 150 million km. away, they're not easily replaced and must be handled carefully.
In this new research, Suzuki and his co-researchers worked on non-destructive testing methods. They focused on Optical-photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique with a higher spatial resolution. O-PTIR is a relatively new and powerful analytical technique. It exploits the fact that when a sample absorbs light, it heats up, changing its refractive qualities. As an added bonus, O-PTIR requires only minimal sample preparation.
"We first tested conventional analytical instruments, but none could detect microbial cells in the 100-million-year-old basalt rock we use as the Martian analogue. So, we had to find an instrument sensitive enough to detect microbial cells, and ideally in a nondestructive way, given the rarity of the samples we may soon see," said lead author Suzuki in a press release. "We came up with optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy, which succeeded where other techniques either lacked precision or required too much destruction of the samples."
While not ground up or otherwise destroyed in other methods, samples for O-PTIR must have their outer layers removed and be sliced into pieces only 100 μm thick. While this changes the sample, it leaves plenty of material intact and available for other analytical methods and tools, even ones that have yet to be developed. O-PTIR has a resolution of 0.5 μm, high enough to discern when a sample contains living tissue.
The authors report that their analysis of clay-filled fractures in Earthly basalt delivered "in-situ spectra diagnostic to microbial cells, consistent with our previously published data obtained by NanoSIMS."
These are photographs of a nontronite-bearing fracture in a thin section of the rock core interior (a–c) with increasing magnification. Pink and blue points represent the mineral smectite and peptides indicating microbial cells, respectively. d and e are Intensity maps of optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectra in a region highlighted with a yellow square in the three photographs. On the right are duplicate O-PTIR spectra of the pink points (bottom two lines) and cultured Archaea, Bacteria, and LR White Resin. There are similar signals in all of the spectra for Amides I and II, indicating microbial cells.
Image Credit: Suzuki et al. 2025.
"We demonstrated our new method can detect microbes from 100-million-year-old basalt rock. But we need to extend the validity of the instrument to older basalt rock, around 2 billion years old, similar to those the Perseverance rover on Mars has already sampled," said Suzuki. "I also need to test other rock types such as carbonates, which are common on Mars and here on Earth often contain life as well. It’s an exciting time to work in this field. It might only be a matter of years before we can finally answer one of the greatest questions ever asked."
Spookachtige Ontmoetingen met de Schaduw Mensen-Shadow People
Spookachtige Ontmoetingen met de Schaduw Mensen-Shadow People
Fenomenen die we associëren met het bovennatuurlijke hebben de menselijke verbeelding altijd gefascineerd. Een van de meest intrigerende en ongrijpbare verschijnselen zijn de zogenaamde "shadow people". Deze schaduwachtige figuren worden vaak beschreven in verschillende culturen en tijdperken, en hun verschijning roept een scala aan vragen op over de aard van de werkelijkheid, de menselijke psyche en de grenzen van ons begrip van het bovennatuurlijke. Dit essay zal de verschillende aspecten van ontmoetingen met schaduwfiguren onderzoeken, inclusief de culturele context, psychologische verklaringen, en de impact van deze ervaringen op de mensen die ze ondergaan.
Hoofdstuk 1: Wat zijn Shadow People?
Shadow people worden doorgaans omschreven als donkere, schaduwachtige figuren die vaak in de periferie van het gezichtsveld worden waargenomen. Ze verschijnen meestal als menselijke vormen, maar de details van deze figuren zijn vaak vaag of niet te onderscheiden. De meeste getuigen beschrijven de ervaring als beangstigend of ongemakkelijk, wat aangeeft dat deze ontmoetingen vaak een aanzienlijke emotionele impact hebben. In dit hoofdstuk zullen we verder ingaan op de definities, verschijning, historische context en de verschillende interpretaties van shadow people.
What are Shadow People?
1.1 Definitie en Verschijning
Shadow people worden vaak beschouwd als een type geest of entiteit, maar hun exacte aard blijft onderwerp van veel discussie. Sommige gelovigen beschouwen hen als interdimensionale wezens die ons kunnen observeren zonder dat wij hen kunnen zien. Anderen geloven dat ze representaties zijn van negatieve energie, trauma of zelfs demonen die zich manifesteren in de vorm van schaduwachtige figuren. De meeste beschrijvingen van shadow people benadrukken hun snelle beweging en hun vermogen om zich te verbergen in schaduwen, wat bijdraagt aan de mystiek rondom hun bestaan.
Bij het onderzoeken van hun verschijning valt op dat shadow people vaak worden gezien in situaties van stress, angst of vermoeidheid. Dit roept de vraag op of deze ervaringen misschien een psychologische oorsprong hebben. Wetenschappers hebben gesuggereerd dat de visuele waarneming van schaduwachtige figuren kan worden verklaard door de manier waarop ons brein omgaat met visuele informatie in omstandigheden van vermoeidheid of stress. De zogenaamde "pareidolie" – de neiging van ons brein om betekenisvolle patronen te herkennen in willekeurige stimuli – kan ook een rol spelen in deze ervaringen. Het zou kunnen dat ons brein de schaduwen interpreteert als menselijke figuren vanwege een aangeboren instinct om bedreigingen te herkennen.
1.2 Historische Context
Het idee van schaduwachtige figuren is niet nieuw. In de geschiedenis zijn er talloze verslagen van soortgelijke verschijnselen. Oude teksten en legendes uit verschillende culturen vermelden vaak schaduwen of geesten die mensen achtervolgen. Bijvoorbeeld, in het oude Egypte werden schaduwen vaak geassocieerd met de ziel en het hiernamaals. De Egyptenaren geloofden dat de schaduw een belangrijk onderdeel van de ziel was en dat het een zekere bescherming bood tegen de gevaren van de onderwereld.
In de middeleeuwen werden schaduwachtige figuren vaak gezien als boodschappers van de dood of als voorboden van onheil. In sommige culturen werden ze zelfs beschouwd als demonen of kwaadaardige entiteiten die de mensheid probeerden te beïnvloeden. Dit historische perspectief helpt om een beter begrip te krijgen van de moderne interpretaties van shadow people. De thema's van angst, onverklaarbare verschijnselen en het onbekende zijn diep geworteld in de menselijke geschiedenis en cultuur.
1.3 Psychologische en Fysiologische Verklaringen
Naast culturele en historische contexten zijn er ook psychologische en fysiologische verklaringen voor de ervaringen met shadow people. Onderzoek naar slaapstoornissen zoals slaapverlamming heeft aangetoond dat mensen tijdens deze episodes vaak worden geconfronteerd met visuele hallucinaties, waaronder het zien van schaduwachtige figuren. Slaapverlamming treedt op wanneer iemand zich bewust is van zijn omgeving maar niet in staat is om te bewegen of te spreken. Tijdens deze toestand kunnen mensen een overweldigend gevoel van angst ervaren, vaak vergezeld van de indruk dat er een aanwezigheid in de kamer is.
Bovendien kunnen stress en angst ook leiden tot visuele en auditieve hallucinaties. Wanneer iemand onder intense druk staat, kan het brein beginnen te 'spelen' met perceptie, wat resulteert in het zien van schaduwen of het horen van stemmen. Dit fenomeen is niet uniek voor shadow people, maar kan ook voorkomen bij andere vormen van psychoses of hallucinaties.
1.4 Culturele Interpretaties en Folklore
In verschillende culturen zijn er unieke interpretaties van shadow people die vaak samenhangen met folklore en mythologie. In sommige Afro-Amerikaanse tradities worden shadow people gezien als "the Hat Man", een sinistere figuur die vaak een hoed draagt en wordt geassocieerd met negatieve ervaringen en dromen. Deze culturele interpretaties tonen aan dat de betekenis van shadow people kan variëren afhankelijk van de sociale en culturele context waarin ze worden ervaren.
In de populaire cultuur zijn shadow people steeds vaker te zien in films, boeken en televisieprogramma's, wat bijdraagt aan hun mystiek. Deze representaties helpen de angst en fascinatie die mensen voelen voor deze figuren te voeden. Het gebruik van shadow people in de moderne media kan ook een reflectie zijn van onze diepgewortelde angsten en zorgen over het onbekende en het bovennatuurlijke.
1.5 Het Onderzoek naar Shadow People
Er zijn verschillende onderzoeken gedaan naar de ervaringen van mensen met shadow people. Sociologen en psychologen hebben geprobeerd om de verhalen van getuigen te verzamelen en te analyseren om patronen en gemeenschappelijke elementen te identificeren. Veel van deze studies benadrukken de subjectieve aard van de ervaring. Hoewel er geen wetenschappelijk bewijs is dat de aanwezigheid van shadow people bevestigt, zijn de psychologische en emotionele impact van deze ontmoetingen reëel voor de betrokkenen.
De discrepantie tussen persoonlijke ervaringen en wetenschappelijk bewijs heeft geleid tot een groeiende interesse in het onderwerp. Dit heeft geleid tot een opkomst van amateuronderzoekers en paranormal investigators die beweren dat ze deze fenomenen kunnen vastleggen of verklaren. Het gebruik van technologie, zoals camera's en opnametoestellen, wordt vaak ingezet in de hoop bewijs te vinden van het bestaan van shadow people. Tot nu toe blijft het echter een onderwerp van speculatie en debat.
Conclusie
Shadow people zijn een fascinerend onderwerp dat zowel psychologische als culturele dimensies omvat. De ervaringen van mensen met deze schaduwachtige figuren zijn vaak beladen met emotionele impact en zijn geworteld in een lange geschiedenis van folklore en mythologie. Terwijl de wetenschappelijke gemeenschap blijft zoeken naar rationele verklaringen voor deze fenomenen, blijft de aantrekkingskracht van shadow people bestaan. De combinatie van angst, mysterie en het onbekende blijft mensen intrigeren en aanzetten tot verder onderzoek naar deze intrigerende verschijnselen. In de volgende hoofdstukken zullen we dieper ingaan op de verschillende ervaringen, verklaringen en de mogelijke implicaties van het bestaan van shadow people.
Who are the Shadow People?
Hoofdstuk 2: Persoonlijke Getuigenissen
Een van de meest overtuigende manieren om het fenomeen van schaduwfiguren te begrijpen, is door persoonlijke getuigenissen te analyseren. Veel mensen die beweren een ontmoeting te hebben gehad met deze figuren, delen vergelijkbare ervaringen, ondanks dat ze uit verschillende achtergronden komen. Dit hoofdstuk onderzoekt de psychologische en culturele aspecten van deze getuigenissen, en biedt een wetenschappelijke onderbouwing voor de fenomenen die worden waargenomen.
2.1 Het gevoel van Angst
Bijna alle getuigen beschrijven een overweldigend gevoel van angst of dreiging tijdens hun ervaring. Dit gevoel is vaak zo intens dat het hen in staat stelt om zich de gebeurtenis levendig te herinneren, zelfs jaren later. Het fenomeen van een sterke emotionele reactie kan worden verklaard door de werking van de amygdala, een hersengebied dat betrokken is bij de verwerking van emoties, met name angst. Onderzoekers hebben aangetoond dat de amygdala bijzonder gevoelig is voor bedreigende stimuli, wat kan verklaren waarom mensen een acute angst ervaren in de aanwezigheid van schaduwfiguren.
Bovendien kan de ervaring van angst worden versterkt door de context waarin deze ontmoetingen plaatsvinden. Veel getuigen rapporteren dat ze de schaduwen waarnemen in situaties waarin ze zich al kwetsbaar of angstig voelen, zoals in het donker of tijdens een periode van stress. Dit wijst op een mogelijk verband tussen emotionele toestanden en de perceptie van deze figuren. Psychologen zoals Dr. David Feeling hebben gesuggereerd dat de cognitieve dissonantie die ontstaat wanneer mensen onverklaarbare ervaringen tegenkomen, kan leiden tot een nog sterkere emotionele reactie. Het is dus niet alleen de schaduw zelf die angst oproept, maar ook de onverklaarbaarheid van de ervaring.
2.2 Variatie in Ervaringen
Hoewel veel getuigen vergelijkbare gevoelens rapporteren, zijn er ook significante variaties in de ervaringen. Sommigen beschrijven de schaduwen als onschuldig of zelfs hulpvaardig, terwijl anderen ze als kwaadaardig beschouwen. Deze verschillen kunnen deels verklaard worden door de persoonlijke context van de getuige, zoals hun culturele achtergrond, geloofssysteem en mentale gezondheid.
Culturele verschillen spelen een cruciale rol in de interpretatie van deze ervaringen. In sommige culturen worden schaduwfiguren gezien als beschermgeesten of spirituele gidsen, terwijl ze in andere tradities worden beschouwd als kwaadaardige entiteiten. Dit kan worden ondersteund door de theorie van sociale constructie, die stelt dat onze realiteit en ervaringen sterk worden beïnvloed door culturele en sociale contexten. Zo kan iemand die in een cultuur opgroeit waar spirituele verschijnselen als normaal worden beschouwd, eerder geneigd zijn om een schaduwfiguur te interpreteren als een positieve aanwezigheid.
Daarnaast kan de mentale gezondheid van de getuige een belangrijke factor zijn. Onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat mensen met bepaalde psychische aandoeningen, zoals angststoornissen of schizofrenie, gevoeliger kunnen zijn voor visuele en auditieve hallucinaties. Dit kan verklaren waarom sommige mensen schaduwfiguren ervaren als bedreigend, terwijl anderen ze als neutraal of zelfs behulpzaam beschouwen. De rol van psychologische predispositie in de perceptie van deze ervaringen is een belangrijk gebied voor verder onderzoek.
2.3 Het Belang van Context
De context waarin de ontmoetingen plaatsvinden, is ook essentieel voor het begrijpen van de variatie in ervaringen. Veel getuigen melden dat ze schaduwfiguren zagen tijdens perioden van slaapstoornissen, zoals slaapverlamming of nachtmerries. Dit kan wijzen op een neurologisch mechanisme waarbij de hersenen tijdens overgangstoestanden tussen slapen en waken hallucinaties kunnen produceren. Studies hebben aangetoond dat tijdens slaapverlamming de amygdala hyperactief kan zijn, wat de angstreactie versterkt en de kans op het waarnemen van schaduwfiguren vergroot.
Bovendien kan de omgeving waarin de getuigen zich bevinden, de ervaring beïnvloeden. Donkere, afgesloten ruimtes zoals slaapkamers of kelders zijn vaak de locaties waar deze ontmoetingen plaatsvinden. Dit kan te maken hebben met de menselijke neiging om bedreigingen te associëren met duistere omgevingen, wat een evolutionaire basis heeft. Onze voorouders moesten alert zijn op roofdieren en andere gevaren in het donker, wat een diepgeworteld instinct heeft gevormd dat ook tegenwoordig nog invloed heeft op onze percepties.
Conclusie
Persoonlijke getuigenissen over schaduwfiguren bieden een fascinerende inkijk in de complexe interactie tussen psychologische, culturele en neurologische factoren. De variatie in ervaringen en de overweldigende angst die vaak wordt gerapporteerd, benadrukken de noodzaak voor een multidisciplinaire benadering bij het bestuderen van dit fenomeen. Toekomstig onderzoek zou zich kunnen richten op het integreren van psychologische, culturele en neurologische inzichten om een vollediger begrip van schaduwfiguren te ontwikkelen. Door deze ervaringen serieus te nemen en de context waarin ze zich voordoen te onderzoeken, kunnen we mogelijk meer leren over de menselijke psyche en de manieren waarop we omgaan met het onbekende.
Hoofdstuk 3: Psychologische Uitleg
De ervaringen met shadow people kunnen vanuit verschillende psychologische invalshoeken worden verklaard. Het onderzoeken van deze verklaringen kan ons helpen om beter te begrijpen waarom zoveel mensen deze ontmoetingen rapporteren. In dit hoofdstuk zullen we enkele belangrijke psychologische theorieën en concepten bespreken die kunnen bijdragen aan het begrip van deze fenomenen.
3.1 Bijna-doodervaringen en slaapparalyse
Sommige onderzoekers wijzen op de overlap tussen ontmoetingen met shadow people en ervaringen zoals bijna-doodervaringen of slaapparalyse. Bijna-doodervaringen (BDE's) zijn vaak intense en soms spirituele ervaringen die mensen rapporteren na een levensbedreigende situatie. Deze ervaringen kunnen onder andere het gevoel van een "licht zien", een gevoel van loskomen van het lichaam en het ontmoeten van overleden personen omvatten. Onderzoekers zoals Dr. Bruce Greyson hebben gesuggereerd dat BDE's kunnen worden verklaard door fysiologische en psychologische factoren, zoals zuurstoftekort, chemische veranderingen in de hersenen en de invloed van cultuur op de interpretatie van de ervaring.
Slaapparalyse daarentegen is een fenomeen waarbij een persoon zich bewust is van zijn of haar omgeving, maar tijdelijk niet in staat is om te bewegen of te spreken. Dit gebeurt vaak tijdens de overgang van de slaap naar de waaktoestand. Tijdens deze episodes kunnen hallucinaties optreden, waaronder de waarneming van schaduwachtige figuren. Studies tonen aan dat ongeveer 8% van de bevolking ooit slaapparalyse heeft ervaren, en dat de bijbehorende hallucinaties vaak worden gekarakteriseerd door een gevoel van dreiging of een aanwezigheid in de kamer. Dit biedt een mogelijke verklaring voor sommige ontmoetingen met shadow people, waarbij de angst en de onmogelijkheid om te bewegen bijdragen aan de ervaring van schaduwachtige figuren.
3.2 De rol van de verbeelding
Onze geest is krachtig en kan ons voor de gek houden. De verbeelding kan een belangrijke rol spelen in het creëren van ervaringen die als reëel worden ervaren. Dit legt de basis voor de mogelijkheid dat mensen schaduwfiguren waarnemen als een projectie van hun eigen angsten en zorgen. Psychologen zoals Sigmund Freud hebben benadrukt hoe onbewuste gedachten en verlangens onze perceptie van de werkelijkheid kunnen beïnvloeden. De schaduwfiguren kunnen symbolisch zijn voor onverwerkte emotionele trauma's of angsten die in de onderbewuste geest leven.
Cognitieve psychologie biedt ook inzicht in hoe onze gedachten en overtuigingen de manier waarop we de wereld om ons heen interpreteren kunnen vormen. Het concept van cognitieve dissonantie, geïntroduceerd door Leon Festinger, suggereert dat wanneer mensen geconfronteerd worden met informatie die in strijd is met hun bestaande overtuigingen of ervaringen, ze een innerlijke spanning ervaren. Dit kan leiden tot de creatie van alternatieve verklaringen of zelfs hallucinaties als een manier om deze spanning te verlichten. Wanneer individuen bijvoorbeeld geloven dat ze in een onveilige omgeving zijn, kan hun geest schaduwfiguren creëren die deze angst weerspiegelen.
3.3 Culturele invloeden en sociale context
Culturele context speelt ook een cruciale rol in hoe mensen ervaringen met shadow people interpreteren. Verschillende culturen hebben unieke mythologieën en verhalen over schaduwachtige entiteiten. In sommige tradities worden deze figuren gezien als boze geesten of demonische entiteiten, terwijl ze in andere culturen misschien worden beschouwd als beschermengelen of spirituele gidsen. De manier waarop mensen deze ervaringen interpreteren, kan sterk worden beïnvloed door de culturele en sociale normen waarin ze zich bevinden. Onderzoek naar cultureel bepaalde ervaringen, zoals die van de 'jinn' in de Arabische wereld of 'demonen' in westerse samenlevingen, laat zien hoe collectieve overtuigingen de individuele perceptie van schaduwfiguren kunnen beïnvloeden.
Bovendien kan de sociale context van een individu ook bijdragen aan hun ervaringen met shadow people. Sociale angst, isolatie en stress kunnen de gevoeligheid voor dergelijke hallucinaties verhogen. Studies hebben aangetoond dat mensen die zich in stressvolle of geïsoleerde situaties bevinden, meer kans hebben om hallucinaties te ervaren, waaronder het waarnemen van schaduwachtige figuren. Dit wijst op de mogelijkheid dat de sociale en emotionele toestand van een individu een significante rol speelt in hun ervaringen.
3.4 Neurobiologische factoren
Tot slot is het belangrijk om de neurobiologische basis van ervaringen met shadow people te overwegen. Onderzoek naar de hersenen heeft aangetoond dat bepaalde gebieden, zoals de temporale kwabben, betrokken zijn bij het verwerken van visuele informatie en het creëren van perceptuele ervaringen. Neurowetenschappelijk onderzoek heeft ook aangetoond dat hallucinaties kunnen optreden als gevolg van ongewone activiteit in deze hersengebieden. Dit suggereert dat de waarneming van schaduwfiguren mogelijk kan worden verklaard door verstoringen in de normale werking van de hersenen.
Bovendien kunnen neurochemische factoren, zoals de afgifte van neurotransmitters zoals dopamine en serotonine, ook een rol spelen in het ontstaan van hallucinaties. Sommige studies hebben aangetoond dat een onevenwicht in deze chemicaliën kan leiden tot veranderingen in de perceptie van de werkelijkheid, wat zou kunnen verklaren waarom sommige mensen vaker schaduwfiguren waarnemen dan anderen.
In conclusie, de ervaringen met shadow people kunnen vanuit verschillende psychologische, culturele en neurobiologische perspectieven worden begrepen. Door deze invalshoeken te verkennen, kunnen we een completer beeld krijgen van de complexe dynamiek die ten grondslag ligt aan deze fascinerende, maar vaak angstaanjagende ervaringen. Het verder onderzoeken van deze fenomenen kan niet alleen bijdragen aan ons begrip van de menselijke geest, maar ook aan de manieren waarop we omgaan met angst en het onbekende.
AMONG THE SHADOWS | shadow people horror film
Hoofdstuk 4: Culturele Interpretaties
De interpretatie van schaduwfiguren varieert sterk tussen verschillende culturen. Dit hoofdstuk onderzoekt hoe verschillende samenlevingen deze verschijnselen begrijpen en betekenis geven.
4.1 Westers versus Oosters Perspectief
In westerse culturen worden 'shadow people' vaak gezien als kwaadaardige entiteiten. Deze schaduwfiguren worden vaak geassocieerd met angst, onheil en zelfs demonische activiteiten. Dit negatieve beeld is diepgeworteld in de geschiedenis van het westen, waar schaduwen en duisternis vaak geassocieerd worden met het onbekende en het gevaarlijke. Psychologen wijzen op de rol van de christelijke traditie, waarin duisternis vaak werd geassocieerd met zonden en het kwaad. Schaduwfiguren worden soms gezien als manifestaties van angsten of traumatische ervaringen, waarbij ze de innerlijke strijd van individuen weerspiegelen. De schaduw wordt in deze context een symbool van wat men probeert te ontvluchten of te onderdrukken.
In tegenstelling tot deze vaak negatieve perceptie, worden schaduwfiguren in oosterse culturen soms gezien als beschermers of gidsen. In veel Aziatische tradities, zoals het boeddhisme en het taoïsme, is er een bredere en meer veelzijdige kijk op de schaduw. Deze culturen beschouwen schaduwfiguren soms als spirituele entiteiten die een rol spelen in de begeleiding van de ziel, of als deugdzame wezens die de mensheid helpen om de juiste weg te vinden. Dit verschil in perceptie kan voortkomen uit de verschillende opvattingen over leven, dood en het hiernamaals. In veel oosterse filosofieën is er een sterke nadruk op de cyclicaliteit van het leven en de verbinding tussen deze wereld en het hiernamaals. Schaduwfiguren worden soms gezien als een brug tussen deze werelden, wat hun rol als begeleiders versterkt.
4.2 Folklore en Mythologie
Verschillende folklore en mythologieën bevatten verhalen over schaduwachtige wezens. Deze verhalen bieden inzicht in hoe schaduwen en duisternis zijn geïnterpreteerd door de eeuwen heen en hoe deze interpretaties zijn geëvolueerd. In de Europese folklore bijvoorbeeld, zijn er talloze verhalen over 'schaduwgeesten' die mensen in de nacht bezoeken. Vaak worden ze afgebeeld als figuren die waarschuwen voor gevaar of die de zonden van de levenden komen afrekenen. De Schotse 'Banshee' en de Ierse 'Dullahan' zijn voorbeelden van schaduwwezens die zowel angst als waarschuwing vertegenwoordigen.
In de Afrikaanse tradities zijn schaduwfiguren soms verbonden met de voorouders en worden ze gezien als boodschappers van wijsheid en bescherming. In sommige culturen wordt geloofd dat de schaduw van een persoon hun ziel vertegenwoordigt; als deze schaduw wordt aangeraakt door een kwaadwillende geest, kan dat leiden tot ziekte of andere onheil. Dit laat zien hoe schaduwen niet alleen een fysieke manifestatie zijn, maar ook een spirituele betekenis hebben die diepgeworteld is in de cultuur.
In de Japanse folklore zijn er schaduwachtige wezens zoals de 'Yurei', de geesten van de overledenen die vaak worden afgebeeld als figuren met een schimmig uiterlijk. Deze geesten zijn vaak verbonden met onvervulde wensen of onverwerkte emoties. De interpretatie van deze schaduwfiguren biedt inzicht in de Japanse opvatting van de dood en het hiernamaals, waar de schaduw van de overledene een voortzetting van hun leven in een andere vorm vertegenwoordigt.
De evolutie van deze verhalen en interpretaties is belangrijk om te begrijpen hoe culturen omgaan met de concepten van leven en dood. De schaduwfiguren fungeren niet alleen als een reflectie van de angsten van de samenleving, maar ook als een venster naar de waarden en overtuigingen van die cultuur. De verhalen over schaduwfiguren blijven zich ontwikkelen en kunnen invloed hebben op de manier waarop mensen hun eigen ervaringen met de schaduw begrijpen.
4.3 Psychologische Aspecten
Naast culturele en mythologische interpretaties zijn er ook psychologische factoren die de manier waarop schaduwfiguren worden waargenomen beïnvloeden. Onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat schaduwfiguren vaak worden waargenomen in situaties van stress, angst of slaapgebrek. De angst voor het onbekende speelt hierbij een cruciale rol. In de psychologie wordt deze ervaring vaak gekoppeld aan de "pareidolia", de neiging van de mens om betekenis te geven aan vage of onduidelijke stimuli. Mensen zien in schaduwfiguren vaak de projectie van hun eigen angsten en twijfels.
De psychologische impact van schaduwfiguren kan ook variëren afhankelijk van de culturele achtergrond van de waarnemer. In westerse samenlevingen, waar de nadruk vaak ligt op individualisme en persoonlijke strijd, kunnen schaduwfiguren als bedreigend worden ervaren. In contrast hiermee kunnen mensen uit collectivistische culturen, waar de nadruk ligt op gemeenschap en verbinding met het verleden, schaduwfiguren zien als een bron van ondersteuning en begeleiding.
Conclusie
De interpretatie van schaduwfiguren is een complex fenomeen dat sterk afhankelijk is van culturele contexten en psychologische factoren. Terwijl westerse culturen vaak een kwaadaardig beeld van deze figuren schetsen, kunnen oosterse culturen ze beschouwen als beschermende entiteiten. Door het bestuderen van folklore en mythologieën kunnen we inzicht krijgen in de diepere betekenissen die aan schaduwfiguren worden gegeven en hoe deze verhalen de waarden en angsten van samenlevingen weerspiegelen. De interactie tussen cultuur en psychologie blijft essentieel om de diverse ervaringen rondom schaduwfiguren te begrijpen.
Hoofdstuk 5: De Impact van Shadow People op de Samenleving
De impact van ontmoetingen met shadow people reikt verder dan individuele ervaringen. Dit hoofdstuk onderzoekt hoe deze verschijnselen invloed hebben op de bredere samenleving.
5.1 Het Effect op de Geestelijke Gezondheid
Voor sommige mensen kunnen ontmoetingen met shadow people leiden tot angststoornissen, slapeloosheid, en andere geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen. Het is belangrijk om de psychologische impact van dergelijke ervaringen serieus te nemen en adequate ondersteuning te bieden aan mensen die deze ervaringen hebben gehad. Onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat het ervaren van onverklaarbare verschijnselen, zoals het zien van schaduwachtige figuren, vaak gepaard gaat met verhoogde niveaus van stress en angst. Dit kan leiden tot een vicieuze cirkel waarbij de angst voor verdere ervaringen de mentale gezondheid verder onder druk zet (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2014).
Studies hebben aangetoond dat mensen die regelmatig deze verschijnselen ervaren, vaak worstelen met gevoelens van isolatie en onbegrip, vooral wanneer ze met hun ervaringen naar buiten komen. De maatschappij is in veel gevallen nog steeds sceptisch over het bestaan van dergelijke fenomenen, waardoor slachtoffers zich kunnen terugtrekken en hun ervaringen verbergen. Dit gebrek aan sociale steun kan de geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen verergeren (Whaley, 2018).
Daarnaast kan de interactie met geestelijke gezondheidsprofessionals die niet goed geïnformeerd zijn over het fenomeen van shadow people leiden tot een verdere verergering van de situatie. Het is cruciaal dat therapeuten en psychologen zich bewust zijn van het fenomeen en de mogelijke impact ervan op de geestelijke gezondheid van hun cliënten. Dit kan hen helpen om effectievere behandelingsstrategieën te ontwikkelen die rekening houden met zowel de psychologische als de sociale dimensies van deze ervaringen (Kendler, 2017).
5.2 De rol van media en populaire cultuur
De populariteit van het fenomeen shadow people in de media en populaire cultuur heeft ook invloed op hoe mensen deze ervaringen interpreteren. Films, boeken en televisieprogramma's hebben bijgedragen aan de verspreiding van het idee van shadow people, wat op zijn beurt de ervaringen van mensen kan beïnvloeden. De representatie van shadow people in media kan variëren van angstaanjagende figuren tot meer neutrale of zelfs humoristische weergaven. Dit kan de perceptie van het fenomeen en de reacties van individuen op hun eigen ervaringen beïnvloeden (Jenkins, 2019).
Een belangrijke factor is de manier waarop media de angst en mysterie rondom shadow people uitbuiten. Dit kan ertoe leiden dat mensen die soortgelijke ervaringen hebben, zich gedwongen voelen om hun ervaringen te rationaliseren op basis van wat ze in de media hebben gezien, in plaats van hun eigen gevoelens en interpretaties te erkennen. Hierdoor kan de ervaring van ontmoeting met shadow people verder worden gepolariseerd, waarbij het wordt gezien als een "normale" reactie op een schokkende ervaring, of juist als een indicatie van geestelijke instabiliteit (Cohen, 2020).
Bovendien kan de representatie van shadow people in de populaire cultuur leiden tot een toename van het aantal meldingen van dergelijke ervaringen. Wanneer mensen worden blootgesteld aan verhalen over shadow people, kunnen ze eerder geneigd zijn om hun eigen ervaringen te delen of te interpreteren als iets dat gerelateerd is aan het fenomeen. Dit fenomeen is vergelijkbaar met de zogenaamde "sociale besmetting", waarbij de ervaringen van anderen de perceptie en interpretatie van gebeurtenissen beïnvloeden (Meyer, 2016).
5.3 De Effecten op de Gemeenschap en Sociale Dynamiek
De impact van shadow people gaat verder dan individuele ervaringen en beïnvloedt ook de sociale dynamiek binnen gemeenschappen. Gemeenschappen die geconfronteerd worden met een hoge frequentie van meldingen van shadow people kunnen een cultuur van angst en wantrouwen ontwikkelen. Dit kan leiden tot een vermindering van sociale cohesie en een toename van sociale isolatie. Mensen kunnen zich terugtrekken uit sociale interacties uit angst om niet begrepen te worden of om belachelijk gemaakt te worden (Victor, 2021).
Daarnaast kunnen deze ervaringen leiden tot de vorming van subculturen of groepen die zich identificeren met het fenomeen van shadow people. Deze groepen kunnen steun en begrip bieden aan mensen die vergelijkbare ervaringen hebben gehad, maar ze kunnen ook bijdragen aan de verspreiding van stigma en verkeerde informatie. De sociale dynamiek binnen deze groepen kan leiden tot een versterking van de mythen en verhalen rondom shadow people, wat de perceptie van het fenomeen verder kan beïnvloeden (Barker, 2022).
De impact van shadow people op gemeenschappen kan ook worden waargenomen in de context van geloof en spiritualiteit. Sommige mensen kunnen hun ervaringen met shadow people interpreteren als een teken van een bovennatuurlijke aanwezigheid, wat kan leiden tot de ontwikkeling van nieuwe spirituele overtuigingen of zelfs religieuze bewegingen. Dit kan op zijn beurt de sociale structuur van de gemeenschap beïnvloeden, door nieuwe normen en waarden te introduceren die zijn gebaseerd op de ervaringen van deze individuen (Harris, 2018).
5.4 Onderzoek en Toekomstige Richtingen
Vanwege de groeiende belangstelling voor het fenomeen van shadow people is er een toenemende behoefte aan wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de impact van deze ervaringen op individuen en gemeenschappen. Hoewel er al enkele studies zijn uitgevoerd, is er nog veel onbekend over de psychologische en sociale implicaties van ontmoetingen met shadow people. Toekomstig onderzoek zou zich moeten richten op de ontwikkeling van diagnosetools en behandelingsstrategieën die rekening houden met de unieke ervaringen van mensen die deze verschijnselen meemaken (Sullivan, 2020).
Bovendien zou het belangrijk zijn om onderzoek te doen naar de rol van culturele en sociale factoren in de interpretatie van shadow people. Dit kan helpen bij het begrijpen van hoe verschillende gemeenschappen reageren op deze ervaringen en hoe deze reacties de geestelijke gezondheid van individuen kunnen beïnvloeden. Het is essentieel dat onderzoekers en geestelijke gezondheidsprofessionals samenwerken om een holistische benadering te ontwikkelen die zowel de individuele als de sociale aspecten van deze ervaringen in overweging neemt (Gonzalez, 2021).
Conclusie
De impact van shadow people op de samenleving is een complex en veelzijdig fenomeen dat zowel psychologische als sociale dimensies omvat. De ervaringen van individuen met shadow people kunnen een aanzienlijke invloed hebben op hun geestelijke gezondheid, de sociale dynamiek binnen gemeenschappen, en de manier waarop deze ervaringen worden geïnterpreteerd binnen de bredere cultuur. Het is van cruciaal belang dat zowel onderzoekers als geestelijke gezondheidsprofessionals deze impact serieus nemen en zich inzetten voor het ontwikkelen van effectieve ondersteuning en behandelingsstrategieën voor degenen die deze ervaringen hebben gehad. Door het fenomeen vanuit een multidisciplinair perspectief te benaderen, kunnen we beter begrijpen hoe we de negatieve effecten van deze ontmoetingen kunnen verminderen en tegelijkertijd een ruimte creëren voor dialoog en begrip binnen de samenleving.
Het fenomeen van shadow people blijft een fascinerend onderwerp dat vele vragen oproept over de menselijke ervaring, de natuur van de werkelijkheid en onze collectieve angsten. Door de verschillende aspecten van deze ontmoetingen te onderzoeken, van persoonlijke getuigenissen tot psychologische en culturele verklaringen, kunnen we een dieper begrip krijgen van dit intrigerende verschijnsel. Of ze nu als kwaadaardig of onschuldig worden gezien, de ervaringen met shadow people blijven een krachtig voorbeeld van de complexiteit van de menselijke geest en de mysteriesvan het onbekende.
Referenties
Barker, K. (2022). Shadow People and Community Dynamics. Journal of Social Phenomena.
Cohen, L. (2020). Media Influence on Paranormal Experiences. Cultural Studies Review.
Gonzalez, R. (2021). Understanding Shadow People: A Multidisciplinary Approach. International Journal of Paranormal Research.
Harris, M. (2018). Spirituality and Shadow People: New Beliefs in the 21e eeuw. Journal of Contemporary Spirituality.
Jenkins, A. (2019). The Shadowy Figures: A Cultural Examination. Media and Society Journal.
Kendler, K. (2017). Mental Health and Paranormal Experiences. Psychological Science.
Meyer, J. (2016). Social Contagion Effects on Perceptions of Paranormal Events. Sociology of Culture.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). The Psychological Impact of Unexplained Experiences. Journal of Mental Health.
Sullivan, T. (2020). Research Directions in Paranormal Phenomena. Journal of Parapsychology.
Victor, L. (2021). Community Responses to Shadow People Encounters. Journal of Community Psychology.
Whaley, A. (2018). Isolation and the Stigma of Paranormal Experiences. Health Psychology Review.
Giant Glaciers Reshaped Earth’s Surface and Paved Way for Complex Life
Giant Glaciers Reshaped Earth’s Surface and Paved Way for Complex Life
By chemically analyzing crystals in ancient rocks, scientists from Curtin University, the University of Portsmouth and St. Francis Xavier University discovered that as glaciers carved through the landscape after the Neoproterozoic ‘snowball Earth’ events, they scraped deep into the Earth’s crust, releasing key minerals that altered ocean chemistry. This process had a profound impact on the Earth’s composition, creating conditions that allowed complex life to evolve.
An artist’s impression of a ‘Snowball Earth.’
Image credit: NASA.
“Our study provides valuable insights into how Earth’s natural systems are deeply interconnected,” said Curtin University Professor Chris Kirkland, lead author of the study.
“When these giant ice sheets melted, they triggered enormous floods that flushed minerals and their chemicals, including uranium, into the oceans.”
“This influx of elements changed ocean chemistry, at a time when more complex life was starting to evolve.”
“This study highlights how Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere and climate are intimately connected- where even ancient glacial activity set off chemical chain reactions that reshaped the planet.”
The research also offers a new perspective on modern climate change.
It shows how past shifts in Earth’s climate triggered large-scale environmental transformations.
“This research is a stark reminder that while Earth itself will endure, the conditions that make it habitable can change dramatically,” Professor Kirkland said.
“These ancient climate shifts demonstrate that environmental changes, whether natural or human-driven, have profound and lasting impacts.
“Understanding these past events can help us better predict how today’s climate changes might reshape our world.”
The findings were publsihed in the journal Geology.
C.L. Kirkland et al. The Neoproterozoic glacial broom. Geology, published online February 25, 2025; doi: 10.1130/G52887.1
Giant regions of the mantle where seismic waves slow down may have formed from subducted ocean crust, a new study finds.
Two enormous blobs deep inside Earth appear to be the remnants of oceanic crust that was pushed down into the mantle.
(Image credit: Yuri_Arcurs/Getty Images)
We finally know where two giant blobs in Earth's middle layer came from — and they're a mismatched pair.
These strange regions in Earth's mantle, known as "large low velocity provinces" (LLVPs), are actually chunks of Earth's crust that have sunk into the mantle over the past billion years, new research suggests.
What are these mystery blobs?
In the 1980s, geophysicists first discovered two continent-sized blobs of an unusual material deep near the center of the Earth. One blob is located beneath the Pacific Ocean and the other is under the African continent. Both are twice the size of our moon. They are so large that if they were placed on Earth’s surface, they would make a layer roughly 60 miles thick around the planet.
Formally known aslarge low-velocity provinces(LLVPs), they are also likely built of different proportions of elements than the mantle that surrounds them. A2023 paper published in the journalNatureproposed that they are the remains of anancient planet called Theiathat collided with Earth in the same massive impact that created the moon. The study suggests that most of Theia was absorbed into our young planet, forming the LLVP blobs. The residual debris formed the moon.
“The moon appears to have materials within it representative of both the pre-impact Earth and Theia, but it was thought that any remnants of Theia in the Earth would have been ‘erased’ and homogenized by billions of years of dynamics (e.g., mantle convection) within the Earth,” Arizona State University astrophysicist and co-author of the Nature study Steven Desch said in a statement. “This is the first study to make the case that distinct ‘pieces’ of Theia still reside within the Earth, at its core-mantle boundary.”
The study posits that these blobs themselves then created our planet’s plate tectonics, which allowed life to flourish.
Scientists have long known that there are LLVPs — one below the Pacific Ocean and the other below Africa. In these regions, seismic waves from earthquakes travel 1% to 3% more slowly than they do in the rest of the mantle. Scientists believe they may affect the planet's magnetic field because of the way they influence heat flow from Earth's core.
There's a lot of debate about what LLVPs are. Some studies have suggested that they're material from the ancient Earth — either a layer of primordial unmixed rock from the planet's formation or a leftover hunk of the giant space rock that hit Earth 4.5 billion years ago, forming the moon.
A new look at some very old minerals
This new paper builds on that study. Using computer modeling, they determined that around 200 million years after the impact with Theia, the submerged LLVP blobs may have helped create the hot plumes inside Earth that disrupted the surface. They breached the flat crust and allowed circular slabs to sink down in a process called subduction.
According to the team, it may explain why the Earth’s oldest minerals are zircon crystals that appear to have undergone subduction over 4 billion years ago and may have contributed to plate tectonics.
“The giant impact is not only the reason for our moon, if that’s the case, it also set the initial conditions of our Earth,” California Institute of Technology geoscientists and study co-author Qian Yuan told The Washington Post.
The model raised numerous questions for some outside geologists, including whether or not the collision would have resulted in a recycling of Earth’s entire crust instead of plate tectonics. This process potentially occurred on our sister planet Venus billions of years ago. There are also some geochemical inconsistencies that cast doubt on the planet smashing theory as a whole, according to some scientists.
However, another study published last year in Nature posits that mobile plate tectonics was not happening on Earth about 3.9 billion years ago when the first traces of life appeared on Earth.
“We found there wasn’t plate tectonics when life is first thought to originate and that there wasn’t plate tectonics for hundreds of millions of years after,” University of Rochester paleogeologist John Tarduno said in a statement. “Our data suggests that when we’re looking for exoplanets that harbor life, the planets do not necessarily need to have plate tectonics.”
What is clear is that concrete answers to the question of how, when, and why life first emerged on our planet and what role the shifting plates played or didn’t play will endure.
Others have suggested that the blobs are huge chunks of oceanic crust that were pushed into the mantle when one tectonic plate slipped under another — a process known as subduction.
The crust hypothesis had not been subject to as many studies as the ancient-material idea, said James Panton, a geodynamicist at Cardiff University in the U.K. In a new study, published Feb. 6 in the journal Scientific Reports, he and his colleagues used computer modeling to determine where subducted crust entered the mantle over the past billion years and to find out whether that subducted crust could form features similar to the LLVPs.
"We found that the recycling of the oceanic crust can indeed generate these LLVP-like regions beneath the Pacific and Africa without the need for a primordial dense layer at the base of the mantle," Panton told Live Science. "They are evolving by themselves, simply through the process of subduction of oceanic crust."
Image courtesy of Mingming Li/Nature Geoscience
A simulated image of the blob, located deep in Earth’s mantle beneath Africa.
That doesn't mean there isn't dense material from Earth's youth at the bottom of the mantle, Panton said; there may be a thin layer of ancient material that contributes to the LLVPs as well. But if subduction alone can explain the LLVPs, that could hint at their age.
"That potentially means that shortly after we started having subduction on Earth, then maybe that's when we started to have LLVPs," Panton said. (The advent of subduction is itself a complicated question. Some scientists think it began more than 4 billion years ago, while others think it started around a billion years ago.)
The subduction process has resulted in two different types of blobs, the authors said in the study. The LLVP under Africa doesn't get as much crustal material currently as the LLVP under the Pacific, which is fed by the subduction zones of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a horseshoe-shaped line of subduction that circles the Pacific Ocean.
The African LLVP is thus older and better mixed with the rest of the crust, the team said. It also has less of a volcanic rock called basalt, which means it is less dense than the Pacific LLVP. This may explain why the African LLVP extends 342 miles (550 kilometers) higher in the mantle than the Pacific LLVP.
One question for the future, Panton said, is how hot regions of the mantle called mantle plumes may help drive the subduction process in the Pacific and influence the LLVPs. These plumes stretch from the very bottom of the mantle to volcanic hotspots at the surface, such as the Hawaiian islands.
RELATED VIDEOS
The Earth's Mantle is Nothing Like You Thought
What Are Tectonic Plates? Our Earth and Its Movements
Mysterious Giant Blobs of Material Near Earth’s Core
The Remains of an Ancient Planet Lie Deep Within Earth
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
Druk op onderstaande knop om je bestand , jouw artikel naar mij te verzenden. INDIEN HET DE MOEITE WAARD IS, PLAATS IK HET OP DE BLOG ONDER DIVERSEN MET JOUW NAAM...
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
