Blood Moon 2018: Longest Total Lunar Eclipse of Century Occurs July 27

Nog nooit waargenomen structuren ontdekt in de zonne-atmosfeer

Caroline Kraaijvanger

{ https://www.scientias.nl/ }

Prachtige foto van opkomende stofstorm op Mars

Caroline Kraaijvanger

Deze stofstorm welde in april van dit jaar nabij de noordpool op.

De foto is gemaakt door ESA’s Mars Express en laat maar weer eens zien dat het nooit saai is op de rode planeet.

Opportunity
Marsrover Opportunity kan daarover meepraten; de rover bevindt zich al weken in een winterslaap, omdat een stofstorm het de rover onmogelijk maakt om zonne-energie op te wekken en er dus zuinig met de acculadingen moet worden omgesprongen. Die gewraakte stofstorm – die inmiddels vrijwel het hele oppervlak van Mars beslaat – ontstond eind mei, iets ten zuidwesten van de stofstorm die je op de foto van ESA ziet.

Zomer
Op de foto van ESA zien we een zogenoemde ‘lokale, kleinschalige stofstorm’. Dergelijke stofstormen ontstaan – met name tijdens de zomer op Mars – regelmatig. Gedurende de zomer is de afstand tussen Mars en de zon kleiner, waardoor deze meer zonlicht opvangt en er op het oppervlak grotere temperatuurverschillen ontstaan. Hierdoor kan ook de lucht op Mars in beweging komen en stofdeeltjes van het oppervlak tillen en meevoeren.

Afbeelding: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

Zwak
De stofstormen die zo kunnen ontstaan, zijn vaak veel zwakker dan orkanen op aarde. Dat komt doordat Mars een veel dunnere atmosfeer heeft (waardoor de luchtdruk veel beperkter is) en de stormen veel minder snelheid hebben dan op aarde. Tegelijkertijd kunnen de stofstormen echter wel veel langer standhouden op Mars dan op aarde.

Onderzoek
Wetenschappers zijn dol op stofstormen en zeker op de vrij zeldzame exemplaren die vrijwel het hele oppervlak bedekken. Onderzoek naar deze stofstormen kan onthullen hoe ze precies ontstaan. En onderzoekers uiteindelijk mogelijk zelfs in staat stellen om het ontstaan van zulke stormen te voorspellen. Dat is met name handig wanneer er in de nabije toekomst mensen naar Mars gaan.

Als het gaat om het onderzoek naar stofstormen kunnen onderzoekers nu dus hun hart ophalen. Het is een maand geleden dat de stofstorm die in mei op Mars ontstond tot een wereldwijde stofstorm werd uitgeroepen. En nog altijd onttrekt deze storm vrijwel het gehele Martiaanse oppervlak aan het zicht. Onderzoekers monitoren de storm met behulp van vijf orbiters en één rover: de niet van zonne-energie afhankelijke Marsrover Curiosity.

Martian Dust Storm Has Turned Day Into Night - Can Opportunity Survive?

Bronmateriaal:

"Mars dust storm" - ESA
Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin

{ https://www.scientias.nl/ }

Mogelijk voor het eerst gespot: een jonge ster die 1 of zelfs 2 planeten 'opeet'

Caroline Kraaijvanger

De ster RW Aur A zou as we speak bezig zijn om de resten van enkele van zijn planeten te nuttigen.

Dat suggereren waarnemingen van röntgenobservatorium Chandra. “Computersimulaties hebben lang voorspeld dat planeten in een jonge ster kunnen vallen, maar we hebben dat nog niet eerder geobserveerd,” stelt onderzoeker Hans Moritz Guenther. “Als onze interpretatie van de data klopt, zou het de eerste keer zijn dat we direct waarnemen hoe een jonge ster een planeet of planeten verorbert.”

OVER RW AUR A

RW Aur A bevindt zich op 450 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde en is nog maar een paar miljoen jaar oud. De ster wordt nog steeds omringd door een gas- en stofschijf. RW Aur A maakt verder deel uit van een dubbelstersysteem: beide sterren hebben ongeveer dezelfde massa als onze zon.

Chandra
De jonge ster RW Aur A houdt de gemoederen eigenlijk al sinds 1937 bezig en wel doordat de helderheid van de ster om de paar decennia kort afneemt, om vervolgens weer toe te nemen. En de laatste jaren zijn de onderzoekers er getuige van geweest dat de helderheid van de ster nog frequenter en gedurende langere perioden afneemt. En dat konden ze maar niet verklaren. Tot ze de ster met behulp van röntgenobservatorium Chandra bestudeerden.

IJzer
Chandra bestudeerde de ster in 2013, toen deze heel helder was. Maar ook in 2015 en 2017, in perioden waarin de helderheid afnam. Chandra stelde vast dat niet alleen de optische helderheid van de ster afnam; ook de röntgenstraling afkomstig van de ster liep in deze perioden terug. Het suggereert dat iets het licht én de röntgenstraling van de ster tegenhoudt. Maar wat? Om daar achter te komen, bestudeerden de wetenschappers het röntgenspectrum: de intensiteit van de röntgenstraling gemeten op verschillende golflengtes. Op basis van die data – verzameld in perioden waarin de ster heel helder en juist minder helder was – konden de onderzoekers de dichtheid en de samenstelling van het licht en röntgenstraling absorberende materiaal rond de ster afleiden. Het onderzoek wijst uit dat de afnames in röntgenstraling en optisch licht veroorzaakt worden door de aanwezigheid van een dicht gas. Observaties uit 2017 laten bovendien zien dat de gasschijf rond de ster zeker 10 keer meer ijzer herbergde dan in 2013, toen de ster heel helder scheen.

Afbeelding: NASA / CXC / M. Weiss; X-ray spectrum: NASA / CXC / MIT / H. M.Günther.

Planetesimalen
Langzaam begonnen de puzzelstukjes op hun plaats te vallen. Volgens de onderzoekers is het overvloedig aanwezige ijzer in de schijf afkomstig van twee planetesimalen – planeten in wording – die met elkaar in botsing zijn gekomen. Zeker één van deze planetesimalen zou reeds de omvang van een planeet hebben gehad. De botsing zou geresulteerd hebben in een enorme hoeveelheid ijzerrijk puin dat vervolgens in de ster is gevallen en een dikke sluier van gas en stof rond de ster heeft gevormd, waar het sterlicht tijdelijk deels door werd tegengehouden.

Alternatief

Een andere mogelijke – maar minder waarschijnlijke – verklaring voor de afnames in helderheid is dat deeltjes, zoals ijzer, in bepaalde delen van de schijf rond RW Aur A gevangen zitten. Wanneer de structuur van de schijf verstoord wordt – bijvoorbeeld doordat de andere ster in het dubbelstersysteem dichtbij komt – zouden die deeltjes vrijkomen, waardoor opeens een overvloed aan ijzer in de ster kan vallen.

Onderzoekers blijven de ster in de gaten houden om te kijken met welke snelheid de hoeveelheid ijzer in de gas- en stofschijf rond de jonge ster afneemt. Als die hoeveelheid ijzer over een paar jaar nog vrijwel even groot is, wijst dat erop dat het afkomstig is van een relatief grote bron. “Op dit moment wordt er veel onderzoek gedaan naar exoplaneten en hoe zij tot stand komen,” stelt Guenther. “Dus het is overduidelijk heel belangrijk om te zien hoe jonge planeten vernietigd kunnen worden door de interactie met hun moederster en andere jonge planeten en welke factoren bepalen of zij in leven blijven.”

Alien sun has smashing time sucking up planets

Bronmateriaal:

"Chandra May Have First Evidence of a Young Star Devouring a Planet" - NASA
Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: NASA / CXC / M. Weiss; X-ray spectrum: NASA / CXC / MIT / H. M.Günther

{ https://www.scientias.nl/ }

Newly Discovered Crop Circle Has A Message For Humanity (July 2018)

{ https://stillnessinthestorm.com/ }

White orb caught over Dublin, Ireland

MUFON Case 92671

Date of event: June 9, 2018

Location of sighting: Dublin, Ireland

Long description of sighting report:

Milky Way Galaxy Is 'Disturbed' and More Revealed in ESA Gaia Mission Data (Video)

Tiny Satellite Begins Hunt for Missing Milky-Way Matter

Dazzling Views Show Saturn Moon Titan's Surface Like Never Before

But the new mosaics are pretty much seamless — a breakthrough made possible by a reanalysis of the VIMS data and laborious hand processing of the resulting mosaics, mission team members said.

"With the seams now gone, this new collection of images is by far the best representation of how the globe of Titan might appear to the casual observer if it weren't for the moon's hazy atmosphere, and it likely will not be superseded for some time to come," NASA officials wrote in a statement Wednesday (July 18).

Indeed, the photos give viewers a new appreciation for Titan's complex and varied surface, which boasts dunes of carbon-containing organic compounds, icy deposits and vast seas of liquid hydrocarbons. (Titan is the only extraterrestrial object known to harbor stable bodies of liquid on its surface.)

In visible-light images captured from above Titan's thick, nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, none of this diversity comes through; the 3,200-mile-wide (5,150 kilometers) moon looks like a fuzzy, orange-brown ball.

Scientists might get some sharp, up-close looks at the Titan landscape in the not-too-distant future, however: A mission called Dragonfly would explore the huge moon's surface, and assess its potential to host life, using a robotic minihelicopter. Dragonfly is one of two finalists, along with a comet sample-return effort, for NASA's next New Frontiers mission slot. The agency aims to announce a winner in 2019 and launch the mission by 2025.

The $3.2 billion Cassini mission — a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency — launched in 1997 and reached Saturn in the summer of 2004. Cassini zoomed through the gas-giant system for more than 13 years, gathering a wealth of data about the planet, its iconic rings and its many moons. The Cassini mother ship also carried a lander called Huygens, which touched down on Titan in January 2005.

The groundbreaking mission came to an end in September 2017 with an intentional death dive into Saturn — a move designed to ensure that Cassini would not contaminate Titan or the fellow potentially life-supporting satellite Enceladus with microbes from Earth.

• Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+.
• Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+.
• Originally published on Space.com

{ https://www.space.com/ }

The Parker Solar Probe is not only one of NASA’s most ambitious missions, but it seems to defy logic. The spacecraft slated to launch this summer will enter the sun’s corona and travel through material with temperatures greater than a million degrees Fahrenheit. So, why won’t it melt?

Parker Solar Probe will embark August 4 on what NASA calls “a mission 60 years in the making,” coming within four million miles of the surface to collect unprecedented data about the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere. If successful, it will become the first spacecraft to enter the sun’s corona and enjoy a balmy inside temperature of just 85 degrees while its outer shell is surrounding in the sun’s blaze. The probe will essentially be the embodiment of “this is fine” dog.

NASA revealed the science behind why this space dog will not melt in such an extreme environment on Thursday. To understand why the Parker Solar Probe won’t melt, the space agency explained key concepts of heat versus temperature, its custom heat shield, and the spacecraft’s unique innovation.

Parker Solar Probe’s Temperature vs. Heat

The difference between heat and temperature will help in making the Parker Solar Probe’s mission seem a little more (but not much more) feasible. Temperature is a measurement of how fast particles are moving, while heat refers to how much of that energy is transferred. Thus, in a place that is mostly empty like space, high temperatures don’t always mean high heat. Particles could be moving fast and creating high temperature, but since there are so few of them, they won’t transfer that much heat towards the spacecraft.

While Parker Solar Probe will be traveling through a space with temperatures of several million degrees, it won’t feel most of that heat, and the surface of the heat shield will only reach 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Parker Solar Probe’s Heat Shield

That’s still pretty hot, though. Experiencing 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit is nothing to scoff at, and ensuring an unmelted Parker Solar Probe may have caused some delays in scheduling the launch. To withstand the heat, NASA installed a shield known as the Thermal Protection System, or TPS.

Designed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, TPS is made of a lightweight carbon foam core that is flanked by two carbon-carbon composite panels. The sun-facing panel is sprayed with a white coating that will reflect as much of the sun’s energy away from the spacecraft as possible. It’s just 4.5 inches thick, and yet it’s expected to keep almost all instrumentation safe.

Parker Solar Probe’s Measuring Cup

Not every instrument will be protected by TPS, however. The Faraday cup is a sensor that will poke out over the heat shield to measure the solar wind, and in order to get an accurate read, it could not be sheltered by TPS.

So, why doesn’t Faraday melt?

“Due to the intensity of the solar atmosphere, unique technologies had to be engineered to make sure that not only can the instrument survive, but also the electronics aboard can send back accurate readings,” NASA’s Susannah Darling explained. The cup is made from sheets of Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum, an alloy of molybdenum, giving it a melting point of about 4,260 degrees Fahrenheit. The chips that produce an electric field for the Faraday cup are made from tungsten, the metal with the highest known melting point. With a threshold of 6,192 degrees Fahrenheit before melting, Faraday has the wiggle room to collect the solar wind data it needs.

After launching on August 4, Parker Solar Probe will use Venus’ gravitational pull to shrink its orbit around the sun. These flybys will take roughly seven years, eventually bringing the probe as close as 3.7 million miles from the center of the solar system. Its final loop within the sun’s corona is expected in late 2024. But thanks to this slew of innovative technologies, it should keep cool the whole time.

Extraterrestres : 8 théories pour expliquer le silence

Extraterrestres : 8 théories pour expliquer le silence - Aliens : 8 theories to explain silence

Pourquoi les extraterrestres ne se montrent-ils pas ? Plusieurs théories peuvent expliquer le silence des extraterrestres. Futura vous en présente ici 8. Rentrez dans le secret...

Si la vie est fréquente dans l'univers, alors de nombreuses planètes de notre galaxie, la Voie lactée, devraient porter ou avoir porté des civilisations extraterrestres. Or, mis à part de témoignages douteux et jamais vérifiés d'incursions très brèves (et aux objectifs mystérieux), force est de constater qu'aucune observation, sur Terre ou dans le ciel, ne vient prouver l'existence de grandes sociétés technologiquement avancées.

Pourquoi ? La question alimente facilement les discussions entre amis, préférentiellement le soir, idéalement sous un ciel étoilé. On l'appelle le « paradoxe de Fermi », du nom d'Enrico Fermi. Ce spécialiste de physique nucléaire aurait évoqué cette question dans les années 1930, lui aussi au cours d'un dîner. Elle a ensuite été popularisée par Carl Sagan, astronome éclectique, qui a lancé le programme Seti.

Les civilisations E. T. : un très bon sujet de discussion

De multiples réponses sont possibles devant le silence des autres intelligences. Les huit principales sont posées ici mais il en existe d'autres. Lors des discussions, l'impression vient vite que chacun arrive avec ses propres convictions et tente de les imposer aux autres. Cette étape passée, il devient bien plus intéressant de lister, objectivement, toutes les réponses auxquelles on peut penser. L'exercice devient alors un jeu.

Une bonne idée est d'explorer les nombreuses observations réalisées depuis quelques décennies dans le domaine que l'on peut appeler exobiologie ou astrobiologie. De la composition chimique des nébuleuses (où se formeront les étoiles et leurs planètes) jusqu'aux idées sur l'apparition de la vie sur Terre en passant par les océans cachés des satellites de Jupiter et de Saturne sans oublier les exoplanètes, la réalité, souvent, dépasse nos imaginations...

© Futura

{ https://www.futura-sciences.com/}

Quel est cet ovni filmé depuis l'ISS ?

Régulièrement, les caméras de la Station spatiale internationale (ISS) filment des objets volants non identifiés, alias ovnis. Satellites, débris ou étages de lanceurs, quand ce ne sont pas de simples reflets dans les vitres : ces images font le bonheur des ufologues. Ici, on voit un objet allant dans le même sens que l'ISS, un peu plus bas et (logiquement) un peu plus rapide. Rêvons un peu.

Non, l'espace n'est pas rigoureusement vide. Juste au-dessus de l'atmosphère, il est même assez fréquenté, surtout par des objets créés de main d'Homme. Ce peut être des satellites ou des débris spatiaux mais aussi des étages de lanceurs en train de retomber dans l'atmosphère. Ces apparitions plus ou moins fugaces sont aussi, parfois, des phénomènes lumineux dans la haute atmosphère et il est arrivé qu'il ne s'agisse que de reflets sur un hublot ou dans l'optique de la caméra.

Qu'importe. Chaque évènement de ce genre fait le bonheur des amateurs de l'étude des ovnis, qui y voient facilement la preuve de l'existence de vaisseaux extraterrestres patrouillant dans le secteur. Mieux, la molle réaction de la Nasa, qui est le plus souvent « bon eh bien c'est un débris, comme d'habitude ; on va tâcher de voir ce que c'est, comme d'habitude », conforte les convictions de ces passionnés, qui pensent fréquemment que l'agence spatiale dissimule des preuves de tourisme d'extraterrestres. La Nasa est même régulièrement accusée de couper le flux vidéo au moment crucial.

Débris, satellite, ombre ou Surfeur d'argent

L'exercice d'identification est tout de même amusant, voire intéressant. Ici, on voit un objet, de dimension inconnue, filant à peu près dans la même direction que l'ISS et un peu plus rapidement. Il ne peut donc s'agir d'un avion. Sa distance est impossible à déterminer mais l'objet évolue au-dessus de la couverture nuageuse. Celui-ci est clairement en orbite, sur une altitude plus faible que celle de l'ISS. Sa vitesse plus élevée est donc logique. En effet, plus l'orbite est éloignée de la Terreplus la vitesse de satellisation est faible : elle est d'environ 8 km/s au niveau de l'ISS et de 1 km/s à la distance de la Lune (laquelle, bonne connaisseuse des lois de Newton, a d'ailleurs adopté cette vitesse).

Il reste en lice trois hypothèses :

• un satellite en orbite très basse ;
• un débris ;
• l'ombre d'un satellite (l'éclairage des nuages indique que la lumière solaire vient d'en haut à droite, ce qui exclut qu'il s'agisse de l'ombre de l'ISS elle-même).

Une quatrième hypothèse, bien sûr, est qu'un vaisseau spatial d'exploration venu d'une autre planète soit en train d'étudier la météorologie terrestre, qui serait encore mystérieuse pour les concepteurs de cet engin. Une cinquième est celle, tout simplement, du passage de Norrin Radd, le Surfeur d'argent, profitant des vagues atmosphériques au-dessus d'une formation cyclonique...

© Nasa

{ https://www.futura-sciences.com/ }

Legendary Ship With 5,500 Boxes Of Gold Worth $133 Billion Discovered

A legendary ship carrying cargo of $133 billion found off a South Korean island.

The Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian ship that was scuttled in 1905 and is believed to be carrying more than 5,500 boxes of gold bullion and coins estimated to be worth $133 billion has been recovered by divers off the South Korean island of Ulleungdo.

The incredible discovery came off the back of many years of work by the maritime salvage company, the Shinil Group, who have long been after the prize. In order to uncover the ship a team of experts from South Korea, China, Britain, and Canada have worked tirelessly trawling the area. Now they have seen the fruits of their labors with the discovery of the legendary ship which they positively identified by the Cyrillic letters on its stern.

The Dmitrii Donskoi was never intended to be a battleship but was designed to be a commerce raider. It set sail for the first time in the late nineteenth century and would go on to spend most of its operational career on missions in the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific theatre.

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Russians suffered major losses at sea as the superior Japanese destroyed the vast majority of the Russian ships in the vicinity of the Asian country. To bulk up the depleted forces, the Dmitrii Donskoi was one of a number of ships deployed to fight on the frontlines of the short-lived but vicious war.

Built in St Petersburg and launched in August 1883

The Dmitrii Donskoi formed part of the ill-fated squadron that met the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Tsushima. The ship had been assigned to protect the transport ships sailing at the rear of the formation and managed to slip away and flee when it became clear that the Japanese were about to deal the Russian forces a crushing defeat. The captain, Ivan Levedev, evaded Japanese forces for some time but was discovered by the enemy steaming towards the Russian port town of Vladivostok.

The extensive damage the international team discovered on the wreckage of the ship tells the story of the violence of the Japanese onslaught. The ship endured major damage from shell fire and was eventually scuttled.

According to records from the time, sixty of the five hundred and a ninety-one strong crew were killed in the assault, and more than a hundred others suffered injuries. The rest were saved by the capable actions of Captain Lebedev who managed to get the men to shore. The crew would eventually be taken prisoner by the Japanese landing parties on the South Korean island of Ulleungdo. The brave captain died of the injuries he incurred in the course of the battle.

After the ship was lost and the crew was captured, rumors began circulating about the incident. It was strongly suggested that the Dmitrii Donskoi had been tasked with carrying a massive amount of money which was to be used to pay for fuel, port fees and the crews of the ships in the ill-starred squadron. This money amounted to the equivalent of more than a hundred billion US dollars. It is believed that the captain chose to scuttle the ship rather than let such an extraordinary amount of money fall into enemy hands.

{ https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Mysterious black granite sarcophagus is finally OPENED

{ https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Giant Stone Spheres Discovered On Artic Island Baffle Scientists

The appearance of perfectly spherical rocks baffles the scientific community.

Bizarre, perfectly rounded rocks described by some observers as the ‘footballs of God’ have been discovered on the uninhabited Champ island which lies above the polar circle in the Franz Josef archipelago.

At first glance, it would appear that these perfectly spherical objects had been scattered on the island quite deliberately. However, the small island is completely barren and there is no evidence to suggest that human beings have ever settled there meaning that scientists studying the area do not believe that it is feasible that they were artificially created by humans.

To compound the mystery, similar spherical balls have been found on Heiss Island in the same archipelago as well as in more distant locations such as Volgograd, New Zealand, China, Bosnia and South Africa. According to the Russian polar researcher, Viktor Boyarsky, the spheres are made from a soft sandstone.

The material that the spheres are comprised of is about the only thing that geologists can agree on when it comes to these mysterious stones. According to Konstantin Zaikov of the Arctic Federal University, these fascinating stones were formed thousands of years ago by processes of crystallization of the sandstone followed by the subsequent magnetization of the grains of sand on the created crystals. Over time, the sand grains hardened and created a dense spherical stone.

However, this conclusion is contradicted by the Austrian geologist Sepp Fridhubera who has put forward a rival theory. Fridhubera claims that the rounded shape of the stones suggests that it was formed under the water and it is likely that an organic core at the center of the stones has contributed to its spherical shape.

These theories are merely the most popular in geological circles. There are dozens of theories circulating about what processes might have caused this astonishing natural phenomenon and no sign that agreement will be reached at any point in the near future.

Interestingly, all of these scientists presume that the stones must have been made naturally. However, the bizarre shape of the stones does open up the possibility that they were created by intelligent hands. If this theory is thrown into the mix, then there could be hundreds of more questions to answer about the stunning footballs of God.

{  https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Giant Stone Spheres Discovered On Artic Island Baffle Scientists

The appearance of perfectly spherical rocks baffles the scientific community.

Bizarre, perfectly rounded rocks described by some observers as the ‘footballs of God’ have been discovered on the uninhabited Champ island which lies above the polar circle in the Franz Josef archipelago.

At first glance, it would appear that these perfectly spherical objects had been scattered on the island quite deliberately. However, the small island is completely barren and there is no evidence to suggest that human beings have ever settled there meaning that scientists studying the area do not believe that it is feasible that they were artificially created by humans.

To compound the mystery, similar spherical balls have been found on Heiss Island in the same archipelago as well as in more distant locations such as Volgograd, New Zealand, China, Bosnia and South Africa. According to the Russian polar researcher, Viktor Boyarsky, the spheres are made from a soft sandstone.

The material that the spheres are comprised of is about the only thing that geologists can agree on when it comes to these mysterious stones. According to Konstantin Zaikov of the Arctic Federal University, these fascinating stones were formed thousands of years ago by processes of crystallization of the sandstone followed by the subsequent magnetization of the grains of sand on the created crystals. Over time, the sand grains hardened and created a dense spherical stone.

However, this conclusion is contradicted by the Austrian geologist Sepp Fridhubera who has put forward a rival theory. Fridhubera claims that the rounded shape of the stones suggests that it was formed under the water and it is likely that an organic core at the center of the stones has contributed to its spherical shape.

These theories are merely the most popular in geological circles. There are dozens of theories circulating about what processes might have caused this astonishing natural phenomenon and no sign that agreement will be reached at any point in the near future.

Interestingly, all of these scientists presume that the stones must have been made naturally. However, the bizarre shape of the stones does open up the possibility that they were created by intelligent hands. If this theory is thrown into the mix, then there could be hundreds of more questions to answer about the stunning footballs of God.

{  https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Giant Stone Spheres Discovered On Artic Island Baffle Scientists

The appearance of perfectly spherical rocks baffles the scientific community.

Bizarre, perfectly rounded rocks described by some observers as the ‘footballs of God’ have been discovered on the uninhabited Champ island which lies above the polar circle in the Franz Josef archipelago.

At first glance, it would appear that these perfectly spherical objects had been scattered on the island quite deliberately. However, the small island is completely barren and there is no evidence to suggest that human beings have ever settled there meaning that scientists studying the area do not believe that it is feasible that they were artificially created by humans.

To compound the mystery, similar spherical balls have been found on Heiss Island in the same archipelago as well as in more distant locations such as Volgograd, New Zealand, China, Bosnia and South Africa. According to the Russian polar researcher, Viktor Boyarsky, the spheres are made from a soft sandstone.

The material that the spheres are comprised of is about the only thing that geologists can agree on when it comes to these mysterious stones. According to Konstantin Zaikov of the Arctic Federal University, these fascinating stones were formed thousands of years ago by processes of crystallization of the sandstone followed by the subsequent magnetization of the grains of sand on the created crystals. Over time, the sand grains hardened and created a dense spherical stone.

However, this conclusion is contradicted by the Austrian geologist Sepp Fridhubera who has put forward a rival theory. Fridhubera claims that the rounded shape of the stones suggests that it was formed under the water and it is likely that an organic core at the center of the stones has contributed to its spherical shape.

These theories are merely the most popular in geological circles. There are dozens of theories circulating about what processes might have caused this astonishing natural phenomenon and no sign that agreement will be reached at any point in the near future.

Interestingly, all of these scientists presume that the stones must have been made naturally. However, the bizarre shape of the stones does open up the possibility that they were created by intelligent hands. If this theory is thrown into the mix, then there could be hundreds of more questions to answer about the stunning footballs of God.

{  https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Project Blue Book trailer goes all-in on UFOs for History

The truth is out there.

Look! Up in the sky! It isn't a bird or a plane. It's probably a UFO, at least if you're watching History's upcoming Project Blue Book drama series.

The series, which was inspired by real UFO studies conducted by the US Air Force starting in the early 1950s, debuts on the History channel this winter. But a first-look trailer shows off its cast, which includes Game of Thrones' Aidan Gillen as Dr. Allen Hynek and Neal McDonough, who plays Damien Darhk in Legends of Tomorrow, as Gen. James Harding. Hynek, a real historical figure, was a scientific adviser for the Air Force's UFO work.

The trailer doesn't leave much to the imagination. We see lights moving in the sky, mysterious crop circles and a bizarrely elongated skull. It seems like it will be stocked with plenty of action, alien intrigue and stylish camera work.

Don't mistake this for a documentary series. History says it will blend "UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in United States history."

You can delve deeper into the real history behind the television show on your own. The Project Blue Book files are available for anyone to peruse through the online Project Blue Book Archive.

Project Blue Book UFO Interview 1966 United States Air Force

UFOs & The Government's Media Machine #1 Project Blue Book

Montana 1950 & Utah 1952 UFO films

{ https://www.cnet.com/ }

WAT GEBEURDE ER WERKELIJK OP DE MAAN?

Voor wat betreft de maan lijkt de wereld verdeeld in twee kampen, de ene die gelooft dat de maanlandingen nep waren en de andere dat er wel degelijk mensen op de maan waren. 

Uit een recente ontdekking van ufoloog Scott Waring en verborgen conversaties van astronauten komt er nu misschien toch iets meer duidelijkheid. 

Binnen die beperking hebben we nog andere illusies en dat zijn die dingen die bewust anders worden voorgespiegeld dan hoe ze in werkelijkheid zijn gebeurd. En dan hebben we het in dit geval over de maanlandingen. 

Ook op deze website zijn artikelen te vinden die met overtuigend bewijs komen dat de maanlandingen nooit plaatsgevonden kunnen hebben, zoals dit artikel. 

Anderzijds zijn er dan toch weer dingen die erop lijken te wijzen dat er wel degelijk mensen op de maan zijn geweest en daar willen we vandaag iets verder op in gaan. 

Iemand die nog steeds iedere dag onvermoeibaar in de weer is met het bestuderen van allerlei foto’s is ufoloog Scott Waring. Nu ziet Scott heel vaak UFO’s vliegen die er soms helemaal niet zijn, maar vaak heeft hij ook wel bijzonder dingen, zoals het volgende. 

Bij de bestudering van een foto van de maan die afkomstig is uit de verzameling van de Universiteit van Arizona, vond hij een aantal bijzondere koepels boven kraters. Het zijn behoorlijk grote glimmende objecten en Scott vraagt zich dan ook af hoe het mogelijk is dat astronomen dit soort dingen volkomen over het hoofd hebben gezien. 

Ze zien er als volgt uit:

Tijdens de Apolloreizen naar de maan kon het publiek af en toe de gesprekken volgen tussen de astronauten en de verkeersleiding in Houston. Echter, dit was een zorgvuldig uitgewerkt script, want wat de astronauten echt hadden te melden werd ver van het publiek weggehouden. 

Jaren later zijn er een aantal gesprekken vrijgegeven tussen de astronauten onderling, waar op zijn zachtst gezegd een aantal zeer merkwaardige dingen in voor komen. 

Zoals de volgende, waarbij astronauten praten over een snelweg op de maan en dat “ze” waarschijnlijk geen geld meer hadden om die weg af te maken.

En dan de volgende die heel interessant is in het kader van de ontdekking van Scott Waring. Astronauten die praten over driehoekige wegen in de buurt van de Moltke krater waarbij ze het hebben over een tijd voordat de koepels werden gebouwd.

En als laatste, een gesprek dat een Amerikaanse professor had met Neil Armstrong. Waarin Armstrong duidelijk maakt dat de reden dat wij nooit meer op de maan zijn geweest is omdat we in feite door de buitenaardsen zijn weggejaagd met de mededeling daar niet meer terug te komen.

Dus, zijn we nu wel of niet op de maan geweest? Wie het weet mag het zeggen.

{ http://niburu.co/ }

Trailer New UFO Series “Project Blue Book” Based On Actual Cases

History Channel’s upcoming new UFO series 'Project Blue Book' is based on the true, top-secret investigations into Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and related phenomena conducted by the United States Air Force from 1952 to 1969.

The series that starts at end of this year revolves around secret U.S. Air Force investigations into supposed UFO encounters and unexplained phenomenon, undertaken by astrophysicist, and eventual ufologist, Josef Allen Hynek in the 1950s and 1960s.

The incidents that are shown in this 10 episode series are based on actual cases that were investigated by the USAF.

Below the trailer “Project Blue Book”.

Project U.F.O. - S2E1 - The Underwater Incident

Project U.F.O. - S1E1 - The Washington DC Incident

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

Blazing UFO reported flying over Suffolk, England 14/07/2018 Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting:  7-14-2018
Location of sighting: Suffolk, England

This blazing UFO was seen a few days ago over England. The object shoots out flames like a meteor, but does acrobatics. UFOs do sometimes perform for people when they are notices, usually the light ships (pure energy beings) get excited when someone notices them and they do acrobatics, loops, zig zags, which I and my family personally witnessed one night here in Taiwan at midnight. However, this is fiery, which may be fireworks attached to a drone. Maybe a remote control plane with sparklers attached is my thought. 
Scott C. Waring

Eyewitness states:

Saw strange flying object in distance whilst sitting in our back garden at dusk. Watched it for at least 5 mins. No idea what it was and have seen no media coverage. Viewed S.E. direction from Moats Tye, Stowmarket towards Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Curious if anyone else saw it?!

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

In early 2005, the late Rob Riggs – the author of the book In the Big Thicket, and who I had first met in the summer of 2003 – telephoned me and asked if I would be interested in speaking at a conference he was planning on soon holding in the city of Austin, Texas. The subject was “ghost lights,” and the links between that same phenomenon and sacred sites, stone circles, and Bigfoot-like entities. I replied that, yes, I would definitely be interested. And thus was born the Texas Ghost Lights Conference. It was held at Austin’s First Unitarian Universalist Church on Saturday, June 11. Precisely what the God-fearing folk of the Church thought about a group of Bigfoot-hunting, ghost-light-seeking adventurers descending upon their property, I never learned. But, they  didn’t seem to mind at all.

Marfa Lights

In addition to Rob and me, the other lecturers were James Bunnell and Paul Devereux. James has an interesting background: the author of two books on the famous “Marfa Lights,” namely Night Orbs and Seeing Marfa Lights. he was an aeronautical and mechanical engineer by profession, and retired in 2000 from BAE Systems as Director of Mission Solutions for various U.S. Air Force programs. Like me, Paul is a Brit. He’s a longstanding, prestigious figure in the field of ghost-light style phenomena.

Big Thicket National Preserve

In addition to organizing the conference, Rob had also put into place something that he termed the Bragg Road Project. Essentially, it was a road-trip to the Texas-based Big Thicket (a hotbed for “ghost lights”)that he had planned for the day after the Austin gig. The idea was to travel down to the woods of east Texas and hang out in the area for two nights, in the event that something – be it a ghost light or a Bigfoot, or both if we were that lucky – decided to make an appearance.

Early on what turned out to be a bright and sunny Sunday morning, me, Rob, James, Paul, S. Miles Lewis of the Austin-based Scientific Anomaly Institute, and two conference attendees, Renee and Nancy, met at a prearranged location for our journey into the unknown. I can hardly say that the trip was one of proportions that would have made Jack Kerouac proud. But nevertheless, we were on a mission and everyone was fired up about what we might uncover, and so our convoy set off in earnest. It was late afternoon when we finally arrived in the town of Kountze, where all of us had reservations at the local Super 8. And, after a shower and a Mexican dinner, we were forest-bound. And this was where, as was so often the case, things got very strange.

The Real Saratoga Ghost lights

Bragg Road can be an eerie location during daylight – as I had found to be so when I ventured deep into the Big Thicket with Rob in the summer of 2003. At night and under the spotlight of a full moon, however, it was truly spooky. Not in a scary sense, as I always relish the opportunity to check out such places, but just from the perspective of believing that quite possibly anything could happen here. Of course, it’s important to note that more than a few people have mistaken distant car headlights for the legendary lights (as Andy Collins notes at this link). But, given that some sightings have occurred within just a feet of eyewitnesses demonstrates that not all cases can be written off so easily.

With flashlights in hand, we began a walk through the darkened woods, with Rob pointing out to us various locations where wild men, Bigfoot, and, of course, ghost lights had been seen and reported for decades. For twenty minutes or so, we walked around, seemingly forever trying to avoid the overwhelming mass of mosquitoes that surrounded us, while at the same time negotiating the thick blanket of ancient and mighty trees that dominated the area. And then, suddenly, it happened. We were on our way back to the vehicles to grab a bite to eat and some drinks when, as we entered a clearing in the trees, a basketball-sized bright light floated over us at a height of about thirty-five feet. It was moving from right to left, and sailed slowly yet purposefully on its journey. The ghost light was present for barely a handful of seconds, but it was definitely there.

Due to work, I was unable to stay for the second night, but when I  got back to Dallas and turned on the computer, I read an email from Rob that was of true jaw-dropping quality. The odd experiences of the first night in the Big Thicket were apparently not isolated. As Rob said: “Renee had a frightening experience Monday night. We split up into teams of two and spread out about a mile apart. Renee was paired with Nancy. Nancy walked down the road briefly away from Renee. Renee said she then heard something walking in the woods off the road directly behind her that sounded large. She said whatever it was, was large enough to snap twigs, and she said that it seemed to be moving stealthily, as if it were trying to sneak up on her. She panicked, locked herself into her van and drove off, leaving Nancy to fend for herself.”

Rob continued: “Several hours later she was still shaken and still had goose bumps. Such irrational panic is not characteristic of Renee. She is a ghost hunter and has many times been in creepier situations than being on Bragg Road. She has even gone to cemeteries alone just to test her mettle. There are theories that the creatures deliberately provoke such panic reactions through chemicals in their scent or by mental projection of energy.”

He concluded: “Renee, Nancy and I also saw a peculiar light. It looked somewhat like a firefly but actually left a solid streak 10 – 15 feet in length that was brilliant bluish-white in color.  It happened near a power line, and it was suggested that it might have been some kind of surge on the power line itself. But what could cause such a surge? That, in itself would be suggestive of a electromagnetic anomaly.”

Rob’s research into the matter of Texas’ ghost lights continued until his death in 2015.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Well, it happened and we’re all still here. Egyptian archaeologists have opened the giant, mysterious black marble sarcophagus recently unearthed in Alexandria, and…

A whole lot of stinking sewage water fell out. No curse, no vengeful mummy, no evil necromancer. No hieracosphinx, no serpopard, no Ammit, damnit. Not one Nazi’s face melted off. I guess we can’t be too disappointed, though – the world is still here and only somewhat doomed, as opposed to covered in locusts and horrible man-eating beasts out of Egyptian mythology. So what exactly was found in this once-in-a-lifetime archaeological find?

The usual. Just some old dead people.

According to initial reports, three skeletons and a whole lot of “red-brown sewage water” which filled observers’ nostrils with what the BBC describes as “an unbearable stench” that sent researchers fleeing from the inspection scene entirely. At least that much was awesome.

The sarcophagus was opened by a specially-appointed committee of specialists on behalf of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, says that while the find is unique, it’s ultimately a little disappointing:

We found the bones of three people, in what looks like a family burial… Unfortunately the mummies inside were not in the best condition and only the bones remain. We’ve opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness. I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus… and here I stand before you. I am fine.

Yeah, fine so far, Mostafa. Sometimes ancient Egyptian curses can take a few decades to catch up with you. Come back to me when you develop prostate cancer in 16 years.

It took 16 years for the Curse of the Pharaohs to catch up with Howard Carter.

Actually, don’t; I don’t wish that upon anyone. I’m just bitter and a little disappointed. Like most of us, I was hoping something truly marvelous would have been inside of this mysterious, imposing sarcophagus. Instead, it appears that this was some type of ritual burial for three soldiers who served during the time of the Pharaohs. It’s unknown who they were, but one of the skulls bears an arrow injury, suggesting a warrior. Still, given the nature of their burial, it’s likely they have an interesting story to tell.

I guess it’s great and all that the world is still here, but deep down I was hoping for an evil wizard. Just once before I die, I want to witness the awe-inspiring, spacetime-bending power of an ancient undead necromancer. Is that too much to ask?

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Mysterious radio signals have long been a mainstay of science fiction tales, but lately they’ve also been the subject of serious scientific scrutiny. Radio bursts originating from deep spacehave become a hot topic in the astronomy world, and while most of these appear to be naturally occurring, you never know when one of them turns out to be something far stranger. At least, we can hope one of them will. Here on boring planet Earth, mysterious radio signals often pop up in the form of pirated transmissions broadcasting strange, cryptic messages. While most of these turn out to be merely hoaxes or pranks, many of them also remain unexplained.

A radio telescope at the Parkes Observatory.

Just this week, physicists studying cosmic rays in Antarctica have uncovered a strange radio signal that appears to have a mysterious origin. The physicists are part of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) program, a project which uses balloons to locate and identify signals produced by strange particles travelling from deep space as they collide with the Earth. However, this latest signal appears to originate from deep within the Earth itself. Is this a lost race of molemen and molewomen’s attempt at communication with us surface dwellers?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear so. Or maybe fortunately, those things look like they could eat a human brain or two. According to a press release issued by Physics World, the strange radio signal is likely the product of neutrinos colluding with atomic nuclei deep within Antarctic ice sheets. These collisions produce explosions of charged particles which emit radio waves that then bounce through 7,000 kilometers of ice and the Earth’s crust and into the air where ANITA balloons detect them. Neutrinos are a little-understood cousin of the other subatomic particles which don’t seem to interact with other particles and fields as much as other elementary particles do. Scientists believe neutrinos might someday be used in deep space communications, as they are capable of travelling through matter and across long distances unscathed.

Peter Gorham of the University of Hawaii is one of the ANITA researchers behind this discovery. Gorham notes that while it’s possible human activity created these anomalous radio signals, the data more likely point to this extremely rare interaction between deep space neutrinos and Antarctic ice sheets. “It’s still possible that the events are due to two isolated people, each transmitting a single radio pulse very far from the nearest Antarctic base, Gorham says. “But that seems very unlikely at this stage.” 

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory located 2100m underground in a mine in Canada.

It’s pretty amazing to think about: strange, exotic particles flying through unimaginably vast reaches of space only to penetrate deep within the Earth and explode into a shower of radio waves which are then detected by a weather balloon. I consider myself a proponent of science and scientific explanation, but the history of science and scientific knowledge proves that each explanation isn’t necessarily the definitive answer, but only the best answer we have at the time given current methods, instruments, and data. Could there be an even more exotic explanation for these anomalous radio signals originating from deep within the Earth that we haven’t even considered yet?

Radio signals from the center of the Earth received by NASA

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Secret Documents Reveal MI5 Used To Hunt For Alien UFO Technology To Make Super Weapons

Alien enthusiasts claim there have been over 100,000 recorded UFO sightings around the world in the past 100-plus years.

A secret collection of papers containing detailed information has reportedly revealed that British investigators spent at least 50 years searching for UFOs in the hope of stealing alien technology. They were looking to build their super-weapons amid fears that either the Soviet Union or China had already impounded a UFO.

Dated between 1947 and 1997, the cache suggests intelligence services had not only one but two desks based around the idea of space alien visitors to Earth.

While one desk has been known to the public for taking calls from concerned citizens about possible UFO sightings, the other one worked in the background. The alleged secret office did the real work of sending spies to look into UFO claims.

Both UFO desks ran until 1997 when Whitehall expressed concern that services had begun becoming diverted from their primary duties. After the shutdown, officials wanted to know what had been learned out of the two desks that could be useful for military purposes.

A report titled Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) in the Air Defence Region of UK is set to be released after being declassified.

The report includes three files containing more than a thousand pages that were kept secret from the UFO records, which are scheduled for transfer to the National Archives as part of the Open Government project from 2008 to 2013.

The complete set of redacted copies was released ahead earlier this year to investigative journalist and Dr David Clarke, a university lecturer and curator for The National Archives UFO project from 2008 to 2013.

These documents revealed that the RAF expressed great interest in discovering UFOs to help come up with innovative ways to gain military advantage. Also disclosed is how spies were provided with tips about what to look out when identifying unknown objects.

Documented in the dossier is particular attention to be paid to any aircraft suspected to be a UFO.

One unnamed commander instructed to look out for high velocities, few radar returns, stationary flight and sharp manoeuvre.

Dr Clarke accused the MoD of desperately trying to delay the release of these formerly secret papers for over a decade.

He said that the documents had been partly censored but the fact the UK military was interested in getting UFO technology can’t be concealed.

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

New UFO Drama Series “Project Blue Book”: First Look Trailer

First Look Trailer – HISTORY’s new UFO drama series “Project Blue Book” starring Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”) and Michael Malarkey (“The Vampire Diaries”). Coming this Winter.

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

Leaked Report On US Navy UFO Encounter

The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group tracked UFOs not just one but many occasions that lasted for several days off the coast of San Diego in 2004. A secret group investigating UFOs within the Pentagon turned out to be the investigative team of the event.

The existence of this UFO project caught the attention of media organizations worldwide, including the New York Times that published an article on the subject in December 2017.

Many articles worldwide mentioned this case and included video of one of the UFOs from a jet fighter’s infrared camera. However, the government shared very little official information beyond the video.

Former head of the UFO program Luis Elizondo and one of the fighter pilots in the incident David Fravor have come forward in media interviews.

Unfortunately, no documents have been made public. Recently, Las Vegas’8 News Now’s I-Team released an alleged leaked report they got from the incident and it was shocking.

Below are recent interviews with David Fravor by filmmaker Jeremy Corbel and with Luis Elizondo from Las Vegas 8 News Now.

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

Scientists Just Discovered 12 New Jupiter Moons - One Of Them Is On A Collision Course

{ https://www.disclose.tv/ }

Jupiter has 12 more moons than we knew about — and one is bizarre

An oddball satellite, called Valetudo, may collide with its neighbors within a billion years

BY LISA GROSSMAN 

 

NEW MOON, I SAW YOU ORBIT ALONE  Of 12 recently discovered Jovian moons (illustrated in bold orange, blue and green), one orbits in the opposite direction of its neighbors (arrows show orbit direction). Four moons discovered by Galileo are also shown (purple).

ROBERTO MOLAR CANDANOSA/CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE

Astronomers have found 12 more moons around Jupiter, and one is really weird. While 11 orbit in the same direction as their nearest neighbors, one doesn’t, potentially putting it on a fatal collision course.

“It’s driving down the highway on the wrong side of the road,” says planetary scientist Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.

Astronomers Just Discovered 12 NEW Moons Around Jupiter

Sheppard and colleagues found the moons while looking for something else entirely: a putative planet that could exist beyond the orbit of Neptune, known colloquially as Planet Nine (SN: 7/23/16, p. 7). During a survey in 2017 of the most distant objects in the solar system using the Victor Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile, Jupiter happened to be visible in the same area of sky that the team was searching during one of its observing runs. “Might as well kill two birds with one stone,” Sheppard thought.

The researchers found a dozen objects moving around the sun at the same rate as Jupiter. Follow-up observations confirmed the moons’ existence and orbits: two inner moons that orbit in the same direction that Jupiter spins, nine outer moons that orbit the planet in the opposite direction and one oddball traveler. The researchers announced two of the moons in 2017 and the remaining 10 on July 16.

The motions of all but the oddball are normal for Jovian moons, which now number a whopping 79. Scientists think that’s because the inner moons formed from a disk of gas and dust that orbited the giant planet in the solar system’s early days, similar to how the planets formed around the sun (SN: 5/12/18, p. 28). The outer moons were probably free-floating space rocks captured when they came too close, and their opposite orbit was set by the direction that they approached Jupiter from.

But one moon broke the mold. This rock, which the team calls Valetudo for the Roman goddess of health and hygiene, is tiny, only about a kilometer across. It orbits in the same direction as Jupiter’s spin, but alongside the farther-out retrograde moons. As a result, Valetudo is probably doomed to collide with one or more of the other moons someday. The researchers are still calculating when, but they expect it to occur sometime between 100 million and a billion years from now.

Valetudo may be the last remnant of a bigger object that has already withstood several collisions, or of a family of moons that has since been smashed to smithereens. “It’s probably the largest surviving member, if not the only one,” Sheppard says.

Such nonconformist satellites are not rare, notes planetary scientist David Jewitt of UCLA, who was not involved in the new work. “But they are very interesting, because we know that they have been captured by their host planets, but we don't know how, or from where,” he says. Figuring out what oddballs like Valetudo are made of could help nail those details down.

Jupiter has 10 newly-discovered moons, and one is a weirdo

Astronomers discover 12 more moons of Jupiter, including an oddity

---

Editor's note: This story was updated July 18, 2018, to clarify that of the 12 newfound moons, two were announced in 2017 and the remaining 10 on July 16.

Citations

• Carnegie Institution for Science. A dozen new moons of Jupiter discovered, including one "oddball." July 16, 2018.

Further Reading 

• L. Grossman. The recipes for solar system formation are getting a rewrite. Science News. Vol. 193, May 12, 2018, p. 28.
• C. Crockett. 4 surprising things we just learned about Jupiter. Science News. Vol. 193, March 31, 2018, p. 10.
• C. Crockett. New clues in search for Planet Nine. Science News. Vol. 190, July 23, 2016, p. 7.

{ https://www.sciencenews.org/ }

Ce que la science actuelle sait des extraterrestres

Plus que jamais, la quête d’une vie extraterrestre passionne les chercheurs. Succès en Angleterre, «Aliens», publié pour la première fois en français cet été, fait le point sur ce que l’on sait de nos potentiels voisins de galaxie

Virginie Nussbaum 

Depuis près de soixante ans, la science a les yeux rivés sur les étoiles. En 1959, le SETI, institut dédié à la recherche d’intelligence extraterrestre, voyait le jour et, depuis, des millions de kilomètres de cosmos ont été scannés et inondés d’émissions radio.

Mais où en est-on aujourd’hui? L’Univers est-il désespérément vide, ou y a-t-il des raisons de croire que nous ne sommes pas seuls? Pour faire le point, Jim Al-Khalili, professeur britannique de physique théorique à l’Université de Surrey, s’est entouré d’une douzaine de scientifiques de tous bords.

SECRET Défense Enquete Exclusive sur les Extraterrestres 2017 Documentaire Scientifique

Dans Aliens, vendu à plus de 50 000 exemplaires en Grande-Bretagne et publié cet été dans sa version française, ils décortiquent les quelques certitudes et nombreuses inconnues qui subsistent quant à nos potentiels voisins de galaxie.

Le Temps: Sommes-nous à un tournant dans notre exploration de l’espace?

Jim Al-Khalili: On peut dire ça, oui! Ces dernières années, des avancées dans le domaine de l’astronomie ont rendu la recherche de vie dans l’espace… faisable, tout simplement. Au lieu de nous contenter de pointer un radiotélescope en espérant capter quelque chose d’intéressant, les technologies actuelles nous permettent d’identifier des planètes semblables à la Terre, à l’image de Proxima b, découverte en 2016 à quelques années-lumière d’ici. En 2020, un nouveau télescope, nommé James-Webb, promet d'étudier encore plus précisément la lumière venue d'autres systèmes stellaires. Des recherches pour le moins respectables, alors que les scientifiques, qui les associaient aux théories du complot et aux petits hommes verts hollywoodiens, les ont longtemps dédaignées.

Le cinéma, comme la littérature, s’empare en effet inlassablement du sujet. Pourquoi cette fascination pour la figure de l’alien?

Parce qu’elle nous renvoie à une question fondamentale: sommes-nous seuls dans l’Univers? Et d’où venons-nous? Pour les croyants c’est simple, Dieu a créé cette planète et nous avec. Mais, scientifiquement, nous aimerions comprendre pourquoi, dans un espace que l’on sait immense, nous ferions office d’exception.

Au contraire, on entend souvent que, au vu de l’immensité de l’Univers, nous devrions avoir un alter ego quelque part…

Ce qui est vrai, c’est que les planètes réunissant tous les ingrédients favorables à la vie – l’eau, l’énergie et le carbone – sont bien plus nombreuses qu’on l’imaginait. On pense même que, sous leurs couches de glace, les lunes de Saturne et Jupiter pourraient être des candidates! Mais ça ne signifie pas pour autant que la vie y soit née comme sur la Terre, ou ait jamais dépassé le stade de cellule microbienne unique.

Car notre propre évolution est le résultat d’une longue chaîne de coïncidences.

Exactement. Et puisque nous n’avons que notre exemple sous la main, nous ne pouvons pas encore chiffrer statistiquement la mince probabilité que ce cas se reproduise. Personnellement, j’ai la conviction que nous observerons des signes de vie microbienne extraterrestre de mon vivant encore.

Et si nous détectons effectivement des voisins, à quoi pourraient-ils ressembler?

Nous avons tendance à tout antropomorpher: notre alien typique est un E.T., avec deux bras, tout au plus quelques doigts en moins… alors que notre apparence est totalement accidentelle! Le filmPremier contact, sorti en 2016, est intéressant à ce niveau car il représente les extraterrestres sous la forme de pieuvres immenses, dont l’intelligence se révèle très éloignée de la nôtre. En réalité, il y a plus de chances que les extraterrestres ne nous ressemblent pas du tout.

Ou qu’ils prennent la forme de machines, comme le suggère votre livre?

En effet. Pensez à l’humanité: nous utilisons déjà des robots alors que nous en sommes au tout début de nos explorations. Il y a fort à parier que, d’ici à quelques centaines d’années, l’intelligence artificielle voyagera pour nous, car elle survit dans des conditions extrêmes. Logiquement, ceux qui nous rendraient visite aujourd’hui devraient être en avance sur nous technologiquement parlant. Il est donc probable qu’ils nous apparaissent sous la forme de machines en silicone plutôt que d’êtres biologiques.

Il se pourrait que les aliens nous aient devancés au point d’avoir déjà disparu…

C’est possible. Sur l’échelle temporelle du cosmos, notre fenêtre de recherche est plus qu’étroite. Peut-être que des civilisations se sont formées puis éteintes il y a des milliards d’années, et que nous avons tout bonnement manqué la fête.

Votre livre pose une autre question intéressante: s’ils existent, pourquoi les aliens entreraient-ils en contact avec nous?

Dans les scénarios hollywoodiens, on les imagine nous attaquer, nous manger ou encore nous utiliser à des fins de procréation. Pourtant, rien ne peut nous assurer que cette forme de vie serait elle aussi basée sur l’ADN, et donc que ces interactions auraient un sens. Et que pourrait-on posséder que cette civilisation avancée n’ait pas déjà? Non, je pense que sa motivation serait avant tout la curiosité. Vouloir savoir et comprendre n’est pas un trait humain, mais un trait d’intelligence.

Pour résumer, nous investissons du temps et des sommes folles à chercher quelque chose d'hautement improbable...

Cet argument revient régulièrement, dans toutes les branches scientifiques: pourquoi rechercher le boson de Higgs au Cern plutôt qu'une cure contre le cancer? Mais comprendre le monde et comment il fonctionne est ce qui nous rend humain. Et nous continuerons à le faire.

• Aliens: ce que la science sait de la vie dans l’Univers, sous la direction de Jim Al-Khalili, Quanto, 2018, 320p.
  
  https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/science-actuelle-sait-extraterrestres

OVNI/UFO : PREUVES QU'ILS EXISTENT . 2 VIDÉOS DU 28/06/2018

"Qui sont les aliens ?" - par Paul Hellyer

{  https://www.letemps.ch/monde }

Alien Planets Without Oxygen Could Still Be Home To Extraterrestrial Life

Scientists should not quickly rule out planets without oxygen in the quest for alien life. Researchers said these no-oxygen worlds could in fact be filled with microbial life. ( NASA/JPL )

The search for extraterrestrial life should not disregard planets with zero oxygen, as these other worlds may just be teeming with microbial life.

Why We Cant Find Extraterrestrial Life - The Fermi Paradox

A team of researchers has found huge fluctuations in oxygen levels of ancient Earth that took place before the Great Oxidation Event.

They believe the same fluctuations could be happening in other planets, which means it is possible that planets with undetectable oxygen could be home to simple microorganisms that dominated the Earth a few billion years ago.

The Great Oxidation Event

Researchers at the University of Washington have found that, for hundreds of millions of years before the Great Oxidation Event, oxygen levels varied tremendously.

Around 3.5 billion years ago, the only life forms on the planet were one-celled microorganisms, such as the blue-green algae called cyanobacteria.

These simple microbes evolved a way to make their own food by using sunlight to create sugar out of water and carbon dioxide. The process, called photosynthesis, created oxygen as a waste product, which the bacteria released into the atmosphere.

Over a billion years, some experts believe the one-celled cyanobacteria became multicellular, allowing it to pump more oxygen into the atmosphere in an event that changed the course of the planet.

A Minor Whiff Before The Major Event

The Great Oxidation Event, which is believed to have happened between 3 and 1 billion years ago, is one of the defining moments in Earth's history. Without the rise of oxygen levels, plant and animal species seen today, including humans, would not be around.

However, the researchers say they have found an instance of rising oxygen levels before the Great Oxidation Event took place. This ancient "whiff" shows that oxygenation did not happen in a single geological breath. It was a complex process characterized by ebbs and flows in oxygen levels.

"The production and destruction of oxygen in the ocean and atmosphere over time was a war with no evidence of a clear winner, until the Great Oxidation Event," says lead author Matt Koehler, PhD student in Earth and space sciences.

Implications For The Search For Alien Life

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could keep researchers involved in the search for alien life from discounting false negatives, such as planets that may not have detectable oxygen levels.

When searching for signs of life in other planets, experts look for biosignatures that increase the possibility of success. One of these is the presence of oxygen. However, just because a planet does not have oxygen does not mean life cannot exist on it.

Ancient Earth, after all, was teeming with bacteria at least a billion years before the planet's oxygen levels rose. The researchers believe it is entirely possible that a planet with no oxygen may just be in the ebb phase of its own oxygenation event.

"One of the strongest atmospheric biosignatures is thought to be oxygen," says coauthor Roger Buick, "but this study confirms that during a planet's transition to becoming permanently oxygenated, its surface environments may be oxic for intervals of only a few million years and then slip back into anoxia."

Rock Samples Show Signs Of Oxygen

By analyzing sediment samples collected at the Jeerinah Formation in Western Australia, Koehler's team found rising oxygen levels that took place 2.66 billion years ago.

The minor oxygenation event lasted 50 million years, which is hardly a blink in geological time, and spanned hundreds of miles across a wide body of water.

The researchers looked for traces of nitrogen isotopes and selenium in the rock layers. Both are indications of the presence of oxygen.

They found a gradual rise in nitrogen isotopes ended by an abrupt disappearance, leading the researchers to believe that oxygen levels gradually rose before immediately dropping off.

They also found traces of selenium in a shallow part of the marine basin, which means the selenium must have come from the land. When oxygen levels are high, more selenium gets drained into the sea through the rusting of rocks and is deposited into ocean sediments.

The samples collected by the researchers show high selenium levels in the sediments, suggesting that there was an oxygen spike in the atmosphere at the time.

In 2007, an international team of researchers also discovered a similar whiff that took place 50 to 100 million years before the Great Oxidation Event.

Alien Life Without Water (But With Acid Blood?)

{ http://va.newsrepublic.net/ }

A Japanese spacecraft is zooming towards an asteroid shaped like a gemstone

The asteroid Ryugu as seen by Hayabusa 2 from 40 km away.

JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

It’s been nearly four years since the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 blasted off, heading for a small asteroid that was then known only as 1999 JU3.

Back then, we didn't have many details about 1999 JU3—not even a good picture of the object. But JAXA, the Japanese space agency, still planned to visit it with Hayabusa-2, use explosives to blast debris off its surface, scoop up the fresh asteroid dust and return its cargo back to Earth, after depositing a few mini-rovers on the surface of the asteroid, of course.

The asteroid needed a better name. Eventually it was reborn as Ryugu, the name of the underwater palace of the Dragon God in Japanese mythology. The hero in one Japanese legend visits Ryugu and returns with precious cargo, a trajectory that Hayabusa-2’s creators hope to emulate with more success than the original Hayabusa mission. While that sample-return mission to an asteroid did succeed in bringing back a very small sample of asteroid dust in 2010, the mission encountered a host of obstacles and malfunctions.

Hayabusa-2 started its final approach towards Ryugu on June 3, and the asteroid is starting to come into focus. But it takes time to get a clear picture. In this image, taken on June 10 from 1,500 miles away, Ryugu is a blob just 5 or 6 pixels across.

Ryugu as seen from 1500 km away.

JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

By June 14, Hayabusa-2 was 700 km away, and JAXA researchers were finally able to see the asteroid’s rotation, which is in retrograde—rotating in the opposite direction in relation to the orbit of planets around the Sun. It was also rotating around its vertical axis.

A gif of the asteroid Ryugu as seen from 700 km away.

JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

As the spacecraft gets closer, more details emerge. Researchers found that Ryugu makes a full rotation every 7.5 hours, and found that it’s tapered shape resembled a spinning top. Mission Manager, Makoto Yoshikawa wrote “When I saw these images, I was surprised that Ryugu is very similar in shape to both the destination of the US OSIRIS-REx mission, asteroid Bennu, and also the target of the previously proposed MarcoPolo-R mission by Europe, asteroid 2008 EV5.” Yoshikawa writes. “So far, the asteroids we have explored have been different in shape, so Ryugu and Bennu could be the first time two similar-shaped asteroids have been examined. It will be interesting to clarify exactly what this similarity means scientifically.”

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is scheduled to begin its approach to the asteroid Bennu in August of this year. Though they are on two separate timelines (OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016, and will spend a year surveying the asteroid), a main goal of both missions is to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth, a project scientists from each mission have been working closely together on to share information.

Images taken by Hayabusa-2 of Ryugu at distances between 220 km and 100 km.

JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

In the most recent photo (seen at the top of this post) an even more detailed image comes into focus, an angular spinning shape pocketed with craters. Project Manager, Yuichi Tsuda compares the shape to the crystalline shape of fluorite, which he says in Japanese is known as the “firefly stone.” The resemblance is pretty uncanny.

Fluorite crystals can bear a striking resemblance to the asteroid Ryugu.

Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Ryugu is technically classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, but this does not mean you need to worry about it. As Ryan Mandelbaum points out at Gizmodo the ‘potentially hazardous’ designation does not mean that an asteroid is likely to hit Earth any time soon. It could, maybe at some point in the distant future, but it’s being tracked and closely monitored, so we’d have plenty of warning should its path eventually cross our own.

Researchers are interested in Ryugu because it is a C-class asteroid, one of the most common types of asteroids. By analyzing material from the space rock, scientists hope to get a better understanding of how bodies in the solar system, from asteroids to planets, developed.

Hayabusa-2 is scheduled to arrive at Ryugu on June 27, staying about 20 km above the asteroid’s surface. If all goes well, it will gather its first sample sometime between September and October.

{ https://www.popsci.com/ }

Why this blind, catlike robot could transform search and rescue

“NASA ontdekte 40 jaar geleden al sporen die konden wijzen op leven op Mars, maar verbrandde ze” - HLN.be

Bron:

• Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets,
• LiveScience

Het was begin vorige maand dat de ontdekking van Curiosity wereldnieuws was. De rover – die al zes jaar rondzwerft op Mars – had organische moleculen gevonden in afzettingsgesteenten van 3 miljard jaar oud. En dat kon erop wijzen dat er ooit leven was op Mars.

Lees ook

Marsjeep Curiosity vindt organisch materiaal op Rode Planeet dat kan wijzen op buitenaards leven

Vikingrobots

Curiosity was niet de eerste rover van de NASA die er op zoek ging naar sporen van leven. In de late jaren 70 stuurde de ruimtevaartorganisatie al eens twee Vikingrobots naar Mars om organische (lees: uit koolstof opgebouwde) moleculen te vinden. De missie moest een makkie worden, want de oppervlakte van de rode planeet werd constant onder vuur genomen door kleine koolstofrijke meteorieten. Sporen van koolstof vinden kon toch geen probleem zijn? 

Dat was het wél. Na vijf jaar zoeken had geen van beide Vikings ook maar iets bovengehaald. Een nieuwe studie – die gepubliceerd werd in het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets – zou daar nu een verklaring voor hebben. De koolstof was er de hele tijd, maar de Vikings zouden alle bewijsmateriaal per ongeluk verbrand hebben.

“Er werden in totaal vier stalen geanalyseerd, elk verschillende keren, door ze snel op te warmen tot een van vier temperaturen”, aldus wetenschappers van het Ames Research Center van NASA en het Atmosphere, Media, Spatial Observations Laboratory in Frankrijk die het onderzoek uitvoerden.

500 graden Celsius

De Vikings verhitten hun bodemstalen tot een maximumtemperatuur van 500 graden Celsius om vluchtige organische componenten die er mogelijk in zaten, vrij te laten komen. Die moesten dan waarneembaar zijn in de verdampte bodem. Maar waarom werd er niets gevonden? 

Volgens de onderzoekers van de nieuwe studie kan er nog iets anders gespeeld hebben. Er zou immers nog iets anders in de bodem gezeten hebben, waarop de NASA niet gerekend had. In 2008 ontdekte de Marsrover Phoenix een ongewone stof toen hij door de bodem ging aan de noordpool van de planeet: perchloraat. Dat is een extreem brandbare stof, die op Aarde gebruikt wordt om raketbrandstof te maken en vuurwerk sneller te doen branden. Als die stof op Mars aanwezig was, zou de verhitting in de oven van de Vikings het perchloraat hebben doen ontbranden, waardoor elk spoor van mogelijke organische moleculen meteen vernietigd was.

Bewijs

Als die these klopte, moest er bewijs zijn in de as. Als koolstof en perchloraat samen branden, ontstaat de molecule chloorbenzeen. Toeval wilde dat Curiosity daar sporen van vond tijdens een missie in 2013. Om zeker te zijn, gingen de onderzoekers ook terug naar de Vikings zelf.

Ze doorzochten de data van de robots naar sporen van chloorbenzeen en vonden die. Ze zaten in stalen die door Viking 2 waren genomen en daarop kwamen de onderzoekers tot de conclusie dat de robot ooit organisch materiaal in zijn hand moet hebben gehad, maar het per ongeluk zelf vernietigde. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

NASA zou voor het eerst glimp opgevangen kunnen hebben van ster die planeet verslindt - HLN.be

Koen Van De Sype

De waarneming werd gedaan door het Chandra X-Ray Observatory van ruimtevaartorganisatie NASA. RW Aur A – dat zich in ruimtevaarttermen met zijn 4.275 biljoen kilometer niet zo heel ver van onze Aarde bevindt – wordt al sinds de jaren 30 van vorige eeuw bestudeerd en astronomen braken er zich het hoofd over waarom het optische licht van de ster zo wisselt met de tijd. Om de paar decennia neemt het licht ongeveer een maand af, waarna het terugkeert.

Lees ook

“NASA ontdekte 40 jaar geleden al sporen die konden wijzen op leven op Mars, maar verbrandde ze”

Chandra

In 2011 veranderde er echter iets. De ster dimde vaker en voor langere periodes: de eerste keer voor 6 maanden, in 2014 zelfs voor 2 jaar en in januari vorig jaar werd het opnieuw donkerder.

Om een tip van de sluier op te lichten werd Chandra ingeschakeld. Meer bepaald tijdens een optisch heldere periode in 2013 en duistere periodes in 2015 en 2017, toen ook een vermindering van X-stralen werd vastgesteld. Omdat die X-stralen uit de hete buitenste atmosfeer van de ster afkomstig zijn, konden schommelingen in de intensiteit iets meer zeggen over de dichtheid en de samenstellingen van het absorberende materiaal rond de ster.

Het team ontdekte dat de donkere periodes veroorzaakt werden door een dicht gas dat het licht van de ster verduisterde. In 2017 werden er heel veel ijzeratomen uitgestoten, wat aangaf dat de ster minstens 10 keer meer ijzer bevatte dan in de heldere periode in 2013.

Dat ijzer zou ontstaan zijn door een botsing van twee jonge planetaire lichamen, waarvan er zeker eentje groot genoeg was om een planeet te zijn. Puin – met daarin ijzer – van de lichamen viel op de ster, wat een dikke sluier van stof en gas veroorzaakte, dat het licht van de ster tijdelijk dimde.

Interpretatie

“Computersimulaties voorspellen al langer dat planeten op een jonge ster kunnen botsen, maar we hebben dat nog nooit kunnen observeren”, aldus Hans Moritz Guenther van het Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research van het Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Hij leidde de studie. “Als onze interpretatie van de data correct is, zou dit de eerste keer zijn dat we een directe waarneming kunnen doen van een jonge ster die een of meerder planeten verslindt.”

De vorige keren dat het licht van de ster – die ongeveer dezelfde massa heeft als onze relatief oude zon – gedimd werd, zou er iets soortgelijks gebeurd kunnen zijn: botsingen van twee planetaire lichamen of grote resten van eerdere botsingen die tegen elkaar aan knalden en nog verder in kleine stukken gebroken werden.

De resultaten van het onderzoek werden gepubliceerd in het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Astronomical Journal. 

{ https://www.hln.be/ }

Mysterious sarcophagus to be opened in two days, Egypt’s MOA says

Opening of ancient sarcophagus in Alexandria

Egypt’s mystery 2000-year-old sarcophagus tomb OPENED and it could be Alexander the Great

{ http://www.egyptindependent.com/ }

Are we alone in the universe? Could alien life exist, and if so, is there a reasonable explanation for why—scientifically speaking—we’ve never seen any evidence for it?

The Fermi Paradox | COSMOLOGY

This is a question many have asked over time, although it is most famously attributed to physicist Enrico Fermi, for whom the so-called “Fermi Paradox” is named. The general premise has to do with what appears to be the contradictory nature of high probability for the existence of alien life, versus the paltry evidence to support it.

As the name suggests, the idea is famously attributed to Enrico Fermi, and was suggested under circumstances of such fame in the scientific literature that they border the mythical. As the story goes, Fermi was on his lunch break with fellow Los Alamos employees Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller, and Herbert York in 1950, when discussion about a funny little cartoon depicting dumpster-diving aliens returning from a visit to New York caught their imagination. Musing more broadly on the subject of aliens, Fermi is said to have asked, “where is everybody?”

Los Alamos National Laboratory (Public Domain)

It was a decidedly scientific question, despite its simplicity: where is the evidence of aliens, if it otherwise seems so likely that we aren’t alone in the universe?

Taking a stab at this famous conundrum, a recent paper published by a team of Oxford researchers with the University’s Future of Humanity Institute argues that the absence of evidence may, in fact, actually be evidence of absence: we may be alone after all.

The problem, researchers Anders Sandberg, Eric Drexler and Toby Ord argue, has a lot to do with human expectations, which build on earlier models for the likelihood of whether life exists elsewhere; namely the Drake equation, which supposes a decent probability that alien civilizations exist, which are technologically advanced to the degree they would be potentially observable to us.

As stated in a portion of the paper’s abstract:

We show that this conflict arises from the use of Drake-like equations, which implicitly assume certainty regarding highly uncertain parameters. We examine these parameters, incorporating models of chemical and genetic transitions on paths to the origin of life, and show that extant scientific knowledge corresponds to uncertainties that span multiple orders of magnitude. This makes a stark difference. When the model is recast to represent realistic distributions of uncertainty, we find a substantial ex-ante probability of there being no other intelligent life in our observable universe, and thus that there should be little surprise when we fail to detect any signs of it. This result dissolves the Fermi paradox, and in doing so removes any need to invoke speculative mechanisms by which civilizations would inevitably fail to have observable effects upon the universe.

As Vox reports, “the paper’s authors do not appear to be making any definitive claim about whether or not aliens exist; simply, our current knowledge across the seven parameters suggests a high likelihood of us being alone,” noting that with new forthcoming information, the Oxford team “would update that likelihood accordingly.”

Naturally, criticisms will arise from such a claim. To consider just a few of them here, it seems difficult (even in probabilistic terms) to suggest the unlikelihood of alien life elsewhere given the expansiveness of the universe, let alone the fact that so little of it has been explored by humans. Also, this isn’t the only solution to Fermi’s paradox that has appeared recently; there are constantly a variety of contrasting viewsabout what might, or might not, explain it.

Sure, Frank Drake’s famous aforementioned equation also focused on the question of alien life, and more specifically, those civilizations which would be sophisticated enough that any evidence for their existence would be detectable by us. While we might expect that a significantly advanced alien civilization would leave an easily discernible cosmic footprint, it may just the opposite: what if our cosmic neighbors have advanced to the point that they employ what we might call “cleaner,” energy sources and other sustainable technologies… and thus, maybe they’re less easily detected, as well?

Bottom line, it’s nearly impossible to conceive of what alien life and their technology would be like without anthropomorphizing the argument (that is, projecting our own ideas, values, and expectations onto things). However, there are at least a few other problems with the Oxford study, one of which has to do with what Fermi actually said about aliens in the first place.

Fermi’s ID photo from his years at Los Alamos (Public Domain).

The paper leads off, naturally, with the famous story of the Fermi lunch at Los Alamos. “While working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1950,” the paper reads, “Enrico Fermi famously asked his colleagues: ‘Where are they?’ ” Although it’s a famous and often-cited story, some have questioned whether it’s entirely true and accurate. Robert H. Gray, writing for Scientific American in 2016, noted that Fermi’s fellow diners at the famous lunchtime discussion had a pretty clear memory of the conversation when asked about it years later, and noted that Fermi hadn’t been merely discussing where all the aliens were. More specifically, they had been talking about interstellartravel, and why there was so little evidence in the specific form of alien spacecraft:

Both York and Teller seemed to think Fermi was questioning the feasibility of interstellar travel—nobody thought he was questioning the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. So the so-called Fermi paradox—which does question the existence of E.T.—misrepresents Fermi’s views. Fermi’s skepticism about interstellar travel is not surprising, because in 1950 rockets had not yet reached orbit, much less another planet or star.

All discussion of UFOs aside (since, to date, there is nothing that conclusively proves that these objects are in any way related to alien spacecraft), the minor detail of what Fermi actually meant may not be enough to change the outcome of the Oxford study’s findings, which purportedly employed “millions” of logarithmic simulations to arrive at the mathematical conclusion that we’re 53 to 99.6 percent likely to be the only civilization in the galaxy. Further, we run a 39 to 85 percent chance of being the only intelligent life in the entire observable region of the universe.

However, if we consider that the basic averages of the Oxford study boil down to there being roughly a 50% chance that we’re alone in the universe, our potential desolation still amounts to a coin flip: either we’ve got some interstellar neighbors out there somewhere, or we do not. We simply don’t know yet.

So maybe it’s a little too soon to be cashing in on whether aliens exist or not; we still have an awful lot of the universe we’ve yet to explore, and innumerable scientific advances that will be required before we can embark on our ultimate journey. For the time being, maybe it’s best to keep an open mind, and see what the innovations of the coming years have to say about what may await us out in that great and final frontier.

The Fermi Paradox - 10 Mind-Blowing Explanations

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

New henge discoveries at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley - 10th July 2018

Our planet continues to change due to the various forces falling under the blanket term of climate change. While this obviously poses challenges and threats the likes of which humanity hasn’t seen since perhaps the last Ice Age, there are a few positive effects that help lessen the blow of witnessing the beginning of a new, hot and decidedly wet era of human history.

Remember that awesome Kevin Costner movie? Yeah, it’s going to be like that.

As Earth changes around us, strange animal sightings are becoming more common in populated areas likely thanks to loss of habitat and food sources. Along those same lines, the melting Arctic and Antarctic sea ices are revealing new, untouched areas of the Earth possibly containing entirely new forms of life.

In the archaeological world, a rapidly changing Earth has meant that many ancient mysteries have begun to reveal themselves from below the ground or the bottom of the seas. The latest case comes out of Ireland’s Boyne Valley where a harsh drought has meant a sharp decline in native grass and scrub plants. With that ground-covering vegetation out of the way, historians conducting aerial drone photography in the area have been able to discover a mysterious ancient ringed structure lying literally right under their feet.

The Boyne Valley

The structure appears to be composed of concentric rings, the largest of which is about 200 meters in diameter. Like other ancient henges, the rings are composed of post holes, implying that this was once some sort of walled enclosure. Anthony Murphy, founder of Mythical Ireland, says the discovery was a complete surprise to even the most seasoned local researchers:

We couldn’t believe it to be honest. It soon became apparent that were looking at something very very exciting. I was aware of the possibility that previously unrecorded things might show up, but I didn’t think they’d show up in the Boyne Valley because it’s been under intense scrutiny for the past few decades by archaeologists. Only because of the drought has it become visible.

The discovery was made not farm from Brú na Bóinne, or Boyne Valley tombs. The tombs are a UNESCO World Heritage site and date back some five or six thousand years.

The Newgrange burial mound at Boyne Valley was constructed with a network chambers and passages.

Like other Neolithic monuments, the Boyne Valley site consists of burial mounds, henges, and earthworks. Its overall purpose or use remains a mystery, though many of the structures are believed to have been used for archaeoastronomical rituals or timekeeping.

ANTHONY MURPHY

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

Dozens of Long White Structures On Moons Surface Found, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of discovery: March 2014 , but revisiting today. 
Coordinates of discovery: 3°53'18.47"S 17°34'20.73"W 
Method used: Google Moon map

I wanted to take a look at the structures I discovered back in 2014, because many of the buildings and discoveries have been deleted or the URLs don't exist any more. These buildings are still there on Google Moon which is a free program to download and use from your desktop. 

The structures measure about 100-150 meters long and 10-15 meters wide. I  don't think they are structures to live in, but probably have a purpose like air or breathing filtration or collecting of energy or even as a transmitting antenna. Glad to see they are still there. 
Scott C. Waring

{ http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

Zeewier reist 20.000 kilometer en meert aan op Antarctica

Caroline Kraaijvanger

{ https://www.scientias.nl/ }

Dwarf Planet Ceres' Bizarre Bright Spots Shine in Stunning Up-Close View