This Man, Who Worked on the Voyager Missions, Said He Discovered Enormous, Living, Electromagnetic Vehicles Inhabiting Saturn’s Rings

The Strangest thing about Saturn is that this Man, who worked on the Voyager missions, said he discovered Enormous, Living, Electromagnetic Vehicles inhabiting its Rings.

Dr. Norman Bergrun concluded, based on his analysis of Voyager 1 and 2 data, which he detailed in his 1985 book, Ringmakers of Saturn, that he discovered enormous, living, electromagnetic vehicles inhabiting the rings of Saturn.

Dr. Bergrun, who had worked for NASA, claimed that there were massive alien spacecraft proliferating in the rings of Saturn. He is the author of the books “Ringmakers of Saturn” and “Tomorrows Technology Today,” which document the existence of extraterrestrial vehicles of immense power. A scientist who pioneered the methodology of thermal ice prevention design, he is also credited with roll-stability laws for airplanes and missiles.

Dr. Bergrun was manager of test planning and analysis for the Polaris Underwater Launch Missile System and evaluated satellite system applications. Also a director of Information Systems, he founded his own company in 1971 and is cited in “Who’s Who in the World” and other reference works. He was an alumnus of Ames Research Laboratory, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), predecessor of Ames Research Center, NASA, where he worked for 12 years as a research scientist.

Dr. Norman Bergrun played a key role in the Voyager missions, the probes that were sent out to photograph Saturn, its rings, and its moons. There is a photo shown below from that mission, which he was able to obtain from the agency of a large unidentified flying object hovering just outside Saturn’s rings. It is huge, approximately the size of Earth, and is published in his book, “Ringmakers of Saturn.”

Dr. Bergrun claimed that these rings were not made of ice and rock as is commonly believed, but were actually the exhaust from these massive craft, which he calls “ringmakers.” He asserted that these vehicles are proliferating and are now also present at Jupiter and Uranus, creating new rings on planets that previously had none.

He suggested these vehicles had strong nuclear power sources and advanced electromagnetic technology. They appeared capable of creating massive electrical fields, lightning bolts larger than those on Earth, and disturbances across the entire ring system.

Dr. Bergrun recounted his professional history, mentioning his work at Lockheed on the first generation of the Polaris underwater launch vehicle. This had led him to work in a top-secret area behind closed doors, where he had been required to sign a 30-year non-disclosure agreement.

He explained that he eventually left this role due to “claustrophobia,” clarifying that it was not a fear of small spaces but rather the mental strain of being confined to the same secret room day after day.

It was during this period that he received his first clue about unusual things in space after being given a set of data that no one else could make sense of. When he plotted it, he realized that it showed something strange. (Source)

He claimed that he faced significant opposition and cover-ups from official bodies such as NASA. He recounted a story about a source allegedly connected to NASA who asked him how he had found a particular image from the moon, remarking, “I thought we darkened that enough that you wouldn’t find it.”

Dr. Bergrun also stated that his personal data and images, which he had stored in a supposedly impenetrable vault, were tampered with. He claimed that unknown parties had “garbled” his files on laptops and disks, sometimes erasing them completely. Despite this interference, he believed he did not need the old data because he was so familiar with the subject that he could reconstruct his work at any time.

He claimed that he faced significant opposition and cover-ups from official bodies such as NASA. He recounted a story about a source allegedly connected to NASA who asked him how he had found a particular image from the moon, remarking, “I thought we darkened that enough that you wouldn’t find it.”

Dr. Bergrun also stated that his personal data and images, which he had stored in a supposedly impenetrable vault, were tampered with. He claimed that unknown parties had “garbled” his files on laptops and disks, sometimes erasing them completely. Despite this interference, he believed he did not need the old data because he was so familiar with the subject that he could reconstruct his work at any time.

Regarding the purpose of these vehicles, Dr. Bergrun disagreed with the theory that they were mining the rings. Instead, he suggested that they were “nursing” from the rings, using them as a source of energy to power themselves and to create new, smaller vehicles that later grew, much like living organisms.

He was open to the idea that they might also fly close to the sun to “get pumped up” with energy, since their apparent ability to withstand extreme heat made that possible.

According to him, these could not be fully explained by natural processes. He suggested that the vehicles had electromagnetic capabilities and emitted streams of material, which then formed the rings and gaps seen around Saturn. He gave examples and measurements to support his claims, and pointed to historical observations by Galileo and others that showed unexplained phenomena.

Dr. Bergrun also claimed that similar effects were seen on some of Saturn’s moons. He described mysterious lighting and unusual markings, which he thought were possible “scars” left by the vehicles. He went even further, suggesting that Earth’s Moon, the Tunguska explosion in Siberia, and strange weather events might all be related to visits or actions by these powerful spacecraft.

Read also:

• Ex-NASA Scientist Claims: “Consciousness Is Fundamental — Our Reality Is a Simulation”
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• This Man Says NASA Asked for Help After Astronauts Encountered Orbs Containing 125-Foot Winged Angelic Beings That Smiled at Them

He argued that these vehicles are evidence of a super-advanced intelligence in the universe and that they have been visiting our solar system for a long time. Bergrun warned that their power could pose risks if not understood, but also noted that they might not necessarily threaten humanity directly.

Dr. Bergrun believed that the situation was becoming “critical” because the activity was increasing, as evidenced by the new rings appearing around Uranus and Jupiter.

His urgency was not necessarily from the idea that the craft were coming to Earth, but from his sense that there was a strong possibility they could, and that the public and the scientific community had to be made to understand that these objects were real.

He noted that his conclusions were too controversial for his professional organization to address. He distinguished between his work, which he said was based on data, and the “theories” of others, such as John Lear’s idea that Saturn was a portal into another dimension.

He also touched on other topics, including his belief that humans were not capable of communicating with these entities, which rendered efforts by organizations like SETI ineffective.

He confirmed that plasma had been scientifically measured in Saturn’s rings, which he saw as supporting his claims. When asked about the hexagonal shape seen at Saturn’s north pole, he acknowledged it but regarded it simply as another geometric form that these advanced entities were capable of creating, rather than holding a special symbolic meaning.

Finally, he revealed that he had spent ten years earning a law degree so that he could better understand the mindset of the people “running the country,” whom he felt often made decisions without comprehending the underlying science.

He died on July 1, 2018, at Tracy Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at the age of 96. Unfortunately, Dr. Bergun was just another name on the list of NASA whistleblowers who are forgotten and ignored due to a lack of followers and media attention.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

11-03-2026 om 14:30 geschreven door peter  

China's Space Programme Prepares for Its Busiest Year Yet

By Mark Thompson 

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{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

11-03-2026 om 14:06 geschreven door peter  

Sunday Morning's European Fireball Was Probably Only a Few Meters in Diameter

By Evan Gough

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

11-03-2026 om 12:19 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

11-03-2026 om 12:04 geschreven door peter  

Mars endured an unprecedented solar superstorm, and European Space Agency (ESA) orbiters, the Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, captured the chaos, highlighting the Red Planet’s radiation dangers.

When the storm hit Earth in May 2024, it produced brilliant auroras remarkably close to the equator, and its impact on Mars was no less significant. ESA’s Mars orbiters recorded massive doses of radiation, delivering 200 days’ worth in a mere 64 hours, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications—far more than has ever been recorded before.

Mars Flooded with Solar Radiation

“The impact was remarkable: Mars’s upper atmosphere was flooded by electrons,” says lead author and ESA Research Fellow, Jacob Parrott. “It was the biggest response to a solar storm we’ve ever seen at Mars.”

The storm consisted of three separate events, all of which the team observed. These included a radiation flare, a high-energy particle burst, and a coronal mass ejection. As the high-energy, magnetized plasma and radiation from these events hit the Martian atmosphere, they stripped electrons from neutral atoms, filling the sky with charged particles.

The solar storm’s effects were most clearly felt in two layers of the Martian atmosphere, one at 110 kilometers above the surface and the other at 130 kilometers. The lower level saw a 45% increase in electrons, while the higher layer experienced an unprecedented 278% increase.

“The storm also caused computer errors for both orbiters – a typical peril of space weather, as the particles involved are so energetic and hard to predict,” adds Parrott. “Luckily, the spacecraft were designed with this in mind, and built with radiation-resistant components and specific systems for detecting and fixing these errors. They recovered fast.”

Radio Occultation

ESA is pioneering a technique called radio occultation, utilizing multiple platforms to investigate the Martian atmosphere. Presently, the technique is used with Earth-orbiting satellites, but the team is working to bring it to other planets in our solar system.

The radio occultation process begins with Mars Express sending a signal to the Trace Gas Orbiter just as it vanishes over the horizon. That disappearance is key to the process, bending the signal through layers of the atmosphere on its way to the Trace Gas Orbiter and providing information about those layers along the way. To complete the work, the team confirmed their electron density measurements using NASA’s MAVEN orbiter.

“This technique has actually been used for decades to explore the Solar System, but using signals beamed from a spacecraft to Earth,” said co-author Colin Wilson, ESA project scientist for Mars Express and TGO. “It’s only in the past five years or so that we’ve started using it at Mars between two spacecraft, such as Mars Express and TGO, which usually use those radios to beam data between orbiters and rovers. It’s great to see it in action.”

Earth and Mars

Analyzing the data brings differences between our world and its neighbor, Mars, into clearer focus. Earth’s magnetic field shields our planet, mitigating some of space weather’s strongest effects. That shielding minimized the effects of the 2024 storm in the upper atmosphere while diverting many particles either to the poles or away from the planet entirely.

“Being exposed to the solar flare covered in the article whilst being unprotected would be like getting the worst sunburn of your life in a couple of seconds,” Parrott explained to The Debrief. “However, people are not going to be walking around in short sleeves on the Martian surface for many centuries. So whilst we have our space suits, a thicker ionosphere doesn’t affect the safety of humans much.”

“However, the ionosphere is critical for communications. Sometimes our links to the surface are blocked by ionospheric phenomena,” Parrott continued. “So future missions must be equipped with relay equipment capable of totally different frequency bands, as the frequency of the transmission can affect how a signal travels through the ionosphere.”

“Possible other refinements might be implementing “solar flare blackout” periods in communication scheduling as there is no point using power to transmit to a rover or base on the surface when the ionosphere is going to block all the signals,” Parrott concluded.

“If Mars’s upper atmosphere is packed full of electrons, this could block the signals we use to explore the planet’s surface via radar,” Colin said, “making it a key consideration in our mission planning – and impacting our ability to investigate other worlds.”

With life support infrastructure necessary for mere survival on Mars, this highly radiation- and space-weather-susceptible environment will require further study ahead of any crewed missions.

The paper, “Martian Ionospheric Response During the May 2024 Solar Superstorm,” appeared in Nature Communications on March 5, 2026.

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

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

11-03-2026 om 11:42 geschreven door peter  

3I/ATLAS, the unusual interstellar comet that continues to fascinate astronomers, appears to be keeping an intoxicating cosmic secret, new research has revealed.

The latest findings come courtesy of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which has revealed evidence supporting an unusually large amount of methanol, a form of alcohol, hidden away within the ancient icy interstellar wanderer, which was first discovered last summer.

The discovery suggests that 3I/ATLAS may contain more of the organic molecule than any other comet known in our solar system.

Fingerprints of the Distant Cosmos

Nathan Roth, who led the recent research and is the primary author on a new study detailing his team’s findings, compares observing the oddball comet 3I/ATLAS to “taking a fingerprint from another solar system.”

“The details reveal what it’s made of, and it’s bursting with methanol in a way we just don’t usually see in comets in our own solar system,” said Roth, who is presently a professor at American University.

The recent detections were made possible with ALMA’s Atacama Compact Array in Chile, thanks to observations spanning several dates late last year while 3I/ATLAS approached its closest distance from the Sun.

As the comet’s surface grew warmer, gas and dust were released from its surface, which caused its surrounding coma to increase and brighten, forming a halo-like luminous appearance. Based on studies of the comet’s coma, Roth and his colleagues were able to collect information they liken to the chemical “fingerprints” of its material components—offering a rare look at an object that was assembled long ago by cosmic forces in a far-distant planetary system.

An Intoxicating Discovery

The team’s observations produced faint submillimeter fingerprints of the molecule hydrogen cyanide (HCN), which is a nitrogen-bearing organic molecule common in the composition of comets. That isn’t all the team’s observations revealed, however: there was also a surprising abundance of methanol (CH₃OH), a type of alcohol, present in the comet’s coma.

More specifically, ALMA’s observations indicate that the interstellar interloper seems to possess quite a lot of methanol in contrast to the amounts of hydrogen cyanide it carries, which Roth and his colleagues say is far greater than what “native” comets from within our solar system tend to display. Based on separate measurements on multiple dates, the team says that the methanol to hydrogen cyanide ratios they observed were about 70 and 120.

In short, 3I/ATLAS not only has a lot of methanol; it probably has a significant amount more than most other comets.

A Unique Formation Process

What the current evidence suggests is that 3I/ATLAS is very different from comets in our solar system, given that the conditions under which it was made appear to have been so alien compared with those which give rise to comets in our own solar system.

Based on past observations made by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, 3I/ATLAS appeared to possess a coma consisting mostly of carbon dioxide while it was still a significant distance from the Sun. The addition of the new ALMA data adds methanol into the mix, and a surprising abundance of it, at least as far as comets are concerned.

Additionally, the high-resolution imaging made possible by ALMA’s sensitive array of telescopes also helped to reveal the movement of molecules escaping from 3I/ATLAS, which pointed to some unique observations involving the differences between how the hydrogen cyanide and methanol molecules behaved during this process. Namely, while the former appears to originate mostly from the core of the comet, the methanol it produces seems to be abundant not only in its nucleus, but also in the ice particles populating its coma.

As 3I/ATLAS neared the sun, these individual ice particles each began to sublimate, effectively functioning like an untold number of miniature comets themselves, releasing their methanol stores in the process. While such processes are known from past observations of comets originating from within our solar system, these phenomena had never been observed in relation to an interstellar object before the historic journey of 3I/ATLAS.

As 3I/ATLAS neared the sun, these individual ice particles each began to sublimate, effectively functioning like an untold number of miniature comets themselves, releasing their methanol stores in the process. While such processes are known from past observations of comets originating from within our solar system, these phenomena had never been observed in relation to an interstellar object before the historic journey of 3I/ATLAS.

With the discovery of additional confirmed interstellar objects in the years ahead, astronomers hope that observations of their unique behavior and composition can help to unravel many of the existing mysteries associated with distant planetary systems, their origins, and their formation processes.

Roth and his colleagues’ recent paper, “CH3OH and HCN in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Mapped with the ALMA Atacama Compact Array: Distinct Outgassing Behaviors and a Remarkably High CH3OH/HCN Production Rate Ratio,” was accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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

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

11-03-2026 om 11:25 geschreven door peter  

On Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 6:55 p.m. Central European Time (7:00 p.m. Kyiv time), as most Europeans were preparing to end their weekend, a dazzling flash lit up the night sky. The object, moving from southwest to northeast, was visible for approximately six seconds.

During this short period of time, the space traveler managed to leave behind a bright trail (“tail”) that was observed by thousands of people in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The flight ended with a spectacular breakup into several fragments, accompanied by a sound effect similar to distant thunder or an explosion, which was clearly audible on the surface. 

Thanks to an extensive network of special meteor observation cameras, in particular the European AllSky7 system, the flight was recorded with high accuracy. In addition to professional equipment, the internet is filled with hundreds of amateur videos shot on smartphones and dashcams.

VARIOUS CITIES, SPAIN – AUGUST 12: Meteors are seen along the Milky Way in the sky on August 12, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. The Perseid meteor shower is reaching peak visibility in the coming days.

(Photo by Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images)

A spiralling smoke trail lingered in the sky for minutes after the blast.

Credit:  Marcel W. via IMO

“Space landing” in Koblenz

Although most such objects burn up completely in the atmosphere, this case turned out to be special. Small pieces of debris — meteorites — were reported to have fallen in Koblenz-Güls (Germany). One of them pierced the roof of a private house, according to DW.

Despite the dramatic nature of the situation, there were no reports of casualties or significant damage. However, the very fact that the debris reached the surface in a densely populated area aroused great interest among meteorite researchers.

Why were the telescopes silent?

The most interesting question in this story is: why did none of the large survey telescopes that scan the sky around the clock for asteroid threats warn of the approach of this object?

The answer lies in the physics and geometry of lighting. The object approached Earth from the “bright part of the sky,” which made it virtually invisible to ground-based optical instruments. The situation was exacerbated by the time of the event — almost dusk, when atmospheric illumination is at its maximum for detecting dim celestial bodies.

To date, astronomers have only managed to detect 11 objects before they entered the atmosphere. This shows that small bodies measuring several meters remain an extremely difficult target for modern astronomy, especially if they are “hidden” in the sun’s rays.

The scale of the planetary defense problem

From a global security perspective, objects of this size (up to 5-10 meters) do not pose an existential threat. They usually disintegrate in the upper layers of the atmosphere, turning into dust and small debris. However, as the case in Koblenz shows, even small fragments can reach the ground.

ESA notes that such events are part of the natural life cycle of our planet. Space rocks of this size enter Earth’s atmosphere quite frequently — from once every few weeks to once every few years. However, most of them fall into oceans or desert areas, remaining unnoticed.

Scientists are now collecting data from all available sensors to determine the mass and composition of the meteorite. The debris found in Koblenz will be sent for laboratory analysis. This will allow us to learn more about the object’s origin: whether it came from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, or was a fragment of a comet.

Earlier, we reported on how a meteorite older than Earth exploded and fell on a house.

• According to ESA

• Posted in News, Science

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{ https://universemagazine.com/en/news-en/science-en/ }

10-03-2026 om 22:54 geschreven door peter  

What Flew Over Dubnica, Slovakia? 25 Feb 2026, UAP Or TR3B? UFO Sightings Daily.

Location: Dubnica nad Váhom, Trenčiansky kraj, Slovakia 

Date of sighting: February 25, 2026

Source: NUFORC

• https://nuforc.org/

Wow did you see that? This security cam footage caught a triangle UFO flying over the area of Slovakia toward the mountains. They heard it, but didn't see it...why? Because the infrared security camera can see things the human eye cannot. We can't see infrared, it's just a fact. This is not three orbs, it's a single craft and it's big! About the size of two city buses or more. 

 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily, now back in Taiwan

Eyewitness states: 

I was with two other friends on a hill in Prejta, and when I was next to the car, I heard something from the village that sounded like something disturbing the local geese. But when I walked towards the car, the sound grew louder and was still like geese, but it was also synchronized and artificial, and it passed over us and was loud, but we didn't see anything, even though we kept looking at the sky, we didn't see anything, even though it was a clear night and the moon was shining, so everything was clearly visible. This happened at 11:15 p.m. on February 25, 2026.

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

10-03-2026 om 22:35 geschreven door peter  

Enkele tientallen meters zijn voldoende voor een asteroïde om heel wat schade te veroorzaken.

© iStock

“Plots veegt een asteroïde je stad weg en niemand zag het aankomen”: waarom we volgende keer misschien minder geluk hebben

Zondag explodeerde een metersgroot stuk ruimterots onverwacht in onze atmosfeer. Een deel van deze meteoriet veroorzaakte zelfs schade in Duitsland. Maar het had erger kunnen aflopen. HLN-wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters legt uit waarom niemand dit zag aankomen, hoe het komt dat wetenschappers de hemel halsstarrig afspeuren naar gevaarlijke asteroïden en wat de kans is dat zo’n exemplaar ons treft. “De ‘kleintjes’ vormen meer gevaar.”

Martijn Peters

Op zondag 8 maart trok een vuurbol – ook wel bolide genoemd – een vurig spoor door de hemel. Veel mensen waren getuigen van dit zes seconden durende spektakel. Volgens ruimtevaartagentschap ESA was het stuk ruimterots dat in onze atmosfeer uiteenspatte en grotendeels opbrandde, groter dan een meter. Enkele brokstukken wisten de aarde te bereiken in Duitsland en zorgden voor schade aan huizen. Dit keer raakte niemand gewond, maar in de toekomst hebben we misschien minder geluk.

Want ons zonnestelsel is niet bepaald netjes: al miljarden jaren zweven er restjes rond. De meest tot de verbeelding sprekende zijn ongetwijfeld kometen. Die zijn honderden tot duizenden meters groot en bestaan uit stof, gruis en ijs. Wanneer ze in de buurt van de zon komen, verschijnt plots hun staart. Maar dat zijn er slechts enkele duizenden. Talrijker zijn de asteroïden. Wetenschappers schatten hun aantal op bijna anderhalf miljoen. Deze relikwieën van rots en metaal bestaan in alle maten en gewichten, van enkele meters tot honderden kilometers groot.

Bij verwoesting denken velen meteen aan reusachtige, kilometersgrote exemplaren. Dat is volkomen terecht. Een asteroïde van 1 kilometer veroorzaakt wereldwijde problemen. Eentje van 10 kilometer of meer, zoals degene die het einde van de dinosauriërs inluidde, vertelt haast niemand meer na. Maar over deze ‘joekels’ maken wetenschappers zich weinig zorgen. Dat heeft twee redenen. De kans op zo’n inslag is bijvoorbeeld ongelooflijk klein: minder dan één keer per half miljoen jaar, afhankelijk van de grootte. Daarnaast hebben we ze zo goed als allemaal (meer dan 90%) in kaart gebracht. Een wereldwijde ramp is dus extreem zeldzaam.

{ https://www.hln.be/nieuws/ }

10-03-2026 om 21:05 geschreven door peter  

Marc Van den Broeck van Volkssterrenwacht Urania legt uit wat die vuurbol aan de hemel was. 

© rv / Tessa Kraan

• Marc Van den Broeck van Volkssterrenwacht Urania legt uit wat die vuurbol aan de hemel was.

5 vragen

Vuurbal die gisteravond door de hemel kliefde, richtte ook ravage aan in Duitsland: wat was dat precies? En kan er nog iets volgen?

“Ik wist niet wat ik zag. Een fel brandend object met een witte staart aan de hemel.” Onze tiplijn 4040 stond zondagavond omstreeks 19 uur roodgloeiend. Van Langemark tot Lummen staarden Vlamingen vol ongeloof naar de hemel, waar een vuurbol te zien was. Wat was dat vreemde object? Is het gevaarlijk? En moeten we vrezen voor een nog grotere inslag? Marc Van den Broeck van Volkssterrenwacht Urania legt uit: “Mogelijk ging het om een steen ter grootte van een voetbal.”

Ingrid De Vos - Journalist bij HLN

“Dit was duidelijk geen klassieke vallende ster zoals we die in augustus zien. Dat is vaak maar een stofje van een komeet dat in een fractie van een seconde verdwijnt. Nu waren mensen getuige van een spektakel van vijf seconden, vol gloed en uiteenspattende lichtdeeltjes. Dat wijst erop dat een brokstuk ruimtepuin — een overblijfsel uit de tijd dat onze wereld miljarden jaren geleden werd gevormd — de dampkring is binnengedrongen. In eerste instantie dacht ik aan een kiezelsteentje, maar omdat er ook een luide knal is gehoord, gaan we er nu van uit dat het eerder een steen ter grootte van een voetbal was.”

Aanvankelijk werd gedacht dat het om een meteoor ging:

“Omdat die steen met een waanzinnige rotvaart op onze dampkring beukte. Ter vergelijking: de spaceshuttle remt af tot 10.000 kilometer per uur voor hij de atmosfeer induikt. Dit brokstuk vloog naar binnen met een snelheid van 100.000 kilometer per uur. Door de enorme wrijving met de lucht op 70 kilometer hoogte werd de steen zó heet dat hij begon te gloeien en uiteindelijk met een klap uiteenspatte. Dat is de flits die iedereen zag.”

“Deze vuurbol was uniek vanwege het tijdstip. Dergelijke vuurbollen zien we een paar keer per jaar, maar meestal ’s nachts, als iedereen nog in bed ligt, of in de vroege ochtend. Dat het zich ’s avonds voordoet, is veel zeldzamer. Voor mij is het al tien jaar geleden dat ik het nog eens meemaakte. Dat heeft te maken met de hoek waarin het ruimtepuin op ons af komt vliegen. Stel je de aarde voor als een auto die door een sneeuwstorm rijdt: als chauffeur zie je de vlokken op je voorruit afkomen, terwijl ze in je achterruit net van je wegvliegen. De ochtendhemel is de voorruit van de aarde, de avondhemel de achterruit. Gisteravond keken we dus door de achterruit en zagen we toch een voltreffer.”

“De lichtflits die we zagen was een stuk krachtiger dan we gewend zijn. En in Duitsland hebben ze het geweten: volgens de politie zijn daar meteorieten door daken geboord bij Koblenz, in de Hunsrück en in de Eifel in de regio Rijnland-Palts. Dat is voor onze contreien uiterst uitzonderlijk. Als er effectief brokstukken de grond raken, spreken we van een meteoriet. Meestal is zo’n steen al tot stof verpulverd voor hij de aarde raakt. Dan blijft het bij een mooi schouwspel en spreken we van een meteoor. Elke dag valt er zo’n ton kosmisch stof op onze planeet, maar dat gebeurt vrijwel altijd geruisloos.”

“Absoluut niet. Dit was puur gruis, materiaal dat al miljoenen jaren in de ruimte rondvliegt. Dat het gisteren onze baan kruiste, is puur toeval. Meteorieten die de grond raken, komen meestal in de oceaan of in onbewoond gebied terecht. Slechts 10 procent van de aarde is dichtbevolkt. We zijn gisteravond vooral getuige geweest van een zeldzaam en krachtig natuurverschijnsel.”

LEES OOK.

• Vuurbal boven de hemel in Vlaanderen, richt schade aan in Duitsland: “Gat zo groot als een voetbal”

• KIJK. Opvallende vuurbal te zien boven Vlaanderen

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

10-03-2026 om 20:38 geschreven door peter