Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
People Are Seeing U.F.O.s Everywhere, and This Book Proves It
Photo
A protest in Washington, D.C., in 1995 outside the offices of the General Accounting Office.CreditJoshua Roberts/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
SYRACUSE — Why have sightings of unidentified flying objects around the nation more than tripled since 2001? Why is July the busiest month for U.F.O. sightings? Why did they spike in Texas in 2008, or in New Mexico in September 2015?
And how in the world, or out of it, has Manhattan racked up New York State’s second-highest tally of U.F.O. sightings in this century?
These questions and many others emerge from the first comprehensive statistical summary of so-called close encounters: 121,036 eyewitness accounts, organized county by county in each state and the District of Columbia, from 2001 to 2015.
It is the reference “U.F.O. researchers dreamed of having,” Gordon G. Spear, emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at Sonoma State University in California, writes in the foreword.
The book contains no narrative or anecdotal accounts, just 371 pages of charts and graphs that slice and dice the geography and timing of the incidents and the various shapes that witnesses reported: flying circles, spheres, triangles, discs, ovals, cigars.
Many of the sightings turn out to be explainable, the authors say, but a small percentage defy resolution.
The authors are Cheryl Costa, 65, a former military technician and aerospace analyst, and her wife, Linda Miller Costa, 62, a librarian at Le Moyne College and a former librarian at the National Academy of Sciences, NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Working on PCs amid sewing tables in the upstairs parlor — the warmest room in their hundred-year-old house — the two spent weekends for the last 16 months extrapolating figures from sightings reports and laying out the graphics.
Cheryl Costa was writing New York Skies, a U.F.O. blog for The Syracuse New Times, when the Costas decided to expand their tallies of U.F.O. sightings nationwide. “We wanted to do our bit for disclosure,” she said. “It’s something the government should have been doing.”
The Costas realize some might find this a strange way to spend weekends. But both say they have spotted U.F.O.s themselves and want to detoxify the subject.
“We’re doing scientific research,” Cheryl Costa said. “What’s crazy is not being willing to look at research.”
She came to the collaboration roundabout, having served as a cable lineman in the Air Force in Vietnam, and afterward in the Navy’s submarine service, as a man before undergoing gender-reassignment surgery in the 1980s. Ordained as a Buddhist nun, she was running a theater group in Maryland when she met Linda. They wed in 2011.
U.F.O. trackers welcomed their publication.
“With this compendium, Cheryl and Linda Costa have reminded the public and the media the extraterrestrial phenomenon continues unabated,” said Stephen Bassett, founder and executive director of the Paradigm Research Group, which lobbies for disclosure of official U.F.O. records.
Photo
Cheryl Costa, left, and Linda Miller Costa, the authors of “U.F.O. Sightings Desk Reference.”CreditHeather Ainsworth for The New York Times
Rebutting a common perception that U.F.O. sightings are on the wane, the Costas’ book shows that sightings have risen in waves, to 11,868 nationwide in 2015 from 3,479 in 2001. Only a small fraction of sightings are actually reported to Mufon or Nuforc.
Their labor of love is about the numbers, just the numbers, and the Costas refrain from speculating on what exactly is happening. “We really don’t know,” Linda Costa said. “But all these people are seeing these things.”
The government officially quit the U.F.O. business in 1968, with the finding in the Condon report from the University of Colorado that there was nothing significant to investigate, although some 30 percent of the incidents were unexplained.
Science Times
We’ll bring you stories that capture the wonders of the human body, nature and the cosmos.
Mufon’s 500 volunteer investigators, however, continue to check out many of the sightings reported to the group. Roger Marsh, a Mufon spokesman, said that of the 270 cases his group investigated in Manhattan from 2002 through 2016, 44 eluded explanation and remained “unknown.”
One of the most intriguing occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 17, 2011, when a man on the roof terrace of the New Museum on the Bowery photographed a fast-moving diamond-shaped object with windows and flashing blue and red lights against the TriBeCa skyline.
According to Mufon, it resembled an unknown flying object photographed in Round Rock, Tex., two weeks earlier.
The Costas listed 426 sightings in New York County from 2001 to 2015, second in the state’s tallies only to Suffolk County, on the tip of Long Island, with 554. How so many sightings in the nation’s densest core and around its toniest beach resorts have escaped wider notoriety is just part of the mystery.
For the U.F.O. enthusiast, the pages of graphs and charts are a treasure trove of hard-to-find detail.
The District of Columbia, with 9,856 people per square mile, had the fewest sightings: 154. (A political snub from deep space?) Wyoming, with 5.8 people per square mile, had more than twice as many: 337.
Fireballs made up nearly 8 percent of the sightings in Indiana (230) and fewer than 5 percent in Colorado (157).
California, the most populous state, led the nation in U.F.O. reports (15,836, more than the next two states, Florida and Texas, combined). Los Angeles County alone had more sightings than 40 states, followed by Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix.
Population fails to explain the figures conclusively, the Costas said. Washington State, with 6.7 million people according to the 2010 census, ranks No. 4 in sightings, ahead of Pennsylvania, with 12.7 million people, and New York State, with 19 million.
Rather, the Costas theorize, the figures may reflect good West Coast weather, which draws more people outside where they may spot U.F.O.s. Nationwide sightings peak in July, they found, and drop off between December and February.
Still, in Mississippi, U.F.O. reports spike in January and November; in New Mexico, in September.
The arduous breakdown by the nation’s more than 3,000 counties was notable for revealing clusters of sightings in remote regions, places where U.F.O.s are almost never mentioned. But every county in the United States appears to have seen at least one U.F.O.
In the end, the Costas noted, the spikes may have a lot to do with media coverage.
A UFO was spotted from a passenger jet and I think this happens a lot since UFOs love to investigate anything that moves, especially in the air. The seem to be attracted by both technology and deep powerful thinking which may be seen as psychic thought.
Scott C. Waring
News states:
The footage was uploaded to Georgia’s YouTube channel, Kidskillz, and shows a small black object darting around near the tip of the wing. David, a factory worker from Merseyside, added: “It was strange because it kept changing direction and then bobbing and weaving around. Georgia was a bit sceptical and she laughs at me for saying it might be a UFO, but you never know. “I’m really interested to hear what people think it is.” There have been many reported sightings of ‘UFOs’ in recent years in the area - with Greater Manchester being dubbed one of the country’s hotspots. Only Merseyside has had more mysterious sightings in the last two years, according to police figures.
Giant UFO Hovers Over Statue Of Liberty In New York On April 19, 2017, Photos, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: April 19, 2017
Location of sighting: New York, New York, USA
Source: MUFON #83306
If you were an alien and wanted to see some of the American culture, what would you want to see? The Statue of Liberty of course. Well, sometimes humans think similarly to aliens in that aspect of curiosity and places. I'm kind of amazed that something so large could easily hover over New York and not even be intercepted by USAF jets. It just goes to show how old tech most military radars are today.
Scott C. Waring
Eyewitness states:
1.Hudson river, passing by to see the statue of liberty. 2.Later on looking at the picture. Notices a bright light with object on top. 3.Thought it could definitely be a UFO. 4.I can't describe the object and how it behaved because I notice on the picture. 5.I felt like this is a good opportunity to see I actually snapped a UFO. A real one. 6.I never had sight of it, didn't notice until reviewing my pictures.
Above is the enhanced photo, below is the original untouched version.
Elon Musk: “If there are super intelligent aliens, they’re probably already observing us.”
“Yes there have been crashed craft, and bodies recovered. . . . We are not alone in the universe, they have been coming here for a long time. . . . I happen to be privileged enough to be in on the fact that we have been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real.”
– Doctor Edgar Mitchell, 6th man to walk on the moon
As recent as a decade ago, avid UFO and extraterrestrial researchers were unable to speak openly about their research without being ridiculed. Today, the topic has gained considerable credibility and popularity, so much so that not only are high ranking figures from military, political, and academic spheres speaking out, but also popular global figures as well, and particularly at prestigious conferences around the world. Previously classified documents that have been released from dozens of governments around the world have also allowed this topic to enter the respected public domain.
The 2011 Global Competitiveness Forum, at which a number of prominent scientists attended, featured a lecture by Jacques Vallee, notable for co-developing the first computerized mapping of Mars for NASA, and for his work at SRI International on the network information centre for ARPANET, on the UFO/extraterrestrial phenomenon.
Here’s another talk by nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman at the same conference. The main theme of that conference was contact with intelligent extraterrestrials, and learning from outer space.
As far as documents, whistleblowers, and other ‘proofs’ that have emerged, we’ve covered many in great detail in a number of articles that we’ve published. You can access those articles by visiting the exopolitics section of the collective evolution website here.
The latest major figure to comment on extraterrestrials was Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX and co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc. Aside from a phenomenal businessman, Tesla is an activist who uses his wealth and resources to create a better Earth.
He touched on extraterrestrials at the World Government Summit, a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of government worldwide. Each year, the Summit sets the agenda for the next generation of governments with a focus on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
Here’s an excerpt from that speech, which you can view here:
When I was a kid I was wondering, kind of, what’s the meaning of life, like, why are we here, what’s it all about? I came to the conclusion that what really matters is trying to understand the right questions to ask, and, the more that we can increase the scope and scale of human consciousness, the better we are able to ask these questions. . . .
Some of those things are in the long term, having long term sustainable transport and sustainable energy generation, and to be a space-bearing civilization, and for humanity to be out there among the stars, and be a multi-planetary species. I think being a multi-planet species and being out there among the stars is important for the long term survival of humanity. . . . It creates a sense of adventure, and it makes people excited about the future.
Below is a snippet taken from the full interview. In it, he states that if there are super intelligent extraterrestrials somewhere out there, which is the generally agreed upon scientific hypothesis, “they’re probably already observing us, that would seem quite likely, and we’re just not smart enough to realize it.”
“Not Smart Enough To Realize It”
“Intelligent beings from other star systems have been and are visiting our planet Earth. They are variously referred to as Visitors, Others, Star People, ETs, etc. . . . They are visiting Earth NOW; this is not a matter of conjecture or wistful thinking.”
– Theodor C. Loder III, Phd, Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire (source)
I think Musk is right — they are probably already watching us, we just don’t realize it yet. But things are changing. Numerous efforts are being made to educate the public on this subject, from the most credible sources available. Scientific publications, video footage, and photos have already been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals for a number of years. (source)
Below is a powerful statement made by former NASA astronaut and Princeton physics professor Dr. Brian O’Leary, who says that there is “abundant evidence that we are being contacted, and that intelligent civilizations have been visiting for a very long time.”
Again, if you want to sift through some of this evidence, we’ve presented it in hundreds of articles you can view in chronological order in the exopolitics section of the collective evolution websitehere.
Why the Masses Haven’t Realized It — Or Have They?
“Behind the scenes, high ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense.”
– Former head of CIA Roscoe Hillenkoetter, 1960 (source)
Movies and television shows bombard us constantly with stories of extraterrestrial invasions, and despite all of the evidence available, the fact that we are being and have been visited by extraterrestrials can be a scary thought, particularly given the way extraterrestrials are typically portrayed.
With a massive disinformation campaign that has focused on covering up these facts for decades, along with the mass ridicule of this subject for anyone who took it seriously in the past, it quickly escaped the minds of the masses and many people considered the notion of ongoing intelligent contact with our planet from extraterrestrials completely preposterous.
A great quote from Carl Sagan comes to mind:
One the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re not longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.
Current public perception of UFOs and extraterrestrials reveals how easily our minds can be influenced, and how quickly our thoughts about a subject can be given to us, even subconsciously. It begs the question, how many other beliefs do we share that have been, in a sense, ‘programmed’ into us by powerful groups of people with an agenda?
“There are objects in our atmosphere which are technically miles in advance of anything we can deploy, that we have no means of stopping them coming here … [and] that there is a serious possibility that we are being visited and have been visited for many years by people from outer space, from other civilizations. That it behooves us, in case some of these people in the future or now should turn hostile, to find out who they are, where they come from, and what they want. This should be the subject of rigorous scientific investigation and not the subject of ‘rubishing’ by tabloid newspapers.”
– Lord Admiral Hill-Norton, Former Chief of Defence Staff, 5 Star Admiral of the Royal Navy, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (source)
All this being said, the fact that UFOs/extraterrestrials is one of the most searched subjects on the web suggests that people are at least curious to learn the truth.
What Extraterrestrial Contact Is Really About
Humanity is waking up to the fact that this type of thing has been happening for quite some time, and the realization comes at a time when humanity is experiencing a massive shift in consciousness. By ‘shift in consciousness,’ I mean that we are letting go of long-held beliefs that have been rendered obsolete by new evidence. That being said, no matter how much evidence presents itself, it’s always going to be difficult to let go of belief systems, but minds are indeed opening. It was great to see Musk mention the topic of consciousness in his talk as well as mention that it’s important to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness, and part of increasing that scope, as Musk identifies, is asking the right questions. Some of these questions deal with pulling back the veil that’s blinded the masses for decades. It’s not that we aren’t smart enough, but rather that we have been lied to andmisled for years.
“An extraterrestrial influence is investigating our planet. Something is monitoring the planet and they are monitoring it very cautiously.”
– Former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), 2008 presidential candidate
Acknowledging the fact that we are being visited opens up so many questions in all fields, from religion, to history, to new theories of scientific knowledge and many more, as I am sure you can imagine. If they have been around, and have been watching us, why has there not been major contact? There is sufficient evidence showing that contact has indeed occurred on an individual level, with perhaps millions of people, but a ‘one time’ mass disclosure event has yet to take place.
Perhaps Musk is not sharing knowledge that he’s been privy too? Given the circles that he finds himself in, it would not be surprising. Furthermore, when in the business of new energy generation, the topic of UFOs is most likely to come up, because one of the main questions is, how are they getting here? What propulsion systems do they use? UFOs that are tracked on military radar and visually confirmed by pilots have performed maneuvers that completely defy our known laws of physics, and make maneuvers no known aircraft on Earth can.
“There is another way, whether it’s wormholes or warping space, there’s got to be a way to generate energy so that you can pull it out of the vacuum, and the fact that they’re here shows us that they found a way.” (source)
The statement above comes from Dr. Jack Kasher, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Nebraska. He is one out of multiple physicists (and scientists in general) to examine the truly remarkable NASA STS-48 footage. You can see that footage and read more about it here.
I’ve been studying the UFO/extraterrestrial phenomenon for a very long time, and one common theme that constantly comes up is a shift in consciousness, a change in the way we see and care for our planet, and a deeper understanding about life and the true nature of reality.
Is it a coincidence that the ET/UFO topic continues to gain attention as we turn our focus toward global cooperation? A desire for peace? A desire for a clean, green planet clear of corporate, government, and financial interest?
Can we work together, can we solve these problems in order to become the spacefaring race that Musk so passionately speaks of? It seems other civilizations have done so, civilizations that have probably already tackled and overcome these same problems we now face.
“The Earth is about four and a half billion years go, that’s 45 hundred million years old. What if theres another planet that’s almost exactly like us, almost exactly 45 hundred and 1 million years old. They’re a million years ahead of us, and on a galactic scale they’re almost our twin brothers. We’ll have solved all these problems.”
That being said, spirituality doesn’t really have the same negative connotations that religion has, lacking its long history of violence, subjugation, and corruption. Spirituality isn’t concerned with converting people to specific beliefs and behaviours. It has roots in the most ancient of history, and also correlations with a lot of science that’s emerging today, mainly in the areas of quantum physics and neuroscience, which are now revealing the vast interconnectedness of all things. I think it would be wise to assume that this interconnectedness is not only planetary, but interplanetary and beyond.
A big part of the extraterrestrial question coincides with this type of ‘spirituality.’ While there will always be people who are quick to label aliens as angels or demons, perhaps the best approach is, as the Dalai Lama emphasized a few years ago, to view ‘them’ as ‘us,’ and refuse the urge to label and judge them.
The spiritual aspect of this topic is also emphasized in indigenous lore from all over the world.
“My people tell of Star People who came to us many generations ago. The Star people brought spiritual teachings and stories and maps of the cosmos and they offered these freely. They were kind, loving and set a great example. When they left us, my people say there was a loneliness like no other.”
– Richard Wagamese, one of Canada’s foremost authors and storytellers from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in Northwestern Ontario (source)
You can read more about that in an article I recently published linked below:
If they are here, and have been for a while, I guess we can rule out any type of ‘alien’ invasion, but a staged alien invasion could be another story…
At the end of the day, all of the research I and many have others have done suggests that something special is happening, and there are many out there watching us, and perhaps assisting us in ways we do not know, to see if we can succeed in making the human experience beneficial for all life on the planet. Part of that is waking up to all of the lies and deceit that plagues this planet, presenting solutions to our problems, and then implementing those solutions. Many barriers may stand in the way of this progress, but we can’t break them down until they are at least identified. This is one aspect of the massive shift in consciousness that’s occurring right now, and how it may tie to the supposed “super intelligent aliens” that may not only be visiting us right now, but walking among us.
Perhaps extraterrestrial contact can help us find out who we are and where we come from. There is a bigger picture here, and it requires us to let go of all of our judgements and destructive ways of life, and embrace the interconnectedness of all that is.
What do you think? I’ll end this article with a great video that can give us all something to think about. There is ample reason to believe that these changes spoken below are directly correlated with some of the extraterrestrial groups currently visiting our planet. Obviously Rainn mentions nothing of that topic, but that’s not why I’m sharing this video.
Full ET disclosure knocks opens pandora’s box, and makes it’s way into all aspects of our lives, if allowed to open…One thing is for certain, “the truth is going to come out sooner our later.” – Colonel Ross Dedrickson taken from this interview.
Off-grid UFO home is completely powered by wind, water and sun
UFOs could soon be spotted floating on the ocean as cool sustainable homes. Italian boating company Jet Capsule designed what may be the most stylish way to live off the grid: an Unidentified Floating Object powered by renewable energy that provides a chance for people to travel and live on the sea.
‘UFOs’ surround the jet capsule, the machine’s predecessor
Founders Pierpaolo Lazzarini and Luca Solla said they designed the UFO home for those who desire to “live in a floating house and move slowly around the world.” With 322 square feet of space, the flying saucer-shaped home includes a main floor kitchen and living area, and lower level bathroom and bedroom. Large windows will offer stellar panoramic views – underwater.
Solar, wind, and water power propel the capsule so it functions entirely off the grid. A hydrojet on the bottom of the UFO draws power from rooftop solar panels to transport the home, while wind and water turbines provide additional power. A water generator provides drinking water via collected rain and even sea water. There’s also a vegetable garden on the rings surrounding the UFO, as well as a deck.
Maximum speed for the UFO is only four miles per hour, so the houseboat won’t win any races. At the same time, there’s little to fear from stormy weather or choppy waves; Jet Capsule designed the home with an elastic anchor system to ensure it remains stable in rough weather.
Not only is the home super sustainable, but it will likely be fairly affordable as well. The company is currently looking for investors so they can build their first prototype, and after that they hope to bring the UFOs to market with a price tag of only $200,000 – far less than your average houseboat.
Hong Kong UFO Videotaped On Consecutive Nights With Unexpected Answers [VIDEO]
New UFO videos are showing up on YouTube daily, with descriptions that make them seem truly out of this world — but are they really?
Take the case of what appeared to be a diamond-shaped object that allegedly hovered over Hong Kong on the nights of Oct. 5 and 6.
Ex-cable TV reporter, Wu Xiaodong Yi, claims to have captured a UFO over Hong Kong on Oct. 5, but his cell phone quality was so low that he waited until the next night with a better video camera, hoping the object would come back, according to a Chinese sales company, ePrice.com.hk.
As luck would have it, the UFO did show up again the following evening.
Here’s the Hong Kong UFO, as posted by Smileboyhk:
Open Minds.tv uncovered the translated ePrice coverage of this “event,” noting how the diamond-shape appearance of the UFO may have been caused by an effect of the camera aperture as it moved in and out of focus.
Huffington Post showed the video to photo and video analyst Marc Dantonio.
“The first thing I noticed was the changing colors and flickering of the object,” Dantonio told HuffPost in an email.
“The fact that it was there the next night around the same time strongly indicates that this was a likely mistaken astronomical object. I consulted software, and when I looked at Hong Kong, noted that my suspicions were true — Jupiter was visible over Hong Kong that night. Jupiter is often mistaken for a UFO.”
Dantonio suggests why the so-called UFO looks like a diamond in the sky.
“The object is clearly vastly out of focus and the shape is likely due to the internal camera geometry. As far as the horizontal line running through the object, this usually occurs because there is an object, possibly a hair, on the camera aperture. When zoomed in, the object of interest is dispersed and defocused into a large amorphous diamond shape.”
On the same night in question, half a world away, two UFOs were reportedly videotaped over San Antonio, Texas, about 30 minutes apart by someone identified as SAUFOTX, according to Latest UFO Sightings.
SAUFOTX — a possible acronym for San Antonio UFO Texas — described the object as a UFO-Orb.
Here’s one of the San Antonio videos:
“As I was skywatching…I notice this orb high in altitude that seemed to be hovering,” according to SAUFOTX. “I quickly began to film, when zooming in, you can clearly see [the] UFO ORB, traveling slowly overhead…emitting some kind of energy field around it. Clearly an unidentified flying object. In my opinion, this glowing object was clearly no weather balloon, aircraft or satellite.”
Dantonio disagrees.
“The object is not moving at any terrific speeds and not demonstrating any specific movement that calls it out as anything other than a high flying balloon.
“The video was filled with music and titles, and an attempt was made to make this look impressive, but really, this was poorly shot, bad footage. Based on the amount of time that the video shooter had to capture this, it was certainly there for a long time. I can tell you that balloons seem to crawl across the sky and are quite bright and disarming.”
It should also be pointed out that not every UFO video posted on YouTube should be thought of as a hoax.
When it comes to UFOs, seeing is not always believing — it’s generally something that can be easily explained.
As in the case of the Hong Kong UFO, just because you might have a strong zoom on your camera, when you try zooming in too close, the end result may be too good to be true.
Meet Armenia’s Stonehenge: Predating the Pyramids of Egypt by three thousand years
Above: Some of the rocks at Karahunj depict mysterious humanoid beings with elongated heads and almond-shaped eyes. Is it possible that these were the ancient Astronauts that visited Earth thousands of years ago?
Not only does the enigmatic ‘Armenian Stonehenge’ predate the pyramids and its more famous counterpart in England by thousands of years, some of the rocks on the site depict curious beings with elongated heads and almond shaped eyes.
Located in modern-day Armenia, in Karahunj also known as Zorats Karer or Armenia’s Stonehenge, we find a set of mysterious depictions which have caused controversial reactions ever since their discovery.
Carahunge or Karahunj is an ancient site believed to predate England’s Stonehenge by at least 3,500 years and the Pyramids of ancient Egypt by staggering 3,000 years. This ancient complex occupies over 7 hectares and offers its visitors a number of strange carvings created by early civilizations that inhabited the region thousands of years ago.
Many of its visitors agree that this impressive ancient site is very similar to Stonehenge. The ancient site’s main similarity lies in the curious circular patterns of the stones. Just like Armenia’s counterpart in England; the true purpose remains a profound mystery for archaeologists who are unable to solve the mystery of the stones.
Theories trying to explain what this ancient site was thousands of years ago are abundant, but the most accepted ones are that his ancient complex was either an astronomical or ceremonial complex. However, researchers cannot possibly know due to a lack of information and historic records.
Armenia’s ‘ Stonehenge’ is much older than England’s version and consists of similar roughly hewn boulders positioned in two elliptical overlapping circles.
Interestingly, many of the boulders found at Karahunj have strange holes carved through them, and some researchers have even drawn similarities to the megalithic boulders discovered in ancient Egypt and their curious holes.
Many of the Armenian boulders have holes ‘drilled’ through their tops which led researchers to believe that they were used thousands of ears ago for astronomical observations.
However, if we look how the name Karahunj or Carahunge is interpreted we will understand that it derives from two Armenian words: car (or kar) which translated means stone and hunge or hoonch which means sound. Therefore, we understand that the name of the ancient site is translated to ‘Speaking Stones’. This is related to the fact that the stones tend to ‘whistle’ on windy days due to the number of holes ‘drilled’ under different angles in prehistoric times.
The site was officially named as the Karahunj (Carahunge) Observatory, by Parliamentary decree in 2004.
Numerous expeditions have studied this ancient site. The most extensive research was carried out by Paris Herouni and by Elma Parsamyan of the Biurakan Observatory. Herouni concluded that this ancient site was: “a temple with a large and developed observatory, and also a university.”
Herouni proposed a number of interesting hypotheses and stated that some of the stones at the site mimic the biggest star of the constellation of Cygnus –Deneb.
Interestingly, some have even drawn similarities between the Karahunj (Carahunge) Observatory and Gobekli Tepe in modern Turkey. V. Vahradyan suggests that Gobekli Tepe shows the map of the night sky and the constellation of Cygnus, which in the Karahunj Observatory represents the same constellation, mirroring the site.
But as if the age of the ancient observatory, its purpose and origin weren’t mysterious enough there are more incredible details which make this ancient site even more interesting. Among the numerous boulders found on the site, there are some with curious carvings on their surface. Some of the humanoid beings represented at some of the stones are eerily similar to ‘modern-day’ representations of Grey Aliens. Some of the humanoid figures carved at Karahunj have elongated heads, and almond shaped eyes and are depicted holding what appears to be some sort of artifact with wheels.
Here are some images of this incredible ancient site:
RUSSIAN MATHEMATICIANS DECODED THE MYSTERIOUS VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT
The CIA tried to decipher it and failed. The FBI tried to break the code and also failed. Academics, truly intelligent cryptologists and people all over the world have been trying for 600 years to decipher a mysterious book known as the Voynich manuscript that is written in an unbreakable code; some theorize it was written by foreigners. The chess is finally over. A team of Russian mathematicians says they solved the enigma of the manuscript. And he says …
Not so fast. A breakthrough like this must be revealed slowly. The manuscript is nominated for the anti-revolutionary Polish tsarist and book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who bought it in 1912 in a Jesuit college outside Rome. The codex was illustrated with radiocarbon datings from medieval Italy between 1404 and 1438. The photos are mostly herbs and plants, along with other pharmaceutical, astronomical or biological objects. Writing ... well, writing is gibberish.
UNTIL NOW...
Mathematicians of the Institute of Applied Mathematics deciphered the Voynich manuscript, now preserved at the Yale University's Beinecke Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts, with a technical code break. They first suppressed all the vowels and spaces, turning the Codex into what looked like a very long Russian name. That, obviously, was not the solution. But believe it or not, it was close.
We have all heard about famous abductions like Travis Walton, Betty and Barney Hill, etc. But what about the ones that have not been widely publicised? Here are our top ten “not so well-known” alien abductions:
1. The Linda Courtile Case
On November, 1989, a housewife was drawn out of her 12th story window in Lower Manhattan. The woman was lifted up into a UFO that was covered in bright lights at around 3:00 am. In an interview, Linda said “The UFO opened up almost like a clam and then I’m inside.” Two men, who were United Nations bodyguards, also witnessed the event with stories identical to Linda’s. There were also several witnesses who confirmed the event, from ordinary citizens to attorneys and surgeons, some even thought it was a movie scene being filmed. The story never gained public traction and still remains a mystery.
2. The Cahil Family
After midnight, the Cahill family were returning home after spending the day with some close friends. At first, as they drove through the inky black night, they noticed a row of lights mounted on a rounded craft with windows around it. Kelly, the mother of the family, recalled walking towards the path, without knowing why, and seeing a creature unlike anything they’ve ever seen. It was void of color and 7 feet tall, according to Kelly. Aside from the sighting, Kelly only has a strange triangular mark on her navel which later revealed to house an implant.
3. Frederick Valentich
Twenty-year-old Frederick Valentich disappeared while training as a pilot over Bass Strait in Australia on October 21, 1978. He was radioing Melbourne air traffic control, the connection was lost mid-sentence. The last works of Frederick before his disappearance was “It’s not an aircraft.”
4. The Allagash Waterway Abduction
In 1976, twin brothers Jack and Jim Weiner and their two friends were on a fishing trip on the calm waters of Eagle Lake. They decided to make a fire on the banks of the lake when suddenly a bright object appeared in the sky. After being subjected to lie detector tests, hypnosis, and extensive examination, all four individuals told a story that was eerily the same. Each being abducted and subjected to humiliating and invasive testing, including the extraction of semen and other bodily fluids.
5. Whitley Strieber
Whitley Strieber is a unique case in this list of alien phenomenon. He is a renowned author who penned the book “Communion,” a staple of UFO stories. He was already a well-known author when he experienced his first contact. It was over the Christmas holidays in 1985, during a vacation with his wife and son. Whitley, sleeping in his isolated cabin in the northern part of New York State, was awoken by his alarm system. Expecting a burglar, he rushed to check out what the noise was. To his surprise, a creature appeared standing before him motionless and creepily.
Whitley was then taken to a mysterious ship where the creatures began mercilessly experimenting on him. He recalls long needles being directly stabbed into his brain and strange low voices. Whitley was never the same after that night, and still, we have no explanation for what happened.
6. Sergeant Charles L. Moody
Air Force Sergeant Charles L. Moody was observing a meteor shower in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico. At around 1:15AM he witnessed a glowing, metallic, saucer-shaped object lowering to the ground. It began wobbling in an unnatural way and slowly moved closer toward Charles. Frightened, Charles frantically tried to start his car engine, but it just wouldn’t budge. His body suddenly turned numb, and the ship began emitting a high pitch sound. The mysterious aircraft got so close that he could make out the ghoulish tall figures staring directly at him. The alien trance ended abruptly and Charles found himself driving home at around 3:00 am. In the next few days he developed a rash that spread all over his body.
7. Peter Khouri
On the night of February 1988, Peter and his wife spotted strange lights fettering about in the sky. To their surprise the lights merely came and disappeared. It was later in July that Peter began experiencing flashbacks of events he thought never happened. He began to recall waking up in the middle of the night being grabbed by his ankles, Peter tried to move but his body was completely numb. Standing by the edge of his bed were tiny, robe-wearing creatures congregated around the poor man. They repeatedly told him not to worry, because it would be just like the last time. Then suddenly, an alien pulled out a large needle and slowly started aiming it toward Peter’s head. Peter also successfully passeda lie detector test.
8. Ronny Dawson
Ronny Dawson is a crude oil transport driver who works in Coleman County, Texas. As a transport driver Ronny regularly works long night shifts and drives through barren rural roads–it was inevitable that he would one day spot something. One clear night, Ronny was inspecting some crude oil from inside large tank batteries. Being at a higher altitude, Ronny was able to spot a mysterious aircraft flying over him. Fearing his life he quickly climbed down from the tanks and began recording the phenomenon. In the sky he saw pulsating orbs that rapidly changed altitude and shape. Ever since then, Ronny continued to see these lights–a reminder that someone or something is watching.
9. Lulli Oswald
15th October 1979. A famous concert pianist by the name of Luli Oswald, and her friend were taken aboard a UFO and given a grueling examination. The full story came out only after hypnosis sessions.
Luli Oswald, 55, said she and Fauze Mehlen, 25, were driving along the coast road near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when they saw a fleet of strange craft emerge from the ocean. When they came out of the water, it was like a mushroom with water spilling over it, she told police. Then we noticed a big black one ahead of us. It seemed to be about 300′ across with a small dome on top.
Mehlen, who was driving, lost control of the car. It began weaving crazily across the road, with the doors opening and shutting by themselves. Then, suddenly, the nightmare ended. Shaken, they stopped at a restaurant for coffee and discovered that it was two hours later than they thought.
While under hypnosis, the pianist began sobbing with terror as she continued to relive the experience.
We have entered the black disk from the bottom, The car is inside the UFO, but we are outside the car. They are putting a tube in my ear. There are tubes everywhere, they are pulling my hair.
They look like rats, oh, how horrible! They have huge, horrible rat ears and their mouths are like slits. They are touching me all over with their thin arms. There are 5 of them, their skin is grey and sticky.
Miss Oswald said she saw Mehlen lying unconscious on a table as the aliens examined him with a strange ray of light that smelt of sulfur. The rat figures communicated without speaking, but she said one of them did talk to her. He said they came from Antarctica, she recalled.
There is a tunnel that goes under the South Pole, that’s why they come out of the water. Others are extraterrestrials.
10. Amy Ryland
In a chilling story that three different people were involved in, a 22-year-old named Amy was abducted right out the window of her lounge room by a UFO.
Amy’s husband Keith had already gone to bed, while her friend Petra stayed up to read in another room. Petra was abruptly disrupted by a blinding light coming from the lounge room, and the sound of shattering glass.
The rectangular beam of light was shining into the room, and according to Petra, she saw Amy being pulled out of the window by the light, still apparently asleep.
Keith then woke up, and both he and Petra searched the house and surrounding area for Amy, who was nowhere to be seen. Keith eventually called the police.
U.I.P Summary:
People do laugh out of ignorance when confronted with the unknown, I was a sceptic too prior to my first UFO sighting.
Alien abductions do exists, abductees have been used like lab rats!
And who knows… Maybe you have been abducted and not even aware of it…
Aliens Created Our Gentic Code And Signed It With The Number 37 – Confirms Scientists
The TRUTH is coming people and the true answer to the origin life could simply be the number 37 which could prove that our genetic code was created by ancient aliens, according to a new scientific theory – The drip feeding of disclosure continues it appears!
The notion that life on Earth has alien origins is nothing new, but a pair of researchers believe that they have cracked an ancient code which prove that life was planted on Earth by extraterrestrial beings.
Maxim Makukov from the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan, claims to have discovered an “intelligent-like signal” that is encoded into our genetic material. Indicating that as many truth seekers believe, we were indeed created by Alien Beings.
Although Maxim admits that the theory is “out there”, he and his research mentor, mathematician Vladmir shCherbak, believe that they have conclusive evidence that a message, or a signature, is in our genetic code and is something that can no longer be denied or dismissed.
Panspermia is the process in which life is transferred from one planet to another. Some biologists believe that life on Earth began when an asteroid collided with Mars, causing the supposedly once microbial-full soil to be flung Earthbound. Many others believe that ET’s helped create the human race, something which this exciting evidence helps to prove.
The Kazakhstani duo have actually taken this one step further, and believe that life is a result of “direct panspermia” – something was intentionally sent towards Earth to kickstart life.
By analysing the genetic code – which is the set of rules which translate DNA into proteins and does not alter as it is passed down through generations – they note that the number 37 crops up several times and that this cannot be a pure coincidence!
One instance is that the mass of the molecular core shared by all 20 amino acids is 74 – which is 37 doubled!!
Does our DNA contain a hidden message?
Another is in ‘Rumer’s transformation’. Yuri Rumer first identified in 1966 that the genetic code can be divided equally in half, with one half being “whole family” codons – a codon being three structural units within DNA – and the other half being “split family”, which do not have the AC code, an amino acid that is used to build proteins.There are a total of 28 codons which have a total atomic mass of 1665 and a combined side chain atomic mass of 703 – both of which are multiples of 37.
The scientists have a total of nine examples in their research paper published in Icarus, where they state that the chances of the number 37 appearing this many times by random in the genetic code in a staggering one in 10 trillion.Prof Makukov told New Scientist:
“It was clear right away that the code has a non-random structure.
“The patterns that we describe are not simply non-random.
“They have some features that, at least from our point of view, were very hard to ascribe to natural processes.”
As for what planted the message, the Kazakh scientist says: “Maybe they’re gone long ago. Maybe they’re still alive. I think these are questions for the future.
“For the patterns in the code, the explanation we give, we think is the most plausible.”
It appears that we are being primed to learn about the origins of our existence and potentially what lies beyond that could have created our genetic make up.
Created by Aliens?
U.I.P SUMMARY
2017 appears to be an incredibly important year when it comes to disclosure! We have been told about habitable planets in space and also that it is very unlikely that we are alone in the Universe by some rather important scientists and staff at NASA and now this?
Many people like myself have never believed that we originated fully from monkeys as the ‘missing link’ has always been left un-explainable, but now it appears that the missing link is inside ALL of us and that we were a product of some kind of ET ‘creation’.
Of course there will not be a clear cut answer on this for some time as the elite do not want us to know too much and they are fearful of how the masses on planet earth will react to this news. But, it is time for our awakening and for mankind to accept that we are very much NOT alone in the Universe, and that we were very possibly created by some kind of alien beings – whose signature is the number 37!!
Scientists are looking more closely at the building blocks of life as we know it to try to identify which ingredients might also be the foundation for alien life beyond Earth.
Researchers from Valparaiso University in Indiana have analyzed an assortment of amino acids, which are basic compounds that make the proteins to support life, to see how they might hold up to the harsh conditions on other worlds like Mars or Saturn's moon Enceladus. Their work represents a whole new approach to looking for alien life.
"Our main goal with this research is to see if there are structural characteristics of some amino acids that lead to a higher stability in extraterrestrial conditions and then to see what those characteristics might be," said Claire Mammoser, an undergraduate research assistant in the laboratory of Valparaiso chemistry professor Laura Rowe.
Mammoser is presenting the research Sunday during the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Experimental Biology 2017 meeting in Chicago. She explains that while we know of the 20 natural amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan found in most biological organisms, there are also hundreds of known "unnatural" amino acids on Earth that aren't used by life forms we're familiar with.
"In a different extraterrestrial locale, the proteins in an organism would not necessarily be the same as that of an organism on Earth, so they might use amino acids that are known to us but not used to make proteins on Earth," she said.
To see which amino acids might be most likely to make protein snacks for alien cells, the team ran a selection of both the natural and unnatural compounds through a terrestrial torture test. They subjected vials of the building blocks to extreme temperatures, pH levels, radiation and other conditions that hypothetical Martian microbes and outer solar system swimmers in the hidden oceans of Europa and Enceladus might have to contend with.
The scientists then watched to see which amino acids remain stable, looking for and observing patterns among the toughest types, such as larger size or the ability to bind with water.
"Finding trends in amino acid stability would give us an idea of what sort of amino acids may have survived in outer space long enough to create life," Mammoser explained.
The research team is also beginning a new round of experiments using amino acids extracted from meteorites to get a handle on key characteristics that could lead to some real-life ETs.
The work also raises a bizarre question in today's age of genetic engineering: If we figure out what aliens are made of on Earth before we ever find them elsewhere in the universe, will they still be totally alien when we finally do find some?
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence — known as SETI — got a boost in 2015, when philanthropist Yuri Milner announced plans to inject up to $100 million into the field over the next decade.
His cash is funding a project called Breakthrough Listen, which plans to survey the 1 million closest stars to us and 100 nearby galaxies, using advanced telescopes and a lot of computational power. But what exactly are those telescopes looking for?
Andrew Siemion, scientific director of the Breakthrough Listen project, says it all comes down to electromagnetic signals. “Basically, what we look for in Breakthrough Listen, and really in any SETI experiment, is the kind of electromagnetic emission that we know can only arise from technology,” he explains.
As Siemion explains, the Breakthrough Listen program uses both radio and optical telescopes in its search. “And we're also looking at some infrared and high-energy observatories, as well,” he says.
It’s all in the hopes of picking up some slight technology-produced signal from beyond our known world. “Fundamentally, the kind of signal that we look for in SETI for the most part, be it in radio or optical, is a large amount of electromagnetic energy concentrated at just one wavelength or one electromagnetic frequency,” he says.
With radio telescopes, the researchers search for signals using a tool called a Fourier transform. “This is just a way of breaking down a signal that varies in time to one that varies in frequency or in wavelength,” Siemion says.
And then with optical telescopes, the team uses prisms or diffraction gratings to break light down into all of its component colors. Then, Siemion says, they look for a signal occurring at just one color — something that doesn’t happen in the natural world.
For now, all the searching has one known outcome: It produces a massive amount of data. “The data rate that we see at the Green Bank Observatory, for example, is several hundred gigabits per second,” Siemion says.
That’s equivalent to roughly 1,000 modern laptop hard drives each day, he estimates — and just from one telescope. (Granted, the Green Bank Telescope is the largest steerable radio telescope on the planet.) To share the job of crunching all the data, Siemion’s team at the University of California, Berkeley, are enlisting volunteers — and their home computers — in a citizen science project called SETI@home.
In the midst of the information torrent, there’s one thing Siemion admits he doesn’t spend much time thinking about: how to break the news if his team does find evidence of extraterrestrial life. “Maybe for five or 10 minutes right before I go to bed, I think about what we might do if we actually found a signal,” he says. “It’s very difficult to predict how the world would react to that. But personally, I think it would be a very positive reaction. I think it would be a very unifying moment.”
And if SETI does turn up a signal from other life-forms, deciding whether to respond would be another matter entirely.
“Personally, I think … that’s a question that should involve the entire planet,” he says.
The universe is practically bursting with stars and planets but some exoplanets are more important than others, particularly when it comes to the prospect of discovering alien life. We are getting closer every day to finding an exoplanet that is harboring extraterrestrials, as evidenced by the recent discovery of LHS 1140b, which has a lot of similarities to Earth and orbits a star that is only 40 light years from us. It hangs within that solar system’s habitable zone, the distance from each star where the temperature is just right to support liquid water, one of the signs our scientists look for when they search for potential alien worlds.
But until we visit these other planets and take a look around, we won’t know for sure. That’s especially since some scientists believe many potentially habitable exoplanets are entirely submerged in water — we would need to go for a scuba dive to find anything alive out there. So when it comes to our best bets for finding the aliens, how does LHS 1140b compare to other habitable exoplanets scientists have found?
Astronomers recently discovered LHS 1140b, an Earth-like planet orbiting red dwarf star LHS 1140 only 40 light years from our solar system.
Photo: MEarth/ESO
1. LHS 1140b
First, the facts about the most recent exoplanet discovery, LHS 1140b. It’s a rocky planet in that cozy habitable zone that gets about the same amount of energy from its relatively small and cool star as we do from the Sun. Experts say its surface might contain liquid water and the planet might be holding on to an atmosphere, which is not as common as it sounds. It’s also estimated to be about 5 billion years old — that’s a little older than Earth, so life has possibly had enough time to develop.
Kepler-186f is the first exoplanet scientists discovered in a star’s habitable zone that is comparable to the size of Earth.
Photo: NASA/JPL
2. Kepler-186f
This rocky planet was the first one comparable in size to Earth found within another star’s habitable zone, whereas all the previous discoveries were of much larger orbs. Every 130 days it completes an orbit around a red dwarf that is about half the size of our Sun and about 500 light years away. The Kepler-186 system also has four smaller planets, but they are so close to the star, they would be too hot to support life.
Three of the seven planets in the TRAPPIST-1 solar system are within the habitable zone, and all of them could potentially support liquid water and alien life.
Photo: NASA/JPL
3. TRAPPIST-1
Earlier this year, scientists announced they had discovered an intriguing solar system of seven rocky planets around the size of Earth orbiting a star together. Three of those planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, 40 light years away, are within the habitable zone. But all of the planets potentially hold liquid water because the star they orbit is relatively cool — it doesn’t matter that they are all closer to their star than our scorched first planet Mercury is to our Sun.
“The planets also are very close to each other,” NASA said. “If a person were standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighboring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth's sky.”
To make things more interesting, their weather might be crazy because it’s possible the planets orbit in such a way that the same side is constantly facing their star, “therefore each side is either perpetual day or night.”
Kepler-22b was the first exoplanet NASA’s Kepler mission discovered in a star’s habitable zone, opening up a new world for us in outer space.
Is the original the best? Kepler-22b was discovered several years ago and was the first planet NASA’s Kepler mission discovered within another star’s habitable zone. Unfortunately, it is 600 light years away. On an average day, Kepler-22b is a comfortable 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and it orbits a star similar to the Sun once every 290 days
La super-Terre LHS 1140b, une nouvelle cible pour la recherche de traces de vie
Cette super-Terre orbite autour d'une étoile peu lumineuse, ce qui permet aux télescopes terrestres de la sonder pour étudier son atmosphère et y détecter des signes de vie.
Vue d'artiste de la nouvelle exoplanète rocheuse qui abrite des conditions favorables à la vie.
ESO / SPACEENGINE.ORG
CANDIDATE. LHS 1140b orbite autour d'une naine rouge (une étoile plus petite et moins brillante que le Soleil) dans la constellation de la Baleine, à environ 40 années-lumière de la Terre. Elle a été détectée une première fois par l'Observatoire MEarth-South, composé d'un réseau de petits télescopes automatiques installés dans le désert chilien. Puis c'est le spectrographe HARPS de l'Observatoire Européen Austral (ESO) qui a poursuivi les investigations. Pourquoi autant d'intérêt pour cette exoplanète ? Parce qu'avec son étoile, elle offre des conditions d'observation presque idéales et que les scientifiques espèrent pouvoir analyser son atmosphère (si elle en a une) en détaillant les gaz qu'elle contient et peut-être y dénicher des éléments associés à la vie, telle qu'elle existe sur Terre. C'est actuellement la meilleure candidate pour la réussite d'un tel projet.
L'Observatoire MEarth-South installé sur le Cerro Tololo, au Chili.
LHS 1140b est une super-Terre d'un diamètre d'environ 1,4 fois celui de la Terre pour une masse sept fois supérieure. C'est donc un poids lourd. Elle est sans doute composée de roches avec un noyau dense de fer et elle orbite en 25 jours autour de son étoile (LHS 1140) dont elle est très, très, proche. Mais cette étoile est une naine rouge faiblement lumineuse si bien que la planète ne reçoit qu'environ la moitié de l'insolation terrestre. Cela implique que 1140b est située dans la zone habitable de son système : elle est susceptible d'abriter de l'eau liquide à sa surface. De plus, étoile et planète forment une paire céleste d'un âge respectable (environ 5 milliards d'années), ce qui assure une certaine stabilité des deux membres. "Les conditions actuelles de cette naine rouge sont particulièrement favorables - LHS 1140 tourne plus lentement et émet moins de radiations à haute énergie que d'autres étoiles de faible masse similaires", souligneNicola Astudillo-Defru de l'Observatoire de Genève, en Suisse.
Enfin, et c'est sans doute le plus important, les astrophysiciens peuvent depuis la Terre observer la planète passer devant son étoile. Un phénomène nommé transit qui permet d'analyser les subtiles différences de luminosité qui se produisent quand une planète occulte en partie son étoile mère et d'en déduire de nombreux renseignements sur les éléments présents dans l'étoile et la planète. Grâce à cette méthode, une équipe européenne a récemment réussi à détailler gangue de gaz entourant GJ1132b, une autre super-Terre située à 39 al du Soleil. Mais il s'avère que cette dernière est dépourvue d'eau liquide en surface et donc peu propice à la vie. Ce qui fait dire à Jason Dittmann du Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysic et premier auteur d'un article publié dans Nature sur LHS 1140b que c'est "l'exoplanète la plus excitante que j'ai vu depuis dix ans". Un enthousiasme à tempérer en attendant les résultats de la prochaine campagne d'observation qui sera menée avec le télescope Hubble et qui confirmera ou non la présence d'une atmosphère autour de 1140b. Si elle en possède une, elle s'avérera effectivement être une candidate de choix pour les instruments qui équiperont les futurs télescopes comme le TMT (Télescope de Trente Mètres) qui donneront à l'humanité des capacités d'observation inégalées depuis la Terre.
ZULLEN BUITENAARDSEN DE KOMENDE NEPINVASIE TOESTAAN?
Het wordt er niet gemakkelijker op voor een doorsnee burger die graag wil weten of er nu wel of niet buitenaardse ruimtevaartuigen door onze lucht schieten.
Dat ze er zijn, daarover bestaat geen enkele twijfel, maar wel over de herkomst van deze onbekende vliegende objecten.
Er zijn uiteraard talloze aanwijzingen dat de mensheid erin is geslaagd om UFO’s (na) te bouwen en dat veel van wat er rondvliegt niets anders is dan geheime Amerikaanse experimenten of een voorbeeld van vergevorderde technologie van de Duitsers zoals bijvoorbeeld in Antarctica.
Dat ze er zijn, wordt niet alleen iedere dag wereldwijd geconstateerd door wat inmiddels miljoenen getuigen moeten zijn, ook NASA is een voortdurende bron voor wat bijvoorbeeld betreft UFO’s bij het ruimtestation ISS. (Er vanuit gaand dat er inderdaad een ruimtestation hangt.)
Zoals ook enkele dagen geleden weer het geval was.
De sigaar of cilinder is een veel voorkomend type UFO en ook hier is het een feit dat er wordt gezegd dat de Duitsers erover beschikten; het zogenaamde Andromeda Gerät.
Wat is het dat hier prominent te zien is bij het ISS, buitenaards of aards?
Jarenlang zijn er al berichten dat de elite op een gegeven moment gebruik zal maken van haar geheime technologie, waaronder ook UFO’s, om een grote false flag operatie neer te zetten, waarbij wij volgens onze "leiders" als wereld gezamenlijk zullen moeten optreden tegen de gemeenschappelijke vijand en ons daarom dienen te verenigen in de New World Order.
Een invasie die vergelijkbaar is met de effecten van een 9/11, maar dan honderd maal erger. Een gefingeerde invasie die de wereld zodanig zal veranderen dat mensen met weemoed terug zullen denken aan tijden die geweest zijn. Dr. Greer noemt die gebeurtenis dusdanig heftig dat hij 9/11 vergelijkt met een picknick.
Hij is op dit moment druk met het waarschuwen van al zijn goede contacten binnen overheidskringen om zo te proberen te voorkomen dat dit zal plaatsvinden. In zijn presentatie komt Greer met een interessant gegeven en dat is dat de mensen aan de top vaak geen flauw idee hebben van wat er zich werkelijk afspeelt.
Anderzijds is het ook goed om te beseffen dat er wel degelijk sterke aanwijzingen zijn dat buitenaardsen hier rondvlogen op het moment dat onze aardse technologie nog in de kinderschoenen stond en wij als mensheid echt niet in staat waren om UFO’s te bouwen.
Onderstaand een deel uit een eerder artikel waarin bovenstaande wordt aangetoond en de vraag is dan ook of de buitenaardsen zullen toestaan dat de deep state een dergelijke false flag operatie uitvoert om de mensheid te misleiden.
Voor al diegenen die nog steeds denken dat alle opnames nep zijn en dat er helemaal niets in de lucht vliegt, volgen hier een aantal opnames uit de oude doos, uit een periode dat een foto nog gewoon een foto was die niet werd bewerkt.
De eerste is genomen in 1871 en laat een vreemd vliegend object zien boven Mount Washington in Amerika.
De tweede is genomen in Ward in het Amerikaanse Colorado in 1929.
Dan eentje uit China, genomen in 1942, waar je een man naar de lucht ziet wijzen alwaar een onbekend object hangt.
Dan een foto, genomen in Zuid Afrika in 1956.
Een Amerikaanse boer op een foto genomen in 1920 waar in de achtergrond een merkwaardig object in de lucht hangt.
Een bizarre foto uit het Canadese Vancouver uit 1937.
Vervolgens een hele mooie uit Oregon, Amerika, uit 1927.
En tenslotte eentje uit het Amerikaanse West Virginia, genomen in 1937.
Wat de objecten op bovengenoemde foto’s ook mogen zijn, van één ding kun je zeker zijn en dat is dat er niet mee is geknoeid.
NASA HAS THIS REACTION TO THE CLAIMS OF UFOS VISITING THE SPACE STATION
NASA speaks out about UFO sightings at the International Space Station.
The view from the International Space Station's live feed has raised a lot of eyebrows over the years. There are multiple reports of bizarre activity surrounding the space station which many people believe to be clear proof of extra-terrestrial activity. Now, it appears that NASA wants to talk about the rumors.
Ufologists are space enthusiasts, such as the people at Secure Team, are now very familiar with the bizarre routine that regularly takes place at the International Space Station. All of a sudden, watchers will notice odd activity such as flashes of light, moving objects, and even cigar shaped flying space craft of various sizes. On cue, the transmission to the feed will be cut and after that all questions addressed to NASA about the incident will be met with a stony silence. This peculiar routine has led many to the conclusion that there are aliens in close vicinity to this planet and NASA have some reason for keeping this information a secret from the world's population.
In the past, some individual astronauts have spoken out about the unusual activity. Some of them have confirmed that there is intelligent life beyond planet Earth, but most of them have been eager to dismiss the rumors. For instance, when the American astronaut Tom Jones was asked about the activity around the International Space Station he responded, in a seemingly rehearsed manner:
“Astronauts have not seen any evidence of alien life. Reports of unidentified flying objects in images returned from the shuttle or [space] station have turned out to be ice crystals, drifting orbital debris, lightning flashes, or meteors streaking through the dark atmosphere below. So far, our search for extraterrestrial life ― and other civilizations in space ― has turned up no proof of alien civilizations.”
Now under pressure from mainstream media outlets such as Huffington Post, it appears that NASA themselves feel compelled to repeat this explanation.
“No unidentified objects in the popular sense have been seen from the International Space Station, ” said a spokesperson for the space agency, “Reflections from station windows, the spacecraft structure itself or lights from Earth commonly appear as artifacts in photos and videos from the orbiting laboratory.”
Whether these claims with satisfying those who are suspicious about the activity around the International Space Station is yet to be seen. However, given NASA's unusual past activity and the wall of silence in the past, they have certainly given the impression that they have something to hide.
Nikola Tesla is considered as a man way ahead of time than average people with his inventions, ideas, and creativity. He is recognized as one of the most innovative, at the same time, one of the most mysterious men who ever lived.
Present technology is believed to be considerably worse if not for the invention and research done by Tesla in his time. Because of his advanced thinking, some conspiracy theorists stated that there’s more to Tesla and he may have had contact with aliens.
Nikola Tesla’s advanced technologies had made some experts wonder whether his futuristic inventions were the result of his open mind or he did receive messages from advanced extraterrestrial beings.
Tesla had invented so many things way ahead of his time, and one of them was the so-called UFO aircraft. In the first decade of the 20th century, over a hundred years ago, Tesla filed a patent request to an oddly designed aircraft, which he named the world’s first flying saucer, the first human-made UFO of the world for that matter.
Many people find the layout of the flying saucer interesting as it matched the descriptions by individuals who claimed to have seen UFOs from the inside. The human-made UFO had a discoidal capacitor with enough size to give thrust to fly. There were other small capacitors designed to control the direction of the flying saucer. The UFO-like invention also featured a gyroscopic stabilization system and electric-powered drive control.
Tesla was all about futuristic designs, and his flying saucer was top of the line. The inside of the craft was installed with flat screens and external video cameras for the blind spots of the pilot. Tesla’s UFO had eyes in all spots, thanks to the electro-optical lenses that were arranged in quadrants, enabling the pilot to see everything.
Tesla’s aircraft did not include an energy source of its own as free energy powers it. The aircraft’s power came from the towers of wireless transmission.
Aliens Zapped Russian Soldiers, Declassified CIA Report Claims
Surviving aliens allegedly attacked and killed Russian military after the latter shot down the former, revealed in a sensational declassified CIA report.
The bizarre report reportedly includes claims that aliens in the UFO transformed into a ball of light and turned 23 soldiers into stone. It was allegedly buried among thousands of U.S. intelligence agency declassified files published online.
The shocking report, made on March 27, 1993, is apparently the CIA translation of a report from the Ukraine-based newspaper Ternopil vechirniy. According to the newspaper report, many KGB files reached the CIA after Mikhail Gorbachev lost power in 1991.
The report stated that a military unit noticed a low flying saucer while in training in Siberia. One of the soldiers then fired a surface to air missile, bringing the UFO down, the report said. It further indicated that five short humanoids, having large heads and huge black eyes, got out.
Two survivor soldiers saw the five beings transformed into a white spherical ball of light, buzzed and hissed. The ball of light then exploded and turned 23 soldiers into stone, the report claimed. Two troops in a shaded area survived the alleged attack.
The report added that the remains of the petrified soldiers were transported to a secret research institution near Moscow as per KGB report.
A perplexing piece of video via a webcam watching volcanoes in Mexico shows a small ball of light slowly emerge on screen before bursting into a massive glow.
The strange event occurred on January 24th at what is thought to be Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano which has been a frequent site for UFO sightings over the last year or so.
This latest incident is certainly curious as the way in which the tiny orb turns into an enormous light is quite remarkable and wondrous.
Per usual, reaction to the video has been divided into a handful of different camps.
UFO enthusiasts contend that the footage serves as further confirmation that the volcano is of some significance to ETs and may even be a base for aliens.
Conversely, those who do not subscribe to the idea that UFOs are real and ETs are visiting our planet will argue that the anomaly is merely a natural event possibly caused by tumultuous activity around the volcano.
And there are also others who have put forward the idea that the 'UFO' comes from Earth not outer space and is, in fact, a secret government aircraft inadvertently captured on film.
While we will probably never know precisely what the anomaly was, history tells us that it is almost certainly not the last time a 'volcanic UFO' video emerge and leave us guessing.
With that in mind, check out the intriguing video and let us know your theory for the origin of the odd light at the C2C Facebook page.
Jules Verne TIME CAPSULE excavated containing unpublished work, and mystery objects
Using drones, and ground penetrating radar, experts from Paris Descartes University and The Explorers Club NYC believe to have come across a Time Capsule that belonged to legendary French writer Jules Verne, famous for his books like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon among others.
One of the most influential writers to break the boundaries between the possible and the impossible is without a doubt French writer Jules Verne.
Verne was a French novelist, poet, and playwright and his most notable works are Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Mysterious Island, Five Weeks in a Balloon.
Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare and is often referred to as the “father of Science Fiction”.
Now, experts have uncovered a time capsule which they believe belongs to the French writer.
The enigmatic metal box was recovered and contains documents, books, and strange metallic objects of different size.
The time capsule was discovered by experts from Paris Descartes University and The Explorers Club NYC.
It is believed that among the many objects hidden in the time capsule are potentially unpublished materials, which historians and people around the world find extremely exciting.
The enigmatic time capsule was discovered near the French Pyrenees in southern France after experts studied the tomb of the legendary science fiction writer. The discovery was made possible thanksthree-month month project where researchers used both aerial imagery and ground penetrating radar.
According to reports, “all of the material collected and … complex geolocation algorithms … to identify the area in which they might find some kind of object associated with Verne.”
Experts are so far convinced that the metallic box was buried by either Jules Verne of someone who was very close to him.
Currently, the items found inside of the box are being meticulously analyzed by scholars in a controlled environment to ensure the preservation and non-contamination of the items inside of the time capsule.
According to reports, the items are not in pristine conditions and have been deteriorated with the passage of time.
Furthermore, researchers have also discovered numerous engravings on the outer parts of the metallic box. However, these engravings have become barely visible due to oxidation.
While many people have welcomed this extraordinary news, skeptics warn that it has still not been possible to prove that the box and its enigmatic content did in fact belong to the famous French writer. However, everything experts have managed to find so far points to the possibility that they may have come across unpublished documents that belonged to the writer.
Local newspapers point out that researchers are already in the second phase of research and are working towards revealing the contents of the time capsule to the public in the near future.
Paris Descartes University Field Archaeologist Elouan Beauséjour who is believed to have made the discovery wrote on Twitter: Hi everyone!! Thanks for your emails and comments. It’s exciting but I’m overwhelmed right now. Sorry for the delay in answering you!
REAL REASON OF OUR EXISTENCE ON EARTH REVEALED BY 20,000-YEAR-OLD TABLETS
Many people believe Genesis was unique in telling the story of how people were created and existed but then ancient texts that come from different cultures tell the same story and they were the first to tell the story and reveal the real reason of existence on earth.
The ancient texts talk about a similar historical account, however, they do go into a great deal more detail and they also add in some information that is intriguing. Tablets that date back 20,000 years have taken an archaeologist more than 20 years to translate and when he did they changed his whole life.
Zecharia Sitchin began to translate the tablets 50 years ago at a time when there weren't any other Sumerian translators to help him. The tablets were complex and this proved to be a huge challenge. They had been written in a longer period of time and so they followed the many changes to the Sumerian language.
TABLETS TEXT IS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALIEN NAMED NIBIRU
Following hard work for more than 20 years, Zecharia managed to translate what he says is an autobiography of an alien from a planet with the name of Nibiru. The name of the alien was Enki and the story in the tablets began a long time before humans came to be.
The story in the tablets begins with the account of Enki of arrival on Earth with 20 more astronauts and wife, as they searched for a material that allowed for life to perpetuate on their home planet, gold. The tablets revealed that the atmosphere of the planet had to have gold dust so that it could reflect ultraviolet radiation and this was making life very difficult on Nibiru.
ALIENS CAME TO EARTH IN SEARCH OF GOLD DUST
The alien went on to say that while they were trying to excavate the gold from Earth, the Sumerian gods were not able to endure the physical work. Enki then came up with the idea of servants by combining DNA with the hominids on Earth. Then came the mission to create sentient humans was given to Enki's wife, a doctor and a scientist.
There have been many theories about the creation of humans through intervention, along with evolutionary path, already proven. Some people may refer to it as divine intervention and others say that the intervention was of the extraterrestrial variety.
NIBIRU ROTATES EVERY 10,000 YEARS AND IS 10TH PLANET IN SOLAR SYSTEM
Sitchin however, thinks that the tablets offer a lot that was left out and not explained about the world’s history along with the solar system. He thinks that a missing link may be the result of the intervention of the aliens from Nibiru or Anunnaki. He believes that Nibiru has a rotational cycle of 10,000 years and it is the 10th planet in the solar system.
Sitchin and his ideas don’t sit well with many historians as they are totally opposed to the idea of Anunnaki extraterrestrials and they have their suspicions about the accuracy of the tablets translation. The reason they have suspicions lie within the fact that the tablets showed variations in the language and this means that they cannot be translated by following one general rule.
Evidence of a ‘Top-Secret’ space program? Air force’s mystery X-37B space plane now 700 days in space
The mysterious X-37B is a reusable unmanned spacecraft. It is considered as one of the most mysterious and advanced spacecraft ever operated by the United States Military. The enigmatic space vehicle has reached 700 days in space and no one knows its exact purpose. Experts argue that the X-37B could be used as a spy satellite or to deliver weapons from space, others believe it is part of a secretive space program operated by a shadow government.
One of the most mysterious—known—spacecraft to ever be flown into space is without a doubt the Air Force X-37B spacecraft which reached a staggering 700 days in space.
No one knows what its true purpose is and what exactly its doing while it orbits Earth. However, numerous ufologists and conspiracy theorists argue that the X-37b is just one of the many secret spacecraft that belong to a ‘secret space fleet’ operated by the governemnt. It’s the tip of the iceberg some have said.
If it is indeed SECRET, it’s not the best-kept secret since there is some information about it. The X-37b is also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 4. It carries a mysterious payload that is its biggest secret.
Some argue that it’s a next level space-bomber, while others believe it’s specifically designed to take out space weapons. In May 2010, Tom Burghardt wrote for Space Daily that the X-37B could be used as a spy satellite or to deliver weapons from space.
The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004
Previously, the X-37b’s record in space was 674 days which lasted from December 2012 to October 2014.
The secret space plane is known to have used the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for landing. According to space.com, recent plans to consolidate launch and landing activities could mean vehicles touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
However, where exactly and when the mystery spacecraft will return to Earth is a mystery just as its true mission.
According to Captain Annmarie Annicelli, an Air Force Spokeswoman: “The landing date will be determined based on the completion of the program’s on-orbit demonstrations and objectives for this mission. While the program has the capability to land at either KSC or Vandenberg, the landing location is determined by a variety of factors,” reports space.com.
The enigmatic space vehicle was built and designed by the Air Force and was launched into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015.
It is considered as one of the most mysterious and advanced spacecraft ever operated by the United States Military.
The enigmatic spacecraft is designed to orbit our planet—following a specific mission—and is built to land like one of NASA’s now-retired shuttles.
The Spacecraft was put together by Boeing. The X-37b orbits our planet in low-earth orbit, between 110 (177km) and 500 miles (800km) above Earth. The ISS—by comparison—circles our plant at around 220 miles (350km) above Earth. The X-37b has an orbital speed of 28,044 km/h (17,426 mph).
Furthermore, while no one really knows what the contents of the X-37b’s payload are, NASA has revealed it features a materials experiment aboard, while the Planetary Society is tagging along with a solar-sail demo.
The solar sail demo—called LightSail—uses a propulsion system that acquires photons from the sun, commonly referred to as Solar Sailing. According to the Daily Mail, nine other CubeSat nano-satellites are also taking a piggyback ride into orbit. The space plane – one of two of the same design – is operated robotically, without anyone on board, and is reusable.
Op enkele plekken op aarde, te weten in de woestijn van Australië en Namibië, komen mysterieuze feeëncirkels voor.
Een onbekende kracht of een onbekend fenomeen zorgt ervoor dat deze cirkels in een honingraatpatroon in het landschap verschijnen.
Wetenschappers hebben diverse mogelijke verklaringen bedacht voor de vreemde formaties. Ze kunnen nog steeds niet met zekerheid zeggen hoe ze precies ontstaan.
Termieten
Worden ze veroorzaakt door gas dat omhoog borrelt, zoals Zuid-Afrikaanse wetenschappers in 2011 beweerden?
Of worden ze gemaakt door termieten, zoals een onderzoeker van de Universiteit van Hamburg in 2013 claimde?
Of is de natuur zelf verantwoordelijk voor de cirkelvormige patronen, zoals een internationaal team in 2015 theoretiseerde?
Geen bewijs
Het gebied waarin de miljoenen feeëncirkels worden gevonden strekt zich uit over meer dan 1600 kilometer.
Onderzoekers van de Indiana University hebben bovenstaande hypotheses nog eens onder de loep genomen.
Het team nam monsters en vond geen bewijs voor termietenactiviteit. “Er waren helemaal geen zandtermieten te bekennen,” zei onderzoeker Lixin Wang.
Competitie
De bevindingen van de onderzoekers ondersteunen wel de theorie dat de cirkels een gevolg zijn van competitie tussen plantensoorten.
Het ontstaan van de feeëncirkels lijkt samen te hangen met de hoeveelheid neerslag en voedingsstoffen in de bodem.
Hoe schaarser water en voedingsstoffen, hoe groter de kans op een feeëncirkel.
Nog lang niet voorbij
Eenmaal gevormd wordt een cirkel in stand gehouden door de formatie van een reservoir aan voedingsstoffen voor omringende planten.
De discussie over feeëncirkels is echter nog lang niet voorbij, aangezien het team pleit voor verder onderzoek.
Wetenschappers ontcijferen mysterieuze inscripties Göbekli Tepe. Wat ze ontdekten werpt een nieuw licht op onze geschiedenis
Mysterieuze inscripties op pilaren van het oudste tempelcomplex ter wereld bevestigen dat 11.000 jaar voor Christus een komeet is ingeslagen op aarde.
De komeet wordt onder meer verantwoordelijk gehouden voor het uitsterven van de mammoet en het ontstaan van de eerst menselijke beschavingen.
Experts van de Universiteit van Edinburgh hebben mysterieuze symbolen op stenen pilaren van Göbekli Tepe in het zuiden van Turkije geanalyseerd en kwamen tot de ontdekking dat ze gelinkt konden worden aan sterrenbeelden.
Sterrenbeelden
De inscripties suggereren dat de aarde werd geraakt door een zwerm komeetfragmenten op hetzelfde moment dat een ijstijd zijn intrede deed.
Wetenschappers speculeren al geruime tijd dat een komeet verantwoordelijk kan zijn geweest voor het Jongere Dryas, de laatste koude periode.
Onderzoekers die inscripties van dieren op de pilaren bestudeerden, ontdekten dat de wezens symbool stonden voor sterrenbeelden en de komeet.
Graham Hancock
Schrijver Graham Hancock kwam in zijn boek Magicians of the Gods als eerste met deze theorie op de proppen.
Met behulp van een computerprogramma konden de experts bepalen waar de sterrenbeelden duizenden jaren geleden boven Turkije verschenen.
Ze stelden vast dat de komeet in 10.950 voor Christus is ingeslagen. In diezelfde periode begon het Jongere Dryas.
Grote impact
Het Jongere Dryas wordt gezien als een cruciale periode en in verband gebracht met het ontstaan van de landbouw en de opkomst van de eerste neolithische beschavingen.
De onderzoekers zeggen dat de mensen van Göbekli Tepe nog duizenden jaren waarde hechtten aan de inscripties, wat erop wijst dat de gebeurtenis een grote impact had.
Deze studie kan maar op één ding wijzen: de inslag van een meteoor, aldus hoofdonderzoeker Martin Sweatman.
Sterrenwacht
“Het lijkt erop dat Göbekli Tepe een sterrenwacht was waarmee de avondhemel werd afgespeurd,” zei hij.
“Eén van de pilaren lijkt te zijn gebruikt als gedenkteken voor deze verwoestende gebeurtenis,” voegde hij toe.
Rotatie-as van de aarde
Göbekli Tepe wordt gezien als het oudste tempelcomplex ter wereld. Het is vele duizenden jaren ouder dan Stonehenge.
Uit symbolen die op de pilaren zijn gevonden blijkt dat men indertijd ook veranderingen in de rotatie-as van de aarde bijhield.
Het onderzoek is gepubliceerd in Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry.
Wetenschappers ontcijferen mysterieuze inscripties Göbekli Tepe. Wat ze ontdekten werpt een nieuw licht op onze geschiedenis
Mysterieuze inscripties op pilaren van het oudste tempelcomplex ter wereld bevestigen dat 11.000 jaar voor Christus een komeet is ingeslagen op aarde.
De komeet wordt onder meer verantwoordelijk gehouden voor het uitsterven van de mammoet en het ontstaan van de eerst menselijke beschavingen.
Experts van de Universiteit van Edinburgh hebben mysterieuze symbolen op stenen pilaren van Göbekli Tepe in het zuiden van Turkije geanalyseerd en kwamen tot de ontdekking dat ze gelinkt konden worden aan sterrenbeelden.
Sterrenbeelden
De inscripties suggereren dat de aarde werd geraakt door een zwerm komeetfragmenten op hetzelfde moment dat een ijstijd zijn intrede deed.
Wetenschappers speculeren al geruime tijd dat een komeet verantwoordelijk kan zijn geweest voor het Jongere Dryas, de laatste koude periode.
Onderzoekers die inscripties van dieren op de pilaren bestudeerden, ontdekten dat de wezens symbool stonden voor sterrenbeelden en de komeet.
Graham Hancock
Schrijver Graham Hancock kwam in zijn boek Magicians of the Gods als eerste met deze theorie op de proppen.
Met behulp van een computerprogramma konden de experts bepalen waar de sterrenbeelden duizenden jaren geleden boven Turkije verschenen.
Ze stelden vast dat de komeet in 10.950 voor Christus is ingeslagen. In diezelfde periode begon het Jongere Dryas.
Grote impact
Het Jongere Dryas wordt gezien als een cruciale periode en in verband gebracht met het ontstaan van de landbouw en de opkomst van de eerste neolithische beschavingen.
De onderzoekers zeggen dat de mensen van Göbekli Tepe nog duizenden jaren waarde hechtten aan de inscripties, wat erop wijst dat de gebeurtenis een grote impact had.
Deze studie kan maar op één ding wijzen: de inslag van een meteoor, aldus hoofdonderzoeker Martin Sweatman.
Sterrenwacht
“Het lijkt erop dat Göbekli Tepe een sterrenwacht was waarmee de avondhemel werd afgespeurd,” zei hij.
“Eén van de pilaren lijkt te zijn gebruikt als gedenkteken voor deze verwoestende gebeurtenis,” voegde hij toe.
Rotatie-as van de aarde
Göbekli Tepe wordt gezien als het oudste tempelcomplex ter wereld. Het is vele duizenden jaren ouder dan Stonehenge.
Uit symbolen die op de pilaren zijn gevonden blijkt dat men indertijd ook veranderingen in de rotatie-as van de aarde bijhield.
Het onderzoek is gepubliceerd in Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry.
Bizarre transparent ‘alien cylinder’ spotted on live NASA feed for International Space Station leaving star gazers baffled
The UFO appeared to fade into the darkness, sparking theories it could have alien stealth technology
By Laura Burnip
UFO experts claim a mysterious object captured flying past the International Space Station (ISS) on NASA’s live feed is actually an “alien cylinder”.
Baffling footage shows the item suddenly appearing out the window of the space station, getting closer before fading away.
The bizarre object is seen emerging out of the darkness
The white oblong-shape moves towards the space station
Conspiracy theorist Scott C Waring, who runs UFO Sightings Daily, shared the footage, writing: “I noticed a UFO in the distance that was coming closer and closer to the space station.
“The UFO was partially cloaked, which made it look transparent.
“In the deep blackness of spaces, blending into the environment means you will be safer from other alien species that may not be friendly.”
The cylinder then starts to fade, with UFO experts claiming it could have alien stealth technology
But the claims have been disputed by “debunking” experts, who insist it is just a “lens flare”.
Scott Brando tweeted: “Don’t be fooled by latest #video shared by Scott C. Waring, the ‘alien cylinder’ is just a lens reflection.”
Bizarre transparent 'alien cylinder' spotted on live NASA feed
(Screenshot from NASA video)
UFO experts claim a mysterious object captured flying past the International Space Station (ISS) on NASA’s live feed is actually an “alien cylinder”.
Baffling footage shows the item suddenly appearing out the window of the space station, getting closer before fading away.
Conspiracy theorist Scott C Waring, who runs UFO Sightings Daily, shared the footage, writing: “I noticed a UFO in the distance that was coming closer and closer to the space station.
“The UFO was partially cloaked, which made it look transparent.
“In the deep blackness of spaces, blending into the environment means you will be safer from other alien species that may not be friendly.”
Have aliens gotten tired of flying discs? Is square the new shape in UFOs? That may be the new trend if recent sightings are any indication. MUFON received photographs from a UFO witness in Philadelphia showing a square flying object, while another witness in southern Ohio reported watching a low-flying square. Is it time to check for trade-ins at the used saucer lot?
The Philadelphia witness (MUFON case # 82950) saw the square UFO on the morning of 4/3/17 and described it as a wide diamond or a square. The black parallelogram appeared to be high in the north-northwest sky and moving slowly but at a faster speed than a floating balloon. In the ten minutes the UFO was in sight, the witness noticed four flashes of light and took some pictures. Another person also saw the UFO and said it didn’t look like a helicopter.
The Ohio square sighting (MUFON case # 83058) occurred on 4/9/17 in the evening (10 pm) over Xenia. The witness and his son saw the “square shaped ufo” fly over their house in the direction of -– if you live in the area, you know already — Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Could this have been some type of secret military plane?
It was square shaped when overhead but from a distance it was flatter from top to bottom. It appeared to have flames coming out of the rear of it and had no wings or other visible lights other than the flames and orange glow about it.
This square UFO was apparently flying too fast for the witness to take a picture or get his girlfriend outside to see it.
Are square UFOs becoming a trend? Another MUFON report (# 57373) describes a sighting over Austin, Texas, on the evening of 6/25/16.
I observed what appeared to be a square, low-flying object approaching me from the east. There were four unwavering lights, two red and two yellow. There was very little space between the lights, giving the appearance of a compact square. Strangely, it seemed that one of the sides was its leading edge, not one of the angles.
That IS strange … a craft that didn’t have a point out front. This UFO disappeared and then showed up again, traveling at an estimated 25 mph in a different direction relative to the witness. Could a test military aircraft or a drone pull off that kind of maneuver?
For the seeing is believing crowd, another report (#76835) has three witnesses – a father and two young adult sons – in Batavia, Illinois, on 6/5/16 seeing and recording a dark square object, possibly the size of a car, with rounded corners that they estimated to be about 300 meters from them.
Square UFO sightings are rare but more frequent that you might think. Perhaps the ubiquitous “flying saucer” description gets used for other shapes. Large rectangles are often the shapes given when a witness believes they’re seeing a “mothership.” Other than internal space, why would a mothership need to be rectangular or square instead of round?
A secret military plane seems more likely, especially when the front is a pointed angle. That shape fits flying wings and similar crafts. But what about the reports of square UFOs with the flat edge in front? That doesn’t seem too efficient, even for a sophisticated propulsion system.
Hats off as always to MUFON for their excellent research and database and to NUFORC for their reports as well. Let’s hope one day we’ll all see one of these square UFOs close-up.
Archaeologists and engineers from the University of Edinburgh claim that a set of Stone Age stone tablets seem to confirm the theory that an ancient comet strike led to the development of modern societies and agriculture. That theory has it that a catastrophic comet impact led to a period of climatic instability which forced early humankind to come together into new social arrangements based on the changing climate, largely spawning modern civilization as we know it. The stele stones believed to depict this strike were found in Göbekli Tepe, one of the most mysterious archaeological sites in the world.
Göbekli Tepe was discovered in 1963 and is still under excavation.
Göbekli Tepe is a series of structures atop a ridge in the Anatolian Mountains in southern Turkey. Rows of buildings all converge on a central structure believed to be a Stone Age temple for some unknown belief system. The temple’s purpose remains a mystery, with theories ranging from a temple for a cult of the dead, an astronomical calendar, or a shrine for animal gods worshiped by Stone Age people. The site has been dated to 9,000 BCE, making it the world’s first known temple. Archaeologists are still unsure how early civilizations could have erected some of the structures found at the site.
The temple contains several large stone stele, or tablets, which depict animals and strangely-clothed figures.
The temple contains several large stone steles which depict various animals. Most of the animals correspond to well-known constellations like a bull (Taurus), a scorpion (Scorpius), and a dog (Canis Major and Minor). A strange fox carving also appears, but researchers do not know which constellation it represents. Several other symbols and objects such as a strange belt buckle are found in the carvings but their meanings are still debated. One theory posits that these symbols depict an ancient astronomical event, possibly a cataclysmic one.
The comet strike theory is backed up by several other recent finds.
According to new research published in Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, analysis of the carvings along with computer simulations of astronomical data confirmed that the animal carvings, in fact, represent constellations seen in the sky above an ancient cataclysmic comet strike.
The bull and crane are thought to represent Taurus and Pisces, but the astronomical meaning of the fox is unknown.
Using constellation map software, the researchers found that the particular arrangement of animals seen on the stele would have occurred in 10,950 BCE. The University of Edinburgh’s Dr. Martin Sweatman believes that the date also just so happens to line up with a comet strike believed to have brought on the Ice Age in what is called the Younger-Dryas event:
I think this research, along with the recent finding of a widespread platinum anomaly across the North American continent virtually seal the case in favour of (a Younger Dryas comet impact). Our work serves to reinforce that physical evidence. What is happening here is the process of paradigm change. It appears Göbekli Tepe was, among other things, an observatory for monitoring the night sky. One of its pillars seems to have served as a memorial to this devastating event – probably the worst day in history since the end of the ice age.
That comet theory is backed up by other recent archaeological finds which suggest a platinum-rich comet struck the Earth around the same time and may have wiped out North America’s earliest civilizations. Evidence of such a strike can be seen in the ‘pockmarks’ dotting America’s entire east coast. If our deep geological and archaeological history shows anything, it’s that it’s only a matter of time before the next big one strikes and turns a new page in the Earth’s long and catastrophic history. Carpe diem.
Hubble fotografeert twee vrienden: NGC 4302 en NGC 4298
Tim Kraaijvanger
Komende maandag is het precies 27 jaar geleden dat de Hubble-ruimtetelescoop werd gelanceerd. Dit wordt gevierd met een mooie foto van sterrenstelsels NGC 4302 en NGC 4298.
Deze twee sterrenstelsels zijn vrienden van elkaar. Ze zijn 55 miljoen lichtjaar verwijderd van de aarde, maar de afstand tussen het duo is veel kleiner, namelijk slechts 7.000 lichtjaar. In vergelijking: onze zon is 27.000 lichtjaar verwijderd van het centrum van het melkwegstelsel.
Links in beeld zie je sterrenstelsel NGC 4302. Dit sterrenstelsel ziet er een beetje vreemd uit, maar dat komt omdat we dit spiraalstelsel vanaf de zijkant zien. NGC 4302 is iets kleiner dan ons eigen melkwegstelsel. Rechts naast NGC 4302 bungelt het nog kleinere sterrenstelsel NGC 4298.
Astronomen verwonderen zich over het feit dat deze sterrenstelsels weinig invloed op elkaar uitoefenen. Het duo wisselt alleen neutraal waterstofgas uit, wat overigens niet te zien is op de foto. Er zijn geen rare vervormingen te zien.
Toekomst Het is nog onbekend hoe de toekomst er voor dit duo uitziet. Astronomen vermoeden dat het tweetal onlangs lid is geworden van het Virgocluster en langzaam richting het centrum van dit cluster reist. In het centrum woont het bolvormige sterrenstelsel M87. Het is niet ondenkbaar dat het duo ooit wordt opgeslokt door M87, maar dat gaat niet op korte termijn gebeuren.
Einde in zicht voor Hubble Op dit moment is Hubble nog heer en meester, maar dat gaat veranderen. In 2018 wordt de opvolger gelanceerd, namelijk de James Webb-telescoop. De telescoop gaat op een afstand van 1,5 miljoen kilometer van de aarde prachtige foto’s van nevels, sterrenstelsels en exoplaneten maken. Wetenschappers hopen dat de James Webb-telescoop gaat helpen om aardachtige exoplaneten te ontdekken. Meer weten over James Webb en de verschillen ten opzichte van de Hubble-telescoop? Lees het achtergrondartikel op Scientias.nl.
Onthult deze supernova hoe snel het heelal uitdijt?
Tim Kraaijvanger
De Hubble-ruimtetelescoop heeft een supernova gespot op een afstand van ruim vier miljard lichtjaar van de aarde. Het licht van deze supernova wordt door een sterrenstelsel op de voorgrond afgebogen, waardoor de supernova-explosie vier keer te zien is.
Het voorgrondstelsel is een zogenoemde zwaartekrachtlens. Met zijn zwaartekracht buigt het sterrenstelsel licht van het object erachter – supernova iPTF16geu – af. Hierdoor volgt het licht niet dezelfde weg en is de supernova meerdere keren te zien. Het voorgrondstelsel versterkt het licht van de supernova met een factor 52. In de video hieronder zie je hoe licht afbuigt als er een sterrenstelsel tussen de zender van het licht en de ontvanger (de aarde) verschijnt.
Supernova iPTF16geu is een type 1a supernova. We zien deze supernova vier keer. Stel, we trekken een cirkel om het voorgrondstelsel, waardoor de ‘vier’ supernova’s allemaal net binnen de cirkel vallen, dan heeft deze cirkel een radius van 3.000 lichtjaar. Daarmee is dit een van de kleinste extragalactische zwaartekrachtlensen ooit ontdekt.
WAT IS EEN TYPE 1A SUPERNOVA?
Een type 1a supernova ontstaat in nauwe dubbelstersystemen. Één ster is een witte dwerg, terwijl de andere ster een rode reus of witte dwerg is. De witte dwerg trekt materie van de andere ster naar zich toe. Dit gaat niet altijd goed. Witte dwergen mogen maar een maximaal gewicht hebben. Als een witte dwerg te zwaar is en boven de zogenoemde Chandrasekhar-limiet uitkomt, dan stort de zwaartekracht van een witte dwerg in enkele seconden ineen en explodeert de ster.
Standaardkaars Type 1a supernova’s zijn vrijwel altijd even lichtsterk, doordat ze plaatsvinden in sterren met een vaste grootte en samenstelling. Daarom zijn ze geschikt om de afstand van zeer ver verwijderde sterrenstelsels te kunnen bepalen. Vandaar dat type 1a supernova’s zogenoemde kosmische standaardkaarsen worden genoemd. Standaardkaarsen worden al decennia gebruikt om afstanden in het heelal te berekenen. Dankzij deze objecten weten we dat het heelal versneld uitdijt en dat donkere energie mogelijk bestaat.
Hubbleconstante “Voor het eerst zien we een kosmische standaardkaars meerdere keren, dankzij een sterrenstelsel dat als zwaartekrachtlens fungeert”, zegt professor Ariel Goobar van de universiteit van Stockholm. “Dit is een doorbraak.” Astronomen zijn momenteel bezig om te berekenen hoe lang het duurt voor het licht van de ‘vier’ supernova’s bij ons aankomt. Dankij deze tijdsverschillen kunnen astronomen de Hubbleconstante beter vaststellen, oftewel de snelheid waarmee het heelal uitdijt.
Het licht van supernova iPTF16geu (de vier witte bolletjes) reisde 4,3 miljard lichtjaar naar de aarde. Het sterrenstelsel op de voorgrond (blauw) versterkte het licht van de supernova ruim vijftig keer!
En dat is belangrijk, want recentelijk plaatsten wetenschappers vraagtekens bij de versnelde uitdijing van het heelal. Zo zijn er verschillen tussen de metingen van Planck en Hubble. Planck keek naar het jonge universum (o.a. kosmische achtergrondstraling), terwijl Hubble zich op het lokale universum richtte. “De snelheid waarmee het universum uitdijt, wordt nu op verschillende manieren zo precies gemeten dat discrepanties wellicht wijzen op onbekende natuurwetten die onze huidige kennis van het universum overstijgen”, reageerde onderzoeker Sherry Suyu begin dit jaar.
Vreemde speld in een hooiberg Onderzoeker Rahman Amanullah van de universiteit van Stockholm omschrijft de ontdekking van iPTF16geu als het vinden van een vreemde speld in een hooiberg. “We leren hierdoor iets meer over het universum, maar de ontdekking zorgt er tevens voor dat er allerlei nieuwe vragen opborrelen”, aldus Amanullah. Misschien weten we straks eindelijk hoe snel het heelal exact uitdijt.
Captured: First 'Image' of the Dark Matter That Holds Universe Together
By Nancy Atkinson, Seeker
Dark matter filaments bridge the space between galaxies in this false color map. The locations of bright galaxies are shown by the white regions and the presence of a dark matter filament bridging the galaxies is shown in red.
Credit: S. Epps/M. Hudson/University of Waterloo
For decades, scientists have tracked hints of a thread-like structure that ties together galaxies across the universe. Theories, computer models, and indirect observations have indicated that there is a cosmic web of dark matter that connects galaxies and constitutes the large-scale structure of the cosmos. But while the filaments that make up this web are massive, dark matter is incredibly difficult to observe.
Now, researchers have produced what they say is the first composite image of a dark matter filament that connects galaxies together.
"This image moves us beyond predictions to something we can see and measure," said Mike Hudson, a professor of astronomy at the University of Waterloo in Canada, co-author of a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Dark matter, an elusive substance that is estimated to make up around 27 percent of the universe, doesn't give off, reflect, or absorb light. This has made it virtually impossible to detect, except for its effects when it exerts a gravitational tug or when it warps the light of distant galaxies in what is called gravitational lensing.
For their work, Hudson and co-author Seth Epps, who was a master's student at the University of Waterloo at the time of the research, employed a technique called weak gravitational lensing — a statistical measurement of the slight bends that occur in the path of light passing near mass. The effect produces illustrations of galaxies that appear slightly warped owing to the presence of celestial mass, such as dark matter.
In their paper, they explained that in order to study the weak lensing signal of the dark matter filaments, they required two sets of data: a catalog of galaxy cluster pairs that were lensed, and a catalog of background source galaxies with accurate distance measurements.
They combined lensing data from a multi-year sky survey at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope with information from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that mapped luminous red galaxies (LRGs), which are massive, distant, and very old galaxies.
"LRGs are very bright galaxies," Hudson told Seeker via email. "They tend to be more massive than the average galaxy and live in more massive dark matter 'halos.' It's reasonable to expect that the filament or bridge between them might also be more massive than the average."
Hudson and Epps combined or "stacked" more than 23,000 galaxy pairs, all located about 4.5 billion light-years away. This allowed them to create a composite image or map that shows the presence of dark matter between galaxies. Hudson told Seeker that the filament in their "image" is the average of all 23,000 pairs.
"The primary reason that we used these galaxies is that they had precise distances (as measured by another team)," Hudson explained. "These distance measurements allowed us to distinguish between pairs of galaxies that were actual pairs in 3D (meaning both are at the same distance from us) as opposed to two galaxies that appeared close on the sky but were actually at very different distances."
3D pairs would be physically close to each other and hence, will have a bridge whereas the second group are not physically close to each other, and so would not have a bridge between them. Hudson and Epps said their results show the dark matter filament bridge is strongest between systems less than 40 million light years apart.
"By using this technique, we're not only able to see that these dark matter filaments in the universe exist, we're able to see the extent to which these filaments connect galaxies together," Epps said in a statement.
The Big Bang theory predicts that variations in the density of matter in the very first moments of the universe led the bulk of the matter in the cosmos to condense into a web of tangled filaments. To explain this, astronomer Fritz Zwicky first introduced the concept of dark matter in 1933, when his measurements of galaxies moving within a galaxy cluster showed they must have at least ten times more invisible matter than what is visible.
But it wasn't until the 1970s that dark matter was taken seriously. Vera Rubin and Kent Ford Jr. mapped the motions of stars within galaxies close to our own Milky Way, and they also concluded that each galaxy had to include enormous amounts of unseen matter, far more than all the visible matter. Later, computer simulations confirmed this and suggested the existence of dark matter, structured like a web, with long filaments that connect to each other at the locations of massive galaxy clusters.
In their paper, Hudson and Epps list dozens of previous studies that have attempted to measure and observe the dark matter web, and they say they hope their stacking techniques to measure the filaments between groups and clusters of galaxies can serve as a foundation for future filament studies. They hope upcoming surveys and telescopes will continue to further our understanding of dark matter.
Groundbreaking UFO Video Just Released By Chilean Navy
An exceptional nine-minute Navy video of a UFO displaying highly unusual behavior, studied by Chilean authorities for the last two years, is now being released to the public. The CEFAA - the Chilean government agency which investigates UFOs, or UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena), has been in charge of the investigation. Located within the DGAC, the equivalent of our FAA but under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Air Force, CEFAA has committees of military experts, technicians and academics from many disciplines. None of them have been able to explain the strange flying object captured by two experienced Navy officers from a helicopter.
The Chilean government agency always makes its cases public when an investigation is complete, and acknowledges the existence of UAP when a case merits such a conclusion.
General Ricardo Bermúdez, Director of CEFAA during the investigation, told me that “We do not know what it was, but we do know what it was not.” And “what it is not” comprises a long list of conventional explanations. Here is what happened:
On November 11, 2014, a Chilean Navy helicopter (Airbus Cougar AS-532) was on a routine daytime patrol mission flying north along the coast, west of Santiago. On board were the pilot, a Navy Captain with many years of flying experience, and a Navy technician who was testing a WESCAM’s MX-15 HD Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) camera, used most often for “medium-altitude covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” according to the product website. The aircraft was flying at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet on a clear afternoon with unlimited horizontal visibility, and the air temperature at that height was 50 degrees F (10 C). There was a cloud base above at 10,000 feet, and a layer of stratuscumulos clouds below. The helicopter was flying at about 132 knots,or 152 mph.
EVOGOL AT ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA
A Chilean Navy AS 532SC Cougar helicopter in Mejillones, Chile.
At 1:52 pm, while filming the terrain, the technician observed a strange object flying to the left over the ocean. Soon both men observed it with the naked eye. They noticed that the velocity and the altitude of the object appeared to be about the same as the helicopter, and estimated that the object was approximately 35 to 40 miles (55-65 km) away. It was traveling W/NW, according to the Captain. The technician aimed the camera at the object immediately and zoomed in with the infra red (IR) for better clarity.
COURTESY CEFAA
The route of the helicopter derived from the displayed geographic coordinates displayed on the camera.
Shortly thereafter, the pilot contacted two radar stations - one close by on the coast, and the other the main DGAC Control system (Ground Primary Radar) in Santiago - to report the unknown traffic. Neither station could detect it on radar, although both easily picked up the helicopter. (The object was well within the range of radar detection.) Air traffic controllers confirmed that no traffic, either civilian or military, had been reported in the area, and that no aircraft had been authorized to fly in the controlled air space where the object was located. The on-board radar was also unable to detect the object and the camera’s radar could not lock onto it.
The pilot tried several times to communicate with the UAP, using the multi-national, civilian bandwidth designed for this purpose. He received no reply.
The technician filmed the object for nine minutes and twelve seconds, mainly in IR. This sensor produces a black and white video in which the black, white and grey tones are directly related to temperature. IR detects heat, and the hotter the material being filmed, the darker it appears on the image. The officers stopped the camera when they had to return to the base and the object disappeared behind the clouds.
The Navy immediately turned over the footage to the CEFAA, and General Bermúdez, accompanied by nuclear chemist Mario Avila, a CEFAA scientific committee member, conducted interviews with the two officers at their Navy base. “I was very impressed by these witnesses,” Avila told me. “They were highly trained professionals with many years experience, and they were absolutely certain that they could not explain what they saw.” Both offiicers also provided written reports at the base, as is required, and for CEFAA.
The Navy Captain stated that the object was a “flat, elongated structure” with “two thermal spotlights like discharges that did not coincide with the axel of motion.” The technician described it as as “white with a semi-oval shape on the horizontal axis.”
COURTESY CEFAA
The video depicts two connected white circular lights or hot spots, giving off much heat (left). This image was part of an analysis by astrophysicist Luis Barrera. “Envoltura” means “envelope.”
But there is one additional component that makes this footage particularly unique: “In two instances it discharged some type of gas or liquid with a high thermal track or signal,” the technician stated. After filming for about eight minutes, the stunning ejection of a massive plume of a very hot material is captured on the video, trailing behind the object. (The plume blended into the clouds when seen in HD.) Another ejection occurred moments later. It is indeed bizarre to watch this on the video.
COURTESY CEFAA
The object moved away from the massize plume it ejected just moments earlier.
Following are the three key video excerpts in chronological order; later I include the full ten minute video. Note that at times the camera switches from IR to HD mode. I recommend watching these silent video clips on a large monitor.
The first one shows the object in motion. The camera captured this for about eight minutes prior to the spectacular display in the next video. (Click “back to youtube video” at the end to prevent a new unrelated video from starting.)
This clip shows the first expulsion of the hot material from the object and the object’s movement away from the plume:
The second expulsion occurred at the end of the video:
During the following two years, at least eight somewhat contentious meetings were held with members of the baffled CEFAA scientific committee, some of which included the active Air Force General who directs the DGAC. According to CEFAA international affairs director Jose Lay, the general tone of the meetings was astonishment: “What the hell is that?” No agreement could be reached to explain the video - theories that were proposed were ruled out by the data.
COURTESY CEFAA
A rather somber meeting of the CEFAA scientific and military committee to discuss the Navy video. The DGAC Director presided (with his back to the camera).
Written reports or video analyses were provided by the well-known astrophysicist Luis Barrera; an image expert from the Air Force photogrammetric service; photo and video analyst Francois Louange and colleagues from France, arranged through the French agency GEIPAN; Luis Salazar, Chilean Air Force meteorologist; a DGAC aeronautic engineer; a digital images specialist from the National Museum of Aeronautics and Space in Santiago; and Mario Avila, a nuclear chemist. All radar, satellite weather data, and details of air traffic in that sector at that time were provided.
COURTESY CEFAA
DGAC’s Director, Air Force General Victor Villalobos, attended two committee meetings on the case.
The French analysts proposed that the object was a “medium-haul aircraft” coming in for a landing into the Santiago airport, and “the effluent trail observed on two occasions probably results from dumping some cabin waste water, forming a plume oriented along the local wind blowing from the west.” They based this on their calculation that the distance between the two hot spots was “consistent with the standard distance between the two jet engines of a medium-haul aircraft.”
Chilean experts knew that this would have been impossible, for a number of reasons: This plane would have been seen on primary radar; it would have had to be cleared for landing in Santiago or at another airport; it would likely have responded to radio communications. Airplanes do not throw out water when landing. In fact, in Chile a plane wishing to eject any material must request permission from the DGAC before doing so; that regulation is widely known and respected. And, it seems unlikely that this experienced pilot would not have recognized this as an airplane, or at least kept that option open afterwards if it were a possibility.
In fact, if - hypothetically - water was expelled, it would have immediately plummeted to the ground given the warm air temperature. According to NASA, “Contrails are human-induced clouds that usually form at very high altitudes (usually above 8 km - about 26,000 ft) where the air is extremely cold (less than -40ºC). Because of this, contrails form not when an airplane is taking off or landing, but while it is at cruise altitude.” The plume ejected from the object must have been some kind of gas or energy, and was not something tangible like water.
The French calculations confirmed that the UAP’s altitude was the same as the helicopter’s, and that “the helicopter’s velocity along its linear trajectory was constant (120 kt),” just as the witnesses had stated. In addition, Louange and his colleagues determined that the average distance between the helicopter and the object was “almost exactly the estimated value reported by the Navy (55 km).” Clearly the two witnesses were competent and accurate observers.
Data from the various reports eliminate other conventional explanations. Meteorologists determined that no weather balloons were in the sky at that time, and noted that a ballon would not move horizontally along with the plane because the wind was blowing from the west towards the shore. Comparing the footage to similar IR satellite imagery with known temperature values, they stated that the object’s temperature must have been higher than 122 degrees F (50 C). The object was not a drone; all drones require registration with the DGAC and whenever flown, the DGAC is informed, just like it is with aircraft. Also, radar would register drones. CEFAA staff went up the chain of command to a Navy Admiral who informed them that there were no joint Naval exercises underway with the US or any other country. The Admiral confirmed that this could not have been a US drone, or any type of espionage or secret vehicle from a foreign country.
Astrophysicist Barrera explored the possibility of space junk re-entry - especially Russian - which somehow may have broken and released compressed gases at this low altitude. It was confirmed that no space debris entered the atmosphere on that date in that location, and in any case, such an object would have fallen rapidly and not flown horitzontally. Two independent experts on explosives told CEFAA staff that in such a scenario, the rounded vehicle would explode in the air due to the high internal pressure, and that the gas would catch fire in a flash. And any such re-entries would have been communicated to the Chilean government so that aircraft can be warned, as is the protocol.
Barrera also noted that when the first ejection event occurred, the material came out from two different parts of the object and then joined in space making one wake. The first was massive and dark in the IR (meaning very hot); the second lighter and semi-transparent.
Air Force photo analysts confrmed that the object was a real, three dimensional form with volume and that it “has control in its movements.” It was not affected by the winds, reflected the light, and threw out “some kind of energy.” They established that there was no evidence of hoaxing or of “alteration of the video by any computer application in the editing and processing of the images.” They also ruled out a bird, flying insect, drone, parachute or hang glider. “It can be concluded that the object has all the characteristics to be classified as an unidentified aerial phenomenon” wrote Alberto Vergara, the lead analyst from the Air Force Photogrammetric Department.
It is unclear how much of the apparent horizontal motion of the object may be the clouds moving or the relative motion of the camera on the helicopter, but the witnesses reported that the object kept pace with the chopper and the French analysts confirmed this. Also noteworthy is the fact that when in HD mode, the large plume looked like part of the cloud and would never be noticed as anything unusual by an observer. Without the IR camera, it would have been difficult to see the white object against the sky and impossible to capture this remarkable footage. It makes one wonder what kind of actiivites may take place within clouds that are unknown to us.
Here is the full ten minute video of the sighting:
“This has been one of the most important cases in my career as director of CEFAA because our Committee was at its best, “ General Bermúdez said in an email. “The CEFAA is well regarded partly because there is full participation from the scientists of the academic world, the armed forces through their representatives, and the aeronautic personnel from the DGAC, including its Director. I am extremely pleased as well with the conclusion reached which is logical and unpretentious.” The official conclusion was that “the great majority of committee members agreed to call the subject in question a UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) due to the number of highly researched reasons that it was unanimously agreed could not explain it.”
This case represents one of the most puzzling and fascinating of all cases in the CEFAA files, according to Jose Lay. “It is our first video taken with a sophisticated camera in the infra red; the first time we have ever seen the ejection of a substance from a UAP; the first time we have a sighting lasting over nine minutes with two highly reliable witnesses,” he said when we spoke.
OPENMINDS.TV/CEFAA
General Ricardo Bermúdez has directed the CEFAA since its inception in 1997. He retired on Jan. 1, 2017, but will remain an advisor to the agency.
The CEFAA has been a world leader in official and open investigations of UFOs. I have been priviledged to work closely with the staff there for about five years, learning a great deal. At the end of December, General Bermúdez retired, and although he remains an external advisor to the agency, Lay has assumed the duty of interim director until another General is appointed by the DGAC. I am grateful to General Bermúdez for giving me access to the outstanding CEFAA case files, inviting me to attend meetings there, and for his time in answering my questions. He has left a tremendous legacy with regards to the serious study of UAP and the official recognition of a real unexplained phenomenon in our skies.
Precies twee jaar geleden ging een foto van een bijzondere UFO, gemaakt door de Groninger Harry Parton, de wereld rond.
Het was een unieke opname en nu lijkt het erop dat hetzelfde object is gefotografeerd boven het noorden van Italië.
UFO liefhebbers zullen zich het voorval van enkele jaren geleden nog wel kunnen herinneren, maar voor hen die het niet meer weten, hierbij, uit een eerder artikel, wat er in Groningen gebeurde:
Perton is een Groninger die nogal nuchter blijft onder dit soort dingen en denkt dat de vreemde foto te maken heeft met lichtval of iets dergelijks, wat best zou kunnen.
Echter, ook internationaal is deze foto niet onopgemerkt gebleven en zijn er mensen die zich afvragen of we hier de eerste echte afbeelding hebben van een portaal naar een andere dimensie.
Opeens flitste er iets. Ik dacht eerst mijn toestel, maar de flitskap stond niet omhoog. Ook zat er geen druppel op mijn lens. Ik besloot dat het een bliksem moest zijn geweest. Maar thuis zie ik wat vreemds op een van de foto’s die ik aan het eind van het bomenlaantje maakte.
We zijn nu twee jaar later en iemand maakte op 3 april 2017 een vergelijkbare foto, maar nu in het noorden van Italië.
Perton is geen sterrenkundige, dus heeft hij voor de zekerheid Theo Jurriëns (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) ook nog ingeschakeld. 'Hij belde met het KNMI en die zei dat het een drone was. Maar dat vind ik vreemd. Want wie laat nou zo'n kostbare drone tegen onweer aanvliegen?'
En ongetwijfeld zal het object uit Italië worden geclassificeerd als een nieuw soort drone wolk door onze weerexperts.
According to the Unruh effect, an accelerated observer sees empty space heat up.
lkuni/iStockphoto
Artist Mark Rademaker's concept for the IXS Enterprise, a theoretical interstellar spacecraft.
Credit: Mark Rademaker/flickr.com
IN BRIEF
The Unruh effect has been heavily debated for the past forty years. Canadian researchers believe that they can prove the theory using currently available particle accelerators and electromagnets.
Forty years ago, Canadian physicist Bill Unruh made a surprising prediction regarding quantum field theory. Known as the Unruh effect, his theory predicted that an accelerating observer would be bathed in blackbody radiation, whereas an inertial observer would be exposed to none. What better way to mark the 40th anniversary of this theory than to consider how it could affect human beings attempting relativistic space travel?
Such was the intent behind a new study by a team of researchers from Sao Paulo, Brazil. In essence, they consider how the Unruh effect could be confirmed using a simple experiment that relies on existing technology. Not only would this experiment prove once and for all if the Unruh effect is real, it could also help us plan for the day when interstellar travel becomes a reality.
To put it in layman’s terms, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity states that time and space are dependent upon the inertial reference frame of the observer. Consistent with this is the theory that if an observer is traveling at a constant speed through empty vacuum, they will find that the temperature of said vacuum is absolute zero. But if they were to begin to accelerate, the temperature of the empty space would become hotter.
According to the theory of the Unruh effect, accelerating particles are subject to increased radiation. Credit: NASA/Sonoma State University/Aurore Simonnet
This is what William Unruh — a theorist from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver — asserted in 1976. According to his theory, an observer accelerating through space would be subject to a “thermal bath” — i.e. photons and other particles — which would intensify the more they accelerated. Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to measure this effect, since no spacecraft exists that can achieve the kind of speeds necessary.
For the sake of their study – which was recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters under the title “Virtual observation of the Unruh effect” — the research team proposed a simple experiment to test for the Unruh effect. Led by Gabriel Cozzella of the Institute of Theoretical Physics (IFT) at Sao Paulo State University, they claim that this experiment would settle the issue by measuring an already-understood electromagnetic phenomenon.
Essentially, they argue that it would be possible to detect the Unruh effect by measuring what is known as Larmor radiation. This refers to the electromagnetic energy that is radiated away from charged particles (such as electrons, protons or ions) when they accelerate. As they state in their study: “A more promising strategy consists of seeking for fingerprints of the Unruh effect in the radiation emitted by accelerated charges. Accelerated charges should back react due to radiation emission, quivering accordingly. Such a quivering would be naturally interpreted by Rindler observers as a consequence of the charge interaction with the photons of the Unruh thermal bath.”
Diagram of the experiment to test the Unruh effect, where electrons are injected into a magnetic field and subjected to lateral and vertical pulls. Credit: Cozzella, Gabriel (et al.)
As they describe in their paper, this would consist of monitoring the light emitted by electrons within two separate reference frames. In the first, known as the “accelerating frame,” electrons are fired laterally across a magnetic field, which would cause the electrons to move in a circular pattern. In the second, the “laboratory frame,” a vertical field is applied to accelerate the electrons upwards, causing them to follow a corkscrew-like path.
In the accelerating frame, Cozzella and his colleagues assume that the electrons would encounter the “fog of photons”, where they both radiate and emit them. In the laboratory frame, the electrons would heat up once vertical acceleration was applied, causing them to show an excess of long-wavelength photons. However, this would be dependent on the “fog” existing in the accelerated frame to begin with.
In short, this experiment offers a simple test which could determine whether or not the Unruh effect exists, which is something that has been in dispute ever since it was proposed. One of the beauties of the proposed experiment is that it could be conducted using particle accelerators and electromagnets that are currently available.
On the other side of the debate are those who claim that the Unruh effect is due to a mathematical error made by Unruh and his colleagues. For those individuals, this experiment is useful because it would effectively debunk this theory. Regardless, Cozzella and his team are confident their proposed experiment will yield positiveresults.
Project Starshot, an initiative sponsored by the Breakthrough Foundation, is intended to be humanity’s first interstellar voyage. Credit: breakthroughinitiatives.org
“We have proposed a simple experiment where the presence of the Unruh thermal bath is codified in the Larmor radiation emitted from an accelerated charge,” they state. “Then, we carried out a straightforward classical-electrodynamics calculation (checked by a quantum-field-theory one) to confirm it by ourselves. Unless one challenges classical electrodynamics, our results must be virtually considered as an observation of the Unruh effect.”
If the experiments should prove successful, and the Unruh effect is proven to exist, it would certainly have consequences for any future deep-space missions that rely on advanced propulsion systems. Between Project Starshot, and any proposed mission that would involve sending a crew to another star system, the added effects of a “fog of photons” and a “thermal bath” will need to be factored in.
The Flying Eye, an expensive $75,000 drone, is the first of its kind to shoot 360-degree video in 6K and live stream broadcast-quality video from a range of 5 miles.
Your flying car might finally be on the way as the all-electric, two-seater Lilium Jet took its first test flight this week. Lilium Aviation's prototype consumes around 90 percent less energy than drone-style aircraft and could be the transportation mode of the future.
THE LILIUM JET
If you’ve been begging the universe for a flying car for your entire life, you may soon be able to stop asking (sort of). This week, Germany-based company Lilium Aviation took its new all-electric, two-seater vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) prototype for its first test flight. The jet was piloted remotely during the tests, but its creators say the vehicle’s first manned flight will happen soon.
Thirty-six separate jet engines mounted on 12 movable flaps on the Lilium Jet’s 10-meter-long wings power the craft. The flaps point down at take-off to provide vertical lift, and then they tilt gradually into a horizontal position for forward thrust. Lilium says that its electric battery enables the aircraft to reach a maximum cruising speed of 300 kph (183 mph) and achieve a range of 300 kilometers (183 miles), all while it “consumes around 90 percent less energy than drone-style aircraft,” according to a recent press release.
POWERED BY RENEWABLES
The startup plans to build a five-passenger version of the jet eventually, and Lilium envisions its product being used in an on-demand capacity in dense, urban areas — the Uber of flying cars (though Uber itself is working on its own flying model). Patrick Nathen, co-founder and head of calculation and design for Lilium Jet, told The Verge that the company’s ultimate goal is to make the technology accessible for everyone, replacing expensive ground taxi trips in urban areas with flights at a fraction of the cost.
Although electric-powered aviation is not yet highly developed, this prototype’s design makes it far more efficient in terms of power consumption than other electric aircraft. And although electric cars with the same 1,000-pound batteries used in this aircraft are typically limited to a range of about 482 kilometers (300 miles) per charge, Nathen says that’s enough for their jet.
This jet and virtually all other innovative vehicles in development right now will run on renewables. This is more than a trend — it is simply the way of the future. Tesla vehicles will soon be as affordable as standard vehicles, and their semi trucks and pickups are on the way. This kind of electric-powered aircraft is the next step in truly getting clean energy off the ground while leaving fossil fuels in it.
Astronomers have discovered a strange phenomenon previously thought to be uncommon. At the center of two dwarf galaxies were found supermassive black holes even larger than the one in the Milky Way. This could help explain the origin of galaxies and the universe.
RIDDLED WITH HOLES
The universe can be thought of as one big, continuously expanding space. An interesting theory about this expansion assumes that the universe could’ve spawned from a singularity — not the technological kind — similar to way that black holesare said to be the origin of galaxies.
There’s much about the formation of galaxies and black holes that we don’t understand yet, let alone the very origins of the universe, but scientists continue to explore and evaluate this interesting theory. Now, a new study published in The Astronomical Journalis providing us with more clues about how black holes operate in the cosmos.
Not long ago, supermassive black holes (SMBH) were thought to be found only in bigger galaxies, like the Milky Way. Then, a team of astronomers from the University of Utah found a SMBH at the center of an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy, which they concluded must be an uncommon occurrence. But now the team has found SMBH at the centers of two other dwarf galaxies named VUCD3 and M59cO.
Image credit: University of Utah
Not only were these SMBH spotted in more dwarf galaxies, but they are even larger than the Milky Way’s SMBH, called Sagittarius A (which is about 4 million times the mass of the sun). “It’s pretty amazing when you really think about it,” lead researcher Chris Ahn said in an interview for a University of Utah press release. “These ultra-compact dwarfs are around 0.1 percent the size of the Milky Way, yet they host supermassive black holes that are bigger than the black hole at the center of our own galaxy.”
AN ORIGIN STORY
Having SMBH at the center of these dwarf galaxies could explain why they were found to be more massive than scientists expected when considering just their stars. In the case of VUCD3, its black hole was 13 percent of the galaxy’s total mass, while the M59cO’s black hole accounted for 18 percent of its total mass. In comparison, the Milky Way’s SMBH makes up less than 0.01 percent of the galaxy’s total mass.
In addition to providing insight into these specific galaxies, this discovery can also help us understand how other galaxies came to be. “We still don’t fully understand how galaxies form and evolve over time,” Anil Seth explained in the press release. “These objects can tell us how galaxies merge and collide.”
The study also shows that dwarf galaxies aren’t just star clusters. They could be younger versions of bigger galaxies like the one we call home.
“We know that galaxies merge and combine all the time — that’s how galaxies evolve. Our Milky Way is eating up galaxies as we speak,” Seth went on to say. “Our general picture of how galaxies form is that little galaxies merge to form big galaxies. But we have a really incomplete picture of that. The ultra-compact dwarf galaxies provide us a longer timeline to be able to look at what’s happened in the past.”
Ever since studies started suggesting that chemical reactions between water and rock on Saturn's moon Enceladus could provide enough energy in the water to feed microbial life, scientists have been searching for proof that the right sort of reactions really do occur.
And during its last dive through the icy plumes that Enceladus erupts into space in October 2015, the Cassini spacecraft has finally managed to find it – in the form of molecular hydrogen. The finding, published in Science, means the moon can now be considered highly likely to be suitable to host microbial life. In fact, the results should undermine the last strong objection from those who argue it could not.
Enceladus is a small (502km in diameter) moon with an icy surface, a rocky interior and an ocean of liquid water sandwiched between the two. Cassini discovered back in 2005 that Enceladus is venting water into space, in the form of plumes of ice crystals escaping from cracks in the surface. For a decade, Enceladus was the only icy moon where this was known to happen, but plumes have recently been found on Europa, too, a larger icy moon of Jupiter.
Cassini's discovery led to it being re-tasked to fly through Enceladus's plumes. There, in addition to water, it was able to identify traces of methane, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, simple organic molecules and salts.
Cutaway view inside Enceladus, showing where hot water and rock interact below the ice.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Eventually, in March 2015, it detected microscopic particles of silica. By then, the composition of the plumes showed almost every sign that ocean water had reacted chemically with heated rock – altering the minerals of the rocky silicate seabed while the water became rich in chemicals.
Presumably, the ocean water is drawn into the rock, becomes heated, reacts chemically, and escapes back up to the ocean via "hydrothermal vents." These exist on the floor of the Earth's oceans, too, where the chemically charged water supports a rich ecology of microbes and other, more complex, life forms – requiring no sunlight.
The only missing evidence of water-rock chemical reactions in Enceladus was molecules of hydrogen, which should be released as a byproduct of the water-rock reactions. Searching for hydrogen was a key goal of Cassini’s final and closest dive through the plumes.
The new study unveils how hydrogen was detected during the frantic half-minute when Cassini was about 120km above the surface of Enceladus, whizzing through a plume at 8.5km per second. This was achieved by operating the mass spectrometer (an instrument which knocks electrons off chemical substances and sorts them based on their mass-to-charge ratio) in a special mode. It admitted plume material directly into the instrument's detection chamber to avoid the possibility of hydrogen being generated by plume-water reacting with the metallic components of the instrument itself.
The astrobiology
Hydrogen is of immense significance, because its presence along with hot water and rock would enable simple microbes to make a living. When dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with dissolved hydrogen, it produces methane and water. This chemical reaction releases energy that organisms can use to drive their metabolism. There are many kinds of "methanogenic" organisms at deep sea hydrothermal vents on Earth that do this. Now that we know Enceladus has all the necessary ingredients for this to happen, we are lacking only the proof of life itself.
For that we will need a purpose-built mission, such as the Enceladus Life Finder (ELF). This would collect and analyse any complex organic molecules in the plumes. It is hard to imagine a more important goal for solar system exploration than establishing whether a habitable environment, such as the warm bottom of Enceladus's ocean, actually does host life.
Enceladus's south polar plumes, as seen by Cassini November 30 2010.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Enceladus is a long way from Earth. If we were able to prove that it hosts life, it would be highly likely that such life had originated there, independently of life on Earth. That would be a crucial discovery. It would provide evidence to suggest that our galaxy is teeming with life, because if life began independently on two different bodies in our solar system, then surely it also got going on many of the potentially habitable planets that we are now finding around other stars.
Enceladus is a tiny world, and the amount of available energy and nutrients is small. Few scientists therefore expect it to host an ecosystem consisting of more than simple microbes. The much larger Europa, if it has life too, is a better prospect.
How Cassini will end, on September 15, 2017.
Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech
However, to protect Enceladus from the slightest risk of contamination by any terrestrial microbes that accidentally hitched a ride on Cassini, the craft will not be allowed to become a derelict object that might eventually crash onto its surface. Instead, the mission is facing its "grand finale," a series of 22 orbits in which it will pass spectacularly between Saturn and its innermost ring. This will end with Cassini burning up in Saturn's atmosphere.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates — and become part of the discussion — on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The 330-foot-wide (100 meters) radio dish is searching for possible signals from intelligent aliens as part of the $100 million Breakthrough Listen project.
Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF
STANFORD, Calif. — A $100 million search for intelligent aliens has come up with some intriguing leads but has revealed no evidence of E.T. so far.
Observations of nearly 700 stars by the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia revealed no compelling signs of alien civilizations, representatives of the Breakthrough Listen project, which led the observations for the E.T. search, announced Thursday (April 20).
Team members also unveiled the GBT's 11 "most significant" observed events but stressed that these hits were probably caused by human technology. [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens]
"We were able to determine that they were most likely due to radio frequency interference," Andrew Siemion, director of the University of California, Berkeley's SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Research Center, said here Thursday during a presentation at the Breakthrough Discuss conference.
The new results are just the beginning for Breakthrough Listen, which billionaire entrepreneur Yuri Milner and a group of scientists, including Stephen Hawking, announced in July 2015. Over the next decade, the ambitious project aims to search the 1 million stars closest to the sun, the 100 galaxies closest to our own Milky Way, and the galactic plane for possible signals of intelligent extraterrestrial life.
Breakthrough Listen scientists are starting with an initial target list of 1,709 stars, which the team is observing with three telescopes: the 330-foot (100 meters) GBT radio dish, the 210-foot-wide (64 m) Parkes radio telescope in Australia and the Automated Planet Finder, a 7.9-foot (2.4 m) optical telescope at the Lick Observatory in California.
"This sample of stars is designed to be what we call 'spectral type complete' — it samples stars of every spectral type," Siemion said. "We want to look at as many different types of stars as possible, to leave ourselves open to any possibility that life might emerge [around] one of these stars."
The newly announced results, which the team submitted to The Astrophysical Journal on Thursday, are based on GBT data for 692 of those 1,709 stars. The telescope made about 5,000 individual 5-minute observations, racking up a total of 400 observing hours, Siemion said.
Those observations targeted a band of frequencies that includes the "water hole," a quiet part of the radio spectrum that SETI scientists have long speculated would be a good window for interstellar communication. The water hole lies between the emission band of hydroxyl molecules (OH) and that of hydrogen. Together, hydroxyl and hydrogen form water — hence the name.
"These results represent the most comprehensive and fundamental test of the water-hole hypothesis that's ever been conducted for nearby stars," Siemion said. "This is a classic idea in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence that's been with us for more than four decades."
Breakthrough Listen is part of the Breakthrough Initiatives, which Milner founded in 2015 to look for evidence of life beyond Earth and help spur space exploration. Another program under this umbrella is Breakthrough Starshot, which aims to develop a system that can blast tiny, sail-equipped nanoprobes to other star systems at 20 percent the speed of light using powerful lasers.
You Won’t BELIEVE What Apollo 11 Astronauts Saw On The Moon in 1969…
The crewmen of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission go through their post flight debriefing session on Sunday, July 27, 1969. Left to right, are astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Neil A. Armstrong, commander. They are seated in the debriefing room of the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC).
What Exactly Did Apollo 11 Astronauts See On The Moon in 1969? In his book “RETURN TO EARTH” Colonel Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. writes the following on pages 223-224;
In the middle of one evening, Houston time, I found myself idly staring out the window of the Columbia and saw something that looked a bit unusual. It appeared brighter than any star and not quite the pinpoints of light that stars are. I pointed this out to Mike and Neil, and the three of us were beset with curiosity. With the help of the monocular we guessed that whatever it was, it was only a hundred or so miles away. Looking at it through our sextant we found it occasionally formed a cylinder, but when the sextant’s focus was adjusted it had a sort of illuminated “L” look to it. It had a shape of some sort — we all agreed on that — but exactly what it was we couldn’t pin down. We asked Houston some casual questions: “How far away is the Saturn third stage?” The response was in the vicinity of six thousand miles. That wasn’t it.
It could possibly have been one of the panels of the Saturn third stage which fly off to expose the LM and cannot be traced from earth. We could see it for about forty-five seconds at a time as the ship rotated, and we watched it on and off for about an hour. We debated whether or not to tell the ground we had spotted something, and decided against it. Our reason was simple: The UFO people would descend on the message in hordes, setting off another rash of UFO spottings back on earth. We concluded it was most likely on of the panels. Its course appeared in no way to conflict with ours, and it presented no danger. We dropped the matter there.
The following is an excerpt from the transcript of the Apollo 11 technical debriefing with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 July 1969
Aldrin:
The first unusual thing that we saw I guess was one day out or something pretty close to the moon. It had a sizeable dimension to it, so we put the monocular on it.
Collins:
How’d we see this thing? Did we just look out the window and there it was.
Aldrin:
Yes, and we weren’t sure but what it might be the S-IVB. We called the ground and were told the S-IVB was 6,000 miles away. We had a problem with the high gain about this time, didn’t we ?
Collins:
There was something. We felt a bump or maybe I just imagined it.
Armstrong:
He was wondering whether the MESA had come off.
Collins:
I don’t guess we felt anything.
Aldrin:
Of course, we were seeing all sorts of little objects going by at the various dumps and then we happened to see this one brighter object going by. We couldn’t think of anything else it could be other than the S-IVB. We looked at it through the monocular and it seemed to have a bit of an L shape to it.
Armstrong:
Like an open suitcase.
Aldrin:
We were in PTC at the time so each of us had a chance to take a look at this and it certainly seemed to be within our vicinity and of a very sizeable dimension.
Armstrong:
We should say it was right at the limit of the resolution of the eye. It was very difficult to tell what shape it was. And there was no way to tell the size without knowing the range or the range without knowing the size.
Aldrin:
So then I got down in the LEB and started looking for it in the optics. We were grossly misled because with the sextant off focus what we saw appeared to be a cylinder.
Armstrong:
Or really two rings.
Aldrin:
Yes.
Armstrong:
Two rings. Two connected rings.
Aldrin:
Yes.
Collins:
No, it looked like a hollow cylinder to me. It didn’t look like two connected rings. You could see this thing tumbling and, when it came around end-on, you could look right down in it’s guts. It was a hollow cylinder. But then you could change the focus on the sextant and it would be replaced by this open book shape. It was really weird.
Aldrin:
I guess there’s not too much more to say about it other than it wasn’t a cylinder.
Collins:
It was during the period when we thought it was a cylinder that we inquired about the S-IVB and we’d almost convinced ourselves that’s what it had to be. But we don’t have any more conclusions than that really. The fact that we didn’t see it much past this one period — we really don’t have a conclusion as to what it might have been, how big it was, or how far away it was. It was something that wasn’t part of the urine dump, we’re pretty sure of that.
Enlarge/ A screen grab from a Chilean Navy video showing an odd signature in the infrared.
CEFAA/YouTube
The Ars Files casts a skeptical eye on developments in the UFO community. Is the truth out there? Maybe. Maybe not. But we try to find it here.
Early on the afternoon of November 14, 2014, a Chilean Navy pilot and a technician were flying their helicopter along the coast when they saw something strange. They were going north at an altitude of 1.4km in a twin-engine Airbus Cougar when something appeared in the sky and matched their velocity of 130 knots.
As part of the flight, which took place west of Santiago, the helicopter's technician was testing the thermal imaging properties of an infrared FLIR high-definition camera. Naturally, he turned the camera on the unidentified object. After several minutes the pilot and technician observed the object make two distinct discharges of some type of liquid, or gas, which produced a very hot signal captured by the infrared imager. The technician captured nearly 10 minutes of video, which shows both visible and infrared camera views.
After this sighting, the Navy turned the video over to the the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena, known as CEFAA. This is the Chilean government group that investigates UFO sightings, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. On Friday, after a study by scientists, military officials, and even some photo analysis experts from France, the committee released its conclusion.
"The Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena, comprised of leading scientists, analysts, and aviation technicians, after an extensive study of the case, determined that it was a UAP, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon," the agency stated in a news release.
Full video from the Chilean helicopter
A US-based journalist who investigates UFOs, Leslie Kean, has interviewed some of the principals and had access to the case files. She provided more details about the incident in a report for the Huffington Post, which she characterized as a "groundbreaking UFO video."
We're not ready to go that far, but the infrared video is intriguing. According to Kean, the French analysts explained the sighting as a medium-haul aircraft on approach to the Santiago airport, with the heat signals due to waste water being dumped from the cabin. The Chilean committee dismissed this explanation, however, because the "plane" in question was not seen on primary radar. (As he observed the object, the Chilean pilot radioed an air traffic control along the coast and another at Santiago, both of which failed to observe a plane on radar. Nor was any aircraft in the vicinity cleared for a landing at Santiago.) Moreover, the plume of heated material does not fall as one would expect water or other material to do at an altitude of about 1km above the surface.
Other hypotheses included falling pieces of space debris, which might possibly release compressed gases at a lower atmosphere, as well as a bird, flying insect, drone, parachute, hang glider, or some kind of hoaxed video. Those hypotheses were ultimately dismissed.
The significance of this sighting is that it was made by credible Navy officers, lasted nearly 10 minutes, and involved observation in both the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum. While this falls far short of providing any evidence of aliens, it nonetheless is well documented and worthy of additional consideration, if only because the explanation might reveal some kind of new US military stealth technology.
Mars is a dry, cold deserted wasteland with an atmosphere so thin, liquid water is unable to exist on the surface.
However, alien hunters claim to have found evidence that the Red planet may have once been lush with green vegetation – 'the petrified remnants of a Martian tree'.
In an image snapped by the Curiosity rover on Sol 164, some have suggested there is an ancient tree stump that stands about three feet high, which they say means a variety of plants 'either existed or still exist' on Mars.
Scroll down for videos
alien hunters claim to have found evidence that the Red planet may have once been lush with green vegetation – 'the petrified remnants of a Martian tree'.
WHY WE SEE ODD THINGS ON MARS
Pareidolia is the psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimulus.
It is a form of apophenia, when people see patterns in random, unconnected data.
There have been multiple occasions when people have claimed to see religious images and themes in unexpected places.
On the red planet, one of the most famous is the 'face on Mars' spotted by one of the Viking orbiters in 1976.
This was later proven to just be a chance alignment of shifting sand dunes.
The sighting was first published to YouTube by Paranormal Crucible, which was spotted on Thursday – but NASA released the image in March.
'This object definitely looks out of place and in my opinion could be the petrified remnants of a Martian tree,' the alien hunter and YouTuber shared in the video description.
'Object is around 3 feet in height, and with numerous discoveries of plant and animal life on mars, it would be logical to assume, that a variety of tree either existed, or still exists on this enigmatic planet.'
NASA explained that the image was taken by the Mastcam onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 1647 in March.
Although it may be just one of the many rocks found on the Red Planet, conspiracy theorists believe it could prove that life was present at some point.
'It is a good assumption since NASA themselves said Mars was Earth-like when a solar explosion hit the planet, stripping the atmosphere and oceans from the surface, well-known Martian researcher Scott C Warning shared on UFO Sightings Daily regarding Paranormal Crucible's discovery.
If trees still existed on Mars, it would need a good source of water to survive – which another conspiracy theorist claimed to have seen in NASA images last year.
In a video posted on YouTube, he claimed to have found evidence of lakes of standing water surrounded by trees on the surface of Mars in images taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.
In an image (pictured) snapped by the Curiosity rover on Sol 164, some have suggested there is an ancient tree stump that stands about three feet high, which means a variety of plants 'either existed or still exist' on Mars
Using images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor, Will Farrar, who runs the channel from his home in from Salisibury, Maryland, said he believed they showed an abundance of water that could support alien life.
In the description for the video, Will Farrar, who runs the channel, said: 'We now have more than five or six very good shots from the air that seem to show frozen or warm water lakes sitting on the Martian surface.
Although it may be just one of the many rocks found on the Red Planet, conspiracy theorists believe it could prove that life was present at some point
'This has never been addressed by NASA since we are still looking for these 'minuscule' traces of life and water. I ask you to use your judgement on this one. What does this look like to you?'
Mr Farrar does not seem to be alone in thinking the footage shows lakes and trees - many people have commented on the video agreeing with him.
If trees still existed on Mars, it would need a good source of water to survive – which another conspiracy theorist claimed to have seen in NASA images last year. He claimed eto have found evidence of lakes of standing water surrounded by trees on the surface of Mars
Ted Cox posted: 'How did they let this one get through? They look like tree lined lakes to me.'
Another user, M Brontë, speculated about what else it could be, posting: 'This totally looks like liquid...water, mud, mercury pools...I don't know but definitely a liquidy substance here.'
NASA originally posted this image online, which alien-hunters have claimed showed lakes surrounded by trees
Scientists believe liquid water once flowed on the surface of Mars billions of years ago, but it has long since evaporated. Small ice deposits may still exist in some of the craters close to the poles and under the surface. A stock picture of Mars is shown
The video was also promoted on the blog, Ufosightingsdaily.com.
Waring, the editor of the blog wrote: 'It's a bit mind-blowing, but there are lakes on Mars and we now have government evidence to back that up.'
'This is 100 per cent proof that lakes and rivers exist on Mars, which means that fish and water creatures do as well.'
'Water is a main source for animals to exist, so this may also be a big visiting spot from some smaller life forms.'
However, despite the claims, NASA said it has yet to find any evidence for significant levels of liquid water on Mars.
In September, NASA confirmed that 'dark fingers' spotted in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter images are likely made by liquid moving across, or beneath, the planet's surface
There is growing evidence that the planet was once rich in liquid water that shaped valleys, canyons and even dried out ocean beds before it evaporated billions of years ago.
There are, however, hopes that water ice may exist in craters close to the poles and perhaps buried deep under the surface in the Martian soil.
Bacteria samples in NASA's E-MIST balloon experiment.
Credit: NASA
Stowaway Bacteria Could Be Even More Contagious in Space Than We Thought
We need to protect the Universe from ourselves.
PETER DOCKRILL
As if space exploration weren't already hard enough, one of the critical jobs NASA and other space agencies have to manage is preventing the contamination of any alien worlds we visit, by making sure any microbial stowaways hidden on Earth-built spacecraft don't pose a danger to extraterrestrial life.
"If we're sending viable biomass to Mars, we want to make sure we're not going to hit a spot where terrestrial contaminants can start to propagate and take over the environment," microbiologist David J. Smith from NASA's Ames Research Centre told The Atlantic.
Now a study led by Smith has assessed the survival prospects of microbes that manage to hail a ride as far as Earth's stratosphere, and while those prospects aren't necessarily great, concerns over Earth bacteria surviving in space environments certainly aren't misplaced.
To simulate the extremely cold and dry environment of Mars, the team launched samples of a particularly hardy strain of Bacillus pumilus bacteria called SAFR-032 to an altitude of 31 kilometres (19.3 miles) on a scientific research balloon.
NASA/Christina Khodadad
Some 40 million samples of the bacteria were loaded into cartridges on NASA's Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere (E-MIST) balloon to see what chance SAFR-032 would have in a Martian-like environment without a protective atmosphere.
"We sort of had a nightmare scenario and an intentionally high concentration in order to better understand how the bacterial population would respond," Smith told Joshua Sokol at Nature.
In addition to the extreme weather conditions of the stratosphere, at that altitude lifeforms are exposed to fierce levels of cosmic radiation – and that proved to be the most damaging factor for SAFR-032.
After eight hours of exposure to the Sun's ultraviolet light at 31 kms (19.3 miles) high – comparable to the amount of UV rays you'd get on Mars – the vast majority of microbes were obliterated.
"When we got the samples back to the lab a couple of weeks later we saw that there was almost a complete kill," Smith told Shannon Stirone at The Atlantic. "99.9 percent of the entire population was destroyed."
In terms of safeguarding future mission to Mars – or knowing that previous landings, including the Mars rovers, haven't jeopardised potential organisms on the planet – it's being counted as a win.
"Our results predict that most terrestrial bacteria would be inactivated within the first [day] on Mars if contaminated spacecraft surfaces receive direct sunlight," says Smith.
"Let the rovers sunbathe [and] help keep Mars pristine."
But while UV light took care of most of the microbes, it didn't kill them all. Of the 40 million spores sent into the stratosphere, 267 survived.
SAFR-032 has the ability to enter a protective, dormant state – called an endospore – when they encounter physically stressful environments, and 267 of the bugs were able to be awakened from this state after their voyage to the stratosphere.
In some ways, this isn't completely surprising, given that SAFR-032 is known to be highly resistant to UV, and can survive in space (in the shade, at least) for long periods, lasting 18 months in one experiment outside the International Space Station (ISS).
But another concern is that while the E-MIST experiment was specifically intended to expose the bacteria to the Sun's rays, the nooks and crannies of rovers and other spacecraft could enable microbes in other circumstances to hide from UV light in all sorts of dark recesses.
Bacteria samples in NASA's E-MIST balloon experiment.
Credit: NASA
"They are not building these spacecraft for UV microbial death," astrobiologist John Rummel from the SETI Institute, who wasn't involved with the study, told Science.
Experiments with surfaces and structures that more closely resemble actual spacecraft would provide a better estimate of stowaway survival rates, even if they're "not the kind of configurations that microbial ecologists find easy to count," Rummel says.
But the most remarkable part of the findings is that the microbes that did survive the stratosphere showed a number of minor changes in their DNA when compared with control specimens kept on the ground.
It's too early to say how these changes came about, or whether they would influence gene expression, but the researchers acknowledge that it could have been something that influenced their survival in the stratosphere – and perhaps on places like Mars too.
Previous NASA research found that SAFR-032 samples that survived outside the ISS also underwent genetic changes – and their bacterial offspring became even more resistant to UV light.
"[W]hat's particularly interesting," Smith told The Atlantic, "is that those that were alive from the ISS experiment also ended up showing a resistance to antibiotics."
Solving how this all comes together will fall to future research, as the researchers still have a lot of questions.
But while UV light can clearly kill one super-tough Earth bug given enough exposure, it sure doesn't look to be a 100 percent solution just yet.
Onderzoekers van de universiteit van Edinburgh zeggen dat ze mysterieuze inscripties ontcijferd hebben op een stenen pilaar in het oudste tempelcomplex ter wereld. Ze slaagden erin om de symbolen - die 11.500 jaar oud zijn - te matchen met de stand van de sterren en ontdekten dat er toen iets gebeurde wat de loop van de geschiedenis helemaal veranderde.
De wetenschappers publiceerden hun ontdekking in het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. Ze trokken ervoor naar het oude bergheiligdom Göbekli Tepe in het zuiden van Turkije. Toen ze de inscripties van enkele dieren op een pilaar - de 'Vulture Stone' - van dichterbij bekeken, leidden ze af dat die wel eens de inslag van een komeet zou kunnen afbeelden. De dieren wezen daarbij op astronomische symbolen. En die bleken een bepaalde constellatie aan te duiden.
Met een computerprogramma slaagden ze erin om het moment te bepalen dat die precieze constellatie boven Turkije te zien was al die jaren geleden en dat bleek in 10.950 voor Christus te zijn. Het exacte moment dat de temperatuur op aarde omlaag ging tijdens een kleine ijstijd: het 'Jonge Dryas', in de Engelse wetenschappelijke literatuur ook wel de 'Big Freeze' genoemd.
Mammoet De komeet zou dan onder meer verantwoordelijk geweest zijn voor het uitsterven van de mammoet en het ontstaan van de eerste menselijke beschavingen. Dat is een theorie die eerder al werd geponeerd en weer ontkracht nadat een aantal meteoorkraters werden gedateerd in Amerika, waar wetenschappers van denken dat de meteoren daar zijn neergekomen.
Voor de inslag hadden de nomadische jagers in het Midden-Oosten gewoon enkele basiskampen in de grote gebieden vol wilde tarwe en gerst. Maar toen het klimaat veranderde, verdwenen die en moesten ze meer gaan samenwerken en nieuwe manieren zoeken om hun oogst te vrijwaren, onder meer door irrigatie en selectieve kweekprogramma's. En op die manier ontstonden de landbouw en de eerste permanente nederzettingen.
Impact Volgens de onderzoekers uit Edinburgh lijken de inscripties duizenden jaren belangrijk gebleven te zijn voor de mensen van Göbekli Tepe, wat kan wijzen op de enorme impact die de inslag had. "Deze studie samen met de recente ontdekking van een platina anomalie in de bodem in heel Noord-Amerika kunnen maar op één ding wijzen: de inslag van een meteoor", aldus coauteur Martin Sweatman.
Observatorium "Volgens ons was Göbekli Tepe onder meer een observatorium van waaruit de nachtelijke hemel in de gaten werd gehouden", gaat hij verder. "En de pilaar was een gedenkteken voor de vreselijke gebeurtenis. De afbeelding van een man zonder hoofd iets verderop wijst dan weer op de impact van de ramp en het verlies van vele levens."
Credits: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon, J. DePasquale, and Z. Levay (STScI) Acknowledgment: A. Fujii; Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, Palomar/Caltech, and UKSTU/AAO; B. Franke (Focal Point Observatory); and M. Mutchler (STScI)
Ever wonder what it'd be like to approach the Milky Way as a stranger from outer space? This new GIF from NASA offers some semblance of an answer. The two galaxies pictured here, NGC 4320 and 4298, are about 55 million light years away from us. But for all that distance, they have that same spiral shape that characterizes our own galactic neighborhood, which NASA describes as "arms of young stars that wind outward from its center" with "a central bulge... surrounded by a faint halo of stars." Narrowing in on them, as the Hubble telescope has here, offers a sense of what it would be like to approach from afar the swirling matter we call home.
An insect rainbow
Elizabeth Garcia USGSBIML
In case you missed it, last week we compiled a list of the world's most weird and wonderful bugs in all their technicolor glory. This mustachioed dude goes by the moniker "Thistledown Velvet Ant," but he's actually a wasp with a painful sting. He's one of nine tiny terrors in our rainbow roundup.
Supernova sighting
ESA/Hubble, NASA
Earlier this week, PopSci's own Sarah Fecht wrote about how a warp in space-time created this amazing image of an exploding star. As a galaxy (in the middle, in blue) passed in front of the supernova, it split the explosion's light into four separate images—and magnified the intensity of the supernova's light 52 times. This image, which is part of a study published in Science, might allow us to measure how quickly the universe is expanding.
Between the rings
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Boy, has NASA had a banner week for space photography. This image, captured by the Cassini spacecraft, shows the tiny twinkle of Earth as seen between Saturn's rings. Though it's too itty bitty to tell from this image (taken 870 million miles from Earth), NASA says we're looking at is the Atlantic Ocean at 1:41 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, April 13. I was on the ground then, blind to Cassini's cosmic circling, and probably dreaming of lowly Earthen sheep. But after seeing this image, I think we'll all be dreaming of uncrewed spacecrafts from here on out.
A cosmic sandwich
Lee et al.
This week, Popular Science also explored new insights into this delightful (though not particularly appetizing) space hamburger. But where's the beef? Well, there isn't any. The patty in this illustration is actually a very young solar system in the midst of development. The cosmic sandwich is helping scientists learn more about how stars and planets form across the universe.
Now in theaters everywhere is the Ridley Scott-produced found footage alien abduction thriller Phoenix Forgotten, which is based on the shocking, true events of March 13th, 1997, when several mysterious lights appeared over Phoenix, Arizona. This unprecedented and inexplicable phenomenon became known as “The Phoenix Lights”, and remains the most famous and widely viewed UFO sighting in history.
We caught up with director Justin Barber who revealed to us his favorite UFO-themed films, which include a few gems and surprises.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Seems like the obvious answer, but still the right one for me. I love the scope, the balance of wonder, fear, and optimism. François Truffaut plays a french UFO scientist? Heaven. The final act is still an unmatched spectacle in cinema. Those five musical notes will haunt my mind for the rest of mylife.
The Abyss Does this count as a UFO movie? I don’t care, it’s close enough. One of my all-time favorite films. The scene where (spoiler) Mastrantonio almost dies is a tour-de-force from everyone in it and Cameron. Saw the movie when I was a kid and that scene was one of the first times I was really moved by cinema.
Contact Like the two above this movie manages to be an emotional drama, and also a cool sci-fi movie. The science in the movie is fascinating but also accessible – in the great Carl Sagan way. You look up at the stars differently after having seen this movie.
Fire in the Sky This movie is just terrifying. In ways the story is thin, it feels like everything in it is just there to support the visceral alien abduction scenes… But it nails the terror of what that might feel like. It’s a great Halloween movie for me. Best title ever also!
Communion This one is a little more psychological, based on a book written by an ‘Abductee’ with Christopher Walken playing the author. It’s not a traditional UFO adventure, but there is one scary scene that still gives me shivers. For that alone, the movie is worth checking out – Peekaboo Grey. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean. Bonus points for a film score by Eric Clapton.
Arrival Best new UFO movie I’ve seen lately, for a lot of the same reasons I love Contact. But I love the score, the director’s eye and the realization of the creatures. A great movie for sound, and for acting.
Dark City A non-traditional UFO movie, but it should count as one. These characters are (spoilers) in the grip of an alien force and aboard a giant structure floating in space. It’s like a more gothic, Gaiman-esqu version of The Matrix.
Signs People crap on Signs, but I am Signs defender. I like the idea of an invasion movie from the isolated perspective of this family out in the country. And the scene where Mel Gibson has to cry and eat at the same time lands for me.
Independence Day Seeing this movie in a theater as a high school kid was probably the best day of my life. I saw it like three times. Get up there and whoop ET’s ass! I mean, come on! The Top Gun aspect of it is great, and no matter how cynical Americans become we will always have Pullman’s speech.
Men in Black A slick take on this piece of real UFO folklore. Agent J is like James Bond for nerds. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are amazing together, great gadgets and creatures. I actually really like the third one too!
Honorable Mention: Mars Attacks
Phoenix Forgotten tells the story of three teens who went into the desert shortly after the incident, hoping to document the strange events occurring in their town. They disappeared that night, and were never seen again. Now, on the twentieth anniversary of their disappearance, unseen footage has finally been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition. For the first time ever, the truth will be revealed…
More common than you might think. (Image: Interstellar)
Over 70 percent of our planet is covered in water, and we tend to think that’s a lot. A new study suggests that our world is special in this regard, and that most habitable planets are dominated by oceans that consume over 90 percent their surface area. That may be good for primitive marine life, but not so good for aspiring civilizations.
A new study published in The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that most habitable planets are wet. Like, extremely wet. Using computer models, astronomer Fergus Simpson from the Institute of Cosmos Science at the University of Barcelona found that habitable exoplanets, at least simulated ones, tend to be overrun by water, in most cases accounting for 90 percent or more of the total surface area.
This finding suggests that Earth, with its vast land masses, is unique in the cosmological scheme of things, and that our planetary twin may be harder to find than we thought. What’s more, it may explain why we’ve never made contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence—a conclusion that feeds into the Rare Earth Hypothesis, the idea that Earth-like planets containing complex life are exceptionally rare in the Universe
This USGS picture shows the size of a sphere that would contain all of Earth’s water in comparison to the size of the Earth. It may not seem like much, but our planet is relatively flat, so a little goes a long way. (Image: USGS)
As Simpson notes in his new study, a planet must strike a certain balance if it is to host both extensive land masses and large oceans. Factors controlling this balance include the amount of water on the surface of a planet, the space available to store it, and the presence of dynamic topographical features—from vast ocean basins through to mountain ranges. If the oceans are relatively shallow, and the land altitudes low, the excess water will consume the vast majority of a planet’s surface. Here on Earth, the global topography allows for approximately 29 percent of our planet’s surface area to remain above water. Over the eons, this ratio has remained relatively stable allowing for the emergence of complex terrestrial animals such as ourselves.
Simpson’s new study suggests that Earth is an outlier in this regard, and that most terrestrial planets locked within its host star’s habitable zone (i.e. that cozy niche where liquid water can be retained at the surface) are waterworlds. But if we take a closer look at our planet, we’re actually not too far removed from being completely drenched in water ourselves. As the animation below shows, only a narrow window exists in which large areas of both land and water are present. Consequently, and as Simpson points out in his new study, habitable exoplanets tend to be dominated by water or land.
At least in theory. Simpson’s models aren’t based on observations made of real exoplanets, and are instead best guesses of planetary formation and how much water we can expect to find on these hypothetical worlds.
“I’m a bit puzzled about this paper,” said astrophysicist Sean N. Raymond, who wasn’t involved with the study, in an interview with Gizmodo. “I find studies that extrapolate from N=1 to be interesting but hard to interpret. In this case, there are plenty of unanswered—but relevant questions.”
Most of Earth’s water came via asteroids and comets. (Image: Mark A. Garlick/space-art.co.uk/University of Warwick/University of Cambridge).
Indeed, the question of how planets get their water is still a matter of contention. The prevailing theory is that most of Earth’s water was delivered by asteroids and comets. If that’s the case, then it’s nearly impossible to predict the quantity of water on any given planet. In order for us to be certain, we’d need to know the average amount of water delivered to a planet of our size and location. But every star system is different, featuring varying amounts of asteroids, comets, and water, not to mention neighboring planets that are also sopping up water from the heavens.
“In the ‘classical model’ of terrestrial planet formation, water delivery to Earth is very [random] so it’s reasonable to imagine alternate Earths with over ten times more water,” said Raymond. “However, in our newer models much less water is delivered but the delivery is more reliable.”
What Raymond is talking about is the observation that the inner solar system is water poor, while the outer system is water-rich.
“Water worlds are always beyond what we call the ‘snow line’,” Adam Sarafian, a graduate student at MIT’s Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences department, told Gizmodo. “The snow line existed in the very early Solar System before planets formed. Beyond the line, water could condense as ice, so the bodies in the outer solar system are water rich and the inner solar system bodies are water poor. So we would expect water worlds to exist in the outer solar system and relatively dry planets in the inner solar system.”
Sarafian, who wasn’t involved with the new study, is currently trying to figure out why Earth has so much water and when it got here.
“Recent evidence suggests the inner solar system was likely seeded with plenty of water very early, such that Mars could have looked just like Earth (partly waterworld) soon after it formed,” said Sarafian. “One advantage of looking at planets closer to the Sun, which wouldn’t allow them to be water worlds (because of the snow line) is that the sun provides a lot of energy for life and would allow liquid water on the surface, as opposed to ice.”
Sarafian believes that Simpson’s new study is part of this larger conversation, which is mostly speculation about the best places to look for life.
Waterworld was a shitty movie, but at least it got the science right.
But there are other factors to consider than how Earth got its water, such as how the ocean’s depths are regulated by interactions between the deep ocean and Earth’s mantle. For example, Earth may be unique in that it features unusually deep water basins. More research will be required to determine if this is the case.
Simpson himself factored in some of these effects, and had his test model account for the deep water cycle, erosion, and deposition processes (i.e. the process in which sediments, soil, and rocks are added to a land mass). Despite this, he still found that water is be a prevailing surface feature in most cases. Interestingly, he found that planets with small oceans feature land masses dominated by deserts. Also, large Earth-like planets are almost guaranteed to be waterworlds.
“Larger planets are thought to be more prone to flooding for two reasons,” Simpson told Gizmodo. “One is that if they have the same composition (percentage of water by mass) then their oceans are deeper. The second is that their higher surface gravity makes it harder to have such large surface perturbations [dynamic topological features].”
To date, astronomers have catalogued over 1,000 exoplanets — some of them rocky and parked within…Read more on io9.gizmodo.com
If Simpson’s conclusions are valid, then it means our planet has struck a fine balance between land and ocean—an observation that may help to explain why our civilization emerged on Earth (despite what some might say, it is highly unlikely that a high-tech, industrial-scale civilization can develop on a world consumed by water). And in fact, Simpson says that anthropic selection effects are at work. That’s a fancy way of saying that Earth is a freaky planet, because if it wasn’t freaky, we wouldn’t be here to see it.
The trouble with the Anthropic Principle, of course, is that it’s untestable. But thankfully, this new waterworld theory is.
“The exciting aspect is that we may not be too far from measuring the atmospheric composition of terrestrial exoplanets,” said Simpson. Indeed, with the next generation of telescopes, including those situated in space, we’ll be able to scan the atmospheres of exoplanets to determine how much water might be on the surface.
In addition, scientists will need to figure out the various ways in which our planet is an oddball, and why. Until then, let’s celebrate the fact that Earth is a weirdo of the Milky Way.
Watch NASA Launch 38 Itty Bitty Satellites to the ISS
NASA
LATER TODAY, AN Atlas V rocket will blast off to the International Space Station bearing 7,600-odd pounds of food, water and other sundries to the astronauts on board. Nearly a third of that weight is equipment for science that furthers NASA’s ability to explore space: a capsule that records how spacecraft break up on re-entry, an experiment that tests how fires behave in microgravity, a shiny new LED-powered plant growing habitat.
But also tucked into the spacecraft’s cargo hold are 38 CubeSats, diminutive satellites that are cheaper and easier to assemble than the behemoths rockets usually take into orbit. The ISS is a major launch platform for CubeSats—it has ejected more than 100 small payloads from companies and universities into orbit in the past few years. Those small sats will rely on new launch providers when the ISS retires in less than a decade. But this launch, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will be business as usual; you can watch the livestream (now also in glorious 3D!) when it starts at 10 am Eastern, with the launch scheduled for 11:11 am.
CubeSats have piggybacked on shuttles to the ISS for a while now, partly because it offers a convenient arrangement. Resupply missions are constant—astronauts need food and water—and the ISS even hosts a dedicated robot arm to shove the boxy satellites into the void. Small sats are cheaper, lighter, and easier to get into orbit than bigger satellites, which decreases the risk of sending them up. So they’re especially useful for scientists looking to develop and test new tech on the cheap. Once they’ve created a new tool, the scientists can just throw their sat on a space-bound rocket and see if it works.
The way CubeSats are constructed—mostly through a process of tinkering and iteration—are just as ad hoc as the way they’re sent to space. “Cubesats are like PCs in the early ’90s—a lot of people are putting together satellite parts by themselves by hand,” says Dong Wu, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard. His project aboard today’s mission is no different. He built a high-frequency sensor that detects signatures from frigid, wispy ice clouds, aptly named IceCube.
NASA
Because of their DIY, maker ethos, CubeSats are also a popular tool for universities. “With CubeSats, the cost to entry has gone away—you don’t have to get educated for a decade to participate in space,” says Glenn Lightsey, a satellite designer at Georgia Tech. Another project on today’s launch is a cosmic background X-ray detector built by a team from Morehead State University. “Two undergrads managed to find a medical imaging X-ray detector off the shelf,” says Ben Malphrus, the project lead and a space scientist at Morehead, “and two other students built the control electronics.” The result is an instrument that might inform the team about the early structure of the universe.
Nowadays, small sats are sort of an afterthought—what people in the industry call “secondary payloads,” squeezed in only when heftier payloads allow. But as CubeSats grow in popularity, they’ll need a more organized way to get them into space. The small space-faring instruments aren’t just useful for science; companies are launching them en masse in “constellations” for remote imaging, communications, and more. In response, new launch providers and facilitators are popping up—players that will only become more important when the ISS retires in 2024.
India’s space agency sent up 104 small sats in a launch this past February, carrying 88 small sats from the company Planet to take images of the Earth. And companies like Rocket Lab and Virgin are building launch vehicles specifically for small payloads—slimmer, cheaper rockets that can drop off small sats in the orbits and altitudes their creators request.
Those providers are supporting a broader push to privatize space. With CubeSats, companies can more easily stake out an extraterrestrial presence. And, to Lightsey, that makes them the most promising way into a bustling space industry. “Commercial development has a way of feeding back on itself,” he says. If access to space is determined by cost, smaller satellites that do the same things as bigger ones allow companies to save money and provide services at a profit.
But for now, many of those companies will still rely on the ISS. That includes companies like Spire, a San Francisco-based space data startup that’s sending up four bread-box sized satellites on the mission. It’ll use its sats to collect information on ship locations and weather conditions, which it then sells to ports, hedge funds, and government organizations like NOAA. The company wants to expand. Hopefully, the small sat industry will grow in kind, so that by the time the ISS retires its sats—and others in the business—won’t be left adrift.
Meer van UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
People Are Seeing U.F.O.s Everywhere, and This Book Proves
Why did NASA decide to stop visiting the Moon? 
Former Minister of Defense: 80 different species of extraterrestrial
How Australia’s new shark-detecting drones spot the...
How climate change will affect YOUR city: App combines NASA...
Ancient Inca 'string writing' was NOT just used for...
What IS 'Operation Gotham Shield'? Bizarre alert claims US...
