Dit is ons nieuw hondje Kira, een kruising van een waterhond en een Podenko. Ze is sinds 7 februari 2024 bij ons en druk bezig ons hart te veroveren. Het is een lief, aanhankelijk hondje, dat zich op een week snel aan ons heeft aangepast. Ze is heel vinnig en nieuwsgierig, een heel ander hondje dan Noleke.
This is our new dog Kira, a cross between a water dog and a Podenko. She has been with us since February 7, 2024 and is busy winning our hearts. She is a sweet, affectionate dog who quickly adapted to us within a week. She is very quick and curious, a very different dog than Noleke.
DEAR VISITOR,
MY BLOG EXISTS ALREADY 13 YEARS AND 2 MONTH.
ON 06/08/2024 MORE THAN 2.161.100
VISITORS FROM 135 DIFFERENT NATIONS ALREADY FOUND THEIR WAY TO MY BLOG.
THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF 400GUESTS PER DAY.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HOPE YOU ENJOY EACH TIME.
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 In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
20-08-2024
Project Helianthus – a Solar Sail Driven Geomagnetic Storm Tracker
An illustration of the Light Sail 2 craft with its solar sails deployed. Image Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society
Project Helianthus – a Solar Sail Driven Geomagnetic Storm Tracker
Solar storms captured the imagination of much of the American public earlier this year when auroras were visible well south of their typical northern areas. As the Sun ramps into another solar cycle, those storms will become more and more common, and the dangers they present to Earth’s infrastructure will continue to increase. Currently, most of our early warning systems only give us a few minutes warning about a potentially destructive impending geomagnetic storm event. So a team of researchers from Sapienza University in Rome and the Italian Space Agency proposed a plan to sail a series of detectors to a point out in space where they could give us an early warning. And they want those detectors to stay on station without rockets.
The mission, known as Helianthus, the official name for a sunflower, was initially described at the 6th International Symposium on Space Sailing in June 2023. In a presentation, the Italian scientists explained the mission objective as providing different alarm levels for geomagnetic storms. But more importantly, the mission design would give humanity 100 minutes of warning for fast-moving solar storms, and a large solar sail would entirely control the mission.
Current warning times for solar storms are only a few minutes at best, as the detectors watching for them are located in Low Earth Orbit. To provide much earlier warning times, Helianthus would place a series of specially designed detectors at a point known as sub-L1 in the Sun/Earth system. While it’s unclear what exactly “sub-L1” means in this context, a typical Sun/Earth Lagrange point is about 1.5 million km toward the Sun—about four times as far away as the Moon is from Earth.
Fraser has a soft spot for solar sails, as he describes here.
Getting there using a solar sail is the hardest part of the Helianthus mission. Most solar sails use photons to push themselves outward in the solar system since the source of those photons is the Sun, which is, by definition, the inner part of the solar system. So, getting to a point closer to the Sun than the Earth and then staying there seems counterintuitive.
How they will do so is the subject of one of a series of papers from the research team behind the project. Others describe the instrumentation, such as a lightweight coronograph and an x-ray spectrometer, and even structural components, such as the booms used to deploy the solar sails and the membranes those sails would be made of.
Some of the most interesting research described in these papers shows how Helianthus would hold station at a sub-L1 point while still having its solar sail fully deployed. Instead of using rockets for station-keeping, the mission plans to use a series of electrochromic or liquid-crystal actuators to make approximately four station-keeping maneuvers a year.
Solar sails have been a concept of awhile – Fraser explains what they do.
Driving the development of most of these systems and methodologies is an interest from the Italian Space Agency to improve workforce development in these areas. As stated in one of the papers, they intend to achieve “challenging national development” regarding solar-sail propulsion. And the geomagnetic storm tracker isn’t their only use-case – the same researchers also planned out an Earth-Mars transfer orbit that uses the same solar propulsion technology.
For now, it’s unclear whether Helianthus has the financial backing to make it to the finish line for actual deployment. While some prototypes of the lightweight instrumentation have been built, there is still a lot of engineering work to do before any such solar-sail mission sees the light of day. If it is to do so, the Italian Space Agency must show how committed they are to that idea.
Specialized Materials Could Passively Control the Internal Temperature of Space Habitats
Chris Hadfield recently explained how humanity should create a Moon base before attempting to colonize Mars. Credit: Foster + Partners is part of a consortium set up by the European Space Agency to explore the possibilities of 3D printing to construct lunar habitations. Credit: ESA/Foster + Partners
Specialized Materials Could Passively Control the Internal Temperature of Space Habitats
Areas of space have wildly different temperatures depending on whether they are directly in sunlight or not. For example, temperatures on the Moon can range from 121 °C during the lunar “day” (which lasts for two weeks), then drop down to -133 °C at night, encompassing a 250 °C swing. Stabilizing the temperature inside a habitat in those environments would require heating and cooling on a scale never before conducted on Earth. But what if there was a way to ease the burden of those temperature swings? Phase change materials (PCMs) might be the answer, according to a new paper from researchers at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.
PCMs have been known for some time and are currently used in several industries, including batteries, solar power plants, heat pumps, and even spacecraft. Perhaps most interestingly, they’ve been used to cool and heat the interiors of buildings on Earth.
They do so by absorbing heat during the hot parts of a period (whether a day or season) and emitting that heat in the cooler parts of a later period. They act like a giant thermal “sink,” making it take longer to heat or cool and providing insulation to anything it surrounds.
Two-bit DaVinci explains how PCMs work on terrestrial houses. Credit – Two-bit DaVinci YouTube Channel
Another way to think of this is through the concept of thermal inertia. When an object, like a building, is in the Sun, it is directly impacted by the Sun’s rays, causing it to heat up. Alternatively, if it is no longer in the Sun but still contains a lot of thermal energy, it will start radiating some of that heat away. In vacuums, radiative energy is transmitted through infrared light like space.
PCMs have such large thermal inertia because they either absorb or emit lots of energy as they change between phases, such as between solid and liquid or liquid and gas. For example, the paper describes using n-octadecane as one of the PCMs being considered. It switches state around 28 °C, slightly above room temperature. Which makes it perfect for holding a room at right about that temperature.
Changing the temperature of something built with PCMs is much more complicated, and that challenge can make it easier to regulate the temperature inside a space habitat. The researchers modeled what would happen if a space habitat were built with PCMs inside the walls, and they found a significant decrease in the heating and cooling required to keep the habitat within the temperature range of being comfortable for humans.
Thermal control is one of the aspects of a self-sustaining space habitat, as Fraser discusses with Dr. Annika Rollock.
Other factors were included in the calculation, such as the reflectivity of the outer surface of the wall and the part of the solar cycle the Sun was experiencing. However, the authors found that given optimal conditions; designers could completely passively heat and cool a space habitat using only PCMs.
That is a pretty impressive feat, though the optimal conditions are improbable to ever happen in practice. Still, any energy savings the materials might provide will be welcome on a habitat that will likely be energy-starved when it starts. However, many different ideas exist for how those habitats should be built, including using regolith on the Moon. It is unclear how feasible it would be to include PCMs in cave walls or other structures involving local materials. The sheer amount of PCMs necessary to thermally control a massive human habitat might also be prohibitively expensive to launch at current prices.
However, materials keep improving, and there are obvious advantages to using these materials in this context. While they might not be integrated into some of the early habitats humanity builds in space, they will undoubtedly be used in future ones, and this paper is one step towards that.
Ancient Rocks in Mars’ Jezero Crater Confirm Habitability
This Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image shows Jezero Crater, with Perseverance's landing site and the Fan Front feature. Rocks from the Fan Front sampled in 2022 show evidence of water that predates life on Earth. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Ancient Rocks in Mars’ Jezero Crater Confirm Habitability
According to NASA’s Perseverance rover, ancient rocks in Jezero Crater formed in the presence of water. These sedimentary rocks are more than 3.5 billion years old and may predate the appearance of life on Earth. When and if these samples are returned to Earth, scientists hope to determine if they hold evidence of ancient Martian life.
In 2022, the Perseverance Rover worked its way along Jezero Crater’s western slope and sampled rocks from a feature called the ‘fan front.’ Scientists hypothesized that some of the rocks in this region were formed in the ancient lakebed when the crater was filled with water. Perseverance analyzed the rocks’ chemistry and captured images of their surroundings. Members of the Perseverance science team studied this data and have published their results.
“These rocks confirm the presence, at least temporarily, of habitable environments on Mars.”
“These rocks confirm the presence, at least temporarily, of habitable environments on Mars,” said lead author Bosak. “What we’ve found is that indeed there was a lot of water activity. For how long, we don’t know, but certainly for long enough to create these big sedimentary deposits.”
Perseverance collected seven samples from the fan front. Each of the samples is of a sedimentary rock, and some of them may predate life on Earth. “The samples include a sulphate- and clay-bearing mudstone and sandstone, a fluvial sandstone from a stratigraphically low position at the fan front, and a carbonate-bearing sandstone deposited above the sulphate-bearing strata,” the authors explain.
Sulphates and clays typically form in the presence of water, and so do carbonates. Depending on the types of sulphates, it reveals clues about the ancient water’s chemistry, temperature, and acidity. Carbonates are similar and can also reveal things about Mars’ atmosphere when they formed, like how much carbon dioxide it contained.
“The hydrated, sulphate-bearing mudstone has the highest potential to preserve organic matter and biosignatures, whereas the carbonate-bearing sandstones can be used to constrain when and for how long Jezero crater contained liquid water,” the authors explain.
While the samples were placed in sealed tubes for eventual return to Earth, Perseverance also abraded the rock next to each sample location, allowing the rover to analyze the mineral content of the rocks.
This image from the research article shows the rock cores acquired during the Fan Front Campaign. CacheCam images of the cores in their container tubes are on the left. Red symbols on the High-Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) map on the right show the locations of the sampled outcrops and the corresponding cores. Image Credit: Bosak et al. 2024
Mars rovers have found other rocks that were deposited by water, but none this old. These ancient Martian rocks are the oldest sedimentary rocks ever studied, and they likely formed when the Jezero Crater was a habitable lake. Because they’re sedimentary rocks, they could hold ancient organic matter. But that determination will have to wait until they make it safely to labs on Earth.
“These are the oldest rocks that may have been deposited by water, that we’ve ever laid hands or rover arms on,” said co-author Benjamin Weiss, the Robert R. Shrock Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT. “That’s exciting, because it means these are the most promising rocks that may have preserved fossils, and signatures of life.”
(A) gives the local context for the Amalik outcrop, where two samples were taken. (B) shows the workspace after sampling and abrasion. The white arrow on the left shows where the Mageik sample was taken. The center arrow shows how the rock was fractured when the Shuyak core was sampled. The arrow on the right shows the Novarupta abrasion. (C) is a close-up of the abrasion patch. Image Credit: Bosak et al. 2024.
Most sedimentary rock has two components: grains, which are like the building blocks for sedimentary rock, and cement, which are mineral deposits that come along later and bind the grains together. Over time, pressure forces cement into the rock pores, filling them and creating solid rock in a process called lithification. The researchers think that both the grains and the cement in the fan front sedimentary rocks likely formed in aqueous environments. During lithification, organic matter from ancient life could’ve been trapped in the rock.
The fan front is a prime place to search for evidence of ancient life. “We found lots of minerals like carbonates, which are what make reefs on Earth,” Bosak says. “And it’s really an ideal material that can preserve fossils of microbial life.”
Though sulphates form in the presence of water, the water tends to be very salty, which isn’t necessarily great for life. But it could work out for the best because of salt’s preservative effect. If the brine was restricted to the lake bottom, life could’ve persisted in the upper portions of the ancient lake. When lifeforms died, they could’ve sunk to the bottom. In this case, the brine would’ve acted to preserve signs of ancient life.
“However salty it was, if there were any organics present, it’s like pickling something in salt,” Bosak says. “If there was life that fell into the salty layer, it would be very well-preserved.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called “Skinner Ridge” in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Composed of multiple images, this mosaic shows layered sedimentary rocks in the face of a cliff in the delta, as well as one of the locations where the rover abraded a circular patch to analyze a rock’s composition. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
It’s fairly well-established that Mars was once warm and wet. The next question is, did life ever exist there? To answer that, we need to find organic matter. But even that can be tricky since some organic matter can be produced geologically without life. The Curiosity Rover found organic carbon in Gale Crater, but scientists showed that UV fractionation is responsible.
Previously, Perseverance also found evidence of organic matter on the floor of Jezero Crater. Subsequent analysis showed that it could be matter that had no connection to life. This is a cautious reminder of the rovers’ limitations. Though they’re powerful, and it’s an amazing feat to have them roam around on another planet studying rocks, they can’t do the same science that’s possible in labs here on Earth.
That’s why the Mars Sample Return is so critical. Only by finally bringing pieces of Mars back to Earth can we fully understand the evidence that Perseverance is collecting.
“On Earth, once we have microscopes with nanometer-scale resolution, and various types of instruments that we cannot staff on one rover, then we can actually attempt to look for life,” Bosak says.
De rode planeet: prachtige foto's van Mars, genomen vanuit de ruimte
De rode planeet: prachtige foto's van Mars, genomen vanuit de ruimte
Foto: Justin Cowart - Tharsis and Valles Marineris - Mars Orbiter Mission / Wikimedia
De rode planeet Mars is de planeet in ons zonnestelsel die de eigenschappen van de aarde het dichtst benadert. Daarom is het de favoriete bestemming van NASA-ruimtemissies. Kijk met ons mee naar de mooiste beelden van deze fascinerende planeet!
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Arabia Terra
Hier zien we Arabia Terra, een uitgestrekt gebied op het noordelijk halfrond van de planeet Mars. Kenmerkend zijn de kraters die ongeveer 4 miljard jaar oud zijn. Op deze foto zijn ook donkere duinen te zien, die door het HIRISE-team nauwlettend in de gaten worden gehouden op tekenen van windactiviteit.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona
Danielson-krater Danielson is een inslagkrater met een diameter van ongeveer 67 kilometer, gelegen in het zuidwesten van de regio Arabia Terra. Deze foto, die gemaakt is door het ruimtevaartuig Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, toont het zand en de sedimentaire rotsen die de krater vormen.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Een prachtig kleurencontrast Op deze foto zien we geulen die gevuld zijn met glimmend ijs, dat in contrast staat met de rode aarde van Mars. De foto is genomen bij de seizoensgebonden poolkappen van de planeet.
Foto: NASA/JPL/LaRC
Een zonsopgang op Mars Deze indrukwekkende zonsopgang op Mars is vastgelegd op 14 juni 1978 door de verkenningssonde Viking 2.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Candor Chasma
Dit is Candor Chasma, een van de valleien die deel uitmaken van de kloven van Valles Marineris, gelegen in de buurt van de evenaar van de rode planeet. De lichtgekleurde gelaagde afzettingen zijn mogelijk een gebied dat bestaat uit zandsteen en volgens wetenschappers wellicht bewoonbaar is.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Een lentelawine Hier zie je een lawine die is vastgelegd door de HiRISE-camera, vlak bij de noordpool van Mars. Elke lente schijnt de zon op dit deel van de planeet. Door de hitte van de zonnestralen vallen er blokken ijs naar beneden. Als de ijsblokken de bodem van de klif bereiken, die meer dan 500 meter hoog is, veroorzaken ze een stofwolk bij het neerkomen op de grond.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Rotsformaties Deze foto is in december 2018 gemaakt door de Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. De rimpels die te zien zijn in het zand vertellen ons in welke richting de wind om deze rotsformaties heeft bewogen.
Foto: NASA, ESA, en Z. Levay (STScI)
Phobos Phobos is een van de twee natuurlijke satellieten van Mars. Deze kleine maan staat ten westen van Mars en cirkelt in de loop van een Marsdag, die ongeveer 24 uur en 40 minuten duurt, drie keer om de rode planeet.
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona
Een zeer jonge inslagkrater Dit opmerkelijke beeld toont ons een inslagkrater die is gevormd tussen juli en september 2018. Deze inslag vond plaats in de seizoensgebonden zuidelijke ijskap en heeft deze zichtbaar doorboord, waardoor een ongelooflijk inslagpatroon ontstond.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHUAPL
Krater Jezero De Jezero-krater is een inslagkrater met een doorsnede van 49 kilometer waarvan wordt aangenomen dat hij ongeveer 3,7 miljard jaar geleden is ontstaan. Hij ligt ten westen van Isidis Planitia, een reusachtig inslagbekken dat zeer oude landschappen laat zien en interessant is voor wetenschappelijke studie. De Jezero-krater is door NASA uitgekozen als landingsplaats voor de Mars 2020-missie, die op 30 juli 2020 van start ging en momenteel bezig is.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Steile duinen Hier zijn duinen gefotografeerd op de hellingen van Nectaris Montes, in de kloven van Valles Marineris. De zandduinen die deze reusachtige kloven vormen kunnen indrukwekkend groot zijn, met schijnbaar zeer steile hellingen, zoals op deze foto te zien is.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Mount Sharp Deze foto is gemaakt door de ruimterover Curiosity die sinds 2012 op Mars staat, op Mount Sharp, een berg die midden in de Gale-krater staat. In het midden van de afbeelding zie je kleirotsen die NASA-wetenschappers graag willen bestuderen.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Selfie van Curiosity Curiosity nam een kleine selfie op Mars! Deze machine van 899 kg werd in 2012 gelanceerd voor de verkenningsmissie Mars Science Laboratory. Een van zijn doelen is het verkennen van de Gale-krater, waarop hij is geland. De missie Mars Science Laboratory is nog steeds gaande.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech
De ravijnen van Valles Marineris In het midden van dit mozaïek, dat een compilatie is van beelden die zijn gemaakt door het ruimtevaartuig Viking Orbiter 1, is een breder beeld te zien van de ravijnen van Valles Marineris. Ze zijn meer dan 3000 kilometer lang en 600 kilometer breed.
Foto: NASA/JPL/Universiteit van Arizona
Aram Chaos-krater Op deze afbeelding zijn blokken lichtgekleurde lagen te zien die grotendeels bestaan uit hematiet en door water verweerde silicaten. Deze elementen vertellen ons dat de Aram Chaos-krater ooit een meer bevatte. De diameter is ongeveer 284 kilometer.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona
Crisp-krater De Crisp-krater ligt in de Sirenum Fossae. Volgens NASA-wetenschappers zou deze krater relatief recent zijn, omdat de rand nog erg scherp is en omdat blijkbaar de ejecta nog bewaard zijn gebleven.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Universiteit van Arizona
Spinvormige scheuren Deze spinvormige scheuren bevinden zich in het oppervlak van het zuidpoolgebied van Mars. Ze zijn veroorzaakt door de verdamping van koolstofdioxide in de atmosfeer.
Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Een zonsondergang op Mars Deze zonsondergang is vastgelegd door InSight-lander van NASA op 25 april 2019 om 18:30 uur lokale Marstijd.
Foto: NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (PSI), CM Lisse (JHU/APL), en het Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Het passeren van een komeet bij Mars De Hubble-ruimtetelescoop heeft de Siding Spring-komeet en de planeet Mars vastgelegd toen ze elkaar passeerden op 19 oktober 2014. Op die dag bewoog de komeet op ongeveer 140.000 kilometer van de rode planeet. Dit is een compositiefoto, omdat de komeet en Mars ten opzichte van elkaar bewogen en daarom niet gelijktijdig in één opname konden worden gefotografeerd.
A Europan Lander Could Return an Ice Core For A Fraction of the Cost of Europa Clipper
Cost is a major driving factor in the development of space exploration missions. Any new technology or trick that could lower the cost of a mission makes it much more appealing for mission planners. Therefore, much of NASA’s research goes into those technologies that enable cheaper missions. For example, a few years ago, NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) supported a project by Michael VanWoerkom of ExoTerra Resource to develop a lander mission that could support a sample return from Europa. Let’s examine what made that mission different from other Europa mission architectures.
The Nano Icy Moons Propellant Harvester (NIMPH) mission relies on three main advancements for one significant result: a 10x reduction in the overall mission cost. That reduced cost comes mainly from a single fact—the mission’s weight has dropped below the threshold where it can be launched by an Atlas V rather than the SLS, as similar missions would require.
The mission cost estimated for an SLS-launched Europa lander was around $5 billion, making it prohibitively expensive for NASA or any other agency without significant sacrifices to other missions. ExoTerra estimates that, by using several weight-reducing technologies, they could bring the mission price tag down to $500 million—a much more reasonable sum to garner support from one of the government space programs.
Video describing the mission concept. Credit – NASA 360 YouTube Channel
Three different technologies would enable this weight and cost to drop. First would be the solar electric propulsion (SEP) system initially designed for use on DART. The second would be a micro in-situ resource utilization (µISRU) system, and the third would be a power-beaming system between the lander and an orbiter.
Let’s first look at the overall mission architecture to understand how each contributes. In NIMPH, a combined orbiter lander will use an Atlas V rocket to get into Earth orbit. Then, a solar electric propulsion system (SEP) was initially designed for use on the DART asteroid redirect test. Although it was not used during the DART mission, the NEXT ion thruster was part of the spacecraft that launched, and, despite suffering from some technical challenges, it could have allowed the spacecraft to reach its destination. A similar, lightweight SEP system could get NIMPH to the Jupiter system, but it could also get the sample back to Earth after the lander collected it.
Just how the lander can get that sample back off the icy moon is the focus of the next major technological step – the µISRU system. NIMPH’s architecture would require using the local ice as a propellant. A lander would literally sublimate the ice under its feet, suck up the resultant water vapor, electrolyze it to split it into oxygen and hydrogen, and then liquefy it to store it for use in getting a 1 kg ice core sample back into orbit.
Fraser discusses the missions planned for Jupiter’s system in the near future.
To do all of this requires power, though, and a lander with a radioisotope thermal generator or similar commonly used power generation system would be prohibitively heavy. So, why not utilize the massive solar array required for the SEP system and beam some of that power down to the lander? That is the concept behind the power beaming system, estimated to produce around 2 kW of power in the Jovian system, about 1.8 kW of which could be beamed directly to a lander.
After the core has been collected and safely launched back into space using a specially designed LOx-LH2 engine that uses the water collected by the µISRU system, the lander meets up with the orbiter. The SEP system kicks back on and delivers the lander back to Earth orbit, where it once again detaches and rides back to Earth’s surface inside a standard reentry module.
There are some nuances to this entire mission architecture. For example, the SEP system wouldn’t work at full capacity in the Jovian system, so a much smaller LOx / Methane propulsion system is needed to maneuver the orbiter into position. Additionally, the lander would likely have to leave its legs embedded in the Europan ice, as the sublimation process it uses to collect fuel would likely embed them in place.
Budgetary constraints are always a consideration in deep space exploration, as Fraser discusses in this video.
Plenty of development work on all these systems must be completed before any such mission is ready for launch. And most likely, some of the need for the scientific understanding would be met by the Europa Clipper mission set to launch later this year for $4.25 billion – not far off the 10x times expense that was the original impetus for the more capable NIMPH mission design. And while NIMPH did receive a Phase II NIAC grant, it hasn’t been selected for further development as far as we have found. So, as of now, this novel combination of mass-saving technologies will not be delivering an icy Europan sample any time soon – but maybe someday it will.
The unverified UFO sighting near Concorde - which has re-emerged on Reddit's UFOs subchannel, features in a 1976 British Airways advert where an orb-like UFO can be observed darting towards the aircraft curiously before speeding away. Following the Fukushima lab disaster in Japan, witnesses told Netflix docuseries Encounters that UFOs saved them by reducing radioactivity levels, while another expert said UFOs prevented nuclear war.
Several shimmering white orbs were spotted above the plant after the nuclear catastrophe in 2011 and appeared to descend into the lab before reappearing. At the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the monarch was celebrated with a display by nine fighter jets releasing streams of smoke in Union Jack's red, white, and blue colors
Reddit users were quick to spot an unidentified disc near the jets, but no clear explanation has ever been provided. Reports of UFO sightings following rocket test-fires have also surfaced.
Retired US Air Force staff sergeant Larry Hancock and Ian Porritt, a data analyst associated with Harvard's UFO-hunting Galileo Project, have conducted new research showing that unusual activity around nuclear weapons and facilities has evolved over time.
The studies indicate that initially, UFOs appeared interested in nuclear weapon production, but now they are frequently seen around silos and bomber bases.
When a new arsenal of ICMBs was constructed in the 1960s, UFOs became "much more intrusive" in their approach to ICBM bases, Porritt previously stated, adding: "They're very low altitude, they penetrate the security perimeters of the base."
There is also a theory that UFOs are actually "turning off" nuclear weapons - with several reports of this happening by the US military since the 60s.
In their latest study, the pair conclude: "Notable unidentified aerial phenomena loitering, military intrusions and weapons facility interference were documented in a series of incidents in 1967 (Malmstrom AFB) and 1975 (Loring AFB and Malstrom AFB), where at least one flight of 10 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) was officially recorded as having unexplainably gone off alert status."
The study delves into the account of former US Air Force ICBM launch officer Robert Salas, who was tasked by the AARO to gather information after he reported an orange flying disc disabling 10 warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 1967.
He was subsequently made to sign a non-disclosure agreement on the incident by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Salas isn't the only one making such claims. In 2000, US Air Force First Lieutenant Robert Jacobs also claimed to have witnessed this in 1964 but was instructed not to discuss the alleged encounter again.
Moreover, in June 2023, two Air Force veterans told DailyMail.com that they had testified to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) about UFOs deactivating their nuclear warheads.
Lue Elizondo, the former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, has previously stated that there "seems to be a lot of correlation" between UFO sightings and nuclear sites.
Independent researcher Robert Hastings echoed these sentiments in 2010, stating: "Declassified US government documents and witness testimony from former or retired US military personnel confirm beyond any doubt the reality of ongoing UFO incursions at nuclear weapons sites."
Aliens secretly implanted 'slimy' microchips inside folk after close encounters
Aliens secretly implanted 'slimy' microchips inside folk after close encounters
Luis Elizondo, who headed the US Government's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program - aka AATIP - launched in 2007 to investigate UFOs, said he had personally handled one of the 'slimy' implants
Elizondo, 52, said it also has material from crashed 'non-human' spaceships
(Image: Getty Images)
Alienssecretly implanted microchips inside folk who have experienced close encounters, according to a former US defence department counter-intelligence expert.
Luis Elizondo, who headed the US Government's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program - aka AATIP - launched in 2007 to investigate UFOs, said he had personally handled’ one of theslimy' implants recovered from a member of the American armed forces.
In a bombshell new book published on Tuesday the defence intelligence chief said the US Government has alien microchip-style implants in its possession.
Elizondo, 52, said it also has material from crashed 'non-human' spaceships. The revelations are set to debunk US defence department claims they have so far found no evidence aliens exist.
In his book called 'Imminent' Elizondo alleged foreign biological implants had been found in military personnel who had encountered UFOs - aka Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena or UAPs.
Elizondo alleged foreign biological implants had been found in military personnel(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
He said: "I once handled one of these implants myself, provided to me by a hospital in the Department of Veterans Affairs, where it had been removed from a US military service member who had encountered a UAP.
"The material, no longer or wider than a joint of one of your fingers, looked more like a microchip encapsulated by a slimy semi-translucent casing of tissue.
"Under a microscope it was still moving somehow.’"
He said AATIP had also 'obtained photographs of these sorts of tiny objects from living foreign military pilots'.
Elizondo claimed samples were sent to the 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and a US Army research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland'.
Luis Elizondo, who headed the US Government's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program(Image: CNN)
Defence chiefs have so far refused to comment on what was one of a number of other jaw-dropping claims in Elizondo’s book.
He claimed Donald Trump had been briefed on the US Government’s UFO program during his presidency
In 2016 Elizondo said he and colleagues hatched a plan to catch a UFO in the ocean after a series of close encounters reported by US military personnel.
He revealed three years earlier a dramatic saucer had been sighted at the secretive Los Alamos missile test range in Mexico.
Laser-precise holes had been cut through armoured tanks in the Kuwaiti desert in 2003. And a giant craft had been discovered beneath the waters of Puerto Rico in 1999.
Some sections of the book were redacted by the Pentagon, which reviewed it before publication to prevent unauthorised spilling of secrets.
Defence officials stressed their review did not mean they were vouching for Elizondo’s claims - despite his credentials.
Before he took over the Government’s UFO probe he served in Afghanistan running anti-terror missions against ISIS, al-Qaeda and Hezbollah before playing a major role running terrorist jail Guantanamo Bay in the 2010s.
He said AATIP had also 'obtained photographs of these sorts of tiny objects from living foreign military pilots'(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
But when top rocket scientist James Lacatski (corr) called him in for a meeting in 2008 Elizondo said he discovered something altogether stranger.
"He looked over his glasses at me and he said, 'What do you think about UFOs?’'" the defence expert said.
"I paused for a moment and I said, 'I don’t have the luxury to think about them. I’m too busy chasing bad guys'.
"He said to me: 'Don't let your own personal bias get the best of you because what you learn here may challenge any preconceived notions'.
"That’s really when I first learned what this program was about.’"
Lacatski recruited Elizondo to manage security for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program - a £20m defence initiative that chased down service members’ reports of UFOs and researched ways to replicate their unearthly technology.
When funding ran out in 2012 he switched to AATIP.
In his memoir Elizondo described some of the strange incidents he investigated while in Government.
He said scientists were testing a classified device at the White Sands missile test range in Los Alamos, New Mexico in 2013, when ‘witnesses spotted several mysterious and luminous orbs moving over a nearby ridge’.
He revealed three years earlier a dramatic saucer had been sighted at the secretive Los Alamos missile test range in Mexico(Image: Getty)
"The orbs moved toward the test site, hovered over the device as if scanning it for intel, then zipped away, brashly flying over the heads of bewildered scientists,’’ the ex-official wrote.
"Later, several eyewitnesses saw a formation of disc-shaped objects that seemed to know precisely where the device being tested was located. This occurred several times over a few days.’’
In 1999 a Navy chopper flew over Puerto Rican waters to retrieve a dummy cruise missile they were test-launching.
"As the frogman dangled from his hoist, a large, circular object the size of a small island began to rise to the surface,’’ Elizondo wrote.
"The pilot told me that it was black as the devil and the water began to churn and roll like a witch’s brew. The crew panicked.
"As the helicopter rose, the pilot noticed the missile getting sucked underwater.’"
While serving with the US Army in Kuwait in 2003 Elizondo said military police told him a Bedouin goat herder saw a 'brilliant green flash' over tanks stationed at the remote desert base of Arifjan one night.
When Elizondo investigated they showed him a heavily armoured M1 battle tank – designed to withstand a direct missile hit – with a small hole punched through the armoured side’ that wasperfectly round, no rough edges.’
In his memoir Elizondo described some of the strange incidents he investigated while in Government(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)
"The tank next to it showed precisely the same sabotage,’’ Elizondo wrote.Whatever caused this seemed to penetrate the sides of two of our best tanks with one clean hole through both.
"It was as if someone had used a super sharp cookie cutter to take a core sample of the vehicle.
"The energy required to do such a thing would have been enormous.’"
Elizondo and his colleagues’ ultimate goal was to get access to an alleged long-standing program hidden by defence contractors working with the Pentagon, that had recovered crashed UFOs – some dating back to the infamous reported flying saucer crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
He claimed his team got a meeting with this shadowy program’s administrators.
"We were told by the people who had the material,’’ he said.
"They sat there and said: 'We’re happy to have this conversation with you. There’s some things you’re going to need to do if you want more access to it. But we’re happy to give this stuff to you’'.
"That’s a holy cow moment. That’s a seismic revelation.
"There are countless examples of this type of material being collected, that when analysed and scrutinised by scientific experts – I'm talking about US government top secret-cleared scientists – substantiate that what we're dealing with is something that was not made by us.’’
But he said these `gatekeepers’ tied his team up in red tape and ultimately failed to open their books – or secret bunkers – to the Pentagon team.
His claims echo those of Pentagon whistleblower David Grusch, a former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency official, who told Congress in a public hearing last year that the government is covering up a UFO crash retrieval program that has half a dozen spacecraft and even alien bodies.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:ALIEN LIFE, UFO- CRASHES, ABDUCTIONS, MEN IN BLACK, ed ( FR. , NL; E )
19-08-2024
AI Focused! UFO Abducts guy, teaches, returns him May 1988, Puerto Rico, UAP Sighting News.
AI Focused! UFO Abducts guy, teaches, returns him May 1988, Puerto Rico, UAP Sighting News.
Date of contact: 1988
Location of contact:Puerto Rico
This is a sighting...that pushing me in the back of my mind. It's inspiring to know that aliens abducted many individuals from many location and taught them together about the future fate of the world. None of the other abductees have ever been identified, and probably tried to hide the experience from all others, but not this brave guy in Puerto Rico. He not only reported it, he got some great photos of military jets making fly bys of the UFO when he got off. Check out his video below...it will change how you see things. Scott C. Waring
Nieuwe informatie over het hemellichaam dat 66 miljoen jaar geleden op onze planeet neerstortte en het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs veroorzaakte. Een studie heeft ontdekt wat het werkelijk is.
Artistic representation of the impact
(Image: Dona Jalufka / Universität Wien)
Chicxulub impactor, de ware oorsprong
Wat het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs veroorzaakte, was een ruimtesteen die op de aarde viel, maar waarover altijd een groot mysterie heeft geheerst. Het hemellichaam, de Chicxulub impactor genaamd, heeft al langer twijfels doen rijzen onder wetenschappers, die altijd hebben geloofd dat het een asteroïde of een komeet was. Recent onderzoek heeft echter de hypothese bevestigd dat het rotsblok van meer dan 9 kilometer breed deel uitmaakte van een familie van asteroïden die hun oorsprong vonden na de baan van Jupiter en die zeer zelden in contact komen met de aarde.
Een nieuwe studie, geleid door onderzoeker Mario Fischer-Gödde van de Universiteit van Keulen, Duitsland, heeft in dit opzicht verder bewijs opgeleverd, waarbij ruthenium werd aangetroffen in de geologische overblijfselen van de oude inslag. Dit is een element dat in zeer kleine hoeveelheden in de aardkorst voorkomt, maar juist zeer aanwezig is in asteroïden.
Een koolstofhoudende asteroïde veroorzaakte het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs
Pixabay
Op zoek naar soorten ruthenium in de Chicxulub-inslag onderzochten wetenschappers de wereldwijd verspreide laag puin na de inslag, de zogenaamde “Krijt-Paleogeen grens”, waarbij uniform elementen werden gevonden die behoren tot koolstofhoudende asteroïden, die grote hoeveelheden koolstof bevatten. Zoals Fischer-Gödde uitlegde: "de isotopische signatuur van ruthenium die we meten kan niets anders zijn dan een koolstofhoudende asteroïde."
Hoewel eerdere studies chemische kenmerken hebben ontdekt die verband houden met een koolstofhoudende asteroïde van het C-type, concentreerde het team zich op ruthenium. Omdat het zo zeldzaam is op aarde, zijn kleine hoeveelheden voldoende om dit soort ruimtegesteente te traceren. Wetenschappers hebben dit element gemeten bij vijf verschillende inslagen veroorzaakt door asteroïden van 541 miljoen jaar geleden tot nu: in alle gevallen werden de gebeurtenissen in verband gebracht met kiezelhoudende asteroïden, een groep hemellichamen die hun oorsprong vinden tussen Mars en Jupiter. Veel dichterbij dus dan koolstofachtigen. Dat is de reden waarom, zo merkte Fischer-Gödde op, "Chixulub tot nu toe een uniek en zeldzaam geval lijkt te zijn van een asteroïde van het koolstofhoudende type die de aarde raakt. Het ruthenium dat we in deze laag vinden, is voor bijna 100% afkomstig van de asteroïde."
De monsters van de onderzochte laag zijn afkomstig uit Spanje, Italië en Denemarken en hebben allemaal dezelfde samenstelling ruthenium, die verschilt van die van de aarde en daarom niet, zoals eerder werd aangenomen, afkomstig is van de uitbarstingen van de vulkanen van de Deccan Trappus. Bovendien verschillen de rutheniumisotopen in de onderzochte monsters van die in komeetfragmenten.
The 66-million-year-old Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer at Stevns Klint in Denmark. This boundary layer contains the globally distributed fallout produced by the asteroid impact at Chicxulub.
Credit...Philippe Claeys
Asteroïde die het tijdperk van de dinosauriërs beëindigde: meer vragen
Maar hoe stortte een koolstofhoudende asteroïde van deze omvang op de aarde? Het antwoord op deze vraag is nog steeds twijfelachtig, hoewel er wordt getheoretiseerd dat het, hoewel het zich na de baan van Jupiter heeft gevormd, mogelijk naar de buitenrand van de asteroïdengordel tussen Mars en Jupiter is geduwd, waar zich nu een groep koolstofhoudende asteroïden bevindt. Destijds kan de instabiliteit van de zwaartekracht van een jong zonnestelsel deze verplaatsing hebben veroorzaakt.
Hoe dan ook zijn er nog steeds veel open vragen over de impact van Chicxulub: een voorbeeld is hoe het de opkomst van nieuw leven kan hebben bevorderd, door sleutelelementen naar de bodem van de aarde te brengen voor de vorming van nieuwe levende wezens. Maar hoe zou de aarde er vandaag de dag uitzien als deze nooit was gevallen? “We moeten waarschijnlijk wat meer waarde hechten aan het feit dat we hier zijn en dat dit wellicht een gelukkig toeval is”, was het antwoord van Fischer-Gödde.
JFK and UFOs: What Did President Kennedy Really Know?
JFK and UFOs: What Did President Kennedy Really Know?
John F. Kennedy’s presidency is often remembered for the Cuban Missile Crisis, his call for the moon landing, and his tragic assassination. However, there is another, less discussed aspect of his time in office: his involvement with and knowledge of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Despite being a subject of speculation and conspiracy theories, recent discussions and investigations suggest that JFK’s knowledge of UFOs was not only real but also deeply intertwined with Cold War politics.
UFOs and Government Secrecy
When John F. Kennedy assumed office in the early 1960s, the U.S. government already had a history of dealing with UFO sightings and phenomena. Former Australian intelligence official Geoff Cruickshank shed light on Kennedy’s awareness of these issues during an interview with NewsNation’s “Reality Check.” According to Cruickshank, JFK had access to significant information about UFOs, including official footage that captured Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) while he was in office.
One notable instance is the “Bluegill” nuclear test, part of the larger “Operation Fishbowl” series of high-altitude nuclear tests. During this test, footage reportedly shows an unidentified object plummeting into the ocean following the detonation of the bomb. The release of this footage, with subsequent redactions, suggests that it may have been made public by mistake. This incident raises questions about the extent of Kennedy’s awareness of such phenomena and the classified information surrounding them.
The Majestic 12 Documents
A key part of the UFO narrative during Kennedy’s presidency involves the so-called “Majestic 12” (MJ-12) documents. These documents, which have long been disputed, are said to be a collection of leaked files from U.S. defense intelligence agencies. They purportedly reveal secret operations involving UFOs and suggest that JFK was concerned about the potential for UFO sightings to escalate Cold War tensions.
While the authenticity of the MJ-12 documents has been debated for decades, recent findings have lent some credibility to their claims. For instance, Cruickshank pointed out that one of the secret operations mentioned in the documents, which involved spoofing UFOs to provoke Soviet reactions, was only publicly revealed two years ago. This raises the possibility that the MJ-12 documents may contain elements of truth, despite their controversial history.
Cold War Tensions and JFK’s Concerns
Kennedy’s concern about UFOs was not just about extraterrestrial visitors but also about the geopolitical implications of such sightings. During the height of the Cold War, any unidentified object in the sky could be misinterpreted as a threat, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences. JFK was particularly worried that Soviet leaders might mistake American military activities for a nuclear strike, especially if those activities involved unidentified aerial phenomena.
To address these concerns, JFK pushed for greater transparency with the Soviet Union. According to the MJ-12 documents, Kennedy ordered the CIA to be more open with the Soviets about U.S. military activities that could be mistaken for UFOs. This move was intended to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear conflict, but it also highlighted JFK’s awareness of and involvement with UFO-related matters.
The Vienna Meeting and JFK’s Awareness
One of the most significant moments in JFK’s UFO-related knowledge reportedly occurred during a meeting in Vienna with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. According to the story, Khrushchev raised concerns about unidentified objects that the Soviets believed were American in origin. This meeting may have been a turning point for JFK, leading him to become more involved in addressing the potential dangers of misinterpreting UFO sightings during a time of heightened global tensions.
Connections to JFK’s Assassination?
The question of whether JFK’s UFO knowledge played a role in his assassination is a topic of ongoing debate. Some conspiracy theories suggest that his push for transparency, particularly regarding UFOs and covert CIA operations, may have made him a target. While these theories remain speculative, they underscore the mysterious and often controversial nature of JFK’s involvement with UFOs.
VIDEO:
What did John F. Kennedy know — and not know — about UFOs? | Morning in America
John F. Kennedy’s knowledge of UFOs was likely more extensive than most people realize. His concerns about the potential for UFO sightings to spark international conflict, particularly with the Soviet Union, led him to take significant steps toward transparency. Whether through the “Bluegill” nuclear test footage, the Majestic 12 documents, or his interactions with Soviet leaders, JFK’s presidency was marked by a complex relationship with the UFO phenomena. While much remains uncertain, it is clear that UFOs were more than just a fringe topic for JFK—they were a matter of national and global security during one of the most dangerous periods in modern history.
Meet Oumuamua: the interstellar object some astronomers thought might have been an alien spaceship
Meet Oumuamua: the interstellar object some astronomers thought might have been an alien spaceship
A confusing intersteller visitor that lead to weird theories
The Oumuamua comet is now confirmed to be the first interstellar object to visit our solar system, according to NASA. But when the object was first discovered back in 2017 it caused a lot of confusion and spurred on more than a few weird theories about what it was and where it came from.
Astronomers studying the sky back in 2017 were examining the night sky from the Panoramic Telescope and Rapid Response System and stumbled on a weird comet with a speed and trajectory that didn't make sense.
Photo: Wiki Commons By nagual design; Tomruen - Own work made with trajectory data from JPL Horizons, redrawn by nagual design, CC BY-SA 4.0
Like nothing we saw before The comet in question was moving too fast and entered our solar system on a trajectory that couldn't be explained by any known scientific theory at the time, which led to a lot of speculation about the interstellar object.
Could it be an alien spaceship? In 2018, Harvard astronomers Avi Loeb and Shmuel Bialy theorized that the object's nongravitational acceleration could have been evidence that it was a spaceship using a solar sail according to Space.com, a theory which most astronomers did not support according to the news outlet.
A visitor from deep space The comet had a speed of roughly 54 miles per second according to Time Magazine’s Jefferey Kluger and had a highly elliptical orbit, which scientists said indicated the comet didn’t originate in our solar system and actually traveled to us from deep space.
Theories become reality “For decades we’ve theorized that such interstellar objects are out there, and now—for the first time—we have direct evidence they exist,” said the Associate Administrator of NASA’s Space Mission Direct Thomas Zurbuchen at the time of the comet's discovery.
A history-making discovery “This history-making discovery is opening a new window to study [the] formation of solar systems beyond our own,” Zurbuchen added, and he was more right than he knew.
Odd data indicated abnormalities Scientists quickly realized that at the speed the comet was traveling, it had to have accelerated in the latter half of its journey, a fact that shocked the scientific community according to Kluger since the speed increase couldn’t be explained by our sun's gravitational pull or any other scientific theory.
A possible alien craft? “That left even sober scientists to speculate that the object might actually be an alien spacecraft,” Kluger wrote, “speeding up under its own power during its barnstorming of our solar system.”
Photo: By Original: ESO/M. Kornmesser Derivative: nagualdesign, CC BY-SA 4.0
The comet Oumuamua The comet was later named Oumuamua—which means “a messenger from afar” in Hawaiian according to Kluger—and while media speculation ran rampant about the possible discovery of aliens, scientists got to work figuring out a less fantastical explanation for Oumuamua.
The Oumuamua's mysteries have been revealed Some researchers theorized that what was found could have been an alien spacecraft, but roughly half a decade after the discovery, astronomers finally figured out the mysteries behind the comet and published their findings in March 2023.
We might have an explanation Hard work into the origins of our solar system's first interstellar visitor eventually paid off and two scientists believe they’ve finally found an explanation for Oumuamua’s unexplained speed increase halfway through its journey.
Trapped hydrogen fueled Oumuamua's speed increase Professors Jennifer Bergner and Darryl Seligman were able to show that Oumuamua’s speed increase was due to the release of what they said was “trapped molecular hydrogen” that had formed through an “energetic processing” of the comet’s icy body.
An explanation from Bergner and Seligman “In this model, Oumuamua began as an icy planetesimal that was irradiated at low temperatures by cosmic rays during its interstellar journey, and experienced warming during its passage through the Solar System,” the professors explained.
The comet melted and hydrogen emerged As Oumuamua warmed, the trapped hydrogen in its body was allowed to escape, which fueled the comet and allowed it to increase its speed to levels that baffled scientists.
Published in Nature Bergner and Seligman published their work in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, and if it proves true, it would explain how Oumuamua was able to speed up in the latter half of its journey to our solar system.
"A very interesting explination" Karen Meech is a leading expert on comets at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, and she told the New York Times via email at the time the study was published that Bergner and Seligman's explanation for Oumuamua’s speed was a “very interesting” one.
Plausible but not a solved “I’m not willing to say it ‘solves’ things,” Meech continued in her email to the New York Times, “the smoking gun there would be to have detected hydrogen spectroscopically.”
Oumuamua isn't solved “But it is very plausible, and if another object is discovered that looks like Oumuamua, then all these models and explanations provide a lot of guidance for the observations,” Meech added.
Debate will rage on Controversy over Oumuamua raged on, however, since many astronomers at the time didn't agree with Bergner and Seligman’s assessment of Oumuamua’s icy body fueling the comet's speed increase.
There was no evidence Oumuamua had an icy body “The authors of the new paper claim that it was a water ice comet even though we did not see the cometary tail,” Harvard astronomer Dr. Avi Loeb told the New York Times. “This is like saying an elephant is a zebra without stripes.”
The other possibility In 2021, Alan Jackson and Steve Desch of Arizona State University proposed that Oumuamua could be a giant chunk of nitrogen that was blasted off of a Pluto-like celestial body according to Space.com.
10 Things Scientists Can't Explain and Attribute to God It’s human nature to try and explain what we see around us. Many religious teachings came to be as a way to explain the unexplainable.
As the centuries passed and our scientific understanding of the world and the wider universe developed, new scientific theories rendered some of these religious ideas obsolete. There are, though, still some areas where science simply cannot produce an explanation.
The Universe and Its Origins Let’s start with a big one — the existence of the universe. Scientific understanding of the universe and how it came to be has come a long way from the Biblical notion of God creating existence with a few words.
But there’s still a lot that science doesn’t have an answer for. Scientific opinion has shifted from the universe being infinite to it having a beginning point. If it has a beginning, then something outside of the universe brought it into existence. Perhaps something divine.
A ‘Goldilocks Universe’ The universe is also finely tuned, with conditions being “just right” to allow for the existence of life on Earth. Any sort of change one way or the other, and life could not exist.
The nature of the fundamental physical laws of the cosmos is very precise. Some feel that they’re too precise to have occurred by accident and instead point to some sort of intelligent design.
Consciousness The scientific definition of the nature of life is extremely limited. We can describe the biological processes in great detail and talk about how the anatomy of the brain permits higher thought, but science cannot really explain consciousness.
And life in the truest, philosophical sense is all about consciousness. The concept of biocentrism takes a more spiritual view of existence that factors in consciousness and much of what religion might describe as the human soul.
Similarly, science can handily explain basic, almost animalistic responses humans have to the world around us, such as why we as a species might have shared “fight or flight” threat responses.
But beyond this, we as a species also have a shared morality. We have ethics. Similar moral constructs crop up time and again in different cultures and civilizations totally independently of one another. Science cannot explain why the animal species we call humans have this fundamental, shared, complex moral code.
Materialistic Desire If we again think of humans as animals, we can explain why there is a biological imperative to secure resources necessary for our survival. But what if we remove this survival need?
We still seek out and cling to things for materialistic or sentimental values. Science is far weaker at explaining these phenomena. Sentimentality in particular is something that is far better explained in the realm of spirituality.
The Design of Life DNA is essentially the code of life. Sequences of nucleotide base pairs describe how to create specific proteins, basically working a lot like computer code for a piece of software.
Science cannot sufficiently explain the chemical evolutionary origins of complex DNA sequencing. If we stick with the software analogy, one explanation could be that it’s a purpose-built design tool for an intelligent designer to use to “program” life in the universe.
The Existence of Miracles Miracles are present in the world, if we define a miracle as some surprising outcome that defies scientific conventions, laws and theory and yet happens all the same.
Beyond this, there are coincidental occurrences that stretch credulity. Scientific thinking holds that there is an underlying reason for why things happen, but scientific theory can fail to explain how some of these seemingly impossible coincidences or miracles occur. Instead, there might be the divine at play.
Human Connection There are biological reasons to explain why humans within the same families seek connection. Again, there is a biological imperative to stay connected and make sure your lineage’s genes are passed to the next generation.
But what about connections that aren’t about basic, animalistic survival? Why do we seek meaningful connections with others, a connection that has no survival benefit? Again, this is more about the spiritual meaning of what it is to be human rather than the scientific meaning
Life After Death It’s one of the great mysteries that has preoccupied human existence — what happens after we die? It’s a question that permeates philosophy, culture and literature — the world beyond death is Hamlet’s “undiscovered country.”
The limitations of the scientific definition of life mean that science also struggles to tackle what happens after death. The biological processes end, but what of the consciousness? Even science states that everything in existence must be conserved, so our “souls” must go somewhere.
The Meaning of Life A common theme seems to be that science is very good at explaining the “how” of things but less equipped to tackle questions of “why.” We can explain the origins of life scientifically, but not its purpose.
Some scientific thinking navigates this by removing the idea of purpose entirely — there is no meaning to life, life simply is. Many scientists, however, do not accept this and continue their scientific explanation of the mysteries of the universe, holding a spiritual belief that there is some meaning to it all. A meaning they cannot define.
When Science Meets Faith Science is, fundamentally, the pursuit of answers. Just because science cannot explain something yet, that doesn't mean that scientists relent and accept something as inexplicable.
But by the same token, the fact that science cannot explain something can be taken as proof that the explanation lies beyond the realm of science and exists in the spiritual. Furthermore, science can be great at providing explanations for the world around us but falls short of religion when it comes to giving meaning to everything.
Nasa/UPI/ShutterstockBoeing’s Starliner, which has been stuck in space since June 6 for what was meant to be an eight day long mission, is at a standstill.
The evaluationsNASA will undertake over the next few weeks will determine if Starliner returns to Earth with its crew, or if it comes back alone, and leaves its crew in space for many more months with a return home pushed to next year. There are still many unknowns, but a teleconferenceNASA held on Wednesday did shed light on some big questions.
NASA gave Boeing a contract a decade ago to build a commercial system to fly astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. The aerospace giant’s first trial run with astronauts launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center up towards the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5. The mission, called Crew Flight Test, was slated to last eight days. Friday marked mission day 72.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suni Williams (right) wave to a crowd before boarding the Boeing Starliner spacecraft in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 5, 2024.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
Boeing Starliner’s inaugural crew flight carried NASA veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. They’re still in space. The duo’s delay to come home stems from issues that first arose as Starliner sought to rendezvous with the ISS.
A key problem with Starliner is that five of its thrusters, which are part of the propulsion system, failed and turned off during the flight to the ISS. Over the past several weeks, NASA and Boeing have performed a number of tests to both the Starliner ship currently stuck at the ISS as well as a test unit in New Mexico to evaluate whether the thrusters are working and the spaceship can safely take astronauts home.
Specifically, on the Starliner docked at the ISS, scientists have performed what they call "hot fire tests" where they ignite all but one of Starliner's thrusters for a very short period of time to test that the thrusters are working. On a test thruster in New Mexico, Boeing engineers attempted to replicate what the thrusters in space would go through by putting them through the same thermal conditions and sequences that they'd feel during the flight.
The tests revealed that the thrusters were likely overheating, and that a teflon seal on the thruster’s oxidizer line poppet was swelling and causing fuel to get blocked.
When will NASA decide if Starliner will return to Earth with astronauts?
The Flight Readiness Review, in which officials are polled for go or no-go, could happen as early as next week. It could potentially get pushed to the beginning of the week beginning with Monday August 26, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, told reporters at a teleconference NASA held on Wednesday. “It's a fairly major discussion to decide about whether or not we're going to have crew on board Starliner for return,” Bowersox said.
The Boeing Starliner lifting off from Florida up towards low-Earth orbit.
At the press conference, Bowersox said that “it’s getting a lot harder,” to delay the decision. He cited consumables, and the need to use the ISS ports for cargo missions, as reasons to avoid postponing the decision of whether or not Starliner returns crewed or empty much longer. “We’re reaching a point where that last week in August we really should be making a call, if not sooner,” Bowersox added.
If Starliner returns with no astronauts, would it mean the end to NASA’s quest for a backup plan in space?
NASA spearheaded its Commercial Crew Program so that it could pay more than one company to fly its astronauts to space. Boeing and SpaceX are meant to be dissimilar contingencies, or different options, in case one company cannot provide astronauts with a lift to space, or return them in case of an emergency.
In fact, although many details haven’t yet been ironed out, NASA has already reached out to SpaceX to bring Wilmore and Williams home on their Crew-9 mission’s Dragon capsule if Starliner is deemed too dangerous to bring the duo home.
“All I can say is that our intent is to keep pressing to have two providers,” Bowersox said.
“We've got two very good companies, and we want to develop two strong and capable spacecraft. We think we still have a very good chance of doing that. But the answer is always in the data, right? That's why we're doing this mission.”
Saturn's Moon Mimas May Be Way More Inhabitable Than We First Thought
Saturn's Moon Mimas May Be Way More Inhabitable Than We First Thought
The existence of another watery world in the outer solar system may offer clues to how such seas form.
by Shannon Hall and Knowable Magazine
NASA/JPL
The outer solar system is awash with liquid water. A briny ocean is concealed beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa — with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. A subsurface sea on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, spews plumes of water vapor into space. And there are tantalizing hints that oceans could exist on Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and other distant moons, too.
Now, another moon appears to be secretly flooded. Saturn’s moon Mimas, known for its uncanny resemblance to the Star Wars Death Star, might harbor liquid water beneath its icy shell. If true, similar seas could be hiding in plain sight, and the outer solar system may be far more habitablethan previously thought.
In 2014, scientists first published evidence that Mimas might be a watery world — submerging the community in a decade-long debate. Many, including Alyssa Rhoden, a planetary scientist now at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, were highly skeptical of the possibility. Their reasoning was simple: Mimas’ heavily cratered surface showed no signs of an internal ocean. As with Enceladus, Saturn’s gravity should churn the ocean waters within Mimas, causing large cracks to appear in the surface ice. No such fractures have been seen.
The tides might now have turned. Two studies, one by Rhoden and colleagues and another by Valéry Lainey of the Paris Observatory and colleagues make a stronger case for an ocean and even explain the conundrum at the surface. Together, the research suggests that Mimas may have a young and changing ocean. If so, it raises the prospect of an outer solar system rife with activity. That possibility is what most excites Rhoden, who spoke with KnowableMagazine about the potential ocean and why it could be such a boon for scientists.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What do we know about these hidden oceans?
In many ways, they look like our own — at least in that they’re likely made up of saltwater.
We know that these ocean worlds have icy surfaces from their overall bright appearance, as confirmed by telescopic and spacecraft measurements that detect signatures of water ice. Some ocean moons even have low enough densities that they probably have water ice mixed into the rock in their interiors. With heat, that water ice melts into liquid water, which will erode rock to create saltwater. On Enceladus, saltwater is conveniently spewing out into space.
Given how cold it is in the outer solar system, what generates the heat?
Distant oceans might at first seem out of the question. Heat to melt ice is hard to come by, so far from the Sun. But thanks to a gravitational quirk, the outer solar system can be quite balmy.
Consider Jupiter and its Moon Europa. Jupiter exerts a strong gravitational force on Europa, elongating Europa in the direction of Jupiter. Because Europa’s orbit is eccentric — it swings close to Jupiter before swinging farther away — Europa gets stretched and released over time. This creates friction in the interior that provides the heat necessary to sustain a liquid ocean.
We first saw hints that Europa might host a subsurface ocean when the Voyager mission swung past Jupiter in 1979. Europa doesn’t look like our Moon or even most bodies in the inner solar system. Its icy surface doesn’t have a lot of craters but is instead covered with crisscrossing lines and broken pieces that have shifted around. You don’t have to look at it very hard to imagine that something different is going on there.
You mention surface features. What other evidence do we rely on to detect a hidden ocean?
One way is to look at magnetic fields. Because saltwater is electrically conductive, it can create a magnetic field around the Moon that disrupts the planet’s magnetic field. That is a leading piece of evidence for Europa’s subsurface ocean.
But that alone is not enough. It’s the combination of evidence that leads us to conclude there’s an ocean. We might also consider, for example, measurements of salt on the surface and how the Moon’s gravity tugs on a spacecraft. Since the densities of rock or liquid metal differ from the density of liquid water, the size of those tugs offers clues to the material, as well as where within the Moon it is concentrated.
Or we might simply imagine how the Moon’s face changes direction throughout its orbit. Generally, these small moons always show the same face as their parent planet, much like our Moon. But as a moon moves through its orbit, the direction it points can shift a bit back and forth — creating a shimmy in the visible portion. The extent of that shimmy depends on the interior. An ice shell over an ocean can move more freely than an ice shell on top of rock, so the changes tend to be larger. That’s how the ocean was detected at Enceladus. And it’s one of the best lines of evidence for an ocean at Mimas.
Let’s talk about Mimas. How did you end up studying the Moon?
I had spent a decade or so working on Europa and other icy moons when the 2014 Mimas paper came out. That paper measured that shimmy, or libration, as the visible portion of the moon shifts, suggesting Mimas either hosted a subsurface ocean or an oddly shaped core.
But an ocean seemed impossible. Mimas look much like our Moon, with a heavily cratered surface. It didn’t host any crisscrossing lines or broken pieces like Europa. And it certainly wasn’t spewing geysers like Enceladus. So I took one look at Mimas, and I said, “There’s no way that is an ocean moon.” Yet I realized I couldn’t refute the idea.
I kept Mimas in my mind over the years, eventually putting together a paper for the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2023. That paper ruled out several ocean scenarios and left only one option, an ocean that formed recently, well after Mimas itself. A young ocean could be stealthy. But it was still just a hypothesis.
How has the most recent work changed the picture?
Early in 2024, Valéry Lainey and his group reported new observational evidence in favor of an ocean on Mimas. They looked not at the libration but at changes in Mimas’ orbit through time — changes that depend on the interior structure. They found that those changes could not be explained by an oddly shaped core, leaving an ocean as the most viable option.
My team’s research, published in June, has gone on to explain the lack of visible surface fractures. We argue that the ocean is so young — merely 10 million years old — that it has only recently stopped growing. We think that the tidal stresses of a young churning ocean may not be enough to crack the ice above. Instead, what’s needed is the stress that comes when the ocean eventually refreezes. Because Mimas is losing heat as its orbit becomes less eccentric over time, refreezing — which is only just beginning on Mimas — will cause the overlying ice to crack.
The research suggests that eventually, Mimas is probably going to lose its ocean, which is a little sad since it is just being recognized. But on the flip side, Mimas may become the new Enceladus — the new coolest moon of Saturn — with deep cracks and maybe even jets of water.
What are the big-picture implications of this research?
I’m interested in this from a geophysical standpoint. We think of the earliest epochs in our solar system as the hot times when all the activity happens; then, everything evolves toward a quieter state. Pluto’s moon, Charon, might have lost an ocean. And Europa’s and Ganymede’s oceans are pretty old. That a moon could form a new ocean well into its history and that we could watch? That’s exciting! It opens up the possibility that any world, including one with an old, cratered surface, may be going through a similar transition.
There’s also interest in habitability — whether these oceans are suitable for supporting life. We don’t currently know whether any of the solar system’s oceans, other than our own, are habitable, have been inhabited or are currently inhabited. But if Mimas truly has an ocean, we could have a window into how these worlds develop and even how habitats are created and lost. It is exciting to be able to see these processes as they occur — instead of always viewing the end states of things that happened long ago.
What upcoming missions could tell us more?
The European Space Agency has already launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, which will make detailed observations of Europa, and the moons Ganymede and Callisto, which show hints of oceans. And in the fall of 2024, NASA will send the Europa Clipper into orbit around Jupiter to determine if Europa has conditions suitable for life.
The Uranus system, which is high on NASA’s agenda for a future mission, is where I see the most implications for this recent work. It’s surprisingly similar to the Saturn system, including hosting ice-rich, mid-sized moons similar to Mimas and Enceladus. If there’s a young ocean on Mimas, it is not a huge leap to consider that water worlds might exist among the Uranian moons, too.
This article originally appeared inKnowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for thenewsletter.
Asteroids safely fly by Earth all the time. Here’s why scientists are watching Apophis.
Asteroids safely fly by Earth all the time. Here’s why scientists are watching Apophis.
A menacing asteroid named Apophis is projected to have a close encounter with Earth in 2029. Scientists have long ruled it out as an impact threat, but they still hope to study it.
An animation shows Apophis' 2029 path compared to the swarm of satellites orbiting Earth.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Story Summary
Apophis is projected to pass within 20,000 miles of our planet’s surface on April 13 2029. The menacing asteroid will harmlessly pass by, astronomers say.
Apophis measures nearly a quarter of a mile long – about the size of a cruise ship – making it large enough to be visible to the naked eye when it shoots past Earth.
Space agencies and scientific institutes around the world are planning to use the rare flyby to explore Apophis from the ground with telescopes and even spacecraft.
If you've heard of Apophis, then you're likely aware of the reputation it gained upon its discovery two decades ago as a potentially very dangerous space rock hurtling too close for comfort toward Earth. It was initially believed that the asteroid could one day pose a serious threat to our planet.
And one day, it just might.
But that day won't come for at least 100 years, astronomers say. No, not even in 2029, when Apophis makes the closest approach to Earth that any asteroid of its size ever has – at least, one that scientists have known about in advance.
Additional observations of Apophis have allowed astronomers to long rule out the risk of an impact in 2029 when Apophis is predicted to come within a distance of Earth 10 times closer than the moon, according to NASA. The asteroid also won't hit our planet when it makes another close approach in 2036.
While we and our children are safe from Apophis' wrath, scientists still see a valuable opportunity to study the asteroid as it whizzes by Earth to learn what they can of other space rocks that actually could hit our planet.
Here's what to know about Apophis and how space agencies hope to protect Earth from other asteroids like it.
Apophis to make 2029 flyby to Earth
Apophis is projected to pass within 20,000 miles of our planet’s surface on April 13, 2029.
For the superstitious lot, yes, that's a Friday, no less.
On that day, Apophis will come closer than telecommunications satellites in geostationary orbit, the ESA says.
The close encounter with Earth will make the asteroid visible in the Eastern hemisphere, including in Europe, Africa, and western Asia. It should look somewhat like a bright star streaking across the sky.
Earth's gravity will significantly influence Apophis – squeezing and distorting the asteroid as one side is pulled toward our planet more than the other. While no affects will be felt on Earth, Apophis may experience some quakes and even landslides, the ESA said.
Apophis was initially identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth after its 2004 discovery, but that assessment has since changed as astronomers tracked it and learned more about its orbit.
While the risk of it impacting Earth during its 2029 flyby rose as high as 2.7%, Apophis has since been removed from NASA’s Sentry Impact Risk Table. That's thanks to a radar observation campaign in March 2021 during a distant flyby that – combined with precise orbit analysis – allowed astronomers to determine that the asteroid poses no risk of crashing into Earth for at least a century.
How big is the Apophis asteroid?
Apophis measures nearly a quarter of a mile long – about the size of a cruise ship – making it large enough to be visible to the naked eye when it shoots past Earth.
The Planetary Society compares its size to the equivalent of about five football fields and taller than the Empire State Building in New York City.
It's hard to know just exactly what Apophis looks like, as scientists do not yet have images of it. But radar observations have suggested that Apophis is shaped roughly like a peanut – a relatively common shape among near-Earth asteroids larger than 660 feet in diameter, according to NASA.
Apophis is believed to be stony, made up of silicate (or rocky) materials and a mixture of metallic nickel and iron.
What would happen if Apophis hit Earth?
Though not as big or catastrophic as the asteroid theorized to have wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, Apophis would cause widespread destruction up to several hundred kilometers from its impact site.
The energy released would be equal more than 1,000 megatons of TNT, or tens to hundreds of nuclear weapons, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization promoting space exploration.
Apophis is no different from other asteroids in that it is a remnant from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. It originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and spent millions of years being altered by the gravitational influence of large planets such as Jupiter, NASA said.
Now, Apophis's orbit around the sun brings it startlingly close to Earth.
It's partly due to its proximity, as well as the sheer devastation its impact with Earth would bring, that astronomers named the asteroid after an ancient Egyptian god of disorder.
Specifically, Apophis is named for the demon serpent who personified evil and chaos.
ESA, NASA hope to study Apophis
The NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-APEX hovers over the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, using its thrusters to disturb the asteroid's surface to reveal what liesbeneath, as shown in an undated NASA artist's video rendering, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Handout via Reuters
Space agencies and scientific institutes around the world are planning to use the rare flyby to explore Apophis from the ground with telescopes and even spacecraft.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx, which gathered and returned a sample of asteroid Bennu in September, has been renamed OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX) and sent on a trajectory that would allow it to cross paths with the asteroid in 2029. When it has its rendezvous with Apophis in June that year, OSIRIS-APEX will spend 18 months mapping the asteroid’s surface and analyzing its chemical makeup, according to NASA.
Earth-based telescopes will observe Apophis as well, but they won't be able to detect as much as the spacecraft will when the asteroid gets near the sun, NASA said. But unlike with the Bennu mission, OSIRIS-APEX will not collect a sample from Apophis.
The European Space Agency, NASA's counterpart across the pond, plans to launch a spacecraft of its own called Ramses.
An art visualization shows how the European Space Agency's "Ramses" mission will approach the massive asteroid Apophis.
ESA-Science Office
The Ramses spacecraft, which must be ready to launch a year ahead of time, will meet Apophis before it passes by Earth and accompany it on its way out of our orbit. During that time, the mission will observe how the surface of the asteroid changes from being in such close proximity to Earth, the European Space Agency said in July.
NASA takes on dangerous asteroids
The expedition is all part of the steps NASA and other space agencies have taken in recent years to protect humanity from threats posed by asteroids and other inbound space rocks, such as comets.
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system shown in this undated illustration handout.
Though Dimorphos posed no threat to Earth, the mission served as the first demonstration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. If an incoming asteroid is ever on a collision course with our planet, the space agency has said that the DART method could prove crucial for deflecting and changing the object's orbital path.
A placard hangs on the wall during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Technology Media Workshop Telecon Briefing and tour at the Johns Hopkins AppliedPhysics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, on September 12, 2022, ahead of the September 26 project test mission. The DART mission shifted an asteroid's orbit through kinetic impact specifically, by smashing a spacecraft into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system Didymos.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
And to gauge whether authorities are prepared to defend Earth from space objects, NASA has hosted a series of exercises, the fifth and most recent of which occurred in April, with findings announced in June. It was the first such exercise to include about 100 international government representatives who gathered to work through a hypothetical scenario about an inbound asteroid.
The exercise was organized by the U.S. space agency's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which was established in 2016 to catalog near-Earth objects that could crash into the planet.
NASA is also working on an asteroid-hunting telescope known as the NEO Surveyor to find near-Earth objects capable of causing significant damage. Set to launch no earlier than June 2028, the telescope is designed to discover 90% of asteroids and comets that are 460 feet in size or larger and come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit.
Apophis, ‘God of Destruction’ is set to skim Earth's orbit; Why scientists are watching closely
Apophis, ‘God of Destruction’ is set to skim Earth's orbit; Why scientists are watching closely
Apophis, ‘God of Destruction’ is set to skim Earth's orbit; Why scientists are watching closely
In April 2029, the asteroid Apophis will make a close approach to Earth, coming within 20,000 miles of our planet. This encounter will be one of the closest ever recorded for an asteroid of this size, surpassing the distance of geostationary satellites. On April 13, 2029—a Friday the 13th—Apophis will be visible from the Eastern Hemisphere, including parts of Europe, Africa, and Western Asia. It will appear as a bright streak across the sky, resembling a fast-moving star.
What is Apophis?
Apophis is a remnant from the early solar system, formed around 4.6 billion years ago in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It has been significantly influenced by the gravitational forces of large planets like Jupiter. Its name derives from the ancient Egyptian god of disorder and chaos, reflecting the potential havoc such an asteroid could wreak. Apophis is named after the demon serpent who personified evil and chaos, symbolizing the potential danger posed by its impact.
Apophis' Safety Assessment
Despite its close proximity, Apophis poses no threat to Earth. Initially identified as a hazardous asteroid after its discovery in 2004, recent observations have ruled out any risk of impact in 2029. "While the risk of it impacting Earth during its 2029 flyby rose as high as 2.7%, Apophis has since been removed from NASA’s Sentry Impact Risk Table," thanks to precise orbit analysis and radar observations in March 2021, NASA confirmed.
What would happen if Apophis hits Earth?
If the asteroid Apophis were to strike Earth, the impact would result in severe destruction, although not as catastrophic as the asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The devastation from Apophis would extend up to several hundred kilometers from the impact site. The energy released would exceed 1,000 megatons of TNT, a magnitude comparable to tens to hundreds of nuclear weapons, as noted by the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to space exploration.
Physical Characteristics of Apophis
Apophis measures nearly a quarter of a mile long, roughly equivalent to five football fields or taller than the Empire State Building. Radar data suggests that the asteroid is shaped somewhat like a peanut. It is primarily composed of stony silicate materials and a mixture of metallic nickel and iron. Although scientists do not have direct images of Apophis, its shape and size have been inferred from observations.
Potential Impact Consequences
If Apophis were to collide with Earth, the impact would cause significant damage, with effects extending several hundred kilometers from the impact site. The energy released would be equivalent to more than 1,000 megatons of TNT. While not as catastrophic as the asteroid that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, it would still result in widespread destruction.
Scientific Missions and Observations
The upcoming flyby offers a valuable opportunity for scientific study. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX mission, a renamed version of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, is set to rendezvous with Apophis in June 2029. The spacecraft will map the asteroid’s surface and analyze its chemical composition over an 18-month period. The European Space Agency is also preparing a mission called Ramses, which will observe how Earth's gravity affects Apophis during its close approach.
Asteroid Defense and Future Missions
NASA and other space agencies are actively working to enhance planetary defense capabilities. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which successfully altered the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, demonstrates potential methods for deflecting hazardous asteroids. "NASA’s mission to Apophis is a chance to practice how to characterize and potentially defend against future threats," said Terik Daly, a planetary scientist involved with both the DART and OSIRIS-APEX missions.
Challenges and Future Plans
As the 2029 flyby approaches, scientists face the challenge of developing and funding additional missions to study Apophis before and during its closest approach. "We’re running out of time," said Jason Kalirai from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The need for funding and mission planning is critical, with several proposed missions awaiting approval and support.
Planetary Defense and Future Preparations
The impending close flyby of Apophis in 2029 presents a rare opportunity for detailed scientific study. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which previously returned samples from asteroid Bennu, has been repurposed as OSIRIS-APEX for this mission. Scheduled to rendezvous with Apophis in June 2029, OSIRIS-APEX will spend 18 months mapping the asteroid and analyzing its chemical composition. "The mission will provide critical data on Apophis's surface and structure," said Daniella DellaGiustina, lead scientist on OSIRIS-APEX.
In addition, the European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing the Ramses spacecraft, which will observe Apophis before and after its close encounter with Earth. Ramses aims to study how Earth's gravity affects the asteroid's surface and rotation. "Ramses will help us understand the changes Apophis undergoes due to its proximity to Earth," explained ESA representatives.
NASA has been actively working on planetary defense strategies. In September 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) demonstrated a method for altering an asteroid's trajectory. This mission successfully redirected the small asteroid Dimorphos by crashing a spacecraft into it. "The DART mission showed that we can deflect an asteroid's orbit, which is crucial for future planetary defense," noted Terik Daly, a planetary scientist involved in DART.
NASA is also developing the NEO Surveyor telescope, set to launch in June 2028. This telescope will search for near-Earth objects larger than 460 feet, aiming to discover 90% of such objects within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit.
Related video:
Time-Lapse Orbit Animation Of OSIRIS-APEX's Epic Journey To Asteroid Apophis (Dailymotion)
Several proposed missions are under consideration, including repurposing the Janus spacecraft and developing new ones. Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft might also be involved in early observations. "No bucks, no Bruce Willis," remarked Richard P. Binzel in a Washington Post report, highlighting the financial constraints in asteroid research.
By characterizing Apophis and how it reacts to being in Earth's gravitational field, Ramses will boost our knowledge of NEOs and planetary defense.
An animation shows Apophis' 2029 path compared to the swarm of satellites orbiting Earth.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The European Space Agency is fast-tracking a new mission called Ramses, which will fly to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis and join the space rock in 2029 when it comes very close to our planet — closer even than the region where geosynchronous satellites sit.
Apophis, ‘God of Destruction’ is set to skim Earth's orbit; Why scientists are watching closely
Ramses is short for Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety and, as its name suggests, is the next phase in humanity's efforts to learn more about near-Earth asteroids (NEOs) and how we might deflect them should one ever be discovered on a collision course with planet Earth.
In order to launch in time to rendezvous with Apophis in February 2029, scientists at the European Space Agency have been given permission to start planning Ramses even before the multinational space agency officially adopts the mission. The sanctioning and appropriation of funding for the Ramses mission will hopefully take place at ESA's Ministerial Council meeting (involving representatives from each of ESA's member states) in November of 2025. To arrive at Apophis in February 2029, launch would have to take place in April 2028, the agency says.
This animation depicts the orbital trajectory of asteroid 99942 Apophis as it zooms safely past Earth on April 13, 2029. Earth’s gravity will slightly deflect the trajectory as the 1,100-foot-wide (340-meter-wide) near-Earth object comes within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of our planet’s surface. The motion has been speeded up 2,000 times.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This is a big deal because large asteroids don't come this close to Earth very often. It is thus scientifically precious that, on April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) of Earth. For comparison, geosynchronous orbit is 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth's surface. Such close fly-bys by asteroids hundreds of meters across (Apophis is about 1,230 feet, or 375 meters, across) only occur on average once every 5,000 to 10,000 years. Miss this one, and we've got a long time to wait for the next.
When Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was for a short time the most dangerous asteroid known, being classified as having the potential to impact with Earth possibly in 2029, 2036, or 2068. Should an asteroid of its size strike Earth, it could gouge out a crater several kilometers across and devastate a country with shock waves, flash heating and earth tremors. If it crashed down in the ocean, it could send a towering tsunami to devastate coastlines in multiple countries.
Over time, as our knowledge of Apophis' orbit became more refined, however, the risk of impact greatly went down. Radar observations of the asteroid in March of 2021 reduced the uncertainty in Apophis' orbit from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers, finally removing any lingering worries about an impact — at least for the next 100 years. (Beyond 100 years, asteroid orbits can become too unpredictable to plot with any accuracy, but there's currently no suggestion that an impact will occur after 100 years.) So, Earth is expected to be perfectly safe in 2029 when Apophis comes through. Still, scientists want to see how Apophis responds by coming so close to Earth and entering our planet's gravitational field.
"There is still so much we have yet to learn about asteroids but, until now, we have had to travel deep into the solar system to study them and perform experiments ourselves to interact with their surface," said Patrick Michel, who is the Director of Research at CNRS at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, in a statement. "Nature is bringing one to us and conducting the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and squeezed by strong tidal forces that may trigger landslides and other disturbances and reveal new material from beneath the surface."
The Goldstone radar's imagery of asteroid 99942 Apophis as it made its closest approach to Earth, in March 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/NSF/AUI/GBO)
By arriving at Apophis before the asteroid's close encounter with Earth, and sticking with it throughout the flyby and beyond, Ramses will be in prime position to conduct before-and-after surveys to see how Apophis reacts to Earth. By looking for disturbances Earth's gravitational tidal forces trigger on the asteroid's surface, Ramses will be able to learn about Apophis' internal structure, density, porosity and composition, all of which are characteristics that we would need to first understand before considering how best to deflect a similar asteroid were one ever found to be on a collision course with our world.
Besides assisting in protecting Earth, learning about Apophis will give scientists further insights into how similar asteroids formed in the early solar system, and, in the process, how planets (including Earth) formed out of the same material.
One way we already know Earth will affect Apophis is by changing its orbit. Currently, Apophis is categorized as an Aten-type asteroid, which is what we call the class of near-Earth objects that have a shorter orbit around the sun than Earth does. Apophis currently gets as far as 0.92 astronomical units (137.6 million km, or 85.5 million miles) from the sun. However, our planet will give Apophis a gravitational nudge that will enlarge its orbit to 1.1 astronomical units (164.6 million km, or 102 million miles), such that its orbital period becomes longer than Earth's.
It will then be classed as an Apollo-type asteroid.
Ramses won't be alone in tracking Apophis. NASA has repurposed their OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned a sample from another near-Earth asteroid, 101955 Bennu, in 2023. However, the spacecraft, renamed OSIRIS-APEX (Apophis Explorer), won't arrive at the asteroid until April 23, 2029, ten days after the close encounter with Earth. OSIRIS-APEX will initially perform a flyby of Apophis at a distance of about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from the object, then return in June that year to settle into orbit around Apophis for an 18-month mission.
Furthermore, the European Space Agency still plans on launching its Hera spacecraft in October 2024 to follow-up on the DART mission to the double asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos. DART impacted the latter in a test of kinetic impactor capabilities for potentially changing a hazardous asteroid's orbit around our planet. Hera will survey the binary asteroid system and observe the crater made by DART's sacrifice to gain a better understanding of Dimorphos' structure and composition post-impact, so that we can place the results in context.
The more near-Earth asteroids like Dimorphos and Apophis that we study, the greater that context becomes. Perhaps, one day, the understanding that we have gained from these missions will indeed save our planet.
On August 4, 1990, a pair of hikers embarked on a trek through the Scottish Highlands, unaware that they were about to snap what's been hailed as the 'clearest UFO photo ever taken'. The photograph, known as the 'Calvine photo' after the nearby hamlet where it was snapped, would go missing and become the subject of myth for thirty years.
However, after 13 years of relentless investigation by Professor David Clarke, a former journalist and now academic at Sheffield Hallam University, the elusive image was finally located. Prof Clarke discovered ex-RAF press officer Craig Lindsay, who had retained a copy of the photograph depicting the extraordinary scene the two hikers witnessed.
In the astonishing image, a sizable saucer-shaped craft is distinctly seen, with a jet fighter seemingly in hot pursuit. The hikers originally handed over the photograph to the Daily Record newspaper in Scotland, but it eventually ended up with the British Ministry of Defence, where it remained shrouded in secrecy until 2022.
If you can't see the photo below, click here.
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Speaking to Newsweek, Prof Clarke recounted: "The Daily Record's picture editor at that time sent them to Craig Lindsay, who was the RAF press officer in Scotland. He passed the print to the Ministry of Defense in London, the Ministry of Defense in London then asked him to obtain the negatives. So he went back to the Daily Record, asked the Daily Record to send the negatives to London, which they duly did-quite amazingly-and that's when they disappeared."
Despite the media attention the photo received, the two hikers involved have kept mum about their experience. Lindsay, however, shared what he knew about their eerie encounter with Clarke.
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The pair, who were working as chefs at a hotel in the Scottish Highlands, took an evening stroll in Calvine in August 1990 and encountered the enigmatic object soaring overhead.
Prof Clarke told Newsweek: "They saw this thing in the sky and it scared them. They ran into some woodland to sort of keep their heads down, and they heard this jet come down the valley and then, two minutes later, it returned and started circling around the object. And that's when they took the photographs."
The incident witnessed by the men remains an unsolved enigma to this day.
For the first time, scientists have confirmed the existence of an underground tunnel-like feature near the landing site of the first crewed mission to the Moon. The discovery concludes almost half a century of speculation involving the suspected existence of caves below the lunar surface.
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface after making a soft landing in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module on the mare plain of the Moon’s famous Mare Tranquillitatis, Latin for “Sea of Tranquility.”
Now, according to the findings of an international team of researchers led by the University of Trento in Italy, the existence of a subsurface tunnel-like lava tube cave beneath the Mare Plain has been confirmed.
A new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy revealed the discovery, which relied on data obtained with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The discovery of the tunnel-like feature has been called a significant milestone toward understanding the Moon’s various geological components more fully. It also offers a potential shelter area that could be used by astronauts during future crewed missions.
Lorenzo Bruzzone, a professor at the University of Trento, said the existence of such underground features had long been suspected, although the team’s discovery is the first confirmation that they exist.
“These caves have been theorized for over 50 years,” Bruzzone said in a statement, “but it is the first time ever that we have demonstrated their existence.”
Data originally obtained in 2010 by the Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument aboard the LRO, which included radar reflections from a pit discovered in the Mare Tranquilitatis, were reexamined by the research team.
“Thanks to the analysis of the data, we were able to create a model of a portion of the conduit,” said Leonardo Carrer, a researcher at the University of Trento involved with the new findings.
“The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube,” Carrer said.
Given the demanding environment on the surface of the Moon, where temperatures can reach as much as 127°C on its illuminated side while dropping to frigid lows nearing -173°C on the unilluminated side, lava tube caves could be ideal locations for astronauts to use as shelters on the Moon.
In addition to being ideal environments for subsurface shelters, such an underground tunnel-like feature could also provide a degree of shielding from cosmic and solar radiation that bombards the lunar surface, which can be up to 150 times more powerful there than on Earth.
The Moon’s thin atmosphere also offers little protection from meteorites that, over time, have led to the natural satellite’s characteristic cratered surface. Creating refuges within subsurface lava tube caves could help to mitigate the constant threat posed by such impacts.
Wes Patterson, principal investigator for the Mini-RF based at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said the team’s findings demonstrate “both how radar data of the Moon can be used in novel ways to address fundamental questions for science and exploration and how crucial it is to continue collecting remotely sensed data of the Moon.”
“This includes the current LRO mission and, hopefully, future orbiter missions,” Patterson said.
The discovery is outlined in a new study, “Radar evidence of an accessible cave conduit on the Moon below the Mare Tranquillitatis pit,” which was published in Nature Astronomy on July 15, 2024.
Unsolved Mystery: Farmer Witnesses Five UFOs Creating Crop Circles
Unsolved Mystery: Farmer Witnesses Five UFOs Creating Crop Circles
On September 30, 1974, a serene farming day in Saskatchewan turned into an extraordinary event that continues to baffle researchers and UFO enthusiasts. Edwin Fuhr, a hardworking Saskatchewan farmer, was harvesting rapeseed when he stumbled upon something that would change his life forever and contribute significantly to the enduring mystery of crop circles and UFO sightings.
The Unusual Encounter
As Fuhr was working in his field, he noticed a shiny metallic object that he initially mistook for a duck blind—a common fixture in rural areas used for hunting. Curiosity piqued, he decided to investigate further. Upon closer inspection, what he found was far beyond any ordinary object. Hovering just a foot above the ground was a bun-shaped, stainless steel object, rotating swiftly in a clockwise motion. The grass beneath it swirled in the same direction, seemingly under the influence of the hovering craft.
VIDEO:
Crop Circles Mystery: Five UFOs Seen by Farmer | Close Encounters 113
The sight alone was perplexing, but the mystery deepened when Fuhr returned to his tractor and saw four more identical objects hovering in the field. All five objects remained stationary for about 15 minutes before suddenly ascending into the sky and disappearing. The incident left Fuhr in shock and disbelief, as he struggled to make sense of what he had just witnessed.
Investigations and Theories
The incident caught the attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who launched an investigation into the strange occurrence. The RCMP found that the grass in the exact spots where Fuhr reported seeing the UFOs had been flattened and swirled in a circular pattern. This physical evidence corroborated Fuhr’s account, lending credibility to his story.
Two days after the initial sighting, Fuhr discovered a sixth circle in his field, and within weeks, as many as 15 similar circles were reported in seven different locations across Saskatchewan. These findings attracted further attention, and the Canadian National Research Council got involved. However, their explanation—that the circles were caused by a natural phenomenon known as fairy rings, which are circular patterns left by plant-killing fungi—failed to convince many. Critics pointed out that fairy rings do not usually exhibit the uniform size and swirling patterns observed in Fuhr’s field.
The Birth of Crop Circle Phenomenon
What makes Fuhr’s encounter particularly significant is that it may represent one of the earliest documented cases of crop circles. Unlike the typical crop circles that mysteriously appear overnight without any witnesses, Fuhr actually saw the objects that created the circular formations in his field. This unique aspect of his story challenges the common belief that all crop circles are man-made hoaxes.
While many crop circles have been debunked as pranks or artistic expressions, Fuhr’s account provides a rare instance where an eyewitness can testify to the formation of these enigmatic patterns. The presence of UFOs in the creation of crop circles, as described by Fuhr, continues to fuel debates within the UFO and paranormal communities.
Unanswered Questions
Despite numerous investigations and theories, Fuhr’s encounter remains unexplained. Skeptics argue that the objects could have been experimental military drones, though such technology was not known to exist at the time. Others suggest that it was a natural phenomenon that science has yet to understand. Yet, the simplicity and consistency of Fuhr’s testimony, along with the physical evidence found at the scene, make it difficult to dismiss his experience outright.
The case of Edwin Fuhr stands out not just for its strangeness, but for the lasting impact it has had on the study of crop circles and UFO sightings. To this day, it remains one of the most compelling and well-documented cases in the realm of unexplained phenomena.
Conclusion
The mystery of the crop circles and the five UFOs witnessed by Saskatchewan farmer Edwin Fuhr continues to intrigue researchers and the general public alike. Whether viewed as a groundbreaking UFO encounter or an unsolved natural mystery, the incident challenges our understanding of the world and reminds us that some questions may never be fully answered. As investigations into UFOs and crop circles persist, Fuhr’s story stands as a testament to the enduring fascination with the unknown.
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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 73 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.