Saturn’s “Death Star Moon” Mimas Probably has an Ocean Too

Dr. Tobie continues by telling Universe Today, “It was initially thought that Mimas remained frozen since its formation and that the conditions to initiate ice melting in its interior were never met. This new finding we report in this study shows that Mimas in fact is not that different than Enceladus. It also has a global ocean, but in contrast to Enceladus, such an ocean was formed very recently, explaining the lack of surface activity.”

After analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini, the researchers concluded that an internal ocean exists on the heavily cratered Mimas approximately 20-30 kilometers (12-18 miles) beneath its surface, forming less than 25 million years ago, which is young in geologic terms. Additionally, the team concluded the juncture where the internal ocean and ice interact reached less than 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the surface only 2-3 million years ago, indicating the ocean is potentially still developing and growing. Therefore, what implications does finding an ocean on Mimas have for other potential ocean worlds in our solar system?

Saturn’s moon, Mimas, captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2010. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Dr. Alyssa Rhoden, who is a Principal Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado and co-authored an article in Nature discussing the groundbreaking discovery, tells Universe Today, “As far as stealth ocean moons go, Mimas pretty much takes the cake. Its surface betrays nothing of the ocean underneath. Icy moons around Uranus, for example, do show some geologic activity on their surfaces that have (in absence of other options) have been attributed to oceans enabling tidal stresses and/or enhanced heating to drive processes like convection. More importantly, Mimas is showing us that it’s not too late for moons to undergo massive changes. Maybe triggering ocean formation later in a moon’s lifetime is more common in this size range of moons than we initially considered.”

As noted, an internal ocean on Mimas indicates it could possess habitable conditions for life as we know it like Europa and Enceladus. This is because scientists have hypothesized that internal oceans are created from internal heat generated from the moons being tugged and pulled as they orbit their respective planets, also known as tidal heating. While such internal oceans are completely absent from receiving sunlight due to their outer surfaces, scientists hypothesize that the internal heat that creates the ocean could also harbor hydrothermal vents where life has been observed to exist here on Earth. Therefore, what implications does finding an ocean on Mimas have for finding life beyond Earth?

“Finding an ocean on Mimas demonstrates that habitable environments may be found even in small objects far from the Sun, which is already a great discovery,” Dr. Tobie tells Universe Today. “However, the chance to detect any sign of life on such objects is extremely low, as there is no direct communication between the subsurface ocean and the surface.  Enceladus, with its very active jets, is a much better target to address the question of life beyond Earth. Mimas, however, provides an opportunity to study the first stage of ocean formation and potentially chemical complexification before life emerged, a fundamental stage which is still unknown on Earth.”

In terms of follow-up studies, Dr. Tobie tells Universe Today that the methods used for this recent study could also be applied for other moons in the solar system, specifically moons orbiting Uranus, along with providing an opportunity to use Cassini data to re-evaluate not only Mimas, but other mid-sized moons orbiting Saturn, including Enceladus.

With this groundbreaking discovery, Mimas joins several other planetary bodies within the solar system that can be called ocean worlds, which include the aforementioned Europa and Enceladus, but also the dwarf planets, Ceres and Pluto; Jupiter’s moons, Ganymede and Callisto; Saturn’s largest moon, Titan; and Neptune’s moon, Triton. It is through these fantastic and mysterious worlds that scientists from around the world are studying to better understand the conditions for life to exist, both here on Earth and beyond.2

“The main take-away from Mimas is that we ought to test ideas, even if they seem unlikely,” Dr. Rhoden tells Universe Today. “Mimas’ surface doesn’t show evidence of an ocean, so it was easy to dismiss the ocean hypothesis when it was first proposed. But to come to a scientific conclusion, we have to back up inferences with tests. Sometimes, we find that the tests confirm our expectations, and sometimes, we get to be surprised.”

What new discoveries will scientists make about Mimas and other ocean worlds in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Astronomers Employ Novel Technique for Searching for Alien Technosignatures

Technosignatures are any measurable property that may provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a branch of astrobiology that focuses on finding technosignatures, as their detection would provide evidence for intelligent life beyond Earth. Traditionally, targeted radio surveys have been the mainstay of SETI research, and many SETI projects currently underway still take place in the radio band. The newly-proposed technique, the SETI Ellipsoid, is a strategy for technosignature candidate selection that assumes that extraterrestrial civilizations who have observed a galactic-scale event — such as supernova SN 1987A — may use it as a point to broadcast synchronized signals indicating their presence.

Using improved 3D locations for stars from Gaia Early Data Release 3, Cabrales et al. identified 32 SN 1987A SETI Ellipsoid targets in the TESS continuous viewing zone with uncertainties better than 0.5 light-years.

Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Alexandra Angelich, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Dr. Bárbara Cabrales from the SETI Institute and the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues show the SETI Ellipsoid method can leverage continuous, wide-field sky surveys, significantly enhancing our ability to detect potential technosignatures.

By compensating for the uncertainties in the estimated time-of-arrival of such signals using observations that span up to a year, they implement the SETI Ellipsoid strategy in an innovative way using state-of-the-arc technology.

“New surveys of the sky provide groundbreaking opportunities to search for technosignatures coordinated with supernovae,” Dr. Cabrales said.

“The typical timing uncertainties involved are of a couple months, so we want to cover our bases by finding targets that are well-documented over the course of about a year.”

“In addition to that, it’s important to have as many observations as possible for each target of interest, so that we can determine what looks like normal behavior and what might look like a potential technosignature.”

In examining data from the continuous viewing zone of NASA’s TESS mission, covering 5% of all TESS data from the first three years of the mission, the authors utilized the advanced 3D location data from Gaia Early Data Release 3.

This analysis identified 32 prime targets within the SETI Ellipsoid in the southern TESS continuous viewing zone, all with uncertainties refined to better than 0.5 light-years.

While the initial examination of TESS light curves during the Ellipsoid crossing event revealed no anomalies, the groundwork laid by this initiative paves the way for expanding the search to other surveys, a broader array of targets, and exploring diverse potential signal types.

Applying the SETI Ellipsoid technique to scrutinize large archival databases signifies a monumental step forward in the search for technosignatures.

Utilizing Gaia’s highly precise distance estimates, the study demonstrates the feasibility of cross-matching these distances with other time-domain surveys like TESS to enhance monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities in SETI research.

The SETI Ellipsoid method, combined with Gaia’s distance measurements, offers a robust and adaptable framework for future SETI searches.

Astronomers can retrospectively apply it to sift through archival data for potential signals, proactively select targets, and schedule future monitoring campaigns.

“The SETI Ellipsoid method, jointly with Gaia distances, provides a straightforward and flexible method for SETI searches that can be adapted to fit different modern surveys and source events,” the researchers said.

“It can be applied retroactively to look for signals in archival data, as well as propagated forward in time to select targets and schedule monitoring campaigns.”

• Their paper appears in the Astronomical Journal.
• Bárbara Cabrales et al. 2024. Searching the SN 1987A SETI Ellipsoid with TESS. AJ 167, 101; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad2064

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

Composite image of the lunar farside taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June 2009

© Nasa

China’s Chang’e-4 mission rover has helped scientists visualise “hidden” structures deep below the surface of the moon’s far side – an advance that reveals billions of years of lunar history.

The Yutu-2 rover helped make the discovery through its Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) that imaged deep into the moon’s surface by listening to echoes of sound that bounced back off structures under the lunar surface and hidden from view.

The same rover and the mission’s lander had made history in 2019 as the first human objects to land on the far side of the moon – the side that faces away from the Earth.

Scientists had previously used the rover’s ground penetrating radar (GPR), but those earlier efforts could help map only the top 40m, or about 130ft, of the moon’s surface. This new discovery has found the “hidden” structures at depths of about 300m (984ft).

The new data suggests the first 130ft under the lunar surface is made up of layers of dust, soil, and rocks.

Radar analysis also revealed the presence of a buried crater that formed when a large object slammed into the lunar surface as well as helped map ancient lava flows under the moon.

“The GPR sends electromagnetic pulses into the lunar interior and receives echoes from subsurface layers. We use the high-frequency channel data to detect the structure of the upper 40 m along the rover’s path, primarily consisting of rock debris and soil,” researchers explained in the study.

Scientists speculate that the broken rocks surrounding this formation was likely debris produced by the impact.

“Through this investigation, we have discovered multiple layers in the upper 300 m, which likely indicate a series of basalt eruptions that occurred billions of years ago,” they wrote.

The new study, published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, revealed lunar lava likely flowed across the landscape in this part of the moon billions of years ago.

Researchers found volcanic rock layers are thinner the closer they are to the lunar surface.

“The thickness variation of these lava flows suggests a decrease in eruption scale over time,” they noted.

Based on this evidence, they said the lunar volcanic activity cooled gradually since the moon’s formation over 4.5 billion years ago, when a Mars-sized object slammed onto Earth and broke off a chunk that eventually coalesced into the moon.

“The thickness of the strata decreases with the decreasing depth, suggesting a progressively smaller lava effusion rate over time,” scientists concluded.

From news to politics, travel to sport, culture to climate – The Independent has a host of free newsletters to suit your interests. To find the stories you want to read, and more, in your inbox, click here.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnV08J7Fec
• https://youtu.be/9RE8xPWkiiU

{ https://www.msn.com/en- }

Scientists map 1,000 feet of hidden 'structures' deep below the dark side of the moon

Related:

• Scientists discover huge, heat-emitting blob on the far side of the moon

These new data suggest the top 130 feet of the lunar surface are made up of multiple layers of dust, soil, and broken rocks, Feng said.  Hidden within these materials was a crater, formed when a large object slammed into the moon. Feng and his colleagues hypothesized that the rubble surrounding this formation was ejecta — debris from the impact. Farther down, the scientists discovered five distinct layers of lunar lava that seeped across the landscape billions of years ago.

Scientists think our moon formed 4.51 billion years ago, not long after the solar system itself, when a Mars-size object slammed into Earth and broke off a chunk of our planet The moon then continued to be bombarded by objects from space for roughly 200 million years. Some impacts cracked the moon's surface. Like Earth, the moon’s mantle at that time contained pockets of molten material called magma, which seeped out through the newly formed cracks in a series of volcanic eruptions, Feng said. 

The new data from Chang'e-4 shows that process slowing down over time: Feng and his colleagues found that the layers of volcanic rock grew thinner the closer they were to the moon's surface. This suggests that less lava flowed in later eruptions compared with earlier ones. "[The moon] was slowly cooling down and running out of steam in its later volcanic stage," Feng said. "Its energy became weak over time."

Volcanic activity on the moon is thought to have petered out about 1 billion years ago (though scientists have discovered some evidence of younger volcanic activity as recently as 100 million years ago). For this reason, the moon is often considered "geologically dead." However, there could still be magma deep underneath the lunar surface, Feng said. 

Chang'e-4 isn't done with its work on the moon yet. Feng hopes that in the future, the craft will give us insight into different, unexpected geological formations. 

Editor's note: 

• This story was updated on Aug. 22 to correct the date of Chang'e-4's lunar touchdown to 2019, rather than 2018. Chang'e-4 launched on Dec. 7, 2018 and landed on the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

I found a rectangle structure or alien ship on Earths moon in a NASA photo. UFO Sighting News.

I thought this structure was very interesting and just wanted to share it with you all. Some of my readers on X are telling me it's not a building at all, but a spaceship. Indeed it could be. The object is half a mile across making it something very special since it's loaded with alien technology. It would be cool if someone like Elon Musk actually tried to retrieve this alien craft. 

Scott C. Waring 

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

UFO Sighting Astonishes Chinese Authorities

In an event that caught the attention of the world, an unprecedented aerial phenomenon brought one of China’s busiest airports to an unexpected halt, igniting widespread curiosity and concern among both the public and government officials. This incident, occurring on July 7th, 2010, at Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan International Airport, not only disrupted air traffic but also propelled China into a new era of engagement with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

The Incident That Shook the Skies

On a seemingly ordinary day, the routine flow of flights at Xiaoshan International Airport was abruptly interrupted when pilots and air traffic controllers reported the sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering above the runway. The appearance of this enigmatic object was so alarming that it led to the temporary shutdown of the airport, affecting 18 flights and diverting them to alternative locations. The maneuverability and unusual shape of the UFO sparked a wave of speculation and intrigue, with neither civilian observers nor military experts able to offer a definitive explanation for what was witnessed.

The Ripple Effect

The impact of the sighting extended far beyond the immediate disruption of air traffic. Behind the scenes, it set off a wave of concern among Chinese officials, prompting an investigation into the nature and origins of the phenomenon. This event marked a turning point for China, a nation known for its reticence on matters of national security and unidentified aerial phenomena. The incident at Xiaoshan International Airport became a catalyst for a broader reconsideration of China’s stance on UFOs and UAPs.

China’s Evolving Approach to UAP Investigation

Historically shrouded in secrecy, China’s approach to UAP research has been as enigmatic as the phenomena themselves. However, the incident served as a wake-up call, revealing the necessity for a more open and systematic investigation into these unidentified aerial conditions. By June 2019, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s Early Warning Academy publicly acknowledged the increasing frequency of such phenomena and announced the establishment of a new task force dedicated to their study.

This acknowledgment represented a significant shift in policy, showcasing China’s readiness to engage more transparently with the global community on the issue of UAPs. Furthermore, China’s strategy for investigating UFO reports involves close collaboration with independent UFO organizations across the nation. These groups, boasting memberships in the millions, operate with the understanding that their activities are monitored by Chinese authorities, ensuring a controlled yet surprisingly open platform for UFO research.

Pioneering the Use of AI in UAP Analysis

Perhaps most notably, China has declared its intention to become the world’s first country to employ artificial intelligence (AI) in the analysis of UAP-related data. This innovative approach aims to uncover patterns and insights that may elude human researchers, representing a leap forward in the methodical study of UAPs. By harnessing AI, China is positioning itself at the forefront of UAP research, seeking to understand the phenomena in a way that could redefine the global conversation on UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

VIDEO:

• Ancient Aliens: UFO Incident SHOCKS Chinese Officials (Special)
• https://youtu.be/tI9L6s2hcsA

The UFO incident at Xiaoshan International Airport has undeniably propelled China into a new phase of openness and innovation in the realm of UAP research. By breaking away from decades of secrecy and embracing collaboration and advanced technology, China is not only challenging its own historical stance but also encouraging a global reevaluation of how societies approach the mystery of UFOs. As the world watches, the journey of unraveling the enigma of unidentified aerial phenomena continues, with China now playing a pivotal role in this global quest for understanding.

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

Atlantic current shutdown is a real danger, suggests simulation

The most detailed computer model run so far shows that melting ice sheets could cause the collapse of the major ocean current that warms Europe, but it's still unclear how likely this is to happen

By Michael Le Page

Is there a serious risk of the Atlantic current that warms Europe slowing to a halt as the planet heats up? Yes, according to the most detailed computer simulation run so far – but the likelihood of this scenario is still very uncertain.

“We’ve demonstrated with our current setup that it is indeed possible,” says René van Westen at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

At present, warm water that is extra salty due to evaporation flows north from the tropics along the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, keeping Europe much warmer than it would otherwise be. As this water cools, it sinks because its high salinity increases its density. It then flows back to the tropics and into the southern hemisphere along the ocean bottom.

This is known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC. Studies of past climate suggest that episodes of dramatic cooling around Europe during the past 100,000 years or so are linked to a slowdown or complete shutdown of the overturning current – a so-called tipping point, where small changes can make a system flip into a different state.

The cause is thought to be the melting of ice sheets. If lots of fresh water enters the North Atlantic, it reduces the salinity and thus density of surface water, meaning less of it sinks.

But modelling this has proved tricky. Most simulations of a shutdown involve adding unrealistically large quantities of fresh water all at once. And in some recent simulations with more advanced models, no shutdown has occurred, leading some to doubt whether this is a potential tipping point at all.

Now van Westen’s team has done the most sophisticated simulation so far, requiring a total of six months on the Netherlands’ national supercomputer, called Snellius. That was very expensive, he says.

Unlike in previous simulations, the team added fresh water gradually, rather than in one go. This produced a positive feedback that amplified the effect: as less water sank because of the reduced salinity, less salty water flowed north, reducing salinity still further.

This eventually shut down the overturning circulation, causing temperatures to rise in the southern hemisphere, but plummet in Europe. For instance, in the model, London cools by 10°C (18°F) on average and Bergen in Norway by 15°C (27°F). Other consequences include local sea level rises in places such the US East Coast.

What’s more, some of the changes seen in the model ahead of the collapse correspond with changes being seen in the real Atlantic in recent decades.

However, to produce this collapse, the researchers had to run the model for 2500 years. And they had to add a huge amount of freshwater – less than in previous simulations, but still around 80 times more than is currently entering the ocean as Greenland’s ice sheet melts. “So that is absurd and not very realistic,” says van Westen.

Moreover, the simulation didn’t involve any global warming. The team now plans to rerun the simulation to include it.

“This is the most state-of-the-art model where such an experiment has been done,” says Peter Ditlevsen at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, who was co-author of a 2023 study that forecast that the Atlantic overturning current could collapse between 2025 and 2095 based on how sea surface temperatures are changing.

While the model suggests it will take a lot of fresh water and many centuries to halt the overturning circulation, there are several reasons to think climate models underestimate the risk of non-linear changes like the Atlantic tipping point, says Ditlevsen.

Climate models have to divide the world into large cubes to make computations feasible, which has a smoothing effect, he says. The models are also tuned based on how well they simulate the 20th-century climate, when there was a linear relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting changes, which might not hold true in the future.

“We should expect the models to be less sensitive than the real world,” says Ditlevsen.

• Journal reference

  Science Advances DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk1189

{ https://www.newscientist.com/ }

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

The invitation-only event was the first public manifestation of the Sol Foundation and its objectives since the think tank’s official launch on August 15, 2023.

“Welcome to Stanford,” said Garry Nolan, Ph.D., the Sol Foundation’s Executive Director of the Board, as the symposium commenced. “The objective here is to legitimize and professionalize and then to seek from you your ideas.”

Over the course of the next two days, speakers that included Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, Ph.D., computer scientist and venture capitalist Jacques Vallée, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Wilmington religious studies professor Diana Walsh Pasulka, Ph.D., Canadian House of Commons member Larry Maguire MP, former NOAA Administrator Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., U.S. Army Colonel Karl Nell, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon, and many others presented papers and short talks on various approaches toward the study and resolution of UAP, as well as what the impact of these phenomena could represent across various sectors of society

At the event’s conclusion on Saturday, November 18, a surprise appearance was also made by David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence officer who first came forward publicly last June with allegations about the existence of a secret program involving UAP and craft of non-human origin acquired by the U.S. government that has been illegally withheld from Congress for decades.

“This is why we have the Sol Foundation,” said Grusch, who it has since been revealed was also a co-founder of the California-based foundation, while joining the event remotely from Washington DC. “We need to basically create a parallel track of research and independent discovery that aren’t necessarily dependent on the U.S. government to provide us all the answers.”

Now, for the first time, videos of presentations featured during the November 2023 symposium will be made available to the public and can be viewed on the Sol Foundation’s official YouTube channel.

“The objective of that is to show openly what it is that the Sol Foundation wants to talk about,” Garry Nolan told The Debrief in advance of the videos appearing online

“That’s an all-of-society approach. Everything from science to religion, to sociology, to government. We represented aspects of that in all of these talks.”

“Those will all be going public,” Nolan said, adding that the foundation “will welcome now the engagement that comes from that.”

Sociocultural anthropologist Peter Skafish, the Sol Foundation’s Director of Research, told The Debrief that one of the uniting goals he and Nolan shared in launching the Sol Foundation and selecting the speakers for its first symposium involved their acknowledgment of the different approaches toward understanding UAP and that providing an academic floor where they could all be discussed would be a necessity.

“We understood the different parts,” Skafish said. “The intellectual, and social, and political, and I would say ontological quandary of UAP. We both had experience with interacting with people out of federal government on this. We both understood the complexities of the kinds of experience with this that experiencers have.”

“We both understood the need to do this—to study this—in a way that is rigorously and normatively academic and intellectual,” Skafish said, “and adheres to all the standards and takes place within the institution.”

“Yet we also understand that you’re going to have to break some rules,” Skafish added, “and transform some things to pull this off because we don’t actually know that our existing frameworks fit here.”

Drawing from his personal background in the social sciences, Skafish emphasized that information gleaned from those who have had firsthand experiences with UAP, while being viewed as lacking in substance for professionals in the physical sciences, are of great value to sociologists, historians, psychologists, and others in similar disciplines.

“We need to listen to people,” Skafish said. “We wanted to make sure that people, both in attendance but also looking at this from the outside, would understand that it’s not just going to be a matter of having certain kinds of hard data, whether it’s from the government or from astronomical projects.”

“It’s gonna be about the testimony that human beings have to offer about this,” Skafish told The Debrief, “and learning to listen to that in both an open and a responsible manner.”

In the months since the event, an ongoing series of controversies have peppered the UAP landscape, which include an effort to stifle a U.S. Senate-sponsored bill designed to facilitate UAP disclosure, as well as the resignation of Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and subsequent assertions by the scientist about a pro-UAP stratagem that he says has advanced the UAP narrative from within various areas of government for more than a decade.

The Sol Foundation, too, has become the target of some of the recent controversy and at least a few of the disparaging appraisals that seem to be inescapable artifacts of modern social media culture. Asked about these criticisms and the recent statements made by the former AARO director, Skafish told The Debrief that he is sympathetic to both sides of the current debate. However, he sees his and Nolan’s work as attempting to navigate beyond the discord that often preoccupies those who follow the UAP topic.

“Rather than weigh in on which perspective is true and which is false,” Skafish says, “I’m sympathetic to, actually, all parties here, including very skeptical parties.”

Skafish told The Debrief that the Sol Foundation works to remain focused on how it can provide guidance and make research-oriented contributions to the field.

“I would say what we’re trying to do is really take, ourselves, an evidence-based approach about matters of fact which are social, historical, political [and] legal in nature, and get to the bottom of things to the extent that can be done,” Skafish said.

“If there’s not a ‘there’ there, fine. If there is a ‘there’ there, and we have credible testimony coming from a lot of people in federal government about that, then Congress certainly should pursue that. And academics as well, and journalists should also be pursuing that, asking questions about it, and we’ll eventually settle the matter that way.”

“There is so much emotion in the discussion,” Nolan added, also acknowledging recent commentary featured in Scientific American and from those in the broader scientific community who do not seem to reflect the Sol Foundation’s willingness to engage with the UAP topic.

“I don’t want to get distracted by that,” Nolan said. “Let’s actually now start talking about the data.”

Nolan said that while there has been an obvious effort toward reaching a renewed degree of government transparency on the UAP issue in recent years, he also believes there has been enough pushback from officials to elicit a renewed effort by academics like himself in properly engaging with the topic and interpreting the available data.

“If there’s nothing there to see, let me see the data,” Nolan argues. “And if the remaining five percent you can’t classify yet—and I mean classify in the terms of a scientific classification—then don’t say that there’s no evidence of anything. Don’t conclude that there’s no evidence of anything if in the remaining five percent the evidence exists.”

Reflecting on the November symposium and the lectures the Sol Foundation has now made available for viewing online, Skafish told The Debrief that he felt those in attendance at the event were as important as the speakers it featured.

“That audience was as important to me in organizing as the lineup of speakers was,” Skafish said, “and we were very deliberately careful in evaluating the requests for invitations to make sure that we had people from a broad swath of professions and institutions present.”

“We want the Sol Foundation to be a kind of nerve center in which serious professionals across academia, across government, within investment and technology communities, within civil society institutions such as religious bodies, to be able to come together and be able to network, to listen to cutting-edge research on this, and to be able to incubate their own projects while they’re in a space with a lot of other like-minded individuals.”

“We really see ourselves as being in service to people who are serious about this,” Skafish said.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

Tall Aliens Made A Russian Teenager Disappear In Front of Several People In 1989

A few minutes later, another UFO appeared in the same place, and the people saw a giant alien. It was looking around, dressed in a silver suit and bronze shoes. The alien did not have a real head, only something like a hump between its shoulders.

Three eyes could be seen on this hump, and the eye in the center was intensely turning forward and backward. When the creature disappeared into the ship again, the hatch closed, and the craft descended and approached with a loud hum.

Read also:

• Alien Named Akon Took Woman For 4 Months To His Planet In Alpha Centauri, Where She Gave Birth To Alien Child
• Ex-CIA Agent Claimed That Aliens Kidnap More Than One Million People Every Year
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• FBI: Three UFOs With One Humanoid Alien Inside Each Of Them Recovered In New Mexico In 1950 By Air Force

The brightly-glowing ship stopped one meter above the ground, rocking back and forth. Four landing pillars emerged from the base of the object and sank to the ground.

According to eyewitnesses, the object was oval, egg-shaped, approximately 15 meters long and 6 meters high.

After the landing, a hatch slowly opened, and two grim humanlike figures (one of them was 3-4 meters high) came out.

The aliens were moving like robots. The shape of the aliens was described as boxes with arms and legs, and buttons were glowing on their chests.

At that very moment, a boy from the group of children playing nearby screamed in fear. The tall alien cast his gaze at him with his central eye, without moving his head. A light came out of his eye and hit the boy, which made him motionless for several minutes.

The two creatures returned to their flying machine, and the witnesses thought the aliens were about to disappear. But after a few minutes, they returned, and now, the giant was holding a silver 1.2-meter long pipe in his hand, which it pointed at a 16-year-old boy who dared to get too close to a flying object.

To the horror of witnesses, the boy suddenly disappeared without a trace. Then the creatures turned around and slowly climbed the ladder into their flying machine, entered it, and closed the hatch. The ship rose above the ground, soared into the air, and flew away at an ever-increasing speed.

It dodged to the side, passed over a tall residential building, and disappeared into the sky very quickly. The witnesses said that exactly at the moment when the spacecraft disappeared, the 16-year-old boy appeared in the park again.

Russian News Agency TASS was the first one to announce this shocking UFO landing incident happened in Voronezh on October 9, 1989.

Russian journalist Vladimir Lebedev said he had talked with many witnesses, including three children (Zhenya Blinov, Vasya Surin, and Yulia Sholokhova).

When the children were asked to draw the UFO, their sketches were the same, and the object had a banana shape.

Journalist Lebedev also claimed that there had been three landings between September 23 and 29 during that time. This meant that the Voronezh UFO incident was the second landing.

Many media houses called the “Voronezh UFO incident” a hoax because of the lack of photographic and medical evidence. Nevertheless, other news agencies like The Washington Post showed some interest in the incident.

• https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19891011&id=-xQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y-AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1042,2604606
• https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/11/world/ufo-landing-is-fact-not-fantasy-the-russians-insist.html

 { https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

THE US military is in possession of video footage showing a UFO intercepting and disabling a nuclear missile with laser beams, according to whistleblowers.

Retired US Air Force officers say the disc-shaped object circled an unarmed dummy warhead during a routine test after it detached from an Atlas missile booster.

 

Lieutenant Bob Jacobs and Major Florenze Mansmann say they saw the recording of the 1964 encounter before the tape mysteriously disappeared.

The former officials were part of a team responsible for capturing footage of missile test launches in California with telescopic photography and videography equipment. 

Two days after they recorded the video, they say that two plain-clothed CIA agents confiscated the clip and ordered them to keep schtum.

Some UFO experts have identified a pattern where UFOs seem to interfere with nuclear weapons. 

US weapons officer Robert Salas previously claimed a UFO shut down ten missiles in a bizarre incident in 1967.

And now the new whistleblowers have revealed another UFO encounter which they claim happened on September 15, 1964.

It has now been thrown into the spotlight due to an investigation by author Robert Hastings.

According to a post made by Hastings on The UFO Chronicles website earlier this month, former intelligence officer, Luis Elizondo, claimed to have also seen the video.

Rep. Tim Burchett attended the meeting after shocking testimony was given by whistleblower and former US intelligence officer David Grusch.

Ex-first lieutenant in USAF Robert Jacobs giving his testimony on how he captured a UFO on film

Major Florenze J Mansmann (pictured) ordered Jacobs never to speak of what he saw

{ https://www.the-sun.com/news/ }

Multiple US military whistleblowers reveal how a disc-shaped UFO intercepted nuclear missile and disabled it with 'laser-beams' in mid-air over California

• Multiple former military officials report seeing video of a UFO disabling warhead 
• The video was taken on September 15, 1964, but has gone missing in years since
• READ MORE: UFOs seem to disable warheads and blast missiles out of the sky 

By PETER HESS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The US military is in possession of a video of a UFO apparently disabling a nuclear warhead during a routine test, according to multiple former officials.

They claim the video in question captured a saucer-shaped craft circling the unarmed, dummy warhead shortly after it detached from the Atlas missile booster, then shooting four beams of light at the warhead, disabling it.

Retired US Air Force officers Lieutenant Bob Jacobs and Major Florenze Mansmann claim to have viewed the recording of the 1964 encounter before the tape went missing.  

The former officials were part of a team responsible for capturing video of missile test launches in California with telescopic photography and videography equipment. 

Two days later, after they screened the video, they claim that two plain-clothed CIA agents confiscated the footage and swore them to secrecy.

The incredible account is part of a pattern that some UFO experts have identified, where UFOs seem to interfere with nuclear weapons. 

Retired Air Force Major Florenze Mansmann claimed he saw a flying saucer disable a dummy nuclear warhead during a missile test. He was ordered not to breathe a word of what he had seen

The alleged incident occurred nearly six decades ago, on September 15, 1964, but it has more recently come into public knowledge due to author Robert Hastings investigating it.

Luis Elizondo acknowledged the existence of the video and claimed he has seen it, according to a February 10 post by Hastings on The UFO Chronicles website. 

Elizondo says he was the former director of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) program to study UFOs, and he has been involved in several high-profile leaks of military footage purporting to show UFOs.

Graphic re-creation of what happened in the 1964 video when a UFO allegedly intercepted the Atlas rocket over the Pacific Ocean

An unnamed source revealed to Hastings that Elizondo confirmed the details of the event in internal interviews.

Back in the 1960s, Jacobs was in charge of a military telescopic photography site in Big Sur, California, which captured the video as the missile traveled several thousand miles per hour in its planned flight path over the Pacific Ocean.

At the time, Mansmann was the chief photographic imagery analyst at Vandenberg Air Force Base - now called Vandenberg Space Force Base - in Santa Barbara County, California.

The Cold War was progressing apace, including lots of black ops programs testing sophisticated and secret military hardware. Some UFO skeptics have claimed that reports of UFOs provided cover for these programs. 

Lieutenant Bob Jacobs, at the middle and bottom, pictured with his crew. Jacobs reported his sighting in the press in 1982 but was ridiculed and threatened for his claims

The craft inadvertently caught on film was domed and disc-shaped, according to Jacobs and Mansmann.

It was a 'classic disc, the center seemed to be a raised bubble...the entire lower saucer shape was glowing and seemed to be rotating slowly,' according to a letter Mansmann wrote about the incident in 1983.

'At the point of beam release...the object turned like an object required to be in a position to fire from a platform...but again this could be my own assumption from being in aerial combat.'

Forty years later, a US Senate investigator told Hastings that Elizondo had confirmed this description in an official interview last year.

'During that briefing, the former AATIP director confirmed the existence of the video, the details regarding what it showed, and the location of a copy of it in AATIP’s workspaces,' Hastings wrote in the new post. 

Despite Mansmann telling Jacobs not to discuss what they had seen, Jacobs began to talk about the event in 1982, thinking enough time had passed since the event that he could speak freely about what he saw. 

But his claims were dismissed by skeptics, and he was even subjected to harassment and anonymous death threats.

Hastings' new report appears to match up with Elizondo's recollection of the video.

Luis Elizondo, former director of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) told a Senate investigator that he had seen the 1964 video

When investigators went to look for the DVD recording of the video, where Elizondo had told them it was, it was not there, Hastings reported. 

And although the recording is missing and the story of Elizondo viewing the recording comes secondhand from an investigator, Hastings reported that he has additional evidence to support it:

'On November 10, 2023, a highly-reliable source - who I am not at liberty to identify - told me that UAP [unidentified anomalous phenomena] whistleblower David Grusch has privately confirmed that Elizondo also told him about having screened the Big Sur film, and that it did indeed capture an amazing, UFO-related, dummy warhead-interference event.'

It seems that the video may have been lost when the Pentagon destroyed Elizondo's files and emails, Hastings wrote. This would have occurred in 2017 after he resigned as AATIP director, which he claimed was in protest of the Pentagon covering up UFO matters. 

'This highly unusual move by the Pentagon is in direct violation of a legal Preservation Order that was mandated based on Elizondo’s other duties at the time,' Hastings wrote. 'The order requires all of Elizondo’s electronic and hard copy files to be preserved indefinitely, including email and correspondence.'

Beyond the video, there is some limited evidence supporting the story. 

A declassified but unreleased set of radar data of the September 15, 1964 event apparently confirmed that an unidentified aerial object was observed near the dummy warhead during the missile test, a source told Hastings. 

The analysis of the radar data at the time suggested that the unidentified object could have been debris. It's also possible that it was 'chaff,' metallic objects meant to confuse radar to prevent enemies from pinpointing the exact location of a warhead.

'So, perhaps the mysterious target tracked on radar near the warhead was merely the chaff,' Hastings wrote. 'On the other hand, it may have indeed been the actual UFO, whose presence the author of the radar data report would probably not have known about, given the incident’s Top Secret status.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Are there aliens in YOUR neighborhood? Fascinating map reveals the UFO hotspots across the US

• Nearly 113,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the National UFO Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023 
• Currently, the national average of alien sightings is 34.3 per 100,000 residents
• A highly classified air force base is within the county that has had the most alien sightings between 2000 and 2023

By EMMA SALETTA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Individuals hoping to find aliens and UFOs in the US will likely have the best luck in spotting them out west.

According to data submitted by the National UFO Reporting Center and the US Census Bureau, more than 100,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023.

Unveiling America’s UFO Hotspots: A Journey from Coast to Coast

Today, the national average of alien sightings between those years nationwide is 34.3 per 100,000 residents. 

But, one county that is known for being home to maybe the most famous alien landmark ranks on top of the list. Lincoln County, Nevada, home to Area 51, is the county with the most of the list. 

The county is home to a whopping 820.9 sightings per 100,000 residents.

Other areas that have all had nearly 500-600 alien sightings between 2003 and 2023 are Alpine County, California, Petroleum County, Montana, and La Paz County, Arizona. 

According to data submitted by the National UFO Reporting Center and US Census Bureau, more than 100,000 alien sightings have been submitted to the Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023.  Lincoln County, Nevada , home to Area 51, is the county with the most of the list.

Area 51 is one of the most famous classified air force bases that has been full of urban legends regarding aliens and UFOs

Area 51 is one of the most famous classified air force bases that has been full of urban legends regarding aliens and UFOs.

Eric Taber has been a defense aerospace contractor for 13 years and has held a security clearance to work on military aircraft. 

In a recent interview with DailyMail.com, he revealed the story his late great uncle Sam Urquhart, an Area 51 contractor, told him about a UFO at the mysterious desert base. 

Taber testified in May to the Pentagon's UFO investigation unit, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), who are collecting accounts of alleged government possession of non-human craft.

The claim – though an unverified story from a now-deceased witness – is part of a long history of rumors about potential extraterrestrial craft or futuristic spaceships stored at the Nevada desert airbase near Groom Lake, north of Las Vegas.

Urquhart began his job at Area 51 working for defense contractor EG&G, which later partnered with Raytheon to become JT3 LLC and subsequently JT4 LLC.

'He was head of security for his engineering group, and a data configuration specialist. His group did radar cross-section testing.

'I kept asking him about UFOs. He said 'I know nothing'. Then one day we were on his back porch and he said 'Ok, I'll tell you about one craft that I knew of.'

'He said, 'When I first got there in 1997, I had a personal conversation with a senior EG&G engineer whose group was tasked with trying to reverse-engineer an object that was brought there by some CIA people in the 1980s.'

'It was supposedly just found in a remote desert location fully intact.

'The senior EG&G engineer described to my great uncle that it was egg-shaped, about the size of an SUV, smooth and seamless, metallic-looking, silverish gray in color, with no control surfaces, no flaps, no inlet, and no exhaust, and no writing or symbols on the outside.

'These are the best and brightest engineers you can think of. They tried to no avail to figure out what the power source was, how to activate it, and how it works. They tried to induce electricity to it.

'X-rays couldn't penetrate it; it showed up on X-ray as a solid object. They tried to open it and penetrate its hull; they couldn't.

'They said that they were able to take some very small samples of the material. And I'm not an expert in chemistry, but I guess from the isotope ratio or the mixture of elements, they concluded it was not made on Earth.'

But, Area 51 and Nevada aren't the only places where UFO sightings are common. Arthur County, Nebraska, placed second on the list  with 618.6 sightings. The tiny county is home to just 434 people.

Third on the list  was Alpine County, California, which is home to 1,204 people and the population votes entirely by mail.

Petroleum County, Montana, was fourth on the list and was the last of the state's 56 countries to be organized. It is home to just 524 people and two rivers.  

Fifth on the list was La Paz County, Arizona, which is home to about 16,557 people. The county is located in rural western Arizona and home to several ghost towns.

La Paz County in Arizona (pictured) also ranked high on UFO sightings. The county is home to about 16,557 people.

According to veteran scientist and intelligence officer Sean Kirkpatrick, individuals who believe in aliens may hold a position in the US government.

'True believers are not just outside of government; many of them are inside government,' said Kirkpatrick.

Nevada's late US Senator Harry Reid was one such believe of extra terrestrial life.

'Senator Harry Reid was a true believer and thought that 'Hey, the government is hiding this from congressional oversight,'' the scientist stated.

More discussions have occurred over the years from individuals looking to get answers on the existence of aliens and UFOs.

US representative Robert Garcia even voiced an opinion about unidentified aerial phenomena last year.

'UAPs, whatever they may be, may pose a serious threat to our military and our civilian aircraft, and that must be understood,' he stated.

'We should encourage more reporting, not less on UAPs. The more we understand, the safer we will be.'

Mysterious footage shows a group of UFOs flying above Philadelphia - with two of the crafts even strangely merging together

Late last year, President Joe Biden's December visit to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser caused such a hullaballoo even aliens may have wanted to see what all the fuss was about 

At about 4:14 PM on November 7, 2006, a ramp employee at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky. Pictured: An image of the UFO believed to be taken on an airport employee's phone

There have been countless UFO sightings across America in recent years. Earlier this year, mysterious footage shows a group of UFOs flying above Philadelphia - with two of the crafts even strangely merging together.

A witness uploaded the bizarre video of the sighting on Reddit and described the large cluster of lights as 'spinning and darting back and forth.'

The user said the multicolored lights were flying 'very high' above Philadelphia.

Late last year, President Joe Biden's December visit to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser caused such a hullaballoo even aliens may have wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

Planespotters caught a UFO on camera hovering above Air Force 1 in Los Angeles during Biden's December 10 trip, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The spherical white or silver object was filmed several times over LAX airport and spotted by multiple witnesses.

In 2006, a ramp employee at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky. 

The sighting, which lasted for five minutes and was witnessed by at least 12 United Airlines staffers, made international headlines thanks to a tape of Federal Aviation Administration radio communications released via the Freedom of Information Act.

Although the FAA attributed the incident to a 'hole-punch cloud' and astronomer Mark Hammergren, then with Chicago's Adler Planetarium, agreed, the case has remained unresolved — and tantalizing to UFO researchers ever since. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Andrew McAuley Disappears In Middle of Ocean, Leaving Behind Terrifying Video

Andrew McAuley was born on August 7, 1968, in Gurn, Australia. Growing up, McAuley and his brother engaged in various outdoor activities, such as swimming, climbing trees, and diving from cliffs, fostering a fearless and adventurous spirit. This early exposure to the great outdoors laid the foundation for McAuley’s extraordinary exploits in the years to come.

McAuley’s journey into kayaking began during a trip to South America in the late 1990s. Encountering a severe storm while mountaineering, McAuley and his friends navigated through mountain gorges using kayaks. This experience revealed the raw power and freedom of kayaking, leaving a lasting impact on McAuley.

In the early 2000s, McAuley’s kayaking exploits gained momentum. In 2003, he achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first person to kayak solo across the notorious Bass Strait, a treacherous 250 km stretch of water between mainland Australia and Tasmania. This journey, completed in 35 hours, showcased McAuley’s skill, determination, and meticulous planning.

Not content with this accomplishment, McAuley embarked on a nearly 600 km journey across the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia in the following years. This week-long expedition tested his endurance, resilience, and ability to sleep in his kayak – preparing him for even greater challenges.

Antarctic Expedition and Recognition

McAuley’s reputation as an adventurer was solidified in 2005 when the Australian Geographic Society awarded him the Adventurer of the Year. His journeys were not merely about personal achievement; they were about venturing into the unknown and facing life-threatening situations.

In 2006, McAuley led an Antarctic expedition where kayakers covered an 800 km stretch along the Antarctic coast. This experience further honed McAuley’s skills and deepened his expertise in navigating through perilous conditions.

The Ultimate Challenge – Tasman Sea Crossing

McAuley’s ultimate challenge lay in the Tasman Sea, a vast and volatile stretch of water between Australia and New Zealand. Considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable oceans globally, the Tasman Sea presented a daunting challenge that had defeated many before him. Undeterred, McAuley aimed to be the first to cross it solo in a kayak.

The preparation for the Tasman Sea crossing was exhaustive. McAuley worked closely with engineers to design a kayak capable of withstanding the sea’s worst conditions. The resulting kayak, named Mirage, featured a specially designed capsule known as Casper. This capsule, made from fiberglass, was watertight and buoyant, providing McAuley with shelter during storms and allowing him to sleep relatively comfortably.

The Voyage Across the Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea crossing was not just another expedition for McAuley; it was the ultimate test of his mettle. Stretching approximately 2,000 km, the Tasman Sea was notorious for its rough conditions, including treacherous waves, unpredictable weather, and strong currents.

McAuley’s meticulous planning included researching weather patterns, studying previous attempts, and understanding the sea’s behavior. Physical fitness was paramount, and McAuley underwent a rigorous training regimen to prepare his body for the continuous strain of paddling and the challenges of being confined to a small space.

Andrew McAuley’s solo sea kayak journey across the Tasman Sea was a monumental undertaking. The stormy southern ocean proved to be a formidable adversary, with relentless waves transforming it into a tumultuous sea of mercury. Amidst this chaos, McAuley found himself battling the elements, struggling to keep his touring kayak afloat. The howling wind whipped the waves into a stinging spray, creating a hostile environment for the intrepid adventurer.

“I GUESS I’M REALLY DRAWN TO A JOURNEY LIKE THIS—IT’S A REAL PERSONAL CHALLENGE. THERE’S A GREAT DEAL OF SATISFACTION IN COMING UP WITH AN ADVENTURE THAT’S UNLIKELY AND IMPROBABLE.”

– Andrew McAuley

As McAuley pressed on with his journey, one night in January 2007, he found himself in the midst of a ferocious storm. He was two-thirds through the 1,600-kilometer open ocean crossing from the east coast of Tasmania to New Zealand’s South Island. Locked up in his kayak for 28 hours, McAuley faced the relentless fury of the storm, both external and internal battles raging simultaneously.

“THIS REALLY IS EXTREME. IT’S FULL ON. I REALLY COULD DIE.”

– Andrew McAuley

Days later, with the storm behind him and the seas relatively calm, McAuley vanished. The mountaintops of New Zealand’s southern Alps loomed on the horizon, and the paddling community, along with his family and friends, was left grappling with a perplexing mystery. What had happened to the experienced adventurer so close to completing such a challenging journey?

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

– André Gide

Andrew McAuley had been drawn to this adventure by a deeply felt inner voice, seeking personal challenge and satisfaction in the face of the unlikely and improbable. He was no stranger to risk, having spent nearly a decade preparing for the journey. McAuley, an IT consultant from suburban Sydney, had a diverse adventurous background, previously dedicating his energies to mountaineering and making first ascents in challenging terrains like Pakistan, Patagonia, and Australia.

“When you do [a trip like this], you are exposing yourself to criticism. I take risks, but they are calculated risks, and I want to be beyond criticism.”

– Andrew McAuley

The solo sea kayak crossing was not taken lightly by authorities. Both Tasmanian police and Australia’s search and rescue service had cautioned against the inherently dangerous trip. McAuley’s kayak, a standard 19-foot Mirage modified for sleeping inside the cockpit, underwent thorough testing to ensure its seaworthiness. A yellow fiberglass canopy, humorously named “Casper,” provided self-righting capability and protection during storms.

“We had strongly advised against the trip to start with because we believed it was inherently dangerous.”

– AusSAR spokesperson

McAuley’s journey took him below the 40th parallel, known as the Roaring Forties, a region feared by sailors for its treacherous weather and storms. Two-thirds into his voyage, he faced a 40-knot gale that knocked out his spare satellite phone and tracking beacon. Surviving the storm, McAuley sent a triumphant text message to his family when he was just 120 kilometers away from his destination.

“See you 9 a.m. Sunday!”

– Andrew McAuley

Tragically, McAuley disappeared shortly after this message. A scrambled radio call with distressing words led to a search that uncovered his upturned kayak in near-perfect condition, just offshore of Milford Sound. The cockpit canopy was missing, but the paddle, satellite phone, GPS, and emergency beacon were inside and functional. Despite extensive search efforts, McAuley was not found.

“The EPIRB is a last resort. It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

Speculation arose about McAuley’s fate, with the kayak’s designer suggesting that he may have capsized without the cockpit cover and became separated from his kayak. The mystery of Andrew McAuley’s disappearance continues to perplex, leaving the paddling community and McAuley’s loved ones with unanswered questions about the fate of this adventurous soul.

McAuley’s past experiences of capsizing twice, coupled with the complicated re-entry procedure due to the cockpit cover, video camera, and other deck-mounted gear, made him cautious about a potential capsize during his Tasman Sea journey. His kayak had an oversized cockpit and lacked a standard seat, making rolling impossible. Modifications, such as removing the seat for sleeping and accessing gear, were necessary. He sat on a beanbag, doubling as a pillow, and retrieved gear from the rear compartment by lying down and rolling onto his stomach, using strings to pull his gear forward.

“Responsible adventure is character-building and good for people, but I felt that to continue on this occasion was not on.”

– Andrew McAuley

Paul Hewitson, the kayak’s designer, speculated that McAuley, with the mountains in sight, might have been eager to reach land and pushed too hard. Facing a small cold front, he might not have worn his drysuit, a decision he planned to make in rough weather. Disaster often strikes those nearing safety, and McAuley, possibly fatigued, may have prioritized making miles over seeking shelter beneath the canopy.

“Andrew thinks the same as I do on this subject… The EPIRB is a last resort. It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

After a possible capsize, McAuley might have unscrewed the rear hatch to access his VHF radio and drysuit. During the struggle into the drysuit, he could have become separated from the kayak, along with the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). McAuley’s decision not to trigger the EPIRB immediately raised questions, but Tasmanian kayaker Laurie Ford suggested that McAuley, like himself, considered the EPIRB a last resort. McAuley may have intended to use it once he was in the drysuit, but the kayak’s separation thwarted his plans.

“It was the separation from the kayak that brought him undone.”

– Laurie Ford

Tragically, McAuley had overlooked a crucial detail—attaching the EPIRB to himself, not the boat. Ford speculated that a strobe light might have increased the chances of being spotted by rescuers on the first night of the search.

“Andrew thinks the same as I do on this subject… It is far better (if possible) to make contact by phone or radio and let people know the exact situation—rather than the huge panic and search that an EPIRB generates.”

– Laurie Ford

In McAuley’s final days, he acknowledged the possibility of miscalculations, pushing boundaries too far, and the extreme nature of his adventure. A self-portrait taken near the end of his journey revealed a stark contrast to the confident athlete seen in earlier photographs. At a memorial service, a haunting message recovered from McAuley’s kayak emphasized the severity of his endeavor:

“THIS REALLY IS EXTREME. IT’S FULL ON. I REALLY COULD DIE.”

– Andrew McAuley

Despite the public criticism of extreme adventuring, McAuley’s family, especially his wife Vicki, emphasized that it was Andrew’s drive to explore his limits that defined him. In the face of inevitable questions about the perceived selfishness or imprudence of his adventure, Vicki highlighted a quote from André Gide on McAuley’s website:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

– André Gide

Andrew McAuley’s attempt to cross the Tasman Sea solo in a kayak was an epic journey that left an indelible mark on the world of adventure. McAuley’s story became a beacon for discussions on safety, preparedness, and the spirit of exploration within the kayaking community and among solo adventurers worldwide.

The legacy of McAuley’s journey extended beyond his final voyage. It prompted discussions on safety protocols, risk management, and the importance of advanced preparation for solo expeditions. McAuley’s story inspired innovations in kayaking equipment and technology, leading to improved safety measures and communication devices.

His disappearance remains a profound mystery, fueling continued speculation and intrigue within the adventure community. McAuley’s enduring impact is reflected in the changes and conversations sparked within the kayaking community, emphasizing the delicate balance between the human spirit’s desire to explore and the respect owed to the unpredictable forces of nature.

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends 

Perseverance Checks Out Ingenuity: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen Aug. 2, 2023, in an enhanced-color image captured by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover.

Credits: JPL/Caltech-ASU/MSSS. Download image ›

NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.

Ingenuity’s View of Sand Ripples During Flight 70: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this view of sand ripples during its 70th flight, on Dec. 22, 2023. The smooth, relatively featureless terrain proved difficult for the helicopter’s navigation system to track during Flight 72, on Jan. 18, 2024, resulting in a rough landing. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing and it is no longer capable of flight.

Originally designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, performed 72 flights, and flew more than 14 times farther than planned while logging more than two hours of total flight time.

Ingenuity Spots the Shadow of Its Damaged Rotor Blade: After its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, 2024, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this color image showing the shadow of one of its rotor blades, which was damaged during touchdown. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›

“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.”

NASA to Discuss Ingenuity Mission in Media Call Today

In addition to video comments shared from Nelson about the mission’s conclusion, NASA will host a media teleconference at 5 p.m. EST today, Thursday, Jan. 25, to provide an update on Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

• Audio of the call will stream live on the agency’s website.

Participants in the call are expected to include:

• Lori Glaze, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington
• Laurie Leshin, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
• Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager, NASA JPL

Ingenuity landed on Mars Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover and first lifted off the Martian surface on April 19, proving that powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible. After notching another four flights, it embarked on a new mission as an operations demonstration, serving as an aerial scout for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers. In 2023, the helicopter executed two successful flight tests that further expanded the team’s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits.

“At NASA JPL, innovation is at the heart of what we do,” said Leshin. “Ingenuity is an exemplar of the way we push the boundaries of what’s possible every day. I’m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and eager to see what they’ll invent next.”

Ingenuity’s team planned for the helicopter to make a short vertical flight on Jan. 18 to determine its location after executing an emergency landing on its previous flight. Data shows that, as planned, the helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters) and hovered for 4.5 seconds before starting its descent at a velocity of 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second).

However, about 3 feet (1 meter) above the surface, Ingenuity lost contact with the rover, which serves as a communications relay for the rotorcraft. The following day, communications were reestablished and more information about the flight was relayed to ground controllers at NASA JPL. Imagery revealing damage to the rotor blade arrived several days later. The cause of the communications dropout and the helicopter’s orientation at time of touchdown are still being investigated.

Triumphs, Challenges

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days, more than 33 times longer than originally planned, Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, cleaned itself after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Designed to operate in spring, Ingenuity was unable to power its heaters throughout the night during the coldest parts of winter, resulting in the flight computer periodically freezing and resetting. These power “brownouts” required the team to redesign Ingenuity’s winter operations in order to keep flying.

With flight operations now concluded, the Ingenuity team will perform final tests on helicopter systems and download the remaining imagery and data in Ingenuity’s onboard memory. The Perseverance rover is currently too far away to attempt to image the helicopter at its final airfield.

“It’s humbling Ingenuity not only carries onboard a swatch from the original Wright Flyer, but also this helicopter followed in its footsteps and proved flight is possible on another world,” said Ingenuity’s project manager, Teddy Tzanetos of NASA JPL. “The Mars helicopter would have never flown once, much less 72 times, if it were not for the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. History’s first Mars helicopter will leave behind an indelible mark on the future of space exploration and will inspire fleets of aircraft on Mars – and other worlds – for decades to come.”

More About Ingenuity

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.

For more information about Ingenuity:

• https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter

News Media Contacts

• Alise Fisher / Alana Johnson
  NASA Headquarters, Washington
  202-358-2546 / 202-358-1501
  alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov
• DC Agle
  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
  818-393-9011
  agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Perseverance Spots Ingenuity at Its Final Airfield

Mars Report: The Most Extreme Flights of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

The Legacy of Ingenuity: The Frontier of Extraterrestrial Flight

{ https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/# }

A ‘Very Rare’ Kind of Space Rock Fell in Germany—and Scientists Recovered the Pieces

Analyses revealed the asteroid was an “aubrite,” a classification that applies to only 80 of 70,000 previously found meteorite fragments

 Tara Wu

Reporter

Researchers pose with a fragment of asteroid 2024 BX1 they found in Germany. The rock is a very rare type of meteorite called an aubrite. 

Cevin Dettlaff

The meteorites are fragments of 2024 BX1, a small asteroid first spotted by an astronomer in Hungary. Credit...Peter Jenniskens/The SETI Institute

Just after midnight on January 21, a roughly three-foot-long asteroid fell through Earth’s atmosphere—burning up in a blazing fireball seen across much of Europe and crashing to the ground as fragments of meteorite near Berlin, Germany.

Numerous cameras caught the asteroid’s entry over Germany. Video by Michael Aye, via Storyful.CreditCredit... Michael Aye, via Storyful

“Currently, there isn't an agreed-upon origin of aubrites, and several candidates have been put forward: the Nysa asteroid family, asteroid 3103 Eger and even the planet Mercury,” Denis Vida, a meteor physics researcher at Western University in Canada, tells Robert Lea of Space.com. “They make up only 1 percent of all known meteorites, making it very rare indeed.”

Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky first spotted the asteroid, named 2024 BX1, about three hours before impact, and NASA tracked its trajectory to predict where it would fall—in itself a rare feat. The object did not harm any people.

As news of the impact spread to the public, meteorite hunters began scouring Ribbeck, a village near Berlin, for fragments of the rock. But the search proved particularly challenging. Unlike most meteorites, which have a thin crust of black glass, aubrites do not appear glossy or dark in color.

“Aubrites look more like a gray granite,” Christopher Hamann from Berlin’s Natural History Museum says in the statement. “It looks completely different than most other meteorites. Aubrites are therefore difficult to detect in the field.”

Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, flew to Germany from California hours after he heard about the 2024 BX1 impact, reports Jonathan O’Callaghan of the New York Times. Though he had participated in three other meteorite searches in the past, it took several days for Jenniskens and a team of students and volunteers to come across these fragments about the size of a walnut.

“They were devilishly difficult to find, because from a distance, they look like other rocks on Earth. Close up, not so much,” Jenniskens says in the statement. “We only spotted the meteorites after a Polish team of meteorite hunters had identified the first find and could show us what to look for.”

The advice proved valuable—two hours after receiving the pointers, Jenniskens’ team found their first fragment. By the time they stopped looking, their search had revealed more than 20 meteorite pieces.

The official classification as an aubrite, following a mineralogy assessment conducted with an electron beam microprobe, came from Berlin’s Natural History Museum. Then, the International Nomenclature Commission of the Meteoritical Society confirmed it, reports Kelly Kizer Whitt for EarthSky. The museum collection contains a fragment from the first known aubrite meteorite that fell in 1836 near the village of Aubrés in France, which became the type’s namesake.

“Based on this evidence, we were able to make a rough classification relatively quickly,” Ansgar Greshake, scientific head of the museum's meteorite collection, says in the statement. “This underlines the immense importance of collections for research. So far, there is only material from 11 other observed falls of this type in meteorite collections worldwide.”

A meteorite that fell near Berlin on Jan. 21 was found be an aubrite, a rare class with unknown origins that some scientists argue may be pieces of the planet Mercury.

Credit...Peter Jenniskens/The SETI Institute

While Mercury remains a potential origin of aubrite meteorites, some astronomers find it unlikely in this case. The initial calculated orbit of 2024 BX1 appears wider, suggesting it came from outside of Earth’s orbit, per the Times.

“Therefore, this object could not have come to us directly from Mercury,” Marc Fries, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, tells the publication.

In a way, though, it might have come indirectly from Mercury, since the inner planet may have projected aubrites to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter long ago. One of these might have just made its way to Earth, and that could account for the wide orbit. But Fries remains doubtful, per the Times.

Despite the uncertainty regarding the meteorite’s origin, its fragments hold information that can help scientists better understand the universe.

{ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ }

Rare Meteorites That Could Be Long Lost Chunks of Mercury Just Fell To Earth

The meteorites are an extremely rare type of space rock called aubrites.

BY KIONA SMITH

picture alliance/Getty Images

A handful of meteorites crash-landed outside Berlin in late January and, after further inspection, turned out to be one of the rarest types of space rock ever recovered on Earth.

Last month, a three-foot-wide asteroid plummeted to its fiery doom in Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky of Konkoly Observatory in Hungary spotted the small asteroid, formally called 2024 BX1, only a matter of hours before it collided with Earth’s upper atmosphere. The next few hours were a frenzy of activity, with astronomers from NASA, the ESA, and several universities working together to track the meteor’s trajectory through the sky.

High above the ground, 2024 BX1 broke apart in a bright fireball, and astronomers at the Czech Academy of Sciences calculated where the pieces would fall (south of the German village of Ribbeck, outside Berlin) based on the weather, particularly strong winds. SETI Insitute meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens and a team of staff and students from several universities combed the fields around Ribbeck for meteorites: fragments of the asteroid that had survived the heat and friction of falling through Earth’s atmosphere.

Aubrites formed from cooling magma, although it’s not clear if they originally formed as part of a large asteroid or a newborn planet.

SETI INSTITUTE

Recent testing at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin showed that the meteorites are an extremely rare type of space rock called aubrites.

Aubrites make up only about 1 in 10,000 recovered meteorites. They look like gray granite with a thin crust of translucent glass, and they’re made of magnesium silicate minerals with almost no iron mixed in, which is highly unusual for a meteorite. Their big, chunky crystals are evidence that aubrites formed from cooling magma.

Aubrites probably formed as part of an asteroid, only to end up broken off by impacts with other drifting space rocks; 3103 Eger is the leading candidate. Some astronomers, however, have suggested that aubrites may actually be long-lost chunks of the planet Mercury.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

Unveiling America’s UFO Hotspots: A Journey from Coast to Coast

Unveiling America’s UFO Hotspots: A Journey from Coast to Coast

In an era where the unknown beckons with a mix of intrigue and mystery, the United States stands out as a canvas painted with the extraordinary. Recent data has illuminated the contours of this canvas, revealing the hotbeds of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings across the nation. A fascinating map, compiled from submissions to the National UFO Reporting Center between 2000 and 2023, showcases nearly 113,000 instances where the sky whispered secrets of the cosmos to those willing to look up.

The map highlights a national average of 34.3 UFO sightings per 100,000 residents, a testament to America’s keen interest in celestial phenomena. Yet, certain locales emerge as veritable nexuses of extraterrestrial activity, drawing the curious and the skeptical alike into their orbit. Lincoln County, Nevada, with its legendary Area 51, leads the pack with an astounding 820.9 sightings per 100,000 residents. This county, synonymous with UFO lore, is but the tip of the iceberg in a list that includes Alpine County, California; Petroleum County, Montana; and La Paz County, Arizona, each with sightings nearing the 500-600 mark within the same period.

These numbers not only quantify the sightings but also narrate the evolving relationship between humans and the universe’s mysteries. They speak of nights spent under stars, of eyes scanning the heavens, and of the relentless human quest for understanding.

In a reflection of this quest’s penetration into popular culture, the 2024 Super Bowl bore witness to an unprecedented melding of entertainment and enigma. A Squarespace commercial, directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, took the grand stage with a UFO-themed spectacle. Costing approximately $7 million for a 30-second slot, this ad ventured where few have dared, integrating UFOs into the tapestry of the Super Bowl’s illustrious advertising space.

The commercial humorously depicted humans, engrossed in their phones, oblivious to the dramatic antics of UFOs vying for attention overhead. Scenes interspersed with real soundbites from congressional hearings and news segments lent a grounding reality to the fantastical display. One particularly striking moment showed a woman on her phone, scrolling past a video labeled “Proof of Extraterrestrials” in favor of a cat video, a poignant commentary on modern-day distractions.

This blend of humor and reality serves not only as entertainment but as a reflection of a society at a crossroads. With the increasing legitimacy given to UFO sightings, as evidenced by the detailed map of hotspots and the mainstreaming of UFO discussions through platforms like the Super Bowl, America finds itself navigating a new era of curiosity and skepticism.

The Super Bowl commercial, titled “Hello Down There,” does more than just sell a product; it encapsulates a moment in time where the line between the known and the unknown blurs. It reminds viewers that, sometimes, looking up from our screens can reveal a universe of possibilities waiting to be explored.

• https://youtu.be/xp5v3-3Hc-E

As we chart the course through America’s UFO hotspots, from the deserts of Nevada to the remote expanses of Montana, the journey is as much about the destinations as it is about the quest itself. It’s a journey fueled by the human spirit’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a testament to our eternal desire to understand what lies beyond our reach. In the end, the map of UFO sightings and the spectacle of a Super Bowl commercial are but chapters in humanity’s ongoing story with the stars—a story that, day by day, grows ever more fascinating.

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

Early Mars was Tectonically and Volcanically Active, Study Suggests

The relatively well-preserved ancient crust of Mars provides a natural window into early planetary evolution not available on Earth. Mars has generally been considered a one-plate basaltic planet, though recent evidence suggests magmatic evolution resulting in felsic crust might have occurred sporadically. New research shows multiple lines of evidence for diverse volcanism and complex volcanotectonics in the southern highlands of Mars within and around the 3.5 to 4-billion-year-old Eridania basin.

A topographic map of the Eridania region of Mars; volcanic structures described by Michalski et al. are classified by morphology and morphometrics.

Image credit: Michalski et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02191-7.

Contrary to Earth, present-day Mars has little to no volcanic or tectonic activity.

Further, almost half of the planet’s surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, indicating that there has been no extensive crustal recycling — a phenomenon usually powered by tectonics such as those on Earth in which surface material is recycled into the mantle — since then.

Recent discoveries suggest that this was not always the case, but Mars’ geological activity in the first billion years after its formation is still unclear.

“Geological exploration of other rocky planets provides clues to early crustal evolution and volcanotectonic processes because other bodies exemplify comparable geosystems with variable mass, gravity and composition,” said Dr. Joseph Michalski from the University of Hong Kong and his colleagues.

“Observed through the lenses of different gravity fields, bulk planet compositions and heat flow, it is possible to test models for crustal resurfacing and so discover the steps that led to plate tectonics and other forms of crustal recycling.”

“The planet Mars represents a particularly valuable puzzle piece in this regard.”

The authors studied the morphology and mineralogy of the Eridania region in the southern hemisphere of Mars.

They analyzed remote sensing data from various orbiters, including NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Eridania region offers the strongest crustal remnants of Mars’ ancient magnetic field and various signatures of volcanism.

The researchers identified 63 instances of four different types of volcanoes (volcanic domes, stratovolcanoes, pyroclastic shields, and caldera complexes) with possibly hundreds more in the Eridania region alone, likely leftover from a vigorous period of geologic activity approximately 3.5 billion years ago.

This suite of observations is consistent with the presence of crustal recycling on early Mars driven by vertical tectonics, a kind of tectonic process precursor of full plate tectonics on Earth.

Such a variety of volcanic structures could be more widespread on ancient Mars than previously thought.

“The observed remnants of this activity may be the closest analogue on the planet to the hydrothermal origin of life scenarios proposed for Earth,” the scientists said.

• Their paper was published today online in the journal Nature Astronomy.
• J.R. Michalski et al. Diverse volcanism and crustal recycling on early Mars. Nat Astron, published online February 12, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02191-7

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

Alien City On Planet Mercury, And A Platinum Pyramid, UFO Sighting News. Video.

 

Now the structures I show in the video are huge and the first seen in the video is about 1.5 miles high and 5 miles across. The platinum pyramid is about 10 miles across and 3 miles high with a glowing top stone. Just wanted to share this with you all, hope you like it. 

Thanks Scott C. Waring 

 

Please donate to help my UFO research at https://paypal.me/ScottWaring?locale.x=en_US 

 

Source: 

• https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16676

 

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

UFO turns USO as it falls into ocean over Hawaii, Video, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Feb 10, 2024

Location of sighting: Hawaii

 

Now this blinding light was seen falling from the sky, well not really falling, but traveling like a plane across the sky. Its was burning and parts of it falling off. It's clearly too slow to be meteor but too fast to be space junk. This is a damaged alien ship coming into our atmosphere and traveling to the nearest alien base for repairs. And the base just so happens to be 5km below the ocean floor. Watch the video and judge for yourself. It's 100% alien. 

Scott C. Waring 

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

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Beroemdheden die ufo's hebben gezien
Sinds een Amerikaanse legerofficier beweerde dat de Amerikaanse regering buitenaardse ruimtevaartuigen en 'niet-menselijke biologische overblijfselen' heeft, is de wereld volop bezig met de vraag of er buitenaards leven onder ons is. Er zijn veel ufo-waarnemingen geweest, waaronder die van beroemdheden.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Opleving van de kwestie
De verklaringen van voormalig luchtmachtofficier David Grusch over mogelijke 'ufo's' hebben veel opschudding veroorzaakt. Te midden van deze 'buitenaardse controverse' kunnen we melden dat er enkele beroemdheden zijn die zonder angst voor kritiek publiekelijk hun vermeende ervaringen met buitenaardse wezens hebben ged

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Miley Cyrus werd achtervolgd door een ufo
Miley Cyrus beweerde dat ze visueel contact had met een buitenaards wezen. "Ik reed met mijn vriend door San Bernardino en ik werd achtervolgd door een soort ufo. Ik weet vrij zeker wat ik zag (...). De beste manier om het te beschrijven is als een vliegende sneeuwschuiver. Het had een grote ploeg aan de voorkant en het was knalgeel. Ik zag het vliegen, mijn vriend en andere auto's op de weg stopten ook om te kijken, daarom geloof ik dat wat ik zag echt was...

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Miley Cyrus: 'het keek me aan en we maakten oogcontact'
"... Ik trilde de vijf daaropvolgende dagen. Ik was naar de klote. Ik kon niet meer op dezelfde manier naar de lucht kijken. Ik dacht dat ze misschien terug zouden komen. Ik voelde me niet bedreigd, maar ik zag een wezen vooraan het vliegende object zitten. Het keek me aan en we maakten oogcontact, en dat heeft me denk ik echt aangegrepen, het kijken in de ogen van iets wat ik niet kon begrijpen. Je hebt helemaal gelijk dat het een vorm van narcisme is om te denken dat wij de enige wezens zijn in dit enorme universum", vertelde Miley aan Rick Owens van het tijdschrift Interview.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Kurt Russell: getuige van de 'Phoenix Lights'
Een van de meest iconische lichtgebeurtenissen aan de hemel zijn de zogenaamde 'Phoenix Lights'. Het waren 6 lichten die een driehoekige vorm hadden en werden gezien terwijl ze van Phoenix naar Tucson in Arizona (VS) vlogen eind jaren 90. Dit werd gemeld door meer dan 20.000 mensen, waaronder acteur en piloot Kurt Russell.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Kurt Russell: zag de lichten vanuit zijn vliegtuig
"Ik zag (vanuit zijn vliegtuig) zes lichten boven het vliegveld in een duidelijke V-vorm en meldde ze aan de verkeerstoren. Ze vertelden me dat ze niets hadden gezien of zagen, waarop ik antwoordde dat ik het als ongeïdentificeerd zou verklaren. Het waren zes objecten en ze vlogen. Het is de meest geziene gebeurtenis wereldwijd", zei Russell in een interview.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Demi Lovato: op afstand blijven
Demi Lovato zei in een interview met E! News dat ze in Californië een ervaring had met buitenaardse wezens die haar kijk op de wereld veranderde. "We gingen naar de woestijn in Joshua Tree en ik zag een blauwe bol op ongeveer 15 meter afstand, misschien minder, en het zweefde boven de grond, het was alsof het afstand van me hield", zo vertrouwde ze toe aan E! News.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Demi Lovato: een verandering in haar leven
Maar dat was niet de enige keer dat ze zo'n ervaring had, want op haar 28e verjaardag zag ze ook al ufo's. "We keken naar de sterren en plotseling verscheen er iets recht boven ons in de lucht, enorme lichten die een soort vraagteken in de lucht vormden. Ik realiseerde me dat mijn leven waarschijnlijk op een spirituele manier zou gaan veranderen", aldus Demi.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Camila Cabello ontdekte ufo's in haar video's
In 2022 zei Camila Cabello in een interview met Jimmy Fallon dat ze ufo's had gezien tijdens een familievakantie in Chili. "Ik was foto's en video's aan het maken van mijn ouders. Toen begon mijn vader door de foto's te bladeren en hij zag toen we deze clips vertraagden twee objecten. Serieus, ik vertraagde de video en ik denk dat we waarschijnlijk een ufo hebben vastgelegd," legde de zangeres uit.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Camila Cabello: 'de buitenaardse wezens vertrouwden mij'
Camila aarzelde om de video die ze had gemaakt te laten zien: "Ik twijfelde echt om hem hier te laten zien, want als de buitenaardse wezens me vertrouwden, omdat ik daar was, wil ik niet dat ze denken dat ik ze nu uitbuit. Ik zweer het, het is geen vogel, het is ook geen stipje op de mobiele telefoon, want je kunt het duidelijk zien bewegen van achter de berg, heel dicht bij de camera. Ik denk echt dat de buitenaardse wezens mij vertrouwden op het moment dat ik dit vastlegde," zei ze.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Nick Jonas zag ufo's vanuit zijn tuin
Nick Jonas beweerde dat hij drie ufo's heeft gezien. "Het was waarschijnlijk ongeveer acht jaar geleden, ik was in de achtertuin van mijn huis in Los Angeles. Ik keek omhoog in de lucht en zag drie vliegende schotels. Ik draaide me om naar mijn vriend en vroeg hem: 'Zie jij wat ik zie of word ik gek?' Ook hij zag wat ik zag," vertelde de zanger in 2015 in het programma 'This Morning'.

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Nick Jonas: 'die lichten gaven me kippenvel'
"Ik keek op internet en zag dat er twee weken eerder drie identieke waarnemingen waren geweest. Mijn vriend, ik en andere mensen uit Los Angeles zagen het allemaal. Die lichten gaven me kippenvel, maar op een goede manier", zei hij hierover.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Khloé Kardashian: een ufo die boven Californië vliegt
Khloé Kardashian zei dat ze ooit vreemde lichten en een ufo boven Californië zag vliegen, waardoor ze zeker weet dat er leven is op andere planeten.

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Khloé Kardashian: een buitenaards pad
Bij een andere gelegenheid, als onderdeel van haar realityshow 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians', ging Khloé met Tristan Thompson naar een pad in Malibu, Californië, om 'buitenaardse wezens te gaan spotten'. "Malibu heeft veel ufo-waarnemingen aangetrokken. Toen ik op onderzoek uitging, ontdekte ik dit pad en dit pad zou verbazingwekkende buitenaardse energie hebben. Ik ben weer zo enthousiast. Wandelen, buitenaardse wezens, is er iets beters?", zei de socialite op dat moment erover.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Olivia Newton-John: verbazingwekkende snelheid
Wijlen Olivia Newton-John zei dat ze als tiener een object zag dat met "verbazingwekkende snelheid" over de velden in Cambridge, Engeland vloog. Sindsdien geloofde ze in dergelijke gebeurtenissen.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Olivia Newton-John: mogelijkheid bestaan ufo's
In een interview zei ze: "Tegenwoordig geloven de meeste mensen in Engeland in de mogelijkheid van het bestaan van ufo's. Hoeveel mensen zouden daar twintig jaar geleden aan gedacht hebben?"

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Dan Aykroyd: onderzoek naar buitenaards leven
Dan Aykroyd, vooral bekend door zijn optreden in de film 'Ghostbusters' (1984), heeft zijn hele carrière onderzoek gedaan naar het bestaan van buitenaards leven.

©Aangeboden door Showbizz Daily Netherlands

Dan Aykroyd 'zag het zelf'
In 2015 beweerde de acteur vier 'luchtconstructies' te hebben gezien, waaronder een die recht boven hem was.

 { https://showbizzdaily.com/nl-f-v2/ }

Unveiling the Enigma: An Exploration of Viral UFO Encounters

In recent times, the internet has become a rich repository of unexplained phenomena, among which, UFO sightings hold a special place in the collective imagination. From dense forests to open skies, these mysterious appearances challenge our understanding of the world. This article delves into some of the most compelling UFO videos that have captivated online audiences, offering a glimpse into the

Drone Captures: A New Perspective from Above

The advent of civilian drones has opened up new vistas for capturing unexplained aerial phenomena. Several videos, aggregated by enthusiasts, showcase high-speed objects traversing the sky with astonishing agility. One particularly intriguing footage reveals a triangular, white object, about 7 feet in length, cutting through the air above a forested area. Its size and speed suggest something beyond conventional aircraft or drones, igniting speculation about its origins.

The Clackamas Oregon Lights: A Skyborne Mystery

In Clackamas, Oregon, multiple observers recorded what appeared to be a group of objects flying in formation, adorned with flashing lights. Despite the grainy footage, the precision of their movement and the altitude at which they operated raised questions. Could these be drones, as some suggest, or is there a more extraordinary explanation? The sightings underscore the complexity of identifying aerial objects, especially when they exhibit unusual characteristics.

The Black Ring Phenomenon: An Ominous Shape in the Sky

Separate reports from different parts of the world have documented an odd, ring-shaped object flying at high altitudes. This “black ring” has been captured clearly on camera, yet its nature remains elusive. Witnesses describe it as having a blue, plasma-like underside, silent and with a pendulum-like motion. Such descriptions add layers of mystery to the phenomenon, challenging conventional explanations and fueling intrigue about its origin.

The Beach Encounter: An Invisible Presence Captured

A vacationer in Turkey captured something truly unusual. In a series of photographs taken at a beach, an object resembling a turtle shell appears, visible only through the camera and not to the naked eye. The clarity of the image, despite the object’s supposed speed, suggests a high shutter speed was at play. This incident highlights the role of technology in revealing the unseen, prompting us to question the nature of visibility and perception.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/fyafradGCYo

Each of these sightings brings to the forefront the enigma that UFOs represent. While some may eventually find explanations within the realm of known technology or natural phenomena, others remain stubbornly inexplicable. These mysterious encounters not only captivate our curiosity but also remind us of the vastness of our universe and the potential for undiscovered phenomena. As we continue to explore and document these mysteries, we edge closer to perhaps understanding a little more about the world beyond our current comprehension

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

Look! NASA Captured A Rare Closeup of the Solar System’s Most Terrifying Moon

Io is the most volcanically active moon in the Solar System.

BY KIONA SMITH

 

NASA

Last weekend, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew over the southern hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Io. The close flyby brought Juno within 930 miles of the sulfur-shrouded hellscape of volcanoes and lava lakes that make up Io’s surface. In December 2023, the spacecraft flew over Io’s northern hemisphere and sent home striking photos. This time, Juno captured images of lava flows, volcanic eruptions, mountains, and roiling lakes of lava with islands in the middle.

Tons of sulfur erupted from Io’s volcanoes gives the moon its red and yellow coloring.

NASA

TWIN VOLCANIC PLUMES

One of the coolest images from the February 3 flyby shows two towering volcanic plumes rising over Io’s horizon — about 2,400 miles away from the spacecraft. The pair were “emitted either by two vents from one giant volcano, or two volcanoes near each other,” writes the Southwest Research Institute on its website.

More than 400 active volcanoes (that we know of) dot Io’s surface. The moon’s constant eruptions are the product of a fierce gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and two other moons, icy ocean worlds Europa and Ganymede. Their competing gravity creates powerful tides deep in Io’s interior, stretching the moon’s innards back and forth — and generating enough heat to power a world where rivers of lava flow beneath sulfurous plumes.

The question is whether all that volcanism is driven by an ocean of liquid magma, similar to Earth’s mantle but even hotter, or by a super-hot solid metal core? NASA hopes Juno can shed some light on that question by studying Io from above.

The pair of plumes here are visible over Io’s horizon from 2400 miles away. It’s not clear whether they come from one huge volcano or from two very close volcanoes, but SwRI scientists are trying to find out.

A CALL FOR HELP

The images released to the public so far come from the JunoCam, a high-resolution camera that Juno carries mostly to show Jupiter and its moons to the public in wavelengths of light that human eyes can actually see. But there’s a lot more from the JunoCam waiting to be converted from raw data into actual images.

“It will be a challenge to sort all this out, and the JunoCam scientists need your help, writes NASA in an announcement posted February 7. A community of volunteer image processors has worked with JunoCam data in the past, and other volunteers have churned out a steady stream of images made with JWST data, as well.

Other instruments, which see the universe in infrared and ultraviolet light, also gathered a trove of data as Juno flew past Io.

 { https://www.inverse.com/ }

Nuclear fusion lab sets record for most energy created with single reaction

"JET's final fusion experiment is a fitting swansong after all the groundbreaking work that has gone into the project since 1983," UK Minister for Nuclear and Networks, Andrew Bowie, said in a statement. "We are closer to fusion energy than ever before thanks to the international team of scientists and engineers in Oxfordshire."

Related: 

• How the Large Hadron Collider's successor will hunt for the dark universe

Figure 1: Part of the inertial-confinement-fusion system at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

Figure 2: The volume of the fusion-reaction region inside the capsule increases from left to right by a factor of 4. This volume increase corresponds to a 20-fold increase in the fusion-energy yield of the system.

{ https://www.space.com/ }

Russian Scientist Found Manuscripts On UFOs & Ancient Aliens In Vatican Secret Archives

Kucharyants recalled Professor Ludvig’s first lecture in the 1960s that sounded interesting at first and then confusing for everyone by mixing linguistics, ancient and medieval history and architecture, plant symbolism, types of labyrinths, phenomena from the history of science. Though the author was Ludvig’s student and researched a lot about him, he is still unaware who Genrikh Ludvig really was: a phenomenal encyclopedist or a mystic. He wrote that after meeting with the professor his life changed, which allowed him to see the world from a different perspective.

Ludvig’s bizarre claims came from reading Vatican secret archives (now known as Vatican Apostolic Archive). It is fifty-three miles of shelving that holds 35,000 volumes of catalog and 12 centuries’ documents. The Archives are the stuff of historical legend. Documents at the repository are only released once they are at least 75 years old.

Read also:

• Sumerians Built Spaceport, Launched Spacecrafts And Traveled Outside Solar System 7000 Years Ago
• KGB Secret Expedition To Egypt: Alleged Discovery Of Alien Mummy That Died 13,000 Years Ago
• Ancient Stargate Of Sri Lanka: Did Our Ancestors Use It For Interstellar Travel?

During the 1920s, Professor Ludvig somehow granted access to the Vatican library where he was able to read some bizarre ancient manuscripts that probably could change the course of humanity. He claimed to have come across numerous texts on ancient codes, alchemy, and strange things about UFOs and extraterrestrials who visited Earth in the ancient past.

According to him, he read texts which discussed the influence of aliens on the various ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and the Mesopotamians. Subsequently, he began his research on the Maya civilization. Ludvig translated their symbols that turned out to be spaceships and spacesuits. He also found historical records of the use of nuclear weapons in ancient times and showed his photographs of the fortress walls of Babylon, melted by a monstrous temperature up to a height of one and a half meters.

Professor Ludvig was very interested in the Sumerian civilization and had great knowledge about it. It is not known from where Sumerians came to Mesopotamia but in the middle of the 4th millennium BC, a sudden and incredible transformation happened to them. They suddenly learned how to build cities and enclose them with strong walls, lay irrigation canals and create the world’s first complex irrigation systems. They invented the wheel and the writing system. At first, Sumerian writing was pictographic, that is, individual objects were depicted in the form of drawings. The oldest texts inscribed with such a letter date back to about 3200 BC.

He also discussed the esoteric meaning of pyramids in Egypt that, under certain ritual manipulations, generate an energy-informational exchange with the cosmic mind. He studied the Etruscan civilization and in particular, believed that images of angels in Christianity come from Etruscan culture.

Professor Ludvig was no ordinary man. During World War II, he worked as an architect, design engineer, and inventor while being an inmate of the GULAG. From 1941 to 1943, he had 17 military inventions on his name. He is very well known among UFO researchers and ancient alien theorists. In 2016, Wikileaks revealed thousands of emails that were allegedly linked to Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta. The emails unfolded secret information shared with Podesta about UFOs and ETs. In 2015, Podesta received emails from Astronaut Edgar Mitchell that expressed his concern about the weaponization of space and its impact on the ETI (extraterrestrial intelligence). According to this set of leaks, the Vatican, one of the highest religious authorities in the world, knows about aliens.

Mitchell wrote: “My Catholic colleague Terri Mansfield will be there too, to bring us up to date on the Vatican’s awareness of ETI. Another colleague is working on a new Space Treaty, citing involvement with Russia and China. However, with Russia’s extreme interference in Ukraine, I believe we must pursue another route for peace in space and ZPE on Earth.”

Still, due to less corroborating information available about Professor Ludvig, there has been some skepticism of his claims. Did he really gain access to the secret Vatican archives and find all this amazing information?

References:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20121228013517/http://sovsekretno.ru/magazines/article/2924
• http://www.openminds.tv/russian-scientist-found-ufo-ancient-aliens-researcher/28381

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

World's 1st fault-tolerant quantum computer launching this year ahead of a 10,000-qubit machine in 2026

The announcement follows a new study, published Dec. 6, 2023 in the journal Nature, in which researchers from Harvard, QuEra and several other institutions demonstrated a functioning quantum computer that contained 48 logical qubits — the largest number of logical qubits tested to date. 

Related:

•  Nobel Prize in Physics goes to scientists who paved the way for quantum computing

{ https://www.space.com/ }

UFO Motherships, UAP Records Collection, Crushing USAF Innovation & Artemis Accords

Written by Dr Michael Salla

Exopolitics Today Week in Review – Feb 10, 2024

Topics

• Congressman Tim Burchett believes that crashed UFOs have been retrieved and studied, but they have not been successfully reverse engineered
• Remote Viewing underground bases, ETs and Inner Earth Civilizations: Interview with John Vivanco
• Historical photos of small UFOs entering cigar-shaped mother ships take on new significance.
• Space Force sends its first Guardian into Space but is he truly the first?
• US National Archives creates official rules for collection of UFO records from military and government entities.
• Martin Scorcsese Superbowl commercial is predictive programming for alien invasion or new cosmic religion.
• Weaponized Episode lays out solid case for Dr Sean Kirkpatrick’s sabotaging AARO during his tenure as its Director
• Historical film of John Northrup’s B49 flying wing achievement and interest in UFOs corroborates William Tompkins testimony.
• What’s Coming in 2024: Catastrophic Disclosure webinar now on Vimeo.
• Huge ocean found under Saturn’s moon Mimas, corroboration of UN Diplomatic outpost there.
• Does former NOAA Director, Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, belief in non-human intelligence derives from briefings about undersea ET bases
• Greece becomes the 35^th signatory to Artemis Accords further cementing US leadership in space affairs for decades to come

Watch on YouTube, Rumble, & Odysee

• Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/michaelsalla

{ https://exopolitics.org/ }

Abbey Clancy claims she was stalked by THREE 'bizarre' unidentified flying objects while driving on the A3: 'It was very unusual!'

By BETHAN EDWARDS FOR MAILONLINE

Abbey Clancy has claimed she was stalked by three alien UFOs in a horrifying out of this world experience. 

The model, 38, addressed conspiracy theories on her and husband Peter Crouch's latest podcast The Therapy Couch. 

She believes that she had a close encounter with UFOs when she saw three 'oblong shapes of white light' above her car on the A3.

She said: 'Bizarrely, the other day, I was on the A3 and I was driving. Now I'm not even joking, this is so true, Sophia saw it herself.'

Peter asked: 'What did you see, a UFO?,' to which Abbey replied: 'Yes, it's going to sound mental.'

Abbey Clancy has claimed she was stalked by three alien UFOs in a horrifying out of this world experience

She believes that she had a close encounter with UFOs when she saw three 'oblong shapes of white light' above her car on the A3

She explained: 'What I saw was very unusual. It was a grey rainy day, it had been raining but it wasn't raining.

'It was pre-dusk, there was no natural bright light and the street lights hadn't gone on yet. There was three oblongs of light – white light – above my car.

'But there was no glass, so it couldn't have been reflecting off any glass to create a rainbow effect. I was like, 'Sophia, can you see them lights?'

'And they were coming close together and they were travelling along the car, and then the three of them just went [makes whizzing noise] in three different directions.

'And they were gone.'

Abbey went on to call on her listeners and said she would like to reach out to a UFO expert for advice.

The mum-of-four said: 'I would love an alien expert to get in touch and tell me if what I saw was really a UFO… there was no explanation at all.

'It was like they were hovering and travelling at the same speed. Bizarre.'

While former footballer Peter added: 'I think we should always be open to the possibility.

The model, 38, addressed conspiracy theories on her and husband Peter Crouch's latest podcast The Therapy Couch

She explained: 'What I saw was very unusual. There was three oblongs of light above my car. And they were coming close together and they were travelling along the car, and then the three of them just went in three different directions. And they were gone.'

'What if they're all just in on it together and we're so far behind and they just look at us a bit like The Truman Show?

'Like, "Look at these dunces, they can't even get into space".'

It comes after Abbey reportedly landed a huge new role after the massive success of the podcast she hosts with husband Peter.

The model has had fans in stitches with her very honest and open approach to her podcast and every week, the WAG and former England star have been dishing out their 'weekly wines', which see the couple reveal what has bugged them in their relationship that week.

And fans find it hilarious as they cannot get enough of the upfront and comical style as they comment on their own relationship and offer advice to their viewers.

Now, the star has been given the role of a lifetime as she has reportedly been offered a new role in a spin-off show, according to The Sun.

A source close to the model told The Sun: 'Abbey has proved a runaway success with her podcast The Therapy Crouch, with her husband Peter, so it was a no-brainer that she would be given her own solo podcast too.

It comes after Abbey reportedly landed a huge new role after the massive success of the podcast she hosts with husband Peter

'Abbey wanted to do something that celebrated women, so she is chatting to interesting females who have inspired her.

'She's in the studio recording it now and it's sure to rocket up the podcast charts when it's released later this year.'

Abbey and Peter have been a couple since their early 20s and they tied the knot in 2011. They renewed their vows in the Maldives in 2022.

They now have four children together and happily chat about the reality of parenting on The Therapy Crouch.

MailIOnline has contacted Abbey's representatives for a comment. 

! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

A UFO (OVNI) using cutting-edge camouflage techniques has been seen on camera, displaying a defiance that is stirring up controversy worldwide.

 { https://thehairbeautyink.com/ }

Wіtпeѕѕ a UFO Engaging with a Circular Black Object in the Sky in an ᴜпᴜѕᴜаɩ Sighting.

Receпtly, local people have recorded a mysterioυs sceпe iп the sky. The video circυlatiпg oп ѕoсіаɩ medіа shows a straпge object sυckiпg aп object υp iпto the air, attractiпg the atteпtioп of maпy people.

Accordiпg to maпy eyewitпesses, this straпge object has a roυпd shape aпd immediately casts a shadow oп the groυпd wheп flyiпg iп the air. Some people thiпk that this coυld be a UFO carryiпg oυt a kidпappiпg of aп object iп the sky.

However, there are maпy coпflictiпg opiпioпs sυrroυпdiпg this matter. Some telecommυпicatioпs experts believe that this is jυst a joke or a пatυral pheпomeпoп. Meaпwhile, other scieпtists say that more time aпd evideпce is пeeded to clarify this fact.

Regardless of the trυth behiпd this straпge sight, this shows that UFO-related eveпts always attract pυblic atteпtioп. We пeed to be carefυl aпd prepared with eпoυgh iпformatioп before drawiпg aпy coпclυsioпs aboυt this.

You may also like...

• The existence of “reptilian beings” confirmed in ancient Egyptian papyri
• Peeling Back the Secrets: Fascinating Military-UFO Encounters (VIDEO)
• The situations in the top 10 extremely attractive and popular UFO camera film online.

 { https://soft-news1.blogspot.com/ }

Old UFO sighting in Project Blue Book, US National Archives, Montebello, California, 12/01/1957 Video!

 

Source: US National archives

US link: 

• https://www.archives.gov/

 

This is an old UFO sighting from the "Project Blue Book" reports in the US National Archives, Montebello, California, 12/01/1957 four to six UAP were caught in a home movie! 👽👀🛸 As I said, aliens love California. 

 

Funny thing though, these UFOs are similar in size and shape to the ones seen over Los Angeles, California in Feb 1942, called the Battle of Los Angeles, when hundreds of anti aircraft artillery shot at the UFOs only to have the UFOs left unharmed. My mother who lived there at the time told me about seeing shrapnel from the antiaircraft guns littering the roads and yards when it happened. Yeah, alien don't care if we see their craft and they don't care we think Earth is ours, but they will step in if we ever threaten the existence of Earth itself because it belongs to them. 

 

Scott C. Waring - no longer in Taiwan, but now in USA

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ {

Alaskan Locals Encounter Mysterious and Unsettling UFO Phenomena

In the remote and wild landscapes of Alaska, where the beauty of nature collides with the mysteries of the universe, the residents of Yakutat have become unwitting participants in a series of extraordinary events. These occurrences, marked by erratic and eerie lights in the night sky, challenge our understanding of the world and hint at the vast unknowns that lie beyond our earthly confines.

The Witness Accounts

Among the witnesses is Nick Pavlik, a local commercial driver and fisherman, whose encounter with these unexplained phenomena left him and his community both terrified and awestruck. On a cold December morning in 2019, Nick’s routine life was interrupted by a sight that defied logic. Along with his girlfriend, Tessa Marie Devereaux, they observed a blinking light performing sporadic movements against the backdrop of Yakutat’s tree line. The light displayed an array of colors and moved in patterns that no known aircraft could replicate, covering vast distances in the blink of an eye.

Tessa, equally mesmerized and unsettled by the sight, joined Nick in an attempt to document this bewildering event. Armed with their phones, they captured footage of the phenomenon, hoping to make sense of what they were witnessing. Their recordings showed lights that zipped across the sky in erratic patterns, occasionally flashing bright colors, suggesting a technology far beyond human capabilities.

Community Impact

The incident was not isolated to Nick and Tessa. Other residents, including Cranston Negus and Quinn Newlin, reported similar sightings. Cranston, intrigued by the aerial maneuvers that defied conventional physics, witnessed the same phenomena alongside Nick, cementing the reality of their experience. Quinn, on a separate occasion, saw what he initially thought was a planet, only to realize it was moving in an inexplicable manner, further adding to the collective astonishment of the Yakutat community.

Reflections on the Unknown

These sightings have not only sparked curiosity but also ignited a sense of wonder among the witnesses. The advanced movements and capabilities of the unidentified objects have led many, like Nick, to feel a profound sense of humility in the face of such unexplainable technology. The encounters have opened up conversations about our place in the universe and the possibility of other intelligent life forms.

VIDEO:

• Alaska Resident Witnesses Erratic & Eerie UFO Sightings I Aliens In Alaska
• https://youtu.be/64v9PgCS5UQ

The UFO sightings in Yakutat, Alaska, serve as a vivid reminder of the mysteries that surround us. While definitive explanations remain elusive, the accounts of Nick Pavlik, Tessa Marie Devereaux, and others stand as a testament to the extraordinary phenomena that defy our current understanding of the world. These events encourage us to look beyond our immediate reality and consider the endless possibilities that the universe may hold. As we continue to explore and seek answers, the skies above Alaska remind us that some mysteries remain just beyond our grasp, inviting us to keep questioning and dreaming.

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

Wat als machine learning en AI te ver gaan?© Aangeboden door Business AM

Samengevat: Volgens onderzoekers kunnen en mogen we artificiële intelligentie (AI) niet volledig vertrouwen. Als AI steeds meer menselijke eigenschappen krijgt, dan bestaat de kans dat taalmodellen tegen ons gaan liegen. De band tussen mens en machine moet verder onderzocht worden.

De ontwikkeling van artificiële intelligentie gaat zeer snel. Sommige wetenschappers vragen zich dan ook af of we er genoeg bij stilstaan.

Gelezen: In het blad Journal of Social Computing waarschuwen wetenschappers voor de verdere ontwikkeling van AI.

De oplossing: Een duidelijk beleid.

{ https://businessam.be/ }

From a flying saucer over Australia to red and green lights over Britain: Seven mysterious 'UFO' sightings that are STILL unexplained

• Unidentified flying objects, or 'UFOs', have been reported for thousands of years
• Many encounters have been debunked, but some remain a mystery to this day 
• MailOnline looks back at the seven weirdest encounters still yet to be explained 

By FIONA JACKSON FOR MAILONLINE 

From surveillance balloons to metallic orbs, over the past few weeks it seems like bizarre objects are falling out the sky left, right and centre.

Scientists are able to debunk most of these instances, like how a blue spiral that appeared over Hawaii last month was actually just a SpaceX launch.

However, some of them still do not have a logical explanation to this day, including the apparent 'flying saucer' that flew over a school in Australia in 1966.

The silvery white webs that fell on the heads of local football fans from an egg-shaped craft in Italy in 1954 also remain a mystery.

MailOnline takes a closer look at the seven weirdest unidentified flying object - or UFO - sightings, that are still yet to be explained.

An apparent photograph of the supposed Westall UFO encounter where more than 200 students and teachers allegedly witnessed an unexplained flying object descend onto a nearby open wild grass field in 1966

1. The 'Flying Saucer' - Australia

On April 6 1966, at around 11am, over 300 students and teachers at Westall High School in Melbourne, Australia witnessed a 'flying saucer' hover above the grounds. 

Children and staff were said to have seen a 'round humped object with a flat base being circled by what appeared to be light aircraft'. 

It was described as grey or silver-grey in colour, but it was not known whether the UFO appeared high or low in the sky, or for how long it was seen by those at the school, according to reports at the time.

There was also confusion over whether there was just one UFO or several, as some people described seeing three saucer-like objects.

One newspaper report in the 1960s said that several children who saw the flying saucer 'collapsed and became ill with fright'.

'I saw a craft. A mechanical object intelligently controlled hovering above me,' Mr Andrew Greenwood - a science teacher at the time - told a 7NEWS Spotlight documentary in 2021.

During the 20 minute encounter, witnesses said that five planes came and surrounded the object, appearing to try and herd it up, before it flew away. 

A newspaper clipping outlining what several witnesses at the school saw on that fateful day in 1966

 2. Red and green lights - UK

In December 1980, sightings of unexplained red and green lights were reported by US Air Force personnel stationed near Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, UK.

These occurred on three separate nights just before the New Year, saying that the lights were flying in the sky and descending into the woodland. 

US Air Force officer Steve Longero broke a 36 year silence in December 2016, to reveal he also saw red and green fluorescent lights hovering over treetops.

The incident became a topic of fascination in the UK after a group of servicemen went into Rendlesham Forest to investigate the mysterious lights and came out convinced they had seen seen an alien spacecraft. 

While it cannot be proven, in 2018, an alleged Special Air Service (SAS) source claimed that the extraterrestrial sighting was a hoax.

They said the SAS wanted to take revenge on the US Air Force for capturing a squad and subjecting them to a brutal interrogation.

The British Ministry of Defence said the apparent UFOs were likely to be caused by a series of nocturnal lights. 

Staff Sergeant Jim Penniston sketched the craft he says he saw at the time of the incident

The incident became a topic of fascination in the UK after a group of servicemen went into Rendlesham Forest to investigate the mysterious lights and came out convinced they had seen seen an alien spacecraft 

3. 'Phoenix Lights'  - USA

UFO sightings are relatively common in Arizona ever since the 'Phoenix Lights' incident on the night of March 13 1997.

Five lights were seen flying in formation, either stationary or as part of a moving V-shaped aircraft.

They were reported by thousands of people between 7.30pm and 10.30pm.

Sightings came from a space of about 300 miles, from the Nevada border, through Phoenix, to the edge of Tucson.

At the time, the military said it was part of a routine flare exercise, but many believed there was more to it. 

To date it is the largest mass-UFO sighting in the USA.

In 1996, five lights were seen flying in formation, either stationary or as part of a moving V-shaped aircraft. Image of the Phoenix Lights newspaper article from USA Today

4. Silvery-white webs - Italy

Forget VAR, on October 27 1954 it was a UFO that caused a commotion during a football match between Fiorentina and Pistoiese in Florence, Italy.

Just after half time, thousands of fans began pointing to the sky, prompting the players to stop the game at the Stadio Artemi Franchi.

While accounts vary, general consensus is that a round spacecraft moving over the pitch, dropping silver glitter or web-like filaments as it passed

Footballer Ardico Magnini described it as 'like an egg moving slowly', while another spectator compared its shape to a cigar.

Samples of the UFO's trail were analysed at the University of Florence and were found to be made of boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium.

This debunked the theory that they were the webs of migrating spiders, as they do not contain any of these elements.

5. Alien sightings - Zimbabwe

On September 16 1994, 62 pupils of Ariel Primary School, located just outside Ruwa in Zimbabwe, saw one or more silver craft descend from the sky and land on a nearby field.

After that, 'human-like' creatures with long hair, rugby ball-sized eyes and black bodysuits  approached them.

These aliens then shared messages about environmentalism telepathically, warning humans not to destroy the planet.

The alleged incident lasted about 15 minutes while the children, all aged between six and 12, were outside on break, while their teachers were in a meeting.

Not all children at the school claim they saw something that day, but some of those who did maintain it is true. 

Researchers traveled to the school where they asked the kids to draw what they'd seen 'while it was fresh in their minds'

As for the humanoids some claimed to see emerge from the craft, Hofer said that most of the students' descriptions were 'very consistent of a short-looking being' and 'a lot of them described very large eyes'

One told The Sunday Mail in 2021: 'The most difficult part is that, up until today, I cannot tell what that thing was.

'I do not believe in aliens or tikoloshes. It helps explain why some of us would not want to be associated with the events of that day.'

Both the headteacher at the time and Harvard University psychiatrist Dr John Mack interviewed the children who both say their accounts and drawings were consistent.

However, some sceptics have ruled the incident as one of mass hysteria, which studies have shown are common in schools in Africa.

6. Encounter on the moors - UK

On December 1 1987, a retired police officer claims he came into contact with an alien figure while walking on Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire.

The creature made a gesture at the man, who uses the pseudonym Philip Spencer, before it ran away after he tried to take a picture of it.

He then saw a white-coloured craft which consisted of two saucer-shaped components one on top of the other rise up and disappear into the sky.

Mr Spencer then claimed that the encounter had caused his compass to break, and that he mysteriously arrived back in town two hours later than he expected later on.

His photo was studied by experts and was found to not show an animal or any evidence it had been tampered with, but it was too grainy to know for sure.

However, details of Mr Spencer's account did change after a session of hypnotherapy, when he then claimed he was abducted.

He said he taken inside the UFO and given a tour, had experiments performed on him and was forced to watch videos of apocalyptic imagery before being returned to Earth.

Sceptics also wonder why he did not photograph the spaceship.

On December 1 1987, a retired police officer claims he came into contact with an alien figure while walking on Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire.

Pictured: Mr Spencer's photo

The creature made a gesture at the man, who uses the pseudonym Philip Spencer, before it ran away after he tried to take a picture of it. 

Pictured: Mr Spencer's photo

His photo was studied by experts and was not found to show an animal or any evidence it had been tampered with. Pictured: Newspaper reporting the sighting at the time

7. Unexpected Arrival - USA 

At about 4:14pm on November 7 2006, a ramp employee at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, USA spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky.

The employee notified other members of the crew of United Airlines Flight 446, which they were preparing for departure, including pilots, airline management and mechanics.  

A total of 12 staff confirmed the sighting, including some passengers on other flights arriving at the airport.

Witnesses said it was a dark grey, disc-shaped craft that was 'obviously not clouds'.

After hovering silently for about five minutes, it reportedly shot up into the sky at a high velocity, leaving a hole in the clouds that eventually closed over.

Air traffic controllers did not see the object, but a United Airlines supervisor did contact those in the tower to report the sighting.

As it was not picked up by RADAR the Federal Aviation Administration refused to investigate, and ruled it a 'weather phenomenon', like a hole-punch cloud.

At about 4:14pm on November 7 2006, a ramp employee at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, USA spotted a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky. Pictured: An image of the UFO taken on an airport employee's phone

A total of 12 staff confirmed the sighting, which they say was a disc-shaped craft that was 'obviously not clouds'. Pictured: An image of the UFO taken on an airport employee's phone

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Saturn's moon could harbour alien life: Mimas may have a hidden ocean buried beneath almost 20 miles of ice, study finds

• Mimas is a small moon with a crater so large it gives appearance of Death Star 
• Astronomers say it could be hiding an ocean beneath its icy cratered surface 

By XANTHA LEATHAM DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL

One of Saturn's moons could be hiding an ocean beneath its icy cratered surface which may provide an abode for life, researchers suggest.

Mimas is a small moon but has a crater so large it gives the appearance of the Death Star space station from Star Wars.

Astronomers have long believed it has a solid core because nothing has been observed on the surface of the moon to indicate it has a subsurface ocean.

But a new study – made possible by data from a crashed spacecraft - suggests otherwise.

NASA's Cassini, a spacecraft sent to study Saturn, spent two decades in space which included tracking Mimas' orbit.

Mimas is a small moon but has a crater so large it gives the appearance of the Death Star space station from Star Wars 

READ MORE: 

• Saturn's rings will DISAPPEAR in 2025, NASA confirms 

The spacecraft was destroyed in 2017 when it made a purposeful plunge into Saturn's atmosphere.

But new analysis of its data indicates that Mimas' position and orbit is best explained as being influenced by an internal ocean rather than having a solid core.

The researchers, from the Observatoire de Paris, calculate that the ocean lies beneath an icy shell approximately 20-30km deep, is less than 25 million years old and is still evolving.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, is likely to trigger a 'thorough examination' of mid-sized icy moons throughout the Solar System.

In an accompanying comment piece Matija Ćuk, a research scientists at the SETI Institute in California, and Alyssa Rhoden, from the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, said: 'The detection of liquid water oceans under the icy surfaces of outer Solar System moons suggests that these moons could provide abodes for life under conditions that differ markedly from those on Earth.

One of Saturn 's moons could be hiding an ocean beneath its icy cratered surface which may provide an abode for life, researchers suggest

There are many implications of Mimas being an ocean world. The idea that relatively small, icy moons can harbour young oceans is inspiring.

'The findings will motivate a thorough examination of mid-sized icy moons throughout the Solar System.

'The Solar System will always have surprises in store, and researchers must be open enough to new ideas and unexpected possibilities to recognise them.'

Dr Nick Cooper, honorary research fellow at Queen Mary University of London, said: 'Mimas is a small moon, only about 400 kilometres in diameter, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath.

'This discovery adds Mimas to an exclusive club of moons with internal oceans, including Enceladus and Europa, but with a unique difference: its ocean is remarkably young, estimated to be only five to 15 million years old.

'The existence of a recently formed liquid water ocean makes Mimas a prime candidate for study, for researchers investigating the origin of life.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

• RoboGuide is an AI-powered four-legged robot that could replace guide dogs
• The robot can understand speech, and can provide verbal responses

By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE 

The idea of a robot taking your job may sound like the plot from the latest episode of Black Mirror.

But it could soon be a reality - at least for guide dogs. 

Experts from the University of Glasgow have developed the RoboGuide, an AI-powered four-legged robot dog that could replace guide dogs. 

Its developers say that RoboGuide could help blind and visually impaired people to move more freely around museums, shopping centres, hospitals and other public places.

'Assistive technologies like the RoboGuide have the potential to provide blind and partially sighted people with more independence in their daily lives in the years to come,' said Olaoluwa Popoola, the project's principal investigator.

The idea of a robot taking your job may sound like the plot from the latest episode of Black Mirror. But it could soon be a reality - at least for guide dogs

Experts from the University of Glasgow have developed the RoboGuide, an AI-powered four-legged robot dog that could replace guide dogs

READ MORE:

•  People who live with robot pet report lower stress - similar to effects of having a real dog

 People who lived with a pet-like robot for two months had lower levels of stress, similar to the benefits of having a dog (file photo of robot dog toy)

RoboGuide uses a series of sensors to accurately map and assess its surroundings.

Software developed by the team allows it to learn optimal routes between locations and interpret sensor data in real-time to help it avoid hitting moving obstacles while guiding a human.

The robot can also understand speech, giving it the ability to provide verbal responses in turn.

'One significant drawback of many current four-legged, two-legged and wheeled robots is that the technology which allows them to find their way around can limit their usefulness as assistants for the visually impaired,' said Mr Popoola.  

'Robots which use GPS to navigate, for example, can perform well outdoors, but often struggle in indoor settings, where signal coverage can weaken.

'Others, which use cameras to 'see', are limited by line of sight, which makes it harder for them to safely guide people around objects or around bends.'

The ongoing development of the RoboGuide was showcased at the university's Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre on Thursday.

Developers say the prototype uses a number of cutting-edge technologies, and they aim to have a complete version available in the coming years

There are an estimated 2.2 billion people in the world living with some form of vision loss, with around two million people in the UK affected. 

RoboGuide uses a series of sensors to accurately map and assess its surroundings. Software developed by the team allows it to learn optimal routes between locations and interpret sensor data in real-time to help it avoid hitting moving obstacles while guiding a human

It was trialled and tested for the first time with volunteers from both organisations at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow in December. The robot helped volunteers find their way around and provided interactive spoken guidance on six different exhibits

READ MORE: 

• British Bulldog! Boston Dynamics' creepy robot dog can now talk in an English accent thanks to ChatGPT 

Spot the robot dog now has the ability to play tour guide using ChatGPT to answer questions and describe the world around it

Professor Muhammad Imran, dean of graduate studies at the James Watt School of Engineering, is co-investigator on the project.

He said: 'Our assistive technology project for the visually impaired embodies innovation, fostering inclusivity.

'In Glasgow, we're pioneering world-changing technologies that hold the potential to transform lives and reshape societal norms.

'This achievement was made possible through collaboration with industry and charity partners and co-creating the design with the invaluable input of end users.'

The Forth Valley Sensory Centre Trust (FVSC) and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland have lent their support to the development of the RoboGuide.

It was trialled and tested for the first time with volunteers from both organisations at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow in December.

The robot helped volunteers find their way around and provided interactive spoken guidance on six different exhibits.

Wasim Ahmad, of the James Watt School of Engineering and another co-investigator on the project, said: 'Ultimately, our aim is to develop a complete system which can be adapted for use with robots of all shapes and sizes to help blind and partially sighted people in a wide range of indoor situations.

There are an estimated 2.2 billion people in the world living with some form of vision loss, with around two million people in the UK affected

'We hope that we can create a robust commercial product which can support the visually impaired wherever they might want extra help.'

Jacquie Winning, chief executive of the FVSC, said: 'Mobility is a big issue for the blind and partially sighted community.

'RoboGuide is a wonderful solution to that problem, and we are delighted to help test this innovative and creative robot.'

James Adams, director of RNIB Scotland, added: 'We're delighted to be supporting the research and development of technology that could be part of making the world more accessible and empowering blind and partially sighted people to live their lives confidently.'

WILL YOUR JOB BE TAKEN BY A ROBOT? PHYSICAL JOBS ARE AT THE GREATEST RISK

Physical jobs in predictable environments, including machine-operators and fast-food workers, are the most likely to be replaced by robots.

Management consultancy firm McKinsey, based in New York, focused on the amount of jobs that would be lost to automation, and what professions were most at risk.

The report said collecting and processing data are two other categories of activities that increasingly can be done better and faster with machines. 

This could displace large amounts of labour - for instance, in mortgages, paralegal work, accounting, and back-office transaction processing.

Conversely, jobs in unpredictable environments are least are risk.

The report added: 'Occupations such as gardeners, plumbers, or providers of child- and eldercare - will also generally see less automation by 2030, because they are technically difficult to automate and often command relatively lower wages, which makes automation a less attractive business proposition.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Mass UFO Reports Over Canada Feb 1, 2024, including Multiple Pilot Sightings - UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Feb 1, 2024

Location of sighting: Ottawa, Canada
Source: 

• https://www.ebaumsworld.com/articles/ufo-reports-over-canada-spurred-by-multiple-pilot-sightings/87505796/

Guys this is just fantastic. Many UFO reports, videos and pilot recordings occurred on Feb 1 this week. Pilots were recorded seeing something glowing in the sky over Canada on their flights and it sounds like the FAA has zero protocol for dealing correctly with UFO sightings other than reporting it and having it filed away. Also two other recorded some interesting glowing and flashing objects over Ottawa. Watch the videos below and maybe you too will be a believer. Because this many eyewitnesses and professional pilots could not possibly be wrong...it was a UFO that created many cloud orbs shooting out of it. 

Scott C. Waring

 

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

According to ebaumsworld and ctvnews, early on Jan. 19, 2024, several pilots over the Canadian prairies reported "seeing multiple lights sometimes in a triangle formation" high above them. 

Air traffic control confirmed that there were no unidentified aircraft in the area, at least not that they were aware of. 

NORAD was also notified of the incident, which occurred over Saskatchewan and Manitoba. 

There is an alleged video of the unknown multiple lights posted by UFO Sightings Daily on his X account.

And audio recordings of two of the conversations pilots had with air traffic control.

The audio recording with air traffic controllers was taken from LiveATC.net

• (https://www.liveatc.net). Originally 2.5 hours long, the audio has been edited for length. 

  

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

Story by Sara Odeen-Isbister 

Metro’s interpretation of the sighting. Yes, our designer may have got a bit carried away

(Picture: Getty)© Provided by Metro

A Ryanair plane came within just ’20 metres’ of a UFO, according to a police log.

It had just taken off from Stansted Airport in Essex when the pilot spotted a ‘black object’ at 4,000ft.

The sighting last year came to light following a Freedom of Information request to Essex Police.

The object ‘passed within 20 metres of the aircraft, the plane was travelling at 230mph and the object was travelling from north to south’, the police log says.

‘They have said that it was possibly a drone but the drone monitoring equipment at the airport has not picked it up,’ it adds.

The log records another potential UFO at Stansted Airport last year – this time three aircraft report an object ‘in their vicinity’.

In two of the reports, an object was picked up on the planes’ traffic collision avoidance systems at 500ft when they were about to land, but the pilots themselves couldn’t see anything.

There were at least two sets of UFO sightings at Stansted Airport last year

(Picture: Getty Images)© Provided by Metro

Earlier this year, someone in Colchester reported seeing a UFO that was oval in shape with no metallic colour and no apparent markings or lights.

The person said there ‘were no conventional aircraft characteristics at all’ on the object, and they did not believe it was a drone.

Meanwhile, a particularly strange sighting in the US 20 years ago went public this year.

According to a new report, a ‘floating red square the size of a football field’ hovered over a US military base not once, but twice, causing terror and chaos.

The 2003 incident was first made public during July’s congressional hearing into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), formerly known as UFOs.

Giving sworn testimony, former US Navy fighter pilot lieutenant Ryan Graves described the event second-hand, recounting the morning of October 14 in which a mysterious red square floated above Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Also in the US, the head of the Pentagon’s UFO office retired this month days after admitting there could be some truth in a whistleblower’s shocking claims that the US government is hiding evidence of aliens.

In an interview with Politico, Dr Sean Kirkpatrick said he had decided to step down after achieving his goals, having postponed retirement to take on the role.

• Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
• For more stories like this, check our news page.
• https://youtu.be/eGH67ftoJVA

{ https://metro.co.uk/2023/11/13/ryanair-plane-flew-within-20-metres... }

In recent years, the skies over Essex have become a focal point for an intriguing and somewhat unsettling phenomenon – a significant increase in UFO sightings. These occurrences, ranging from eerily close encounters with commercial aircraft to strange lights and unidentifiable noises, have not only captured the public’s imagination but have also raised serious questions about airspace safety and the unknown.

One of the most compelling incidents involved a Ryanair flight, where pilots reported an unidentified black object passing alarmingly close, within just 20 meters, as the plane ascended from Stansted Airport. This object, described as a dark, undefined form, was not detected by the sophisticated drone monitoring systems in place, adding a layer of mystery and concern to the encounter.

Such incidents have not been isolated. Over a span of five years, Essex has been the backdrop to more than 25 reported sightings, documented through Freedom of Information requests. These reports detail a variety of unexplained phenomena, from balls of light that dance in and out of the clouds to large, square objects hovering silently in the sky, emitting high-pitched noises. In one instance, pilots reported their collision avoidance systems detecting an unseen object, further underscoring the tangible risks these unidentified objects pose to flight safety.

The accumulation of these sightings has reignited discussions about the need for a dedicated investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Experts like Nick Pope, who previously ran the British government’s UFO project, argue that these incidents represent a credible flight safety issue that demands serious attention. Pope’s call to revisit the decision to terminate the MoD’s UFO investigation program in 2009 is a testament to the growing concern and interest in these unexplained events.

While skeptics may attribute these sightings to drones or other explainable aerial activities, the characteristics of many reported UAPs—such as their ability to maneuver in ways not consistent with current technology—suggest there may be more to these incidents than meets the eye. The fact that these objects often evade detection by conventional monitoring equipment further complicates the effort to understand their origin and intent.

The continued reporting of UFO sightings in Essex and beyond highlights a broader need for enhanced monitoring, reporting, and investigation of aerial phenomena. Whether these objects are of earthly origin or not, their presence in airspace frequented by commercial aircraft represents a potential threat that cannot be ignored. As we move forward, it is crucial that authorities take these reports seriously, not only to ensure the safety of our skies but also to explore the possibility of discoveries that could expand our understanding of the world and the universe beyond.

As the mystery of UFO sightings in Essex continues to unfold, it serves as a reminder of the vast unknowns that still exist in our skies. The pursuit of answers not only addresses concerns of airspace safety but also feeds the innate human curiosity about what lies beyond the familiar confines of our planet. In this quest for knowledge, the skies above Essex remind us that sometimes, the truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

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

Terug wakker na 40.000 jaar

© Pixabay

Russische onderzoekers hebben in 2018 een bijzondere ontdekking gedaan. Toen de onderzoekers regenwormen ontdooiden die al 40.000 jaar bevroren zaten in een Siberische ijslaag, begonnen ze opnieuw te bewegen en zelfs te eten.

De uitleg hiervoor is een extreme vorm van cryptobiose. Dit is een overlevingsstrategie waarbij een organisme onder extreme omstandigheden toch overleeft.

De wetenschappers vrezen nu dat ook andere organismen die tot nu toe steeds bevroren waren in de permafrost, opnieuw tot leven kunnen komen. Daarbij kunnen mogelijks ook bacteriën en zelfs dodelijke virussen naar boven komen.

De ontdooiing van de permafrost is een gevolg van de steeds toenemende klimaatopwarming.

• (Tagtik/Illustration picture: Pixabay)

{ https://www.msn.com/nl-be/ }

NASA Gives Dreamchaser the Shakedown

First up for Dream Chaser is the shock test which is the jolt experienced when the plane is separated from the cargo module. It stays on the spacecraft shaker system (a giant table supported on pneumatics and springs that can shake a payload/spacecraft at up to 100 vibrations per second to simulate the violent shaking experienced during launch) to undergo vibration tests before another shock test is completed. On completion of the tests, the spacecraft will undergo a rigorous examination to identify any issues that may have surfaced. 

Once Dream Chaser has completed this first suite of tests, it will move into the huge vacuum chamber to experience the lower ambient pressures experienced in space. Low temperatures and simulated dynamic solar heating will all go further to test the space planes readiness for space. 

If the tests are successful then Dream Chaser is well on its way to its first uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station later in 2024 as part of NASAs Commercial Resupply program. It won’t be completely empty though, it will deliver just over 3,500kg of cargo to the ISS. 

If the first flight is successful then there are variants of the plane under development including an additional crewed variant that can carry up to seven passengers to low Earth orbit and a National Security Variant, the details of which are being kept under strict security protocols.

Source : 

• NASA Spaceplane Shaken at NASA Test Facility

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

POSTED BY MARK THOMPSON

Perseverance Gives Us One Last Look at the Damaged Ingenuity Helicopter

Well I consider that a success; the first aircraft on another world surpassed all expectations. Ingenuity, the helicopter that has been buzzing around on Mars has finally reached the end of its life after a total of 72 flights on the red planet. In a wonderful piece of computer imagery, Simeon Schmauß took a number of images of Ingeniuty from Perseverance and stiched them together into a mosaic and upscaled to provide a human eye view. 

The groundbreaking voyage of the Ingenuity helicopter commenced on February 18, 2021, upon its arrival on Mars. This journey was facilitated as part of the Mars 2020 mission, alongside the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with collaborative efforts from AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, SolAero, and Lockheed Space. Its primary objective was straightforward: to showcase the technological capabilities required for flight operations on an extraterrestrial terrain.

Once configured for flight, it stood at a height of 0.49 meters with a rotor span of 1.2 meters. While this may appear substantial in comparison to drones on Earth, such dimensions were imperative for achieving flight on Mars. The thinner atmosphere necessitated larger rotors to generate the required lift. These rotors were designed to rotate at a speed of 2,400 revolutions per minute, with two separate drives enabling the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of blade sets. Positioned atop the rotors was a solar panel for battery charging, alongside a wireless communication system and essential navigation sensors and cameras.

The first flight took place on 19th April and sadly the 72nd flight on the 18th January was to be its last. An emergency landing led to damage to one of the rotor blades rendering Ingeniuty grounded, permanently. 

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast. This image was acquired on Feb. 4, 2024 (Sol 1052) at the local mean solar time of 13:05:37.  Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

One of the core principles of NASA is that the images and data they capture are all public domain and released for anyone to look at and work with. Taking six images from the right MastCam-Z of Perseverance, GeoVisual Design student Simeon Schmauß recreated the vista that a human visitor to Mars would have been greeted with. The image was even colour corrected to match our eyes and revealed Ingenuity’s final resting place among the rippling sands of Neretvav Vallis on Mars. 

The full resolution image really is incredible, testimony not only to the quality of the imaging platform on Perseverance but also to the processing skills of Schmauß. I found myself exploring the view for some time and even found myself transported to Mars (virtually of course) walking among the dunes on the Martian surface and coming across the plucky helicopter as it sat silently. Farewall Ingenuity, thank you for all the science and stunning images, you were an incredible helicoper and our first on another world.

Source :

• Simeon Schmauß ‘X’ feed 

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Fragments From That Asteroid That Exploded Above Berlin Have Been Recovered and They're Really Special

Aubrite meteorite from asteroid 2024 BX1, photographed at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin by Laura Kranich, a Freie Universität MSc student and member of the Arbeitskreis Meteore, who participated in the search and found this meteorite near the village of Ribbeck, Germany. Credit: SETI Institute

Finding the fragments was a major challenge because of the peculiar appearance of aubrites, which resemble rocks like any other from a distance but are quite different to look at up close. Whereas other types of meteors have a thin crust of black glass caused by the extreme heat generated by passing through the atmosphere, aubrites have a mostly translucent glass crust. Christopher Hamann, a researcher from the Museum für Naturkunde, was involved in the initial classification and participated in the search. As he related in a SETI Institute press release:

“Aubrites do not look like what people generally imagine meteorites to look like. Aubrites look more like a gray granite and consist mainly of the magnesium silicates enstatite and forsterite. It contains hardly any iron and the glassy crust, which is usually a good way to recognize meteorites, looks completely different than that of most other meteorites. Aubrites are therefore difficult to detect in the field.”

The asteroid (2024 BX₁) was first spotted by Hungarian astronomer Dr. Krisztián Sárneczky using one of the telescopes at the Konkoly Observatory in Budapest. The task of tracking it and predicting where it would impact Earth’s atmosphere was performed by NASA’s Scout mission and the ESA’s Meerkat Asteroid Guard impact hazard assessment systems, with Davide Farnocchia of JPL/Caltech providing frequent trajectory updates. Like the Chelyabinsk meteorite that exploded over southern Russia in 2013, the explosion was witnessed by many and filmed (though the explosion caused no damage).

This was Jenniskens’ fourth guided recovery of a small asteroid that fell to Earth, the previous events being a 2023 impact in France, a 2018 impact in Botswana, and a 2008 impact in Sudan. As he explained, this latest asteroid was particularly challenging to track down:

“Even with superb directions by meteor astronomers Drs. Pavel Spurný, Jirí Borovicka, and Lukáš Shrbený of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who calculated how the strong winds blew the meteorites and predicted that these could be rare enstatite-rich meteorites based on the light emitted by the fireball, our search team initially could not easily spot them on the ground. We only spotted the meteorites after a Polish team of meteorite hunters had identified the first find and could show us what to look for. After that, our first finds were made quickly by Freie Universität students Dominik Dieter and Cara Weihe.”

Chelyabinsk fireball recorded by a dashcam from Kamensk-Uralsky north of Chelyabinsk where it was still dawn. A study of the area near this meteor air burst revealed similar signatures to the Tall el_Hammam site.

This past week, Jenniskens’ colleagues at the MfN officially announced that they had conducted their first analyses of one of the meteor fragments. The process was led by Dr. Ansgar Greshake, the scientific head of the MfN’s meteorite collection, which consisted of an electron beam microprobe studying the mineralogy and chemical composition of the fragments. Their results revealed they the fragments are consistent with an achondrite meteor of the aubrite type, which were submitted to the International Nomenclature Commission of the Meteoritical Society on February 2nd, 2024, for verification.

“Based on this evidence, we were able to make a rough classification relatively quickly,” said Greshake. “This underlines the immense importance of collections for research. So far, there is only material from eleven other observed falls of this type in meteorite collections worldwide.”

Further Reading:

• SETI

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

THE PENTAGON’S EX-UFO CHIEF IS BLAMING THE GOVERNMENT FOR CONSPIRACY THEORIES

TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!

Loose Lips

After leaving the government last month, the Pentagon's former UFO chief has had his fair share of media hits. And he's revealing more than he likely could've while still in the military's employ — but this latest one, we gotta admit, is a doozy.

In an interview with Politico, the former head of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Sean Kirkpatrick, seemed mighty critical of his ex-employer when discussing the impenetrable institution's closed-off attitude.

The decorated military man — who now serves as the chief technology officer of the Oak Ridge Nuclear Laboratory and runs his own intelligence consulting business — thinks that the Department of Defense's secrecy leaves space for all manner of ills. Including, apparently, conspiracy theories.

"If there is a void in the information space," Kirkpatrick said, "it will be filled with the imagination of the public right and the conspiracies and these accusations."

This is not, it should be noted, the first time the onetime professional UFO-hunter has taken on conspiracy peddlers.

In an op-ed penned for Scientific American and published last month, Kirkpatrick accused so-called government whistleblowers of spreading outlandish claims about extraterrestrial corpses and alien technology being reverse-engineered for human ends. To his mind, those fairytales did little more than derail the AARO's work.

"Our efforts were ultimately overwhelmed by sensational but unsupported claims that ignored contradictory evidence yet captured the attention of policy makers and the public," Kirkpatrick wrote in his editorial, "driving legislative battles and dominating the public narrative."

Now, however, his accusations have shifted from a loose cabal of government-employed conspiracists to, well, the government itself.

In particular, Kirkpatrick believes that the Pentagon should be "more forceful" when explaining what the AARO does and why it's important. As he's said repeatedly, the office's mission was less to hunt for aliens and more to figure out what those unidentified flying objects really are. More often than not, as he told CNN's Philip Bergen for the "In the Room" podcast, the things people are seeing are secretive military crafts.

As it's become abundantly clear since he left his role as the AARO's inaugural director, the career military servant thinks dialogue and transparency between government and media is important — and as he indicated in his discussion with Politico, which came in response to the DOD's watchdog slammed the UFO office's efforts as "uncoordinated," his former employer does not agree.

"There was a very strong concern to engage in the public discourse as often as I thought we needed to," Kirkpatrick said. "The fact that [the Pentagon's leadership] can’t figure out how to get at that message without concern for spillage into other areas has always been a frustrating point."

If an ex-spook is sounding off about the government secrecy, you know the problem might be worth taking seriously — though there's little doubt his objections will make much of a difference now that he's out the door.

More on UFOs: 

• After Classified Briefing, Congressman Says UFOs May Be "Extradimensional" Angels

{ https://futurism.com/the-byte }

NASA’s Juno Orbiter Captures Stunning Images of Jupiter’s Moon Io

On February 3, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made a second close flyby of Io, the fifth of Jupiter’s moons and the third largest. Like the previous flyby on December 30, 2023, this second pass was at a distance of about 1,500 km (930 miles). During the twin flybys, the spacecraft’s JunoCam instrument returned spectacular, high-resolution images and raw data. The flybys were designed to provide new insight into how Io’s volcanic engine works and whether a global magma ocean exists under the rocky, mountainous surface terrain of the volcanic moon.

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft imaged Io, the most geologically active body in our Solar System, on February 3, 2024, from a distance of about 7,904 km (4,911 miles).

Image credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS.

Io is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and the fourth-largest moon in our Solar System.

It is approximately 3,630 km (2,556 miles) across — only slightly bigger than our own Moon.

Aside from Earth, it is the only known place in the Solar System with volcanoes erupting hot lava like that on our planet.

Io has more than 400 active volcanoes, which are caused by tidal heating, the result of a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter’s gravity and the smaller but precisely timed pulls from Europa and Ganymede.

The moon’s yellow-white-orange-red coloration is produced by sulfur dioxide-frost on its surface, elemental sulfur and a variety of sulfur allotropes.

Volcanoes were first discovered on Io in 1979, and subsequent studies by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft and ground-based telescopes show that eruptions and lava fountains occur constantly, creating rivers and lakes of lava.

Only 13 giant eruptions were observed between 1978 and 2006, in part because only a handful of astronomers regularly scan the moon.

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft imaged Io on December 30, 2023, from a distance of about 5,857 km (3,639 miles).

Image credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been monitoring Io’s volcanic activity from distances ranging from about 11,000 km (6,830 miles) to over 100,000 km (62,100 miles), and has provided the first views of the moon’s north and south poles.

On December 30, 2023, Juno came within about 1,500 km of the surface of Io; the orbiter made a second ultra-close flyby of the moon on February 3, 2024.

The second pass went predominantly over the southern hemisphere of Io, while prior flybys have been over the north.

“By combining data from these close flybys with our previous observations, the Juno science team is studying how Io’s volcanoes vary,” said Juno’s principal investigator Dr. Scott Bolton, a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute.

“We are looking for how often they erupt, how bright and hot they are, how the shape of the lava flow changes, and how Io’s activity is connected to the flow of charged particles in Jupiter’s magnetosphere.”

Juno captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Io on February 3, 2024, emitted either by two vents from one giant volcano, or two volcanoes near each other. The JunoCam instrument imaged the plumes from a distance of about 3,800 km (2,400 miles).

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Andrea Luck.

“We are investigating the source of Io’s massive volcanic activity, whether a magma ocean exists underneath its crust, and the importance of tidal forces from Jupiter, which are relentlessly squeezing this tortured moon.”

“There’s evidence of an active plume, tall mountain peaks with well-defined shadows, and lava lakes — some with apparent islands.”

Starting in April 2024, Juno will carry out a series of occultation experiments that use Juno’s Gravity Science experiment to probe Jupiter’s upper atmospheric makeup, which provides key information on the planet’s shape and interior structure.

{ https://www.sci.news/ } }