Een nieuwe studie werpt licht op het intrigerende mysterie van Mars’ ontbrekende atmosfeer. Want mogelijk verbergt die zich wel vol in het zicht…

Mars was niet altijd de kille woestijn die we nu kennen. Er zijn steeds meer aanwijzingen dat er miljarden jaren geleden water over het oppervlak van de rode planeet stroomde. En als er water was, dan moet er ook een dikke atmosfeer zijn geweest om te voorkomen dat het bevroor. Maar zo’n 3,5 miljard jaar geleden droogde het water op en de lucht, die ooit vol koolstofdioxide zat, werd aanzienlijk dunner. Hierdoor wordt onze naaste buur nu nog slechts omhuld door een flinterdunne atmosfeer. Een vraag waar wetenschappers zich al jaren het hoofd over breken, is wat er precies met de Martiaanse atmosfeer is gebeurd. Twee geologen komen nu in het vakblad Science Advances met een verrassende theorie.

Klei
Volgens de twee geologen zou het antwoord mogelijk te vinden kunnen zijn in de klei van de planeet. In hun artikel suggereren ze dat een aanzienlijk deel van de verloren atmosfeer van Mars mogelijk is opgeslagen in de kleiachtige korst. Ze stellen dat het vloeibare water dat ooit zo rijkelijk over Mars stroomde, door bepaalde soorten gesteente had kunnen sijpelen, wat een langzame kettingreactie zou hebben opgestart. Deze reactie zou geleidelijk koolstofdioxide uit de atmosfeer hebben onttrokken en omgezet in methaan — een vorm van koolstof die gedurende lange tijd in de klei van de planeet kan worden opgeslagen.

Aarde
Deze theorie is niet eens zo vergezocht. Vergelijkbare processen komen namelijk ook voor in bepaalde gebieden op aarde. De onderzoekers hebben dan ook hun kennis van de interacties tussen gesteenten en gassen op aarde gebruikt om te begrijpen hoe soortgelijke processen op Mars zouden kunnen werken. Ze ontdekten dat, rekening houdend met de geschatte hoeveelheid klei die het oppervlak van Mars bedekt, deze klei tot 1,7 bar koolstofdioxide zou kunnen vasthouden. Dit zou ongeveer 80 procent van de oorspronkelijke atmosfeer van de planeet vertegenwoordigen.

Deze afbeelding toont de geleidelijke verandering van ijzerrijke rotsen op Mars wanneer deze in contact komen met water dat CO2 uit de atmosfeer bevat. In de loop van miljarden jaren zou dit proces voldoende CO2 in de kleilaag hebben kunnen opslaan, in de vorm van methaan, om het grootste deel van het CO2 te verklaren dat uit de vroege atmosfeer van de planeet is verdwenen. Afbeelding: Courtesy of Joshua Murray, Oliver Jagoutz, et al.

Smectiet
Concreet zou de Martiaanse atmosfeer weleens opgegaan kunnen zijn in een soort oppervlakte-klei mineraal genaamd smectiet, dat bekend staat als een zeer efficiënte opslagplaats voor koolstof. In een enkele korrel smectiet zitten talloze ‘plooien’ waarin koolstof miljarden jaren lang ongestoord kan blijven. De onderzoekers hebben aangetoond dat de aanwezigheid van smectiet op aarde waarschijnlijk het resultaat is van tektonische activiteit. Zodra het aan het oppervlak kwam, konden de kleimineralen genoeg koolstofdioxide uit de atmosfeer opnemen en opslaan, waardoor de planeet gedurende miljoenen jaren afkoelde. Ook Mars blijkt bedekt te zijn met dezelfde smectiet-klei. De onderzoekers vroegen zich daarom af of deze klei op Mars een vergelijkbare functie zou kunnen hebben gehad in het vasthouden van koolstof. En als dat het geval is, hoeveel koolstof zou de klei dan kunnen opslaan?

Smectiet-klei op Mars
Zoals je hierboven kunt lezen, ontstaat smectiet op aarde door de beweging van continentale platen en het naar boven brengen van rotsen uit de mantel. Mars kent echter geen soortgelijke tektonische activiteit. Hoe het kan dat Mars dan toch bedekt is met smectiet-klei? In de loop van ongeveer een miljard jaar zou het water dat door de korst sijpelde geleidelijk reageren met olivijn. Wetenschappers denken dat de Martiaanse korst voornamelijk uit stollingsgesteente bestaat dat rijk is aan olivijn, een mineraal dat een gereduceerde vorm van ijzer bevat. Zuurstofmoleculen in het water zouden zich aan het ijzer hechten, waardoor waterstof vrijkomt en het rode geoxideerde ijzer ontstaat dat de planeet zijn herkenbare kleur geeft. Deze vrijgekomen waterstof zou vervolgens met koolstofdioxide in het water hebben gereageerd om methaan te vormen. Naarmate deze reactie in de loop van de tijd vorderde, zou olivijn langzaam zijn omgevormd tot een ander soort ijzerrijk gesteente, bekend als serpentijn, dat daarna bleef reageren met water om smectiet te vormen.

Na een rekensommetje kwamen de onderzoekers tot een interessante ontdekking. Als Mars bedekt is met een laag smectiet van 1.100 meter diep, zou deze hoeveelheid klei in staat zijn om een enorme hoeveelheid methaan op te slaan. Dit zou overeenkomen met het merendeel van het koolstofdioxide in de atmosfeer dat sinds het opdrogen van de planeet verloren is gegaan. “We constateren dat de schattingen van de wereldwijde klei-volumes op Mars overeenkomen met een groot deel van de oorspronkelijke CO2 van de planeet, dat is vastgelegd als organische verbindingen in de kleirijke korst,” zegt onderzoeker Joshua Murray. “In zekere zin zou de ontbrekende atmosfeer van Mars zich weleens in het volle zicht kunnen verbergen.”

Kortom, de onderzoekers hypothetiseren dat de verloren koolstofdioxide mogelijk is opgeslagen in de kleiachtige oppervlakken van Mars. “Mogelijk hebben zich dus op de aarde en Mars soortgelijke processen voorgedaan,” denkt onderzoeker Oliver Jagoutz. “Grote hoeveelheden atmosferisch CO2 zouden kunnen zijn omgezet in methaan en in de klei zijn opgeslagen.” Deze ontdekking is niet alleen belangrijk voor de wetenschap van Mars, maar heeft ook implicaties voor toekomstige missies naar de planeet. Zo suggereren de onderzoekers dat deze opgeslagen Martiaanse koolstof op een dag weer kan worden teruggewonnen en omgezet in brandstof. “Mogelijk is er nog steeds methaan aanwezig,” stelt Jagoutz. “Dit zou in de toekomst als energiebron op Mars kunnen worden gebruikt.”

Bronmateriaal

• "Mars’ missing atmosphere could be hiding in plain sight" - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (via EurekAlert)
  
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: via Canva Pro

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

The brains of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft are stored in a metal vault.

It's where the large exploration vehicle — the length of a basketball court — safeguards its computers, software, and many electronics. The craft is about to launch to Jupiter's moon Europa, a world planetary scientists suspect harbors an ocean twice the volume of Earth's. With around 50 close swoops by Europa, NASA will be able to confidently answer the question of whether this ocean realm also hosts the ingredients, such as an energy source and telltale materials, to support life.

Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Yet the radiation environs there are particularly harsh.

"The charged particle environment at Europa's location is immense," Cynthia Phillips, a NASA planetary geologist and project staff scientist for the space agency's Europa Clipper mission, told Mashable.

Jupiter, a gas giant planet 317 times more massive than Earth, generates a massive magnetic field shooting out between 600,000 to 2 million miles (1 to 3 million kilometers) toward the sun. It's created by the planet's liquid metal core, which spins and creates electrical currents (moving electric charges make magnetic fields). Crucially, this magnetic field grabs and then accelerates particles from the relentless solar wind — a stream of rapidly traveling charged particles emitted by the sun — which creates potent radiation belts around Jupiter.

"It bombards everything."

Any craft traveling around the planet will almost certainly pass through these hazardous zones and expose instruments to harmful particles, which can damage computer chips and electronics. "It bombards everything," Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper's program scientist, said at a press conference leading up to the mission's launch. Decades ago, during the Voyager mission, NASA's engineers were worried about the craft passing by Jupiter. A person hypothetically riding aboard Voyager as it passed Jupiter would have gotten hit with a radiation dose 1,000 times the lethal level.

A depiction of Jupiter's sprawling magnetic field. If was visible to the naked eye, "it would appear two to three times the size of the sun or moon to viewers on Earth," NASA explained.

Hence, the vault. "The vault seriously reduces the harmful radiation these electronics get," Phillips said. (NASA's Juno craft, exploring the greater Jupiter system, also carries a vault.)

Yet there are electronics outside this protective metallic box. And in May NASA received test data that suggested some transistors — which are electrical switches that control how electricity flows around the spacecraft — couldn't withstand the high radiation environs around Europa. Fortunately, intensive follow-up testing showed these switches will work as the craft makes some 50 flybys over three and a half years. "They unequivocally passed that review today," Nicola Fox, who heads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said following a pivotal September decision to green-light the mission.

Related video:

• https://youtu.be/9rm8LMWxag8

• ISS Humanity’s Space Lab! (Newsworthy Women)
  

But mission engineers will be watching these transistors closely. As the New York Times reported, NASA bolted a late add-on to the craft, a small "canary box" holding the different types of transistors. If any show signs of damage or dysfunction as Europa Clipper swoops through belts of radiation, planners could adapt the mission.

In this graphic, the box illuminated in red shows the Europa Clipper's vault on the center of the spacecraft.

Already, the mission's orbital plan — which is to zip away from damaging regions after making close flybys of the ice-covered moon — minimizes the time the craft is exposed to high radiation zones. During each orbit around Jupiter, the craft will spend under a day in an irradiated zone, before swooping out. It won't return for between two to three weeks.

"You get out of there," Phillips told Mashable.

"You get out of there."

The robotic spacecraft's exposure to radiation, however, comes with rewards. When the probe dips close to Europa between 2031 and 2034, it will have the chance to view, scan, and investigate Europa in unprecedented detail. A ground-penetrating radar will look under the ice, and potentially see areas of liquid water or even where the ice meets the alien ocean. An instrument called the SUrface Dust Analyzer, or SUDA, will literally sample particles of Europa that have been ejected into space by tiny meteorites. And, of course, Europa Clipper will capture a bounty of images.

"The images are going to be spectacular," said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the agency center that built the craft.

In sum, with this orbiting laboratory of instruments, NASA will be able to determine if the ocean moon has the right stuff — energy sources, a long-lived stable ocean, organic compounds (like carbon) — for life. If so, the agency plans to return to Europa and land on the icy crust. This time, they won't just be looking to see if it's habitable. They'll drill into the ice, looking to see if it's inhabited.

"We'll be knocking on the door for a second mission," Niebur said.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

Experts reveal alarming theory for why UFOs appear to defy the laws of physics - and what we look like to them

• READ MORE:  Ex-Pentagon official claims US has recovered alien bodies

By Noa Halff For Dailymail.Com

Experts have theorized that UFOs appear to defy the laws of physics potentially thanks to an anti-gravity machine, and that as a result, humans look like we're moving in slow-motion.

Luis Elizondo, the former Pentagon insider who's been blowing the lid off the government's UFO secrets, has made shocking claims in his book, 'Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs.'

In his bombshell memoir, he outlines a theory that gained steam during his time as part of the AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) group: UFOs harness anti-gravity to circumvent the laws of physics.

An anti-gravity device, forming what Elizondo's team calls a 'bubble' around a craft, would potentially make the object immune to Earth's gravitational forces - which might explain its incredible acceleration abilities.

And without any gravity affecting the craft, there would also be no time dilation taking place, meaning that while time for everyone on Earth would be slowed down by the Earth's gravity, time for anything operating a craft would be considerably faster.

This would mean anything looking outside a craft would see the entirety of humanity moving at a fraction of their speed. 

Luis Elizondo, the former Pentagon insider who's been blowing the lid off the government's UFO secrets, has made shocking claims in his book, 'Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs'

Research by Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and Harvard's Avi Loeb has shocked the scientific community when they concluded that recent UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) observations defy laws of physics

Physicist Erik Lentz from the University of Göttingen has similarly proposed a mind-boggling theory that could explain how these otherworldly visitors traverse the vast distances of space.

His research suggests a way to create the above mentioned 'warp bubble' that could allow spacecraft to travel faster than light without breaking Einstein's cosmic speed limit, as reported by Physics World. 

But the catch is that it would require energy equivalent to 'hundreds of times the mass of the planet Jupiter'

'A warp bubble traveling faster than light cannot be created from inside the bubble, as the leading edge of the bubble would be beyond the reach of a spaceship sitting at its center,' he said.

'The problem is that you need energy to deform space all the way to the very edge of the bubble, and the ship simply can't put it there.'

Erik Lentz suggests a 'warp bubble' could allow spacecraft to travel faster than light without breaking Einstein's cosmic speed limit

Meanwhile, a groundbreaking paper by Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and Harvard's Avi Loeb also sheds light - or bends it - on how UFO seem to create optical illusions.

The paper states that these mysterious objects should create 'a bright optical fireball, ionization shell and tail' due to friction with air or water, as reported by Popular Mechanics. 

'The friction of UAP with the surrounding air or water is expected to generate a bright optical fireball, ionization shell and tail — implying radio signatures,' it wrote.   

On top of that, many of the observed UAPs show no signs of these telltale signatures.

This could mean that UFOs could be nothing more than 'sensor-induced optical illusions.' 

'The lack of all these signatures could imply inaccurate distance measurements (and hence derived velocity) for single site sensors without a range gate capability,' the authors wrote. 

'Typical UAP sightings are too far away to get a highly resolved image of the object and determination of the object's motion is limited by the lack of range data.' 

A groundbreaking paper by Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and Harvard's Avi Loeb also sheds light - or bends it - on how UFO seem to create optical illusions

Without any gravity affecting the craft, there would also be no time dilation taking place, meaning that while time for everyone on Earth would be slowed down by the Earth's gravity, time for anything operating a craft would be considerably faster

However, Elizondo points out in his book that the optical illusion could be generated by the 'bubble'.

Citing the Doppler effect, the former intelligence officer said that light moving in and out of the medium would skew based on if the object was moving away from you or toward you. 

Elizondo, risking his life, has alleged in his book that the US military has been running a top-secret program to retrieve and reverse-engineer alien craft for years.

He even has claimed they've recovered non-human specimens.

'We're not alone,' Elizondo told NewsNation. 'We are not alone in this universe, and it is a simple fact. The U.S. government has been aware of that fact for decades now. I think if the American public knew just how deep this lie went, that we would have a very significant constitutional crisis on our hands.' 

Elizondo, risking his life, has alleged that the US military has been running a top-secret program to retrieve and reverse-engineer alien craft for years

He even has claimed they've recovered non-human specimens

Read More

• Ex-Pentagon official claims US has recovered alien bodies 

His book contains, among its many incredible revelations, details on a 2016 plan hatched by Elizondo and his military colleagues to catch a UFO in the ocean.

'The United States has been involved in the recovery of objects,' Elizondo told the outlet. 'Vehicles of unknown origin that are neither from our country or any other foreign country that we're aware of.'  

But it's not just conspiracy theories anymore.

In August, Elizondo told reporters that he can confirm one of two 'vehicles of unknown origin' were recovered from the now legendary Roswell UFO crash of 1947.

More shocking still, Elizondo said, 'We, as a nation have, been interested in not only the vehicles themselves but the occupants,' which he called 'biological specimens.'

Elizondo helped release three of the most famous UFO videos in history after leaving his role in the US Department of Defense in late 2017. 

Elizondo first rose to national prominence in late 2017 in the pages of the New York Times — where he blew the whistle on the US military and intelligence community's pervasive mismanagement and excessive secrecy on the topic of UFOs.

His public resignation and opaque role within the Pentagon's UFO-hunting portfolio, known to its Senate backers as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), brought fame and a lead role in a History channel docu-series.

In April 2020, the Pentagon officially released three videos that Elizondo had helped leak in 2017, each taken by US Navy fighter pilots who had reportedly witnessed 'unexplained aerial phenomena' (UAP) as UFOs are now more technically known.

Official US Navy video shows 'UFO' tracked off East Coast in 2015

Elizondo first rose to national prominence in 2017 in the pages of the New York Times, after he helped release three US Navy infrared UFO videos - including the GOFAST video (above)

The videos depict, as Elizondo told CNN, 'things that don't have any obvious flight surfaces, any obvious forms of propulsion [...] maneuvering in ways that include extreme maneuverability beyond, I would submit, the healthy G-forces of a human or anything biological.'

Despite corroboration from his peers and the late Senate Majority leader who helped create AATIP, Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, the Department of Defense has maintained that Elizondo's military role had no official UFO-hunting duties.

Pentagon officials denied the existence of any 'credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity,' in a statement responding to NewsNation's forthcoming interview.

'As we have stated previously, Luis Elizondo had no assigned responsibilities for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) while assigned to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security,' DoD spokesperson Sue Gough told NewsNation.

Critics of Gough have pointed to a 2003 research paper on psychological warfare that she wrote for the US Army War College, implying the Pentagon spokesperson might be part of a coordinated campaign to undermine Elizondo's credibility.

And, in May 2021, Elizondo filed a 64-page complaint to the DoD's Office of the Inspector General accusing high-ranking military officials of attempting to silence him by threatening his security clearances and obfuscating of his work with AATIP.

Elizondo said he endured 'malicious activities, coordinated disinformation, professional misconduct, whistleblower reprisal and explicit threats perpetrated by certain senior-level Pentagon officials.'

Above, veteran Australian TV news broadcaster and investigative reporter Ross Coulthart - who conducted the first televised interview with government UFO whistleblower David Grusch last year - conducted the new interview with Elizondo, which airs in full on Friday

Former intelligence agent spills secrets from Pentagon's UFO program

These actions, he and his attorneys said, suggested 'a coordinated effort to obfuscate the truth from the American people, while impugning my reputation as a former intelligence officer at the Pentagon.'

His new memoir, 'Imminent,' sees the former Pentagon official opening up about much more incredible personal accounts — including the story of his own family's disturbing experience with 'green orbs' floating through their house.

In the book, Elizondo also details he and another AATIP member's plan to catch UFOs on the high seas.

He told Dailymail.com in August that their investigations pointed to these craft having an apparent interest in military operations, nuclear power, and were often seen around bodies of water.

So they coordinated with the Navy and other branches to create 'Project Interloper': an attempt to lure the mysterious craft and record them with high-tech equipment.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

New Map Reveals Impressive Megastructures in Local Universe

The newly-developed map of the local Universe is based on the motions of 56,000 galaxies, according to a team of astrophysicists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam.

This map shows the distribution of matter in the local Universe; it shows how matter flows, i.e. along which trajectories (thin lines) the galaxies move.

Image credit: Valade et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02370-0.

“Mapping the Universe has always been one of the most challenging tasks in astronomy,” said lead author Dr. Aurelien Valade and colleagues.

“Inaccurate observations, observational errors and incomplete data make this work extremely difficult.”

“In addition, the observed galaxies make up only a small part of the total mass in the Universe, as much of the matter exists in the form of invisible dark matter.”

“Furthermore, galaxies are not bound to be formed in such a way that they accurately trace the underlying matter well, which makes them an uncertain indicator of the matter distribution in the Universe.”

“Therefore, in order to create a map of our cosmic environment, we also look at the motion of galaxies.”

“On the one hand, galaxies move away from us with the expansion of the Universe, but on the other hand they also attract each other due to gravity.”

“These movements can be mapped and reveal the cosmic currents — the rivers and gulf-streams throughout the cosmos on which galaxies move.”

“Since the motion is caused by gravity, it can thus be used to see the invisible.”

To create a map of the local Universe, the authors used data on the motions of 56,000 galaxies from the Cosmic Flows-4 catalogue.

“Since the measurements of each galaxy’s velocity are error prone and fairly uncertain, there are various possible cosmographic maps that would fit the observational data,” they explained.

“Thus, we developed a new approach: a ‘probabilistic’ map of the Universe.”

“Such a map indicates how likely it is that a certain feature, such as a ‘basin of attraction,’ actually exists.”

“A basin of attraction is a region which, absent the cosmic expansion, would collapse to a single point.”

With this new method, the researchers obtained a reliable picture of the large-scale distribution of matter and revealed astonishing structures of our cosmic neighborhood.

“Laniakea, the supercluster to which many believed that our Galaxy belongs, is probably merely an appendage of the much larger Shapley basin. It may not even exist as a separate entity,” they said.

“Even more astonishing is the fact that the Sloan Great Wall — an immense wall composed of hundreds of thousands of galaxies — at around a thousand trillion trillion cubic light years is currently the largest known structure in this cosmic network of galaxies.”

“It is perhaps unsurprising that the further into the cosmos we look, we find that our home supercluster is more connected and more extensive than we thought,” said Dr. Noam Libeskind, co-author on the study.

“Discovering that there is a good chance that we are part of a much larger structure is exciting.”

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

Earth to Pass Through the Same Taurid Meteor Stream in 2032 That May Have Triggered a Mass Extinction 12,800 Years Ago

Earth will travel right in front of the same Taurid meteor stream in 2032 that caused a mass extinction and worldwide flood ~12,800 years ago, plunging Earth into a mini-Ice Age for 1,300 years. Graham Hancock was right all this time but we did not listen to him.

Our solar system is a dangerous place, and every month Earth inches closer to one of its riskier places, the “Taurid swarm” of meteors. Our planet is predicted to pass directly through the “Taurid swarm” in November 2032.

An ancient monument found in Turkey might be more than just a monument—it could be the world’s oldest solar calendar. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh studied symbols carved on the pillars of Göbekli Tepe, a large, ancient site in southern Turkey. They think these carvings were used to track days, seasons, and years, like a calendar. (Source)

The team noticed that each “V” shape carved on the pillars might represent one day. One pillar even had 365 “V”s, the same number as days in a year. They also found that a special “V” around the neck of a bird-like figure could represent the summer solstice—the longest day of the year. This might explain why the “V” symbol shows up on many other statues in the area, often around the necks of figures connected to time and creation.

Mini Ice Age

The ancient calendar focused on tracking day, night, and seasonal changes, which might have become more important after a major comet hit Earth around 10,850 B.C. This event likely caused a mini-ice age that wiped out many species. According to Martin Sweatman, a researcher from the University of Edinburgh, the people at Gobekli Tepe were careful observers of the sky, possibly because the comet strike had changed their world.

This disaster may have sparked the beginning of civilization by starting new religious beliefs and pushing people to develop agriculture to survive the colder climate. Their carvings might be some of the earliest attempts at writing. These carvings also tracked the cycles of the Moon and Sun, long before similar calendars were made. They may have even shown for the first time that comet strikes are more likely to happen when Earth crosses the path of comet fragments, something that modern scientists have confirmed.

To help support this theory, the team points to another pillar at the site appearing to picture the Taurid meteor stream lasting 27 days, which was quite possibly the source of the ancient comet strike. The researchers believe that the temple carvings show the ancient civilization was recording dates precisely, noting how the movement of constellations across the sky differed based on the time of the year. This would be 10,000 years before Hipparchus of ancient Greece documented the wobble in the Earth’s axis in 150 BC, making this newfound calendar well ahead of its time.

The Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) cosmic-impact hypothesis suggests that around 12,800 years ago, Earth was hit by pieces of a large comet, which broke apart as it entered the inner solar system. This event likely caused a chain reaction, leading to an “impact winter” (a period of intense cold) and a climate change episode called the Younger Dryas (YD). (Source)

The collision is also believed to have caused massive wildfires, the extinction of large animals like mammoths, and changes in human cultures and population decline. Evidence of this impact includes unusually high levels of platinum found at 26 sites across the Northern Hemisphere, including in ice cores from Greenland, which show platinum deposits over a 21-year period.

The start of the Younger Dryas also shows an increase in dust and chemicals linked to wildfires, like ammonium and other burning aerosols, found in ice cores from Greenland, Antarctica, and Russia. These signs point to one of the biggest wildfire events in over 120,000 years, with about 9% of Earth’s forests burned, covering 10 million square kilometers.

This large-scale burning and the cooling effect of the impact may have triggered the Younger Dryas climate change, according to the theory.

A 2021 study (Taurid complex smoking gun) found that 88 near-Earth asteroids, hidden in the debris that creates the Taurid Meteor Shower, likely came from the breakup of a single comet about 20,000 years ago. Astronomers at the University of Antioquia in Colombia studied the ‘Taurid complex’ to learn more about where these objects came from.

In the 1980s, scientists William Napier and Victor Clube noticed large asteroids in the Taurid stream. They suggested these asteroids had the same origin as Comet Encke, which orbits the Sun every three years. However, some asteroids are over a mile wide, meaning they couldn’t have come from Comet Encke itself. Scientists Ignacio Ferrín and Vincenzo Orofino reviewed old research and measured light reflected from the larger asteroids.

They found more evidence that both Comet Encke and the big asteroids came from the breakup of a huge ice comet, 62 miles wide, about 20,000 years ago. The team warned that these asteroids could be dangerous to Earth, and others from the ancient comet might have already hit our planet in the past. Every year, Earth passes through a stream of debris, causing shooting stars to appear in October in the southern hemisphere and November in the north.

Comet Encke, first seen in 1786, left a trail of debris as it got closer to the sun, like other comets. This trail, made up of rocks, dust, and debris, sometimes comes close to Earth, leading to lots of scientific study. Some studies focus on larger asteroids.

Experts think impacts from the Taurid stream may have contributed to the extinction of ancient cultures and global cooling during the Younger Dryas period. The 1908 Tunguska event, where a small asteroid exploded above Russia, destroying millions of trees, is believed to be connected to this debris stream.

In 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor, which injured over 1,500 people in Russia, may have also come from the Taurid stream. In 2005, NASA astronomer Rob Suggs observed a flash from a meteor hitting the moon, which was part of the Taurid meteor shower.

A team of Colombian researchers, along with astronomers from Italy’s University of Salento, reviewed many studies on space impacts. They confirmed that a group of space objects contains up to 88 large pieces. Using a method called secular light curves, they noticed changes in the brightness of these objects and found that 67% showed signs of “comet-like” activity. This supported the idea that these objects came from a common origin.

Napier, another scientist, supported their findings. He said that these asteroids, which have orbits like Comet Encke, could either be affected by unknown forces or are pieces of a larger, older comet that lost its gases. This original comet may have been a “rubble pile” – a mix of rocks and other materials held together by ice. Over time, this pile could have broken apart, possibly due to forces from the Sun or another object, creating smaller fragments.

One asteroid, Oljato, is an example of a rubble pile. It’s still held together by ice, which gives it comet-like activity, but it’s much smaller than its parent. Bigger inactive objects like Morpheus are similar, but their ice is trapped inside. Smaller objects, like 2006 SO198, might be the original rocky pieces. The team explained that even if an object looks like a regular asteroid, it could still have a comet-like origin.

Taurid meteors, part of this group, are usually larger than normal meteors. They shine brightly and go deeper into the Earth’s atmosphere, sometimes creating fireballs. While this is mostly harmless, the discovery of larger asteroids in one “dangerous” part of the meteor stream could be a real threat.

Earth passes through this risky area every few years, leading to more shooting stars and possibly large objects hitting Earth instead of burning up in the atmosphere. Future encounters are expected in 2022, 2025, 2032, and 2039.

In 2021, David Asher, Armagh Observatory astronomer predicted that in 2032 and 2036 we are likely to pass through the centre of the Taurid complex, where there will be a ‘noticeable enhancement of fireballs.’ According to study [Taurid complex smoking gun] authors Ignacio Ferrín and Vincenzo Orofino, outgassing from comet-like objects within the complex could be hiding smaller, but still potentially dangerous, asteroids that might hit the Earth.

‘The Tunguska cosmic body was 60 to 90 meters in diameter,’ he told Discover Magazine, adding that we ‘now believe the complex may contain many more objects of that size. It is not the tame, simple and innocent complex we thought it was.’

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

Are we living in a simulation? Scientist claims we're simply characters in an advanced AI world - and says the proof is hidden in the BIBLE

• Passages from the Bible support the simulation hypothesis, physicist claims
• READ MORE: These everyday clues seem to suggest we're living in a simulation 

By Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline 

If you feel like you're living in a convincing virtual reality akin to The Matrix, a scientist thinks you may well be right.

Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, claims our entire universe may be an advanced computer simulation. 

And the proof that this so-called simulation hypothesis is correct may be hiding in plain sight in the Bible.

Professor Vopson told MailOnline: 'The bible itself tells us that we are in a simulation and it also tells us who is doing it.

'It is done by an AI – an artificial intelligence.' 

Professor Vopson points to the Gospel of John, one of the first four books of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible

Professor Vopson points to the Gospel of John, one of the first four books of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible. 

Gospel of John opens with the powerful statement: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'

The professor says this verse has 'deep theological significance in Christian doctrine', but it also carries 'intriguing implications' when considered in the context of the universe as a simulation. 

He argues that 'the Word' in this famous sentence refers to the underlying computer code that governs and controls the simulation. 

As anyone who has seen The Matrix will know, any computer simulation, big or small, consists of letters and numbers that write the rules for the entire creation. 

The academic further argues that 'the Word was God' could mean that God is part of the simulation, rather than separate from it. 

In other words, the entity that is controlling the whole thing – God – is written into the code too. 

Professor Vopson explains: 'The code running the simulation is not separate from the divine, but rather an integral part of it, perhaps an AI.'

Ale Belly

8 hours ago

commented on article

AB

Are we in a simulation? Scientist claims proof is hidden in the BIBLE

If we are living in a simulation then I want to know who to speak to to upgrade my package. I appear to be on the budget plan.

Reply1

56

Share

Reply

In the blockbuster movie The Matrix, protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovers we're living in a simulated reality. By the end of the film, Neo is able to see the simulated world for what it is - computer code (pictured)

The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs. It formed the basis for the 1999 film The Matrix starring Keanu Reeves (pictured as his character wakes up in the real world)

Gospel of John goes on to say: 'All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made...'

Again, this statement supports the simulated universe theory, the professor suggests. 

'It implies a Creator who brought the simulated universe into existence through the Word (i.e. the code)' he says.

'It suggests that the act of creation, as described in the Bible, could be analogous to a divine act of programming and simulation.' 

Arguably, the theory offers an answer to a question that many Christians struggle with – how did God create the universe in six days?

If the theory's to be believed, he did so by creating a simulated reality encapsulated in a computer programme – something we know to be possible. 

The simulation theory 

Professor Vopson has outlined his hypothesis in his new book, 'Reality Reloaded: The Scientific Case for a Simulated Universe'. 

He says it is not even something he necessarily believes in, but a 'extraordinary observation that deserves attention'. 

'What is truly remarkable is that the interpretation given is fully aligned to the events of our times: the emergence of the AI, and also it is exactly what 'The Matrix' was projecting,' he told MailOnline. 

While the professor's thoughts may seem sacrilegious to some, he says it could have 'profound implications for Christian theology'. 

He believes there's an overlap where a belief in the simulated universe theory and the religious need for a almighty creator 'can coexist harmoniously'.  

'This perspective aligns with religious beliefs that hold human life to be meaningful and purposeful, even within the context of a larger design,' he says. 

'Instead of viewing the simulated universe hypothesis as antagonistic to religious beliefs, one can see it as offering a complementary perspective.'  

The professor has already said our lives contains several clues that suggest we're merely characters in an advanced virtual world. 

Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, has outlined the clues that suggest we live in a simulated reality  

Professor Vopson thinks the prevalence of symmetry in the universe (pictured) suggests we are in a simulated reality because it's a way to save computational power 

For example, the fact there's limits to how fast light and sound can travel suggest they may be governed by the speed of a computer processor. 

The laws of physics that govern the universe are also akin to computer code, he says, while elementary particles that make up matter are like pixels. 

He also thinks the abundance of symmetry in the world – from flowers to butterflies and snowflakes – is a power-saving technique the machines use to render the digitally constructed world. 

The simulation theory is not unique to Professor Vopson; in fact, it's popular among a number of well-known figures including Tesla founder Elon Musk and American astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson. 

At a 2016 conference, Musk said the odds that we're living in a 'base reality' – the real universe as opposed to a simulated one – are 'one in billions'. 

The term 'base reality' is part of an expansion on the theory that there are layers upon layers of fake realities that we need to somehow wake up from, akin to the film 'Inception'.

But as French philosopher René Descartes pointed out in 1637, 'Cogito, ergo sum', translated from the Latin as 'I think, therefore I am'. 

In other words, the ability to doubt the nature of our reality is essentially proof that we exist, in some shape or form. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

China transformeerde maangrond in water: de eerste stap naar echte kolonisatie?

door Janine

NASA

Dat China plannen heeft om de maan en haar grondstoffen te gebruiken is zeker geen mysterie. Tegelijkertijd heeft het Aziatische land de afgelopen jaren verschillende sondes naar onze satelliet gestuurd, waaronder naar de verborgen kant. Meer recent is echter het nieuws dat een team van Chinese wetenschappers enkele monsters die door de Chang'e 5-missie naar de aarde zijn teruggebracht, heeft gebruikt om water te produceren. Zou dit de eerste stap kunnen zijn naar een toekomstige menselijke aanwezigheid op de maan? Laten we het samen uitzoeken!

Chang'e 5 en de maanmonsters teruggebracht naar de aarde

Zoals de naam al doet vermoeden, is de Chang'e 5-missie zeker niet de eerste die op de maan is gearriveerd. Het bijzondere aan deze missie is dat er voor het eerst in 44 jaar monsters van de maanbodem naar de aarde zijn teruggebracht. Ondanks de daaropvolgende Chang'e 6-missie, waarbij in plaats daarvan de verborgen kant van onze satelliet werd betrokken, zijn de resultaten van Chang'e 5 simpelweg buitengewoon. Zoals te lezen is in een recente studie gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift The Innovation, hebben Chinese wetenschappers ontdekt dat de mineralen waaruit de bodem van de maan bestaat rijk zijn aan waterstof en kunnen worden gebruikt om ter plekke water te produceren. Maar hoe?

De methode waarmee je water uit eenvoudige grond kunt halen, vereist het verwarmen van de mineralen waaruit het bestaat tot extreem hoge temperaturen, om een ​​chemische reactie van de elementen met waterstof te veroorzaken en daardoor tot de vorming van waterdamp te leiden.

Hoe je water van de Maan krijgt

Chen et al./The Innovation - 2024

Dankzij de innovatieve methode van Chinese wetenschappers kan uit elke ton maangrond ongeveer 50 liter water worden gewonnen. Het lijkt misschien niet veel, en het is ongetwijfeld een proces dat om verschillende redenen op aarde geen zin zou hebben. Op de maan verandert dit echter: 50 liter water kan voorzien in de dagelijkse behoeften van de leden van een hypothetische menselijke missie op een hypothetische maanbasis. De maanbasis vormt een concreet doel van de Chinese ruimteverkenning: het ter plekke kunnen produceren van water zou een enorm voordeel betekenen.

In feite wil China vòòr 2035 een permanent onderzoeksstation op de maan bouwen, terwijl China vòòr 2045 een ruimtestation in een baan rond de satelliet wil bouwen. Als Chang'e 5 na 44 jaar de eerste missie was die maanmonsters terugbracht, is de Chang'e 6-missie de eerste die monsters van de andere kant van de maan terugbracht. Kortom: China lijkt het serieus te nemen.

Naar een toekomstige maanbasis... en verder

Dat het mogelijk is om water rechtstreeks uit de maanbodem te halen is buitengewoon nieuws dat echter ook een aantal overwegingen met zich meebrengt. Allereerst moeten we begrijpen hoeveel energie er nodig is om de bodem te verwarmen en welke andere elementen betrokken zijn bij het proces van waterdampvorming. Ten tweede mogen we de geopolitieke implicaties niet vergeten van de belangstelling die China toont voor onze satelliet: de concurrentie om maanbronnen zal in de toekomst steeds levendiger worden. En mogelijk ook heviger.

Kortom, de resultaten van de Chinese Academie van Wetenschappen laten zien hoe het mogelijk is om steeds dichter bij het idee van een permanente aanwezigheid van de mens op de maan te komen. Aan de andere kant zijn er tientallen jaren verstreken sinds de laatste keer dat een astronaut een wandeling maakte op onze satelliet. De volgende zou wel eens een ruimtestation op de maan kunnen bewonen, op haar grond kunnen lopen... en haar water kunnen drinken.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

SpaceX launches mission to rescue astronauts stranded at ISS

A SpaceX spacecraft has lifted off to rescue two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov took off on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida to bring back Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore.

The Dragon spacecraft, operated by SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, is set to arrive at the ISS on Sunday.

Originally, astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were set to be part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

However, they gave up their spots to accommodate Williams and Wilmore, astronauts stranded on the ISS due to technical issues with the Starliner spacecraft.

Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13, after their Boeing Starliner capsule launched its first crewed flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5. But the Starliner had been plagued with issues, even before the June 5 launch. A previous launch attempt was scrapped on June 1 just moments before launch because of a ground control computer performance issue.

During the 25-hour flight to the International Space Station, the spacecraft experienced several helium leaks and a malfunctioning thruster. Then, when the Starliner arrived on June 6 and attempted to dock at the ISS, four more of the 28 thrusters malfunctioned causing the ship’s arrival to be delayed.

Saturday’s launch of NASA’s mission had been delayed for several days due to the effects of Hurricane Helene. Weather concerns persisted until the last minute, with rain and storms posing risks to the mission.

“The crewmates will conduct more than 200 scientific investigations, including blood clotting studies, moisture effects on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts during their mission,” read a NASA statement.

Williams and Wilmore are expected to return to Earth in February 2025, along with Hague and Gorbunov.

Related video:

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

Canadian authorities have released an image of an unidentified object that was shot down over the country's Yukon Territory by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in February 2023.

Canadian authorities have released an image of an unidentified object that was shot  by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in February 2023. This is the first image of any of a trio of still-unidentified objects that were downed over the United States and Canada that month, details about which remain scant. The new disclosure continues to raise more questions about those incidents given that the picture appears to have been declassified within days of the shootdown, but was then withheld from release until now.

Canada’s CTV News first published the image of what is also known as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) 23, seen at the top of this story and below, along with an accompanying string of partially redacted internal emails from members of the Canadian armed forces earlier today. UAP is the term U.S., Canadian, and other authorities currently use to refer to what have been commonly described as unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the past. The outlet said it independently verified the records after recieving them from an unnamed source who had obtained them via an Access to Information request. Canada’s Access to Information Act is similar in many respects to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but the former is only accessible to Canadian citizens.

Canadian DND via Access to Information Request Via CTV News

UAP 23 was downed over the Yukon on February 11, 2023. This came two days after another unidentified object, also known as UAP 20, was shot down in U.S. airspace off the northern coast of Alaska. A shootdown of a third unidentified object as it passed over Lake Huron came on February 12. This all followed U.S. and Canadian authorities tracking a Chinese spy balloon passing through their airspace for days before deciding to destroy it as it soared out over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

The very low-resolution and grainy image we now have of UAP 23 shows a broadly doughnut-like shape with an open center, as well as an apparent notch or gap in its circumference on one side. It is possible that what is seen is light reflecting only from certain parts and that what is visible is not truly representative of its full shape.

The quality of the picture, which CTV News notes “appears to be a photocopy of an email printout,” makes it impossible to discern any definitive details. “The image appears to have been taken from an aircraft below it, although that has not been confirmed,” CTV News‘ report adds.

“The best description we have is: Visual – a cylindrical object. The top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20 foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended from it,” one of the associated emails, dated February 11, 2023, says. Looking at the released picture again with this description in hand it looks like it might show a balloon catching the sun with a payload underneath.

At the time, Canadian authorities described what had been shot down over the Yukon as a “small, cylindrical object.”

An F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, like the one seen here, shot down UAP 23 over the Yukon on February 11, 2023. 

USAF Senior Airman Julia Lebens

“It is unknown whether it [UAP 23] poses an armed threat or has intelligence collection capabilities,” according to a memo provided to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 15, 2023, says. “The area in which the impact [after shootdown] occurred is a known (caribou) migration route, which opens the possibility of future accidental discovery by Indigenous hunters.”

CTV News published the heavily redacted document, which it also received from an unnamed source who obtained it first via an Access to Information request, in September 2023. The release of the memo had already raised new and still largely unanswered questions about what Canadian and U.S. authorities may or may not know about the trio of downed objects, as well as what other UAPs had been monitored in either country’s airspace before then, as you can read more about here.

No remains of any of the three still-unidentified objects brought down in February 2023 are known to have been recovered. The owners and/or operators of those objects, and whatever their purposes might have been, remain unknown, at least publicly. Past reports have suggested UAP 23, specifically, may have been a so-called “pico” balloon often launched by amateur radio enthusiasts.

U.S. officials subsequently said that the trio of objects appeared to be benign, which looks to have been a direct factor in withholding the image of UAP 23 from the public. The unredacted portions of the newly disclosed Emails, which you can find here, show a clear push between February 11 and February 15, 2023, including from then-Canadian Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, to not only declassify the image, but also proactively release it, including on social media. However, by the end of February 15, the emails have taken a decidedly different tone.

Then-Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, at left, walks with Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson, at right, during a visit to the Pentagon in November 2023. 

USAF Eric Dietrich

“Should the image be released, it would be via the CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] social media accounts,” Taylor Paxton, then-acting Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Affairs with Canada’s Department of National Defense, writes in one Email. “Given the current public environment and statements related to the object being benign, releasing the image may create more questions/confusion, regardless of the text that will accompany the post.”

Major Doug Keirstead, Public Affairs Officer to Chief of the Defense Staff, subsequently sent another Email to his boss, Gen. Eyre, reiterating advice from acting Assistant Deputy Minister Taylor, as well as others, to hold off on releasing the image “pending U.S. engagement.”

The War Zone has reached out to the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense and the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) for more information.

If the goal behind not releasing this image and any others from the Febraury 2023 shootdowns was to avoid confusion and speculation, it only appears to have had the opposite impact. The War Zone, along with others, has tried to obtain imagery from these incidents from the U.S. side on multiple occasions to no avail and we have called into question the puzzling optics of not doing so in the past.

Even before February 2023, many members of Congress in the United States with access to classified information had criticized and otherwise called into question the U.S. military’s attitude towards UAP issues, broadly. The Department of Defense did establish an All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in 2022 as a focal point for tracking and investigating all things UAP, but significant questions have been raised since about its resourcing and authorities. There have also been as yet unsubstantiated accusations of AARO and others within the U.S. government engaging in more active coverups.

“Data release and footage is prioritized based on the geopolitical environment at the time,” then-head of AARO Sean Kirkpatrick said in response to a question from The War Zone about why imagery from the February shootdowns had not been released at a press briefing in October 2023. “So engagements with Chinese fighters, Russian fighters have a much larger priority in getting it through the review process or declassification than UAPs or other similar engagements.”

“We are however, working through those processes, which all exist and we’ve got several of them actually already declassified and ready to update on our website [which] we’ll be doing on the next update to the website,” Kirkpatrick, who left AARO in December 2023, added at that time. “And we’re putting them out as quickly as we can get them through their proper steps.”

In a report released earlier this year, the Department of Defense’s own Office of the Inspector General (DODIG) went so far as to warn that a continued “lack of a comprehensive, coordinated approach to address” UAP issues “may pose a threat to military forces and national security.” The War Zone has repeatedly highlighted the significant evidence that a substantial number of UAP sightings are not only explainable, but are likely drones, high-altitude balloons, and other uncrewed aerial assets that hostile actors are using to gather intelligence on critical capabilities and installations in and round the United States.

A more recent Congressional effort to push for more UAP transparency through an amendment to the annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the 2025 Fiscal Year looks to have collapsed, at least for now.

It will be interesting now to see whether or not the Canadian government’s decision to release the image of UAP 23, such as it is, and the accompanying emails, will lead to further disclosures about the February 2023 shootdowns by that country or the United States.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

{ https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone }

Image of Mysterious Object Shot Down Over Yukon Finally Released

In September 2024, a long-anticipated image of the mysterious object shot down over Yukon, Canada, in February 2023 was obtained by CTVNews.ca through a freedom of information request. The image, which has sparked significant public interest, shows a grainy, black-and-white representation of the object that was downed by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet after it crossed into Canadian airspace.

The object in question was one of three unidentified aerial objects shot down over North America within a short period, following the more widely reported downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier that month. The object shot down over Yukon has been described in official documents as a “cylindrical” or “metallic” object with a tethered payload below it, although details have remained scarce, fueling speculation and public curiosity.

The Incident

The sequence of events leading to the downing of the object began when NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) tracked the unidentified object as it entered North American airspace. After moving through Alaskan airspace, the object entered Canadian territory on February 11, 2023, prompting swift action from NORAD. Following discussions between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Defence Minister, and U.S. authorities, the order to engage was issued.

At 15:41 Eastern Time, the object was shot down over the Yukon, and Canadian military personnel, in coordination with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), were deployed to recover the debris. However, due to challenging winter conditions in the remote and mountainous region, the recovery mission was ultimately called off just days later.

Description of the Object

Documents obtained by CTVNews.ca revealed some details about the object. In a memo dated February 11, 2023, a Canadian brigadier-general described the object as cylindrical, with a metallic upper portion and a long wire hanging beneath it, supporting a suspended package. Some officials speculated that it could be a balloon with a tethered payload, similar to other unidentified aerial objects encountered during that period.

Interestingly, these objects, including the one shot down over the Yukon, were described as being much smaller than the towering Chinese surveillance balloon that had drawn global attention just days before. Although there was much speculation about the nature of the Yukon object, U.S. President Joe Biden later stated that these unidentified objects were likely private or research balloons and posed no significant threat.

The Image and Public Reaction

The image obtained by CTVNews.ca, which was part of a heavily redacted set of documents, appears to be a low-resolution photocopy, making it difficult to discern specific details. Despite being cleared for public release shortly after the incident, the image was withheld due to concerns from public affairs officials, who believed its release could raise more questions than it answered. The image was discussed internally, with some military officials advocating for its release on social media. However, the public release was delayed, partly due to the lack of clarity in the image and its potential to fuel further speculation.

This image has now been made public, and while it adds a visual element to the mystery, it does little to clear up the questions surrounding the object’s origin or purpose. The shape of the object in the image has drawn comparisons to a balloon, with a horseshoe or crescent-like shape visible, but the lack of detail makes definitive conclusions difficult.

Secrecy and Speculation

The secrecy surrounding the object, its brief tracking, and the lack of debris recovery have all contributed to an air of mystery and speculation. While officials have publicly stated that the object posed no significant threat, the minimal information provided has led to various conspiracy theories and concerns about North American air defense vulnerabilities.

Experts have suggested that the U.S. and Canadian governments’ hesitation to release more information could be due to the sensitive nature of NORAD operations and a reluctance to disclose potential defense weaknesses. Iain Boyd, the director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, noted that withholding details may reflect concerns about how adversaries could exploit knowledge of such incidents.

Broader Context of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

The Yukon object, referred to as “UAP 23” in some documents (with UAP standing for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), was the 23rd such object tracked over North America in early 2023. The term UAP has largely replaced “UFO” (Unidentified Flying Object) in official circles, reflecting the shift toward a more scientific and data-driven approach to such sightings.

The February 2023 incidents of unidentified aerial objects prompted further scrutiny of UAPs by governments around the world. In Canada, the Sky Canada Project, led by the Office of the Chief Science Advisor, is expected to release its own report on UAPs later this year, as public interest in such phenomena continues to grow. In the U.S., the Pentagon and NASA have been more transparent about their investigations into UAPs, signaling a shift toward more open dialogue on the issue.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/vuFzjRaOwRA

The F-22 shooting down the Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, 2023, as seen from the ground. In the boxes: the F-22 and the balloon seen few seconds after being hit by an AIM-9X. (

Photos: @astroqv, @casual_Photoholic)

The release of the Yukon object’s image provides a glimpse into one of the more mysterious defense incidents of 2023. While the image adds to the body of evidence surrounding the event, the low quality and lack of detail leave many questions unanswered. As investigations into UAPs continue on both sides of the border, the public remains eager for further information about these objects and the implications they may have for air defense systems and international security.

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

Europe Simulates the Moon on Earth

Since Earth and the Moon have similar geological history, it made sense to look around on our planet for materials to simulate lunar dust. For LUNA, the agency partners created something called EAC-1. It’s based on volcanic powder spread out over the Eifel region in Germany some 45 million years ago. ESA has been working with this material for some years now, creating “moon bricks” that lunar colonists could use to build roads, launch pads, and habitats. Not only that, but lunar soil (like the EAC-1) contains a high percentage of oxygen. If astronauts can practice “cracking” that soil at LUNA, that would provide them with experience doing the same thing to tap in situ sources of oxygen they can use to survive.

Two astronauts simulate a training session in the new Luna Hall as part of the opening ceremony at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne.

Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Benjamin Westhoff

More about LUNA

The LUNA main hall isn’t just a soil pit, however. It also has a specialized illumination simulator. That allows astronauts to recreate and practice their work under lunar day-and-night cycles. The Moon’s “day” is 14 Earth days long and a lunar night is the same length. Future astronauts and colonists will need to adapt their living and working conditions to those cycles.

Eventually, LUNA will also incorporate gravity off-loading systems. These are simulations of reduced gravity environments. Since the Moon’s gravity is one-sixth that of Earth’s, it’s important for astronauts to train in lower-gravity environments. Plans include a system similar to the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) gravity system that NASA uses. It’s a device that suspends an astronaut trainee in a special trainer and uses sensors and other feedback that provide a simulated low-gravity environment.

In addition to astronaut training for low gravity and working with soil, LUNA will act as a testbed for operating robotic systems such as rovers and other tools. It will enable advanced science testing and activities, and teach astronauts how to build, manipulate, and operate energy systems. For example, researchers at the facility will test the regolith to understand the effects of moon dust on equipment space agencies plan to bring to the moon.

Luna combines a 1,000-square-meter area of simulated lunar soil with a Moon habitat, powered by an innovative energy system. It represents materials that could exist on a lunar base. Courtesy ESA.

Preparing for Artemis and Beyond

All these activities should help future astronauts and mission planners develop solutions to challenges the Artemis and other explorers will face on the Moon. LUNA will also contain a unique habitat training area called FLEXHab. It is planned as a simulated habitat that will connect to the main facility.

Finally, ESA and DLR plan to repurpose a food production facility called EDEN-ISS. It’s actually a greenhouse that hosted a five-year-long food cultivation experiment. It will become part of the LUNA laboratory and is aimed at helping astronauts figure out how to grow and prepare food during their stay on the Moon.

Building accurate replicas of the lunar environment is a big training step toward permanent habitation on the Moon. The Artemis project will be one mission to take advantage of LUNA. Its mission timeline has slipped, but astronauts will still likely be headed toward the Moon within the decade. Test sites such as LUNA will play an important role in their training and eventual colonization activities.

For More Information

• New LUNA Facility Will prepare Astronauts for Moon Landings
• Full-Size Reduced Gravity Simulator For Humans, Robots, and Test Objects
  Bricks from Moon Dust

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

How Does the Milky Way Compare to Other Galaxies?

This would seem to indicate that the Milky Way is rather typical. But then the team looked at those galaxies with a large companion, like the Large Magellanic Cloud we see in the southern hemisphere. For those galaxies the number of satellites is typically much larger than four. The Milky Way has an unusually low number of satellites. One reason for this may be that the Large Magellanic Cloud entered our sphere of influence rather recently on the cosmic timeline.

A second study based on the SAGA data looked at star formation in the satellite galaxies. It found that the closer a satellite is to the main galaxy the more likely it is to still be producing stars. This is similar to what we see among the Milky Way satellites. So it seems that while the Milky Way is a little unusual, it isn’t unique among galaxies of similar mass.

But it will always be our special spiral galaxy.

Reference: 

• Mao, Yao-Yuan, et al. “The SAGA Survey. III. A Census of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.14498 (2024).

Reference: 

• Geha, Marla, et al. “The SAGA Survey. IV. The Star Formation Properties of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.14499 (2024).

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Breakthrough flying saucer technology could soon harness the power of waves: 'A competitive solution in our global energy mix'

The unit can provide air-pollution-free electricity 24/7, even in stormy waters.

Photo Credit: Carnegie Clean Energy

The ancient Greeks knew Ceto as a sea goddess, cited by the History Cooperative as having power over monsters from the deep. But the modern-day incarnation might end up being better known for the power of ocean waves. 

That's because Carnegie Clean Energy's version of CETO is a sea-based contraption that can turn wave power into grid-ready electricity, according to the Australian firm. 

Wave-energy tech isn't new. Other iterations include buoy and raft designs. CETO is a submerged, flying saucer-shaped unit, according to CleanTechnica. 

The report noted that Carnegie received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in January to test marine-based energy production. Now, a Carnegie subsidiary has approval to place CETOs off the Spanish coast, and company leaders are pursuing various certifications to pave the way for expansion, all per CleanTechnica. 

"By aligning CETO with international standards, the company is moving toward wider adoption of the technology and a future where wave energy is a competitive solution in our global energy mix," Carnegie CTO Alexandre Pichard said in the story. 

CETO works with a fairly simple concept. Waves move in a circular motion, and CETO tracks and captures the energy generated by the movement. As the saucer-shaped unit rocks with the moving water, belts inside turn generators to make electricity. Artificial intelligence is used to help manage underwater operations, all per a video clip provided by Carnegie. 

What's more, the unit can provide air-pollution-free electricity 24/7, even in stormy waters. CETO simply submerges below the turbulence to continue its function. The tech has been proven during "tens of thousands" of testing hours, according to the company. 

It's part of a global renewable energy switchover leveraging abundant sun, wind, and waves. The United Nations reports that about 29% of the world's electricity comes from renewables. 

Wave energy has serious potential, too, with the U.S. Department of Energy estimating that kinetic waves could provide around 60% of the nation's electricity demand, as CleanTechnica observed.

If fascinating programs from other energy developers reach full vision, captured wave and wind power at sea could be collected at offshore artificial "energy islands" and efficiently sent to the coast. 

Importantly, the breakthroughs can help reduce the production of planet-warming air pollution, which NASA has linked to marine heat waves. The hotter water can harm coral and other sea life, according to the experts. 

Inspired inlanders can help to cut pollution with some simple changes around the house. Cleaning the lint out of filters on washers, dryers, and other appliances can save you 10% on the cost to run them, while also removing a fire hazard. Importantly, the machines will then use less energy, producing less heat-trapping fumes. 

For CETO's part, its developers are touting a scalable, modular design. Interestingly, the company-provided details even list a desalination ability.

Now, Carnegie seems poised to take CETO beyond myth, working toward a world powered by the "consistent rhythm of the sea," as the clip's narrator puts it.  

{ https://www.thecooldown.com/ }

Chilling video shows' 'horseshoe-shaped' UFO defying laws of physics after photo of similar craft shot down over Yukon is declassified

By James Cirrone For Dailymail.Com

UFO enthusiasts are attempting to draw parallels between a old video that appears to show a flying aircraft zooming through the clouds and the recently declassified image of the UFO that was shot down near Alaska last year.

The photo shows a seemingly glowing horse shoe-shaped object with ill-defined edges over the Yukon territory in northwest Canada on February 11, 2023. 

An internal email obtained by CTVNews had a Canadian brigadier-general describing it as such: 'Top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended from it.' 

It was shot down by a US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter on a joint mission with the Canadian Armed Forces following the now infamous Chinese spy balloon drama that made international news that month.

A former officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force told DailyMail.com that based on his conversations with three active-duty staff who were involved with the shootdown, the object was a balloon similar to the Chinese craft shot down days earlier.

Nonetheless, a user on Reddit said they were able to stabilize a different UFO video from over 12 years ago, claiming it is similar to the object that was shot down.

The declassified image of the UFO that was shot down in Yukon territory by US fighter jets on February 11, 2023. Canadian authorities suspect it was a balloon similar to the Chinese spy craft shot down in US airspace days earlier

This is photo of a supposed UFO that some on social media believe looks similar to the horseshoe-shaped craft shot down in Yukon territory. This photo comes from an alleged UFO sighting video that's 12 years old

'I recently stabilized this footage, which has drawn interesting comparisons to the “horseshoe” object reportedly shot down over the Yukon in 2023,' the poster wrote. 'After stabilizing the video, the object’s crescent or horseshoe shape becomes much clearer, along with its curious flight dynamics.'

They said the stabilization was done with Adobe After Effects and Premiere, software packages for editing motion graphics and video.

The video was originally posted by a YouTube channel called 'xxxdonutzxxx', which claimed the footage was shot over Busan, South Korea. 

The reactions to the stabilized footage were all over the place, with some people showing their excitement and others showing skepticism.

'A better way to avoid confusion would be to publish a color, high-res photo or video, as they did with that jet intercept and the Chinese spy balloon. Amazing how transparency actually works,' one user wrote.

A picture taken on February 1, 2023, shows the suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over Billings, Montana

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina on February 4, 2023

Another took issue with the entire idea that aliens are flying around in spacecrafts that always seem to look different in every UFO video.

They wrote: 'Serious question; why does every UFO look different? Do aliens hate mass production? Have they never heard of cost reduction through standardization? What does that say about their economy? Are they idiots?' 

Those who are more inclined to believe aliens are out there offered a number of explanations for this. There could many many different alien races with different vehicles, some said. Others thought their space crafts could probably shape shift.

Elsewhere on social media, people are claiming all of the videos on the now abandoned 'xxxdonutzxxx' are fake and were made by two CG artists named Nico and Marco Kaschuba.

A person posted an alleged UFO sighting in Monument Valley, Arizona, from the 'xxxdonutzxxx' channel to a UFO forum on April 5, 2012. 

At the bottom of the post, there is a copyright that belongs to 'Kaschuba Ufology.' 

DailyMail.com approached Marco Kaschuba for comment, but he didn't immediately respond.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Ceres is Former Ocean World, Planetary Scientists Say

Ceres is a key object in understanding the evolution of small bodies and is the only dwarf planet to have been orbited by a spacecraft, NASA’s Dawn mission. Dawn data paint an inconclusive picture of Ceres’ internal structure, composition and evolutionary pathway. New research shows that a crust with nearly 90% ice near the surface, which gradually decreases to 0% at 117 km depth, simultaneously matches the Dawn observations. This crustal structure results from a frozen ocean that became more impurity rich as it solidified top-down. Therefore, the Dawn data are consistent with an icy Ceres that evolved through freezing of an ancient, impure ocean.

This false-color image shows the dwarf planet Ceres. Scientists use false color to examine differences in surface materials. The color blue on Ceres is generally associated with bright material, found in more than 130 locations, and seems to be consistent with salts.

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

“Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, and a dwarf planet. I think sometimes people think of small, lumpy things as asteroids (and most of them are!), but Ceres really looks more like a planet,” said Purdue University researcher Mike Sori.

“It is a big sphere, diameter 950 km or so, and has surface features like craters, volcanoes, and landslides.”

“We think that there’s lots of water-ice near Ceres surface, and that it gets gradually less icy as you go deeper and deeper.”

“People used to think that if Ceres was very icy, the craters would deform quickly over time, like glaciers flowing on Earth, or like gooey flowing honey.”

“However, we’ve shown through our simulations that ice can be much stronger in conditions on Ceres than previously predicted if you mix in just a little bit of solid rock.”

This discovery is contradictory to the previous belief that Ceres was relatively dry.

The common assumption was that Ceres was less than 30% ice, but Sori’s team now believes the surface is more like 90% ice.

“Our interpretation of all this is that Ceres used to be an ocean world like Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons), but with a dirty, muddy ocean,’” Dr. Sori said.

“As that muddy ocean froze over time, it created an icy crust with a little bit of rocky material trapped in it.”

The authors used computer simulations to model how relaxation occurs for craters on Ceres over billions of years.

“Even solids will flow over long timescales, and ice flows more readily than rock,” said Purdue University Ph.D. student Ian Pamerleau.

“Craters have deep bowls which produce high stresses that then relax to a lower stress state, resulting in a shallower bowl via solid state flow.”

“So the conclusion after NASA’s Dawn mission was that due to the lack of relaxed, shallow craters, the crust could not be that icy.”

“Our computer simulations account for a new way that ice can flow with only a little bit of non-ice impurities mixed in, which would allow for a very ice-rich crust to barely flow even over billions of years.”

“Therefore, we could get an ice-rich Ceres that still matches the observed lack of crater relaxation.”

“We tested different crustal structures in these simulations and found that a gradational crust with a high ice content near the surface that grades down to lower ice with depth was the best way to limit relaxation of Cerean craters.”

“To me the exciting part of all this, if we’re right, is that we have a frozen ocean world pretty close to Earth,” Dr. Sori said.

“Ceres may be a valuable point of comparison for the ocean-hosting icy moons of the outer Solar System, like Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus.”

“Ceres, we think, is therefore the most accessible icy world in the Universe. That makes it a great target for future spacecraft missions.”

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

De Aarde had ook zijn planetaire ringen, net als Saturnus: dat stelt een onderzoek

door Janine

Kevin M. Gill/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 2.0

We kennen allemaal Saturnus, een van de meest iconische planeten in het zonnestelsel vanwege zijn spectaculaire planetaire ringen. Natuurlijk hebben Uranus en Neptunus ook iets dergelijks, en hetzelfde kan gezegd worden van Jupiter, maar deze structuren hebben niet dezelfde charme. Onlangs is er echter een onderzoek gedaan dat suggereert dat ook de aarde zo'n 460 miljoen jaar geleden haar eigen ringenstelsel kan hebben gehad. Laten we eens kijken hoe dit mogelijk is!

Had de Aarde ook planetaire ringen?

Een team onderzoekers van de Monash University in Melbourne stelt deze hypothese voor in een studie die is gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Earth and Planetary Science Letters. De wetenschappers analyseerden inslagkraters die werden gecreëerd door asteroïden tijdens het Ordovicium, tussen 485 en 443 miljoen jaar geleden. Het probleem is dit: er werden 21 kraters geïdentificeerd die zich binnen 30 graden van de evenaar bevonden, maar de verdeling is te afwijkend om in traditionele theorieën te passen. Kortom, waarom zijn alle kraters geconcentreerd in deze gordel als meer dan tweederde van de aardkorst daarbuiten ligt?

Volgens de onderzoekers is het antwoord duidelijk: zo'n 460 miljoen jaar geleden zou een grote asteroïde de aarde hebben benaderd tot hij de limiet van Roche passeerde, waarna hij werd beïnvloed door getijdenkrachten. Als gevolg daarvan zou de asteroïde zijn gaan fragmenteren en deze fragmenten zouden hebben geholpen bij het vormen van een ring van puin rond de aarde. Net als bij Saturnus en andere gasreuzen.

Planeetringen en ijstijden

Oliver Hull/Monash University

Wat is het verband tussen de vorming van planetaire ringen en de concentratie inslagkraters die Australische onderzoekers hebben ontdekt? Simpel: na de vorming zouden de brokstukken die de ring vormden in de loop van miljoenen jaren beetje bij beetje op de aarde zijn gevallen en zo de piek in kraters hebben veroorzaakt. Maar dat is nog niet alles, want de studie probeerde ook bewijs te vinden voor de klimatologische gevolgen die een ringsysteem zeker zou hebben gehad op de aarde.

Vanuit dit perspectief zouden de planetaire ringen een deel van het zonlicht hebben kunnen tegenhouden en hebben bijgedragen aan de wereldwijde afkoeling. En in feite vindt precies aan het einde van het Ordovicium de Hirnatien-ijstijd plaats, die wordt beschouwd als een van de koudste periodes van de afgelopen 500 miljoen jaar. Bovendien is het deze ijstijd die de massa-uitsterving in het Ordovicium veroorzaakte, de eerste van de vijf grote massa-uitstervingen in de geschiedenis van de aarde. Gebeurde dit allemaal door 'onze' planeetringen?

Perspectieven van het onderzoek

De ontdekking door Australische onderzoekers kan veel bredere gevolgen hebben dan verwacht. In de praktijk gaat het niet alleen om het idee dat de Aarde ook een eigen planetair ringenstelsel kan hebben gehad, maar om overwegingen van complexere aard:

• ten eerste, wat er in het laatste deel van het Ordovicium gebeurde, zou ook gebeurd kunnen zijn in de 4 miljard jaar van de vorige geschiedenis van de Aarde;
• ten tweede kan de vorming en het daaropvolgende verval van een planetaire ring belangrijke gevolgen hebben gehad voor het klimaat op aarde;
• ten slotte spelen astronomische gebeurtenissen, waaronder de vorming van planeetringen, een veel belangrijkere rol in de geschiedenis van een planeet dan verwacht.

Kortom, als de hypothese van het onderzoek gegrond blijkt te zijn, staan we mogelijk aan het begin van een geheel nieuw onderzoeksgebied over de interactie tussen de aarde en de kosmos. Met gevolgen voor de hele evolutionaire geschiedenis van onze planeet.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

A photo recently captured by NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has revealed a surprising object that stands out from the planet's natural landscape. 

The object in question looks like an artificial piece of glass or eventual a mirror, (the contours of the glass/mirror are clearly visible), partially located behind a rock formation. 

The fact that it could be a mirror is because the reflection in the mirror seems to show a part of what appears to be a metallic rectangular object what lies in front of the mirror. 

Both the glass/mirror and the metallic object seem to be remnants of something either abandoned or wrecked long ago. They clearly do not belong to the rover's equipment or any known NASA gear.  

This discovery joins a growing list of mysterious objects found on Mars hinting at the possibility that intelligent civilizations may have once existed on the planet potentially wiped out due to a catastrophic event which made life on the planet impossible. 

Link to the photo uploaded by Neville Thompson on his Gigapan page.

• http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/236036

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

We spent 45 days in a simulated Mars habitat built by NASA - this is the brutal reality of life on Red Planet

• READ MORE: New map of Mars reveals hidden 'structures' below the surface

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

Four volunteer scientists have just emerged from a 45-day stay inside NASA's most realistic Mars simulation yet.

The crew remained completely isolated inside the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) - a 650-square-foot habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas - until Monday, when the hatch opened and they finally 'returned to Earth.'

While inside, they completed 18 different studies that will help NASA and other space agencies learn how humans respond to the confinement, demanding work-life conditions and remote environments of deep-space missions, according to NASA

NASA has set a goal to get humans to Mars by the 2030s. With that deadline fast approaching, simulated missions like HERA provide key insights into how astronauts might survive the farthest crewed space mission ever attempted. 

The four person crew - comprised of Sergii Iakymov, Sarah Elizabeth McCandless, Erin Anderson, and Brandon Kent (L to R) - was the third to enter the HERA habitat

Above, a 3D-rendered image of the red planet Mars - as virtual as the team's HERA experience

The four person crew - comprised of Erin Anderson, Sergii Iakymov, Sarah Elizabeth McCandless and Brandon Kent - was the third to enter the HERA habitat.

Their mission was unique in that it included the more detailed assignments designed to closely replicate the living and working experience on Mars.

During the month-and-a-half-long simulation, the crew performed a wide range of tasks.

Their assignments included harvesting plants from a hydroponic garden, growing shrimp, deploying a small satellite, conducting a virtual 'walk' across the surface of Mars and flying simulated drones over Martian terrain. 

'These activities are designed to immerse the crew in the task-focused mindset of astronauts,' NASA wrote in a statement.

NASA even simulated the communication delays that real astronauts could one day face on Mars. During a real Mars mission, communications from Earth could take up to 20 minutes to reach astronauts on the red planet, and vice versa. 

All the while, the crew was being monitored by NASA scientists to assess how their day-to-day tasks, routine, and the isolation and confinement of their habitat affected their behavior and performance. 

When they weren't hard at work, the crew read books, played cards, built Legos and listened to music. 

The HERA mission three crew entered the habitat on August 9

Their mission was unique in that it included the more detailed assignments designed to closely replicate the living and working experience on Mars, including growing hydroponic plants

The volunteers also grew shrimp, deployed a small satellite, conducted a virtual 'walk' across the surface of Mars and flew simulated drones over Martian terrain

On Monday afternoon, the crew finally emerged from their tiny habitat, marking the end of their mission. 

'Following our safe passage to Mars, and our safe return to Earth, as the crew of Campaign 7, Mission 3, we hereby officially transfer this exploration vessel to the flight analogs operations team,' said Kent upon exiting HERA.

'We hope this vessel continues to serve as a safe home for future HERA crews,' he added. 

NASA also runs another, bigger simulated Mars habitat called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA. This 1,700-square-foot is large enough to sustain volunteers for up to a year. 

The first CHAPEA volunteer crew emerged from their habitat in July. 

If you think you have what it takes to spend weeks inside cramped Mars simulation, NASA is actively seeking non-smoking volunteers between the ages of 30 and 55 for the next HERA mission. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

The legendary SR-71 Blackbird, as soon as it has its successor, may certainly redefine the way aerial reconnaissance and strike capabilities are to be perceived because it is given its unparalleled speed and altitude. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works team is working on the SR-72 "Darkstar," a hypersonic aircraft that aims to reach Mach 6.0. This would be twice the capability of the predecessor./

The SR-71 was unveiled to the world over half a century ago and could reach an altitude of 85,000 feet and Mach 3.2.

The SR-71 was unveiled to the world over half a century ago and could reach an altitude of 85,000 feet and Mach 3.2.

Its retirement in the late 1990s meant it would never be challenged for this record, but the supposed SR-72 has promised much more.

Popularized by its appearance in the latest Top Gun movie, it promises to transcend feats that would never have been seen or imagined in this aircraft's lifetime.

Firm Lockheed Martin partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the new engine for the SR-72; it would take advantage of technology from the now-canceled HTV-3X.

The turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine that the SR-72 will be using is a dual-mode ramjet engine, which will enable take-off at conventional jet speeds and then zoom up to hypersonic speeds of potentially over Mach 6.0.

It has not been an easy ride to develop the SR-72. The latest reports show that in Q2 2024, the program overspent by an additional $45 million, leaving it with a comprehensive loss since 2022 to $335 million.

Still, hope for the SR-72 remains alive. Lockheed Martin will continue to be extended with the program as shrouded in secrecy, marching toward operational status, perhaps to meet future U.S. Air Force needs.

Hence, the SR-72 would be an ISR asset with strike capability; whereas the SR-71 aircraft could only be used for reconnaissance missions, the SR-72 aircraft would engage the target directly.

Based on this feature added to hypersonic missiles, it would be possible for a weapon system to breach any airspace and strike any point on a continent within sixty minutes.

It would be an entirely new kind of strategic advantage, said Lockheed Martin's program manager, as such a machine "penetrates denied airspace and strikes at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour."

It's a capability no other weapon in the U.S. Air Force's inventory can especially with rising tensions between Washington and Beijing continuing unabated.

The SR-72 has been classified, but Lockheed Martin upped its advanced development programs unit by 75 percent and hired more than 2,300 new employees since early 2018.

That kind of investment means that the production will be of a new classified aircraft for use in operational service.

The SR-72 is taking shape as an aircraft that will revolutionize the air reconnaissance and strike capabilities, permitting the United States Air Force to achieve unprecedented speed and strategic advantage.

VIDEOS

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/  }

Early Martian Atmosphere Could Be Locked Up in Planet’s Clay Surface

Geological observations of Mars indicate a dense early atmosphere ranging from 0.25 to 4 bar of carbon dioxide. But 3.5 billion years ago, the Martian atmosphere thinned rapidly to approximately 0.054 bar, suggesting a substantial loss of atmospheric carbon dioxide, either to space or the lithosphere. The mechanism by which Mars lost its carbon dioxide remains poorly understood. For MIT geologists Joshua Murray and Oliver Jagoutz, the answer may lie in the planet’s clay-covered crust. The researchers used their knowledge of interactions between rocks and gases on Earth and applied that to how similar processes could play out on Mars. They found that, given how much clay is estimated to cover the Martian surface, the planet’s clay could hold up to 1.7 bar of carbon dioxide, which would be equivalent to around 80% of the planet’s initial, early atmosphere. It’s possible that this sequestered Martian carbon could one day be recovered and converted into propellant to fuel future missions between Mars and Earth, the researchers propose.

This schematic illustrates the progressive alteration of iron-rich rocks on Mars as the rocks interact with water containing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Image credit: Joshua Murray & Oliver Jagoutz, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8443.

“Based on our findings on Earth, we show that similar processes likely operated on Mars, and that copious amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide could have transformed to methane and been sequestered in clays,” Professor Jagoutz said.

“This methane could still be present and maybe even used as an energy source on Mars in the future.”

Professor Jagoutz and Murray seek to identify the geologic processes and interactions that drive the evolution of Earth’s lithosphere — the hard and brittle outer layer that includes the crust and upper mantle, where tectonic plates lie.

In 2023, they focused on a type of surface clay mineral called smectite, which is known to be a highly effective trap for carbon.

Within a single grain of smectite are a multitude of folds, within which carbon can sit undisturbed for billions of years.

They showed that smectite on Earth was likely a product of tectonic activity, and that, once exposed at the surface, the clay minerals acted to draw down and store enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to cool the planet over millions of years.

Soon after they reported their results, Professor Jagoutz happened to look at a map of the surface of Mars and realized that much of that planet’s surface was covered in the same smectite clays.

An illustration shows an misty atmosphere around the Red Planet Mars. Could this envelop of gas have "gone to ground" billions of years ago?

 (Image credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva)/NASA)

Could the clays have had a similar carbon-trapping effect on Mars, and if so, how much carbon could the clays hold?

Unlike on Earth, where smectite is a consequence of continental plates shifting and uplifting to bring rocks from the mantle to the surface, there is no such tectonic activity on Mars.

The scientists looked for ways in which the clays could have formed on Mars, based on what they know of the planet’s history and composition.

For instance, some remote measurements of Mars’ surface suggest that at least part of the planet’s crust contains ultramafic igneous rocks, similar to those that produce smectites through weathering on Earth.

Other observations reveal geologic patterns similar to terrestrial rivers and tributaries, where water could have flowed and reacted with the underlying rock.

The authors wondered whether water could have reacted with Mars’ deep ultramafic rocks in a way that would produce the clays that cover the surface today.

They developed a simple model of rock chemistry, based on what is known of how igneous rocks interact with their environment on Earth.

They applied this model to Mars, where scientists believe the crust is mostly made up of igneous rock that is rich in the mineral olivine.

The team used the model to estimate the changes that olivine-rich rock might undergo, assuming that water existed on the surface for at least a billion years, and the atmosphere was thick with carbon dioxide.

“At this time in Mars’ history, we think carbon dioxide is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and water percolating through the rocks is full of carbon dioxide too,” Murray said.

Over about a billion years, water trickling through the crust would have slowly reacted with olivine — a mineral that is rich in a reduced form of iron.

Oxygen molecules in water would have bound to the iron, releasing hydrogen as a result and forming the red oxidized iron which gives the planet its iconic color.

An image of a dust devil sweeping over Mars captured by the Opportunity Rover in March 2016 as the robot investigated smectites in Marathon Valley. 

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

This free hydrogen would then have combined with carbon dioxide in the water, to form methane.

As this reaction progressed over time, olivine would have slowly transformed into another type of iron-rich rock known as serpentine, which then continued to react with water to form smectite.

“These smectite clays have so much capacity to store carbon,” Murray said.

“So then we used existing knowledge of how these minerals are stored in clays on Earth, and extrapolate to say, if the Martian surface has this much clay in it, how much methane can you store in those clays?”

The researchers found that if Mars is covered in a layer of smectite that is 1,100 m deep, this amount of clay could store a huge amount of methane, equivalent to most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is thought to have disappeared since the planet dried up.

“We find that estimates of global clay volumes on Mars are consistent with a significant fraction of Mars’ initial carbon dioxide being sequestered as organic compounds within the clay-rich crust,” Murray said.

“In some ways, Mars’ missing atmosphere could be hiding in plain sight.”

• The results appear in the journal Science Advances.
• Joshua Murray & Oliver Jagoutz. 2024. Olivine alteration and the loss of Mars’ early atmospheric carbon. Science Advances 10 (39); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8443
• This article is based on a press-release provided by MIT.

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

New map of Mars reveals hidden 'structures' below the Martian surface

• READ MORE:  Scientists discover smiley-face on Mars that may hold signs of life

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

A new map of Mars has revealed mysterious structures hiding beneath the sediment layers of a lost ocean.

The researchers detected about 20 features scattered around the planet's north polar cap that are significantly denser than their surroundings. 

The structures vary in shape and size, with one resembling the shape of a dog, leaving the team puzzled because they do not know exactly what the formations are or where they came from. But they do have some theories.

One idea is that the structures were compacted by ancient meteor strikes, or  formed by volcanic activity, but more research is needed to get to the bottom of these underground anomalies. 

A new analysis of Mars' gravitational field has revealed mysterious structures lurking beneath the planet's surface

The team of researchers from Denmark's TU Delft and Utrecht University presented their findings at the Europlanetary Science Conference in Berlin this week.

The team used tiny deviations in satellite orbits to create a picture of Mars' gravitational field, or the region of space around a planet where its gravitational force can be felt. 

They did this to look for clues about how mass is distributed throughout the planet's subsurface. 

The team then combined these observations with data on the thickness and flexibility of the Mars' crust, as well as the dynamics of the planet's mantle and deep interior. 

These observations were collected by NASA's InSIGHT lander, which completed its study of Mars' crust, mantle and core in 2022.

This allowed the researchers to create a global density map of Mars that revealed the existence of 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap.

The structures are about 19 to 25 pounds per cubic foot denser than their surroundings, and vary in shape and size. 

Additionally, they are covered by a thick, smooth layer of sediment that may have once been a seabed. 

The researchers used tiny deviations in satellite orbits and data from NASA's InSIGHT lander to create a global density map of Mars

Their analysis revealed 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap

Billions of years ago, Mars was not the desert planet we know today. It was once covered in oceans and rivers, but water dried up in an extreme climactic shift. 

Now, the only evidence of these bodies of water lies in Mars' geologic record - like this sediment layer. 

As for the structures that lie beneath, 'there seems to be no trace of them at the surface,' lead author Bart Root, an assistant professor at TU Delft, said. 

'However, through gravity data, we have a tantalizing glimpse into the older history of the northern hemisphere of Mars.' 

This isn't the first time that scientists have uncovered oddities beneath the surface of Mars. 

In December 2023, China's Zhurong found large honeycomb-shaped crevasses buried dozens of meters beneath Mars' equator that likely formed when drastic temperature dips contract and fracture the ground.

But Root and his team are having a harder time figuring out what these most recently structures are, and where they came from. Right now, they have two main theories. 

Either the structures were compacted by ancient impact events, like meteor strikes, or they were formed by some kind of volcanic activity. This latter idea challenges scientists' longstanding view of Mars as a geologically inactive planet. 

But while studies have shown that Mars does not have as much geological activity as Earth, a growing body of evidence suggests that it isn't completely 'dead.'

Root's study adds to this evidence not just by discovering structures that may be volcanically formed, but through a totally separate finding. 

In addition to finding the mysterious structures, the team's analysis revealed that Mars' mantle may still host active geological processes that could be feeding Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system.

Olympus Mons is located in the Tharsis Montes region near Mars' equator. Scientists estimate that it hasn't erupted for 25 million years.

The subterranean geology of the Tharsis region is incredibly dense, but Root and his team detected a much lighter mass lying 700 miles beneath the surface. 

He believes this mass is an enormous plume of magma that stretches 1,000 miles across in Mars' mantle. What's more, this plume might be in the process of bubbling to the surface.

'This means we need to rethink how we understand the support for the Olympus Mons volcano and its surroundings,' Root said. 

'It shows that Mars might still have active movements happening inside it, affecting and possibly making new volcanic features on the surface.' 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

We spent 45 days in a simulated Mars habitat built by NASA - this is the brutal reality of life on Red Planet

• READ MORE: New map of Mars reveals hidden 'structures' below the surface

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

Four volunteer scientists have just emerged from a 45-day stay inside NASA's most realistic Mars simulation yet.

The crew remained completely isolated inside the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) - a 650-square-foot habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas - until Monday, when the hatch opened and they finally 'returned to Earth.'

While inside, they completed 18 different studies that will help NASA and other space agencies learn how humans respond to the confinement, demanding work-life conditions and remote environments of deep-space missions, according to NASA.

NASA has set a goal to get humans to Mars by the 2030s. With that deadline fast approaching, simulated missions like HERA provide key insights into how astronauts might survive the farthest crewed space mission ever attempted. 

The four person crew - comprised of Sergii Iakymov, Sarah Elizabeth McCandless, Erin Anderson, and Brandon Kent (L to R) - was the third to enter the HERA habitat

The four person crew - comprised of Erin Anderson, Sergii Iakymov, Sarah Elizabeth McCandless and Brandon Kent - was the third to enter the HERA habitat.

Their mission was unique in that it included the more detailed assignments designed to closely replicate the living and working experience on Mars.

During the month-and-a-half-long simulation, the crew performed a wide range of tasks.

Their assignments included harvesting plants from a hydroponic garden, growing shrimp, deploying a small satellite, conducting a virtual 'walk' across the surface of Mars and flying simulated drones over Martian terrain. 

'These activities are designed to immerse the crew in the task-focused mindset of astronauts,' NASA wrote in a statement.

NASA even simulated the communication delays that real astronauts could one day face on Mars. During a real Mars mission, communications from Earth could take up to 20 minutes to reach astronauts on the red planet, and vice versa. 

All the while, the crew was being monitored by NASA scientists to assess how their day-to-day tasks, routine, and the isolation and confinement of their habitat affected their behavior and performance. 

When they weren't hard at work, the crew read books, played cards, built Legos and listened to music. 

The HERA mission three crew entered the habitat on August 9

Their mission was unique in that it included the more detailed assignments designed to closely replicate the living and working experience on Mars, including growing hydroponic plants

The volunteers also grew shrimp, deployed a small satellite, conducted a virtual 'walk' across the surface of Mars and flew simulated drones over Martian terrain

On Monday afternoon, the crew finally emerged from their tiny habitat, marking the end of their mission. 

'Following our safe passage to Mars, and our safe return to Earth, as the crew of Campaign 7, Mission 3, we hereby officially transfer this exploration vessel to the flight analogs operations team,' said Kent upon exiting HERA.

'We hope this vessel continues to serve as a safe home for future HERA crews,' he added. 

NASA also runs another, bigger simulated Mars habitat called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA. This 1,700-square-foot is large enough to sustain volunteers for up to a year. 

The first CHAPEA volunteer crew emerged from their habitat in July. 

If you think you have what it takes to spend weeks inside cramped Mars simulation, NASA is actively seeking non-smoking volunteers between the ages of 30 and 55 for the next HERA mission. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

{ https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/ }

There’s Water All Over the Moon

When you look at the Moon, you don’t see any water on its surface. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any. In fact, there’s a lot of “wetness” on the Moon, but it’s in places and forms we can’t see. Understanding where all those resources are is the subject of a study based on NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) data taken from aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

The analysis performed by a team led by Planetary Science Institute senior scientist Roger Clark shows that there are many sources of water and a group of chemicals called “hydroxyls” (OH). Water lies hidden in ice deposits in shaded areas, and inside enriched rocks.

Image showing the distribution of surface ice (which could supply water) at the Moon’s south pole (left) and north pole (right), detected by NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. Credits: NASA

Hydroxyls are interesting. They form as solar protons interact with electrons on the Moon’s surface. That creates hydrogen atoms which hook up with oxygen atoms found in silicates and other oxygen-bearing molecules in the lunar regolith. Together, the hydrogen and oxygen make hydroxyl molecules, which are a component of water. While it would take some work, mining those “raw materials” for water on the Moon could be a huge boost for future crewed missions, according to Clark.

“Future astronauts may be able to find water even near the equator by exploiting these water-rich areas. Previously, it was thought that only the polar region, and in particular, the deeply shadowed craters at the poles were where water could be found in abundance,” said Clark. “Knowing where water is located not only helps to understand lunar geologic history but also where astronauts may find water in the future.”

How They Identified Lunar Water Sources

Searching out sources of lunar water requires special instruments. This is where the Chandrayaan mission and NASA’s mineralogy mapper data came in handy. Clark and his team zeroed in on a set of data taken by the lander’s imaging spectrometer from 2008-2009. This infrared spectroscopy data contains the spectral fingerprints of both water and hydroxyl in sunlight reflected from the Moon’s surface. The M3 instrument dissected the light into 85 different visible and infrared “colors”. That’s how they were able to spot the distinctive hints of water and hydroxyls across much of the Moon.

The team also looked at the location and geologic contexts of water and hydroxyl distribution. They also had to take into account the “lifetime” of these resources on the Moon. Interestingly, water gets slowly destroyed over time. Hydroxyl, however, lasts much longer. So, for example, if a crater smacks into the lunar surface, the “wet” rocks it “digs up” will lose that content over time through the action of the solar wind. The result is a diffuse layer or “aura” of hydroxyls that remain behind. In other places, solar wind protons that collide with the surface contribute to a thin layer or “patina” of hydroxyls on the surface. The hydroxyls last much longer and exist on the Moon up to millions of years.

“Putting all the evidence together, we see a lunar surface with complex geology with significant water in the sub-surface and a surface layer of hydroxyl. Both cratering and volcanic activity bring water-rich materials to the surface, and both are observed in the lunar data,” Clark said.

Using Precious Lunar Resources

Lunar rocks may well help supply water to future visitors to the Moon. There are two kinds of rocks there. The dark mare rocks are mainly basaltic (like Hawaiian lava). The other type is the anorthosite rock. It exists in various places, including the lunar highlands. The anorthosites are relatively “wet” while the basalts remain very dry. The two rock types also contain hydroxyls bonded to different minerals.

The water-rich anorthosites should be a target for harvesting by lunar astronauts. To get a good supply, you have to heat the rocks and soils. The result of that process could be a long-lasting water supply. You could also get it by using methods to create chemical reactions that liberate hydroxyl and combine four hydroxyls to create oxygen and water.

Of course, a more immediate source lies at the poles. That’s where ice lies hidden inside shaded crater walls or under the surface, preserved for millions of years. That source is likely more easily harvested, but you still have to transport the water to other lunar regions. The downsides of getting water from rocks are the expense and the energy required to heat them for extraction. NASA and other agencies (such as the Chinese space agency) are looking at all the methods of producing supplies for upcoming missions. Studying the locations of ice deposits and hydroxyls is just one part of a larger “search for water” that will benefit future lunar bases.

For More Information

• Sources of Water and Hydroxyl are Widespread on the Moon
• The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

From Frozen to Sweltering: Earth’s Climate Over the Last 485 Million Years

“This research illustrates clearly that carbon dioxide is the dominant control on global temperatures across geological time.”

Jessica Tierney, University of Arizona

The new historical temperature comes from an effort named PhanDA, which stands for Phanerozoic Data Assimilation. PhanDA combined data from climate models with data from geology to determine how the climate has changed over the last nearly 500 million years. The Phanerozoic is Earth’s current geological eon, and it started 538.8 million years ago. It’s known for the proliferation of life, and its beginning is marked by the appearance of the hard shells of animals in the fossil record.

PhanDA is a mix of data and prior simulations by the scientific community. “This approach leverages the strengths of both proxies and models as sources of information, providing an innovative way to explore the temporal and spatial patterns in Earth’s climate across the Phanerozoic,” the researchers write in their paper. It allowed the researchers to reconstruct the climate more thoroughly.

“This method was originally developed for weather forecasting,” said Judd. “Instead of using it to forecast future weather, here we’re using it to hindcast ancient climates.”

We’re blowing by atmospheric carbon benchmarks, and the Earth is warming. We’re now at over 420 ppm of CO₂. The best way to understand what’s coming our way is by looking at the past.

“If you’re studying the past couple of million years, you won’t find anything that looks like what we expect in 2100 or 2500,” said co-author Scott Wing, the curator of paleobotany at the National Museum of Natural History. Wing’s research focuses on the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, a period of dramatic global warming 55 million years ago. “You need to go back even further to periods when the Earth was really warm, because that’s the only way we’re going to get a better understanding of how the climate might change in the future.”

During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a massive amount of carbon was emitted into the atmosphere and the oceans. The Earth’s temperature reacted swiftly, warming by between five and eight degrees Celsius in only a few thousand years. While a few thousand years might seem long compared to a human lifetime, it’s nearly instantaneous for the climate of an entire planet. It likely triggered the massive extinction of between 35% to 50% of benthic life. Fossils show that during this time, sub-tropical planets grew in the polar regions.

Many scientists think the PETM is the best analogue for what we’re facing today. No matter what we do with our emissions in the next several decades, much of the carbon humanity has released into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution will persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years.

PhanDA illustrates the unbreakable link between carbon and global warming. According to co-author Jessica Tierney, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona, the link between the climate and carbon is undeniable. “This research illustrates clearly that carbon dioxide is the dominant control on global temperatures across geological time,” said Tierney. “When CO₂ is low, the temperature is cold; when CO₂ is high, the temperature is warm.”

While proof of the link between climate and carbon isn’t new, this long timeframe drives it home. “The consistency of this relationship is surprising because, on this timescale, we expect solar luminosity to influence climate,” the authors write. “We hypothesize that changes in planetary albedo and other greenhouse gases (e.g., methane) helped compensate for the increasing solar luminosity through time.”

Overall, Earth’s global mean surface temperature (GMST) ranged from 11° to 36°C during the Phanerozoic, a larger range than previously thought. It also shows that greenhouse climates were hotter than thought. The largest temperature swings were in the high latitudes, but tropical temperatures ranged from 22 C to 42 C. This goes against the idea that the tropics have a fixed upper limit and shows that life must have evolved to survive in those higher temperatures.

The research also shows that our current climate is actually cooler than the climate through most of the Phanerozoic. Technically, Earth is in an ice age right now, though the ice is receding and has been for thousands of years. Earth’s current GMST is 15 Celsius, lower than during most of the Phanerozoic.

But while that may sound comforting, it’s not. It’s the rate of change in the GMST that’s dangerous. Our GHG emissions are warming the planet faster than at any time during the Phanerozoic.

“Humans, and the species we share the planet with, are adapted to a cold climate,” Tierney said. “Rapidly putting us all into a warmer climate is a dangerous thing to do.”

While PhanDA is generally in agreement with previous climate reconstructions, it deviates in some ways. For example, cold climate periods don’t always coincide with glaciation and ice ages. Earth’s surface is ever-changing, and that can make some conclusions difficult to reach. “Many of the traditional glacial indicators can have nonglacial origins, complicating the interpretation of the rock record, and limited outcrop of older rocks and poor age control can make it difficult to discern between isolated alpine glaciers and widespread ice sheets,” the authors explain.

But that doesn’t take much away from PhanDA. It strengthens our understanding of climate and carbon.

Shockingly, the work suggests that Earth’s climate is even more sensitive to CO₂ than some current models show.

“PhanDA GMST exhibits a strong relationship with atmospheric CO2 concentrations, demonstrating that CO₂ has been the dominant force controlling global climate variations across the Phanerozoic,” the authors write in their conclusion.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Shape-Shifting Robots Mimic Muscle Movements

Researchers have developed a set of hexagon-shaped robotic components that can be snapped together into larger and larger structures. Each one of the component hexagons is made of rigid plates that serve as its exoskeleton. Driven by electricity, the plates can change their shape, shifting from long and narrow to wide and flat at high speed. The combined structures are capable of jumping four times their own body height, then can shape-shift to roll extremely fast, or use multimodal actuation to crawl through confined spaces.

The robotic components were developed at the Max-Planck-Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS). The modules are made of six lightweight rigid plates made from glass fiber that form a hexagon. Magnets embedded into the plates allows for quick connection to other components as well as providing a shared electrical ground between the modules.

Individual HEXEL modules combine soft artificial muscles with rigid components for fast and large motions. Credit: Zachary Yoder / MPI-IS Ellen Rumley / MPI-IS

The design team integrated artificial “muscles” into the inner joints of the hexagons, called hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) muscles. Applying a high voltage to the module causes the muscle to activate, rotating the joints of the hexagon and changing its shape from long and narrow to wide and flat.

“Combining soft and rigid components in this way enables high strokes and high speeds. By connecting several modules, we can create new robot geometries and repurpose them for changing needs,” said  Ellen Rumley, a visiting researcher from the University of Colorado Boulder, in a press release from MPI-IS. Rumley and Zachary Yoder, who are both Ph.D. students working in the Robotic Materials Department, are co-first authors of a new paper, “Hexagonal electrohydraulic modules for rapidly reconfigurable high-speed robots,” published in Science Robotics.

The modules are reconfigurable, with an easy process of attaching or detaching the modules. Chains of modules can be rapidly connected and can operate from one voltage source. The modules can each have their own behaviors, which allows for various operations.

The team created a video to show the various configurations and behaviors that can be created with HEXEL modules. The modules can be seen rolling, dancing, jumping, crawling, and many other motions.  

“In general, it makes a lot of sense to develop robots with reconfigurable capabilities,” said Yoder. “It’s a sustainable design option – instead of buying five different robots for five different purposes, we can build many different robots by using the same components. Robots made from reconfigurable modules could be rearranged on demand to provide more versatility than specialized systems, which could be beneficial in resource-limited environments.”

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

A New Rover Design Could Crawl Across the Moon for Decades Harvesting Water

We have known that water ice exists on the Moon since 1998. These large deposits are found in the permanently shadowed craters around the polar region. The challenge is how to get it since shadowed craters are not the best place for solar powered vehicles to operate. A team of engineers have identified a design for an ice-mining vehicle powered by americium-241. With a half-life of 432 years, this element is an ideal power source for a vehicle to operate in the dark for several decades. 

Ice in the polar regions of the Moon is of vital importance for our future space explorations, not just lunar visits but as we stretch our legs in the Solar System. Its thought to be ancient material deposited by comets or formed by interactions with solar wind. It is expensive to take materials to the Moon so harvesting on site is far more efficient. Ice on the Moon can provide drinking water, oxygen for breaking and even hydrogen for rocket fuel. Surveys suggest something in the region of 600 billion kilograms of ice deposited at the lunar poles. 

Exposed water ice (green or blue dots) in lunar polar regions and temperature. Credit: Shuai Li

The challenge facing future lunar harvesting missions is that operations in the permanently  shadowed regions (or PSRs as they have been called) cannot be powered by solar panels as is often the case. The environment is cold too, in the region of 40K, that’s -233?C and at those temperatures special power considerations are required. 

A team of researchers have been exploring the use of Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) to provide thermal and electrical power systems. These power systems have been used before during deep space missions for example Voyager and New Horizons. They work by generating electricity using the heat that is released from the natural decay of a radioactive isotope usually plutonium-238.

The team led by Marzio Mazzotti from the University of Leicester have explored an ice-mining rover using power generated by the radio activate decay fo Americium-241. It has a half-life of 432 years which means it takes 432 years for half of a sample of Americium to decay. During this time, half of the atoms in the substance will transform into a different element. Using this power source will provide a stable power supply for an ice-mining rover in the darkness of the lunar polar craters for decades.

Using a radioisotope power system is not new however the team came upon the idea that the excess heat that is not used can be used to thermally mine ice from samples of lunar material. The rover would be fitted with a sublimation plate that would turn any ice deposits into a gas which would be collected in a cold trap.

The team developed a model of its Thermal Management System and tested it for icy regolith (the fine dusty lunar surface) material with a water ice content of 0-10 vol %. Their simulations showed that it is possible to mine ice using thermal techniques in the PSR of the Moon using an RPS (I had to really concentrate writing that sentence!) powered lunar rover. 

Source : 

• Ice-Mining Lunar Rover using Americium-241 Radioisotope Power Systems

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

• This new map of the Milky Way contains 10 times more objects than ever before 
• It reveals details of our galaxy's core which had been previously hidden 

By Wiliam Hunter

From the violent births of newborn stars to the hidden mysteries of the galactic core, these new images show the Milky Way as you've never seen it before.

After 13 years of observations, scientists have now revealed the most detailed map of our galaxy ever made.

Using infrared light, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) peered through the dust and gas which normally hides the centre of the galaxy.

Their vast survey shows 1.5 billion moons, stars, and planets and covers an area of sky equivalent to 8,600 full moons.

Lead researcher Dante Minniti, of the Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile, says: 'We made so many discoveries, we have changed the view of our Galaxy forever.'

Researchers have created the most detailed map of the Milky Way ever created, capturing stunning images of the 1.5 billion stars, planets, and moons captured by the survey

This latest map covers an area equivalent to 8,600 full moons. This diagram shows the area covered by the latest survey covered by the map. The red regions show areas covered by the previous largest observation project 

Over 420 nights of observation, the ESO's VISTA telescope scanned the same regions of the sky to build up an enormously detailed map of the faintest objects.

The researchers' efforts have resulted in the largest map of our galaxy ever made.

This new map, known as the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea extended (VVVX), is composed of over 200,000 individual images taken between 2010 and 2023.

With 1.5 billion objects recorded, the VVVX contains about 10 times more objects than the previous biggest map released in 2012.

The resulting dataset is so vast that it contains 500 terabytes of data - roughly equivalent to 124,000 high-definition movies.

Images released by the researchers reveal bright glowing nebulas and vast clusters of stars.

Using an infrared telescope, the researchers were able to observe features such formation of new stars. This image shows a stellar nursery called NGC 6357 where hot young stars are formed out of gas 

Since infrared light passes through gas and dust these images reveal more details of galactic processes. This image shows a pair of newly forming stars 22,000 and 9,000 lightyears away from us

In one image, the VVVX captures a pair of stunning nebulas, called NGC 3603 and NGC 3576, which are 22,000 and 9,000 lightyears from Earth respectively.

Inside these distant clouds of gas, researchers can see the intense forces which give birth to new stars.

At the other end of the cosmic spectrum, another image shows Messier 22, a cluster of extremely old stars located 10,000 lightyears from Earth.

These distant groups of stars are among some of the oldest objects in the galaxy.

Dr Minniti told MailOnline that the survey also revealed a number of unknown objects known by the researchers as WIT - standing for 'What is this?'

While these images are beautiful, the depth and detail of this new map also give researchers a window into the inner workings of the Milky Way.

The map also reveals some of the oldest objects in the Galaxy such as the globular cluster Messier 22 (pictured) which is 10,000 lightyears from Earth 

These images are not just pretty but also provide astronomers with the basis for future research into the most difficult-to-observe regions of the Milky Way. Pictured: The NGC 6188 Firebird Nebula 

Dr Minniti says: 'We have a much clearer picture of the inner and far regions of the Milky Way disk now, that help us to understand how our Galaxy was assembled and how it evolved with time.'

The dataset is so large that the researchers have not yet finished inspecting all of the new discoveries.

However, the team hope that their observations will lay the basis for the work of future astronomers.

Co-lead author Dr Philip Lucas, an astronomer at the University of Hertfordshire, told MailOnline: 'The map will become the international standard for studying the southern Milky Way in decades to come.'

The new map's biggest advantage is that it allows astronomers to look into regions of the galaxy normally hidden by most telescopes.

Infrared light lets the researchers look into the core of the galaxy which is normally obscured by gas and dust. Pictured: The Omega Nebula, 5,5000 lightyears from Earth 

This photo compares an image of the Carina Nebula from the new map (top) with an image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope 

Light in the visible spectrum is blocked by the clouds of gas and dust which populate the Milky Way but infrared light passes through these obstructions.

By tracking these objects in the core over such a long time, the researchers were able to chart how they moved and build up a 3D map of the galaxy's innermost regions.

Dr Lucas says that this allows researchers to observe objects such as a new type of elderly giant star nicknamed an 'old smoker' in ways that have not been possible before.

These ancient stars can sit quietly for decades before unexpectedly producing clouds of smoke.

Dr Lucas says: 'Their strange behaviour is a good old fashioned astrophysical mystery.'

However, the infrared imaging from VVVX map can provide new data about these elusive objects.

Infrared imaging also allowed the researchers to spot extremely cold objects like free-floating planets which don't orbit any star or burned-out stars called brown dwarfs.

The researchers are now preparing to upgrade the VISTA telescope with new instruments so they can gather more spectral data about the 1.5 billion objects surveyed.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Key takeaways

Wetenschappers hebben onlangs een laboratoriumexperiment uitgevoerd waarbij het gebruik van kernwapens om een asteroïde af te buigen werd gesimuleerd. Ze bombardeerden een kleine “schijnasteroïde” ter grootte van een knikker met röntgenstralen die werden gegenereerd door ’s werelds krachtigste röntgenapparaat in Sandia National Laboratories.

De röntgenstralen verdampten het oppervlak van de nagebouwde asteroïde en stuwden hem de andere kant op, waardoor hij in feite een raketmotor werd. De namaakasteroïde bereikte snelheden van 250 kilometer per uur, vergelijkbaar met een hogesnelheidstrein. Dit experiment was het eerste dat voorspellingen bevestigde over hoe röntgenstraling een asteroïde zou beïnvloeden.

Begrijpen van de afbuiging van een asteroïde

Dit concept bouwt voort op het succes van NASA’s DART-missie in 2022, waarbij een ruimtevaartuig met succes een grote asteroïde uit koers bracht. Voor grotere asteroïden, zoals asteroïden die massale uitsterving kunnen veroorzaken, is het misschien niet voldoende om er gewoon een ruimtevaartuig tegenaan te laten knallen.

De theorie suggereert dat een kernexplosie het oppervlak van een asteroïde zou kunnen verdampen, waardoor het van de baan van de aarde wordt geduwd. Deze methode is gebaseerd op het feit dat een groot deel van de energie van een kernexplosie vrijkomt in de vorm van röntgenstraling, die zeer effectief is in het verdampen van materie in de ruimte.

Uitdagingen en implicaties

Hoewel dit concept veelbelovend is, zijn er nog steeds belangrijke uitdagingen te overwinnen. Wetenschappers moeten de verschillende samenstellingen van asteroïden begrijpen en strategieën ontwikkelen om een kernwapen effectief in te zetten zonder de aarde in gevaar te brengen. Het succes van zo’n missie is afhankelijk van het ruim van tevoren detecteren van potentiële bedreigingen, zodat er voldoende tijd is voor planning en uitvoering.

De onderzoekers schatten dat röntgenstraling van een kernwapen van één megaton een asteroïde tot vier kilometer breed zou kunnen afbuigen, ervan uitgaande dat er voldoende voorbereidingstijd is. Hoewel de schaal van een echte missie met een nucleair apparaat ontmoedigend is, biedt dit onderzoek waardevolle inzichten in de potentiële effectiviteit van het gebruik van kernenergie om de aarde te beschermen tegen verwoestende inslagen van asteroïden.

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

EXCLUSIVE / Ex-military official reveals what the US Air Force REALLY shot down during UFO encounter over Alaska

• READ MORE: US Senate Armed Services Committee will hold new UFO hearings

By Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

A tantalizingimage of a UFO shot down by the US Air Force last year has left public speculation rife over what the horseshoe-shaped white visage actually depicts.

Some have compared it to the silvery, chevron-shaped crafts first reported by pilot Kenneth Arnold in 1947 — the historic sighting that launched the modern era of 'flying saucer' cases.

Others have compared it ominously to the alien 'engineer' spacecraft in the Ridley Scott's 2012 sci-fi horror film 'Prometheus.'

But DailyMail.com has spoken to a former officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), who has discussed the case with three active-duty members of the operational staff directly involved in this February 11, 2023 UFO shootdown.

Canada has released the first-ever image of the UFO shot down during a chase above Alaska and the Yukon initiated during the Chinese spy balloon drama of February 2023 (above)

Some have compared the UFO ominously to the alien 'engineer' spacecraft in the Ridley Scott's 2012 sci-fi horror film 'Prometheus'

According to this source, retired RCAF warrant officer Rocky Swanson, the military officers involved said the object was difficult to track.

But once they got close, they could 'very clearly' see it was a balloon, similar to the Chinese spy craft shot down days before this encounter. 

'I've spoken to three different folks that were involved in that particular event,' Swanson told DailyMail.com, 'and their stories are all the same.'

'For the most part, you're staring at a white object in a white sky, right? And so they are looking for this thing — and it's small — and they're having a hard time tracking it, because there's not a lot to track.'

'They're flying in an extraordinarily remote area,' he continued, 'trying to look for basically a needle in a stack of needles, you know?'

From his conversations with military personnel involved in the case, he believes that the image depicts the underside of a aerial platform not dissimilar from the larger Chinese spy balloon with its intelligence-collecting package hanging beneath it.  

'The round shape that you're seeing, you know, if it was three dimensional, you would see that it's a balloon,' he said. 

The apparent dark regions that give the UFO its 'Pac-Man'-like shape, he said, were caused by this package and its 'shadow.' 

'There's nobody that got excited about that event within the military,' Swanson said. 'It's not thought of as a big deal [...] It's legitimately a balloon.'

Two F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets from US Air Force Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska had been dispatched to intercept the UFO last February.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said at the time: 'As the object crossed into Canadian airspace, Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft [joined] the formation to further assess the object.'

The odd pic shows a seemingly circular white object that had been shot down by a US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in a joint mission with the Canadian Armed Forces. Above, another USAF F-22 Raptor during an air show over Toronto, Canada on August 31, 2024

At approximately 3:41 pm Eastern time, in the bitterly cold subarctic climate over Mayo, Yukon, one of these F-22 Raptors successfully blasted the UFO out of the sky with an an AIM 9X 'sidewinder' missile.

Curiously, redacted documents released by the Canadian government along with the new UFO image show that it was designated as 'unclassified' within just days of this now 19-month-old UFO incident. 

And yet, Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) did not release it until now.

Swanson believes that Canadian DND officials withheld the grainy images because the UFO it depicted looks more otherworldly than the object really was. 

'I can understand why they wouldn't want to put that out, because I would be like, "Oh, God. What are we going to do with that?"' he said in a telephone interview.

Military aircraft fly towards UFO wreckage that was believed to have landed in remote Alaska in an incident just days before the February 11, 2023 UFO shoot-down over the nearby Yukon territory. All told, four objects were downed during that month's Chinese spy balloon drama

Above, a timeline of the UFO shoot-downs which took place over eight days of February 2023. One unusual feature of the newly released UFO photo, per military records, is that it had already been designated 'unclassified' within just days of these 19-month-old incidents

The episode was one of four UFO shootdowns that occurred in rapid succession that month, beginning with the confirmed downing of an authentic Chinese-government spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina's Myrtle Beach on Feb. 4.

The new image depicts one of the three objects that met the same fate between Feb. 10 and 12 of that year over Alaska, Lake Huron on the border of Michigan, and Canada's Yukon territory.

All three of these objects were reportedly much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that splashed down near Myrtle Beach days earlier. 

That object, the only confirmed Chinese spy balloon of the four shot down, per Pentagon reports, carried a payload of spy sensors approximately the size of a bus via a balloon that was bigger than Disney's famous geodesic sphere at Epcot Center.

Swanson told DailyMail.com that his three military sources would not come forward publicly: 'These are currently serving members of the military. So, they're not going to be willing to come out. They can't.'

'What I'm willing to say is they're operational staff,' he added. 'They are flight crew is what I'll say.'

A possible reason, as one public affairs official with Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) warned colleagues, was the Canadian military's own internal fears that releasing this UFO image 'may create more questions/confusion'

Above, a US Air Force pilot looks down at the first, alleged Chinese spy balloon as it glided over Montana on February 3, 2023. Unlike the smaller UFOs shot down later that month, this device was massive - its balloon was reportedly bigger than Disney's geodesic sphere at Epcot Center

Some on social media (above) have compared this new 'Pac-Man' UFO photo to the silvery, chevron-shaped crafts first reported by pilot Kenneth Arnold in 1947 - the historic sighting that launched the modern era of 'flying saucers'

But their anonymity will likely do little to dampen the speculation and mistrust of both the Canadian and US government's official account of these UFO intercepts, which continues to pervade the general public. 

The new UFO photo, obtained by CTVNews.ca reporter Daniel Otis via an open records law request, also included efforts by members of Canada's own armed forces to better understand the craft that had been shot down.

Some of the Canadian military's written descriptions of the UFO appear to be at odds with statements suggesting that it was a simple balloon. 

One email from Canadian Brigadier-General Eric Laforest described the UFO as a 'cylindrical object.'

'Top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended,' Brig. Gen. Laforest wrote. 'Best description that we have.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

The first ever photo of the 'cylindrical UFO' has been released by Canada 19 months after a US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter shot it down, while conspiracy theories blaze

The object was described as 'cylindrical' by military figures 

(Image: Department of National Defence Canada)

Canadian officials have released the first pictures of the “cylindrical” UFO shot down over Alaska in February 2023.

The grainy photo shows what appears to be a circular white object, which was shot down by a US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter while working with the Canadian military last year.

Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) claimed the reason for the lengthy 19-month delay between footage and incident was that releasing the image “may create more questions/confusion”.

READ MORE: 

• 'Spectacular' UFO footage captured in Mexico is 'proof that alien races exist'

There's lots of quality news coming out of the US.

Taylor Paxton, director of e-communications for Canadian DND, said in an email the confusion would be inevitable “given the current public environment and statements related to the object being benign”.

Last year US military shot down the UFO 

(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Obtained by CTVNews.ca, the emails mention descriptions of the UFO from Canada’s armed forces.

“Top quarter is metallic, the remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended,” Canadian Brigadier-General Eric Laforest wrote. “Best description that we have.”

Laforest went on to dub the object “cylindrical”.

The original sighting of the UFO came hot off the heels after the US military confirmed the shooting down of a “Chinese spy-balloon” reportedly as big as three buses over the same stretch of land.

US officials said at the time the balloon had almost certainly been flying over sensitive sites to collect information about them.

Iain Boyd, professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado, spoke to CTVNews.ca about the Canadian government’s reluctance to release the image as an issue of national security.

“It comes down to these episodes illustrating a potential vulnerability in the US/Canada defensive system,” Boyd said.

“Certainly the failure to provide more information has fed conspiracy theories but the military will likely accept that outcome over disclosing information that may help an adversary identify defensive weaknesses.”

READ NEXT:

• UFO 'insider' reveals how Taliban will save us from imminent alien invasion
  

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

Two Scientists Say That The Human Soul is A Type of Quantum Field

Two scientists propose that the human soul is a type of quantum field that interacts only with certain fields in the physical universe, not directly with matter, and that electromagnetic fields affect the soul and help create memories and self-awareness in a fetus or child during reincarnation.

Fields that interact with the soul field include electromagnetic waves as evidenced by near-death experiences where events that could not have been seen through the eyes of the individual are verified.

Edward W. Kamen of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Roger D. Kamen of Ferris State University propose that, since electric fields and electromagnetic fields both have quanta consisting of photons, electric fields may also interact with the so-called “soul field.”

This interaction could potentially result in the transfer of information, such as working memory content, to the soul via the electric fields generated by neural ensembles in the human brain. Furthermore, the soul field may influence neurons at the molecular level through interactions with electric fields, as well as the recently proposed mechanism of cytoelectric coupling.

The possibility of the existence of realms beyond the physical universe is now accepted by many cosmologists who subscribe to the eternal inflation theory of multiple universes.

However, the existence of the multiverse does not provide an explanation for where souls might reside. The key point is that other domains outside our universe may exist. Although the laws of physics likely vary from universe to universe in the multiverse scenario, it is conceivable that quantum fields and quanta (discrete packets of energy) underlie the existence of every universe in the multiverse, as they do in our own. [Source]

The study says if human souls exist, they come from a different realm and return there after the body dies. In this realm, the usual laws of physics might not apply, but there could be similarities to our physical universe. It introduces the concept of “quasi-fields,” which are similar to quantum fields in our universe but exist in the domain of the soul.

These quasi-fields may give rise to massless particles, similar to how quantum fields produce massless particles like photons in the physical world.

Researchers suggest that if there’s no Higgs-like field in the soul realm, then everything there would be massless. It also notes that while many discussions about the soul view it as a fothe “soul field” is expected to have specific values or strengths related to the energy and particles that make it up. However, these values might be impossible to measure directly with any devices. The soul field’s values would depend on the physical space and time because the soul exists in a body while it’s alive. Additionally, the soul field might also involve different types of space and time when it exists in a separate, non-physical realm. This implies that there is a kind of space in the soul domain, allowing for movement and the passage of time, rather than everything happening instantly of spiritual energy, this idea alone doesn’t fully explain its nature.

Ultimately, it proposes that the human soul can be understood as a type of quantum field (quasi-field) that shares some properties with the quantum fields we know in our universe. This perspective is somewhat different from previous discussions in the literature on the topic.

The “soul field” is expected to have specific values or strengths related to the energy and particles that make it up. However, these values might be impossible to measure directly with any devices.

The soul field’s values would depend on the physical space and time because the soul exists in a body while it’s alive. Additionally, the soul field might also involve different types of space and time when it exists in a separate, non-physical realm. This implies that there is a kind of space in the soul domain, allowing for movement and the passage of time, rather than everything happening instantly.

The interaction between the soul and matter, focusing on ideas from quantum field theory (QFT). It mentions a question raised by physicist Sean Carroll about how the soul interacts with matter, specifically electrons. Carroll suggests that if the soul interacts with electrons, there should be a part in the Dirac equation that describes this interaction, but no evidence supports this. [Source

The conclusion drawn is that either QFT is incorrect or the soul does not exist. To resolve this, the text proposes that the soul does not directly interact with matter like electrons or other particles with mass (like quarks). Instead, the soul interacts with specific fields in the universe, particularly electromagnetic (EM) waves.

Evidence for this interaction comes from near-death experiences (NDEs), where individuals report seeing events that they couldn’t have seen physically, but these events are confirmed by others present. The text suggests that the soul can sense and process EM waves, likely through interactions with photons (light particles) that impact the soul field. This is compared to how humans perceive light through electrons in the eye, but how the soul processes this information to achieve vision remains uncertain.

Read also:

• This Woman Nearly Died & Found Humans Are a Temporary Symbiosis Between TWO Beings: One Mortal, One Immortal. Death Does Not Exist, Only Transition
• This Professor Claimed That Out of 225 Cases Studying Reincarnation, 75 Had Birthmarks Corresponding with Past Life Memories.
• This Salt Lake City Tech CEO Found Dead After Eerie Calls: ‘It’s All a Game… We’re in the Matrix’

A verified account of a near-death experience (NDE) was reported in the case of a female physician Bettina Peyton whose heart stopped during surgery. Despite her eyes being taped shut, she described seeing a white-haired senior doctor in scrubs entering the operating room and working on her. This event was later confirmed to have actually happened. [Source]

Her description of the experience, where she seems to view the situation from outside her body, suggests that the soul might behave like a “floating cortex” after it separates from the physical body. When someone goes through a near-death experience, they report being able to hear conversations around them, which raises questions about how this is possible if their heart has stopped.

One idea is that, even though the heart isn’t beating, the cells responsible for hearing can still work for a short time. These cells can send electrical signals through the auditory nerve to the brain, which the soul can interpret as sounds.

The study describes how electric fields created by brain activity can contain information, including memories. If the soul can pick up on these electric fields, then memories might continue to exist after death, moving with the soul. This suggests that memories don’t just disappear when someone dies.[Source]

Furthermore, the connection between the soul and these electric fields might work both ways. Not only can electric fields affect the soul, but the soul might also influence brain activity. This could play a role in how memories and self-awareness are transferred to a new body during reincarnation.

Scientists know that the brain’s electric fields can affect nearby neurons, which might mean the soul field could impact how neurons work as well. [Source]

However, if the soul does interact with electric fields in the body, it’s tricky to measure this interaction. This means proving the existence of the soul through its effects on these fields might be impossible.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

De Aarde had ook zijn planetaire ringen, net als Saturnus: dat stelt een onderzoek

door Janine

Kevin M. Gill/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 2.0

We kennen allemaal Saturnus, een van de meest iconische planeten in het zonnestelsel vanwege zijn spectaculaire planetaire ringen. Natuurlijk hebben Uranus en Neptunus ook iets dergelijks, en hetzelfde kan gezegd worden van Jupiter, maar deze structuren hebben niet dezelfde charme. Onlangs is er echter een onderzoek gedaan dat suggereert dat ook de aarde zo'n 460 miljoen jaar geleden haar eigen ringenstelsel kan hebben gehad. Laten we eens kijken hoe dit mogelijk is!

Had de Aarde ook planetaire ringen?

Een team onderzoekers van de Monash University in Melbourne stelt deze hypothese voor in een studie die is gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Earth and Planetary Science Letters. De wetenschappers analyseerden inslagkraters die werden gecreëerd door asteroïden tijdens het Ordovicium, tussen 485 en 443 miljoen jaar geleden. Het probleem is dit: er werden 21 kraters geïdentificeerd die zich binnen 30 graden van de evenaar bevonden, maar de verdeling is te afwijkend om in traditionele theorieën te passen. Kortom, waarom zijn alle kraters geconcentreerd in deze gordel als meer dan tweederde van de aardkorst daarbuiten ligt?

Volgens de onderzoekers is het antwoord duidelijk: zo'n 460 miljoen jaar geleden zou een grote asteroïde de aarde hebben benaderd tot hij de limiet van Roche passeerde, waarna hij werd beïnvloed door getijdenkrachten. Als gevolg daarvan zou de asteroïde zijn gaan fragmenteren en deze fragmenten zouden hebben geholpen bij het vormen van een ring van puin rond de aarde. Net als bij Saturnus en andere gasreuzen.

Planeetringen en ijstijden

Oliver Hull/Monash University

Wat is het verband tussen de vorming van planetaire ringen en de concentratie inslagkraters die Australische onderzoekers hebben ontdekt? Simpel: na de vorming zouden de brokstukken die de ring vormden in de loop van miljoenen jaren beetje bij beetje op de aarde zijn gevallen en zo de piek in kraters hebben veroorzaakt. Maar dat is nog niet alles, want de studie probeerde ook bewijs te vinden voor de klimatologische gevolgen die een ringsysteem zeker zou hebben gehad op de aarde.

Vanuit dit perspectief zouden de planetaire ringen een deel van het zonlicht hebben kunnen tegenhouden en hebben bijgedragen aan de wereldwijde afkoeling. En in feite vindt precies aan het einde van het Ordovicium de Hirnatien-ijstijd plaats, die wordt beschouwd als een van de koudste periodes van de afgelopen 500 miljoen jaar. Bovendien is het deze ijstijd die de massa-uitsterving in het Ordovicium veroorzaakte, de eerste van de vijf grote massa-uitstervingen in de geschiedenis van de aarde. Gebeurde dit allemaal door 'onze' planeetringen?

Perspectieven van het onderzoek

De ontdekking door Australische onderzoekers kan veel bredere gevolgen hebben dan verwacht. In de praktijk gaat het niet alleen om het idee dat de Aarde ook een eigen planetair ringenstelsel kan hebben gehad, maar om overwegingen van complexere aard:

•  ten eerste, wat er in het laatste deel van het Ordovicium gebeurde, zou ook gebeurd kunnen zijn in de 4 miljard jaar van de vorige geschiedenis van de Aarde;
• ten tweede kan de vorming en het daaropvolgende verval van een planetaire ring belangrijke gevolgen hebben gehad voor het klimaat op aarde;
• ten slotte spelen astronomische gebeurtenissen, waaronder de vorming van planeetringen, een veel belangrijkere rol in de geschiedenis van een planeet dan verwacht.

Kortom, als de hypothese van het onderzoek gegrond blijkt te zijn, staan we mogelijk aan het begin van een geheel nieuw onderzoeksgebied over de interactie tussen de aarde en de kosmos. Met gevolgen voor de hele evolutionaire geschiedenis van onze planeet.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

Unveiling Puerto Rico’s Astonishing USOs: Mysteries Beneath the Waves

Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island rich in culture and natural beauty, has long been a focal point for unexplained aerial and underwater phenomena. The island’s unique geographical features, particularly the Puerto Rico Trench—the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean—have made it a hotspot for sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) and Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs). Recent discussions and documentaries have shed light on this intriguing aspect of Puerto Rico, revealing a tapestry of eyewitness accounts, military involvement, and potential extraterrestrial activity.

The Aguadilla 2013 Incident: A Landmark Case

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence comes from the 2013 Aguadilla incident. An object was captured on thermal imaging cameras by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) aircraft near Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla. The footage shows a spherical object exhibiting transmedium capabilities—moving seamlessly between air and water—without any apparent means of propulsion or disturbance to the surrounding environment.

Researchers Darcy Weir and Andy Marcial, in their documentary “Transmedium: Puerto Rico’s UFOs,” delve deep into this case. They secured an exclusive interview with the CBP agent who leaked the footage, providing unprecedented insights into the event. The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) analyzed the footage extensively, concluding that the object’s behavior defies conventional explanations and showcases technologies beyond current human capabilities.

The Mysterious Puerto Rico Trench

The Puerto Rico Trench, plunging to depths of over 27,000 feet, is speculated to be a potential hub for underwater extraterrestrial bases. Its immense depth and seclusion make it an ideal hiding place for advanced civilizations seeking to observe human activities undetected. Fishermen and locals have reported numerous instances of glowing objects entering and exiting the water near the trench, often without creating ripples or waves.

Eyewitness Accounts and Local Encounters

The island’s fishermen, who spend extensive time on the waters, have been among the most frequent witnesses of USO activity. Reports include:

• Glowing Underwater Lights: Fishermen have observed intense lights moving beneath their boats, sometimes following them or emerging from the depths to ascend into the sky.

• Transmedium Objects: Sightings of objects that transition from underwater to airborne at incredible speeds, exhibiting no signs of traditional propulsion systems.
• Humanoid Figures: Some have reported encounters with beings in or near the water that do not resemble any known marine life or human divers.

One particularly intriguing account comes from André Maldonado, a local fisherman who claims to have had multiple interactions with a non-human entity named Amaron. According to Maldonado, Amaron possesses advanced knowledge and capabilities, including extended longevity and technological prowess. These encounters have profoundly affected Maldonado, reinforcing his belief in the presence of extraterrestrial beings on the island.

Military Presence and Secrecy

Puerto Rico’s strategic location has long attracted military interest, particularly from the United States. Areas like Vieques Island have been used for military exercises and weapons testing. Witnesses have reported increased UAP and USO sightings in these areas, leading to speculation about government knowledge or involvement in these phenomena.

There are accounts of military personnel observing unexplained objects during training missions, as well as reports of restricted areas following alleged crash events. Some locals believe that certain parts of the island, including the El Yunque National Forest, may be sites of clandestine operations involving extraterrestrial technology or entities.

Cultural Impact and Ongoing Research

The frequency of these sightings has woven the phenomena into the fabric of Puerto Rican culture. Many residents accept the existence of UAPs and USOs as part of their reality, often sharing stories passed down through generations.

Researchers like Jorge Martín, a prominent Puerto Rican UFO investigator, have dedicated decades to collecting and analyzing reports from witnesses. His work, along with documentaries like Weir and Marcial’s, aims to bring global attention to the island’s unexplained activities.

VIDEO:

• Puerto Rico’s ASTONISHING USOs – Richard Dolan Show
• https://youtu.be/RxC16IxJY1c

Puerto Rico’s USO phenomena present a compelling case for the existence of advanced, non-human technology operating in our oceans and skies. The combination of credible eyewitness accounts, military-grade footage, and the island’s unique geography creates a rich field for investigation. As interest in UAPs and USOs grows worldwide, Puerto Rico stands out as a key location for understanding these mysterious occurrences. Continued research and open dialogue are essential in unraveling the secrets that lie beneath the waves and beyond our current understanding.

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

Earth will be blasted by a geomagnetic storm TOMORROW - here's what to brace for

• READ MORE: NASA discovers invisible electric field surrounding Earth

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

A geomagnetic storm is expected to blast Earth tomorrow after the sun fired a plume of plasma and high-energy particles toward our planet.

The incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) was unleashed on Sunday at 5.40pm ET when an enormous sunspot spontaneously erupted.

The spout of solar plasma is currently rocketing toward our planet at over 650,000 miles per hour and expected to reach Earth by midday Eastern Time on Wednesday (5pm UK, 2am AEST).

Earth could experience a minor geomagnetic storm by midday Wednesday

But the CME will only glance off the planet's magnetosphere, or the region of space around a planet dominated by its magnetic field. 

Normally, this slight blow wouldn't trigger a geomagnetic storm. But because it will arrive so close to the fall equinox - which occurred on Sunday - NOAA has forecasted a minor G1 storm for tomorrow.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center classifies geomagnetic storms on a scale that ranges from G1 to G5 - with G1 being 'minor' and G5 being 'extreme.'

A G5 storm can significantly disrupt infrastructure, causing power and communication blackouts across wide areas.

We won't have to worry about that with this upcoming G1 storm, however. This type of storm only has a slight risk of impacting infrastructure at high latitudes, including cellphone towers and satellites.

But it could trigger dazzling auroras along the horizon of US states on the northern border and upper Midwest states, according to NOAA. 

The G1 storm could trigger dazzling aurora in northern states on Tuesday and Wednesday night

Aurora are typically most active between 10pm and 2am, and you will want to get as far away from light pollution as possible to get a clear view

The fact that this storm is set to occur just days after the fall equinox is no coincidence.

During the weeks before and after Earth's two equinoxes, geomagnetic storms are more common.

That's because during equinoxes, the sun sits directly above Earth's equator and our planet's magnetosphere becomes aligned with the sun's magnetic field. 

During the rest of the year, they are misaligned, which means that CMEs are partially deflected by the magnetosphere and we do not experience their full impact.

But if a CME occurs while the Earth is experiencing equinox, it clashes more directly with the planet's magnetosphere and causes geomagnetic activity, even if the CME is weak or an indirect hit.

Conversely, geomagnetic storms are much less likely around the time of the solstices - when the Earth's vertical tilt toward or away from the sun is at maximum. 

Geomagnetic storms are about twice as likely around the time of equinoxes than they are around the time of solstices. 

Residents of northern states should keep an eye out for aurora Tuesday and Wednesday night. They are typically most active between 10pm and 2am, and you will want to get as far away from light pollution as possible to get a clear view. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Archaeologist uncovers painting that may prove the existence of a mythical horned serpent

•  READ MORE: Scientist cracks case of 'Pharaoh's curse' that killed dozens

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

An archaeologist has uncovered a 200-year-old rock painting that depicts an ancient, horned serpent roaming across the land. 

This discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests this mythical creature was more than just a legend. 

Julien Benoit, a senior researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, found the painting at La Belle France, a rock-art site in northern South Africa. 

It appears to show a long-bodied animal with downward-turned tusks that looks unlike any living animal in the region today. 

A rock painting and unidentified fossils discovered in South Africa may confirm the existence of a legendary 'horned serpent'

The paintings are about ten years older than the first formal scientific descriptions of this horned serpent, which were made in 1845

Analysis revealed that they were made between 1821 and 1835 by an indigenous group called the San. 

According to San legend, this creature was a 'rain animal' from the 'spirit realm,' which means it was probably involved in rain-making ceremonies, Benoit told IFLScience. 

Read More

• Lost tree from the Bible is resurrected from 1,000-year-old mystery seed 

But scientists, including Benoit, believe it's possible that this myth was based on real dicynodont fossils. 

Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of terrestrial herbivores that typically bore a pair of tusks. Hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth.' They roamed the Earth from the Middle Permian through the end of the Triassic periods. 

They likely died out during the end-Permian extinction that wiped out most other therapsids - the larger clade of terrestrial animals that Dicynodontia belongs to. 

An abundance of dicynodont fossils have been found in the Karoo Basin, a sedimentary basin that spans 60,000 square miles across the central and southern South Africa. 

La Belle France, where the painting was uncovered, is located north of the Karoo Basin. But the painting was found in the immediate vicinity of unknown tetrapod (or four-legged vertebrate) fossils.

The Horned Serpent Panel 

Benoit published his findings this month in the journal PLOS ONE.  

He thinks that a fossil discovery could have led the San to paint the horned serpent, guided by an ancient legend in which their ancestors described these creatures as 'great monstrous brutes, exceeding the elephant or hippopotamus in bulk,' he said. 

Together, the painting and nearby fossils 'suggest a case of indigenous paleontology,' Benoit wrote. Perhaps the San weren't painting a fictitious creature, but rather documenting a scientific finding. 

Benoit told IFLScience that 'many cultures explored the world of fossils before Western scientists did.' 

The rock painting was discovered at La Belle France, a rock-art site in northern South Africa

The fossils were found beneath the star in photo A, and fossils were found at the locations shown in photos B, C and D. 

'The Native Americans knew about fossils before colonization and interpreted them in various ways, some implying they knew they belonged to long-gone animals,' he said.

'The San, in southern Africa, also collected fossils, as exemplified by the Bolahla rock shelter, in which they carried a dinosaur phalanx – which may be, by the way, the first time a dinosaur bone was ever discovered,' he added. 

What's more, the painting of a dicynodont by the San would also suggest that they integrated at least some fossils into their belief system, according to the study.

'During rain-making ceremonies, the San enter a state of trance and enter the realm of the dead to catch rain-animals and bring the rain back to the world of the living,' he said.

'By picking a species such as a dicynodont, that they knew was extinct and thus dead, they likely hoped this rain-animal had some increased potency to bridge the two worlds,' he added. 

But this painting alone is not enough to officially confirm that this legendary horned serpent actually existed, or that the unidentified fossils found at La Belle France are its remains.

It will take additional research to determine whether this ancient monster was fact or fiction. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

First image released of 'cylindrical' UFO shot down by US fighter jet over Alaska in 2023

• READ MORE: Could a shot-down UFO be the infamous 'Tic Tac' caught on video?

By Matthew Phelan Senior Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

This is the first image of UFO shot down by American fighter jets during a chase near Alaska last year.

The photo shows a seemingly glowing horse shoe-shaped object with ill-defined edges over the Yukon territory in northwest Canada in February 2023.

It was shot down by a US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter on a joint mission with the Canadian Armed Forces following the now infamous Chinese spy balloon drama of February 2023.

Redacted documents show the image was designated as 'unclassified' within just days of the now 19-month-old incident, yet Canada's defense department did not release it to the public.

Canada has released the first-ever image of the UFO shot down during a chase above Alaska and the Yukon that followed the Chinese spy balloon drama of February 2023 (above)

The odd pic shows a seemingly circular white object that had been shot down by a US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in a joint mission with the Canadian Armed Forces. Above, another USAF F-22 Raptor during an air show over Toronto, Canada on August 31, 2024

A possible reason, as one public affairs official with Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) warned colleagues, was internal fears that releasing this unclassified UFO image 'may create more questions/confusion.'

This official, a director of communications named Taylor Paxton, advised military colleagues that this confusion would be inevitable 'given the current public environment and statements related to the object being benign.' 

Paxton suggested that any move by the Royal Canadian Air Force to publish the photo on social media would likely only raise more inquiries from the general public and the press 'regardless of the text that will accompany the post.' 

The craft was one of three shot down over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron between Feb 10 and 12 2023.

The three objects were reportedly much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that was grounded off the coast of South Carolina days earlier.

The new emails, obtained along with the eerie new UFO photo by CTVNews.ca reporter Daniel Otis via an open records law request, also included efforts by members of Canada's armed forces to better understand the craft that had been shot down.

One email from Canadian Brigadier-General Eric Laforest described the UFO as a 'cylindrical object.'

'Top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended,' Brig. Gen. Laforest wrote. 'Best description that we have.'

The suspected spy balloon was one of four airborne objects gunned out of the sky by the US over eight days of February 2023. One unusual feature of the newly released UFO photo is that it had already been designated 'unclassified' within just days of these 19-month-old incidents

A possible reason, as one public affairs official with Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) warned colleagues, was the Canadian military's own internal fears that releasing this UFO image 'may create more questions/confusion'

Dark portions visible along the top center of the UFO in this newly released image may depict either that upper metallic region or the remains of the alleged 'package.' 

But this release only adds more mystery to the wave of espionage-tinted UFO activity that surrounded the confirmed downing of an authentic Chinese-government spy balloon earlier that month off the coast of North Carolina's Myrtle Beach.  

Iain Boyd, a professor of aerospace engineering and director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, described the Canadian government's reticence to release the image as an issue of national security — despite the image's 'unclassified' designation. 

'It comes down to these episodes illustrating a potential vulnerability in the U.S./Canada defensive system,' Boyd opined. 

'Certainly the failure to provide more information has fed conspiracy theories,' as he told CTVNews.ca, 'but the military will likely accept that outcome over disclosing information that may help an adversary identify defensive weaknesses.' 

According to the report for CTV News, the network's journalists plan to petition the Canadian military for a higher resolution version of this UFO image.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

• The last time comet C/2023 A3 passed Earth humans were about to leave Africa
• READ MORE: Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 'came from beyond Jupiter'

By Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline 

It was last witnessed by some of the first humans to venture out of Africa 80,000 years ago. 

Now, comet C/2023 A3 – also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS – is finally making its return journey to Earth. 

The comet, which will look like a faint star-like blob with a hazy tail, should be viewable just before dawn on four consecutive mornings, from Friday to Monday.

Comet C/2023 A3 was only discovered early last year, but based on its orbital trajectory scientists estimate that it last passed Earth 80,000 years ago. 

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is currently aboard the International Space Station, posted a stunning clip of the comet from his unique vantage point.  

You can see the comet later this week by looking for the moon, which is in its waning crescent phase. The position of the comet varies in relation to the moon depending on the date

The comet not seen by humans for 80,000 years is described as looking like 'a fuzzy star with a misty tail'. It's pictured here (top right) in this stunning snap, posted as NASA's 'Astronomy Picture of the Day' on Monday

The eight-second time-lapse video clip shows the celestial object from the space station's cupola windows. 

'This comet is going to make for some really cool images as it gets closer to the sun,' Dominick said in his X post. 

Stuart Atkinson, a space enthusiast and amateur astronomer based in Cumbria, said the comet will look like 'a fuzzy star with a misty tail'. 

'It will be beneath the moon, very low in the east,' he said in an X post. 

Although it should be seen with the naked eye on both hemispheres, there's no harm having a pair of binoculars handy to increase visibility.  

According to The Sky Live, comet C/2023 A3 is 157.1 million miles away from Earth, as of 12:00 BST Tuesday. 

It is getting closer to us all the time, travelling at about 70km per second (150,000 miles per hour). 

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is currently aboard the International Space Station, posted a stunning clip of the comet from his unique vantage point

C/2023 A3 was first documented only last year by telescopes in South Africa, Chile and Hawaii as it came closer and closer to Earth 

It will reach 'perihelion' – its closest point to the sun in its 80,000 year orbit – on Friday, September 27.

Perihelion is when a comet is at its brightest and therefore most visible for Earthlings.

The comet should also be visible on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings, although its position in relation to the moon will change slightly. 

The best time to see it on these days is around 40 minutes before dawn, when it's yet to be obscured by the sun's glare.  

In the UK, 40 minutes before dawn is around 06:15 BST, meaning some morning commuters will get a chance to see it before leaving for work. 

Minjae Kim, a space expert at the University of Warwick's astronomy department, told MailOnline: 'The comet will be visible as a pre-dawn object. You can look very low in the east before sunrise.

'C/2023 A3 has an orbital period of approximately 80,000 years, classifying it as a long-period comet. 

'This means its behaviour and appearance can be unpredictable, with potential changes in brightness and tail development as it approaches the sun.

'If predictions hold, it could be visible to the naked eye, appearing as a fuzzy star with a tail stretching across the sky. 

'Otherwise, binoculars or a small telescope may reveal more detail in the comet's structure and tail.' 

For those who miss it this weekend, Dr Kim said the comet should be visible again between October 10 to October 20. 

Images of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) obtained on 2023-02-24 at remote telescopes by amateur astronomer

Comets are large objects made of dust and ice that orbit the sun. NASA describes them as 'leftovers' from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago (artist's depiction) 

Comets, nicknamed 'dirty snowballs' by astronomers, are balls of ice, dust and rocks that typically come from the ring of icy material called the Oort cloud at our solar system's outer edge. 

Surrounding a comet is a thin, gassy atmosphere filled with more ice and dust called a coma.

As they approach the sun, comets melt, releasing a stream of gas and dust blown from their surface by solar radiation and plasma and forming a cloudy, outward-facing tail.

Comets move toward the inner solar system when various gravitational forces dislodge them from the Oort cloud, becoming more visible as they venture closer to the sun's heat.

And fewer than a dozen comets are discovered each year by observatories worldwide.

Starwalk, an astronomical app for stargazing, describes comet C/2023 A3 as 'most anticipated comet of the year'. 

At the end of November, another comet, called 333P/LINEAR, should be visible with large binoculars or a small telescope. 

But it only has an orbital period of eight years – barely anything compared with comet C/2023 A3, which is truly a once-in-a-lifetime sight. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

NASA discovers mysterious 'zebra rock' on Mars that's unlike anything the space agency has seen

• READ MORE:  New map reveals hidden 'structures' below the Martian surface

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover has spotted a strange 'zebra rock' on the red planet. 

The black-and-white striped rock is unlike any rock seen on Mars before, standing out against the planet's reddish-brown surface - NASA says it could be a sign of exciting discoveries to come.

While the rover was driving across some 'unremarkable pebbly terrain,' a team of NASA scientists noticed a rock in the distance with 'hints of unusual texture,' the space agency said.

'Freya Castle' is an unusual, 'zebra-striped' rock that was recently discovered on the surface of Mars. Scientists still aren't sure exactly what it is or where it came from. 

The rover snapped photos of the rock, now dubbed 'Freya Castle,' and beamed them back to Earth a couple days later. 

'Since Freya Castle is a loose stone that is clearly different from the underlying bedrock, it has likely arrived here from someplace else,' NASA said. 

Read More

• Scientists discover a 'smiley face' on Mars - and it could contain signs of life 

Freya Castle measures roughly eight inches across, and early interpretations of its unique texture suggest that igneous and/or metamorphic processes could have created its stripes, NASA wrote in a statement.

Igneous processes are geological activities that are related to the melting, movement and cooling of magma and lava. 

Magma is molten rock that lies below the planetary surface, while lava is molten rock that is above the earth's surface. 

For a billion years, Mars was a highly volcanically active planet, which could have created the conditions necessary for the zebra rock to form.