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.
NASA observeert nauwgezet de activiteiten van de bekende Yellowstone vulkaan omdat er behoorlijk wat ongewone dingen gebeuren.
Nu plotsklaps komen wetenschappers van NASA met een plan om hitte vanuit de vulkaan af te voeren, maar als het mislukt is er grote kans dat deze juist zal uitbarsten.
Het is al jaren onrustig rondom de Yellowstone supervulkaan in Amerika. Regelmatig duiken er berichten op dat een uitbarsting van deze gigant misschien niet zo ver weg is.
Ook nu is er weer een groep seismologen die waarschuwen dat de Yellowstone supervulkaan “onder druk” staat, waarmee uiteraard dan weer de vrees toeneemt dat er een uitbarsting zal volgen.
En verder:
Dat alles toch niet zo normaal is als men wil doen voorkomen blijkt ook uit het feit dat vorig jaar het speciale NASA observatievliegtuig, een Boeing 747 genaamd Sophia en uitgerust met infrarode opname-apparatuur, vluchten uitvoerde boven Yellowstone. En nu is Yellowstone weer in het nieuws en dit keer door de onverwachte uitbarsting van een geiser met de naam Steamboat Geyser. Dit is sinds 2014 niet meer gebeurd en nu zijn er drie uitbarstingen in de afgelopen zes weken. Er zijn ooit een keer eerder drie uitbarstingen in één jaar geweest en dat was in 2003. Maar, dit jaar is pas vier maanden oud en aangezien iedere keer het woord “ongewoon” wordt gebruikt, raken mensen steeds wantrouwiger. Temeer ook omdat vulkanologen zoals Michael Poland, hun uiterste best doen om haastig te zeggen dat er helemaal niets aan de hand is, maar geen verklaring kunnen geven voor deze “ongewone” uitbarstingen. Het enige dat ze kunnen zeggen is dat er geen vast tijdschema bestaat voor dit soort uitbarstingen.
We zijn net twee maanden later en wat eigenlijk niemand voor mogelijk hield, is toch gebeurd en dat is dat Steamboat Geyser nu voor de tiende keer dit jaar is uitgebarsten.
We zijn inmiddels in oktober aanbeland en de Steamboat Geyser heeft net zijn 22e uitbarsting van dit jaar achter de rug. Het hoogste aantal uitbarstingen dat ooit in een bepaald jaar heeft plaatsgevonden was 1963 toen de teller op 29 eindigde.
NASA houdt zich al heel lang bezig met de problematiek rondom Yellowstone en werkt nu aan een plan dat de wereld moet redden van een uitbarsting door deze gigant.
Die plannen bestaan volgens Brian Wilcox van het NASA Jet Propulsion Lab uit het boren van een tien kilometer diep gat in de vulkaan waardoor water naar binnen kan worden gepompt. Op deze manier kan dan de hitte in de vulkaan langzaam afnemen. Tegelijkertijd zou dan de vrijgekomen hitte kunnen worden gebruikt als een soort enorme energiecentrale.
Er zouden dan ook investeerders gezocht moeten worden die hier brood in zien, want de kosten van het boren van een dergelijk gat met bijbehorende acties zou ongeveer 3,5 miljard dollar moeten kosten.
Maar, zegt Wilcox erbij: “Dit alles moet heel voorzichtig gebeuren, want het kleinste foutje kan ervoor zorgen dat deze supervulkaan juist zal uitbarsten”.
En als dat zou gebeuren, dan krijgen we op het noordelijk halfrond een langdurige vulkanische winter met als gevolg onder andere enorme problemen met de voedselvoorziening omdat oogsten zouden mislukken. Volgens cijfers van de Verenigde Naties is de totale reserve voorraad voedsel voor de wereld slechts genoeg voor 74 dagen.
Waar het op lijkt is dat men bij NASA een beetje in de paniekmodus verkeert en dat ze “iets” moeten doen, omdat de dreiging van deze vulkaan met de dag groter wordt.
Over of het massaal ontwaken van vulkanen en andere heftige aardveranderingen moet worden toegeschreven aan een onbekend groot object in ons zonnestelsel of iets anders, schrijft een lezer het volgende:
Om te beginnen, ik ben overtuigd van het bestaan van Niburu. Maar ik sluit mij aan bij de mening van Arend Zeevat betreffende tijdstip van passage en zijn mening over Masters en Lieder.
De reden hiervoor is als volgt, ik heb een nautische achtergrond en mijn hele leven de zeeën bevaren. Zodoende heb ik altijd te maken gehad met getijden en berekeningen etc.
Zoals een ieder met een beetje opleiding weten we dat het moeilijker is om vaste stoffen te bewegen dan vloeistoffen. Dus hoe komt het dat de vaste stoffen op aarde eerder reageren op een verstoring in aantrekkingskracht dat vloeibare stoffen zoals de zeeën? Getijtafels kloppen nog steeds! Dit zou onmogelijk zijn als er een enorm groot object of stelsel al in de buurt van de zon zou zijn.
Ik denk dat net als het klimaat, ook de aardkorst onderhevig is aan cyclussen, relatief gezien is onze observatie geschiedenis erg kort en wat er buiten valt zijn louter theorieën. Van de huidige wetenschap heb ik echt geen hoge hoed op, uitzonderingen daargelaten. Veel van Uw artikelen onderschrijven deze mening.
Voor 1895 waren er (Nobel)geen prijzen en commerciële doelen(industrie) en nu denk ik dat deze prijzen en doelen een prestatie dwang creëren die de basis is van frauduleuze bevindingen.
Wat het ook moge zijn, er gebeuren steeds vaker dingen die normaal gesproken zelden of nooit voorkomen. Zoals het instorten van bruggen.
Dit is iets dat je de laatste tijd misschien nog niet regelmatig komt, maar we hebben de ineenstorting van de brug bij Genua gehad deze zomer en nu stort er een brug in over een spoorweg in Rusland.
UFO UIT MINNESOTA OOK IN NEDERLAND GESIGNALEERD ( UPDATE + VIDEO )
Onlangs publiceerden wij een artikel waar op drie verschillende tijdstippen in de Amerikaanse staat Minnesota een groot cirkelvormig object met talloze lichten werd waargenomen door getuigen.
Het ziet er onmiskenbaar uit als een (buitenaards) ruimteschip en naar nu blijkt, is hetzelfde soort schip ook al eerder in Nederland gesignaleerd.
Update: 9 oktober 2018
In het originele artikel staat het verhaal beschreven van iemand die in Nederland in 1996 een UFO heeft waargenomen die identiek is aan die onlangs door diverse mensen is gezien in de Amerikaanse staat Minnesota.
Na zijn verhaal komen wij tot de conclusie dat het dan geen drone kon zijn omdat die er nog niet waren in 1996. Dat is echter niet correct, want een lezer stuurt het volgende (dank!):
Even een kleine opmerking over een zinnetje in de laatste alinea van het UFO-artikel van donderdag 4 oktober. Daarin staat dat het geen drone kan zijn omdat die tot 1996 niet voorkwamen.
Ik woon in Papendrecht maar vrijwel niemand die hier woont weet dat Aviolanda hier vroeger zat en het schijnt dat die in de jaren 50 de eerste Nederlandse drone hebben gemaakt en gebruikt is door de Marine. Dit is wat wikipedia erover te zeggen heeft, de nederlandse wiki-versie bevat nauwelijks zinnige informatie.
Vaag verhaal maar er zaten (en zitten) een aantal onzuivere bedrijven en multinationals hier waar de 35.000 schapen niks vanaf weten.
Tot zover de lezer. Als we wat verder zoeken, dan blijkt echter de drone zelfs nog veel ouder te zijn en gaat eigenlijk al terug tot de Eerste Wereldoorlog.
Het gaat om drie onafhankelijke waarnemingen in de Amerikaanse staat Minnesota van een behoorlijk groot cirkelvormig object dat er als volgt uit zag:
Naar aanleiding van ons artikel, ontvingen wij de volgende mail(dank!):
This evening while looking at your site I saw “Ruimteschip hangt vier minuten boven weg Update”
This gave me the goosebumps! This is exacly what my X wife and myself saw in 1996 From Oeffelt To Our House In Boekel, I didn’t have a camera with me so I didn’t take a picture but now I see it and thank you for that.
Op die website staat inderdaad het hele verhaal wat er die zomeravond in juni 1996 gebeurde tijdens een autorit van Oeffelt naar Boekel, een afstand van zo’n 26 kilometer.
De man in kwestie was samen met zijn toenmalige vriendin op bezoek geweest bij vrienden die in een vrij afgelegen boerderij in de buurt van Oeffelt woonden.
Hij kan zich die avond van 22 juni 1996 nog goed herinneren, want dat was de avond dat Nederland tegen Frankrijk speelde voor de wereldkampioenschappen.
Rond middernacht vertrekt het stel omdat de volgende dag een werkdag was en ze een beetje op tijd in bed moesten liggen. Het eerste wat de man ziet is een rond object met vele lichten dat rondcirkelt boven de boerderij waar ze op bezoek waren. Het was identiek aan die die nu wordt waargenomen in Minnesota.
Het was een kilometer of 7 richting snelweg vanaf de boerderij en de weg was verlaten en liep door een vrijwel onbebouwd gebied. De vriendin kon vanuit de auto zien dat het object hen volgde rechts van de auto en exact dezelfde snelheid aan hield. Toen de man gas gaf accelereerde de UFO ook en toen hij een bocht naar rechts maakte volgde de UFO.
De man werd een beetje overmoedig, stopte de auto en stapte uit om beter te kunnen kijken. Het object draaide rond tegen de richting van de wijzers van de klok in en stopte boven een huis aan de rechterkant van de weg. Toen begon het met de richting van de wijzers van een klok mee te draaien en bewoog zich richting auto en de man had het gevoel alsof het object met hem communiceerde. Hij schat de grootte ervan op enkele voetbalvelden, geen kleintje dus. Bovendien maakte het geen geluid. Het vloog enkele keren over de auto en tenslotte stapte de man weer in.
Omdat ze op een gegeven moment onder een bladerdak van bomen reden dachten ze het object kwijt te zijn, maar niets was minder waar. Een minuut later was het weer terug aan de passagierskant van de auto. De vrouw vroeg hem om sneller te gaan rijden en de auto zo snel mogelijk thuis de garage in te rijden, hetgeen geschiedde.
Thuis gekomen was de man toch weer nieuwsgierig geworden, liep naar buiten en zag het object hangen boven het huis van de buren. Omdat het object nu heel dichtbij was en onder een bepaalde hoek hing, had de man heel sterk het gevoel dat ze naar hem keken. De man riep naar zijn vriendin en de babysitter om snel naar buiten te komen en toen ze dat deden schoot het object weg met hoge snelheid. Het verdween van het ene op het andere moment, zonder enig geluid te maken.
De man was een voormalig sergeant bij de luchtmacht en is daardoor wel goed in staat om onderscheid te maken tussen bijvoorbeeld een helikopter en een onbekend object.
Even later kwam het object nogmaals terug en werd toen ook gezien door de babysitter en de buurman die net zelf terugkwam van een feestje. Uiteindelijk verdween het object opnieuw en ze hebben het daarna nooit meer gezien. Wel bleek later dat er die avond veel UFO meldingen waren geweest in dat gebied.
Tot zover het verhaal.
Het mooie van dit verhaal is wel dat hiermee eigenlijk wordt uitgesloten dat het waargenomen object een drone is. Simpelweg omdat die in 1996 nog niet voor kwamen.
Wij hopen dat door het lezen van dit verhaal misschien meer mensen zich iets herinneren, hetzij van die avond of een andere gelegenheid waarbij ze ook dit bepaalde type UFO hebben gezien.
Odd-shaped UFO appears during opening 2018 Youth Olympics, Buenos Aires
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, is an international sports, cultural, and educational event being hosted in Buenos Aires, Argentina between 6 and 18 October 2018.
During the opening of the 2018 Youth Olympics thousands of people witnessed an unidentified flying object just above the Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires.
Despite the shaky video, the strange craft is clearly visible.
UFO Creates Spiral Contrail Over Moorpark CA, USA, Video, October 7, 2018 UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: Oct 7, 2018 Location of sighting:Moorpark, California, USA Source: MUFON #95416 Here is a very strange UFO as it creates spirals of smoky trail behind it. The trails start high up, not from the ground so we know its not a rocket. This UFO is hard to see at the tip of the trail, but the trail sure makes it obvious that its there. Wow! I would have loved to see that one in person. Scott C. Waring Eyewitness states:
I was walking up the street with my dogs when I felt my head want to turn left. I looked up and saw 2 bright lights of different sizes facing each other. White cloud looking objects around them and various colors of pink and green below. The biggest bright light was moving backward, and the smaller light was opening and closing. It was extremely bright. A couple people stopped their car to look as well. My dogs were pulling at me and another woman walking her dogs was trying to manhandle her dogs who were acting up- all while we stared into the sky. None of us said anything to each other, which I thought later was strange. The brightest light did not waver, just kept moving backward- but the smaller light that would open and close started to fade along with the colors and not-clouds.
Then, I saw a bright orange ball what looked to be the size of a basketball (to my eye) drop out of where the smaller light had been and start to drop to the ground. I ran up to try and see where it went but, I missed it. I did not hear any sound during the event, but one of my videos recorded a super strange sound. I have photos and video, which really does not show how bright and intense it was. I felt like I had to watch this, but then started to feel frightened, so I went inside after the orange ball dropped.
White Glowing UFOs Sighted Over Lansing, Illinois October 1, 2018 Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: Oct 1, 2018 Location of sighting: Lansing, Illinois, USA
Over a fishing village in Japan several glowing lights maneuvered around catching the attention of local residents. Because of their high speed seen by witnesses, we know they are not man made objects. Also they are near the ocean and these UFOs may have come from an underwater alien base not far away. Scott C. Waring-Taiwan Eyewitness states:
The location is Izumisawa fishing port in Kikonai-cho, Hokkaido Japan. It is the original image of the in-vehicle camera when I went fishing. A semitransparent object appeared at the super high speed from behind the trees on the right side, half turned clockwise around the side of the street pole, stopped at the rear trees stand still, moved rapidly to the upper right with the momentum I will. Immediately after the object on the right side stands at the top of the trees, something flickers from the upper side of the black wig boxer on the left side, something will appear, and if you look at the image often, some shadow of the object is reflected on the top of the wappokuka .
When I saw the picture, I was watching whether insects or someone was doing kite flying, but I have not seen such a person, and I can not confirm the insect on the windowpane of the car It is. The object that appeared from the top of the one box car was confirmed to move instantaneously afterwards and change direction and go up to the sky where the clouds are bright. I also caught the science fiction movie 's spaceship fading away. It was a movie far beyond imagination that can not be imagined on the earth. OMG!!
Photographer Shane Winter captured a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket over the Old Bank District of downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, October 7, 2018, just after the 7:21 p.m. launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Winter tells Inverse he used a Panasonic GH4 camera atop a tripod on his roof in LA. First he set the camera’s built-in intervalometer to capture 600 frames per second. He then framed up the shot, set the exposure, focus, and white balance. Then it was time for the launch, which you see above.
“I tend to process through [auto exposure] as it’ll handle the [raw image format] sequence and gives me options for color over time and movement that I don’t get through image editors; the ‘camera move’ is framing shift done there,” he explains.
The result is a stunner. A version of the animation had received more than 51,000 upvotes on reddit on Monday. The most-upvoted comment? “If I had no clue that was happening and saw it in the sky I would be freaking out,” observed one redditor.
The SAOCOM 1 mission by SpaceX put two satellites into orbit for Argentina’s Space Agency, and the pair will primarily gather data about soil moisture information, according to a mission briefing released by SpaceX.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 after it returned to Earth.
This was the first mission to utilize SpaceX’s new landing pad. The pad was under construction for around four years, with a slow process in part because the company didn’t need the pad before now. It’s the first one SpaceX has built on the west coast, and it will complement the droneship Just Read the Instructions for landing first stage boosters after missions from the Vandenberg Air Force Base. While it’s easier to collect rockets when they return to land, such landings require more fuel than sea-based missions, meaning SpaceX will likely choose the right tool for the mission depending on the circumstances.
REPORT: UNLESS WE MAKE DRAMATIC CHANGES, WE’RE HEADED FOR CLIMATE CATASTROPHE
NASA
Worse Than Expected
What an alarming difference a few years can make.
According to a report released Sunday by the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change, the 2015 Paris Agreement won’t be enough to stop the most serious damage from climate change.
“There is nothing opaque about this new data,” former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres told The Guardian. “The illustrations of mounting impacts, the fast-approaching and irreversible tipping points are visceral versions of a future that no policy-maker could wish to usher in or be responsible for.”
Worth The Effort
Limiting global temperature increases to fewer than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels — a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement — would have been hard. Now, it looks like we need to shoot for an even tougher limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) if we want to avoid an increase in famine, drought, extreme weather events, and the many other devastating consequences of climate change.
Jim Skea, a co-author of the report, said in a press release that “[l]imiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics, but doing so would require unprecedented changes.”
The report suggests several ways we could ensure we don’t exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) limit, and as some experts feared before the report’s release, they might not be entirely realistic. Huge carbon taxes will be politically unpopular in many nations, and while systems to capture carbon might work, the technology to implement them on the necessary scale simply doesn’t exist yet.
Still, while the situation outlined in the report is daunting, we can’t close our eyes and ears to it. We need to view this report as what it is: a wake-up call to the world that we must take immediate and bold action if we don’t want to find ourselves trying to live on an unlivable planet.
UFO technology: Has US military built space ship to travel the universe?
A MYSTERIOUS craft has been spotted near a US military base which has led some to believe a high tech spaceship could be involved in the new age space race.
Global powerhouses are in a race to get back to the moon, and ultimately to Mars, and conspiracy theorists are speculating the US could be leading the race after spotting something suspicious.
Users of Google Earth have been trawling the online globe to spot any suspicious activity and believe they have found something in New Mexico.
Two triangular crafts have been spotted in the middle of a massive 900 metre circle in the desert of New Mexico.
To make matters more mysterious, the two crafts, one much larger than the other,were found near the Holloman Air Force Base.
The Holloman Air Force Base is something of a UFO hotspot and was centre of a 1974 documentary which claimed experts there had been in contact with aliens.
Now conspiracy theorists believe that authorities at the air force base are using their ET knowledge to get into space.
The narrator of a video uploaded to YouTube by UFO hunting channel Third Phase of the Moon said: “What’s really strange is that when I first searched these coordinates, Google Earth didn’t really work so we had to go through a few different ways of trying to find this location.
“It looks like a craft but whatever it is is very advanced as you can see there is no landing pad.
UFO technology: Has US military built space ship to travel the universe?
(Image: YOUTUBE • GETTY)
“It Could be involved with the space race.”
Some were quick to agree with Third Phase of the Moon’s theory.
One user, Amy Lou, commented on the video: “I do believe a lot of the triangular crafts that appear dark like this are our government’s replicas of alien technology. But I also believe the some are extraterrestrial in origin.”
two triangular crafts have been spotted in the middle of a massive 900 metre circle
(Image: YOUTUBE)
However, other users had more logical theories.
Armond Gillian added: “They look like a couple of shade cloth tarps to keep the sun off whoever is under them. They don't look solid. The two shapes have indentations in them. It's hot as hell out there right now.”
In an age of wild claims churned out by politicians, media and advertisers, perhaps people don’t care as much any more
Philip Jaekl
Are aliens deserting us? Or do we simply not care any more? Photograph: Joe McBride/Getty Images
This month, the two major online sites for reporting UFOs – the National UFO Reporting Center and the Mutual UFO Network – both documented steep drops in worldwide sightings. The declines started around 2014, when reports were at a peak. They have since reduced drastically to 55% of that year’s combined total, many UFO interest groups have folded, and numerous previously classified government documents have been disclosed.
Do these declines reveal that UFO interest is becoming a blip on the human cultural radar? Perhaps UFO and alien lore is seeming more like a reflection of human culture, tied to the space age, motivated by conquering new existential frontiers.
It might not be a coincidence that the term UFO (unidentified flying object) and some of the phenomena that surrounds it – abductions and impossible technologies – are relatively recent. Before the 1940s, reports of sightings of objects in the sky were extremely rare. Centuries of recorded history give no clear indication of any such activity. Then, at the predawn of the space-age, around the time of the Roswell conspiracy, UFO culture was born, giving rise to everything from Space Invaders to The X-Files.
Possible answers as to why sightings are decreasing are varied. A key factor, however, may be that more people simply don’t care any more. As we are accustomed to being inundated with wild claims churned out by politicians, media and advertisers, the next report of a UFO is no more believed than the long-range weather forecast.
Before home video, photographs were the staple of UFO evidence. Video evidence, during the height of the 1990s UFO mania, was regarded by many as even more substantial. Amateur footage of glowing objects in the sky, as mysterious as they seemed real, made the cut for appearing on television – they were meant to be taken seriously and they fed an audience hungry for amazement, helped by a healthy dose of conspiracy theorising.
According to the cultural historian Stuart Walton, “Belief in UFOs is definitely in a state of decline, along with much else that could be classed as paranormal. Part of the reason is that the technology for providing documentary evidence of such matters is now widely available to everybody with a smartphone, and such purported evidence as there is on YouTube looks extremely threadbare.”
He adds: “It isn't so much that belief can exist without proof; it's that it must emphatically avoid proof to remain belief. We are in the process, paradoxically, of proving a negative hypothesis with UFOs: there never was any such thing.”
Indeed, indisputable evidence of intelligent life coming to Earth could be the greatest news of all time. Yet, after thousands of anecdotal, photo, and video reports have accrued over decades, what are we to conclude? With the greatest balance of scepticism and “wanting to believe”, all that can confidently be asserted is that some objects, appearing in the sky on film or video, seem unidentifiable.
Furthermore, government disclosure of its own video footage isn’t helping to maintain belief. Joseph Baker, sociology professor at Tennessee State University, says: “It’s actually better for UFOs when ufologists can claim that ‘the powers that be know everything and are hiding it from us’ rather than seeing that the government appears to have basically the same info about UFOs as the public: namely grainy, inconclusive visual evidence.”
Perhaps though, the declines in reported sightings may signify only an end to current trends in ufology. After all, from the 1940s aliens were originally characterised as saviours who could help humans transcend the cold-war paranoia of nuclear annihilation; especially marked at the time, after two world wars. But after events like Watergate and the Vietnam war fuelled distrust in government, UFOs came to be viewed more as a possible threat, and some came to believe their existence was verified in secret military documents.
Sharon Hill, a researcher on the paranormal and pseudoscience, says: “The ideas about UFOs and aliens continue to evolve as we project our social and cultural ideas on them. Since we have no single easy explanation for all these claims regarding the decline in sightings, the future vision of ufology seems rather open-ended. I don't think it's dead, just changing.”
Odd-looking aircraft or lights hovering high in the sky at various times across the U.S. have prompted questions from space enthusiasts: if it's not a bird, plane or even Superman — then what is it? UFO sightings have soared in recent years, leading many to believe it's a sign of alien life.
Reports of UFOs have become so common lately people are starting to bet on when you're most likely to spot on next. Casino.org, an independent provider of online casino reviews and information, tracks the odds on its website. It even includes a history of mysterious spacecraft dating back to 1440 BC.
California alone has reported more than 23,400 UFO sightings since 1940, though the odds of seeing a strange flying object are highest in Wyoming and Vermont.
Whether you live in a state ripe for alien-like space vehicles or not, people who spot questionable objects in the sky are going to snap a picture or take a video — and there's a good chance the content will go viral. Here's a look at some bizarre "UFO sightings" that have spread online in recent years.
1. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
A photographer who was putting together a time-lapse video of a thunderstorm in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in August was shocked to discover mysterious lights hovering over the pier in the footage.
The video, which was first shared with UFO Stalker — a UFO-centric website, was posted to YouTube a month later with a caption that declared a "massive spaceship" was flying over the beach.
“I was taking the pictures off the edge of a long pier after dark, so there were no reflective surfaces around. I did not notice the objects until [I] returned home and checked the photograph and video,” the photographer, who has not yet been identified, wrote on the UFO sighting website.
2. Lake Norman, N.C.
A very shaky video of what many dubbed a UFO flying over Lake Norman in North Carolina went viral in late May.
"I was at work 2018 10:30 a.m it had been raining all morning. Rain finally stopped so we went w pick up a boat from [L]ake [N]orman.. When came around the corner I saw this thing sitting still very close," Jason Swing, who posted the video on YouTube on May 29, captioned the minute-long footage.
Critics questioned whether the curious flying object was simply a large drone or a blimp — with some noting a Goodyear Blimp was spotted in the sky following a NASCAR race.
The manufacturing company later confirmed they were the culprit.
"We don’t want to get in the way of a good story, but that’s definitely us," the Goodyear Blimp account wrote, according to the Daily Mail. "We left the Charlotte area 5/29 after covering the Coke 600."
3. Blue Hills Reservation, Mass.
UFO hunters got stranded for hours in the Blue Hills in Massachusetts in June 2017 after going out for a UFO-finding mission. The group of three was found several hours later, and they didn't come back empty handed.
Ramona DiFrancesco, a member of the group, told The Singular Fortean Society they spotted several UFOs while lost on the hills.
"We saw a couple. We saw some we've never seen before. We saw this one light, well, we saw these two ships that had these bright spotlights, and then we saw this weird orb thing that was like a spotlight sort of," DiFrancesco, then 18, told the paranormal organization.
The teen later showed a local news station a picture of the glowing object she captured.
Glockner claimed in a video the mysterious burst of light was a UFO racing past the International Space Station "at a very high rate of speed," adding it was "as if it knew the camera was watching."
At the time, NASA didn't directly address Glockner's video but clarified the object was likely a "distortion in a lens" and did not signify the presence of extraterrestrial life.
5. Dayton, Ohio
A 13-minute YouTube video sparked rumors of alien life outside of a military base in Dayton, Ohio, back in May 2016.
A mysterious flying object was seen peeking out of the clouds near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
A couple who live near the base captured what they declared was a UFO from their home. The video clip eventually landed in the hands of the aforementioned Glockner, who called the sighting "mind-blowing."
"There is no doubt in my mind this is either an alien craft or a very very strange drone - which I highly doubt," he told the Mirror. "[It could also be] a back-engineered alien craft that's being tested by some black project over at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base."
Fox News' Chris Ciaccia contributed to this report.
Mysterious lights were spotted above Myrtle Beach, SC, in August, raising questions about what the lights were and where they came from.
“UFOs over Myrtle Beach? Video catches mysterious lights over resort town,” reported The State, Columbia’s local newspaper, noting that the video was also posted to UFO Stalker, a UFO-centric website.
The video has also been uploaded to YouTube, with the description noting “A [massive] ‘spaceship’ was spotted apparently hovering over a beach during a thunderstorm.”
The person who submitted the video to MUFON said they were taking pictures and a time-lapse video of the thunderstorm and did not notice the strange lights until they got home.
“Taking pictures and time-lapse of the incoming storm,” the person wrote on the website. “[I] was taking the pictures off the edge of a long pier after dark, so there were no reflective surfaces around. [I] did not notice the objects until I returned home and checked the photograph and video.”
The video was taken on Aug. 5 but was only uploaded to the website on Oct. 4, 59 days later.
The person who submitted the video to the UFO sighting website said they were taking pictures and a time lapse of a thunderstorm from a pier. “I was taking the pictures off the edge of a long pier after dark, so there were no reflective surfaces around. I did not notice the objects until i returned home and checked the photograph and video,” the person wrote.
The video was posted on the UFO Stalker website late last week, but the person said they shot the time-lapse on Aug. 5.
The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team was doing its annual pyro jump as part of the annual Sun Fun Festival on Friday night, putting off a display in which many in Myrtle Beach thought they were seeing UFOs over the ocean.
The U.S. Army and Myrtle Beach festival organizers chimed in quickly after those reports. It turned out, Sun Fun Festival organizers told The Sun News, the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team was doing its annual “pyro jump.”
The Army team parachuted from above Myrtle Beach with lights and landed on the beach in the middle of town, festival organizers said.
THIS IS THE CORRELATION BETWEEN TOAD ROCK AND ALIENS
The existence of little green men and extra-terrestrial life is a hotly debated topic, and science has yet to provide a concrete answer as to whether the residents of planet Earth are alone in the galaxy.
And if alien life does exist, has it ever paid us a visit?
UFOs - or Unidentified Flying Objects - have been mentioned in the UK since the 1950s, investigated by the Air Ministry which was then replaced by the Ministry of Defence.
The UK Government has never taken part in any long term monitoring of reports, and the MoD works on the assumption that almost every UFO report has a natural, human, explanation.
The British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) was formed in 1962 to document, and try to explain, sightings up and down the country.
They believe that every report made can be caused by the following sources:
40 per cent of reports are actually aircraft,
33 per cent of reports are actually stars and planets spotted in the sky,
10 per cent of reports are satellites and meteors entering the atmosphere,
8 per cent are described as being caused by 'other' causes, like birds, solar flares and clouds,
5 per cent of reports are actually weather or research balloons,
2 per cent are hoax reports,
2 per cent are chalked up as being hallucinations.
What happened to the last Kent Ufologist?
The inquest into ufologist Max Spiers' death has been adjourned until early 2018(Image: maxspiers.com)
'Ufologist' is the title given to a person who studies reports, evidence and other phenomena related to UFOs.
One such UFO expert was Max Spiers, from Canterbury, who passed away under suspicious circumstances in June 2016.
Max reportedly sent a text message to his mother days before he died, saying: "If anything happens to me, investigate."
An inquest into his death was first opened in December 2016 in Canterbury, and then adjourned. As of November 8, 2017, the coroner had postponed another inquest until 'early 2018' as he still required more information.
An inquest into his death will now take place in January 2019, according to Metro.
A post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death was inconclusive. His death prompted intense speculation among conspiracy theorists that his death was deliberate.
Recent unexplained activity in Kent
The light was visible from all around Tonbridge(Image: Clare Macro)
In September 2017 the people of Tonbridge were mystified when an eerie aura-like light descended upon the town.
Explanations for the eerie phenomenon ranged from aliens, aluminium in the atmosphere, and the Aurora itself.
And in 2012, BUFORA recorded the sighting of a 'rare and unusual shape' flying through the sky in Wingham, near Canterbury.
It was described as: "A solid object - dark grey/black. It was pointed at the front and square like to the back, it had about five sides, like a classic diamond icon.
"There was absolutely no way I can think of to explain what I saw, and I have seen most kinds of aircraft in flight."
Different types of UFO
Low Definition (LD) - a single pinpoint of light, a cluster of lights or a poorly defined shape.
Medium Definition (MD) - a UFO with a well defined shape.
Close Encounters of the First Kind (CE1) - events involving alleged effects on a human, animal, machine or its surrounding area which cease once the UFO leaves the location.
Close Encounters of the Second Kind (CE2) - events where alleged effects on humans, animals, machines or the environment reputedly occur and endure for a period of time following the sighting.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (CE3) - reports which encompass claimed observations of UFO 'entities'.
Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind (CE4) - so-called UFO 'abductions' or incidents featuring notable psychic elements.
Instrumentally Detected Events (ID) - reports involving a stimulus reported or detected by a device during the sighting, such as a camera or RADAR scope.
Source:British UFO Research Association
Kent Live can reveal every single UFO report made to the Ministry of Defence between 1997 and 2009.
Ashford
Date /Time
Place
Report
26/12/2008 - 7pm
Kennington
Orange shape travelling NW to SW at fair pace, 2000ft plus. Bright orange. Similar shape to inverted light bulb. There was no sound.
The ship/craft moved towards Ashford and then hovered over Ashford for some time. The craft was solid.
21/09/2001 - 5.30am
Ashford
One triangular shaped object. The size of a 747, maybe bigger. It moved N-Easterly, then became stationary.
12/09/1999 - 9.20pm
Sellindge
Bright light, not blinding, was heading South.
13/08/1999 - no time reported
Tenterden
A large, brilliant light was stationary in the sky. It moved away fairly quickly and disappeared.
Bexley
Date/Time
Place
Report
20/04/2007 - 9.30pm
Bexley
There were over fifty lights floating in the sky. They were red/orange in colour.
03/08/1997 - 8.50pm
Bexley
A huge UFO. Part of it came down in the woods near Bexley.
Bromley
Date/Time
Place
Report
26/01/2009 - 6.15pm
Bromley
Three orange lights in horizontal line above the opposite side of the hill. Stopped car but saw only four lights, two separate at the top & two close together at the bottom. Top two rose and disappeared. Second two moved higher then also vanished.
11/04/2009 - 8.30pm
Bromley
A UFO.
16/05/2009 - 9.50pm
Petts Wood
8-10 bright red lights. They were hovering. They moved independently into the distance and disappeared when a light aircraft appeared.
28/07/2009 - 9.30am
Bromley
Saw an orange, yellow object in the sky, with the shape similar to a hot air balloon.
30/08/2009 - 12.10pm
Petts Wood
Saw eight orange single lights in the sky. Lights were very clear, single bright orange spot, which travelled at constant speed slowly higher into the eastern atmosphere. At first four lights in close proximity followed by four more with approx one minute.
19/09/2009 - 7.40pm
Bromley
A bright orange light moving across the sky no noise.
19/09/2009 - 9.01pm
West Wickham
Pilot: Series of 30 or more orange lights which then disappeared after moving at speed.
17/10/2009 - 10.45pm
Orpington
Twenty-five lights red and orange with vapour trail, disappearing into blue green colours, spinning.
17/11/2003 - 2.25am
Bromley
Police Officers/Police helicopter crew: There were 20-30 red flashing lights in the sky accompanied by a whirring noise.
19/05/1997 - 11.17pm
Bromley
One round shaped object, double the size of a star. White (pale), but very bright. It was stationary for a while and then travelled straight and level.
22/11/1997 - 5am
Beckenham
One, round shaped object. Had red, green and blue colours and was very bright. Was moving East.
Three very low, very bright lights were travelling in formation, then breaking off and doing acrobatics. Then a large globe-like object appeared and was changing colours in a pulsating way.
Two objects, five minutes apart heading East to West. They looked like orange fiery balls but made no sound. They travelled at the speed of a plane. They had no tail.
No firm date - 7.15pm
Dover
There were half a dozen glowing lights. They were an orange fire colour and were globular. They were silent. Were moving across the sky at the speed of a helicopter.
14/09/1997 - 10pm
Dover
A bright silver object, with red and green lights at the back. It changed to an egg shape, went bright yellow and then vanished. Moved quickly across the sky.
A bright circular amber light, the size of a 2p coin. It was moving very slowly in a straight line but once it flew over the witnesses' house it accelerated away very very quickly into the distance. It made no noise and left no vapour trail.
Sighting reported on 13/11/2008 but no firm date or time was given
Folkestone
There were lights in the sky that were circling in front of the witness's house. They were in a half moon shape.
28/01/2001 - 9.34am
Folkestone
A silver spin top, bobbing at a height of 300 feet. Was about the size of a football.
25/07/2001 - 2.10pm
Folkestone
One circular object with flashing bright lights. Was at a high altitude.
04/01/1999 - 6.30pm
Folkestone
Squashed oval shaped object. Did not have the usual aircraft lights on it.
22/07/1998 - 11.44pm
Hythe
A squashed, elongated disc with a yellow glow. It faded and then brightened.
09/04/2004 - 7.30pm
Dymchurch
Just said it was an object. That it was flying over very fast and then disappeared.
10/07/1997 - 8pm
New Romney
Two objects. Orange, green and red colours. The object was flashing. It was static.
A huge disc shaped object. Approximately twenty times the size of an aeroplane. It had five or six flashing lights on the underneath in a circular shape.
06/11/2008 - 8.10pm
Rainham
A UFO, that looked like a yellowy light. The object was quite near and fairly low down in the sky. There was no sound.
22/11/2005 - no time recorded
Gillingham
Five lights in the sky, that looked very strange. The lights were flashing.
06/08/2000 - 6.45pm
Rainham
One, possibly two small, flattened figure of eight objects, with links of red. Dull brightness. Was stationary then moved slowly.
Lights rising from the ground into the sky, much like debris from a fire. However lights were too intense to be a fire. Seen in the direction of the North Downs from Maidstone.
02/08/2009 - 9.45pm
Aylesford
Large orange glow in sky, moving slowly than disappeared. Reappeared after five minutes. Knows a bit about astronomy.
26/09/2009 - 8.50pm
Ditton
Three bright orange/red lights, followed by another three.
03/06/2006 - 5.05pm
Maidstone
A large, round, white object, with smaller, round white objects randomly scattered surrounding it. The objects started to fade.
31/12/2006 - 8.55pm
Maidstone
UFO, lights - so many different ones.
09/03/1998 - 7.45pm
Maidstone
Red and white, round flashing lights. Two and sometimes three of them. Moving around.
14/02/1997 - 3.10pm
Maidstone
Two, small, triangular shaped objects. Black in colour. The objects were heading North and then disappeared into cloud.
05/05/1997 - 9.40am
Maidstone
One round shaped object. Green in colour and was very bright. It was very fast.
20/09/1997 - 11.05pm
Maidstone
One object, 20 times the size of a jumbo jet. It was bird shaped, and very bright orange in colour. It was moving in a straight line, banking from left to right.
Sevenoaks
Date/Time
Place
Report
23/02/2009 - 7.17pm
New Ash Green
A ball of light in the clouds, moving slowly and falling apart. Had other white lights coming off it. Made no sound.
12/06/2009 - 11.10pm
Shoreham
Initially two UFOs increasing to six. Bright orange. Last four were bigger and brighter than the first two.
24/01/1997 - 8.07pm
Longfield
Three very bright objects, pulsating - white, green and yellow. They sometimes moved into a triangular formation.
An object was flying around in circles at aeroplane level and sounded like an industrial train. There was a strange flashing on the object.
24/08/2009 - 12am
Tunbridge Wells
Bright orange lights, lasted for two minutes, went out, than four more. Could have been a meteorological balloon. A very bright light.
11/08/1997 - 10pm
Pembury
A luminous, triangular shaped object that was hovering in the sky. There were four other luminous objects flying near it. The first object then disappeared.
An object, much bigger than a star. Looked like a large apple. It exploded and sparkled like a firework and then fizzled out.
11/11/2009 - 8.45pm
Edenbridge
Very bright yellow in the centre surrounded by orange outer edge, a fat boomerang on its side with a fire glow inside. Totally silent and 30-40 ft across.
No specific area reported
Date/Time
Report
05/09/2009 - 9.40pm
Semi-circle of light, golden orange, moved off towards the east. No noise heard.
11/09/2009 - 11.30am
White fixed wing object. Flying over a field. It was squared off with something behind it - no cockpit- silent not a glider.
03/10/2009 - no time reported
Little moon thing.
28/06/2008 - no time reported
A UFO.
27/05/2005 - 3.15pm
Was a small white object, that was moving parallel with an airliner.
04/07/2001 - 7am
One object. Had a bright light too. Was moving from West to East.
Aliens on Mars: Are these NASA photos of ‘ALIEN faces’ on Mars evidence of UFO activity?
NASA pictures of Mars have sparked a frenzy with online conspiracy theorists who claim they can spot what appears to be alien faces and extraterrestrial technology in the images.
Popular UFO hunter Scott C Waring believes he found evidence of alien fossils and spacecraft in NASA’s official photos of Mars.
The conspiracy theorist shared stills of the Red Planet, snapped by one of NASA’ robotic rovers, claiming they were proof of aliens.
Pointing towards a photo of a rock, Mr Waring said: “This object does appear to be technology. Can you see the long tunnels coming out of this? The long tube?
“There’s kind of two round, tubular, larger pieces behind it, almost like a vacuum tube.
Aliens on Mars: NASA's Spirit rover snapped this photo of the Red Planet
(Image: NASA)
Aliens on Mars: Mr Waring claims these are alien faces and evidence of technology
(Image: SCOTT C WARING)
“I totally agree with you on what you see. Life has existed on Mars and maybe still does, my own opinion.”
The most likely scenario however, is that Mr Waring has fallen for the effects of Pareidolia – a trick of the mind which causes people to see faces and patterns where they do not exist.
Fames astronomer Carl Sagan suggested in 1995 the effect is an evolutionary mechanism, evolved to help people better distinguish friend from foe.
NASA explained: “Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where people see recognisable shapes in clouds, rock formations, or otherwise unrelated objects or data.
“There are many examples of this phenomenon on Earth and in space.”
Mr Waring wrote on his website UFO Sightings Daily: “ColourUFO caught an amazing Pyramid UFO that is semi cloaked moving through the clouds.
“I have heard of pyramid clouds, but very few legit reports come in like this one.
“As you see the cam takes a photo every few seconds so there is a jump in-between, but the UFO is seen in many still shots.
“Absolute proof that aliens are active in Mexico.”
UFO sighting: Triangular orb over Mexico City ‘absolute proof’ of alien activity
(Image: GETTY)
Mexico is a hotspot for UFO sightings.
Earlier this year, a video showing a smoking crater next to a motorway lead to speculation it could be a UFO crash site.
The huge 26 feet across burning pit was filmed by shocked onlookers as a thick mist rose into the air by the Torreón to Saltillo highway in the state of Coahuila in north east Mexico.
It was said to be as deep as it was wide and, according to reports, no evidence has been found as to what caused it.
The UFO lit up the night sky
(Image: YOUTUBE)
Online theories have ranged from a crashed spaceship or a meteor falling to Earth.
One YouTube poster said: "Looks like a UFO landed and took off before anyone could see, leaving a crater.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see how the recent spate of mystery booms and the concurrent trend of mysterious debris falling from the sky could be completely unrelated. Several strange objects have washed ashore or on the eastern coast in recent months, only to be whisked away by unnamed ‘officials’ before anyone can take a good look at them. With so much talk of an oncoming war in space and so many tests of unidentified new space weapons, something tells me that all of these strange objects are the results of either weapons testing or something darker.
Who really knows what’s going on up there?
Of course, I could be connecting completely unrelated dots. Whatever the case in space may be, another recent example of a mysterious object crashing into a home is causing alarm and confusion and adding yet another case to the mystery-boom-and-debris pile. This week, a “large, heavy object” exploded through the walls of Arlene Silvestri’s home in Jersey City, New Jersey shortly after locals reported hearing a loud boom, and law enforcement agencies can’t yet explain what the object is or where it came from.
“My tenant from upstairs called me and said ‘there was an explosion.’ So when I came here, the fire department was already here,” Silvestri told reporters. Police arrived on the scene shortly after but so far have been unable to identify a source for the object. Whatever the projectile is, it’s oblong with one rounded end and roughly 3 feet (1 meter) in length and was propelled with enough force to blow through a nearly perfectly circular hole in a cinder block wall.
With so much orbital debris in space, it’s only a matter of time these types of events are much more common.
Police believe a nearby scrapyard may somehow be involved but have yet to definitively identify the object or determine how it might have been propelled through the walls of the home. Jersey City released a statement stating the object is a “cylinder of compressed gas or compressed air” but many locals and investigators are skeptical of the claims.
Could this mystery object be related to the others that recently fell from the skies in the Carolinas? Do these cases have anything to do with the weird mystery booms and looming war in space?
WETENSCHAP & PLANEET SpaceX heeft met succes een Argentijnse aardobservatiesatelliet gelanceerd. Bovendien slaagde de Amerikaanse raketbouwer er voor het eerst in om de eerste trap van zijn Falcon-9 draagraket aan de westkust van de VS op land te doen landen.
Vanop basis Vandenberg in Californië vertrok om 04.21 uur Belgische tijd een Falcon-9 van SpaceX. Dertien minuten later kwam de Argentijnse radarsatelliet SAOCOM-1A vrij van de tweede rakettrap. Zo’n acht minuten na de lancering keerde de booster weer terug op de lanceerbasis.
Het terug laten keren van de eerste rakettrap is een belangrijk onderdeel van de plannen van Elon Musk en zijn bedrijf SpaceX. Het is een manier om ruimtevaart efficiënter en betaalbaarder te maken. Na verschillende geslaagde pogingen op Cape Canaveral in Florida was het de eerste keer dat SpaceX dit huzarenstukje aan de westkust lukte. Bij de eerste poging was het meteen raak.
SpaceX✔@SpaceX
Falcon 9 has landed – first West Coast land landing of an orbital class rocket booster.
De geslaagde lancering én terugkeer van de rakettrap is een flinke opsteker voor Musk, die de afgelopen maanden te maken had met productieproblemen bij Tesla en onder meer een stevige boete kreeg van de beurswaakhond. Succesvolle lanceringen betekenen doorgaans ook een flinke boost voor de aandelenkoers van SpaceX. Die schommelt inmiddels rond de 28 miljard dollar (ruim 24 miljard euro), waarmee het de op twee na waardevolste start-up van de VS is. Alleen Uber en Airbnb zijn meer waard.
Wauw: Finnen getrakteerd op wonderbaarlijk mooi noorderlicht - HLN.be
REUTERS
WETENSCHAP & PLANEET Het noorderlicht levert altijd prachtige beelden op, en ook deze zijn niet anders. De herfst in Finland is het ideale moment om te genieten van dit schouwspel. In Rovaniemi werden de inwoners op een prachtig lichtspel getrakteerd.
Naarmate de wereld in ieder opzicht turbulenter wordt, zijn er steeds vaker grote ruimteschepen waar te nemen.
Nog steeds zijn deze giganten in de buurt van onze zon te zien, maar nu komen er ook steeds vaker grote UFO’s voor op of nabij de maan.
Wanneer we aan het fenomeen UFO denken, dan is dit meestal een niet al te groot vliegend object, een platte schijf met een soort koepel bovenop, een vorm die ook wel klassieke of retro UFO wordt genoemd.
Er wordt in het algemeen niet snel aan enorme ruimteschepen gedacht. Schepen die zo groot zijn dat er gemakkelijk het grootste deel van de aardse bevolking in zou kunnen verdwijnen.
En toch is dat de grootte van de onbekende objecten die regelmatig in de buurt van onze zon worden waargenomen, zoals wij al jaren schrijven:
Ongeveer tien jaar geleden verklaarden twee Russische wetenschappers dat ze hadden ontdekt dat er op ieder gegeven moment zich honderden UFO’s ophouden in de buurt van onze zon.
Dat niet alleen, maar ook dat ze hun snelheid kunnen verhogen of verlagen zonder aanwijsbare reden en dat ze een rechthoekige draai kunnen maken met onvoorstelbare snelheden, iets dat voor een normaal ruimteschip onmogelijk zou zijn. Zeker voor de waargenomen ruimteschepen die minstens zo groot zijn als onze maan.
Ook nu is het weer raak en heeft Scott Waring een object ontdekt bij de zon. Scott is ervan overtuigd dat het hier gaat om een ruimteschip.
Op de beelden lijkt het misschien niet zo groot, maar het gaat hier wel over een object ter grootte van de aarde.
Het verschijnt op een gegeven moment en accelereert vervolgens met een onvoorstelbaar hoge snelheid.
Niet alleen bij de zon, maar ook op en nabij de maan worden steeds vaker grote objecten waargenomen. Dit komt waarschijnlijk ook doordat steeds meer mensen hun telescopen op de maan richten.
De opname is op 24 september 2018 met een telescoop gemaakt door Jason Callum uit Bracknell in Engeland. Het object is aanzienlijk minder groot dan degene die door Scott is waargenomen bij de zon, maar in vergelijking tot het oppervlak van de maan, gaat het hier nog steeds over een enorm ding.
Dus blijft de vraag: “Waarom zijn al die grote ruimteschepen hier?”.
A large, strange object washes up on a beach in South Carolina. It looks like concrete but feels like foam. A few photographs were taken but, before anyone could conduct a detailed inspection, it was quickly taken away by local officials. Four days later, the speculation on what it is runs rampant while an official announcement is non-existent. And they wonder why conspiracy theories abound!
“Look at this mysterious object that washed ashore on Seabrook Island today! What do you think it is?”
On October 4, this mysterious thing (picture here) appeared on a beach on Seabrook Island, a barrier island near Charleston bordered by the North Edisto River, Bohicket Creek and the Atlantic Ocean, which spit out the strange object. The Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing awareness and education about the marine mammals of South Carolina, was the first to be notified. After determining it wasn’t a marine mammal, it posted a picture on its Facebook page and asked for help identifying it.
Did you see it?
“Check out this mystery item that washed ashore on Seabrook.”
Other than its own Facebook post, it got no help from the Kiawah Conservancy, a similar group on nearby Kiawah Island, nor from the news item in the Charlotte Observer. However, ‘someone’ noticed the postings. The object disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived, reportedly taken away by local government workers, leaving nothing behind but a few photos, a mystery and plenty of room for wild worldwide wondering.
After moving past the usual “aliens” and “alien spaceship” screams, many suggested it was a shielding or insulating part of a rocket, although the idea from some that it came from the space shuttle Challenger disaster 30 years ago is unlikely due to its relatively good condition. Other saw it as part of a marine object such as a buoy, an oil rig, a donut fender used to protect pilings or a pipeline floater. All of these, especially the last one, seem plausible
However, no one seems to have any ideas about why the object was taken away so quickly, especially if it was something as common as a foam fender or floater. Moreover, if it was an ordinary object, why has there been no announcement by any officials – government, military, marine or otherwise?
Is it something dangerous? Terrorism-related? Alien? Why such secrecy?
Will we ever find out? It’s been four days. We’ll keep watching … and wondering.
Saturnus' ringen veroorzaken flinke stortbuien op de gasreus
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Waterijs, maar ook organische verbindingen vallen continu vanuit de ringen in Saturnus’ atmosfeer.
Dat blijkt uit enkele van de laatste metingen die verricht zijn door ruimtesonde Cassini. “Tijdens zijn laatste avontuur dook Cassini in het onbekende gebied tussen Saturnus’ ringen en zijn atmosfeer,” aldus onderzoeker Kelly Miller. “Afgaand op eerdere studies verwachtten onderzoekers dat er water vanuit de ringen in Saturnus atmosfeer viel, dus de ruimtesonde gebruikte zijn radio-antenne als een paraplu om zich te beschermen tegen puin.” En dat was maar goed ook. “Wat blijkt: regen vanuit de ringen is meer een stortbui,” aldus onderzoeker Hunter Waite.
Butaan en propaan Onderzoekers zetten Cassini’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) in om meer over de samenstelling van die stortbuien te weten te komen. “Hoewel INMS ontworpen is om gassen te onderzoeken, waren we toch in staat om de ringdeeltjes te meten, omdat ze het ruimtevaartuig met zulke hoge snelheden raakten dat ze verdampten. Waterijs blijkt – samen met de nieuw ontdekte organische verbindingen – veel sneller uit de ringen te vallen dan iedereen dacht.” Al met al blijkt er per seconde tot wel 10.000 kilogram aan materiaal uit de ringen te komen zetten en in de bovenste regionen van Saturnus’ atmosfeer te belanden. “Moleculair waterstof was – zoals verwacht – het meest overvloedig voorkomende atmosferische bestanddeel,” stelt Miller. “Maar de stortbuiten bevatten zowel heel veel water als moleculen zoals butaan en propaan: het type chemicaliën dat je zou gebruiken voor een grill of kampeerfornuis.”
Over Cassini De ruimtesonde werd in 1997 gelanceerd en arriveerde in 2004 bij Saturnus. Daar heeft de sonde zo’n dertien jaar onderzoek gedaan naar de gasreus, zijn ringen en manen. De missie van Cassini kwam in 2017 ten einde toen NASA deze opdracht gaf om zich in de atmosfeer van Saturnus te boren. Nieuwsgierig naar de belangrijkste ontdekkingen van Cassini? Je vindt ze hier. Of bekijk hierde mooiste foto’s die de sonde maakte.
Variaties In totaal dook Cassini 22 keer in het gebied tussen Saturnus en zijn ringen. Hoeveel ringmateriaal de sonde tijdens die duik opving, bleek van tijd tot tijd te verschillen. Het wijst erop dat er sprake is van variaties als het gaat om het materiaal in de binnenste D-ring van Saturnus. Die variaties kunnen plaats- of tijdgebonden zijn. Dat weten de onderzoekers niet goed.
Het feit dat de ring zoveel materiaal verliest, wijst er verder op dat deze regelmatig wordt bijgevuld, Mogelijk door de naastgelegen C-ring. Verder valt er zodanig veel ringmateriaal op Saturnus dat de onderzoekers het aannemelijk achten dat de ringen van invloed zijn op de samenstelling van Saturnus’ atmosfeer.
Verre ruimtereizen leveren mogelijk grote problemen op voor maag-darmstelsel
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Kosmische straling zorgt ervoor dat het maag-darmstelsel minder goed functioneert.
Ook lijken astronauten een grotere kans te hebben op maag- en darmkanker. Dat concluderen Amerikaanse onderzoekers in het blad PNAS.
Galactische kosmische straling De beschadigingen zijn het resultaat van galactische kosmische straling (GCR). Deze straling is afkomstig van buiten ons zonnestelsel en bestaat met name uit atomen die hun elektronen verloren hebben (ioniserende straling). GCR bestaat voornamelijk uit protonen, maar ook voor een klein deel uit de kernen van zware elementen. En die laatste zijn de grootste boosdoeners voor astronauten, zo blijkt ook uit dit onderzoek. “Zware ionen zoals ijzer en silicium zijn schadelijk, omdat ze in vergelijking met fotonen zoals röntgen- en gammastraling een veel grotere massa hebben,” vertelt onderzoeker Kamal Datta. “Met de huidige technologie op het gebied van beschermende schilden is het lastig om astronauten tegen de nadelige effecten van straling met daarin zware ionen te beschermen. Hoewel het misschien wel mogelijk is om medicijnen in te zetten om deze effecten tegen te gaan, is er nog niet zo’n medicijn ontwikkeld.” Tot op heden was dat ook niet echt nodig. Tijdens korte ruimtereizen – bijvoorbeeld naar de maan – worden astronauten namelijk niet aan gevaarlijk hoge doses GCR blootgesteld. Anders wordt dat echter als we naar Mars of andere verre bestemmingen gaan.
Muizen Eerder onderzoek van dezelfde onderzoeksgroep wees al uit dat zware ionen tijdens dergelijke verre ruimtereizen een gevaar kunnen vormen voor hersenweefsel. Maar nu kunnen we daar het weefsel in het maag-darmstelsel aan toevoegen. Datta en collega’s trekken die conclusie op basis van experimenten met muizen. Deze muizen werden in drie groepen ingedeeld. De ene groep werd blootgesteld aan zware ionen zoals we die in GCR aantreffen. De andere groep werd blootgesteld aan gammastraling. En de derde groep muizen deed dienst als controlegroep en werd niet aan straling blootgesteld.
Gevolgen Het onderzoek wijst uit dat cellen in de darmen van muizen die aan zware ionen waren blootgesteld niet goed in staat waren om voedingsstoffen op te nemen. Tevens bleken in de darmen van deze muizen veel vaker kwaadaardige poliepen te ontstaan dan in de darmen van muizen die aan gammastraling of helemaal niet aan straling waren blootgesteld. Ook zijn er aanwijzingen dat de zware ionen DNA-beschadigingen veroorzaakten waardoor het aantal senescente cellen – cellen die niet in staat zijn tot een normale celding – toenam. “Deze cellen genereren oxidatieve stress en ontstekingsmoleculen die nog meer schade veroorzaken. Dit is van grote invloed op de migratie van cellen die nodig zijn om de bekleding van de maag en darmen te vervangen en zorgt ervoor dat het maag-darmstelsel trager functioneert,” aldus Datta. Het maag-darmstelsel is bekleed met weefsel dat zeer regelmatig vervangen wordt. De bovenste laag cellen wordt zelfs elke drie tot vijf dagen vervangen. “Elke verstoring van dit vervangingsmechanisme leidt tot een verslechtering van de fysiologische functies, zoals de opname van voedingsstoffen en ligt ten grondslag aan ziekmakende processen, zoals kanker,” vertelt onderzoeker Albert Fornace Jr.
Hoewel de muizen die aan zware ionen werden blootgesteld maar een kleine dosis zware ionen te verteren kregen, lijken de gevolgen daarvan permanent te zijn. En waarschijnlijk beperken ze zich ook zeker niet tot de hersenen, maag en darmen. “Wij geloven dat vergelijkbare schade optreedt in veel organen,” vertelt Datta. “Het is belangrijk om deze effecten van tevoren te begrijpen, zodat we er alles aan kunnen doen om onze toekomstige ruimtereizigers te beschermen.”
Ook Voyager 2 lijkt binnenkort de interstellaire ruimte in te vliegen
Vivian Lammerse
Voyager 2 is – na Voyager 1 – de tweede door mensen gebouwde ruimtesonde die het zonnestelsel verlaat.
Het is slechts een kwestie van tijd voordat ruimtevaartuig Voyager 2 achter zijn broer aan de interstellaire ruimte in vliegt. Al elf jaar lang reist de sonde door de buitenste laag van de heliosfeer (een enorme bubbel rond de zon en de planeten waarin de zonnewind de overheersende stroom van deeltjes is). En nu lijkt het erop dat ook Voyager 2 het diepe onbekende in duikt.
Over de Voyager-missie Ruimtesonde Voyager 2 werd in 1977 gelanceerd, een paar weekjes eerder dan zijn broer Voyager 1. Beide sondes vliegen nu al 40 jaar rond. Daarmee zijn het niet alleen de langst werkende ruimtesonde ooit, ze breken bovendien alle records al het gaat over de afstand die ze tot op heden hebben afgelegd. Geen enkel ruimtevaartuig heeft het zo ver geschopt als Voyager 1 en Voyager 2. Eerstgenoemde sonde bevindt zich inmiddels op een slordige 21 miljard kilometer afstand van de aarde. En Voyager 2 is bijna 18 miljard kilometer van ons verwijderd. Op die enorme afstand van de aarde snellen beide sondes met een onvoorstelbare snelheid van zo’n 48.280 kilometer per uur voort, in een omgeving waar nog geen enkele door mensen gebouwde sonde ooit geweest is.
Kosmische straling Eind augustus detecteerde een van de instrumenten aan boord van Voyager 2 een toename van vijf procent van kosmische straling. Kosmische stralen zijn snel bewegende deeltjes die ontstaan buiten het zonnestelsel. Met dit gegeven, en het feit dat de ruimtesonde al bijna 17,7 miljard kilometer van huis is, gaan wetenschappers ervan uit hij dicht bij de grens van het zonnestelsel is.
Toename Sommige kosmische straling wordt geblokkeerd door de heliosfeer. Maar naarmate de grens naar de interstellaire ruimte dichterbij komt, verwachten wetenschappers dat de kosmische straling alsmaar zal toenemen. In mei 2012 ondervond ook Voyager 1 een toename van kosmische straling. Dat was ongeveer drie maanden voordat de sonde de heliopauze (de buitenste grens van de heliosfeer) passeerde en de interstellaire ruimte in dook.
De afbeelding toont de positie van Voyager 1 en Voyager 2 ten opzicht van de heliosfeer.
Afbeelding: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Vergelijken Nu ook Voyager 2 in de buurt van de heliopauze komt, zijn de onderzoekers voor het eerst in staat om de reis van het ene vaartuig met de ander te vergelijken. Echter merken de onderzoekers nuchter op dat elke interstellaire reis uniek is. Voyager 2 bevindt zich daarnaast op een heel andere locatie in de buitenste regio van de heliosfeer dan zijn broer.
Al met al zijn de verwachtingen hoog gespannen en kijken de onderzoekers uit naar het moment dat de sonde het zonnestelsel verlaat. Wanneer dit precies gaat gebeuren, weten de onderzoekers nog niet. “We zien een verandering in de omgeving rond Voyager 2, daar bestaat geen twijfel over,” zegt onderzoeker Ed Stone. “We gaan de komende maanden hoe dan ook veel leren.”
Nieuwe aanwijzing dat we de allereerste exomaan op het spoor zijn
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Ruimtetelescoop Hubble heeft verschillende aanwijzingen gevonden dat rond Kepler-1625b een maantje draait.
Al in 2017 vonden astronomen met behulp van ruimtetelescoop Kepler een eerste aanwijzing dat Kepler-1625b een maantje bezit. Maar overtuigend was het bewijs niet. “De Kepler-data volstaan niet als we zeker willen zijn van het bestaan van deze exomaan,” zo stelden de onderzoekers. “Pas nadat de observaties met de Hubble Space Telescope hebben plaatsgevonden, zou elke bewering omtrent het bestaan van deze maan geloofwaardiger kunnen worden.”
Nieuwe observaties Die observaties met Hubble hebben inmiddels plaatsgevonden, zo melden onderzoekers in het blad Science Advances. En hoewel we op basis van die observaties het bestaan van de maan niet met zekerheid kunnen bevestigen, wijzen ze er wel sterk op dat er een maantje rond Kepler-1625b draait.
Twee signalen Onderzoekers observeerden het systeem waar de exoplaneet deel van uitmaakt gedurende 40 uur met de Hubble-telescoop. Deze telescoop is zo’n vier keer nauwkeuriger dan Kepler. De onderzoekers zagen hoe de planeet voor zijn moederster langs bewoog en waren daarbij met name op zoek naar twee signalen die op de aanwezigheid van een maantje konden wijzen: een afname in de helderheid van de moederster, veroorzaakt doordat de exomaan er voor langs beweegt. En een aanwijzing dat de exomaan met zijn zwaartekracht van invloed is op Kepler-1625b waardoor deze bijvoorbeeld wat eerder aan zijn overgang – de periode waarin de planeet voor de ster langs beweegt – begint.
Nieuwe aanwijzingen En jawel, beide signalen doken op in de door Hubble verzamelde data. Zo’n 3,5 uur nadat de overgang van Kepler-1625b erop zat, werd bijvoorbeeld een tweede, veel kleinere afname in de helderheid van de moederster gezien. Deze afname kan weleens veroorzaakt zijn door de maan die – terwijl deze achter zijn planeet aanhobbelt – ook een heel klein deel van het sterlicht tegenhoudt. Daarnaast ontdekten de onderzoekers dat Kepler-1625b wat eerder aan zijn overgang begon dan verwacht. Het suggereert dat er sprake is van zogenoemde ‘transit timing variations‘ oftewel TTV’s. En TTV’s worden gezien als een sterke aanwijzing voor de aanwezigheid van een exomaan. Ze kunnen echter ook veroorzaakt worden doordat in het systeem nog een planeet verstopt zit, die met zijn zwaartekracht van invloed is op Kepler-1625b. De onderzoekers benadrukken echter dat Kepler geen enkele aanwijzing heeft gevonden dat dit systeem nog een planeet telt.
Toch houden de onderzoekers een slag om de arm; er zijn meer waarnemingen nodig om het bestaan van de exomaan te bevestigen. Maar Kepler-1625b kan zomaar de plek zijn waar we uiteindelijk – en misschien binnenkort al – de allereerste exomaan gaan aantreffen.
Astronomers might have observed the first moon around an exoplanet, the United Nations displayed a special structure called "Black Marble" Earth and a South African radio telescope array will search a million stars for alien signals. These are just some of this week's top stories on Space.com.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe passed another prominent member of our solar system as it continued onto its ultimate destination, the sun. The probe zoomed within 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) of Venus on Oct. 3.
Astronomers may have found the first evidence of an exomoon, or moon orbiting a planet outside the solar system. NASA's Kepler and Hubble space telescopes, according to new study, provide evidence that a massive moon the size of Neptune may be orbiting a gas giant planet 8,000 light-years from Earth.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to warming planets, and not a lot was known about how much short-wavelength solar radiation it absorbs. Researchers studied the methane in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn's moon Titan to learn more about its effect.
A student at Emory University is the lead researcher of an alien-hunting galactic scan. This project, which looks for light beams from alien civilizations, is called the Trillion Planet Survey, and it's observing the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies.
On Aug. 30, astronauts noticed a drop in pressure aboard the International Space Station and then found a 0.08-inch-wide (2 millimeters) hole in a Soyuz capsule that docked up there in June. Since then, NASA has conducted an ongoing investigation, and according to Russian media, this was an isolated issue and should not affect future production.
Aerospace and military contractor Lockheed Martin revealed a new moon lander design on Oct. 3. The concept for a reusable spaceship is intended to transport four astronauts between lunar orbit and that moon's surface.
A newly-spotted object in a region far beyond Pluto's orbit may be a sign of Planet Nine, also known as Planet X. Researchers dubbed the object "The Goblin," and they first spotted it using Japan's Subaru telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
When asteroid TB 145 first passed Earth in 2015, scientists took photographs and noticed the angle and indentations on the rock made it look like a solemn skull. This Fall, the "Halloween asteroid" will fly near our planet again, but not in time for Jack-O-Lantern season. It will whiz by on Nov. 11.
The MeerKAT radio-telescope array in South Africa is now partnered with the $100 million Breakthrough Listen Project, significantly expanding its reach. MeerKAT will search for alien signals by searching 1 million stars.
A large, inflatable globe called "Black Marble" Earth was displayed for world leaders at the "Space2030: Space as a Driver for Peace" Sept. 25 gathering within United Nations Headquarters. The Space Trust commissioned the structure, which measured 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) in diameter.
After 41 Years, NASA's Voyager 2 Is Close To Enter Interstellar Space
No one can hear you scream in space but Voyager 1 changed that and here comes Voyager 2.
Once Voyager 2 exits the outermost layer of the heliosphere, it will become the second human-made object, after Voyager 1, to enter interstellar space.
This video is a stunning presentation concerning Voyager 2's close proximity to leaving our solar system's Heliopause to enter "Interstellar space." Voyager 1 reached Interstellar space a couple of years ago with Voyager 2 slated to reach a similar "exit point" very soon.
There was a very interesting discussion back in 2014 when someone at NASA "leaked" info about Voyager 1's detection of a "WAVE" of energy that was concerning. This sparked several spin-off theories that there was some kind of "COSMIC WAVE" about to reach Earth and give human beings an "upgrade" in their DNA.
6 Things You Should Know About UFOs and the X-Files
The X-Files Revival is still Going Strong
“They’re here, aren’t they?” said Fox Mulder, to his secret informant, known only to viewers as Deep Throat.
“Mr. Mulder,” began the old man, in a reprimanding tone, “They have been here for a long, long time.”
As many of you know, the X-Files came back in 2016 for a tenth season (approximtely 13 years after it went off the air); the revival was so successful that they did an eleventh season and plans are in the work for a season 12.
For those of you who don’t know, the X-Files was one of the most popular US TV series in the 1990s, at its height averaging 20 million viewers per episode. This September marked the 25 year anniversary of the premiere of the show!
The main protagonist Fox Mulder, is an FBI agent whose sister was taken from their room when he was a kid, in what Mulder believed was an alien abduction. This fueled his lifelong obsession with the paranormal and uncovering the truth about UFOs, Extraterrestrials, and a global conspiracy.
I watched the show religiously with friends, staying in on Friday nights when it first came on, before it got really popular and moved to Sunday nights. Years later, when I became an executive producer on the documentary Thrive: What On Earth Will It Take, made by Foster Gamble and Kimberly Carter Gamble (which involved UFOs), I started to do a little research on this subject on my own.
I originally collected this list for friends who knew about the X-File but didn’t know much about the UFO phenomenon that inspired the show. Since then, there has been quite a bit of activity in this field and the mainstream media with a news story in the New York Times (see item #5 below).
1. The X-Files wasn’t purely science fiction, according to Chris Carter.
Like many others fans, I took the X-Files to be “simply” an original work of science fiction from the show’s creator, Chris Carter. While the series is fiction, Carter himself will tell you that that many of the elements are based on real-life accounts.
When I started to investigate on my own, I started to meet people in the UFO community and started asking questions. The stories I heard sounded a lot like what I had seen in the X-files: bright unexplainable lights, triangular craft, missing time, even implants.
In fact, I was told by a mutual friend that Chris Carter discouraged his actors from attending science fiction conventions because the X-Files wasn’t purely science fiction. This is particularly true of the early episodes that involve UFO sightings: If you re-watch the very first X-files episode, Pilot, you’ll see that it says, “The following story is inspired by actual documented accounts” at the beginning of the episode.
I actually met Chris Carter a few years ago, just before they started filming the new season, at a UFO-related conference, and it was clear that he was continuing to research what people had to say on this subject. It turns out a lot of what was discussed at the conference actually made it into the new season.
2.Myth: Only people who wear tinfoil hats and tabloid reporters take UFOs seriously.
One of the persistent myths about UFOs is that people who believe in them are a “fringe” group who “live off the grid” and wear “tinfoil hats”. After having been to a dozen UFO events and meeting hundreds of UFO witnesses, I haven’t seen a single tinfoil hat (OK I saw one but that was for the benefit of reporters who wanted to take a photo of “weird UFO people”).
In fact, I have met intelligent people from all walks of life — scientists, engineers, people who worked for NASA, to independently wealthy businessmen and women. The only commonality I could find was confidence in what they’ve seen and experienced, and a strong belief that the “truth is out there” and that it should be investigated more seriously.
There are many well-known people who have had UFO sightings, and many who support finding out the truth. In Los Angeles, Dan Akroyd is a well known proponent of UFO research. (See Dan Akroyd Unplugged on UFOs).
John Podesta, who served as an advisor to President Obama and Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, has been very vocal about his interest in the subject and his desire to get the truth out, a process known to UFO enthusiasts as “Disclosure”. John Podesta tweeted in 2014 that his biggest regret in working for the Obama White House was that he was unable to secure disclosure of top secret UFO files.
Hillary Clinton, was asked about UFOs by a reporter in Conway, New Hampshire while campaigning there in 2016. Mrs. Clinton said she believed we might have been visited by aliens in the past, and that if elected president, she would get to the bottom of it.
And UFOs are not just for tabloids. Leslie Kean, a serious investigative reporter, received a copy of a report from retired French generals that said that they believed the UFO phenomena was real and should be investigated seriously (called the “COMETA” report). Kean’s book, UFOs: General, Pilots ,and Government Officials Go On the Record, is a great book for those who know nothing about the phenomenon or are inclined to dismiss it out of hand. There have been many pilots, many members of the military, and many other government officials who have been willing to speak on and off the record and Ms Kean does a great job of presenting about this phenomenon. It’s a shame that this myth is so prevalent that many “serious” scientists and engineers won’t even take the time to read books like Ms Kean’s.
3.Myth: There is no evidence of UFOs.
Many skeptics say there is no evidence that UFOs exist. They’re not quite right.
First of all, let’s start with the tons of photographic evidence — photos of odd “unidentified” objects flying over both rural and urban landscapes. The next argument skeptics make is that these pictures are all photoshopped — a charge that doesn’t hold up when the photos are from the 60’s and 70’s — I’ve seen some of these older photos, some taken by the members of the military, and they are very convincing. Moreover, when there are multiple witnesses that corroborate the photographic evidence (like in the Phoenix lights incident — more on this one below), the skeptic’s view that they must all be doctored doesn’t really hold-up.
And then there are literally thousands of eyewitness reports –ranging from places like O’Hare airport to Rendlesham Forest in the UK (in a famous military sighting).
If that isn’t enough evidence for you, Emeritus Professor of applied physics at Stanford, Peter Sturrock has studied reports and asserts there is “physical evidence”: “radar”, Professor Sturrock tell us, counts as physical evidence of UFOs.
One such well-known incident over Alaska in 1986, where a Japan Air Lines pilot, Kenju Terauchi, was flying near Mt. McKinley when he reported seeing a UFO that was “dazzlingly bright, which stopped in mid air, followed them, and otherwise shot around them …”. Terauchi said there was no way an airplane could have done that.
John Callahan, the FAA Division Chief of the Accidents and Investigations branch, had the data from this incident, which covered more than a half hour. Callahan has testified many times about what he saw, “As far as I’m concerned, I saw a UFO chase a Japanese 747 across the sky for over half an hour on radar.”
If that’s still not enough to convince you that there is “some” evidence, in the abduction area, there have been physical objects (known as “implants”) that have been pulled out of abductees bodies. X-rays also count as physical evidence too. In some cases where doctors surgically extracted the implants, the metallic objects somehow evaporated; in other cases they were able to preserve them and found that they have unique “anomalous” structure, some were meant to be housed inside the human body and were only stable when implanted!
Whether you believe in aliens or not, these implants had to have been placed there by someone. The question is who? It’s unlikely abductees would have the surgical skill to put them there themselves — so who put them into their bodies? This question remains unanswered. In the original X-files, implants were a not insubstantial part of the story. Whenever the government got ahold of one, as at the end of the first episode of the X-Files, in a scene reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark (or Warehouse 13 for younger syfy fans), they put it away in the midst of a giant government warehouse, to be lost forever in bureaucracy.
4.Myth: Sightings only happen in the countryside, only in the US, and only since we started flying airplanes.
Again, these are myths. There have been anomalous objects reported in the sky well before the modern era of airplanes, going back to the 1500s and beyond. In their wonderful book, “Wonders in the Sky”, Jacque Vallee ad Chris Aubeck have catalogued these sightings. Jacquee Vallee, a long time French UFO researcher, was in part the inspiration for the French scientist in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, made by another UFO believer, Stephen Spielberg. In one of the most famous pre-airplane incidents, in 1561 a number of spheres and disks, which were red, blue, and back, were seen to come out of two vertical cylinders over Nuremberg, Germany. The residents of the town reported that these objects seemed to be fighting each other — there’s even a well-known drawing of this image.
In recent times, one of the most famous mass sightings was the Phoenix Lights. In 1997, an estimated more than 10,000 people saw a set of triangularly arranged lights not just hovering but moving over the Phoenix metro area from North to South. There were numerous photographs of the incident, and a great book (along with a documentary) by Lynne Kitei, M.D., called called The Phoenix Lights.
At first, Arizona Governor Fife Symington III made fun of the sighting and the military tried to dismiss the lights as “military flares”. But this theory didn’t hold water — the lights stayed equidistance apart, as if they were part of a single, large craft. Later, the Governor admitted that he was lying, and that he too had seen some kind of large anomalous craft in the sky that night. You don’t have to take my word for it — you can go interview people who were living in Phoenix in 1997. One witness told me she looked up, and the stars dimmed and then weren’t visible — it was definitely some type of large craft and not individual flares.
There have been other mass sightings, in Mexico City, in Russia, in South America, and elsewhere. UFO sightings are not a modern phenomenon, they are not a US-only phenomenon. UFOs are a global phenomenon, and as his secret informant told Agent Mulder at the end of the second episode of the X-Files, “They have been here … for a long long time.”
5. The Pentagon and the US Government No Longer Take UFO sightings seriously.
After a wave of UFO sightings in the 1950s and 1960s, the government and DOD put together several high profile projects to collect and investigate sightings. Since project Blue Book was shut down in 1969, the official US government and Department of Defense lines on UFOs has been: We no longer collect or investigate UFO sightings.
Just last December, the New York Times, Glowing Auras and Black Money: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program , which was covered by media internationally, was the first acknowledgement by the Pentagon since the 1960’s that they were taking UFOs seriously. Luis Elisandro, who was in charge of the program says that they took sightings, particvularly military sightings quite seriously — the Advanced Aerospace Threat Detection Program. They even released some footage and eyewitness accounts of, among other things, a Tic Tac Toe shaped UFO that military pilots were baffled by. This effort was linked to Tom De Long, the former lead singer of the rock group Blink182, who is now a major proponent of UFO Disclosure.
6. Are UFOs top secret military craft that defy gravity?
In the second episode of the X-Files, Deep Throat, and in many episodes later in the series, witnesses at the edge of military bases see UFOs at night performing maneuvers that seem to defy the laws of inertia and gravity.
These scenes are actually based on many eyewitness reports of objects and lights that hold stationary in the sky, have no apparent sound, then “jump” horizontally or vertically to a new position in the blink of an eye. The fact that these sightings have occurred often near military bases has led many, particularly in the skeptic and scientific community, to assert that UFOs are really top secret military craft that the public does not know about.
This of course, begs the question, do we have top secret military craft that can defy the known laws of physics and gravity? If so, why doesn’t the so called “scientific community” know about the science between how these craft work, why are they being hidden, and why aren’t they more curious about them?
A respected NASA scientist, Paul Hill, decided to collect reports from eyewitnesses during his 25 years working for the space agency. He wrote a book (which he wasn’t allow to publish while working for NASA), called “Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis” that was later published by his daughter, in which he categorized these maneuvers (“sudden reversal of direction”, “acute angle turn”, etc.)
If these are top secret military vehicles, where did they get the basic design and aeronautic principles from? This “top secret” military craft has been reported to be disc-shaped, and can seemingly defy both inertia and gravity. This has led the UFO community to say these top-secret craft have “anti-gravity” technology. Where did it come from?
Mark McCandlish, an accomplished aerospace illustrator, was baffled when a friend in the military told McCandlish that he’d stumbled into a hanger that had a round, bell shaped craft that was hovering over the ground. It sounds like a scene out of Independence Day, not just the X-Files. McCandlish, who has illustrated top secret military aircraft based on descriptions for the covers of magazines like Popular Science, drew the components of the ARV, or Alien Reproduction Vehicle, as it’s been called, and his drawings are readily available on-line. It resembles many reports of UFOs, including rumors of the Nazi Bell — new type of bell-shaped flying craft that the Nazis were supposedly working on at the end of World War II.
Is The Truth Out There?
As in the X-Files series, many of these facts are unknown to the general public, or they are ridiculed by so-called “experts”. In fact, the entire premise of the TV series was that a scientist, a medical doctor, Dana Scully, was brought in to de-bunk Mulder’s “unscientific” theories. As she became more involved in the investigations, she came upon more and more items that could only be classified as “unexplained” and was forced to question her own views about science and the universe.
Professor Sturrock of Stanford, who did research on the attitudes of astronomers and members of the American Institute of Aeronautic and Astronautics (AIAA) found that the more time people spent reading this subject, the more they would come to the conclusion that there needs to be more serious scientific study of UFOs. Even many members of the AIAA had seen anomalous “unidentified flying objects” but would only admit this if they were kept anonymous. Why? Because it’s not a “fashionable” area for university research to get funding, and simply telling what you saw truthfully is not acceptable in most academic and scientific circles these days.
Similarly, too many of my friends in the scientific and engineering circles, tend to dismiss UFO lore and stories as simple “crazy stories by crazy people” without having done any research of their own. The less research they’ve done, the more likely they are to dismiss UFOs out of hand. It’s very easy to ridicule or demean a group of people on the internet — but if you take the time to get to know the people that are making these claims, like Dana Scully in the X-Files, you might just find that The Truth is Out There!
While we wait for the new episodes of the X-Files revival on January 24th, I’ll leave you with another great quote from the second episode of the X-Files:
“Mr. Mulder, why are those like yourself, who believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life on this earth, not dissuaded by all the evidence to the contrary?” asked the secret informant.
“Because,” began Fox Mulder, pausing for a second, “ … all the evidence to the contrary … is not entirely dissuasive.”
The old man nodded to Mulder in acknowledgement, and walked away quietly.
People have had UFO encounters since the dawn of recorded history (if not before), but with the advent of airplanes, cars, cameras and binoculars, sightings became much more common. Here are some of the most remarkable sightings of the modern era.
1. KENNETH ARNOLD, WASHINGTON STATE
Kenneth Arnold’s UFO Sighting Was Widely Reported
It started as a normal day for Kenneth Arnold in 1947. He was a private pilot, flying himself to Yakima, Washington for business. He took a small side trip, buzzing by Mt. Rainier to see if he could spot a U.S. Marine transport plane that had crashed recently—there was a $5,000 reward.
He didn’t find the plane, but what he did discover changed the world of ufology. During the flight, he saw several bright flashes. At first he thought they might just be reflections, but the “reflections” grew closer and larger, and he realized he was looking at flying objects. Geese? No, geese don’t fly at 1,200 MPH. A new type of jet? There were no contrails.
And, they were the wrong shape—they were, as Arnold put it, thin and convex. He later told reporters that the objects’ movement reminded him of saucers skipping across water, and thus was born the familiar term “flying saucers”.
2. THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES
The Large Triangular Craft That Frightened Los Angeles in 1942
It was 1942 and the United States was plunged into World War II. In February, only two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, anti-aircraft guns started firing over the city of Los Angeles. Lights had appeared in the sky, witnessed by thousands, and everyone’s first assumption was that the Japanese were staging another attack.
Strangely, the anti-aircraft fire brought nothing down, even though radar showed an “unidentifiable aerial target” over the city. Some witnesses said they saw a large object hovering in the air. Later, a journalist’s photo of the battle scene (at right) sparked controversy among UFO skeptics and only deepened the mystery—it appears to show a large black triangular craft.
3. UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL
Sure, you’ve heard of the Roswell Incident. Skeptics like to say it’s the “most thoroughly debunked UFO claim” in the world. We disagree. You can’t “debunk” something by making up explanations.
The Story Made Headlines, But The Air Force Quickly Tried to Cover Up the Incident
It was a hot day in July 1947 when New Mexico rancher Mac Brazel was out on a remote part of the Foster ranch, and when he came across strange wreckage, he wasn’t sure what to think of it. Maybe the guys at the local military base, the 509th airfield, would know something about it. When Brazel took some officers, including Intelligence Officer Jesse Marcel, to see for themselves, the military men were stunned. It was clear to them that this was indeed a crashed vehicle—and that it wasn’t from this planet.
The story hit the news wires, and calls came in from around the world. General Roger Ramey rushed to the 509th base and concocted a story about a downed weather balloon. The story stuck—”General Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer” read the headlines—and those involved were warned to never reveal what they actually saw.
Later, in old age, Jesse Marcel felt compelled to reveal the truth, and the story became the stuff of legend.
4. UFOS BUZZ D.C.
It’s alarming enough for an air traffic controller to spot seven unknown objects on radar. But when Ed Nugent spotted them in Washington D.C. in July 1952, he realized they were headed toward the White House and the U.S. Capitol building—so he raised an alert. His radar unit checked out, not malfunctioning, and the blips showed up on other radar units as well. Then the objects were sighted by pilots in the area, moving at “an unbelievable speed”.
The objects vanished within 15 minutes, but a few days later, they were back. This time, strange flying lights were noticed by the flight crew on a commercial jet over D.C. They appeared yet again the next day. President Harry Truman was so shaken up by these events that he called the head of Project Blue Book, demanding an explanation. Soon after, a standing shoot-down order was given to Air Force pilots: if you see a UFO, fire on it immediately.
You may also be interested in Part One of this two-part UFO series, where we cover other striking encounters with UFOs that landed, crashed, and buzzed by Earth landmarks.
1. UFO LANDING IN RENDLESHAM FOREST, UK
“I’ve gone on record saying Rendlesham might be the turning point in history that leads to the explanation of the UFO phenomenon.” —Nick Pope, UK Ministry of Defense
It was December 1980, and on a US military base in England, a security patrol observed a strange light descending into nearby Rendlesham Forest, and assumed one of their aircraft must have gone down.
Re-creation of the Craft that Landed in Rendlesham Forest
Sergeants John Burroughs and James Penniston were dispatched to investigate, and instead of a downed plane, they discovered a strange craft with glowing yellow and blue lights, approximately nine by six feet in size. Static electricity seemed to be emanating from it. The men stood and stared at the object for about 10 minutes, finally deciding that it did not appear to be a threat. They moved closer and observed strange hieroglyphic markings on the side of the craft.
Suddenly, an explosion of light from the ship knocked both men down; “I thought I was going to die that night,” Penniston said later. Penniston got up and touched the craft; it felt smooth and warm.
The men stayed near the UFO for 45 minutes until it began to rise through the trees, then shot into the night so quickly that Penniston later wrote in his log book, “Speed: Impossible!”
The next morning, investigators found deep, triangle-shaped impressions in the ground where the craft had been sighted. Tests showed high levels of radiation.
The ship returned for two consecutive nights; on the final night, it was witnessed by nearly 60 people.
2. THE KECKSBURG UFO CRASH
At first, they thought it was some kind of crazy meteor. The fireball that streaked across skies over Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in 1965 dropped metal debris and caused sonic booms. Eyewitnesses in the small town of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania saw the UFO crash into a forest, followed by blue smoke that rose from amongst the trees. They called authorities.
Reproduction of What Witnesses Saw Near Kecksburg, PA
Meanwhile, a few brave individuals ventured into the woods to see what had crash-landed. They found the object partially buried in the ground; it was bronze in color and metallic, about the size of a car, shaped like an acorn. The witnesses noticed strange markings on its surface that resembled Egyptian hieroglyphs. Jim Romanesky, one of the observers, said that the UFO was completely seamless, almost as if it had been made of liquid metal that was poured into a mold.
When the military arrived, they cordoned off the area, detaining and removing everyone from the forest. Witnesses saw them load the object onto a flatbed truck and remove it; when an official report was issued, it said that “absolutely nothing” had been found—case closed.
3.PHOENIX LIGHTS
Phones at the police station were ringing off the hook, UFO reporting agencies were inundated with calls, the news media were receiving a flurry of reports, people were standing in the streets and pointing at the sky: there were strange lights hovering over the city of Phoenix! Thousands of people saw the Phoenix Lights that March day in 1997, including police offers, military personnel, and Arizona governor Fife Symington; eye-witnesses said that the lights appeared to be part of a massive black V-shaped craft that moved slowly and silently as it passed over their rooftops.
The first reports of the UFO came from Henderson, Nevada, where witnesses said the craft was drifting along in a southeasterly direction; it passed over other towns until it appeared over Phoenix. Air traffic controllers at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport could see the lights through their window but registered no sign of anything on radar.
The local Air Force base denied that any activity had taken place that night—then later changed the story and said that the lights had been aircraft flares they’d dropped between 9:00 and 10:00 PM that night. Problem is, the UFO lights had appeared over Henderson, Nevada just before 8:00 PM and over Phoenix just after 8:30 PM.
4. UFO OVER O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
“I am still in absolute wonder and amazement at what I saw that afternoon.”
—Eye-witness to the O’Hare UFO
It had been a normal afternoon at busy O’Hare International when airport employees began to notice something strange in the sky.
A Strange Disc Hovers Over O’Hare International Airport
On November 7, 2006, a metallic, saucer-like craft appeared above the airport and hovered over Gate C-17. A ramp employee was the first to see it as he helped a jet, flight 446 bound for North Carolina, push back to prepare for takeoff. Chatter on two-way radios alerted a dozen other employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors, who all ran to see the disc hovering in the sky.
The UFO lingered over the airport for about two minutes, then, as witnesses described, shot straight up at an incredible velocity and vanished, leaving a clear, sky-blue hole in the clouds.
The Federal Aviation Administration first denied they had any evidence of the matter. When a local reporter discovered a recording of an FAA official discussing the sighting with a United Airlines employee, the FAA changed the story: it was just a weather phenomenon, and there was no need for further investigation.
Signs of Plant Life May Be Easier to Spot on Older Planets, Scientists Find
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer
NASA and NOAA satellites measure vegetation on Earth from space to produce images like this one of plant life between April 2012 and April 2013.
Credit: NASA/NOAA
The rise of plants was crucial in turning Earth from a watery rock into a world where humans could thrive — and our home may not be the only planet where that process has played out.
So scientists decided to investigate Earth's own vegetative history to think through how it could guide our search for habitable exoplanets. The result is a new paper that focuses on what scientists call the vegetation red edge, which just means that Earth happens to reflect back a relatively high amount of near infrared light.
"We use Earth's history as a key for finding life in the universe," research co-author Lisa Kaltenegger, an astronomer at Cornell University, said in a statement. "Looking at how life altered Earth's biosignatures over time helps us to figure out which planets are most likely to show the strongest signs of life, ultimately giving us the best chances of successfully pinpointing life, if it is there." [Earth's Plant Life from Space in Photos: NASA Satellite Images]
The pair of scientists behind the new research looked at how Earth's vegetation red edge as viewed by an alien would change over time as plant life evolved and changed. The first green plants, like mosses, produced a very weak vegetation red edge signal. But now, 400 or 500 million years later, modern plants and trees produce a signal that's about twice as strong. They also feed, house and clothe humans and plenty of other life-forms.
"Our work shows that as plants evolved on Earth, the vegetation signal that reveals their presence became stronger, making older exoplanets really interesting places to look for vegetation," Kaltenegger said in the statement.
And the researchers estimate that the signal will become even more noticeable if Earth continues to become warmer and drier, since cactuses are particularly reflective of this near infrared light. For hopeful astrobiologists, that's not all bad news, since even today, Earth's vegetation red edge would be difficult to catch a glimpse of.
But even taking into account different types of plants and partial cloud cover, the scientists found that Earth looks reliably different from other planets in the solar system — a promising sign for using the technique.
"Observing an exoplanet is more challenging, but telescope technology is getting better at spotting tiny signals," co-author Jack O’Malley-James, also an astronomer at Cornell University, said in the statement. "And factoring Earth's changing landscapes into our models will make it easier to detect vegetation in the future on other worlds."
The research is described in a paper published Sept. 12 in the journal Astrobiology.
Hopes of colonizing Mars rest on the premise that we could terraform the red planet, making it habitable for humans with a breathable atmosphere and clement temperatures. However, a recent study cast doubt on the idea, concluding that terraforming is impossible with present technology.
With colonizing Mars on hold, it's a good time to reevaluate the relationship we have with our nearest cosmic neighbour, the moon. The first successful lander on the moon was the Russian spacecraft Luna 9 in 1966. This mission revealed the barren lunar landscape in fine detail for the first time.
The first close-up images of the moon’s surface, from 1966.
Since the dawn of the space age, there have been over 60 successful missions to the moon, including eight that were manned. The most famous being Apollo 11 in July 1969 which resulted in the first human presence on the moon.
These space pioneers broadened our understanding of Earth and the universe. The Apollo 15 mission of 1971, for example, recovered the so-called "Genesis Rock," one of the oldest rock samples ever found from a crater on the moon. Analysis of other surface samples supported the "giant impact hypothesis," a now predominant view that the moon formed from a giant impact on the Earth some 4.5 billion years ago.
Since then, however, our gaze has shifted away from the moon and onto Mars. In the 1990s, after a string of failures, Mars Pathfinder delivered the first rover onto the surface of Mars. This was the first successful landing on Mars since the Viking probes of the late 1970s. The pictures that the probe returned set the public's imagination aflame, stoking interest in new missions to the red planet.
Rather than mourning the immediate prospect of a manned Martian mission today, we present five reasons why the moon deserves another look – and more than just a flying visit.
The Genesis Rock was formed at least four billion years ago, during the birth of our solar system.
Credit: NASA/Wikimedia Commons
We've only scratched the surface of our moon's potential interest to humanity.
Credit: NASA
1. A staging post in space
To overcome the pull of gravity and reach another body in space you need to achieve a certain speed. A journey to Mars from Earth's surface requires a minimum total speed of nearly 30,000mph (approximately 13.1km/s). This requires large rockets, tonnes of fuel, and complex orbital manoeuvring. Due to the moon's weaker gravitational field, the same journey from the lunar surface would "only" require a speed of 6,500mph (2.9km/s). This is roughly one third of that necessary to reach the International Space Station from Earth.
The mineral troilite, an iron-sulphur compound rare on Earth, is also present in the lunar crust. The sulphur from troilite can be extracted and combined with lunar soil to produce a building material stronger than Portland Cement, meaning a settlement could be constructed on the moon using locally sourced material.
Establishing a lunar base from which to launch deep space missions would massively increase the payload to fuel ratio, allowing us to explore the solar system at a fraction of the current cost and effort.
2. Fuelling the future
Nuclear fusion, the process that fuels stars, could provide our future energy supply. Fusion reactors of the future will use Helium-3, a lighter version of the helium used in party balloons. This isotope is rare on Earth but abundant on the moon where it could be mined, something which has already attracted interest from a number of businesses and governments willing to ship it to Earth.
The core of a nuclear fusion reactor.
Credit: Shutterstock
This initial burst of commercial interest could provide the incentive and finance needed for our first forays into establishing a permanent human presence on the moon.
3. Rock of ages
The moon is an inactive world – no major geological changes have occurred in the last three billion years. On Earth, surface features are weathered by rain, tides, wind or plant growth. The lunar landscape proudly displays a record of its violent past in the form of impact features, offering a preserved history of the solar system which is ready for us to explore.
4. Observing the universe
The atmospheric density of the moon is thin, a ten trillionth of that on Earth. This absence provides the perfect conditions for astronomical observatories across the full breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum. A radio observatory on the far side of the moon would be completely shielded from the radio chatter of Earth.
The low-density atmosphere also makes a ground-based X-ray or gamma ray telescope possible, unlike on Earth where short wavelength light from space is blocked. Such observatories could be maintained and upgraded by a human presence on the moon far more easily than an orbiting telescope.
The lunar observatory could search deeper into space than an Earth-bound equivalent.
Credit: es Bossinas/NASA
5. Humans in space
One of the major hurdles for a Mars mission is understanding how human health is affected by a long-term voyage into space. If anything unexpected occurs, resupply or rescue is over two years away. By testing human tolerances on the moon first and developing technology and experience, further exploration of Mars or beyond will be far more practical. If an emergency occurs on a lunar base, Earth is only three days away.
Another major concern about going to Mars is the inadvertent contaminationof the pristine martian environment by earthly organisms. The Moon is almost certainly sterile, so such concerns are moot.
While the first scientific research conducted on the moon was performed in the late 1960s, in the subsequent half century we have come no closer to a sustained human presence there. This is despite an ever-increasing technological capability which far surpasses what was available to the Apollo missions. Before we can take another giant leap into space, it might be worth taking some small steps closer to home.
Pyramid UFO Caught Over Mexico On Live Internet Cam On Oct 2018, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of sighting: October 2018 Location of sighting: Mexico City, Mexico Source: Live Mexico Cam
This video was made by a UFO researcher in Australia watching the live Mexico City cam. He is famous for his hard work in the field and this time he caught an amazing Pyramid UFO that is semi cloaked moving through the clouds. I have heard of pyramid clouds, but very few legit reports come in like this one. As you see the cam takes a photo every few seconds so there is a jump in-between, but the UFO is seen in many still shots. Absolute proof that aliens are active in Mexico. Scott C. Waring
I have just received this UFO sighting video through a report form. This happened in Cape Town, South Africa on 24th September 2018.
Witness report:
I have attached part of the video which I had taken yesterday, (Monday, 24 September 2018) at 12:02 of strange activity which I noticed in the sky in the Belville and Brackenfell, Cape Town, South Africa area. It first seemed like flashing lights of possibly an aircraft or even star of some sort, but did it soon became clear that these seemingly flashing lights seemed to be at different places at different times within a fraction of a second, during which I decided to take a video of it with my smartphone. Only after playing the videos back in extremely slow motion, frame for frame, I were amazed to see that this seemed to be only one object but which moved with incredible speed within a fraction of a second! So fast that to the naked eye it will seem like flashing lights appearing at different spots. Please have a look in slow motion especially to see the phenomenal speed with which this thing moves! I could hardly believe my eyes what I had seen on the videos! On the other part of the video, it can clearly be seen that this light orb / flying object will dive at incredible speed after which it will ascent with the same lightning speed, after which it will do some sort of half a circular motion and then dive soon after this at the same incredible speed. I have more footage with even more amazing things which this flying object seemed to be capable of and of which I am sure no aircraft on earth are capable of but could unfortunately only email you this clip due to the size of the full video clip.I would like to know whether there are more people in the Belville area who saw this or if there were anything unusual reported in the skies yesterday at that time.
UFO INVESTIGATION: US officials 'hold SECRET ALIEN TESTS' at ranch - 'DISTURBING'
THE US Department for Defence has carried out a series of undercover tests at the highly controversial UFO sighting ground, the Skinwalker ranch in Utah, leaked documents have claimed.
The video was soon went viral across the web, with many giving their opinions on what it could be.
One person wrote: “In my opinion, its not a satellite, too big if I assume relative distances.
“Its not within the earths atmosphere as would appear to move across the field of view more rapidly and likely be a blur.
“Your focus is on the moon and the object remains in focus. It must also be large!”
UFO sighting: Massive ‘alien spaceship’ seen travelling across the Moon - shock video
(Image: GETTY)
Another person added: “It’s a mother ship!”
YouTuber Ryan Isaaks stated: “No doubt it's a UFO. I’m 100 percent sure.
“We are being watched and don't know how long the government is hiding this from the public.”
However, others believed their was a more natural explanation, with many claiming that it looks like a large rock orbiting the moon or travelling through space.
Which prompted the response: “Looks like a rock, the colour dark and it didn’t turn or change speed.”
Many people believe that there is an alien race living on the moon.
Just last month, conspiracy theorists were sent into a frenzy when a massive structure was spotted on the moon.
Many jumped to the conclusion that it was an alien base or monument, and believe the likes of NASA are covering something up.
The UFO is seen travelling across the moon
(Image: YOUTUBE)
The strange moon-pyramid was spotted using Google’s search tool Google Moon.
The coordinates to find the ‘monolith’ on Google Moon are 20 ° 48'45.54 "N 25 ° 59'50.89" W.
In a video uploaded to YouTube by Argentinian Marcelo Irazusta, the man-made-looking structure seems to be an anomaly on the surface on the moon.
A description from Mr Irazusta alongside the video reads: “A strange elevation of hundreds of meters in the middle of a plain of the Moon is a mystery that must be revealed.
“Everything seems to indicate that it could be a non-natural structure. It is really awesome.”
The huge round body was found on a beach on Seabrook Island, South Dakota, and featured in a Facebook post by Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN)
It said: "Look at this mysterious object that washed ashore in Seabrook Island today! What do you think it is?"
The post was inundated with theories about what it is.
Jennifer Passantino posted: “I saw it this morning on my walk.
“I assume it was a buoy, but could also be the remains of an alien spaceship.”
“(It) could also be the remains of an alien spaceship”
Witness
Many said it looked like part of a space capsule or satellite debris, and some speculated it could be a rocket nozzle from the space shuttle Challenger that blew up about 30 years ago.
Many social media users said it looks like a piece of a mooring buoy or a dredge pipe float used in the removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of lakes and rivers.
One commenter said the object appears to be made of concrete, but the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network said it is "foam-like" and "easily floated in".
The mystery was whisked away by town leaders, according to LMMN.
LMMN
This bizarre object was washed up on a South Dakota beach
THIS 3-MINUTE ANIMATION WILL CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION OF TIME FOREVER
We all know that Earth is old, but it’s hard to put into perspective just how old it is.
After all, what does 4.5 billion years really mean? How do you even comprehend that amount of time with our short-lived human brains?
Well, Business Insider has done a pretty incredible job of it in this 3-minute animation, by displaying the timeline of Earth if time was the distance from Los Angeles to New York. And, oh boy, our world-view will never be the same.
We start our journey in Los Angeles, back when Earth first formed 4.54 billion years ago. But we don’t get very far on our road trip through time and space before the Moon shows up after Earth is hit by a planetary body.
About halfway across the top of Arizona, the world’s largest rock forms 3.95 billion years ago, and then a few miles down the road – 3.8 billion years ago – the first evidence of life shows up, in the form of replicating molecules.
But it’s not until Kansas, 2.7 billion years ago, when oxygen-producing cyanobacteria first emerge, and then 200 million years later that significant amounts of oxygen build up in Earth’s atmosphere.
And then, believe it or not, it’s not until Pennsylvania – halfway across the country – that multicellular organisms evolve, just 600 million years ago.
A lot happens in Pennsylvania, like plants colonising the land and amphibians evolving. And by the time dinosaurs become extinct we’re already in New York State.
So where do humans fit in?
Well we’ll let you watch the video below to find that out, and let’s just say that it will blow your freaking mind. Especially when you see how much we’ve done in just 5.6 feet (1.7 metres) of time.
The Earth is really, really old. Over four and a half billion years old, in fact. How do we begin to comprehend a number that large? It helps to put it on a more fathomable scale. Watch to see where Earth’s major events would fall on a timeline stretching across the US.
Did John Glenn Tell Us the Truth About UFOs & Aliens in a Frasier Episode???
In a 2001 episode of Frasier, the late senator and astronaut John Glenn had an interesting guest appearance and I think the script had him basically spill the beans about UFOs and aliens to the American people! Glenn was later depicted by Senator Harry Reid has having an interest in UFOs and aliens and the truth about him. What do you think --- was Glenn a believer and was he trying to aid in Disclosure?
Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Listen program said it has added the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa to its global effort to listen for signals from an alien intelligence
First announced in 2015, Breakthrough Listen is an unprecedented $100 million program – backed by Russian high-tech billionaire Yuri Milner – to listen for signals from an alien intelligence. This massive SETI project is already listening via the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and Parkes Telescope in Australia. On October 2, 2018, Breakthrough Listen announced it will also begin listening via the 64 radio dishes of South Africa’s brand new MeerKAT telescope. It made the announcement at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, saying it planned to:
… examine a million individual stars – 1,000 times the number of targets in any previous search – in the quietest part of the radio spectrum, monitoring for signs of extraterrestrial technology. With the addition of MeerKAT’s observations to its existing surveys, Listen will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Yuri Milner commented:
Collaborating with MeerKAT will significantly enhance the capabilities of Breakthrough Listen. This is now a truly global project.
Artist’s concept of an extraterrestrial, via Shutterstock.
Yuri Milner funds Breakthrough Listen. He was an early investor in Facebook and Twitter and has funded other large endeavors. For example, he has established the largest award in the world in the field of biomedicine and life sciences, called the Breakthrough Prize.
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spent part of this year verifying the 64 radio antennas, each 13.5 meters (44 feet) in diameter, of the MeerKAT telescope. SARAO officially inaugurated the telescope in July 2018.
Breakthrough Listen said its involvement:
… adds the capability to search for technosignatures – signals that indicate the presence of technology on an alien world, and hence provide evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere.
The MeerKAT telescope of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas, located in the remote Karoo Desert of South Africa.
Scientists and engineers from the University of California, Berkeley SETI Research Center have already installed Breakthrough Listen’s special digital instrumentation (much like that installed at Green Bank) at the MeerKAT telescope. The Breakthrough Listen team said its observations will:
… occur in a commensal mode – at the same time as other astrophysics programs. Using sophisticated processing, Breakthrough Listen scientists will digitally point the telescope at targets of interest.
This means that the Breakthrough Listen instrument at MeerKAT will be operating almost continuously, scanning the skies for signs of intelligent life.
The Green Bank telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, is another one of the observatories attempting to eavesdrop on aliens with the help of Breakthrough Listen. Using the Breakthrough Listen digital instrumentation at this telescope, astronomers 3 weeks ago announced they’d found 72 more fast radio bursts from a distant galaxy. Photo via NRAO.
Bottom line: Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Listen program has added the new MeerKAT telescope of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory to its global SETI effort.
Incredibly Weird Microbes Found Deep Underground Could Change Search for Life on Mars
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer
A microscopic view of cyanobacteria, colored fuchsia, growing on a rock fragment.
Credit: PNAS
Life on Earth just got weirder, and that may have intriguing implications for life beyond this planet.
That's one takeaway from new research that identified cyanobacteria — a class of microbes known for turning sunlight into sugar — living deep below Earth's surface, far away from any ray of sunlight.
Because they're so tiny, cyanobacteria don't always get much love, but they're what turned Earth from an inhospitable rock (to us, anyway) into a green, growing world and first put the oxygen we rely on into the atmosphere. "What the cyanobacteria have invented has been brilliantly important through the history of life on Earth," Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California not involved in the new research, told Space.com. [Photos: Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life]
"They were able to turn our Earth into a place that is habitable for the animals that evolved here," Rothschild said. She called cyanobacteria "one-stop shopping" for turning what was easily accessible about 2.7 billion years ago in the early days of Earth — compounds like water and carbon dioxide — into the oxygen and sugar that animals need to survive. Some cyanobacteria can even turn the nitrogen that makes up most of our atmosphere into biologically useful ammonia.
All of that relies on the bacteria getting enough sunlight to conduct photosynthesis, the reaction that allows cyanobacteria, plants and similar organisms to feed themselves. So, deep within the surface of Earth is an unlikely hideout for cyanobacteria. But that's what the authors of the new research say they've found: cyanobacteria living 2,000 feet (600 meters) deep below the surface of a region called the Iberian Pyrite Belt in southwest Spain.
If the new research holds up, it suggests that some cyanobacteria found themselves unable to gather enough sunlight to complete photosynthesis, then threw in the towel and figured out how to feed themselves on hydrogen instead. (Hydrogen also fuels microbes found at the ocean bottom near deep-sea hydrothermal vents, which are also studied as potential analogues of extraterrestrial life.)
That big switch from photosynthesis to chemical subsistence is intriguing, because while Mars today isn't the sort of place life as we know it could thrive, it was many, many years ago. So, if cyanobacteria on Earth snuck below the surface and found a new way to make a living, does that increase the odds something similar happened with hypothetical cyanobacteria-like organisms on Mars?
It's an exciting proposal, Rothschild said. "The idea of surface organisms going underneath [the ground] is something that a lot of us talk about all the time," Rothschild said, but usually not in the context of cyanobacteria, which are considered too reliant on sunlight. "It provides a nice example of a test case of organisms that started at the surface and then were able to adapt to deep biosphere life."
This isn't the first time cyanobacteria have been spotted doing something unexpected, Daniela Billi, an astrobiologist at the University of Rome not involved with the new research, told Space.com. Just this year, a different team of scientists found that certain cyanobacteria could conduct photosynthesis using just infrared light, which is beyond the visible spectrum. The new research goes one step further, Billi said.
"It is a new metabolism that is really very challenging," she said, and an unexpected way of surviving. "It shows that there are pathways that we were not thinking about." [The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)]
The new research, which was published yesterday (Oct. 1) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underscores one of the loudest choruses in astrobiological research: that life is weird, hardy and ubiquitous.
"Every time that we look in strange, extreme environments on Earth, life is always surprising us. We always find a form of life we were not thinking of or thought could not be there," Billi said. "We are very far from knowing life and its extremes."
This controversial footage is causing a stir among UFO fans and conspiracy theorists as records a bizarre conversation between a "nervous" astronaut and mission control.
The outer-space experts claim that during a live feed from the International Space Station the astronaut mentions the word "gospel" as a strange red-coloured UFO appears on the screen.
Blogger Scott C Waring(Image: Secureteam10)
According to Mr Waring, the appearance of the UFO on the ISS live video feed as the astronaut mentions the gospel" was significant and could not be a coincidence."
Talking his viewers through the footage he drew the attention of viewers to the moment in the recording that the astronaut said the word “gospel,” and the moment that ground control replied to the astronaut, saying, “we will pray for you."
Secure Team 10's Tyler Glockne r also noted how odd it was for the astronaut to be talking about religion ans said the conversation was "very unusual".
Is this a UFO?(Image: Secureteam10)
He said: "You can hear the astronaut speaking about God as a UFO appears, which is strange.
“Although it is not strange to think there may be astronauts who may be religious, but I think it would be uncommon due to the training and scientific knowledge they have.”
But his fans asked whether the reference to "gospel" was actually code for "aliens".
Conspiracy theorists have suggested that the astronaut’s statement that he was looking “forward to this partnership with the gospel,” could be coded language and he was actually telling ground control he was about to meet a delegation of extraterrestrials and hold "talks" with them.
UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018
Case File Information
TBV Investigations Case Number: 595176
Date of Event / Case File: 05/17/2018 Name of Witness: Anonymous
Case File Status: Likely Explainable
Background
The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 19, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.
Witness Testimony
The witness submitted the following report:
“At approximately 19:30 on May 17, 2018 I saw something extremely bright horizontal to the setting sun. I’ve seen sundogs before and have many photographs of them. This was no sundog. It hung in the air. It was huge. It had a shape. I ran inside and grabbed my phone and snapped a few shots. I also manipulated a couple of them and brought out what looks like a glowing cigar shape object of some kind. I took a few close ups and a couple of wide angles. I have to say I was amazed. I also caught a secondary object that looks geometrical with antennae protruding from the corners when you zoom in on one of the frames. Look at the photographs and you tell me what that is in the sky. Feel free to download and examine them for yourselves.”
The Evidence
The witness also submitted many photographs of the event in question. This took place over Jacksonville, NC.
The Analysis
The image was examined using several filters, settings, and adjustments in Photoshop. The object appears to be part of the sky, and has its own brightness, equal to the sunlight. To the left of the large shape is a small, geometric object hanging in the sky. The pixelated nature of the image makes it impossible to tell for sure what we are looking at. The witness stated that the object was not noticed until examining the images later. The witness further states that the cloud shape hung there as the ones around it moved, dissipated. Some swirling can be seen in the image, but again, not definitive shapes. The event lasted ten minutes.
Image Analysis
Gamma Adjusted to 11.
Inverted.
Levels Maxxed for Dark
Conclusion
It is impossible to draw a conclusion for the geometric shape hanging in the air to the left of the elliptical shape as the image is not clear enough. The elliptical shape could be described on first look as a Fallstreak hole (hole punch cloud), but the cloud type is not right for this phenomenon since Fallstreak holes occur in cirro and alto cumulus clouds. A search of images on Google turned up this example of a similar sky effect. This cloud feature is the only conclusion that can be drawn at this time as there is no discernible anomaly in the image.
The Pentagon Is Building An Army Of Insects To 'Protect Crops'
The Pentagon has been researching for a program with the title of “Insect Allies”.
The program has the intention of creating insect armies that defend crops; however, they could also be used as a biological weapon with the Pentagon not denying they have the potential for dual use.
DARPA created Insect Allies to protect against threats to the food supply. An opinion piece in @sciencemagazine questions motives & value of the research. Here we reassert the need for Insect Allies and map the efforts we've taken to proceed responsibly.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institution for Evolutionary Biology along with researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany and the University of Montpellier in France have criticized the program. They believe that the knowledge that has been gained from the research along with the program is limited in the ability to be able to enhance agriculture in the US. They also don’t believe it could be used in response to any national emergency.
Researches believe that the program "may be widely perceived as an effort to develop biological agents for hostile purposes and their means of delivery."
Program Was Developed to Protect Food Supplies
The insect armies are under development by DARPA with the intention of them being able to protect food supplies against any threats. However, the program along with the motives and values of it has been questioned by many researchers.
The program manager of Insect Allies, Dr. Blake Bextine tried to quell any fears by saying that DARPA was "not producing biological weapons, and we reject the hypothetical scenario," though they "accept and agree with concerns about the potential dual use of technology."
While Bextine had tried to persuade people that there were no intentions of using the insect army for bioweapons, a later response by him by way of a two-page document did not have any strong denials about the insect armies becoming bioweapons. He came up with the argument that the program was intended only as a "respond rapidly to threats to the food supply."
Nothing Can Go Wrong With Modified Virus Technology
Bextine was adamant that there was nothing that could go wrong with the program. He put emphasis on "every performer in the program is required to include at least three independent kill switches in their systems to shut down functionality of the technology." Essentially meaning that if the technology, the insects, went rogue they could be killed off.
The aim of the Insect Allies program is to use the modified insects to spread infectious viruses that have been genetically modified to edit the DNA of crops in the fields. Of course, there is nothing to say that they could not be sent out to kill off crops of other countries to bring about famine and death.
After some prompting by Congress, NASA is again getting involved in SETI. Last week, it held a Technosignatures Workshop in Houston, exploring new ways scientists could seek intelligent aliens.
A Dyson sphere megastructure is one type of hypothesized alien technosignature.
Here’s a buzzword you might or might not have heard before: technosignatures. SETI pioneer Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) be renamed the search for technosignatures. Although the question of whether we’re alone in the universe is one of humanity’s oldest (are there “others” who share the universe with us or are we all alone?), most searches for advanced alien life have sought radio waves of artificial origin. More recently, astronomers have suggested looking for visible laser pulses; this is called optical SETI. And there’ve been some exotic ideas, like the possibility that an advanced civilization might use neutron star mergers to signal across the cosmos.
But do we really know what to look for, from an alien civilization that might be millions of years ahead of us?
NASA focused on that question last week (September 26-28, 2018), by hosting a NASA Technosignatures Workshop in Houston, Texas.
Technosignatures are any signs of advanced technology in any one of various plausible forms. They’re analogous to biosignatures, which could be any element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon that provides unmistakeable scientific evidence of past or present life on another world, whether intelligent or not. Technosignatures encompass a much larger conception of alien technology than just intelligent radio or light signals. They could also include such things as massive artificial structures or a planet’s atmosphere full of pollutants. In this way, the search for technosignatures extends beyond the more familiar SETI-type scenarios of looking for radio or light signals.
The workshop was formed after Congress expressed a renewed interest in looking for intelligent alien life last April, urging NASA to expand on its search for technosignatures. The three main facets of the workshop included assessing the current state of the field of research, the most promising avenues of research in technosignatures and where investments could be made to advance the science. Another goal was to determine how NASA could best support the endeavor through partnerships with both private and philanthropic organizations. The workshop had four main specific objectives:
Define the current state of the technosignature field. What experiments have occurred? What is the state-of-the-art for technosignature detection? What limits do we currently have on technosignatures?
Understand the advances coming near-term in the technosignature field. What assets are in place that can be applied to the search for technosignatures? What planned and funded projects will advance the state-of-the-art in future years, and what is the nature of that advancement?
Understand the future potential of the technosignature field. What new surveys, new instruments, technology development, new data-mining algorithms, new theory and modeling, etc., would be important for future advances in the field?
What role can NASA partnerships with the private sector and philanthropic organizations play in advancing our understanding of the technosignatures field?
On September 27, several speakers from the workshop also addressed questions in a Reddit AMA.
The NASA Technosignatures Workshop was recommended by Congress back in April 2018 as means for NASA to expand its search for evidence of alien civilizations.
There may be many ways that an alien civilization, especially one more advanced than us, could affect or alter its environment. Searches for alternative evidence such as this have been done to some extent, but primarily only in the private and philanthropic sectors, not NASA. SETI itself used to be a NASA program until budget cuts ended it in 1993. SETI is now a privately-funded venture. NASA shifted its focus to understanding the origin of life itself, and the potential habitability of other bodies in our solar system and galaxy. This is especially true with its Mars rover missions in recent years, looking for evidence of past habitability, but not life itself. There was even some talk at the conference of the possibility of a technological civilization existing on Earth itself before humans.
Expanding the search to include other possible signs of alien intelligence is a good thing. According to NASA’s2015 Astrobiology Strategy;
Complex life may evolve into cognitive systems that can employ technology in ways that may be observable. Nobody knows the probability, but we know that it is not zero.
SETI is still valuable but limited in scope, currently looking for intentional signals that are strong enough to be detected from many light-years away. Many signals, including ones simply “leaking” out into space, may simply be too weak to be easily detected with current technology. One promising development, however, was noted by Gavin Schmidt on Twitter – it should soon be possible to detect Earth-level leakage of radio waves (not just intentional signals) from nearby stars:
SETI has typically been based on a lot of assumptions about ETI (extraterrestrial intelligence), as Andrew Stewart, a student at Emory University and lead researcher of the Trillion Planet Survey explained in The Current:
First and foremost, we are assuming there is a civilization out there of similar or higher class than ours trying to broadcast their presence using an optical beam, perhaps of the ‘directed energy’ arrayed-type [such as weapons] currently being developed here on Earth. Second, we assume the transmission wavelength of this beam to be one that we can detect. Lastly, we assume that this beacon has been left on long enough for the light to be detected by us. If these requirements are met and the extraterrestrial intelligence’s beam power and diameter are consistent with an Earth-type civilization class, our system will detect this signal.
Traditional SETI effort have used radio telescopes such as the Allen Telescope Array in California.
Image via SETI Institute.
We really don’t know what the first evidence for an alien civilization may look like. It could indeed be radio or light waves, or something even more profound, like a Dyson sphere – a hypothesized massive artificial structure built around a star to harness all of its energy. Or maybe ruins of some now long-dead civilization on some distant planet or moon. Or perhaps intelligent, autonomous probes such as Bracewell probes sent into our solar system.
As one example, Tabby’s Star (aka Boyajian’s Star) has generated a lot of excitement in recent years due to its bizarre episodes of sudden, rapid dimming – up to 22 percent – leading to speculation it may be home to a Dyson sphere or something similar. The sharp dimmings, as well as a much longer overall dimming pattern on the order of decades or centuries, are now thought to be caused by very fine dust, but the origin of the dust and how it’s replenished is still unknown.
The enigmatic Fast Radio Bursts coming from deep space have also sparked much interest, in particular the ones that have now been seen to repeat many times from one single source. They are still unexplained, and probablyhave a natural explanation as per Occam’s razor, but the jury is still out.
Tabby’s Star was an example of what a potential technosignature might look like, although the star’s weird dimmings are now thought to be caused by dust. This artist’s illustration of exocomets orbiting a distant star is suggestive of what might be occurring there.
Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The renewed search for technosignatures is fueled in part by the discovery of thousands of exoplanets in recent years, including ones that are Earth-sized and orbit in the habitable zones of their stars. There are also the ocean worlds – moons such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan and others – which have vast subsurface oceans beneath their icy surfaces. What kind of life might be found in such exotic environments? Such findings increase the likelihood that life – at least of some kind – will be found elsewhere.
Bottom line: When it comes to searching for alien technosignatures – evidence of advanced technology – it has mostly been through the efforts of private organizations. But NASA getting involved again would be a hugeboost, increasing the possibility that some kind of signal or other artifact of intelligent alien life will be found in the not-too-distant future.
Intelligent Extraterrestrial Beings Visited Earth in Prehistoric Times, This Contact Is Connected With the Origins or Development of Technologies and Religions (Video)
Why do people believe in the ancient aliens theory? The ancient astronaut theory is:
Ancient aliens is the idea that aliens visited earth in the past. The idea of ancient aliens is not a new one either. Imagination is one of the most powerful tools in humanity’s evolutionary struggle for survival. As a race, we are hardwired to consider important concepts, such as the creation of life on Earth and the history of people on this planet.
At some point, we are all presented with various explanations and theories regarding the expansion of human life on Earth. In the long history of mankind, the majority of these concepts have followed religious teachings, and the power of a spiritual God or Gods. In modern times, many people have come to challenge these claims. The idea of evolution has been used to describe the gradual change of traits that living organisms undergo over time, which is related to the environment, but it doesn’t explain how the biological cells of human’s first ancestor were spawned.
Because of the fact that everyone is interested in the creation of life on Earth, and concurrently we have been taught to believe in the power of religion and the impossibility of alien life, the idea that this article will be examining is controversial.
It will be based around some concepts that have been labeled absurd by the scientific community, but let your imagination go, and have some fun with the list.
The idea surrounding ancient aliens is a basic one. It states that the human population was influenced by a group of extraterrestrials that visited Earth in the past. The ancient aliens were directly involved in the evolution of primates, including humans. It has been suggested that this was accomplished by way of genetic engineering, cross-breeding, or a combination of both, ultimately helping in the development of human cultures, technologies and religion. The idea first gained widespread exposure with the 1968 publication of Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken, but the concept has been around since the middle of the 19th century. A common variant of the idea includes proposals that deities from most, if not all, religions, including angels and demons, are actually extraterrestrials whose advanced technologies were taken by people as evidence of a divine status.
This concept is related to the religious practice of a cargo cult, which can be seen in modern day pre-industrial tribal societies. Especially during World War II, when indigenous people were contacted by soldiers with advanced equipment, such as guns and tanks.
The cults subsequently attempted to obtain wealth through magic and religious rituals and practices. The ancient alien theory states that extraterrestrials purposely tricked the human population into believing they were Gods, creating religion to help people evolve more efficiently.
The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations. It has been proposed that, with the current age of the universe and its vast number of stars, if the Earth was typical, extraterrestrial life should be common. In response to this paradox, the zoo hypothesis has been suggested. It states that aliens generally avoid making their presence known to humanity, or avoid exerting an influence on development, somewhat akin to zookeepers observing animals in a zoo, or experimental scientists observing a study of life.
Adherents of the hypothesis feel that the Earth and humans are being secretly surveyed using equipment located on Earth, or elsewhere in the Solar System. Charles Fort’s unpublished 1915 manuscript, novel X, describes how Martian beings or Martian events control life on Earth.
Fort ultimately burnt the manuscript, but one surviving quote from it is “The Earth is a farm. We are someone else’s property.”
US Air Force: Don't Worry About Those Weird Lights and Booms Sunday, It's Just a Space Ship
By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer
SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 22, 2017, with bystanders on the ground getting a gorgeous light show.
Credit: Maxwell Harris/Getty Images
If you're in the vicinity of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Sunday evening (Oct. 7), you might hear some strange booming and see some weird lights in the sky. But the Air Force would like you to know that there's no need to worry; something entirely normal is going on — a rocket that heaved its way up into space will be falling back to Earth, correcting its trajectory with "multiple engine burns," and then (if all goes well) settling comfortably back on its landing struts in the vicinity of its launch site.
The Air Force released the warning because, while Floridians have had ample time to grow comfortable with the spectacle of SpaceX landings, this will be the first attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket on the West Coast. It will not, however, be the first launch from Vandenberg:
The rocket is currently scheduled to launch at 7:21 p.m. local time, carry the SAOCOM 1A satellite into space, and return to Earth shortly afterward.
According to a Facebook post by the Air Force's 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg, "local residents" can expect to see something of the rocket itself as it returns to the base, while people as far as Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties may hear thunderclap-like sonic booms, depending on the weather.
IT’S RAINING, IT’S POURING Up-close views of the “ring rain” falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet’s atmosphere taken by Cassini (shown in this artist’s illustration) have scientists scratching their heads.
NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
The “ring rain” of material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet’s atmosphere is a much more intense, contaminated downpour than scientists thought.
For decades, astronomers have suspected that Saturn’s rings pelt the planet with grains of water ice, but some of the final observations from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft provide the first detailed views of these celestial showers(SN: 4/14/18, p. 6). Ring rain is highly contaminated with organic matter and other molecules, and hammers Saturnat thousands of kilograms per second, researchers report in the Oct. 5 Science. Understanding the rain’s surprising quantity and quality could help clarify the origins and evolution of Saturn’s rings.
Researchers analyzed data collected by Cassini’s Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer during the spacecraft’s final few orbits in 2017, as it sailed through the gap between Saturn and its innermost ring, known as the D ring (SN Online: 9/15/17). Water constituted only about 24 percent of the material tumbling from Saturn’s ring system into its atmosphere; the rest was methane, carbon monoxide, dinitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide and fragments of organic nanoparticles.
The ring rain’s diverse chemical composition “was a big surprise,” because remote observations show that Saturn’s ring system, on the whole, is almost entirely water ice, says Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who wasn’t involved in the study. Researchers aren’t sure why ring rain is so deprived of water.
Cocktail conundrum
The ring rain that Cassini’s Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer caught falling from Saturn’s rings into its atmosphere is only about 24 percent water — a major surprise, given that Saturn’s ring system is almost entirely water ice. The rest of the ring rain is composed of organic material and other molecules.
The chemical breakdown of Saturn’s ring rain
J.H. WAITE JR. ET AL/SCIENCE 2018
A belt of radiation tucked inside Saturn’s rings could be responsible, says study coauthor Jeff Cuzzi, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Cassini’s end-of-life observations also provided the first closeup views of this band of energetic protons, described in another study in the Oct. 5 Science. The belt’s high-energy radiation may have blasted away much of the water in the D ring very close to Saturn, leaving behind heavier materials like organic compounds, Cuzzi speculates.
Whatever its cause, the ring rain’s peculiar composition may reshape our understanding of the carbon and nitrogen content of Saturn’s atmosphere, says Hunter Waite, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and a coauthor of the ring rain study. Saturn’s presumed chemical makeup may be “just a veneer” created by falling material masking the gas giant’s true composition, he says.
In addition to the ring rain’s chemistry, the Cassini observations also revealed how quickly this material is falling into Saturn’s atmosphere: between 4,800 and 45,000 kilograms per second.
I spy
Observations from Cassini’s final few months revealed a radiation belt composed of high-energy protons tucked inside the gas giant’s ring system. This belt (bright colors below) passes through Saturn’s thin, innermost D ring, and might be stripping water out of the ring material closest to Saturn.
E. ROUSSOS ET AL/SCIENCE 2018
“It’s just an enormous amount of mass flowing into the planet,” Cuzzi says.
Saturn’s rings probably haven’t sustained this rate of rainfall over the course of the planet’s history, he says. If that were the case, the spindly little D ring would have long since eroded away. But a comet or other rogue object may have hit Saturn’s ring system recently, jostling grains out of their usual orbit and making them more vulnerable to Saturn’s gravitational pull.
But if the current deluge is, in fact, Saturn’s normal rate of ring rain, then perhaps the D ring continually siphons material from Saturn’s outer rings, says Kelly Miller, a cosmochemist at the Southwest Research Institute and a coauthor on the ring rain study.
The exact nature of Saturn’s relationship to its rings “is still a puzzle,” Spilker says. But devising more detailed theoretical simulations of what’s going on between the planet’s atmosphere and rings, and testing these theories against the trove of data collected by Cassini could help fill in the picture.
Such work may help scientists better understand not only Saturn, but also any ring-bearing planets that might circle other stars in the universe, she says.
The European Space Agency’s next big planet-hunting mission – the Plato space telescope – will continue the search for rocky and potentially habitable worlds orbiting other stars.
Artist’s concept of ESA’s upcoming Plato space telescope.
The search for exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars – has really ramped up in recent years, with new telescopes, both space and ground-based, being launched, built and on the drawing board. Those efforts have already discovered thousands of exoplanets, both confirmed and additional candidates. On October 4, 2018, the initial construction of one of the latest additions to the exoplanet-hunting family was announced – the European Space Agency’s Plato mission. The announcement was made at the 69th International Astronautical Congress in Bremen, Germany, where the new contract was signed.
The contract includes delivery of the satellite, the testing phase leading to launch, support during the launch campaign and the in-orbit commissioning phase. Plato will be built and assembled by satellite manufacturer OHB System together with Thales Alenia Space (in France and the U.K.) and RUAG Space in Switzerland, as well as by contributors from many other ESA member states. The primary scientific instrument, an array of 26 cameras and electronic units, will observe a large patch of the sky. According to Ana Heras, Plato project scientist at ESA:
Plato is a next-generation exoplanet mission that will monitor thousands of bright stars over a large area of the sky in search of tiny, regular dips in their brightness caused by transiting planets. Since planets only block a minute portion of the light radiated by their parent star, this quest requires extremely precise, long-term photometric observations.
The Thales Alenia Space design for Plato.
Image via ESA.
The EADS Astrium design for Plato.
Image via ESA.
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has found the majority of these new worlds, but that mission is now winding down as the spacecraft runs out of fuel. The TESS telescope, which launched just a few months ago, has already found its first couple of planets after beginning science operations more recently. Kepler focused on finding planets of various sizes and masses around stars many light-years away, and TESS will observe brighter stars much closer to our solar system, focusing on planets about the same size as Earth, including in the habitable zones of their stars, where liquid water could exist on their surfaces.
So how does Plato compare? Plato – the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars mission – won’t launch until 2026, but it should be well worth the wait. Like TESS, its main goal will be to will search for rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zones of relatively close sun-like stars. It will seek to answer a key question, according to Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Director General of ESA:
Does a second Earth exist in the universe? is one of the exciting questions in astrophysics today. With our Plato satellite we are focusing on Earth-like planets orbiting up to the habitable zone around other stars which are similar to our sun. This will be a major step towards finding another Earth.
Comparison of areas of the sky already observed by Corot and Kepler and future Plato targets. The lighter “step-and-stare” target areas are tentative as their exact location has not yet been determined.
While Plato’s focus will be on finding the planets, it will also examine the their masses, sizes and ages with unprecedented accuracy, as well as study the properties of the host stars, even the stars’ seismic activity – known as asteroseismology – which will help scientists better understand stellar interiors and evolution. Plato will be able to determine a star’s mass with 1 percent accuracy. By looking at the properties of the planets themselves in detail, scientists will be able to determine the architecture of exoplanetary systems and whether they might host habitable worlds.
Plato will operate at the L2 Lagrange point in space – 0.93 million miles (1.5 million km) beyond Earth as seen from the sun. Its nominal mission will last for six years, in three stages. The first two will be long-duration observations, focused on two sky fields thought to hold a high density of cold dwarf stars and designed to detect transits with an orbital period similar to Earth’s. The first observation phase will last 2-3 years and the second will last two years. The third and last phase of the mission will be a “step-and-stare” phase, during which different parts of the sky will be monitored for a few months each, and will last for at least one year.
Plato will operate at the second sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), 0.93 million miles (1.5 million km) from Earth.
Image via ESA.
Plato will be a follow-up mission to Cheops, ESA’s next planet-hunter. Cheops will be launched much sooner – next year – and conduct more detailed studies of already-known exoplanets, in particular super-Earths – rocky planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune – and Neptune-sized analogs.
Studying the planets’ atmospheres is vital in trying to determine which ones may be habitable – or even inhabited. JWST will even be able to look for biomarker gases in the atmospheres, which, if found, would be compelling evidence for active biology.
Plato will search for rocky exoplanets in the habitable zones of their stars.
The start of construction of Plato is exciting, even if the launch is still a long way off. As noted by Filippo Marliani, ESA’s Plato Project Manager:
We are pleased to kick off construction of this exciting mission. With the prime contractor and the support of European space industry, we are looking forward to building a spacecraft that will tackle some of humankind’s most profound questions.
Bottom line: The Plato mission will be an important one in the search for rocky and potentially habitable planets like Earth orbiting other stars. Such worlds are a primary focus for astronomers as they are the ones most likely to be able to support life.
A new simulation by scientists lets you witness supermassive black holes about to collide. One shows them from outside the system, just 40 orbits from merging. The other places you in their midst.
NASA released the two videos on this page on October 2, 2018. Both are based on a new computer simulation by scientists, showing what happens when two supermassive black holes orbit closely, spiraling toward each other before merging. The scientific simulation is described in a paper published this month in the peer-reviewedAstrophysical Journal. The new work depicts three orbits of a pair of supermassive black holes, only 40 orbits from merging. The videos on this page stem from this simulation, and they’re a lot of fun to watch!
Meanwhile, scientists are most excited by new results of the work, showing which kinds of light – mostly ultraviolet (UV) light with some high-energy X-rays – are emitted as two supermassive black holes spiral closer. They’re excited because – if scientists can understand what to look for – they might be able to observe supermassive black holes prior to merging. They haven’t accomplished this yet or anything close to it; in fact, so far, although supermassive black hole mergers should be relatively common in space, astronomers haven’t yet observed one. What’s been seen, so far, are gravitational waves originating in the merger of two stellar-mass black holes. More about that below.
These researchers said that, based on their new simulation, they expect X-rays emitted by a near-merger of supermassive black holes will be brighter and more variable than X-rays seen from single supermassive black holes. NASA also said in a statement that the new simulation:
And that’s why, for example, in the video above, we see complex effects caused by gravitational lensing, when one supermassive black hole passes in front of the other. The degree to which light is bent can be predicted via Einstein’s theory.
Scientists also said some exotic features came as a surprise, such as the eyebrow-shaped shadows one black hole occasionally creates near the horizon of the other.
This next video is a result of the new simulation, too. It’s an interactive 360-degree video, which places the viewer in the middle of two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million km) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around a million times the sun’s mass.
As you may know, scientists have detected merging stellar-mass black holes — which range from around three to several dozen solar masses — using the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The mergers produce gravitational waves, which are space-time ripples traveling at the speed of light.
But supermassive black holes should be merging, too, in various places across the universe. Astrophysicist Scott Noble at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland – a co-author on the study – explained:
We know galaxies with central supermassive black holes combine all the time in the universe, yet we only see a small fraction of galaxies with two of them near their centers. The pairs we do see aren’t emitting strong gravitational-wave signals because they’re too far away from each other.
Our goal is to identify – with light alone – even closer pairs from which gravitational-wave signals may be detected in the future.
Stéphane d’Ascoli, a doctoral student at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, is lead author of the new paper. These scientists’ statement further explained:
… supermassive binaries nearing collision may have one thing stellar-mass binaries lack – a gas-rich environment. Scientists suspect the supernova explosion that creates a stellar black hole also blows away most of the surrounding gas. The black hole consumes what little remains so quickly there isn’t much left to glow when the merger happens.
Supermassive binaries, on the other hand, result from galaxy mergers. Each supersized black hole brings along an entourage of gas and dust clouds, stars and planets. Scientists think a galaxy collision propels much of this material toward the central black holes, which consume it on a time scale similar to that needed for the binary to merge.
As the black holes near, magnetic and gravitational forces heat the remaining gas, producing light that astronomers should be able to see.
At least, they hope that will someday be so. At the moment, much is unknown. And that’s one reason co-author Manuela Campanelli, director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, who initiated this project nine years ago, said:
It’s very important to proceed on two tracks. Modeling these events requires sophisticated computational tools that include all the physical effects produced by two supermassive black holes orbiting each other at a fraction of the speed of light.
Knowing what light signals to expect from these events will help modern observations identify them.
Modeling and observations will then feed into each other, helping us better understand what is happening at the hearts of most galaxies.
Bottom line: A new simulation by scientists lets you witness supermassive black holes about to collide. One shows them from outside the system, just 40 orbits from merging. The other places you in their midst.
Mysterious 5-kilometer object on Mars. Great discovery on Mars
This was published in an important newspaper the Inquisitr. The discovery was made by the Argentine researcher Marcelo Irazusta and he published it in a YouTube video
The images of the supposed UFO are very eloquent. It will be a system error? The fact that the object has more than 5 kilometers in diameter. Because of the shadow it displays, it would be flying over its surface. Amazing, right? Watch the video and broadcast.
A new UFO on Mars has been sighted in NASA images compiled by Google — and easily accessible to anyone using the Google Earth app, in its “Google Mars” setting. Whatever this strange ...
Meer van UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
PANIEK BIJ NASA OVER YELLOWSTONE VULKAAN
Discuss.
