Watch the Mars 2020 rover flex its muscles by doing some biceps curls

 BY TIBI PUIU 

In just a year’s time, NASA will launch a new robotic rover mission to Mars. The mission, temporarily called “Mars 2020”, will involve the collection and retrieval of rock and soil samples to Earth. This means there’s gonna be quite a bit of heavy lifting involved. Luckily, a recent demonstration showed that the rover is up for the task.

The rover’s arm and turret are some of its most important parts. They must work together to emulate the arm of a geologist that’s examining and collecting samples. Recently, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Spacecraft Assembly Facility in Pasadena, California, NASA engineers instructed the rover’s 88-pound arm to perform a bicep curl as it moved from a deployed to a stowed configuration.

“This was our first opportunity to watch the arm and turret move in concert with each other, making sure that everything worked as advertised — nothing blocking or otherwise hindering smooth operation of the system,” said Dave Levine, an integration engineer for Mars 2020.

“Standing there, watching the arm and turret go through their motions, you can’t help but marvel that the rover will be in space in less than a year from now and performing these exact movements on Mars in less than two.”

In its final configuration, the rover’s arm will have five electrical motors and five joints. The turret will be equipped with cameras, life and chemical element detection instruments, a percussive drill, and a coring mechanism.

The mission’s launch is planned for July 2020 and scheduled to land at Jezero Crater on Mars in February 2021. Although a future return trip to Mars to retrieve the rover’s collected samples hasn’t yet been put in motion, nor is it clear if it’s feasible at this moment, NASA believes that sample collection from Mars merits much attention. NASA also says that many aspects of the upcoming Mars 2020 mission will shape the technology required for human missions on the Red Planet.

This will be NASA’s seventh mission to touch down on Mars, joining the likes of Curiosity, InSight lander, Spirit, and Opportunity. In order to find a cool name as its predecessors, NASA has put out a call for K-12 students in US schools, offering them the chance to name the 2020 rover. This is somewhat of a tradition now. Before it was dubbed Curiosity, the previously-deployed plucky rover was known as the Mars Science Laboratory.

{ https://www.zmescience.com/ }

NASA werkt samen met Elon Musk en Jeff Bezos aan nieuwe technologie voor Mars- en maanreizen - HLN.be 

Bron: The Verge

De rijkste man op aarde, Jeff Bezos, heeft drie partnerships met NASA op zak. Het bedrijf wil in de toekomst commerciële reizen naar de Maan aanbieden. Bezos zal met zijn Blue Origin werken aan een nieuw systeem voor ruimtenavigatie en landingen op de Maan. Daarbij krijgt hij hulp van NASA en zal hij nieuwe materialen testen die gebruikt kunnen worden in landingsgestellen voor maanreizen. 

Lees ook

Voor de rijkste miljardairs is ruimtereizen niet zomaar een hobby meer

De andere grote nieuwe partner van NASA is SpaceX, het ruimtevaartbedrijf van multimiljardair Elon Musk. SpaceX zal zich richten op de  ‘Starship raket’, een project dat nog in zijn kinderschoenen staat. Musk hoopt een systeem te bouwen waarmee raketten onderweg hun brandstof kunnen aanvullen om naar bestemmingen op grotere afstand te reizen. 

Het project zou zich nog in een beginfase bevinden, maar mocht het Musk lukken, kan dat een revolutie in de ruimtevaart betekenen. En laat dat nu net een specialiteit zijn van de ondernemer die onder meer PayPal en Tesla op de markt bracht. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

Nucleaire wolk trok twee jaar geleden over Europa, nu hebben wetenschappers bron kunnen traceren - HLN.be

Bron: IPS

In september 2017 trok een wolk ruthenium-106 over Europa. Omdat er weinig gevaar was voor de volksgezondheid, kreeg de wolk weinig aandacht in de media. Toch was de radioactieve vervuiling in de EU honderd keer hoger dan na de kernramp in Fukushima in 2011.

Nu hebben zeventig wetenschappers van verschillende Europese universiteiten dankzij de analyse van 13.000 metingen over heel Europa de oorzaak van het incident kunnen traceren.

Lees ook

Russen laten eerste drijvende kerncentrale te water: “Dit ontwerp kent geen gevaren”

Verwerking

Uit hun berekeningen blijkt dat er geen ongeval met een kernreactor aan de oorzaak ligt, maar een probleem in een nucleair verwerkingsbedrijf. De exacte locatie van het incident is moeilijk vast te leggen, maar de data wijzen op een plek in het zuiden van het Oeralgebergte.

Daar ligt de Russische nucleaire installatie Mayak. Die veroorzaakte in 1957 al eens een groot lek toen een tank explodeerde, met een enorme nucleaire vervuiling van de regio tot gevolg. Rusland ontkent dat er drie jaar geleden in Mayak een ongeluk is gebeurd.

Bijzonder

“Deze keer ging het om een korte puls die erg snel was verdwenen”, zegt Georg Steinhauser van de University of Hannover. “We konden aantonen dat het incident is gebeurd in een opwerkingsinstallatie van gebruikte brandstofstaven, in een late fase van het verwerkingsproces. Ook al is er geen officiële verklaring, toch hebben we een erg goed idee van wat er gebeurd kan zijn.”

Een van de opvallende eigenschappen van de wolk was dat ze enkel uit ruthenium-106 bestond. Dat is erg ongewoon, en het feit dat er geen andere radioactieve bestanddelen gemeten werden, was een duidelijke indicatie dat het om een lek uit een verwerkingsinstallatie moest gaan.

Ook de geografische voetafdruk van de wolk was opvallend: de stof werd gevonden in grote delen van Centraal- en Oost-Europa, Azië en het Arabisch schiereiland, zelfs tot in de Caraïben.

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

NASA en ESA willen stukjes van Mars naar aarde halen, maar timing is cruciaal- HLN.be

Bron: NASA

In april 2018 tekenden NASA en ESA alvast een intentieverklaring waarin te lezen staat dat ze bodemmonsters op Mars willen verzamelen. Een eerste stap van het masterplan wordt volgend jaar reeds uitgerold. In 2020 wordt er een nieuwe Marsrover van NASA gelanceerd richting de ruimte. Als alles gaat zoals gepland, zal die rover in februari 2021 landen. Eenmaal daar moet de Marsrover op verkenning gaan en  in totaal 38 tubes met bodemmateriaal verzamelen.

Enkele tubes worden gedropt op de rode planeet en later opgehaald, de overige stalen houdt de Marsrover bij zich.

Lees ook

NASA is klaar voor Mars: bouw van Orion-capsule afgerond

Unicum 

In 2026 volgt de tweede stap. Daarbij wordt de ruimtesonde ‘Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL)’ naar Mars gestuurd. Zijn originele (Engelse) naam spreekt boekdelen: de SRL moet de tubes met monsters ophalen en ze terug naar de aarde brengen. Het proces zal ongeveer acht maanden in beslag nemen, waarvan vijf maanden benut zullen worden om de tubes met monsters te verzamelen. De SRL wacht een heuse uitdaging “want de sonde moet de omgeving en temperaturen overleven op Mars” zegt projectleider Brian Muirhead. Bovendien keerde nog nooit eerder een ruimtesonde van Mars terug naar de aarde. 

Als dat in 2026 wél lukt, wordt de lander na acht maanden terug in een baan rond Mars, zo’n 300 kilometer boven de rode planeet, gebracht. Vervolgens zal die daar opgepikt worden door de zogenaamde ‘Earth Return Orbiter’ (ERO). Volgens de planning wordt die ERO gelijktijdig met de SRL gelanceerd om enkele maanden in de ruimte door te brengen totdat zijn ‘vriendje’ terugkeert. 

Uiteindelijk zullen de twee in 2031 terug landen op de aarde. Specifiek moet dat gebeuren in de Verenigde Staten, waar de monsters in quarantaine geplaatst kunnen worden. 

Details

Alles moet tot in het detail gepland worden, want de timing is cruciaal. Ten eerste zijn de ruimtevaartuigen al zes maanden onderweg voordat ze op de rode planeet arriveren. En men kan niet zomaar vertrekken: de vaartuigen (en/of astronauten) kunnen enkel naar Mars reizen als de planeet aan de dezelfde kant van de zon is gepositioneerd als de aarde. Dit komt slecht om de 26 maanden voor: dus in 2031, 2033, enzovoort. 

Loopt er met andere woorden iets mis in de planning, betekent dat dat de SRL en ERO pas in 2028 in plaats van 2026 gelanceerd kunnen worden. Dan zal het automatisch tot 2033 duren voordat er stukjes van Mars op aarde arriveren. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

Maan is 150 miljoen jaar ouder dan gedacht - HLN.be

Bron: Belga

Het gaat om maanstalen die door astronauten van de Apollo-missies tussen 1969 en 1972 werden meegebracht naar de aarde. Het onderzoek, dat gepubliceerd werd in het vaktijdschrift Nature Geoscience, bracht aan het licht dat de maan eigenlijk al 150 miljoen jaar eerder gevormd werd dan gedacht.

Lees ook

Nooit geziene natuurbranden teisteren Noordpool

Botsing

Het was Maxwell Thiemens van de universiteit van Keulen die het onderzoek leidde. Hij werkte eraan tijdens zijn doctoraatsstudie.

De maan zou ontstaan zijn na een botsing tussen de vroege aarde en een ander hemellichaam ter grootte van Mars. Over het tijdstip is niet iedereen het eens, maar de theoretische modellen die gebruikt worden en het nieuwe onderzoek op basis van de chemische samenstelling van de stalen, verschillen dus 150 miljoen jaar.

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

WIJ ZIEN ZE NIET AANKOMEN

Misschien is één van de grootste gevaren die ons bedreigen wel dat niemand die asteroïdes ziet aankomen. 

Enkele dagen geleden scheerde wederom een zogenaamde “city killer” vlak langs de aarde en niemand had deze opgemerkt.

Alan Duffy, hoofdwetenschapper bij het Royal Institution of Australia, zei: “Ik was stomverbaasd, dit was echt schrikken”. 

Deze asteroïde was er niet eentje die al lang van te voren door astronomen was ontdekt of werd gevolgd. Het was een asteroïde die als het ware vanuit het niets verscheen. Zo werd het ook omschreven door astronoom Michael Brown uit Melbourne. 

We praten hier over een object dat volgens NASA een doorsnee had van ergens tussen de 57 en 130 meter en een koers volgde die het tot op 73.000 kilometer afstand van de aarde bracht. 

Ook Michael Brown was stomverbaasd en zei: “Mensen beseffen eigenlijk pas wat er is gebeurd, als het object ons al is gepasseerd”. 

Kort voordat de asteroïde de aarde passeerde (enkele uren) werd deze door astronomen in Amerika en Brazilië ontdekt. 

Volgens Brown is het de grootste asteroïde die in lange tijd zo dicht bij de aarde is geweest. Als je dan nagaat dat deze asteroïde groot genoeg is om een complete stad te vernietigen, hoe kan het dan dat helemaal niemand deze heeft zien aankomen? 

Dit schijnt te komen doordat deze asteroïdes eigenlijk te klein zijn om in de kijker te lopen. Astronomen moeten echt een beetje geluk hebben om dit soort objecten te ontdekken. Vaak gebeurt dit doordat bijvoorbeeld het zonlicht er net op valt of iets dergelijks. 

NASA concentreert zich voornamelijk op asteroïdes met een doorsnee van groter dan zo’n 800 meter en zegt daarvan er ongeveer 90 procent te hebben geïdentificeerd. 

En dat betekent dat asteroide 2019 OK zoals deze heet, niet in die categorie valt en dus eigenlijk wordt genegeerd, terwijl het groot genoeg is om Amsterdam of Rotterdam compleet te verwoesten. 

Dan komt er volgens Brown nog een probleem om de hoek kijken en dat is dat omloopbaan en de koers van dit soort objecten nogal grillig is en heel moeilijk te voorspellen. 

Toch maakt dit object lange reizen door de ruimte en gaat in zijn elliptische omloopbaan zelfs voorbij Mars tot in de buurt van Venus. Ook dit betekent weer dat de observatietijd wanneer het in de buurt van de aarde komt, heel erg kort is. 

Wanneer het de aarde passeert heeft dit object een snelheid van 24 kilometer per seconde oftewel ruim 86.000 kilometer per uur. Dat is heel erg snel voor een asteroïde, want de meesten doen dit met een snelheid van tussen de 4 en 19 kilometer per seconde. 

Brown zegt dat het een kwestie van geluk blijft wanneer een dergelijk object wordt waargenomen en dat dit eigenlijk nooit eerder is dan enkele weken voordat het de aarde passeert of raakt en dan nog moet iemand toevallig de juiste kant op kijken. 

Allan Duffy zegt: “Het is iets waar we ons eerlijk gezegd zorgen over moeten maken. Het is geen Hollywood film. Het is een duidelijk en aanwezig gevaar”. 

Hij zegt verder dat wanneer een asteroïde zoals 2019 OK de aarde geraakt zou hebben je dit zou kunnen vergelijken met een kernexplosie, genoeg om een grote stad compleet te vernietigen. 

Enkele maanden geleden schreven we het volgende: 

Keer op keer wordt ons verteld dat er zo goed als geen kans is dat de aarde zal worden geraakt door een asteroïde. 

De vraag is dan natuurlijk waarom NASA een simulatie gaat uitvoeren van een mogelijke asteroïde apocalypse? 

Niet alleen NASA doet aan deze simulatie mee, ook het alom bekende FEMA en om een generale repetitie te houden voor wanneer deze ramp werkelijk zal plaatsvinden. Ook andere internationale partners zoals de European Space Agency (ESA) zullen aan deze simulatie deelnemen. 

De gevolgen op aarde van een inslag door een asteroïde kunnen heel verschillend zijn, afhankelijk van waar deze zal neerkomen. Feit is dat wij in onze moderne tijd nog nooit een dergelijke ramp hebben meegemaakt, dus bij die oefening zullen er heel veel onbekende factoren meespelen. Desondanks gaat men deze oefening houden om de belangrijkste aspecten van een dergelijke ramp te identificeren. 

Het scenario dat gebruikt zal worden is dat op 26 maart er een asteroïde is ontdekt die de codenaam 2019 PDC krijgt. In eerste instantie wordt dan gesteld dat er een kans is van 1 op 50.000 dat deze de aarde zal raken, maar al snel wordt dit bijgesteld naar een kans van 1 op 100. 

In bovenstaand scenario spreken we dan alleen over de wat grotere asteroïdes en niet eens over de kleinere zoals 2019 OK die klaarblijkelijk te klein zijn om wat mee te doen. 

Als je dan verder bedenkt dat de asteroïde bij Chelyabinsk enkele jaren geleden slechts een doorsnee had van ruim 20 meter, in de lucht ontplofte en al enorme schade veroorzaakte, dan weet je dat ook de kleinere asteroïdes die door NASA en andere instanties worden genegeerd ook letterlijk levensgevaarlijk kunnen zijn. 

Nu is er op dit moment misschien weinig dat er gedaan kan worden als een astroïde zoals 2019 OK op een bepaalde plek op aarde af koerst, maar het maakt bijvoorbeeld voor de inwoners van Amsterdam of Rotterdam een heel verschil of ze weten dat een asteroïde hun stad gaat raken over twee weken of twee uur. 

Een letterlijk verschil tussen leven en dood en hoog tijd dat al die miljarden dollars die nu weer worden geïnvesteerd in een nieuwe bewapeningswedloop in de ruimte, worden gebruikt om een waarschuwingssysteem voor asteroïdes op te zetten voor de bevolking. 

Maar ja, dat is diezelfde bevolking die de elite juist zo graag kwijt wil. 

{ http://niburu.co/ }

Patrick Knox

ANOTHER veteran US serviceman has broken his silence about witnessing Britain's most famous UFO encounter nearly 40 years ago.

Ex-sgt Michael Smith has revealed officially for the first time that he also saw the spooky activity in 1980 in the Suffolk countryside.

A drawing of the craft seen during the unexplained incident

Credit: Alamy

An information board in Rendlesham Forest

Credit: Alamy

Back in 2016 Steve Longero, who was a young US Air Force police officer working at bases RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge, came forward about witnessing strange lights while on duty.  

Now Mr Smith, then a 19-year-old member of the 81st Airborne Police Squadron at RAF Bentwaters, has come forward to reveal what he says he saw.

He said: "A month before the base was put on alert and I was called out and I got onto as bunker by one of the gates.

“I was having a pee outside when I saw an orange glowing light in the woods — it was a reddish ball.

"It stopped right in front of me — it just stayed there and hovered two feet off the ground and I called for reinforcements I was scared to death."

Ever since the incident theories and rumours have grown only last year there were claims that the Rendlesham Forest Incident because it has become known was in fact a prank played on the US Air Force by the SAS.

The Rendlesham Forest incident: Britain’s most famous UFO sighting

The Rendlesham Forest incident took place in December 1980 over a series of at least two nights.

On December 26, 1980, military personnel at the twin bases of RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk saw a strange light in Rendlesham Forest, which lies between the two bases.

Three men were sent out to investigate where two of them encountered a small, triangularshaped craft.

One man, Jim Penniston, got close enough to touch the side of the object.

He and another of the airmen present, John Burroughs, made sketches of the craft for witness statements.

Two nights later Deputy Base Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt and his team then encountered the UFO.

He said later: "Here I am, a senior official who routinely denies this sort of thing and diligently works to debunk them, and I'm involved in the middle of something I can't explain."
Despite an MOD investigation the Rendlesham Forest incident remains unexplained.

Dubbed "Britain's Roswell" the reported sightings and contacts with aliens took place over a series of nights in December 1980 and the incident continues to fascinate UFO enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists.

The Ministry of Defence stated at the time that the event posed no threat to national security, and it therefore was never fully investigated.

Sceptics have explained the sightings as a misinterpretation of a series of nocturnal lights, a fireball, the beam from the Orfordness Lighthouse or even bright stars.

Despite an MOD investigation the Rendlesham Forest incident remains unexplained (stock image)

Credit: Getty Images

Steve Longero has remained tight-lipped for more than three decades

A UFO trail sign at Rendlesham Forest, which has become a tourist hotspotµ

Credit: Getty Images

The Rendlesham Forest incident took place in December 1980 and has been dubbed Britain's Roswell

Credit: Alamy

{ https://www.thesun.co.uk/ }

“If you’re standing on the surface of that planet, there are three suns in the sky, but two of them are pretty far away and small-looking. They’re like two red, ominous eyes in the sky.”

That’s the made-for-a-sci-fi-novel description of the otherwise boringly-named planet LTT 1445Ab discovered recently just 22.5 light-years away from Earth. It’s hot – three suns will do that to a planet – but it has an atmosphere, so it’s getting some interest from astronomers. How about a better name first? Ghidorah? Triple Sol? My Three Suns? Ta-three-ine?

“It is the second nearest transiting exoplanet system found to date, and the closest one known for which the primary is an M dwarf.”

Artist’s rendition of the view from a hypothetical moon in orbit around the first known planet to reside in a tight-knit triple-star system.

(Credit: JPL)

According to their new report, “Three Red Suns in the Sky: A Transiting, Terrestrial Planet in a Triple M Dwarf System at 6.9 Parsecs,” submitted this week to The Astronomical Journal, astronomers led by Jennifer Winters of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics used data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope launched last year to search for exoplanets using the transit method to locate changes in the light of a star that indicates a planet passing in front of it. While LTT 1445Ab is in a three-star system, it only orbits one of them, and that orbit is a scorchingly-fast once every 5.36 Earth days – extremely speedy for a planet just slightly larger than Earth (1.35 times the size) but much denser (8 times the mass) and hotter (surface temperatures 311 °F (155 °C or 428 Kelvin).

“The presence of a transiting planet in this system raises the possibility that the entire system is co-planar, which implies that the system may have formed from the early fragmentation of an individual protostellar core.”

Spider’s view from LTT 1445Ab?

While the atmosphered planet is interesting, the three suns are more intriguing, and LTT 1445Ab could shed some light (by ironically blocking it) on how these three-sun systems formed. Yes, there’s more – ScienceAlert points out that planet HD 131399Ab, discovered in 2016, orbits three suns 340 light-years away in a very slow 550-year orbit, making it far less suitable for study. The study surmises that the three suns of LTT 1445Ab may be the fragments of a single star that broke apart early in the history of the universe. The astronomers are hoping that the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to be launched in 2021, will help answer the question.

Three Suns and a Rock. Great name for a band or a sci-fi movie. Any other ideas?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced this week that a team of divers has made some pretty remarkable discoveries in the ancient sunken city of Heracleion. Because the only thing better than a lost ancient Egyptian city is a lost and sunken ancient Egyptian city.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Antiquities, the team found multiple ancient temples, gold coins, precious jewels, and a sizable ceremonial boat during their two month long excavation of the site. The city of Heracleion rose to prominence during the last days of the Pharaohs, as the Ptolemaic dynasty began their rule over the Egyptian coast. The city was named for the Greek hero of myth Heracles (better known by his Roman name: Hercules) who, according to ancient legend, actually visited the city and was presumably such a cool guy that they changed the name from the original Egyptian name, Thonis, to Heracleion in his muscly honor.

Beyond Heracles, the city was mentioned in many stories, both legendary and historical. Myth holds that Heracleion was one of the last stops of Paris and Helen of Troy fleeing from the jealous King Menelnaus before the Trojan war. Queen Cleopatra was also crowned in a temple in Heracleion. The website of Franck Goddio, the underwater archaeologist who discovered Heracleion, describes the city’s mysterious history:

Thonis-Heracleion (the Egyptian and Greek names of the city) is a city lost between legend and reality. Before the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC, the city knew glorious times as the obligatory port of entry to Egypt for all ships coming from the Greek world. It had also a religious importance because of the temple of Amun, which played an important role in rites associated with dynasty continuity. The city was founded probably around the 8th century BC, underwent diverse natural catastrophes, and finally sunk entirely into the depths of the Mediterranean in the 8th century AD.

Archaeologist Franck Goddio with an engraving found at Heracleion.

©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Heracleion was first discovered in 2000 by Franck Goddio, and has slowly been excavated over the past 19 years. Goddio led the latest two-month-long excavation, which proved much more fruitful than previous endeavors thanks to modern technology. The team of European and Egyptian archaeologists used an underwater imaging tool to locate artifacts on the sea floor and those buried beneath.

On the latest expedition, the team discovered the crumbling remains of a large Egyptian temple including the massive stone columns, as well as a smaller Greek temple buried beneath three feet of sediment on the ocean floor. The team also found the missing chunk of a large ceremonial boat. Previous expeditions had uncovered 75 different boats, mostly incomplete. This find completes one of those previously discovered, a 43-foot-long ornate boat stuffed with coins and jewelry that the Ministry of Antiquities says was likely used for ceremonial purposes.

Statue of a Ptolemaic queen.

©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

The treasures found inside the boat include gold jewelry and coins that date to the reign of King Ptolemy II, who ruled from 283 to 246 B.C. They also found pottery dating to the fourth century B.C.

The team also surveyed another sunken city, Canopus, and found that the city was half a mile larger than previously thought. They recovered some coins and pottery from Canopus which, according to the Ministry of Antiquities, indicates that this city was also a bustling port town from the fourth century B.C. through the Islamic period.

The number of “lost” cities being found and excavated seems to be increasing exponentially as our ability to image previously unassailable locations gets better and better. There’s no telling how many forgotten places, people, and stories have yet to be discovered.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Based on new research conducted by Francois Costard, who is a scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, he believes that an ancient asteroid impact on Mars created a mega-tsunami. Although it was quite common for asteroids to slam into Mars around three and a half billion years ago, there was one in particular that Costard was interested in.

He believes that a huge asteroid hit Mars creating a gigantic crater and that impact sent a thousand-foot wall of water across the planet which made odd landforms across the surface. In fact, he says that Mars’ strange features could have only been created by a massive tsunami that would have crashed into shore and then went back over the landscape. Costard has been discussing his theory, in particular a location on Mars named the “Thumbprint Terrain”, and he now thinks that he has discovered the impact crater that caused the massive tsunami. His findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets.

This wasn’t the first time that the mega-tsunami theory has been mentioned. In 2016, several astronomers discussed the possibility of an ancient asteroid impact causing two tsunamis across the Red Planet. Costard then did more research on the astronomers’ theory by trying to find out where the tsunami had originated from. He narrowed it down to ten possible impact craters that could have potentially caused the mega-tsunami, but one in particular caught his attention. Since the Lomonosov Crater is the correct age (approximately 3 billion years old), along with its huge size (75 miles across), and it’s shape (there are clues that suggests it was under water when the asteroid impacted the planet), it seems like that crater is the likely point of origin.

This new theory would change the timeline of when it is believed that Mars lost all of its water which was around 3.7 billion years ago after the core of the planet cooled down as well as the disappearance of the magnetic field. Since the planet didn’t have any atmosphere, surface water would have disappeared rather quickly.

Recently, however, scientists are finding new evidence that surface water was still present on the Red Planet a lot longer after the collapse of its magnetic field and possibly even as recent as in the last billion years. The Thumbprint Terrain is a fascinating area on Mars since it’s on the edge of a large low-lying plane that many scientists believe once held a huge northern ocean. And if the Lomonosov Crater is the actual impact site of the asteroid that caused the mega-tsunami, that means that there was still a huge ocean on Mars around 3 billion years ago. The timeline as to when a water-filled Mars turned into the “Red Planet” may be much more recent than previously thought.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

UFO Or Alien Creature Moves Past Sun Satellite Lens, July 30. 2019, UFO Sighting News. Alien Life Found!

Date of sighting: July 30, 2019
Location of sighting: Earths sun, SOHO satellite
Source: Helioviewer.org

I found a large unknown object shooting past the SOHO satellite today. The object always moves in groups of 2-4. Here we see it alone, but not far away are several others in their group. The objects always have a curved inward back area and a rounded outward front area. I believe these are living entities, not alien craft.  The objects are usually together, that means it has a social instinct to gather for safety. This one flying past the SOHO satellite looks big, but its hard to tell exactly how big because it could be just meters from the lens of the satellite. However I believe these object to be several meters in size. Streetcap1 caught some great ones too. I will place his video below mine to compare and contrast. 
Scott C. Waring-Taiwan

Below is Streetcap1 video of the sun creatures. 

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

Plymouth Resident Captures A Video Of UFOs During Fierce Lightning Storm

Dozens of witnesses sent in photos and videos of the lightning that hit Plymouth recently. Residents saw intense flashes of lightning and heard thunder across the area following the extremely humid weather.

However, one man believes he may have caught more than just a bolt of lightning.

Ben Williams claimed to have captured something on his camera just before midnight.

Mr Williams said that he tried to freeze-frame it to see a better picture as it was swift, but there was something to see.

The footage was taken through a mobile phone camera. When slowed down, the video seems to show some UFOs appearing and disappearing out of thin air.

Video experts say the blobs are relatively identical but do not look like marks on the camera because of the rate in which they are visible.

Mr Williams is very interested to know what could be the reason for the mysterious shapes. He recorded the video outside his home to see some good lightning but got more than just that instead.

The shadowy shapes appear for a split second on the video during a fierce lightning strike before disappearing as quickly as they arrived.

The larger of the orbs is very distinguishable on the centre right of the screen when the video is slowed down.

So, what could this mystery object be?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

{ http://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

Storm the Bermuda Triangle Has Gained Wide Attention on Facebook

Inspired by the plan on Facebook to Storm Area 51, thousands of individuals have vowed to venture into the latest Facebook event.

The organiser has offered to provide boats to people who are interested in going into the 270,000-square mile Bermuda Triangle, which is known for the mysterious disappearance of planes and ships.

Anthony Carnovale requires attendees on “Storm The Bermuda Triangle, It Can’t Swallow All Of Us” to dress as Spongebob characters or pirates.

He promises to provide the boats, and scuba gear and guests are encouraged to bring weed and a lot of beer and whiskey.

Mr Carnovale also set up a fundraising page for an event featuring live music and entertainment in an attempt to raise $75,000 and insisted he was not a scam.

He explains that he is trying to throw a party for everyone to show this country we can organize.

The event is scheduled for October 1, and more than 40,000 people have already expressed their interest.

The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle is believed to date back to the mysterious disappearance of five US Navy torpedo bombers in 1945 during a training mission known as Flight 19.

The planes disappeared without any traces, and it was later claimed that a search plane sent out to conduct a rescue operation of the missing crew also disappeared.

Several explanations have been provided for the disappearances, including UFOs.

{ http://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

© Copyright (c) NineForNews.nl

© Copyright (c) NineForNews.nl

Huge solar storm that will slam Earth TODAY could knockout satellites, disrupt power supplies and spark stunning auroras

• NASA spotted a solar flare releasing a coronal mass ejection earlier this week
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a 'G1' storm watch
• G1 is used to label a 'minor' storm that can cause weak power grid fluctuations, impact satellites and spark auroras

By CECILE BORKHATARIA FOR MAILONLINE

A massive solar storm is making its way towards Earth, and it's likely to hit today.

The storm was created by a solar flare - a large explosion in the sun's atmosphere - which generated charged particles earlier this week. 

The charged particles from the sun are moving towards Earth, and they could disrupt power grids, spacecraft and satellite operations. 

The solar particles are expected to hit Earth either today or tomorrow, and they will also likely trigger auroras for people living in higher latitudes. 

Scroll down for video 

A solar storm is forecast to hit Earth today after the sun unleashed a powerful solar flare on Sunday night. Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory Satellite captured this image of the sun releasing a solar flare (right) earlier this week

'Aurora may be visible at high latitudes,' the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wrote in a statment. 

This may include the 'northern tier' of the US, with affected states including parts of Michigan and Maine.

The NOAA says that the forecast suggests the solar storm will be a G-1 or 'minor' storm, which could become a G-2 'moderate storm' depending on how the charged particles hit Earth. 

Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a severity scale, with G at the bottom, R in the middle and S at the top. 

The particles, which came from the sun after a solar flare took place on February 12, could cause 'weak power grid fluctuations' and a 'minor impact on satellite operations,' according to the NOAA.

NASA and the NOAA keep a track of solar events using many different telescopes which help generate geomagnetic weather forecasts. 

Northern Hemisphere Aurora forecast for February 15, 2018. Probability of visible Aurora is shown on the scale at the bottom left 

Researchers also study the sun to learn more about its structure as well as obtain data to make predictions about different types of solar events, such as solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections, which are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun.

Solar flares and particles ejected via coronal mass jections are associated with dark spots on the sun's surface. 

These are areas of intense magnetic activity, and when the magnetic fields in a sunspot cross each other, it can result in an energy explosion, known as a solar flare, which sends radiation into space. 

WHAT ARE SOLAR STORMS AND ARE THEY DANGEROUS?

Solar storms, or solar activity, can be divided into four main components that can have impacts on Earth:  .  

• Coronal Mass Ejections (CME's): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing through solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts to Earth when they're aimed at Earth.
• Solar flares: A large explosion in the sun's atmosphere. These flares are made of photons that travel out directly from the flare site. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth 
• High-speed solar wind streams: These come from coronal holes on the sun, which form anywhere on the sun and usually only when they are closer to the solar equator do the winds impact Earth. 
• Solar energetic particles: High-energy charged particles thought to be released primarily by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through solar wind, solar energetic particles can be produced and because they are charged, they follow the magnetic field lines between the Sun and Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect Earth will have an impact. 

While these may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger of these phenomena because of the relatively low orbit of manned missions.

However, they do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks.

This photo shows the sun's coronal holes in an x-ray image. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release bubbles or tongues of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections

The damage caused by solar storms 

Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.

The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing Earth's magnetic field.

Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.

When Coronal Mass Ejections strike Earth they cause geomagnetic storms and enhanced aurora.

They can disrupt radio waves, GPS coordinates and overload electrical systems.

A large influx of energy could flow into high voltage power grids and permanently damage transformers.

This could shut off businesses and homes around the world. 

Source: NASA - Solar Storm and Space Weather 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA) issued a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm watch for tonight. Shown here is the forecast for auroras tonight, which are expected to hit areas of North America

Forecasters monitor these events, and when a storm looks likely to have a significant impact, engineers can shut down certain systems on satellites, or prepare for impacts on the power grid. 

The sun has an 11-year cycle of sunspot activity, with the last maximum having taken place in April 2014. 

This summer, NASA is set to launch a spacecraft called Parker Solar Probe, which will travel closer to the sun than any other previous mission. 

It will fly by Venus and travel into the corona - the sun's upper atmosphere, with the aim of learning more about the particles that are ejected by the sun. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Is it time to storm Pascagoula? Based on what’s been said about the remote possibilities of anyone finding anything should the unthinkable actually happen and someone trying to storm Area 51 on September 20th actually breaks through the military guards, enters the secure facility and somehow locates an unlocked door that just so happens to be holding a room full of dead aliens and UFO parts … it sounds like the odds might better storming the town in Mississippi where more and more witnesses are finally coming forward 46 years later to talk about what they saw or heard on one fateful day in 1973 when two men claimed they were abducted by aliens. Here’s the real question … what band is interested in playing and what beer company will sponsor selling Pascagoula Pale Ale?

“A big orb of light up in the air. We saw that and nobody could say anything. Nobody could move.”

In an interview with the Jackson, MS, daily newspaper, the Clarion Ledger, Joey Nelson of Mobile, AL, described what he and three friends allegedly saw on the night of October 11, 1973, as they sped west through Mississippi on their way to New Orleans on US 90. Nelson was a front-seat passenger in the car and estimates they were between Pascagoula and Biloxi when he says everyone in the car saw the orb, which was hovering in front of the vehicle. They appeared to keep on driving when he claimed a smaller orb dropped down from the large one.

“It was about the size of a beach ball, I’d say. I don’t know how far away it was, but it seemed like if that windshield wasn’t there I could have touched it. It started flashing and clicking and flashing and clicking. We could audibly hear it. I know it sounds crazy, but it seemed like they were taking pictures. It seemed like it was in front of me ten minutes or so, I don’t know. We were just mesmerized.”

At that point, the orbs flew away and the three continued to New Orleans, never telling anyone what they saw. Nelson claims that recent articles about the incident prompted him to finally share this story 46 years later. Unfortunately, there’s no corroborating testimony from the other two witnesses in the car.

“I saw a falling star. Then I realized it wasn’t actually falling. It was moving across the sky. It was at the 2 o’clock position and when it got to the 10 o’clock position another light shot out of it.”

Rosey Nail told the Clarion Ledger she was in Bruce, Mississippi, when she allegedly had a similar experience that same night. Bruce is over 300 miles due north of Pascagoula, almost on the Tennessee border. Nail’s account of two lights seems similar to Nelson’s, although what she saw was not right next to her on a porch in Bruce but far away in the distant sky. One other similarity – Nail waited 46 years to tell her story and finally came forward after reading other recent accounts.

“They’re all coming out of the woodwork. It makes me feel pretty good I’m not the only one who saw something. Most of these people are credible people.”

Really? Calvin Parker, the survivor of the two actual alleged abductees, is obviously glad people are finally agreeing with him, but are 46-year-old accounts really credible? That may include Parker, who was the silent partner in this account, allowing his much older friend Charles Hickson to tell the story. As one might expect, the reason for the recent publicity about the alleged Pascagoula abduction is due to the long-awaited publication of Parker’s account – “Pascagoula – The Closest Encounter.”

What should we make of alleged eyewitness accounts that have had 46 years to absorb – intentionally or by osmosis — details from a well-publicized and much-written-about story before finally being told in an era of instant Internet fame and hopes of fortune? Do they reinforce the validity of the alleged incident or murky the waters some more?

One thing is for certain … these won’t be the last of the Pascagoula witnesses.

Does this qualify as a storming? Anyone for some Pascagoula Pale Ale?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

My previous article was on the subject of one of the most controversial of all the Majestic 12 documents. It looks at the theory that the Russians were behind the creation of the papers. Whether you buy into that theory or not, the fact is that the document is not what it appears to be. Not at all. It’s important to note that there are significant problems with the overall content of the 1^st Annual Report. By that, I mean it’s a hoax; there is no doubt about it, whatsoever. I’ll show you why: The membership of what is described as Majestic 12’s “Special Panel” was said to have been the following: Dr. Vannevar Bush; General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USAF; Brigadier General George F. Schulgen, USAF; Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer; Detlev Bronk, of the National Research Council; Jerome Hunsaker, of the National Academy of Sciences; James Doolittle; Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton; Rear Admiral Paul F. Lee, Office of Naval Research; Major General George C. McDonald, USAF; Dr. Hugh L. Dryden; Admiral John Gingrich; Major General George C. McDonald, USAF; and Major General Luther D. Miller, U.S. Army.

In a summary report on all of this that I wrote a number of years ago: “General J. Lawton Collins is described as Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army. In reality, Collins was Deputy Chief only from 1947 to mid-August 1949. He attained the rank of Chief of Staff on August 16, 1949 and held that position until August 15, 1953. Likewise, Major General Luther D. Miller is listed in the Report as Chief of Chaplains with the Army. He was: but only from 1945 to 1949. Similarly, the reference to Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton being Chairman of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Committee is incorrect: he was attached to the Liaison Committee of the AEC in 1947 and through early 1948, but by June 1948 he was Secretary General of the Air Force. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is listed in the Report as Vice Chief of Staff with the U.S. Air Force; yet, in reality, he had attained the rank of Chief of Staff by April 30, 1948. George C. McDonald’s name appears in the Report as the Director of Intelligence with the Air Force. McDonald was indeed appointed to that position – in October 1947. However, in June 1948, he became Chief of the Air Section of the United States’ Military Commission at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and did not even return to the United States until June 1950, at which point he was assigned to the Office of the Department of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.”

I continued: “Quite clearly, there is a very recognizable trend here: whoever wrote the 1^st Annual Report specifically described the ranks held by the alleged members of the Special Panel in 1947 and into the early part of 1948 only. The ranks that practically all of the members held in 1947 and 1948 were utterly redundant by 1951.” Someone screwed up with the timeline. For some Majestic 12 proponents, this was a big problem. For others, it wasn’t: they just ignored this glaringly huge elephant in the room and stuck rigidly to their ‘I want to believe’ stance. Then, there’s the matter of that mysterious virus referred to in my recent article on Majestic 12, HIV, and Russia. The writer of the 1^st Annual Report went on to say:

“BW [Biological Warfare] programs in U.S. and U.K. are in field test stages. Discovery of new virus and bacteria agents so lethal, that serums derived by genetic research, can launch medical science into unheard of fields of biology. The samples extracted from bodies found in New Mexico, have yielded new strains of a retro-virus not totally understood, but, give promise of the ultimate BW weapon. The danger lies in the spread of airborne and bloodborne outbreaks of diseases in large populations, with no medical cures available.  Current research in U.S. and U.K., can be accelerated when studies are complete. Understanding the human makeup through EBE [“Extraterrestrial Biological Entity,” allegedly a term used by MJ12 to describe aliens] research will bring a varied wealth of information in how cells replicate themselves and may help in developing new drugs and markets. Healthcare industries are considered the best source of R&D for DoD programs.

In “Annex A” of the report there’s this, which is equally controversial: “The Panel was concerned over the contamination of several SED personnel upon coming in contact with debris near the power plant. One technician was overcome and collapsed when he attempted the removal of a body. Another medical technician went into a coma four hours after placing a body in a rubber body-bag. All four were rushed to Los Alamos for observation. All four later died of seizures and profuse bleeding. All four were wearing protective suits when they came into contact with body fluids from the occupants. Autopsies on the four dead SED technicians are not conclusive. It is believed that the four may have suffered from some form of toxin or a highly contagious disease. Tissue samples are currently being kept at Fort Detrick, Md. In the opinion of the senior AEC medical officer, current medical equipment and supplies are wholly inadequate in dealing with a large scale outbreak of the alien virus.”

In my report, I added the following, which specifically addressed the references to Fort Detrick and the matter of retroviruses: “There are two aspects of these specific extracts [of the document] that have provoked extreme controversy within the tightly knit UFO research arena: namely, the allegation that tissue samples had been forwarded to Fort Detrick, and the reference to a poorly defined ‘retrovirus.’” I added:   “Medline states that the first modern usage of the term retrovirus did not surface until the 1970s.” And, as Merriam-Webster note, the first known use of the term was not until 1975.

Also, there’s this from me: “…Fort Detrick did not receive that title until 1956: from 1943 until 1955 the installation was designated Camp Detrick, having previously been known as Detrick Field. This has led some commentators to suggest that even though the 1^st Annual Report does not refer to any events that post-date 1951, the document must, therefore, be of 1956, or post-1956, vintage. This scenario, however, falls apart for one, specific reason. Of those listed as members of the Majestic 12 Special Panel, one is General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. Vandenberg died in 1954. Therefore, he could not possibly have been a member of such a Panel in 1956, two years after his death.”

Clearly, and whether you buy into the Russian theory or not, the fact is that the 1^st Annual Report is not a genuine document. All of the available evidence is stacked solidly against it.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Are UFOs invading Wyoming? It wouldn’t be the worst place to touch down. Wyoming has some amazing scenery, lots of open space, not a lot of people, and the Yellowstone supervolcano. I don’t know why aliens would be interested in Yellowstone, and frankly I’m not too keen on finding out. If this latest footage from Casper, Wyoming does indeed show an armada of UFOs flying overhead, hopefully they’re only here as tourists.

A video taken on July 26, 2019, around 9:30 PM in Casper, Wyoming seems to show a very large group of glowing objects flying in formation just after sundown. The video was originally uploaded by YouTube user Downbound Empire, and later re-posted by popular UFO channel The Hidden Underbelly 2.0. You can watch the footage for yourself here.

There’s clearly a group of glowing objects flying through the sky. They seem to be flying in a pretty tight formation, with just a few moving independently of the group. The objects make no sound in the video and according to the witness the objects were completely silent. A few of the UFOs seem to change in brightness, becoming briefly more intense at a few points in the video.

According to The Hidden Underbelly 2.0, when the witness agreed to allow the use of their footage they gave a statement describing the encounter:

“They weren’t orbs they look like crafts, I thought drones [but] if they were drones they had a really long range because they flew clear over the horizon out of sight but they were completely silent and they were pretty close I figured if they were drones I would have heard the propellers but I have no idea what it was, it was a trip.”

Yeah, a group of drones that size would definitely be audible. One possibility is that they’re a group of sky lanterns. That would explain the lack of sound and the tight formation. The only problem with that is the light emitted from these UFOs looks pure white and completely unlike any candle flame I’ve ever seen. Of course, that could just be an illusion caused by the camera filming in low light, hypersensitive to any points of brightness against the night sky.  If they are sky lanterns, that raises another, perhaps more pressing question: what kind of idiot lets loose a bunch of flying fires over Wyoming in the middle of summer? Seriously, that’s a bad idea.

At least this kid is letting one loose over a lake instead of the great plains.

Also, although it’s hard to tell from the video, there doesn’t seem to be much wind in the area. The clouds aren’t moving and there aren’t any trees shaking. It’s hard to imagine that anything would be able to be carried as fast as these objects are moving in an environment that still.

Who knows what these objects actually are. It’s a pretty intriguing video, even if there’s a good possibility there’s a mundane explanation. Maybe next week some company will announce their new glowing, silent drone. To be perfectly honest, I’d rather it be aliens on their way to nuke Yellowstone.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Satellite image of the Río Cuarto craters. The northeast-southwest aligned string of lakes spanning about 19 miles (30 kilometers) is the result of about 10 oblong meteorite craters ranging in size from a few kilometers to about 820 feet (250 meters) along their long axis. The shape and alignment of the lakes suggests a low angle impact. Small meteorites were found in a crater confirming the lakes impact origin. The crater lakes have been dated at less than 10000 years old. From southwest to northeast, these lakes include Laguna de la Sal, Laguna Venado, Laguna Monte (lake with a large island near the center), Laguna Cochico, and Laguna Alsina. The landscape surrounding the lakes is covered by cultivated field patterns. Image acquired in july 1995.
Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA/JPL/NIMA 

Throughout the Eastern United States, particularly in southerly states that include North and South Carolina, there are a number of unique, elliptical features of unexplained origin. Known as the “Carolina Bays,” theories of their origin favors ancient, naturally occurring lake formations, although some have proposed that the features could be the remnants of ejecta from an ancient comet strike.

While the Carolina Bays remain a popular (and controversial) item of geological discussion, elsewhere in the world there are similar enigmatic elliptical features that have garnered attention over the years.

One particularly curious series of long grooves that score the landscape of the Argentine pampas near Rio Cuarto have long suggested evidence of an ancient multiple-impact site. The location was first observed by an Argentinian Air Force pilot, Captain Ruben Lianza, who wrote a summary of his observations for an astronomy publication, providing photographs he obtained from air. The images he provided showed teardrop-shaped features on the landscape which were similar in appearance to low-angle impact features previously observed on the planets Mars and Venus, and even on the Moon. They had not, however, been observed anywhere on Earth to-date.

The Rio Cuarto “craters”

(Credit: USGS/NASA Landsat Program/Public Domain).

Lianza went on to co-author an article with P.H. Schultz which appeared in Nature two years after his initial observation, where the authors described the discovery as follows:

“During routine flights two years ago …, one of us (R.E.L.) noticed an anomalous alignment of oblong rimmed depressions (4 km x 1 km) on the otherwise featureless farmland of the Pampas of Argentina. We argue here, from sample analysis and by analogy with laboratory experiments, that these structures resulted from low angle impact and ricochet of a chondritic body originally 150-300 m in diameter.”

A total of ten features were noted across a distance of 50 kilometers. Analysis of geological samples from around the gouges produced evidence of meteoritic fragments and vitrified glass (i.e. stone or sand melted due to intense heat, which is often associated with meteorite impact sites). This led Schultz and Lianza to conclude that there was ample evidence that the sites were produced by an impact; it was also determined that the locations were just a few thousand years old, and likely occurred “well within the time of human habitation.”

The Rio Cuarto features

(Credit: Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick).

As it turns out, the newly discovered impact regions had long been known to geologists in the region, although they had never been examined prior to the work conducted by Lianza and Schultz. Following the publication of their Nature article, American geologists also traveled to the site to provide further study and analysis.

The appearance of the impressions led to their being given rather unique names; one of the areas, measuring an impressive 2000 feet in length and 600 feet wide, was called “Drop.” A pair of nearby depressions were dubbed the “Eastern” and “Western Twin.” Yet another, which was comparable in size to the “Twins,” was named the “Northern Basin.”

Fundamental to the theory of an extraterrestrial impact site, each of the depressions shared a similar alignment with an orientation toward the northeast, which the researchers believed could support the idea of a low-angle impact.

However, some ballistics experts have challenged the impact theory over time, since the low entry angle proposed by Lianza and other proponents of an impact theory is an uncommon occurrence. In addition to this, key elliptical features of known impact features of this kind also produce a “butterfly wing” pattern of ejecta, which remains absent from the anomalous Argentinian features. To account for the depth of the Río Cuarto features as craters, an impact with a resulting blast 30 times greater than the 1908 Tunguska event would be required, which must have produced more visible ejecta.

Site of the Tunguska blast, circa 1927-1930

(Public Domain).

While ideas vary about the age of the features, it is interesting to note that the depressions have been suggested to have originated around the beginning of the Holocene; this could possibly have coincided with the Younger Dryas, a period of abrupt cold reversal that occurred approximately 12,900 years ago as Earth was emerging from the last ice age. However, estimates as to the age of the Río Cuarto craters places them anywhere between 10,000 years and as much as 100,000 years old. 

Further comparing the features to their cousins, the Carolina Bays, is the fact that satellite data indicates there are as many as 400 similar elliptical features in the same region. One theory proposed for the frequency and appearance of these elliptical features throughout the region is natural dune formations produced by wind over time, which could account for their shared angular orientation (a similar mechanism has been proposed in relation to the Carolina Bays, as outlined in a paper by Geoarchaeologist Christopher Moore and a number of colleagues, titled “The Quaternary evolution of Herndon Bay, a Carolina Bay on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina (USA): implications for paleoclimate and oriented lake genesis.”

Based upon physical and numerical modeling, proponents Río Cuarto event suggest that the object struck at an angle of no more than 15 degrees from the horizontal, with the impact itself having 10 times more explosive energy than the Barringer Crater event and 30 times more than the Tunguska event.[1] Although the age of the depressions has not yet been determined precisely, it is believed by some researchers[who?] they are about 10,000 years old, placing them at the start of the Holocene, though the EID gives a broader age of less than 100,000 years old.

Unique features such as these remain fascinating, whatever their ultimate cause, and provide compelling clues about the ancient world which, with any luck, will one day be well understood and easily recognized. Until that time, our many questions about the ancient world will rely on further studies of such features, which may ultimately help us unravel several key remaining questions about the ancient world, and abrupt changes that were occurring in the paleoclimate of the ancient Americas.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

On July 26, 2019 Congressman Mark Walker appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight. The congressman, who is the member of the Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer asking for answers.

North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker demands answers about the military's probe into UFO sightings.

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., told Fox News Friday that he is "concerned" about recent reports by U.S. Navy pilots of encounters with unidentified aircraft that some have speculated could be otherworldly.

When asked about Lue Elizondo's claim that the United States has UFO Debris (metamaterials) he said, "We don't know, but that's one of the four questions that we are asking. Is there evidence being held somewhere (not to get too spooky once again) but if there is evidence I believe it's important for people specifically in my position, as the ranking member of terrorism/counter-intelligence, we need to know what this is."

  

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

Tourist Catches UFO At Ancient Inca City Of Machu Picchu, July 2019, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: July 20, 2019

Location of sighting: Aguas Calientes, Peru

Source: MUFON #102398

 

This UFO was recorded in Peru at the ancient site of Machu Picchu. This is about the fifth UFO report I have seen from Machu Picchu with photos or video over the last 12 years, so yes its rare, but yes, it happens. This object appears to be a rod. It has a tube like long body with six darker arms on it. Rods are common around the world and some believe them to be living AI alien probes. 

 

Why would a UFO visit the ancient site of Machu Picchu? Well just its nickname...the lost city of the Incas...makes you want to go doesn't it? A city that over a thousand years old, built so high up in the mountains that sometimes the clouds are below you. That makes this ancient city unique. So, they go to see it just as we do. Also the fact that alien bases are often hidden in mountainous areas, makes this an absolutely amazing photo. 

Scott C. Waring-Taiwan

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

GOP lawmaker says he's 'concerned' over reported UFO sightings by Navy pilots

Half a century ago, the first humans stepped foot on Earth’s lonely natural satellite. Achieved over the course of several days and manned by three intrepid astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins—the lunar landing of Apollo 11 was the culmination of a project more than a decade in the making, and which involved more than 400,000 participants.

After fifty years, we are still seeing the influence of Apollo 11, which historian Arthur Schlesinger called the single greatest achievement of the 20th century. But what are the longer lasting implications of the 1969 moon landing?

I recently spoke with Rod Pyle, editor in chief of Ad Astra, the official publication of the National Space Society and author of First on the Moon: The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Experience(for which Buzz Aldrin wrote the introduction). According to Pyle, understanding the longer-lasting influence of Apollo 11 requires a look back at the mindset behind United States leadership more than half a century ago.

“Apollo was a geopolitical program,” Pyle says, “but it was really designed to make a point: which was ‘We’re better than the Soviets. We have better scientists, we have better technicians, we have better engineering and better education, better systems of government.’ It achieved that handily and trounced them as a lunar effort, and they were trying and weren’t able to do it with people. So, it achieved that goal.”

However, Pyle also says that the speed at which Americans were able to put astronauts on the moon in 1969 placed some limitations on the usefulness of Apollo-era innovations for future projects.

“The problem was, it was done so quickly, and with such finesse, and was so purpose driven that although there were plans to use the Apollo hardware for other things, it was kind of a closed-end system. By 1972, we were done with the lunar missions. They had enough hardware left for three more: Apollo 18 through 20, [and] Nixon cancelled that shortly after the Apollo 11 flight.”

That isn’t to say that there weren’t still many applications for Apollo-era innovations, as well as those which came later under similar influence. “We had Skylab,” Pyle notes, “[and we had] the Space Station, and that was a legacy; we had the first cooperative flights between the U.S. and the Soviet Union with Apollo/Soyuz in 1975, and then it slowed down.

“We started working on the shuttle, which is a whole different approach,” Pyle also said. “It was supposed to be reusable—and it kind of was—it was suppose to be cheaper, and it kind of wasn’t. It wasn’t as safe as Apollo.”

However, it could be argued that in addition to being the single greatest achievement of the 20th century, the Apollo moon landings may have also been the most inspirational, in terms of the future of space exploration; whether directly or indirectly.

“I think the legacy of Apollo, besides the philosophical achievement, the sense of adventure, and so forth, is a couple of things,” Pyle told me. “Even pessimistic projections about the money spent say that there’s anywhere from between five dollars and twenty-one dollars returned for every dollar invested in Apollo. And that’s just talking in money terms. That kind of program—a space program—is one of the few things in which government money is all pumped back into American labor; there’s no outsourcing. It’s all happening in the U.S., with U.S. workers, so that’s a benefit.

“They’re developing technologies that have benefited us to this day; everything from computing, to medical—kidney dialysis, artificial joints—anti-scratch coating on the lenses of your glasses, the dust buster was a design descended from the vacuum they designed to vacuum inside the lunar module! So all kinds of spin-offs and benefits—including our cell phones, by the way—that have persisted through the years.”

But above all, Apollo 11 continues to inspire us. 

“If I go up to the Jet Propulsion Lab, where I work from time to time, and I sit at a table in the cafeteria and [ask the employees], ‘what got you into this kind of work?’ Some people are gonna say Star Trek, some are gonna say Star Wars… but they all say the Apollo Program. ‘I wasn’t even alive then,’ in many cases they’ll say. ‘The Apollo Program really inspired me to do this’.”

The Eagle landing module, photographed by Michael Collins from Columbia.

I also asked Pyle about future missions to the moon, as well as our eventual journeys to Mars, and what we might be able to predict about the future of space travel based on our experience with the Apollo program.

“If we [look at] this planned return to the moon that Vice President Pence announced a few months ago, that hardware looks a lot like Apollo because it’s gotta do the same thing. So we’re not talking about winged space shuttles and things like that, we’re talking about a conical capsule—a blunt-body capsule just like the Apollo capsule, but a little bigger (that’s the Orion)—we’re talking about the Space Launch System (SLS), and possibly using the Falcon Heavy and one of Jeff Bezos’ rockets (which are all heavily derivative of the Saturn V). We’re talking about moon suits that are derivative from what was built for Apollo, and we’re talking about a lunar lander: the best candidate so far is Jeff Bezos’ Blue Moon lander which he’s been working on for a few years, which derives a lot of its technology core from the [Apollo] lunar module.

“So between us and the Soviet Union, we did a ton of the heavy lifting, and the picking of the low-hanging fruit back in the 1960s, and now we’ve come full circle and we’re revisiting all that technology, to try and get back beyond Earth orbit, back to the moon, land on that south polar region where we know there’s big deposits of water ice, and see if we can use that water ice to stay there, and go beyond. Because where you’ve got water, you’ve got drinkable water, you can make breathable oxygen, and critically you can make rocket fuel out of it—you can make hydrogen and oxygen rocket fuel.

“And with that, because you’re already out of the gravity well of the Earth, the solar system is your backyard! So that kind of is the big goal right now, and it all stems directly from the Apollo missions.”

In essence, the legacy of the Apollo missions remains veryrelevant today, and in likelihood, they will remain so for decades to come. Even with the passing of half a century, the achievements of the Apollo 11 lunar landing continue to shape the way we study space… and help to sharpen our sights for future avenues toward exploration of the cosmos.

update 30/07/2019 ( thanks for those charts )

Bogdan Klopov / Content Awareness www.visme.co

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Is The Storming Of AREA 51 Just The Beginning

Matty Roberts of Bakersfield, California claims he is the creator of the satirical Facebook page that has called on people to storm Area 51 in rural Nevada on Sept. 20, 2019. Since the page posted on June 27, 1.6 million people have RSVPed the invasion, while another 1.2 million are “interested.” Roberts posted “If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.” The mystery surrounding the crash landing of a reported UFO near Roswell, New Mexico has turned the small town into an international destination. While Area 51 is no different. People travel just 83 miles north of Las Vegas on the extraterrestrial highway to the outskirts of the USAF testing facility in droves.

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Swarming Area 51 & Perhaps Not Surviving ~ VIDEO

Opinion

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- As a young 2nd Lieutenant, police officer / Security Policeman (SP) in the US Air Force, I was quietly advised by my fellow commissioned officers that should I ever actually fire my weapon while on duty, at either someone or something, I could pretty much kiss my Air Force career good bye.

There were the stories about Security Police in the missile fields of Montana and North Dakota using deadly force that was authorized to defend and protect nuclear weapons, only to suffer under the Uniform Code of Military Justice after the fact.

Now if Security Policemen had lost a nuke on their watch because they did not fire their weapons, those poor bastards would still be in prison.

My big Air Force/AF is really easy about applying the concept of deadly-force-authorized, to defend non-living assets, but they get most distressed when some young Air Force cop takes the leadership up on their prearranged instructions and actually makes the decision to shoot at bad guys.

There is an alleged “war story” about an AF cop / SP responding to a bar fight in Osan, Korea one night. This SP found himself alone in an alley with about 10-12 very drunk off-duty Army and Air Force members. Drinking was a way of life for the US military stationed in Korea. They were discussing the merits and tactics of beating the crap out of the cop. He knew it was going to be a painful reality. In those days an Air Force cop only carried a 38 special revolver, 18 extra rounds of ammo and a set of handcuffs.

There was no pepper spray or a non-lethal night-stick. Of course Tasers were not even around back in the day. The young SP officer was going to get his butt beat most severely. That, is when he decided he had a revolver on his hip for a reason and pulled it out. The SP even put an extra six rounds of ammo in his left hand. Figuring once he started firing, he was going to win real quick or they all would charge him en masse and he needed to reload for the “Last Stand at Osan.”

Do you know what the first thing that come out of the mouth of one of those drunk idiots was, “Hey, you’re not allow to use that gun?” The drunk was advised he was going to be the first one shot. The drunk laughed but seemed to slip away into the steamy hot Korea summer night, leaving one less target of opportunity for the cornered SP.

Surprisingly there was an inebriated pilot standing in the crowd, egging his fellow drunks on to attack the SP. When the SP told him he was going to enjoy shooting him in the kneecap and making sure he never passed a flight physical again, the drunk pilot did not think that was funny. At some point the drunks realized the Air Force cop, with his back literally to the wall and no avenue of escape was really going to shoot some of them, so the crowd drifted away.

The next day the cop was order to go see some Lt. Colonel (flying type) who owned the drunk pilot and explain who the hell the SP thought he was threatening to shoot one of his pilots’ just for having a good time out on the town. Attempts were made to explain the situation, but it was not working. Then, the now sober pilot comes in and the Lt. Colonel advised the SP he owed the pilot an apology. There was concern beforehand this was going to happen and preparations were made.

A spent 38 special shell case was handed to the pilot. The cop advised him he was lucky he had not been on the receiving end of that round of ammo. The two pilots just stood there as the cop left and nothing was heard again about that drunken night at Osan.

Now if our SP had actually pulled the trigger that night in Osan there is a pretty good chance he would have never been able to stay in the Air Force long enough to collect his retirement check. Even if legally he was in the right, they could have gotten rid of him. He would have received bad evaluations, never got promoted and been forced to leave early in his career.

Incidents like the once-upon-a-time tale of a drunken night at Osan, Korea happens on occasion around the world with Air Force cops and unruly Airmen. In most cases a shot is never fired and the incident does not make it to international cable news.

And then there is Groom Lake.

So, these alien-hunting civilians want to swarm the Air Force classified location at Groom Lake, which is north of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. This base is also the “famous” Area 51.

Please keep in mind the US government owns a very large chunk of the state of Nevada, to include the land that the Nevada Test and Training Range is on. If the Feds say you cannot be on their land they mean it and they back it up with guns. Groom Lake is on Federal land.

My last assignment in the Air Force prior to retiring as an AF cop from active duty was at Nellis Air Force Base, in Las Vegas. Nellis AFB, was the support base for the Groom Lake operation. We had unclassified maps that had Groom Lake on them. There was no secret where Area 51 was located. Even with my increased security clearances I was never officially told what was going on at Groom Lake and to tell you the truth I did not want to know.

The unofficial rumors had the physical security of Groom Lake structured in three rings of defense. Inside the wire of Groom Lake there were allegedly Air Force, Security Policemen guarding the cantonment area. Outside the wire was the second ring of protection that was performed by contract private security. Then the first line of defense was another ring of contract security. This information is all alleged and for me hearsay. I do not know if it was true back then or how they are doing security now.

What I do understand is if these ground raiders actually show up, some Air Force careers are going to be ruined over what will happen. The Air Force does not even have to shoot any of the raiders. All the Air Force has to do is fail to have medical support, water stations and port-a-johns set up for the raiders. All it will take for international news to cry foul is a poor heat prostrated raider laying in the desert sand crying for his mommy.

Now if deadly force is actually used that day, the world will be in mourning for the misunderstood raiders who only wanted to find those pesky aliens.

As their blood is soaking into the sand the phone calls will go out for the heads of the Air Force cops who dared to defend Area 51 the way they were instructed and trained to react. Cop leadership will be called to senior pilot leadership offices and threatened with the ruination of their military careers and prison time.

There will be video footage out there forever of the injured as they try to retrograde back to Las Vegas and of course the politicians demanding answers. Years later the paper/money trail will finally come out as to what foreign hostile powers and what domestic terrorists were contributing money and support to the raider’s cause.

A suggestion to my fellow Air Force Security Forces cops, who will be on duty that day, be prepared to survive literally and politically. At the time of the writing of this column there were already 1.2 million people who have declared their intent to attack Groom Lake. If Groom Lake is swarmed with even a fraction of the 1.2 million alleged raiders there will be no stopping them and if they get to you personally, you are their target.

They will not all be Americans out for a good time in the desert. The foreign operatives will be the ones looking for blood to embarrass the US government. They will just be dressed like all the rest of the raiders.

The talking heads on the cable news channels are all laughing at the idea of raiders attacking Groom Lake. I see none of this as funny. When that Airman cop has his back against the wall at Groom Lake and challenged by screaming raiders the way the drunks threatened that SP those many years ago one night in Osan, the reaction to use deadly force will arise.
Now if the three rings of security is how they conduct business at Groom Lake, and if the raiders successfully breach the first two rings to then confront actual Air Force cops, there will already have been a lot of shooting.

There is a history of individuals being killed trying to force their way into Groom Lake, but again that too is hearsay.

It is not funny. If the Federal government has established such elaborate interlocking security to protect Groom Lake they are taking this serious, deadly serious.

So, the question to the raiders is, “do you feel lucky”? To the Air Force cops who will be on duty that day, watch your back and your fellow cops’ back but do not expect your big Air Force to side-you when this is all over. You might have an empty 5.56 shell case in your hand as you ask for a lawyer. Sad but true.

Major Van Harl USAF Ret.

About Major Van Harl USAF Ret.:

Major Van E. Harl USAF Ret., a career Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force, was born in Burlington, Iowa, USA, in 1955. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry School.  A retired Colorado Ranger and currently is an Auxiliary Police Officer with the Cudahy PD in Milwaukee County, WI.  His efforts now are directed at church campus safely and security training.  He believes “evil hates organization.”  vanharl@aol.com

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What the Hell Is Going on With UFO's - UFO Encounters, USA Military Wants Answers

UFO’s are going mainstream. Are UFO’s real, are UFO’s special government operations, what is area 51 hidding?

So many questions and now some answers are being reported by mainstream media, it’s not just conspiracy any more.

Listen to Tucker Carlson discuss recent military encounters with UFO’s. Tucker asks,”why have we all been lied to for so long?”

Are there Aliens at area 51? These questions and many more will be answered in the two powerful videos below.

Members of Congress and their staffs were given classified briefings on unidentified flying objects by the U.S. Navy with a focus on the potential threats to humans, a Navy spokesperson said Thursday.

The Pentagon has provided a classified briefing to members of Congress about reported encounters by US navy pilots and unidentified aircraft, some of which were said to have no visible engines and could reach hypersonic speeds.

The Navy in April revised its rules on how military pilots report encounters with unidentified aircraft. Rather than dismissing the observations, the Navy now acknowledges there have been sightings of unauthorized and unidentified aircraft entering military-controlled ranges and airspace in recent years, Gradisher previously told Politico.

The question remains, “why the cover-up, how could this have been kept quiet for 60 to 80 years? 

Why are they disclosing this information now? What purpose does it serve for them?

In 2004, two F/A-18F Super Hornets from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz were flying 100 miles off the coast of San Diego when a nearby Navy guided missile carrier, the USS Princeton, alerted them to two unknown objects, which the jets later flew to investigate: a larger underwater object that was “much larger than a submarine,” and a second “wingless, white” and “oblong” object that hovered 50 feet above the water and moved erratically. Here’s the infrared video of the encounter:

In 2018, a second video was released that showed another Navy run-in with a puzzling, fast-moving object. The video was taken in 2015 off the East Coast by a F/A-18F fighter jet using the aircraft’s onboard Raytheon AN/ASQ- 228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) Pod.

For all the myths and legends, what’s true is that Area 51 is real and still very active.

There may not be aliens or a moon landing movie set inside those fences, but something is going on and only a select few are privy to what’s happening further down that closely-monitored wind-swept Nevada road.

“The forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes people want to know what’s there,” says aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin who’s been researching Area 51 for more than three decades.

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You know that the “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” event was started as a joke … right? And you know that it now has a life of its own, is proceeding as jokingly planned for September 20th and has inspired other storming events … right? And you’re not surprised that a beer company, a fast food chain, a music festival organizer and more are lining up to cash in on the event … right? What else could possibly happen? How about an actual UFO showing up to entice even more people to sign up? How about a local sheriff’s office panicking about how to handle a traffic jam on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere? Welcome to the latest edition of “Storm Area 51, What Next?”

2019 UFO sighting near Area 51

That’s the headline on a video uploaded to YouTube on July 23rd by “FilmGuy,” who has this to say about the “UFO” (you can watch the video here):

“Here in Rachel, Nevada. Got this footage on my motion sensor camera. Unbelievable, not sure if it’s a jet or some aircraft I haven’t seen before. Pretty cool nonetheless.”

Pretty cool? We’ll give you cool. Unbelievable? It’s Area 51 (allegedly – there’s no sign or any other indicator, so we have to take his word for it) so not really. Motion sensor camera? That’s worth some pondering. If it’s activated by motion, why was it already recording for a few seconds BEFORE the UFO appeared on the right-hand side before quickly zipping left and disappearing? How wide of an angle and deep of a range do these motion-detectors have? And why did FilmGuy pick this particular spot to set it up? Was he expecting wildlife and got a UFO instead? Then there’s the object itself. It definitely looks like a disc of some sort, even under magnification. However, that roar in the background implies either a non-stealth jet or an old-technology flying saucer. Unbelievable or not believable? This one definitely needs more data … or an admission by a company that it’s a promo for their new “Storm Area 51 Drone.”

Storm Area 51 in your very own authentic steam locomotive!

“Someone is going to get hurt and people may go to jail. It’s not anything to joke about.”

With the only hotel in Rachel, the Little A’le’Inn, already booked to capacity, and the Alien Research Center, a gift shop along Extraterrestrial Highway about 40 miles outside Area 51, already full in its dry camping area, Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee is worried about how his tiny staff of 26 sworn officers, including the jailers, will handle even 500 people lookin’ for a stormin’ and either drunk or angry because the free beer ran out. Even out in the middle of the desert, Sheriff Lee told the Las Vegas Sun that there are parking concerns, traffic control issues and trespassing problems.

“I think this started out as a joke but there may be enough people taking it seriously and it could be a problem.”

If a mere 500 “could be a problem,” what if it’s 2 million? A million? A Woodstockish 500,000?

What if they all see a UFO?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Among the Great Lakes of North America is the majestic Lake Ontario, which while having the smallest surface area among its four brethren is still a mighty large lake, sprawled out over 7,340 sq. miles and possessing 712 miles of shoreline. With such a large lake, one might wonder if there are any mysteries to be had here, and indeed there are. One of the most interesting of these is the lake monster that has long been reported from Lake Ontario’s depths, and while not nearly as well known as some other lake monsters of the world such as Champ or Nessie, it still has managed to capture the imagination.

Tales of something very large and mysterious in Lake Ontario’s waters go back centuries, all the way back to the original inhabitants of this land, the Seneca tribe, who told of a water dragon lurking here that they called the Gaasyendietha, and the area’s Algonquin and Iroquois people had very similar legends. Yet far from just Native myths, when European explorers and settlers began trickling into the region they too began to make sightings of some massive creature in the lake, with one of the first of these being noted in the journal of French explorer Jacques Cartier, describing a monstrous “finned snake” that moved “like a caterpillar” before diving down beneath the waves to disappear. The French explorer Pierre Radisson also made note of gigantic snakes living in the lake.

Lake Ontario

In the 1800s there were quite a few sightings of the creature in Lake Ontario, starting in 1805, when four fishermen near the area of Kingston, on the eastern shore, saw what they took to be an overturned rowboat bobbing about out on the lake. This “rowboat” then began ominously moving towards them, and as it grew closer they could see that this was just a part of a much larger, serpentine creature with huge eyes that they estimated as being an absurd 150 feet in length, as big around as a barrel, and with a mouth “frightfully large and aspect terrible.” Kingston would go on to become ground zero for all manner of other such reports, and gathered quite a reputation as being a favorite haunt for the mysterious monster.

In July of 1817, a ship was in the area when the crew spotted a dark-colored snake-like monster measuring 40 feet long and 1 foot in diameter about 3 miles offshore. In the August 14, 1829 edition of the Kingston Gazette and Religious Advocate there was also the account of a group of children playing by the waterside when they saw a serpent in the water around 30 feet in length, described in the article as “a hideous water snake, or serpent, of prodigious dimensions.” In 1833 the steamer Polyphemus also came across the beast in Kingston Harbor with the crew saying it was 175 feet in length. The captain, Abijah Kellogg, would claim that it looked almost like an earthworm, with no discernible face, and that it was making its way up the St. Lawrence River. The creature popped up again in 1842, at Gull Beach, in Kingston, where it startled two boys at the water’s edge. When they told their rather what they had seen he came running with a rifle, and even fired at the 40 foot long, brownish serpent. Sightings continued all around Lake Ontario at the time, and there was a curious account printed in the Galveston Daily News, September 5, 1867, the entirety of which reads:

Another report of the appearance of the great snake or water monster in Lake Ontario has reached us. We have it from reliable citizens who reside on the Lake shore in Parma [New York], ten miles or so west of the mouth of the Genesee, that on Thursday last [possibly August 29] , just as sunset, this monster was seen in the water close to shore. A drove of cattle went to drink, whereupon the huge monster raised his head above the water and approached the shore, intending no doubt to take an evening meal of fresh beef. The noise made by the animal as he came into shallow water frightened the cattle and they ran back from the beach in great fright. Half an hour later the same drove of cattle sought to drink at a place fifty rods west of the spot where they first went and were again driven away by the monster. The occurrence drew to the beach several persons residing not far distant and caused a sensation. It won’t answer for anybody to go into that neighborhood and say that there is not a monster in the lake. Too many have seen the animal to doubt its existence.

Sightings would continue on into later years. On June 25, 1872, witnesses in Olcott, New York, supposedly saw the monster actually spectacularly leap far out of the water while making a strange bellowing noise. Two fishermen also saw it in 1877 in Burlington Bay, described as looking like a log with a mouth like a crocodile. In 1881 the creature returned to Kingston, this time being seen by the passengers and crew of the steamship Gyspy, this time describing it as having a tail and small legs. In August of 1882 it was seen near Fort York, Toronto, and witnesses said it was bluish grey in color and covered in prominent bristles. On this occasion it was reportedly to be leisurely floating about basking in the sun, but when it realized it was being watched it apparently grunted and quickly slipped back down into the depths.

In 1888 some sailors saw the thing in the channel between Wolfe and Simcoe Islands, and in 1892 there was a harrowing report from a couple who claimed to have actually been attacked by “a huge serpent with eyes like balls of fire” during a fishing trip to Brackey’s Bay, only managing to escape by beating it over the head with their fishing poles. Perhaps one of the most dramatic reports was printed in the September 5, 1897 edition of the Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, in which it was reported that the creature had actually been captured on hook and line after putting up a seven day battle just off from Tompkins Point. The paper describes the outlandish creature as follows:

Rope were pro cured and the monster was hauled upon the shore. The leviathan was the queerest thing ever teen’ along Lake Ontario. It measured from end of nose to tip of tail seventeen feet, four and a halt Inches, while In width it measured six feet, four Inches.The body was encased In a shell that was very soft and pliable. When hauled upon the platform scales upon which coal is weighed It tipped the beam at 443 pounds. By pulling upon the hook, which was securely fastened in the lower jaw of the monster, the head was drawn out about three feet, displaying a most wonderful sight .As the head was drawn out farther and farther, the jaws would open wider and wider and the eyes would protrude dots and more. When the bead was drawn- out U full length the eyes protruded sins inches and, being seven inches In diameter, made an extremely ugly sight, The tail was about four feet in length- and was feather shaped. About two thirds back on the body was a hump about 18 inches high, which when brushed off with an old broom, shone like polished brass. On either side of the body of the monster were six fins or flippers, each 32 inches long and armed with claws seven inches in length. Sightseers have driven from a distance of ten miles to see the monster. Dr. Dee Borough has had it skinned and will bare it mounted.

Whether this ever really happened or not, it is the last we here of this particular specimen, and no mention of any mounted specimen is made after that. Was this real, and if so what happened to that body? Who knows? Unfortunately, this could very well be just a hoax report from an era when newspaper reports were often exaggerated or even straight up made up, and there were certainly hoaxes of the Lake Ontario Monster that would pop up. Sightings nevertheless continued. In 1931 two doctors were out boating on the lake when they saw a 230-foot-long serpent with “one eye in the middle of his head as well two antler-like horns.” 1934 a group of boaters claimed to have collided with the monster at Cartwright Bay, near Kingston, and although they claimed that this had killed it the body was never found. Even more recently still is a sighting made in 1968 by a local in New York who said it was an eel-like creature 20 feet long and had a mane, and in 1970 it was spotted by an employee of the Ministry of Natural Resources at the shores of Prince Edward County. The most recent account I can find is from a Reddit commenter called “jvantorre,” who says he saw it in 2011 in Toronto Harbor, explaining:

Hi me and my friends were at a concert last night September 5th 2011 at the Toronto docks. Out I’n the water we seen a creature describing all of these descriptions. It was black maybe 2 ft wide and only slithered York the surface never jumped but came up enough to expose it’s large fin. I seen it three times I’n roughly 30 min and my friend seen it twice. Before we had to go into the concert. At first we thought there might be a possibility of fresh water dolphins but no sightings have been recorded.

It is hard to say exactly what the mysterious lake monster of Ontario could be. There are species of eel in the lake, but they get nowhere near the sizes reported. Lake sturgeon are also known in the lake, but they are very rare nowadays, and also don’t get as large as the accounts, although they do get pretty big. Could this be something else entirely? Perhaps something that long ago got trapped in the lake? There’s no way to really know, and sightings in more modern times have dropped of substantially, leaving the mystery of the Lake Ontario monster a strange oddity.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

As we saw in my previous articles on Russia and Majestic 12, there is strong, available evidence that suggests the Russians were behind the notorious Majestic 12 documents of the 1980s and of 2017.  At the same time that ufologists were salivating over the Majestic 12 papers in the eighties, the Russians were working to convince Americans that the U.S. government had secretly created the AIDS virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Or, HIV. The purpose? To use the virus as the definitive doomsday weapon. In reality, the whole thing was nothing but extremely tacky Russian propaganda and disinformation. It’s a strange and controversy-filled story that, in a very odd way, has a link to a second set of Majestic 12 documents; they surfaced in the 1990s. This second set would provoke even more controversy than the original ones ever could. The U.S. Department of State provides the following on the Russian AIDS plot:

“When the AIDS disease was first recognized in the early 1980s, its origins were a mystery. A deadly new disease had suddenly appeared, with no obvious explanation of what had caused it. In such a situation, false rumors and misinformation naturally arose, and Soviet disinformation specialists exploited this situation as well as the musings of conspiracy theorists to help shape their brief but highly effective disinformation campaign on this issue. In March 1992, then-Russian intelligence chief and later Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov admitted that the disinformation service of the Soviet KGB had concocted the false story that the AIDS virus had been created in a U.S. military laboratory as a biological weapon.”

All of which brings us to those 1990s-era Majestic 12 files. They too were almost certainly created by the Russians. They started as a trickle in the early 1990s and by the mid-1990s had turned into a veritable tidal wave. The number of Majestic 12 papers provided to Bill Moore and Jaime Shandera in the 1980s amounted to a handful or two. The ones revealed by Heather Wade in 2017 were not much more in number. The material that a man named Timothy Cooper – of Big Bear Lake, California – obtained from shady sources in the 1990s ran to not just dozens of pages, but hundreds of pages. Although Cooper quit Ufology years ago, the files sent to him are still talked about in Ufology. Cooper soon hooked up with the father-son UFO research team of Dr. Robert Wood and Ryan Wood. In the early 2000s, I was hired by the Woods to research the Cooper files, to the extent that in 2002 I spent a week going through all of Cooper’s files, which Cooper had then recently sold to Bob Wood. I have used the following quote before,  but it helps to explain how I came to know so much about not just Cooper’s Majestic 12 files, but also the means by which he got the documents, the circumstances, and much more – including certain things that are still not in the public domain. Okay, back to the quote; here it is:

“…in the early days of 2002, Bob [Wood] hired me to spend a week in an Orange County, California-based motel-room, surrounded by all of the thousands upon thousands of pages of Cooper’s voluminous collection of the cosmic sort. The plan was for me to catalog all of the material, to compile each and every piece of it into chronological order, and to summarize the content of each document, every letter, and every Freedom of Information request that Cooper had submitted to government agencies – which is precisely what I did. It was a week in which I most definitely earned my loot. It was also a week that paralleled the infamous story told by Hunter S. Thompson in his classic gonzo saga, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Whereas Thompson was hunkered down with his whisky, margaritas and shrimp cocktails, for me it was cases of cold beer and club sandwiches.”

According to Cooper, he had several old-timer sources who had spent their careers working in the fields of counter-intelligence, psychological warfare, and disinformation. The most prominent ones were Thomas Cantwheel and Cantwheel’s daughter, Salina. Allegedly, of course. The reality is that they may not even have been Americans. By now, you can surely guess where they really came from. It was as a result of having pretty much unique access to all (and I do mean all) of Cooper’s files during that week in 2002 that I began to make a Russian connection to all of this. Without a doubt, the most controversial of all of the documents that were fed to Cooper by Cantwheel and Salina, is one titled Majestic Twelve Project, 1^st Annual Report. Its subtitle makes the subject of the document clear: A Review of the President’s Special Panel to Investigate the Capture of Unidentified Planform Space Vehicles by U.S. Armed Forces and Agencies.

Oddly, the document lacks a date; however, it does not refer to any events or incidents that post-date 1951, which suggests it was written in that year. Or, it was written to make us think it was created in 1951. Cooper’s notes – the ones that I had access to in 2002 – show that he received the Report in three sections, rather than as one unified document. The cover-page turned up in Cooper’s Big Bear Lake mailbox on January 19, 1994. It was almost a year later – specifically on December 30, 1994 – when Cooper obtained the Table of Contents. And, the rest of the document was provided to him on February 22, 1995. The writer of the 1^st Annual Report stated:

“BW [Biological Warfare] programs in U.S. and U.K. are in field test stages. Discovery of new virus and bacteria agents so lethal, that serums derived by genetic research, can launch medical science into unheard of fields of biology. The samples extracted from bodies found in New Mexico, have yielded new strains of a retro-virus not totally understood, but, give promise of the ultimate BW weapon. The danger lies in the spread of airborne and bloodborne outbreaks of diseases in large populations, with no medical cures available. Current research in U.S. and U.K., can be accelerated when studies are complete. Understanding the human makeup through EBE [“Extraterrestrial Biological Entity,” allegedly a term used by MJ12 to describe aliens] research will bring a varied wealth of information in how cells replicate themselves and may help in developing new drugs and markets. Healthcare industries are considered the best source of R&D for DoD programs.”

In “Annex A” of the report there’s this, which is equally controversial: “The Panel was concerned over the contamination of several SED personnel upon coming in contact with debris near the power plant. One technician was overcome and collapsed when he attempted the removal of a body. Another medical technician went into a coma four hours after placing a body in a rubber body-bag. All four were rushed to Los Alamos for observation. All four later died of seizures and profuse bleeding. All four were wearing protective suits when they came into contact with body fluids from the occupants. Autopsies on the four dead SED technicians are not conclusive. It is believed that the four may have suffered from some form of toxin or a highly contagious disease. Tissue samples are currently being kept at Fort Detrick, Md. In the opinion of the senior AEC medical officer, current medical equipment and supplies are wholly inadequate in dealing with a large scale outbreak of the alien virus.”

Now, let us take another look at certain, important threads that are contained in the 1^st Annual Report. The Majestic 12 papers refer to a “new virus,” “a retro-virus not totally understood,” “bloodborne outbreaks of diseases,” “the ultimate BW [Biological Warfare] weapon,” “a highly contagious disease,” and the connection between “Healthcare industries” and “DoD [Department of Defense] programs.” Mirroring the above, it’s a fact that HIV is a retro-virus. It’s also a blood-borne virus. And, as the Department of State reported, the Russians were spreading a rumor that, “…the AIDS virus had been created in a U.S. military laboratory as a biological weapon.” The additional rumor was that shadowy elements of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry were in on the conspiracy. For those who hang onto this document as being real, it should be noted that (A) Fort Detrick was actually still named Camp Detrick when the document was supposedly written; and (B) the term “retro-virus” was not in use until the 1970s, which was decades after the report is alleged to have been put together.

In light of all these unsavory and undeniable parallels, it’s very easy to see how some people – of an extremely conspiratorial and deranged mind – might come to believe that the discovery of such a dangerous alien virus, in 1947, and the recovery of a crashed UFO in New Mexico, led to the creation of HIV. It’s a fact that of all the Majestic 12-themed papers that were provided to Cooper, it’s this one – more than any other – that provoked so much controversy. And, admittedly, the document is filled with suggestive threads that fit neatly within the parameters of the bogus AIDS conspiracy theory. I have concluded that this was the goal of the creators of the 1^stAnnual Report.

Now, we come to the matter of that curious name of Timothy Cooper’s primary informant, “Thomas Cantwheel.” It’s important to note that “Cantwheel” is not a real name. And it never has been a real name, either. It is, however, very similar to a genuine name. That of “Cantwell.” There may have been a very specific reason as to why “Cantwheel” chose that particular name when dealing with Cooper and with regards to a deadly virus with AIDS-like aspects attached to it. It might have been designed – as a less than subtle pointer – to have Cooper come to the conclusion that AIDS had been created by the U.S. Government. It just so happens that there is a Dr. AlanCantwell. His AIDS-themed books include Queer Blood and AIDS and the Doctors of Death.

So, what do we have here? Well, we have tales of a highly dangerous retrovirus, of a Cantwell vs. a Cantwheel, of tainted blood, of big business in cahoots with the Pentagon. And, of a mysterious couple of informants who were never really identified and who vanished into the ether (or who went back to Moscow…) after handing over controversial files to a UFO researcher – Cooper – who thought he was getting the real deal. Put all of that together and what we have is a heady brew of controversial proportions. Not only that, Dr. Alan Cantwell concluded that Fort Detrick played a role in all of this – a facility that appears in Timothy Cooper’s Majestic 12/Cantwheel papers, too, in relation to research into a deadly alien virus, as you will recall.

So, what do we have here? I suggest that we have a very strange and highly alternative attempt, in the 1990s, to resurrect Russia’s “America created AIDS” disinformation program of the previous decade. But, this time (when The X-Files was extremely popular and the adventures of Mulder and Scully were reigniting U.S. public interest in UFOs) by carefully using crashed UFOs, dead aliens, and an extraterrestrial virus as the key components to the plot. All fabricated and completely bogus. Indeed, no-one should believe or conclude there is a real connection between HIV and extraterrestrials. It’s as ridiculous as it is offensive. For those who created the document, the problem was that Cooper chose to quit Ufology and sold all of his files to Bob Wood. And, when it came to the “viral” angle of all this, Cooper chose not to bite anyway. At least, as far as I could tell from his files, that is. Cooper may not even have appreciated the significance of the various, glaring threads, as well as that Cantwheel-Cantwell issue, which was strategically placed right in front of his eyes. Also, most of the UFO research community didn’t buy into the Cooper material. Thus, the result was that the UFOs-Aliens-U.S. Government-AIDS operation stalled and finally died. Let’s hope that it stays that way.

As I see it, all of this provides us with even more clues that suggest Russia created Majestic 12 – both the fictional group and the equally fictional documents.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

The number of crop circles is rising around the world, with France seeing a high volume of this in 2019. In addition, the complexity of these crop circles keeps improving as the aliens/pranksters get better at making them and keeping them concealed until they’re done despite the increasing prevalence of drones. One thing you don’t hear very often at these sites are chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” That’s mostly because the U.S. has so very few of them. Another reason might be that our alien/pranksters are just plain bad at plane geometry. That was proven once again this week in Alabama, where five people were arrested as they were creating what has to be the world’s worst crop circle. It shouldn’t even be called a “circle” but there’s no category in this field (pun intended) for crop blobs. Talk about embarrassing. (You can see the ‘circle’ here.)

“I think they may have actually made the pattern, came out of the field, and then re-entered the field, and made a second trip. So, it was a little bit of an adventure for them, it wasn’t just a quick thing.”

Wrong tool for the job

Sheriff Jonathon Horton of the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office told WSFA 12 News that a neighbor of the owner of the crumpled cornfield saw a suspicious vehicle on a security camera video (Big Brother even watches cornfields) and notified the authorities (after also posting it on social media) and it wasn’t long before Brandon Allen Whitlock, Noah Michael Brown, Rex Dakota Brown, Jeni Beth Vaughn, and Stephanie Marie Helm were arrested and charged with totally embarrassing everyone in Etowah County. Also, they were charged with 3rd degree criminal mischief, a felony. The estimated damage to the field was put at $7,500 – that’s a lot of corn.

5 arrested after damaging cornfield

(Source: Etowah County Sheriff’s Office)

What’s sad is that if you were going to pick a place in Alabama to fool the public or send a message to fellow aliens, Etowah County would be the perfect place. Located in northeast Alabama, it’s the state’s smallest county by area but one of the most densely populated. It also is home to Alabama’s most famous cryptid – the White Thang. Reported often in the dense woods of the county, the White Thang is a white Bigfoot-like humanoid creature, usually said to be over 7 feet tall and covered with white fur or hair. It reportedly has a unique howl, stands on two legs but moves extremely fast on all fours and has a foul odor.

Not a circle

Etowah County has also had its share of UFO sightings. While some may be attributed to the Goodyear blimp hangar at the local tire plant, there have been others with a few allegedly attracting military jets. The country also has legends of a river monster and giants, not to mention plenty of ghosts, according to Mark Goodson’s book Haunted Etowah Country, Alabama. But no crop circles.

Don’t look for Goodson to be revising his book for this one either. It’s an embarrassment to Alabama, White Thang and any aliens in the area.

We can’t be good at everything, but how hard are crop circles? After all … France!

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

For the past several months, I’ve been conducting interviews with leading UFO researchers from countries around the world in an effort to paint a clearer picture of global UFOlogy today.

This week, our global UFO trek takes us to South Africa, and to Gert Jordaan of UFORSA (UFO South Africa), an organisation specialising in data collection founded by Gert in September 2011 following an apparent increase in UFO sightings in his country and a heightened public interest in the phenomenon.

Gert Jordaan of UFO South Africa (UFORSA).

RG: Who have been the defining figures in South African UFOlogy over the past 70 years, and why?

GJ: One of the most notable figures concerning the UFO phenomena in South Africa is Elizabeth Klarer. She was a contactee and claimed to have been contacted by extraterrestrials between 1954 and 1963. She was also one of the first people on record to claim to have had a sexual encounter with an extraterrestrial. She also claimed to have visited a planet in the system of Alpha Centuri, where she believed she was impregnated and bore a son who remained on the alien planet. Klarer was even referenced in a 2008 song by South African singer Jim Neversink, called ‘Even Elizabeth Klarer.’

Photo of an alleged UFO taken by South African contactee Elizabeth Klarer in July 1956.

RG: What is the most compelling UFO case you have personally investigated?

GJ: A mass sighting on 12 December, 2012. We received numerous reports from different people that saw the same object in the Cape-Town area (between 11 and 12 December). It was seen as far as the Northern Cape and Namibia. We received approximately 100 reports of the same UFO.

RG: What is the South African government’s official stance on UFOs? When was the last time it issued a statement on the subject?

GJ: At this stage, we have no idea what the South African government’s stance is towards on UFOs. They have not indicated any interest in the UFO phenomenon.

The Union Buildings of the South African government.

RG: Does the South African Department of Defence have an official UFO investigations unit?

GJ: Not that we know of. And if the South African government does not have such a unit, we would gladly accept an invitation if they chose to work with us.

RG: Has the South African government shown more or less transparency on the UFO subject than the US government?

GJ: We believe the South African government would be more transparent with the UFO subject than the US government. At this time, we have not seen any indication from the South African government that implicates them with any UFO studies at all.

RG: Tell us a bit about your organisation, UFORSA. How many members do you have, and what kind of activities do you engage in? How many smaller South African UFO groups are you aware of, if any?

GJ: UFORSA began as a hobby for me. The official website came online sometime in 2011 to give people in South Africa a platform to submit sightings. Before UFORSA was SAUFOR, an independent person who operated a website. SAUFOR came to an end soon after we stepped in. We are only two people running the UFORSA website to this day. I am the founder of UFORSA and I have a website manager. We collect UFO data and provide commentary to the media if they enquire about a specific case. We manage the platform/website for people to engage socially and to submit sightings (which they can anonymously if they wish).

RG: What are the most active regions of South Africa for UFO sighting reports?

GJ: Three major areas in South Africa can be considered hotspots. First is the Western Cape. A huge open province scattered with small towns and great views of the stars. Secondly is Gauteng, a small province packed with towns and businesses and with many eyes on the skies. Lastly is KwaZulu-Natal, home to the famous Elizabeth Klarer, and a great place for a holiday for most South Africans (we receive a lot of sightings from this region during those holidays).

Drakensberg National Park in KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa.

RG: Have you personally had any UFO sightings?

GJ: I have witnessed a few strange objects in the past, and one quite recently. It was just after the new year January 2019. It was almost midnight and I was watching some TV in the dark. I heard a noise outside and peeked through my sliding door (during the day, I can see the whole of False Bay from Table mountain to the Hottentots Holland mountains with an amazing sea view). I saw a flare-like object FAR in the distance. First I thought it could be a boat signalling for rescue. As the flare came down, it stopped just above the horizon and started moving towards the right and slowly disappeared.

RG: How long have you been involved in the UFO subject; roughly how many cases have you personally investigated; and what conclusions, if any, have you drawn about the underlying nature of UFO phenomena?

GJ: My interest in UFO phenomena started way before UFORSA in 2011. I had read so many books about astronomy, and I wanted to know what the UFO situation looked like in South Africa. So I founded UFORSA. I mainly collect UFO data. I cannot conduct many personal investigations due to funding issues. But it would be a dream come true to travel the country and the world to investigate the phenomena. The conclusion I have drawn through my personal experience and through my analysis of the data is that the rapid evolution in technology in our world can lead to fake reports and sightings. Not just by people playing pranks, but through misidentifications of top secret military craft that are being produced and tested. Most sightings can be explained. Almost all of them. But there are a microscopic amount that drive our curiosity. We cannot explain all things in the universe, but we often catch glimpses of the unexplained.

RG: How can South African UFOlogy, and UFOlogy in general, better itself?

GJ: The thing I want people to understand is that not every UFO sighting will be little green men in a saucer, visiting us from afar to enlighten us. UFOlogy needs to show people that any sighting can be diligently investigated and an acceptable conclusion can usually be reached. Many South Africans are still a bit close-minded. Although a small section of the populous do exhibit an interest in UFOs. I see UFOlogy as a base point from which branch out into different areas of scientific study, such as astrobiology or engineering, for example.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

A strange stone sculpture has North Carolina archaeologists stumped.

“It’s actually the first time we’ve ever encountered it and that’s why we don’t know much about it because we’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Mary Beth Fitts, Assistant State Archaeologist with the Office of State Archaeology

A stone sculpture was found by a man named Tom Giddens who lives in Newton Grove and it wasn’t until a worker out plowing his field hit it that he discovered the mysterious artifact reports cbs17.

“The plow hit the stone and the person picked it up and put it to the edge of the field and then Mr. Giddens as he was walking by flipped the stone over and saw there was a face in the stone,” Fitts said.

Fitts created a 3D model of the stone sculpture and put it out on social media, in the hopes that someone somewhere would know something about the artifact’s origins.

Link to 3D model: 

• https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/sandstone-sculpture-934dec1c13874493adfc3e534df4e299

“It really is mysterious. We don’t know what time period it’s from. It could be a piece of folk art or it could’ve been made a long time ago. It’s made of sandstone and that’s a pretty soft stone so you don’t need special tools to carve sandstone so that means if really could’ve been carved anytime in history.”

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

Glowing UFO Over Cambridge, UK Caught On Video, July 2019, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: July 21, 2019
Location of sighting: Cambridge, UK

I love this sighting because everything about it falls into place well and screams legit. The person who recorded it usually films planes and wildlife so he has an eye for detail. He has a great camera with an incredible zoom on it. So when he noticed this UFO in the sky, it didn't stand a chance at escaping. This UFO has the fuzzy outer area which most do due to the alien propulsion system. Absolute proof that aliens are watching Cambridge. 
Scott C. Waring

Eyewitness states:

I used a Panasonic 4k 2160p Camcorders ( 25x Optical Zoom 1500x digital zoom good enough to spot a bee on a chimney hundreds of metres away! ) Absolutely Insane shape shifting UFO seen Cambridge England.

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

15km Alien Ship Found Below Ocean On Google Earth Map, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of discovery: July 28, 2019
Location of discovery: Off Florida coast at Great Abaco Island
Source map:  

• https://www.google.com.tw/maps/@26.523543,-76.6142363,128603m/data=!3m1!1e3
  

I was using an online version of Google Earth map and found this alien base that has been dragging itself along the ocean floor for thousand or millions of years. The object is 15.3km across and the roads its making near it are also 15.3km across. The object appears to have been abandoned, so it could be from millions of years ago. There are road like structures all across our oceans as you see in the video below. I believe that this alien object is responsible for some of those and other alien structures may have helped it. 

These look like space ships that were used below the oceans, moving from place to place mining or exploring the bottom of our oceans. I bet this alien craft is retrievable and salvageable. The alien technology inside could save humanity and transport us to the stars.
Scott C. Waring

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

UFO Shoots Past Motion Sensor Camera Near Area 51, Military Secret Project, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: July 2019
Location of sighting: Racheal, Nevada, USA

This UFO was recorded this week by a person who used a motion sensor camera. After six hours of footage the camera caught this amazing craft shooting past. The really compelling evidence is the sound. 

If you put the Youtube video into slow motion, you easily see its a perfect metal disk. I hear the UFO shooting past at jet like speeds. The sound is just like that of a jet, but clearly the object is a metallic disk. So perhaps the sound is merely the noise of the UFO pushing aside the wind as it shoots across. Clearly another top secret Area 51 project. Imagine a fleet of these American craft flying over other countries. Puts the fear into those who see them. 
Scott C. Waring

Eyewitness states: 

Here in Rachel, Nevada. Got this footage on my motion sensor camera. Unbelievable, not sure if it's a jet or some aircraft I haven't seen before. Pretty cool nonetheless.

{ https://www.etdatabase.com/ }

50 Years After Apollo, India Is Carrying a NASA Laser Reflector to the Moon (And It's Only the Start)

By Chelsea Gohd 

A "microreflector" retroreflector that is currently on its way to the lunar surface. 

(Image: © NASA/GSFC)

An Indian spacecraft is carrying the first reflectors to be left on the moon since the Apollo era.

The reflectors, which are part of the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-2 mission that launched earlier this week, represent the next step in an experiment that began in 1969.

Fifty years (and a few days) ago, the Apollo 11 astronauts left the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment on the moon. The experiment contained a tray of 100 small prisms that scientists on Earth would shoot with laser beams. Astronauts on Apollo 14 and 15 followed suit, leaving more of these prisms, known as retroreflectors, on the moon. Incredibly, decades later, these reflectors remain active experiments.

• Related: Why Is the Apollo Reflector Experiment Still Operating, 50 Years Later?

Lasers and the moon

The Next Generation Lunar Reflector retroreflector (left) next to its Apollo-era predecessor (right).

(Image credit: Doug Currie)

ISRO launched a tiny new retroreflector to the moon's south pole on board Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander. It weighs only 1 ounce (about 22 grams) and can be seen from lunar orbit, but not from Earth, Simone Dell'Agnello, an Executive Technologist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics - Frascati National Labs in Italy, told Space.com in an email. 

The new reflector is "a 'microreflector' device, similar to the one delivered by INFN of Italy (through the Italian Space Agency, ASI) to NASA-JPL and deployed on the InSight Mars lander (and to be deployed by the Mars 2020 rover of NASA and by the ExoMars 2020 rover of ESA)," she said. 

Dell'Agnello is leading the research team on the Vikram microreflector and is a co-investigator working on the upcoming Next Generation Lunar Reflector (NGLR)  for NASA's Artemis program. The "next-gen retroreflectors are much more compact and lighter than Apollo's meter-size arrays deployed by Apollo 11, 14 and 15 astronauts," Dell'Agnello added.

Doug Currie, a senior research scientist and professor at the University of Maryland who was a key member of the team that designed the original Apollo reflectors, told Space.com that Virkam's microreflector will not be observed by lunar laser stations on Earth. Instead, lasers fired from a satellite will bounce off this small reflector, telling scientists the distance between the satellite and the microreflector on the lunar surface.

The microreflector is "designed to be measured by Martian and lunar orbiters equipped with lasers (like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Global Surveyor and any future such spacecrafts)," Dell'Agnello said.

More moon laser targets

By firing lasers at existing reflectors on the moon, scientists on Earth observe the time it takes for the laser to return and can then study the distance between the moon and Earth. This helps scientists measure and analyze the moon's orbit, rotation, orientation and relationship with Earth. 

So far, the laser reflector experiments Apollo astronauts left on the moon have not only improved scientists' understanding of how the moon moves and how far we are from it, but also helped to provide evidence that the moon has a liquid core. 

However, while these decades-old experiments continue to function and provide scientists with accurate and useful data, the reflectors will soon be getting an upgrade. Enter the NGLR, a next generation laser experiment led by Currie and Dell'Agnello.

NGLR works similarly to its reflector predecessors, bouncing back lasers fired from Earth. With improved reflectors and a greater number of reflectors over a larger area on the moon, the team hopes that it will be much more accurate than the Apollo reflectors, according to a statement from the University of Maryland. 

It is one of 12 investigations that NASA has selected for study and exploration of the moon as part of the agency's Artemis lunar program. 

The experiments and demonstrations "will help the agency send astronauts to the Moon by 2024 as a way to prepare to send humans to Mars for the first time," NASA officials said in a statement. 

"Our Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector is a 21st-century version of the instruments currently on the moon," Currie said in the statement. "Each placement of a Next Generation lunar laser ranging array will greatly enhance the scientific and navigational capabilities of retroreflector network. These additions improve the mapping and navigation capabilities important for NASA's plans to return to the moon and by 2028 establish a sustained human presence."

The reflectors will help scientists to investigate other areas of science as well. For example, scientists will use the reflectors to conduct new tests regarding general relativity and related theories, which may help to reveal more about dark matter, the mysterious stuff that makes up almost 27% of the universe, Currie said.

"Plus," Dell’Agnello added, "laser retroreflectors will serve surface geodesy, lunar cartography, exploration, ISRU and various forms of future lunar (and/or martian) commerce that will need surface metric measurements. Applications that already happened on Earth since the dawn of urbanization."

• Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the NGLR as a "microreflector." The microreflector is on Vikram, the NGLR is a separate reflector that will be part of a future mission. 
•  The Moon: Space Programs' Dumping Ground (Infographic) 
•  The Apollo Moon Landings: How They Worked (Infographic) 
•  How the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Worked (Infographic) 
• Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd.
• Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

Seth Shostak Storming Area 51 on September 20? Here's why you're unlikely to find aliens hiding in the desert

The search for extraterrestrial life has long been a fixture of American pop culture — but lately, it seems like the conspiracy theorists have been getting a little bit louder.

By Seth Shostak

More than a million people say — at least online — they want to scale the fences and storm Area 51, a top-secret Air Force installation in the Nevada desert. Their stated hope is to see the aliens who for decades have been rumored to be warehoused within. The blitz is scheduled for Sept. 20, so mark your calendars.

Or not.

The idea for this effort was birthed on Facebook, and it was clearly intended as a joke. But so was Johnny Carson’s 1973 claim that the U.S. was running out of toilet paper — an offhand attempt at humor that triggered a real shortage. So joke or no, the hordes might really show up at the closely guarded federal facility, a poor decision according to authorities. BookMaker, an Internet betting site, is already weighing the odds of a tsunami of citizens storming the chain-links and, if they do, the chances that they’ll find any aliens mothballed inside.

It’s all good fun (unless, perhaps, you’re in charge of security for the Air Force.) But should you go?

It’s all good fun (unless, perhaps, you’re in charge of security for the Air Force.) But should you go? And, really, is there any reason to believe that extraterrestrials are stacked up at Area 51?

The search for extraterrestrial life has long been a fixture of American pop culture, immortalized in television shows like “The X-Files” and movies such as “E.T.,” “Independence Day” and “Arrival” among many others. These examples speak to a widespread sentiment that has long bubbled beneath the surface. But lately, it seems like the conspiracy theorists have been getting a little bit louder. The media has devoted a lot of space to speculation about various space objects, for example, with reporters and scientists alike wondering if, for example, the mysterious object 'Oumuamuawas an asteroid, a comet — “or an alien spaceship.”

Which brings us back to Area 51. The Air Force says a citizen assault would be “dangerous” — a description perfectly chosen to encourage those who believe that what goes on at this hush-hush base is both suspect and probably malevolent. Signs posted around Area 51 somberly note that trespassing will be dealt with harshly, and that deadly force is authorized — as if you’d care whether or not it’s authorized when they winch your body out of the sagebrush.

• What is Area 51? Military warns against rushing secret base

Of course, secret things do go on at Area 51 — the testing of new military aircraft, for instance. The Air Force is not keen on people taking photos. So trying to scale the Area 51’s ramparts is about as advisable as storming Fort Knox. And even if camo-clad guards aren’t enough to dissuade you, there’s always the desert itself. Daytime temperatures, even in late September, hover around a sweaty 90 degrees. Refreshments will be hard to find, and the expected crush of people will more or less guarantee you’ll be sleeping in your car or under a creosote bush.

Have a response to a THINK piece that would make a good letter to the editor? Now you have a chance to send us one — and we might publish it in our weekly newsletter. Click here to find out how.

OK, but maybe you’re thinking that revealing humanity’s contact with aliens would be worth the discomfort. Which, indeed, it would. And internet jests aside, a lot of people in the so-called UFO community seem convinced that the federal government really keeps evidence of extraterrestrial visitors — dead or alive — somewhere. Surveys show that one-third of the American public is convinced that aliens are visiting Earth, and a majority say that the government keeps information about these beings secret.

However, crashed saucers or broken bodies aren’t on display at the Smithsonian or Roswell’s UFO Museum. This lack of obvious evidence encourages true believers to claim that federal authorities are the only people with the technological capabilities to gather alien artifacts. And of all the places they could squirrel away this evidence, they’ve chosen southern Nevada.

Frankly, this is a poor argument. Wayfaring aliens are unlike new missiles or Mach 3 fighter jets. Alien spacecraft would, one presumes, be routinely noticed by many of the billions of people who are not employed by the U.S. military, nearly all of whom have cellphones with cameras. Sure, the recently released videos made by some Navy pilots are suggestively mysterious. But they’re also ambiguous. And what about the around 100,000 commercial flights that take off every day, apparently without the slightest concern with — or notice of — extraterrestrial craft? Does the International Airline Pilots Association offer training on how to deal with aliens in our airspace?

It beggars belief to think that the many, many employees and contractors who’ve worked at Area 51 in the seven decades since the celebrated Roswell incident have been capable of keeping news of stockpiled aliens under wraps.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact that humans are weak and susceptible to all sorts of pressure and enticements. It beggars belief to think that the many, many employees and contractors who’ve worked at Area 51 in the seven decades since the celebrated Roswell incident have been capable of keeping news of stockpiled aliens under wraps, despite the fact that it would be the biggest story ever. The oft-repeated argument that secrecy is necessary in order to avoid panicking the populace doesn’t wash. Folks already believe E.T. is here, and they still go to the office every morning.

If nothing else, the suggested blitz of Area 51 demonstrates Nevada’s continuing success in cornering the alien market. In 1996, state officials christened route 375 as the Extraterrestrial Highway. This 100-mile stretch of straightaway, which parallels the northern border of Area 51, might have qualified as the world’s most boring two-hour drive if it weren’t for the fact that some people have seen strange objects in the sky while en route.

It’s also noteworthy that the Nevada Commission on Tourism, which promoted the highway rebranding, didn’t point to the fact that, three years earlier, state Sen. Richard Bryan had introduced an amendment to cancel the NASA project to search for radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence. But then again, those aliens would have been light-years away and of little benefit to the Nevada economy.

As for Area 51, the truth may not be out there. But some high-speed aircraft and a lot of prickly pear probably are.

{ https://think.nbcnews.com/ }

The Earth’s Magnetic Pole On The Move

The magnetic North Pole is hurtling towards Siberia so quickly scientists have had to release new data a year ahead of schedule to keep navigation systems working properly

• World Magnetic Model (WMM) gives compasses the means to navigate north
• WMM provides a five year forecast of changes to the Earth’s magnetic field 
• The North Pole is moving so rapidly that current estimates weren’t accurate
• Monday’s update showed the magnetic north is leaving the Canadian Arctic towards Siberia at a speed of around 34 miles (55km) per year 

By VICTORIA BELL FOR MAILONLINE

Earth’s magnetic North Pole has been wildly shifting towards Russia so quickly that scientists have been forced to publish an update on its actual location a year early.

The World Magnetic Model (WMM) enables compasses to point north and is used in navigation systems. Its latest update revealed the North Magnetic Pole is wandering about 34 miles a year. It crossed the international dateline in 2017 and is leaving the Canadian Arctic on its way to Siberia.

This is causing a navigational nightmare for compasses in smartphones, boats and for airport navigators as well as in some consumer electronics, and WMM was forced to update a year early in order to keep it accurate.

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Earth’s north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast in the last few decades that scientists say that past estimates are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation. The World Magnetic Model was updated on Monday, showing it is wandering about 34 miles (55 km) a year

WMM provides a five year forecast of changes to the Earth’s magnetic field.  The US and UK tend to update the location of the North Magnetic Pole every five years in December, but this update came early because of the pole’s faster movement.

It had been hoped that the updated model could be released even earlier, last  month, but it was held up by the recent shutdown in the US government, which oversees the project along with the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Turbulence in in the planet’s core, where the motion generates an electric field, has caused the field to change in systems described as ‘akin to weather’.

Airplanes and boats also rely on magnetic north, usually as backup navigation, said University of Colorado geophysicist Dr Arnaud Chulliat, lead author of the WMM.

The military depends on where magnetic north is for navigation and parachute drops, while NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and US Forest Service also use it. GPS is not affected because it’s satellite-based.

Airport runway names are also based on their direction toward magnetic north and their names change when the poles moved.

For example, the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, renamed a runway 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009.

Since 1831 when it was first measured in the Canadian Arctic it has moved about 1400 miles (2300 km) towards Siberia.

The magnetic north pole is located at the white star and the individual lines in red and blue show the magentic field lines of Earth. These are used in navigation systems by boats and for airport navigators as well as in some consumer electronics

Its speed jumped from about 9 mph (15 kph) to 34 mph (55 kph) since 2000.

The reason is turbulence in Earth’s liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet’s core where the motion generates an electric field, said University of Maryland geophysicist Dr Daniel Lathrop.

Dr Lathrop, who who wasn’t part of the team monitoring the magnetic north pole said: ‘It has changes akin to weather. We might just call it magnetic weather.’

WHY ARE THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELDS MOVING?

The problem lies partly with the moving pole and partly with other shifts deep within the planet.

Liquid churning in Earth’s core generates most of the magnetic field, which varies over time as the deep flows change.

In 2016, for instance, part of the magnetic field temporarily accelerated deep under northern South America and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Satellites such as the European Space Agency’s Swarm mission tracked the shift.

The magnetic south pole is moving far slower than the north.

In general Earth’s magnetic field is getting weaker, leading scientists to say that it will eventually flip, where north and south pole changes polarity, like a bar magnet flipping over.

It has happened numerous times in Earth’s past, but not in the last 780,000 years.

‘It’s not a question of if it’s going to reverse, the question is when it’s going to reverse,’ Dr Lathrop said.

When it reverses, it won’t be like a coin flip, but take 1,000 or more years, experts said.

Dr Lathrop sees a flip coming sooner rather than later because of the weakened magnetic field and an area over the South Atlantic has already reversed beneath Earth’s surface.

That could bother some birds that use magnetic fields to navigate. And an overall weakening of the magnetic field isn’t good for people and especially satellites and astronauts.

The magnetic field shields Earth from some dangerous radiation, Dr Lathrop said.

Scientists in recent years have predicted that Earth’s magnetic field could be gearing up to ‘flip’ – a shift in which the magnetic south pole would become magnetic north, and vice versa. Earth’s magnetic field is illustrated above

WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO EARTH IF ITS POLES FLIPPED?

The Earth’s magnetic field is in a permanent state of change. 

Magnetic north drifts around and every few hundred thousand years the polarity flips so a compass would point south instead of north. 

The strength of the magnetic field also constantly changes and currently it is showing signs of significant weakening. 

Life has existed on the Earth for billions of years, during which there have been many reversals. 

There is no obvious correlation between animal extinctions and those reversals. Likewise, reversal patterns do not have any correlation with human development and evolution.

It appears that some animals, such as whales and some birds use Earth’s magnetic field for migration and direction finding.

Since geomagnetic reversal takes a number of thousands of years, they could well adapt to the changing magnetic environment or develop different methods of navigation.

Radiation at ground level would increase, however, with some estimates suggesting that overall exposure to cosmic radiation would double causing more deaths from cancer. ‘But only slightly,’ said Professor Richard Holme.

‘And much less than lying on the beach in Florida for a day. So if it happened, the protection method would probably be to wear a big floppy hat.’

The movement of the Earth’s magnetic poles are shown in this animation at 10-year intervals from 1970 to 2020. The red and blue lines sjpw the difference between magnetic north and true north depending on where you are standing. On the green line, a compass would point to true north.

Credit: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Electric grid collapse from severe solar storms is a major risk. As the magnetic field continues to weaken, scientists are highlighting the importance off-the grid energy systems using renewable energy sources to protect the Earth against a black out. 

‘The very highly charged particles can have a deleterious effect on the satellites and astronauts,’ added Dr Mona Kessel, a Magnetosphere discipline scientist at Nasa.

In one area, there is evidence that a flip is already occurring. ‘The increasing strength of the South Atlantic anomaly, an area of weak field over Brazil, is already a problem,’ said Professor Richard Holme.

The Earth’s climate could also change. A recent Danish study has found that the earth’s weather has been significantly affected by the planet’s magnetic field.

They claimed that fluctuations in the number of cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere directly alter the amount of cloud covering the planet.

Henrik Svensmark, a weather scientist at the Danish National Space Centre who led the team behind the research, believes that the planet is experiencing a natural period of low cloud cover due to fewer cosmic rays entering the atmosphere.

From:   

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6667057/Check-compass-The-magnetic-north-pole-move.html

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

We Need More Non-Binary Characters Who Aren’t Aliens, Robots, or Monsters

Most characters who aren’t male or female also aren’t human. Where does that leave those of us who are?

CHRISTINE PREVAS

• Christine is a graduate student and writer whose interests include monsters, science fiction, and radical queerness in all its forms. twitter: @cprevas

There’s a running joke in NBC’s The Good Place about Janet, the neighborhood’s anthropomorphized operational mainframe. Every time one of the other characters calls her a “girl” or a “woman,” she cheerfully corrects them, “I’m not a girl.”

The point is that Janet is a manufactured database and not a person. But bound up in this idea is a more complicated one: that Janet, not being a human at all, is also specifically not a girl. She is a sophisticated form of artificial intelligence, and while she presents in a feminine manner she doesn’t identify as female — or even have a sense of binary gender identity. She’s a non-binary character on a major network sitcom whose gender identity, or lack thereof, does not define her — a feat which should be in and of itself a kind of revolution.

The flip side, though, is also embodied in the joke: Janet isn’t a girl because she’s not a person. Where non-binary characters appear in literature and culture, they are more often than not robots, or aliens, or monsters. They are not so often, as I am, human beings.

Where non-binary characters appear in literature and culture, they are more often than not robots, or aliens, or monsters.

I came out as non-binary in a series of stages, over the course of a number of years. It was a hard identity to put a name to, to come to understand. I’m still not completely out, and I tend to hide my gender in situations where I’ve been made to feel like it’s an inconvenience — with professors who make no space in their classrooms for considerations like pronouns, with family members for whom explaining the concept would fall on ultimately uncomprehending ears, with my housemates in the all-female campus housing in which I live.

No queer identity ever comes with a singular “coming out,” and every time I meet a new person I fall into a routine of social calculus to decide whether or not it’s worthwhile to explain my identity. Will I see this person again? Will they attack me, if I tell them? Will they respect my pronouns, if told? Will they invalidate my identity if I reveal it to them at a later date, or take offense that I didn’t tell them earlier? I have a body that is read as female, no matter what I do, and sometimes the process of explaining that I’m not a woman isn’t practical in the moment.

I don’t like that my social identity boils down to some kind of cost-benefit analysis, but society’s understanding — or lack thereof — of non-binary gender forces me to think of it that way. Social interactions are structured with this mental math at the forefront. When faced with someone new, people instinctually calculate the answer to a rote question which will influence almost everything about the way they will interact with this person: are they a boy or a girl?

There is no room, in this question, for the answer to be “no.”

The first time I realized I was non-binary, I was listening to a recording of Andrea Gibson’s poem “Swingset,” which opens with exactly this question: Are you a boy or a girl?

In the poem, Gibson never answers the question: they can’t, or perhaps they don’t need to. The normalization of their non-binary gender, the understanding that there is a third answer — a non-answer, in its own way — to this question, revolutionized me.

There is a recent trend in speculative fiction towards the inclusion of characters with non-binary genders, or characters who use non-binary pronouns (they/them/their, xe/xem/xyr, etc). Every time I see a singular they in one of the science fiction or fantasy novels I’ve picked up to read in my vanishingly small spare time, my heart skips a beat in joy and disbelief.

And yet, nearly every time a character in speculative fiction uses non-binary pronouns, it is also a signifier of something other than just gender; it is a signal to the reader that there is something other about the character in question, something which sets them apart from the other characters, and from the reader, too. It is a shortcut to remind the reader that, whoever this character is, they are emphatically not human.

It is a shortcut to remind the reader that, whoever this character is, they are emphatically not human.

For example: in Victoria Schwab’s Our Dark Duet (2017), the second book in her Monsters of Verity series, Schwab introduces a character who uses they/them pronouns. The character, Soro, is a Sunai — a monster of vengeance that consumes the souls of criminals. Their non-binary gender does not go unremarked upon in the book, which might normalize it the way any other character’s gender is unremarkable. Instead, this happens:

[When] he’d worked up the courage to ask whether Soro considered themself male or female, [they] had stared at him for a long moment before answering.

“I’m a Sunai.”

There are no non-binary humans in Our Dark Duet.

This scene should be significant — here, in a novel that isn’t about gender, a character is calling attention to the aching lacuna left by the binary question, “are you a boy or a girl?” They are finding an alternative answer. When Soro answers, I’m a Sunai, they are finding a new way to answer the question.

I’ve answered the question this way, too. A young child at my place of work once asked me: are you a boy or a girl? I panicked and answered: I’m a librarian. Can I help you find something?

But Soro’s answer actually becomes significant for a different reason. Their answer, I’m a Sunai, emphasizes above all else that which makes them inhuman, their monstrous identity. Because the other characters in Our Dark Duet are decidedly and unremarkably delineated as either male or female, Soro’s gender identity — or, more accurately, their refusal of gender — becomes a feature of their monstrosity. The answer comes not from a lack of identification with “male” or “female,” but from a lack of identification with humanity as a whole. It becomes synonymous with being an Other, just another way they are unfathomably different from those around them.

The answer comes not from a lack of identification with “male” or “female,” but from a lack of identification with humanity as a whole.

Our Dark Duet isn’t the only work of speculative fiction which does this. In fact, unlike in the lived experience of the non-binary people they represent, in speculative fiction characters who are neither a boy nor a girl are almost always something else. They are almost always something inhuman.

In Becky Chambers’ novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet(2014) there is a genderfluid alien species known as the Aandrisk, who cyclically fluctuate among three genders: a male-aligned gender, a female-aligned gender, and a neutral gender identified with neo-pronouns.

There are, also, no notable genderfluid, non-binary, or transgender human characters in the novel.

The sequel to Planet — A Closed and Common Orbit (2016) — tells the story of an artificial intelligence named Sidra, who struggles with fitting into a body that does not fit her, and searches for ways and means of making that body into a place in which she can feel at home. Because of Sidra’s struggle, themes of embodiment run throughout the novel, and each character struggles with it in one way or another. An Aandrisk character named Tak plays a major role, with his/xyr/her gender fluidity never underplayed but treated as absolutely normal, which seems to cement the themes of gender identity squarely at the forefront of the novel. His/xyr/her ability to change his/xyr/her body in accordance with the gender-of-the-day is something Sidra envies.

And yet: it is only an alien character who deals openly with gender identity.

• Queering Gender, Queering Genre

Tak and Sidra are joined by two human characters: Pepper, who was cloned to work in a manufacturing plant and escaped at a young age; and Blue, who was disowned by his wealthy ruling-class family for his persistent lisp. Every character in Orbit struggles, in their own way, with turning their body into a habitable home. To parallel Sidra’s narrative, as she struggles with the discomfort of not fitting into the body she was given, it would have been more than fitting for either Pepper or Blue to be non-binary or transgender. Blue, in particular, has a veiled past that isn’t revealed until late in the novel; until I reached the point where I realized that it was for his speech impediment that his family disowned him, I was certain he was trans.

But when only an alien’s relationship with their body involves a deviation from concepts of binary gender, the exclusion says more than the inclusion does.

It feels lazy, in a way. As if an author is checking off a diversity box for “character uses alternate pronouns,” but can’t be bothered to stretch their mind enough to imagine an actual human who might identify that way.

It feels lazy, and it feels — quite literally — alienating.

When only an alien’s relationship with their body involves a deviation from concepts of binary gender, the exclusion says more than the inclusion does.

Often, like in the case of Soro or Janet, non-binary identity becomes a specific indicator that a character is not human, a distinct marker that sets them apart from humanity where their appearance might not. Other times, as with Tak and the Aandrisk, non-binary identity is meant to signify just how different — how alien — another culture is to humans. Non-binary identity becomes a shorthand for whatever it is that sets a character or group of characters apart from humans.

The problem here is that the non-binary people like me who want to see themselves represented and validated in the fiction they read, who might benefit most from seeing a character with alternate pronouns in their escapist media — are human. And most of the time, we’re faced with a daily barrage of people questioning the legitimacy of our gender identity.

It doesn’t help anyone to say that aliens, robots, and monsters may have non-binary identities, but to imply by exclusion that humans do not.

When the only non-binary characters in media are aliens, robots, and monsters, we tacitly assert that the non-binary people in our lives are unnatural, that there is something inherently inhuman about their existence.

When the only non-binary characters in media are aliens, robots, and monsters, we tacitly assert that the non-binary people in our lives are unnatural.

Gibson’s poem “Swingset” is, among so many other things, about the experience of being human. Their kindergarten students, wide-eyed and curious, batter them with a litany of questions which always ends with the innocent inquiry: Can I have a push on the swing? — the only answer provided to the unanswerable question presented in the poem’s first line.

The poem, as I replayed the video obsessively for weeks when I was seventeen, showed me a reality in which I did not have to be a boy or a girl, in which I could be something else and still be myself.

“Swingset” meant something to me, in my teenage struggle with my gender identity, because I could see myself in it. The non-answer to the unanswerable question gave me permission to accept that my gender was allowed to be unanswerable, too.

When this question is answered, and the answer is, “I’m a monster,” or “I’m an alien,” that permission gets lost in the shuffle.

There is speculative fiction that gets it right sometimes. But I can count on one hand the stories I have found lately that include gender non-conforming characters who are humans.

The ones that do, for me, are revolutionary.

Take, for instance, the podcast Friends at the Table. Their science fiction series COUNTER/weight includes, yes, robot characters who use they/them pronouns, and yes, an entire nearly-human alien race whose concept of gender is completely dissimilar from our own. But it also includes several non-binary human characters, such as the genius roboticist Cene Sixheart, and the Divine Candidate Kobus.

The message this sends is different: it shows us a future where humanity has eclipsed its obsession with binary concepts of gender, where non-binary gender is as much of a norm for humanity as it might be for an alien species that never developed the concepts of “male” and “female” to begin with. It shows that there is nothing inherently alien, monstrous, or unnatural — “inhuman” — about an identity that doesn’t fall in line with the gender binary.

It shows that there is nothing inherently alien, monstrous, or unnatural — “inhuman” — about an identity that doesn’t fall in line with the gender binary.

It shows, in the same way that “Swingset” does, that non-binary people are just as human as anyone else. It erases the equation between non-binary and alien, blurs the strict separation that aligns binary gender with humanity and non-binary gender with everything else. It gives us space to see ourselves, whoever we may be, exactly as we are.

It is vital to be conscious of the dangerous patterns that can emerge from a kind of representation that isn’t aware of its own history, or the implications it makes when it is not written with care. Otherwise, we end up reaffirming a system which continues to alienate non-binary gender and those who identify with it.

I love non-binary monsters. I love non-binary aliens, and non-binary robots. I love space operas and paranormal romances and anything “inhuman” that I come across. But sometimes there are days when — exhausted by the social calculus of navigating a world that does not make space for me, that does not take me for what I am — I need my fiction to remind me that I am human, too.

{https://electricliterature.com/ }

“A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.”
—  Samuel 17

For those not up on their biblical measurements, “six cubits and a span” is 9 feet 9 inches or 2.97 meters (some say this is was a transcription error because other texts list Goliath’s height as four cubits and a span – a still giant 6 feet 9 inches or 2.06 meters). For those not up on their biblical geography, Gath or Gat was a Philistine city-state mentioned often in the Hebrew bible and thought to be buried under the archaeological mound (tell) known as Tell es-Safi, a former Palestinian village located inside Tel Zafit National Park 35 kilometers (22 mi) northwest of Hebron. For those not up on their biblical history, you should still be familiar with the story of young David slaying the giant Goliath. An archeological team has recently discovered an ancient settlement under the remains of Gath with structures so large that they may be the reason behind the legendary giant stature of Goliath.

“The discovery suggests that Gath was at the peak of its power much earlier than previously thought, putting its heyday around the time when the city features heavily in the biblical narrative as a fierce rival of the early Israelites as well as the hometown of Goliath and other outsized biblical warriors.”

Bar-Ilan University professor and head of the Gath Archeological Project Aren Maeir tells Haaretz that recent digs just a meter below Gath have uncovered the older settlement that matches the time period of the biblical Gath. The differences between the older Gath and what was built over it are obvious.

“Over the summer’s digging campaign, which ended last week, archaeologists decided to investigate the foundations of large terraces located in Gath’s lower city, which was only inhabited during the Iron Age. The dig revealed that those terraces were resting on massive fortifications and larger buildings made of huge stone boulders and fired bricks – a method that makes them stronger than traditional sun-dried mud bricks. In some areas these walls are four meters thick or more, and the pottery associated with them dates to the early Iron Age, to the 11th century B.C.E. or possibly earlier. No comparably colossal structures are known in the rest of the Levant from this period – or even from the later incarnation of Philistine Gath.”

Gath has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times, so the discovery of an older version is not much of a surprise. However, the size of the structures is a big one, and it may be why the Philistines were believed to have giant warriors.

“When people see remains of very impressive architecture and say, ‘Wow, how could someone have built that?’ one of the explanations they sometimes offer is ‘This must have been done by giants of the past’.”

Before you wonder how an experienced archeologist like Maeir could have missed doing the obvious, he says:

“There are no skeletons of people who are taller than NBA centers.”

It’s just a theory, but it’s the best we have in lieu of the actual skeleton of Goliath or the rest of his team. Maeir plans to continue digging in hopes of determining why there was such a difference in architectures between the two Gaths. He’s obviously excited about what he might find:

“But one thing is certain, we are slowly awakening a sleeping giant.”

I like this guy’s sense of humor.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

A couple of days ago I wrote an article here at Mysterious Universe titled “The Russians were behind the Majestic 12 documents.” The article was focused on a very controversial set of Majestic 12 papers that surfaced in 2017 from Heather Wade. As I noted in my article, there are very good reasons for concluding that the Russians were behind these documents. In fact, there are several angles in the documents that are very much pro-Russian. Take a careful look and you’ll see. It should be noted though that the documents provided to Heather Wade were just the latest set of Majestic 12 papers. As many of you will know, there were two additional significant, and earlier, collections of  such Majestic 12 papers. One was the collection of papers that the team of Bill Moore and Jaime Shandera received in the early-to-mid-1980s and that appeared in 1987, in Timothy Good’s book, Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover-Up. For those who may not know, Majestic 12 is alleged to be a highly classified group created in the late 1940s and buried deeply within the U.S. Government. So the story goes, the Majestic 12 team sits on some of the most secret of all UFO cases – such as the notorious Roswell affair of July 1947.

As for those 1980s-era Majestic 12 documents, can we make a case that the Russians were behind them, too? Yes, we can. In 1999, Gerald K. Haines – in his position as the historian of the National Reconnaissance Office – wrote a paper titled “CIA’s Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90.” It is now in the public domain, thanks to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. It can be read at the CIA’s website. Haines’ paper detailed the history of how, and why, the CIA became interested and involved in the phenomenon of UFOs. Although Haines covered a period of more than forty years, I will bring your attention to one particular section of his paper, which is focused on the 1970s-1980s. Haines wrote: “During the late 1970s and 1980s, the Agency continued its low-key interest in UFOs and UFO sightings. While most scientists now dismissed flying saucers reports as a quaint part of the 1950s and 1960s, some in the Agency and in the Intelligence Community shifted their interest to studying parapsychology and psychic phenomena associated with UFO sightings. CIA officials also looked at the UFO problem to determine what UFO sightings might tell them about Soviet progress in rockets and missiles and reviewed its counterintelligence aspects.”

The Soviets, then, were camouflaging their secret rocket tests by spreading false and fantastic tales of UFOs. Haines also noted something that is absolutely key to the story that this article tells and particularly so with regard to the Majestic 12 papers: “Agency analysts from the Life Science Division of OSI and OSWR officially devoted a small amount of their time to issues relating to UFOs. These included counterintelligence concerns that the Soviets and the KGB were using U.S. citizens and UFO groups to obtain information on sensitive U.S. weapons development programs (such as the Stealth aircraft),the vulnerability of the U.S. air-defense network to penetration by foreign missiles mimicking UFOs, and evidence of Soviet advanced technology associated with UFO sightings [italics mine].”

This final point from Haines is the most important one of all. It is indeed a fact that in the late 1970s and early 1980s, “the Soviets and the KGB,” as Haines words it, approached a number of UFO researchers who also just happened to work on classified U.S. Department of Defense programs, including the Stealth projects. The goal of the Russians was to dangle sensational UFO-themed documentation in the faces of those same UFO researchers with U.S. government ties. And, in return – the Russians hoped – they would get something significant in return from the Americans they were secretly trying to “turn.” The reality of the situation, though, was that those Americans working in government and who might have been tempted to take up the Russian offer were fed nothing but faked UFO documents (guess which ones?). As for the Russians, we may never know to what extent they succeeded in getting their hands on highly classified materials of a Stealth-based nature. It’s important to note that Moore and Shandera were not caught up in this Russian plot in any way at all. Their copies of the documents – mailed to Shandera in December 1984 – came from a completely different source, one within U.S. intelligence and who was concerned about who had created the documents. There is, however, very little doubt that the Majestic 12 documents of the 1980s were Russian creations. You don’t think so? Well, keep the following in mind:

In 1988, the FBI launched an investigation into the Majestic 12 documents. Such were the twists and turns in the story, even the FBI came away baffled. If the FBI learned anything further about Majestic 12 in the post-1988 period, then that information has not surfaced under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. We do know something of deep interest though, thanks to a man named Richard L. Huff. He served as Bureau Co-Director within the Office of Information and Privacy. In correspondence, Huff informed me of the existence of an FBI “Main File” on Majestic 12, which is now in what is termed “closed status.” The title of the file is not something along the lines of “Potentially leaked documents” or “Questionable documents,” as one might imagine, given the strange story that is detailed in this article. Rather, the file title is nothing less than – wait for it – “Espionage.” While we’re admittedly forced to speculate, that one, eye-opening word alone strongly suggests that the Majestic 12 saga really did revolve around those very same components that appear in this article: spies, counterintelligence operations, the words of Gerald K. Haines, and the interference of the Russians. And espionage.

In the third installment of this series of “The Russians created Majestic 12” articles, we’ll take a look at another batch of “leaked” Majestic 12 documents. They surfaced in the 1990s and were provided – under clandestine circumstances – to a man named Timothy Cooper.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

With the recent arrival of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings, Americans and people all around the world were reminded of the remarkable achievements half a century ago that took humans to an alien world. It was, as astronaut Neil Armstrong famously said, “a giant leap for mankind.”

And yet it was also merely a small step, and not just for Armstrong, but also in terms of humanity’s future space missions. Current plans to return to the moon were reiterated by Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke at the recent “One Giant Leap” celebration, an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.

Pence said to an audience that included astronaut Buzz Aldrin, “I am proud to report at the direction of the President of the United States of America, America will return to the moon within the next five years, and the next man and the first woman on the moon will be American astronauts.”

It only goes to show what exciting times these are to be living in, and there may be no field where that is more evident than in aerospace, with the current push by private companies like Blue Origin and others to take humankind to the stars. In addition to the many benefits for humankind that may result from our desire to push further out into the cosmos, there are other landmark discoveries that could be made as well.

Arguably, the greatest of these may be to finally learn the answer to the age-old question, “are we alone?”

As our earthly technology improves, many astronomers and astrobiologists feel that it’s only a matter of time before we find evidence of “life out there” too, whether through evidence of technosignatures (that is, evidence of life found through the detection of advanced technologies they may be using), or even the discovery of simpler forms of life during our eventual travel to other worlds, whether in manned trips, or with the help of robotic systems we send in our place.

Diagram displaying the basic orientation of a Dyson Sphere-like megastructure surrounding a habitable star

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons).

It is interesting, therefore, that with all the interest in the potential discovery of alien life, the American Space Agency NASA actually puts very little funding into technologies that may aid us in finding life out there.

At least that’s the case, according to Jason Wright, an astronomer with Pennsylvania State University, who recently spoke with The Conversation about the silly plan to “storm Area 51”, among other things (Wright said he hadn’t even heard about the latest Area 51 meme until AlterNet asked him about it).

However, far more interesting than the discussion about Area 51 and alien theories that have been raised about it over the years were Wright’s thoughts on the search for alien life.

“The search for life in the universe is a major priority for NASA and American science,” Wright told The Conversation. “Many of our missions to Mars and our space telescopes are designed with the detection of biosignatures in mind – ‘biosignatures’ being signs of life like microfossils or evidence of metabolism in the atmospheres of distant planets.”

However, Wright also said that despite all the interest there is in finding life, funding those programs continues to be a problem:

But despite the billions of dollars spent on these missions, I think many members of the public would be surprised to learn that NASA and the National Science Foundation spend next to nothing looking for intelligent life in the universe, including technological life that might, after all, be easier to find. I think the level of funding for the field should be determined the way the rest of science is, by competitive peer review of proposals for research. So, I don’t know what the “right” level is, but I know it’s not zero.

In a paper earlier this year titled “Searches for Technosignatures: The State of the Profession,” Wright called for greater interest by NASA and the National Science Foundation in the furtherance of searching for technosignatures of alien life.

“The search for life in the universe is a major theme of astronomy and astrophysics for the next decade,” wright argued. “Searches for technosignatures are complementary to searches for biosignatures, in that they offer an alternative path to discovery, and address the question of whether complex (i.e. technological) life exists elsewhere in the Galaxy.”

Wright argues that the space agency and other agencies and organizations capable of leading the charge in this field have not done so, in part due to stigmas that have become associated with the idea of alien life, and what avenues might lead to their eventual discovery. According to Wright, NASA has avoided the topic, “as a result of decades-past political grandstanding, conflation of the effort with non-scientific topics such as UFOs, and confusion regarding the scope of the term “SETI.”

SETI, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, remains somewhat controversial today. Although having been endorsed by the likes of Carl Sagan and many other notable science advocates over the years, it has become a shadow of the once ambitious and coordinated effort that it was decades ago, and is largely independently funded today.

“The Astro2020 Decadal should address [NASA’s lack of involvement] by making developing the field an explicit priority for the next decade,” Wright says. “It should recommend that NASA and the NSF support training and curricular development in the field in a way that supports equity and diversity, and make explicit calls for proposals to fund searches for technosignatures.”

As Wright notes, discovering alien life may require little more than finding evidences of alien technology, a process that can begin right now, with technologies already at our disposal, and without ever having to leave Earth. The question that remains is whether we can we get past the highly stigmatized idea of “alien life” for long enough to see through with new and innovative plans for the future. These plans are every bit as important as any current plans for future space missions; and ultimately, they could provide answers about whether or not we are indeed all alone in this strange and mysterious universe.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

A motion sensor camera recorded an elongated UFO near Area 51 on July 22, 2019. The UFO which has no visible parts such as wings and tail could be another secret Area 51 project.

Witness: My motion sensor camera picked this up at Rachel, Nevada right outside Area 51.

After filming for nearly 6 hours I found this...
Unbelievable, not sure if it's a jet or some aircraft I haven't seen before. Pretty cool nonetheless.

Note: Given the speed of the UFO, play the video in slow motion to get a clear view of the UFO:
Go to Video Settings > Play Back Speed > Set to 0.25

  

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

Richard Hoagland: They Found Advanced Technology on the Moon

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/v3/ }

Area 51 Meme Compilation + Elongated UFO Near Area 51 Filmed with Motion Sensor Camera

A motion sensor camera recorded an elongated UFO near Area 51 on July 22, 2019. The UFO which has no visible parts such as wings and tail could be another secret Area 51 project.

Witness: My motion sensor camera picked this up at Rachel, Nevada right outside Area 51.

After filming for nearly 6 hours I found this…
Unbelievable, not sure if it’s a jet or some aircraft I haven’t seen before. Pretty cool nonetheless.

Note: Given the speed of the UFO, play the video in slow motion to get a clear view of the UFO:
Go to Video Settings > Play Back Speed > Set to 0.25
 

 

https://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/v3/ }

Disc-shaped UFO spotted over Amarillo, California

The photographer took a clear image of a unknown flying object over Amarillo, California on July 21, 2019. This object has no wings or other visible parts characteristic of an aircraft. A glow comes from the top of the object.

The photographer states: Snapped a photo of beautiful clouds with my Samsung Galaxy S9. Looked at it about 40 minutes later and saw something near the top of the photo I didn't notice while snapping it.

Zoomed in and was amazed to see a disc shaped object reflecting sunshine on top and a dark surface on the bottom. I checked the other pics to make sure it wasn't my lens......clean. Such a clear pic you would think wings of a plane would be visible. Mufon case 102230.

Cigar-shaped UFO captured over Jefferson, st. Brooklyn, New York

On July 19, 2019 the witness captured a cigar-shaped UFO over Jefferson, st. Brooklyn, New York.

This object was stationary over Jefferson st. and had a pulsating rim that was silvery/ gold.

It was at high altitude and it covered about 4/5 of viewable sky and it seemed to extend from my 12 o’clock to the west coast of Manhattan just over ground zero. Mufon case 102198.

Cigar-shaped UFO photographed over Little Egg Harbor, New York 

Three days later, on July 22, 2019 another huge cigar-shaped UFO has been photographed and this time over Little Egg Harbor, New York and it looks like there is some sort of triangle gate in front of the UFO.

The photographer says: I didn't even notice, I was taking pictures of storm clouds around my house and posted them on Facebook. My brother sent me the photo in messenger with circle around something asking what is that? I looked at the original and the other pictures that I took and it's only in that 1 picture. Mufon case 102220.

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