Scientists Develop Technique to Create 3D Models of Cosmic Structures

To develop their 3D modeling tool, the team looked at polarized radio light, which vibrates in a specific direction. The research team then factored in the effect called “Faraday rotation,” where the the polarization of light rotates along the direction of propagation in proportion to the projection of a magnetic field. Named after Michael Faraday, this effect was the first experimental evidence that light and electromagnetism are related. In the case of radio waves, the rotation depends on how much material they have passed through. 

With this technique, the team examined various radio image samples obtained by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder Telescope (ASKAP) and MeerKAT radio telescopes. They found they could estimate how far each part of the radio light had traveled, enabling them to create a 3D model of phenomena happening millions of light-years away. This technique also allowed the team to demonstrate, for the first time, how the line-of-sight orientation of relativistic jets can be determined.

They also examined the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the heart of the M87 galaxy. Using their technique, the team was able to show how material ejected interacts with cosmic winds and space weather and also analyzed the structures of the jet’s magnetic fields in space. As Rudnick said in a recent University of Minnesota press release:

“We found that the shapes of the objects were very different from the impression that we got by just looking at them in a 2D space. Our technique has dramatically altered our understanding of these exotic objects. We may need to reconsider previous models on the physics of how these things work. There is no question in my mind that we will end up with lots of surprises in the future that some objects will not look like we thought in 2D.”

The team recommends using this technique to reevaluate all previous analyses of polarized light sources. They also hope this technique will be applied to images taken by next-generation telescopes around the world. This includes the new Square Kilometer Array (SKA-Phase2) project, which will extend the facility to about 2000 dishes, making it 50 times more sensitive and 10,000 times faster than any other radio telescope in the world.

Further Reading: 

• UofM-CSE, 
• MNRAS

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

But while this scenario is relatively straightforward, the devil is in the details. In order for this process to work there must be liquid water underground. And some other mechanism needs to be able to remove the methane, or at least make this process cycle on and off every few months.

That opens up the possibility for life. We know of forms of life on Earth known as methanogens that do not get their energy from photosynthesis. Instead they essentially eat hydrogen and produce methane as a byproduct. The advantage of using life to explain the Martian methane mystery is that it can potentially naturally introduce seasonal variations. When conditions change under the Martian surface, for example through the warming summer months or cooling winter months, then the life can respond appropriately.

But while this hypothesis explains the seasonal variation, it doesn’t get around the fact that the Martian life would still need a source of water to live. Plus, we have absolutely no evidence for any life appearing on Mars, even in its distant past.

To date there is no clear consensus as to what is causing the seasonal variations of methane on Mars. The idea of life under the surface of the red planet remains a tantalizing possibility. The only way to answer this is to keep sending missions back to Mars and start digging.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Pentagon’s Annual UFO Report Reveals Unexplained Sightings and Airspace Risks

The Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have released their latest annual report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), commonly referred to as UFOs. This comprehensive document sheds light on hundreds of newly reported sightings and represents a collaborative effort to better understand these enigmatic events. The report also emphasizes transparency in addressing growing public curiosity and national security concerns regarding UAPs.

An unidentified aerial phenomenon in a U.S. military video.

Defense Department via To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science

Key Findings from the Report

The latest report accounts for 757 UAP sightings reported between May 2023 and June 2024, showing a significant increase compared to previous years. These reports originate from credible sources, including military personnel, pilots, and intelligence officials, demonstrating the seriousness with which the government approaches this phenomenon.

While many sightings were identified as misinterpretations of known objects like balloons, drones, or natural phenomena, others remain unexplained. For instance, a particularly concerning incident involved a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a cylindrical object near New York’s airspace. This event underscores the potential risks UAPs pose to air safety and the importance of further investigation.

The Role of the Pentagon and AARO

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in 2022, plays a central role in analyzing UAP data. Operating under the Pentagon, AARO collaborates with the ODNI and other agencies to investigate sightings, determine their origins, and assess potential threats to national security.

The report categorizes the sightings into several classifications:

• Identified Objects: Most sightings have been attributed to balloons, drones, birds, or debris.
• Unexplained Events: A smaller portion remains unidentified due to their unusual flight characteristics, speed, or maneuverability.
• Potential Threats: Cases involving military sites or air traffic highlight possible risks to national defense and aviation safety.

No Evidence of Extraterrestrial Activity

Despite widespread public interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement, the report reiterates that there is no direct evidence linking UAPs to alien technology or beings. Instead, it emphasizes a scientific and methodical approach to understanding these phenomena.

Government officials have clarified that the primary goal is to identify and mitigate risks associated with UAPs, whether from foreign adversaries, advanced technology, or natural phenomena. The focus remains on ensuring airspace security and maintaining public trust through transparency.

The Road Ahead

As the number of UAP reports continues to grow, the Pentagon and ODNI stress the importance of technological advancements in radar and sensor systems to improve detection and analysis. Collaborative efforts with international partners and private organizations are also underway to enhance global understanding of UAPs.

Additionally, the report advocates for continued public engagement and education to dispel myths and encourage accurate reporting. By fostering an open dialogue, the government aims to address both public curiosity and security concerns surrounding UAPs.

The annual UAP report from the Pentagon and ODNI represents a critical step in demystifying unidentified aerial phenomena. While many sightings have been identified, the unexplained cases underscore the need for ongoing research and transparency. As technology and collaboration improve, the government remains committed to safeguarding national security and addressing the public’s fascination with the unknown.

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

Pentagon says UFO nearly crashed into commercial airliner above New York - as bombshell report is released

• READ MORE:  Congress promises to reveal secret UFO research 

By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Pentagon has released a new report on UFOs that revealed hundreds of documented incidents of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs).

While there is no evidence to suggest that these UAPs - the government's term for UFOs - are of extraterrestrial origin, some defy explanation, including a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

The report comes as public interest in UAPs has skyrocketed, prompting the US government to work to provide some answers about these strange objects.

It was published one day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on UAPs. 

The Pentagon's review detailed 757 cases of UAP encounters that were reported to US authorities mainly between May 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024. 

That total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but were not previously reported.

Reporting witnesses included commercial and military pilots as well as ground-based observers.  

The majority of these incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 took place at altitudes estimated to be at least 62 miles above Earth's surface, which is considered space.

No injuries or crashes were reported in any of the incidents. 

But a commercial flight crew reported one near miss with a 'cylindrical object' while flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. That incident is still under investigation. 

The Pentagon has released a new report on UFOs that revealed hundreds of documented incidents of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs)

2024: Pentagon releases footage of UFOs spotted around the world

In three other cases, military air crews reported being followed or shadowed by unidentified aircraft, but investigators found no evidence linking the activity to a foreign power. 

During the reporting period, 81 reports originated from US military operating areas. 

Witnesses who provided visual descriptions reported unidentified lights or round, spherical or orb-shaped objects. 

Other reports included a witness who reported a 'jellyfish' UAP with flashing lights. 

The report states that trends of UAP morphologies remain consistent with historical patterns.

'Unidentified lights and round/spherical/orb-shaped objects made up the bulk of cases in which reports provided distinct visual characteristics,' it reads. 

'Objects within the 'other' category include unique descriptions such as 'green fire ball,' 'a jelly fish with [multicolored] flashing lights,' and a 'silver rocket approximately six feet long.' 

Investigators were able to explain nearly 300 of the incidents, and in many cases, the unknown objects were identified as balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.

The report was published one day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on UAPs

The report stated that Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system is an increasingly common source of UAP reports, as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs.

But hundreds of other cases remain unexplained. 

The report's authors stated that this is often because there isn't enough information to draw firm conclusions.

'It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,' they wrote. 

During Wednesday's hearing, lawmakers heard testimony from several expert witnesses who have studied the phenomena, including two former military officers. 

The discussion included questions about alien intelligence and military research using alien technology, as well as concerns that foreign powers may be using secret aircraft to spy on US military installations. 

Government Cybersecurity and Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took a philosophical or metaphysical direction in her final question: 'How would you define non-human intelligence, non-human biologics? What are we actually talking about.'

Read More

• Navy Rear Admiral to give bombshell testimony to Congress about underwater UFOs that have been tailing US nuclear subs 

House Oversight Panelist Mike Gold, a NASA legal and policy specialist who now works in the private aerospace sector, was the last to provide his answer, to which he asserted that we must re-examine the idea with modest assumptions, but noted that an advanced visiting intelligence may not actually be biological.

When pressed about what 'non-biological intelligence' means,' Gold replied: 'Artificial intelligence, ML, machines.'

The public's interest in this topic was apparent from the sheer volume of private citizen attendance at the hearing, DailyMail.com's Matthew Phelan reported live from the event. 

Lawmakers said the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue and share their findings with the American public. 

'There is something out there,' said Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee. 'The question is: Is it ours, is it someone else's, or is it otherworldly?'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

The Pentagon's latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena

According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is one increasingly common source as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs

The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

While it is not likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House legislators called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs – the government’s term for UFOs.

Federal efforts to study and identify UAPs have focused on potential threats to national security or air safety and not their science fiction aspects. Officials at the Pentagon office created in 2022 to track UAPs, known as the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), have said there is no indication any of the cases they looked into have unearthly origins.

Read More

• New chemical to be added to all UK white bread and flour by 2026

“It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,” the authors of the report wrote. The Pentagon’s review covered 757 cases from around the world that were reported to US authorities from May 1 2023 to June 1 2024.

The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but had not been previously reported. The great majority of the reported incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 occurred at altitudes estimated to be at least 100 kilometres (62 miles), which is considered space.

None occurred underwater. Reporting witnesses included commercial and military pilots as well as ground-based observers.

Investigators found explanations for nearly 300 of the incidents. In many cases, the unknown objects were found to be balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.

According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is one increasingly common source as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs. Hundreds of other cases remain unexplained, though the report’s authors stressed that is often because there is not enough information to draw firm conclusions.

No injuries or crashes were reported in any of the incidents, though a commercial flight crew reported one near miss with a “cylindrical object” while flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. That incident remains under investigation.

In three other cases, military air crews reported being followed or shadowed by unidentified aircraft, though investigators could find no evidence to link the activity to a foreign power. For witnesses who provided visual descriptions, unidentified lights or round, spherical or orb-shaped objects were commonly reported.

Other reports included a witness who reported a jellyfish with flashing lights. During Wednesday’s hearing on UAPs, legislators heard evidence from several expert witnesses who have studied the phenomena, including two former military officers.

The discussion included fanciful questions about alien intelligence and military research using alien technology as well as concerns that foreign powers may be using secret aircraft to spy on US military installations.

Legislators said the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue – and share those findings with Americans. There is something out there,” said Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/ }

Pentagon’s Latest UFO Report Identifies Hotspots for Sightings

“AARO has successfully resolved hundreds of cases in its holdings to commonplace objects such as balloons, birds, drones, satellites and aircraft,” the office’s director, Jon Kosloski, said in a news release. “Only a very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous, but these are the cases that require significant time, resources and a focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its partners.” 

In the past, U.S. military and intelligence officials have suggested that some UAP sightings may be attributable to intrusions by rival powers such as Russia or China. The Chinese spy balloon that was intercepted and destroyed by Air Force fighter jets last year after crossing over the U.S. serves as a prime example.

AARO’s latest report says that U.S. military aircrews provided two reports over the past year that identified flight safety concerns, and three reports described pilots being trailed or shadowed by anomalous objects. “To date, AARO has no indication or confirmation that these activities are attributable to foreign adversaries,” the report says, but the office is continuing to work with the U.S. intelligence community to investigate the cases.

“None of the reports AARO received during the reporting period indicated that observers suffered any adverse health effects,” the report says.

AARO’s reporting system was established to encourage members of the U.S. military to let the Pentagon know about UAP sightings and take the stigma out of the process. Based on the latest numbers, the strategy seems to be working. Between May 2023 and June 2024, AARO received 757 UAP reports, compared with 291 reports for the period between August 2022 and April 2023.

Here are more statistics from today’s report:

• Of the 757 reports received over the past year, 485 relate to incidents during the yearlong reporting period, and the remaining 272 reports relate to incidents occurring in the 2021-2022 time frame.
• In addition to the 118 resolved cases, another 174 cases have been queued up for closure, pending a final review and approval by AARO’s director. All those cases were attributed to prosaic objects.
• Seventy percent of the closed cases in 2023-2024 were attributed to balloons. Sixteen percent were attributed to drones, 8% to birds, 4% to satellites and 2% to birds.
• AARO determined that 21 cases merited further analysis, based on reported anomalous characteristics or behaviors. Those cases are being studied by AARO’s experts as well as the office’s partners in the intelligence community and the science and tech community. “AARO will provide immediate notification to Congress should AARO identify that any cases indicate or involve a breakthrough foreign adversarial aerospace capability,” the report says.
• The remaining 444 cases received over the past year lacked sufficient data for further analysis. They’ve been placed in an archive and will be revisited if additional data comes to light. AARO says it has 1,652 UAP reports in all.
• In addition to reports from the U.S. military, AARO is receiving reports of sightings by civil and commercial pilots via the Federal Aviation Administration. AARO says 392 of the 757 reports received over the past year came from the FAA.
• AARO says unidentified lights or orb-shaped objects were mentioned most frequently in the subset of UAP reports that included references to visual characteristics. Other reports mentioned cylinders, disks, triangles, squares or exotic objects such as a “green fireball” or “a jellyfish with flashing lights.”

AARO’s global map of UAP reporting hotspots highlights four broad areas: the southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico; the West Coast and Pacific Northwest; the Middle East; and northeastern Asia in the vicinity of Japan and the Korean peninsula. This doesn’t mean the aliens favor those regions. Instead, AARO says the distribution favors a “continued geographic collection bias based on locations near U.S. military assets and sensors operating globally.”

AARO says it’s getting an increasing number of cases that can be traced to sightings of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. “For example, a commercial pilot reported white flashing lights in the night sky,” the report says. “The pilot did not report an altitude or speed, and no data or imagery was recorded. AARO assessed that this sighting of flashing lights correlated with a Starlink satellite launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the same evening about one hour prior to the sighting.”

One of the reports received via the FAA mentioned a possible flight safety issue. “In this instance, a commercial aircrew reported a near miss with a ‘cylindrical object’ while over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York,” the report says. “AARO continues its research into, and analysis of, this case.”

AARO received 18 reports from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that related to UAP incidents near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, weapons and launch sites. NRC officials attributed all those sightings to drones. One of the incidents, in August 2023, involved the recovery of a crashed drone in the vicinity of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan — but AARO provided no further information about the drone.

What more can be done? In today’s report, AARO says its ability to resolve cases has been constrained due to “a lack of timely and actionable sensor data.”

“AARO continues to address this challenge by working with military and technical partners to optimize sensor requirements, information-sharing processes, and the content of UAP reporting,” the report says. “AARO is also expanding engagement with foreign partners to share information and collaborate on best practices for resolving UAP cases.”

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Landing 12 people on the moon remains one of NASA's greatest achievements, if not the greatest.

Astronauts on the Apollo missions of the 1960s and '70s collected rocks, took photos, performed experiments, planted flags, and then came home. But those stays didn't establish a lasting human presence on the moon.

More than 50 years after the most recent crewed moon landing — Apollo 17 in December 1972 — there are plenty of reasons to return people to Earth's giant, dusty satellite and stay there.

We're getting closer. In February, a US lunar lander touched down on the moon's surface for the first time since Apollo 17. The uncrewed Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, was designed by the Houston company Intuitive Machines with a $118 million contract from NASA. It was the first commercial mission to touch down on the moon and a huge step toward new human landings.

NASA has promised we will see US astronauts on the moon again soon-ish — maybe by September 2026 at the earliest, in a program called Artemis, which is set to include the first woman, first Black astronaut, and first Canadian to touch the lunar surface.

Jim Bridenstine, who ran NASA during the Trump administration, said it's not science or technology hurdles that have held the US back from doing this sooner.

"If it wasn't for the political risk, we would be on the moon right now," Bridenstine said on a phone call with reporters in 2018. "In fact, we would probably be on Mars."

Why a permanent crewed lunar base is worth it

Researchers and entrepreneurs have long pushed for the creation of a crewed base on the moon — a lunar space station.

"A permanent human research station on the moon is the next logical step. It's only three days away. We can afford to get it wrong and not kill everybody," Chris Hadfield, a former astronaut, previously told Business Insider. "And we have a whole bunch of stuff we have to invent and then test in order to learn before we can go deeper out."

A lunar base could evolve into a fuel depot for deep-space missions, lead to the creation of unprecedented space telescopes, make it easier to live on Mars, and solve long-standing scientific mysteries about Earth and the moon's creation. It could even spur a thriving off-world economy, perhaps one built around lunar space tourism.

But many astronauts and other experts suggest the biggest impediments to making new crewed moon missions a reality are banal and somewhat depressing.

It's really expensive to get to the moon — but not that expensive

A tried-and-true hurdle for any spaceflight program, especially missions that involve people, is the steep cost.

NASA's 2024 budget was $24.9 billion, which may sound like a windfall until you consider that the total gets split among all the agency's divisions and ambitious projects: the James Webb Space Telescope, the giant rocket project called Space Launch System, and far-flung missions to the sun, Jupiter, Mars, the asteroid belt, the Kuiper belt, and the edge of our solar system. 

By contrast, the US defense budget for 2024 is about $883.7 billion.

With such a tight budget, NASA is vulnerable to government gridlocks. Congress was slow to pass its 2024 budget — a delay NASA cited as a major reason for laying off 8% of its workforce at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in February.

Plus, NASA's budget is somewhat small relative to its past.

"NASA's portion of the federal budget peaked at 4% in 1965," Walter Cunningham, an Apollo 7 astronaut, said during congressional testimony in 2015.

In comparison, NASA's 2024 budget represents roughly 0.36% of US spending, according to a report from the Planetary Society. It has fluctuated between 0.4% and 1% since the 1970s, the report said.

Returning to the moon costs a significant chunk of that budget. A 2021 report from NASA estimated that the Artemis program to return people to the moon would cost a total of $93 billion from 2012 through 2025.

The Apollo program, by comparison, cost about $257 billion in today's dollars.

"Manned exploration is the most expensive space venture and, consequently, the most difficult for which to obtain political support," Cunningham said during his 2015 testimony.

He added, according to Scientific American: "Unless the country, which is Congress here, decided to put more money in it, this is just talk that we're doing here."

Referring to Mars missions and a return to the moon, Cunningham said, "NASA's budget is way too low to do all the things that we've talked about."

The problem with presidents

President Joe Biden will no longer be in office in 2026, when NASA plans to send astronauts back to the moon.

And therein lies another major problem: partisan political whiplash.

"Why would you believe what any president said about a prediction of something that was going to happen two administrations in the future?" Hadfield previously told BI. "That's just talk."

The process of designing, engineering, and testing a spacecraft that could get people to another world easily outlasts a two-term president. But incoming presidents and lawmakers often scrap the previous leader's space-exploration priorities.

"I would like the next president to support a budget that allows us to accomplish the mission that we are asked to perform, whatever that mission may be," Scott Kelly, a retired astronaut who spent a year in space, wrote in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread in January 2016, before Donald Trump took office.

But presidents and Congress don't often seem to care about staying the course.

In 2004, for example, the Bush administration tasked NASA to come up with a way to replace the space shuttle, which was set to retire, and also return to the moon. The agency came up with the Constellation program to land astronauts on the moon using a rocket called Ares and a spaceship called Orion.

NASA spent $9 billion over five years designing, building, and testing hardware for that human-spaceflight program.

Yet after President Barack Obama took office — and the Government Accountability Office released a report about NASA's inability to estimate a realistic cost for Constellation — Obama pushed to scrap the program and signed off on the SLS rocket instead.

Trump didn't scrap SLS, but he did change Obama's goal of launching astronauts to an asteroid, shifting priorities to moon and Mars missions. Trump wanted to see Artemis land astronauts back on the moon in 2024.

Such frequent changes to NASA's expensive priorities have led to cancellation after cancellation, a loss of about $20 billion, and years of wasted time and momentum.

Biden seems to be a rare exception to the shifty presidential trend: He hasn't toyed with Trump's Artemis priority for NASA, and he's also kept the Space Force intact.

For Trump's second term, some space industry experts told BI that SpaceX founder Elon Musk could influence the space agenda and help finally get the US back to the moon and, ultimately, to Mars.

Buzz Aldrin said in testimony to Congress in 2015 that he believed the will to return to the moon must come from Capitol Hill.

"American leadership is inspiring the world by consistently doing what no other nation is capable of doing. We demonstrated that for a brief time 45 years ago. I do not believe we have done it since," Aldrin wrote in a statement. "I believe it begins with a bipartisan congressional and administration commitment to sustained leadership."

The real driving force behind that government commitment to return to the moon is the will of the American people, who vote for politicians and help shape their policy priorities. But public interest in lunar exploration has always been lukewarm.

Even at the height of the Apollo program, after Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, only 53% of Americans said they thought the program was worth the cost. For the most part, US approval of Apollo hovered below 50%.

A 2023 Pew Research Poll found most Americans said NASA should continue leading space exploration. But that doesn't mean people care about going back to the moon — only 12% of the 10,329 respondents said NASA should prioritize human lunar missions.

Support for crewed Mars exploration isn't much stronger, with 11% of the poll's respondents saying it should be a NASA priority. Meanwhile, 60% said scanning the skies for killer asteroids was important.

The challenges beyond politics include problematic regolith and eye-popping temperature fluctuations

The political tug-of-war over NASA's mission and budget isn't the only reason people haven't returned to the moon. The moon is also a 4.5-billion-year-old death trap for humans and must not be trifled with or underestimated.

Its surface is littered with craters and boulders that threaten safe landings. The US government spent what would be tens of billions in today's dollars to develop, launch, and deliver satellites to the moon to map its surface and help mission planners scout for Apollo landing sites.

But a bigger worry is what eons of meteorite impacts have created: regolith, also called moon dust.

Following the Apollo missions, scientists quarantined the astronauts for two weeks after they landed, in part because they were worried about the effects of the dust, according to a 2022 NASA study. The fine powder that sits on the moon's surface stuck to their suits and vehicles and even got inside their spacecraft.

Peggy Whitson, an astronaut who has spent 675 days in space, previously told BI that the Apollo missions "had a lot of problems with dust."

"If we're going to spend long durations and build permanent habitats, we have to figure out how to handle that," Whitson said.

There's also a problem with sunlight and deadly solar radiation.

For about 14 days at a time, the side of the moon facing Earth is a boiling hellscape that is exposed directly to the sun's harsh rays; the moon has very little atmosphere, and therefore no protection against solar radiation.

The next 14 days that same side is in total darkness, dipping to temperatures below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit, making the moon's surface one of the colder places in the solar system.

NASA is developing a fission power system that could supply astronauts with electricity during weekslong lunar nights — which would also be useful on other worlds, including Mars.

"There is not a more environmentally unforgiving or harsher place to live than the moon," the astronautical engineer Madhu Thangavelu wrote. "And yet, since it is so close to the Earth, there is not a better place to learn how to live away from planet Earth."

NASA has designed dust- and sun-resistant spacesuits and rovers, though it's uncertain whether that equipment is anywhere near ready to launch.

"I already knew going to the moon was hard," Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II mission commander, said at a press conference in 2023. "But boy, it's harder than I thought."

A generation of billionaire 'space nuts' may get there

Another issue, astronauts say, is NASA's graying workforce. In 2019, more American kids polled said they dreamed about becoming YouTube stars than astronauts.

"You've got to realize young people are essential to this kind of an effort," the Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt previously told BI. "The average age of the people in Mission Control for Apollo 13 was 26 years old, and they'd already been on a bunch of missions."

An estimated 14% of NASA's workforce is over 40 years old, according to a Zippia analysis.

"That's not where innovation and excitement comes from. Excitement comes from when you've got teenagers and 20-year-olds running programs," Rusty Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut, said. "When Elon Musk lands a [rocket booster], his whole company is yelling and screaming and jumping up and down."

Musk is part of what retired astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman has called a "generation of billionaires who are space nuts," developing a new, private suite of moon-capable rockets.

"The innovation that's been going on over the last 10 years in spaceflight never would've happened if it was just NASA and Boeing and Lockheed," Hoffman told journalists during a roundtable in 2018. "Because there was no motivation to reduce the cost or change the way we do it."

Hoffman was referring to the innovative work of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, as well as to Jeff Bezos, who founded the aerospace company Blue Origin.

"There's no question: If we're going to go farther, especially if we're going to go farther than the moon, we need new transportation," Hoffman added. "Right now we're still in the horse-and-buggy days of spaceflight."

Many astronauts' desire to return to the moon aligns with Bezos' long-term vision. Bezos has floated a plan to start building the first moon base using Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket system. 

"We will move all heavy industry off of Earth, and Earth will be zoned residential and light industry," he said in April 2018.

Musk has also spoken at length about how SpaceX's Starship launch system could pave the way for affordable, regular lunar visits.

"My dream would be that someday the moon would become part of the economic sphere of the Earth — just like geostationary orbit and low-Earth orbit," Hoffman said. "Space out as far as geostationary orbit is part of our everyday economy. Someday I think the moon will be, and that's something to work for."

SpaceX successfully launched its complete Starship system in October.

It was a huge feat, proving the reusable rocket could launch toward space and safely come back to Earth.

With space enthusiasts, both public and private, making strides, astronauts don't doubt whether we'll get back to the moon and onto Mars. It's just a matter of when.

"I guess eventually things will come to pass where they will go back to the moon and eventually go to Mars — probably not in my lifetime," said 96-year-old retired astronaut Jim Lovell, who flew to the moon on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13. "Hopefully, they'll be successful."

• This story was originally published on July 14, 2018. It has been updated. 
• Correction: February 27, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the size of NASA's contract with Intuitive Machines. It was $118 million, not $118 billion. A prior version of this story also misstated the number of moonwalkers. During NASA's Apollo program, 12 people landed on the moon.

{https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

Researchers find strong evidence for “Snowball Earth” theory

Study “presents the first physical evidence that Snowball Earth reached the heart of continents at the equator” says lead author Liam Courtney-Davies.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences presents strong evidence that massive glaciers covered the entire globe during the Cryogenian Period, including thick ice sheets that likely formed over Colorado. Led by the University of Colorado Boulder, the research focuses on the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, where geologists found physical evidence related to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. The study describes a missing link found in an unusual pebbly sandstone encapsulated within the granite that forms Colorado's Pikes Peak.

Liam Courtney-Davies, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geological Sciences at CU Boulder, stated, "This study presents the first physical evidence that Snowball Earth reached the heart of continents at the equator." The discovery that glaciers reached the center of continents, where conditions would have been very dry, deepens the mystery of where and how life survives. Physical evidence that ice sheets covered the interior of continents in warm equatorial regions had eluded scientists until now.

During the Snowball Earth period, around 720 to 635 million years ago, the Earth cooled so much that massive ice sheets encased the entire planet like a giant snowball. Temperatures plummeted, and ice sheets that may have been several miles thick crept over every inch of Earth's surface. Evidence of ice in Colorado dating back 661 million years supports this hypothesis. Scientists believe that ice sheets possibly surrounded the entire planet, even at the equator, where it is warmer today.

Despite decades of research, scientists have not agreed whether the entire globe actually froze during the Snowball Earth period. Initially, geologists were skeptical about finding far more ancient hints of glaciers in tropical regions. It seemed implausible that the planet had ever been cold enough for thick sheets of ice to have reached the equator. The new findings further cement the global Snowball Earth hypothesis, which suggests that this global deep freeze endured for tens of millions of years.

The study focuses on the Tava sandstones, a series of rocks nicknamed the Tavakaiv or "Tava," which hold clues to the frigid period in Earth's past. The Tava rocks are composed of solidified sand injectites, formed when sand-rich fluid was forced into underlying rock, similar to fracking for natural gas or oil. To the untrained eye, the Tava sandstones might seem like ordinary yellow-brown rocks running in vertical bands less than an inch to many feet wide. For geologists, however, they have an unusual history; they likely began as sands at the surface of Colorado at some point in the past.

The researchers used a dating technique called laser ablation mass spectrometry, which zaps minerals with lasers to release some of the atoms inside. Recent advancements in laser-based radiometric dating allowed the researchers to measure the ratio of uranium to lead isotopes in iron oxide minerals, revealing how long ago the individual crystals formed. This allowed them to figure out an age bracket for the sand injectites, which must have formed between 690 million and 660 million years ago, during the Cryogenian Period.

The group suspects that thick ice sheets formed over Colorado during the Snowball Earth period, exposing the sands to intense pressures. The researchers envision the following scenario for how the sand injection happened: A giant ice sheet with areas of geothermal heating at its base produced meltwater, which mixed with quartz-rich sediment below. Similar to fracking for natural gas or oil today, the pressure cracked the rocks and pushed the sandy meltwater in, eventually creating the injectites seen today.

Liam Courtney-Davies says, "These are classic geological features called injectites that often form below some ice sheets, including in modern-day Antarctica." He added, "You have the climate evolving, and you have life evolving with it. All of these things happened during Snowball Earth upheaval." The researchers argue that mineral veins injected into sandstones are a sure sign of a combination of glacial pressure and geothermal heating.

At the time of the Snowball Earth period, Colorado rested over the equator as a landlocked part of the ancient supercontinent Laurentia, and the Tava rocks found on Pikes Peak would have formed close to the equator. If glaciers formed in Colorado, scientists believe they could have formed anywhere on Earth. The Colorado sites fit the criteria of being tropical, low altitude, and far from continental margins at the relevant time.

Rebecca Flowers, co-author of the study and professor of geological sciences at CU Boulder, said, "We're excited that we had the opportunity to unravel the story of the only Snowball Earth deposits that have so far been identified in Colorado." The discovery provides crucial evidence supporting the idea that the entire planet may have been encased in ice.

The findings also have implications for understanding the history of life on Earth. Before the Cryogenian period, life on Earth was dominated by single-celled organisms. After Snowball Earth thawed, the earliest examples of large organisms appeared during the Ediacaran period, which lasted from 635 to 541 million years ago. Scientists still don't understand the processes which led to this explosion in life after Snowball Earth.

Liam Courtney-Davies emphasized the importance of the study, saying, "We have to better characterize this entire time period to understand how we and the planet evolved together." He added, "If such features formed in Colorado during Snowball Earth, they probably formed in other spots around North America, too." The researchers hope that the secrets of these elusive Cryogenian rocks in Colorado will lead to the discovery of further terrestrial records of Snowball Earth.

Such findings can help develop a clearer picture of Earth during climate extremes and the processes that led to the habitable planet we live on today. The researchers' results support that a Great Unconformity near Pikes Peak must have been formed prior to Cryogenian Snowball Earth. This finding is at odds with hypotheses that attribute the formation of the Great Unconformity to large-scale erosion by Snowball Earth ice sheets themselves.

Ultimately, the study not only sheds light on a critical phase in Earth's geologic history but also deepens the mystery of where and how life survives during extreme climate events. The researchers' work underscores the interconnectedness of Earth's climate and the evolution of life, providing new avenues for exploration and understanding.

Sources:

• Science Alert,
• Cosmos,
• Phys.org,
• IFLScience,
• Science Daily

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq

{ https://www.jpost.com/ }

Welcome to this week’s double-sized installment of The Intelligence Brief… today, the DoD released its 2024 annual report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), within 24 hours of the conclusion of a Congressional hearing on the topic. In our analysis of this week’s UAP double-hit combo, we’ll be looking at 1) significant takeaways from the latest official report on the DoD’s UAP investigations, 2) trends reported by the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and then shifting gears, we’ll examine 3) what former officials told lawmakers on Capitol hill yesterday involving UAP and 4) how claims involving secret U.S. programs and Pentagon disinformation campaigns became a major focal point of yesterday’s hearing.

Quote of the Week

“Let me be clear: UAP are real. Advanced technologies not made by our government—or any other government—are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe.”

– Luis Elizondo

Latest News: In recent news from The Debrief, Avi Loeb provides an update on the release of the Galileo Project’s commissioning data from its first Observatory at Harvard University in a new scientific paper. Elsewhere, tiny “hurricanes of light” could revolutionize the transmission of information in a process described as “halfway between order and chaos.” You’ll find links to all our recent stories at the end of this week’s newsletter. 

Podcasts: In podcasts this week, on the latest installment of The Debrief Weekly Report, Kenna and Stephanie decide to take a dip in a Martian ocean and discuss China’s Mars expedition and its discovery. Meanwhile on The Micah Hanks Program, I provide a deep-dive in to this week’s Congressional UAP hearing. You can find all our past episodes on The Debrief’s Podcasts Page.

Video News: On the latest episode of Rebelliously Curious, Chrissy Newton takes a critical look at the rise of misinformation, manipulation, and cult-like followings in UFO culture. Be sure to check out other great content from The Debrief on our official YouTube Channel.

With all that out of the way, it’s time to dive into the DoD’s latest report on its ongoing investigations into unidentified anomalous phenomena and what a group of lawmakers said about the topic during a congressional hearing earlier this week.

The DoD Just Dropped Its Latest UAP Report

On Thursday, the DoD released the Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, the Pentagon’s latest official annual installment detailing its progress in studying and evaluating unusual phenomena encountered by U.S. military personnel.

The new report covers incidents from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, and any previously undocumented reports from earlier periods. According to the document, the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 757 UAP reports, 485 of which occurred during the most recent reporting period (272 reports were from a period between 2021 and 2022).

Among the key takeaways from the new report, AARO received two reports indicating flight safety concerns, and “three reports described pilots being trailed or shadowed by UAP.”

“To date, AARO has no indication or confirmation that these activities are attributable to foreign adversaries,” the report states, adding that “AARO continues to coordinate with the Intelligence Community (IC) to identify whether these activities may be the result of foreign adversarial activities.”

The new AARO report also says 49 of the cases it received were resolved, 243 were recommended for closure and are pending peer review, and 444 lacked enough data for reliable analysis. Presently, no cases it resolved have been linked to suspected foreign adversarial technologies, nor do any appear to display evidence of advanced capabilities or other scientific or technological breakthroughs.

Unknowns, UAP Trends, and Further Analysis  

However, the report states that “AARO determined 21 cases merit further analysis by its IC and science and technology (S&T) partners,” which the office “is working closely with its IC and S&T partners to understand and attribute,” given that these cases appear to “merit further analysis based on reported anomalous characteristics and/or behaviors.”

The report also says observed UAP morphologies and other attributes remain consistent with traditional observations, with most reported UAP appearing as spherical objects. The report does include several examples of less conventional reported morphologies including descriptions of a “green fire ball,” “a jelly fish with [multicolored] flashing lights,” and a “silver rocket approximately six feet long.”

AARO’s investigations also reveal that the office “increasingly receives cases that it is able to resolve to the Starlink satellite constellation,” as well as sensor artifacts on various systems that lead to misidentification of birds and similar prosaic objects.

The report notes 392 reports AARO received from the FAA, only one of which involved possible flight safety issues arising from a commercial aircrew reporting a near miss with a “cylindrical object” it encountered off the coast of New York, one of several cases AARO is still analyzing.

The report also details the recovery of a crashed unmanned aerial system (UAS) near the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, which was later provided to local law enforcement. As far as any more exotic crash retrievals, the report states that “AARO Possesses No Data to Indicate the Capture or Exploitation of UAP,” although protocols are currently in development in the event such capture were ever to occur. In the recent reporting period, AARO also says it received no reports involving adverse physiological or health effects.

Unclassified diagram detailing AARO’s GREMLIN sensor suite, which employs various sensor capabilities to detect and track UAP in areas of interest

(Credit: DoD/AARO).

AARO also reported that it has begun testing its new GREMLIN sensor system, which the office says “demonstrated functionality and successfully collected data during a test event in March of 2024.”

“The next step for GREMLIN is a 90-day pattern of life collection at a site of national security,” the report states.

UAP and Government Transparency on Capitol Hill

The release of the 2024 annual UAP report was preceded by a congressional hearing on Wednesday, the latest in a series that have recently addressed the UAP subject. Several former officials, including Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, former counterintelligence special agent Luis Elizondo, and former NASA UAP Independent Study Team member Mike Gold, along with independent journalist Michael Shellenberger, spoke before a bipartisan group of lawmakers, who expressed frustration over government secrecy surrounding the Pentagon’s investigations.

Luis Elizondo

(Credit: To The Stars Academy).

“Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs, yes or no?” Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) pointedly asked Elizondo during the hearing.

“Yes,” Elizondo said, also responding in the affirmative to an immediate follow-up from Mace asking if such programs were designed to identify and reverse-engineer alien craft.

Secret Programs and Disinformation Campaigns

Also contributing to the discussion involving alleged secret UAP programs was witness Michael Shellenberger, an independent journalist and founder of Public, who published a report several weeks ago detailing the existence of an alleged secret UAP program called “Immaculate Constellation.” According to Shellenberger’s sources (all of which currently remain on background), the U.S. Executive Branch has concealed the existence of UAP programs for decades without congressional oversight.

Another notable highlight from the recent hearing involved assertions by Gallaudet and Elizondo involving disinformation campaigns carried out by the DoD. Specifically, Elizondo highlighted instances involving information management campaigns that he claims have aimed not only to mislead the public, but also to harm his credibility. Gallaudet also discussed a meeting he attended with AARO officials earlier this year, which he likened to being an “influence operation,” where officials appeared to try and convince him of the possibility that a famous 2004 UAP incident involving an object popularly known as the Tic Tac might have been secret U.S. technology.

When pressed on what UAP might represent, the witnesses offered diverse views. Gallaudet and Elizondo suggested non-human intelligence could be a plausible explanation, while Shellenberger and NASA’s Michael Gold were uncertain about what UAP might be. However, Gold warned against making assumptions, telling Rep. Mace that “the ultimate answer is going to surprise us all.” You can find The Debrief’s complete coverage of Wednesday’s Congressional hearing on our website.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or Tweet at me @MicahHanks.

• You can find the unclassified version of the annual UAP report here.

Here are the top stories we’re covering right now…

• Breakthrough in Photonic Time Crystals: New Material Design Could Revolutionize Light Control and Amplification
  A recent breakthrough in the development of photonic time crystals could dramatically alter how we manipulate and amplify light.
• NASA-Funded Study May Have Finally Solved ‘A Mystery at the Sun’s Poles’
  New research funded by NASA into the potential formation of solar vortices may finally solve the mystery at the sun’s poles.
• “PanoRadar”: Penn State Engineers Give Robots Superhuman Vision Using Breakthrough RF-Based 3D Imaging
  Engineers from Penn State have unveiled PanoRadar, an innovative radar-based imaging system that can give robots superhuman vision.

• The Oceans of Mars This week on The Debrief Weekly Report…
  On this week’s episode, Kenna and Stephanie decide to take a dip in a Martian ocean and discuss China’s Mars expedition, and its discovery.
• Ancient Interactions with an Enigmatic “Lost” Species Profoundly Shaped Early Human History, New Data Reveals
  New data is revealing deeper insights into how early humans interbred with Denisovans in several distinct events that significantly shaped our early history.
• Galileo Project Releases Commissioning Data on Half a Million Aerial Objects: Are Any of Them UAP?
  The Galileo Project has released the commissioning data from its first Observatory at Harvard University in a new scientific paper.
• “Halfway Between Order and Chaos”: New “Hurricanes of Light” Could Revolutionize Data Transmission and Communication
  Tiny “hurricanes of light” could revolutionize the transmission of information in a process described as “halfway between order and chaos.”

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

Department of Defense Releases the Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)

This week the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence delivered to Congress the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2023.  

Analyzing and understanding the potential threats posed by UAP is an ongoing collaborative effort involving many departments and agencies, and the department thanks the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other contributing departments and agencies for their collaborative efforts to produce this report.

The safety of our service personnel, our bases and installations, and the protection of U.S. operations security on land, in the skies, seas, and space are paramount. We take reports of incursions into our designated space, land, sea, or airspaces seriously and examine each one.

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office is leading DOD's efforts, in coordination with ODNI and other government agencies, to document, analyze, and when possible, resolve UAP reports using a rigorous scientific framework and a data-driven approach. This year's UAP report covers UAP reports from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, as well as any UAP report from previous time periods that were not included in an earlier report.  AARO received 757 UAP reports during this period; 485 of these reports featured UAP incidents that occurred during the reporting period. The remaining 272 reports featured UAP incidents that occurred between 2021 and 2022 but were not reported to AARO until this reporting period and consequently were not included in previous annual UAP reports.  This brought the total cases that AARO has been reviewing to over 1,600 as of June 1, 2024.

• You can find the unclassified version of the annual UAP report here.
  
• You can also find the report on odni.gov, and on AARO's website, aaro.mil.

{ https://www.defense.gov/ }

{ https://www.dazeddigital.com/ }

• READ MORE: Loch Ness skipper shares images of monster-like shape on sonar 

By MICHAEL HAVIS FOR MAILONLINE

Stunning footage of two mysterious humps prowling through the shallows of Loch Ness 'could not be anything but the monster'.

That's the verdict of Nessie hunter Eoin O'Faodhagain, who was watching the loch via webcam when he spotted something strange in the water.

Measuring an estimated 25ft in length – bigger than four average men laid end to end – the 'whopper of a beast' is too big to be any of the loch's normal residents.

Eoin said: 'Two sections of this creature can be visibly seen rising out of the water as it moves at a steady pace – a large front hump, and a larger second hump behind.

'Both humps are black to dark grey in colour, but visually striking in the environment.

'I was ecstatic and captivated by this large, fast-moving, unidentified animal out in the deep water of the loch.

'My only instinct was that this could not be anything other than the Loch Ness Monster.'

Mr O'Faodhagain, from County Donegal, Ireland, said the sighting was 'one for the record books'.

Stunning footage of two mysterious humps prowling through the shallows of Loch Ness 'could not be anything but the monster'

Eoin O'Faodhagain was watching the loch via webcam when he spotted something strange in the water

He continued: 'The creature is no less than 25 feet long. 

'It rises about three feet out of the water.

'There are no known creatures in Loch Ness that have dimensions like this one.

'The largest of the known creatures are seals, which can reach up to eight feet long, but this whopper of a beast outreaches any seal.'

The footage, taken on October 25, was captured using a webcam at the Clansman Hotel maintained by Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN).

It's a spot about four miles from the loch's northern shore.

Eoin, a veteran Nessie hunter, also spotted something in the water there in July – but he says this latest sighting is in a league of its own.

The 60-year-old said: 'As far as Nessie sightings go, you could not get any better unless the creature came out of the water and posed outside the Clansman.

The footage, taken on October 25, was captured using a webcam at the Clansman Hotel maintained by Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN)

'If this was 1933 and you captured this sighting on black and white camera film, it would be a classic sighting by now.'

The VILN webcams can be watched live online at visitinvernesslochness.com. 

The news comes shortly after skipper Shaun Slogg and maritime pilot Liam McKenzie, 29, stumbled upon a strange shape while doing their usual rounds at Cruise Loch Ness. 

On September 22, 2024, while preparing for another vessel's arrival, Sloggie's sonar flashed up.

The sonar indicated that a large object was lurking at a depth of around 98-metres. 

He described it as 'the biggest thing I've ever seen.'

With its elongated shape and distinct features hinting at air pockets, the team couldn't help but wonder if the sonar reading was tied to the infamous Loch Ness Monster.

'The strangeness of it was chilling – it's the sort of thing that leaves you speechless,' Slogg said. 

What IS the Loch Ness Monster?

Rumours of a strange creature living in the waters of Loch Ness have abounded over the decades, yet scant evidence has been found to back up these claims.

One of the first sightings, believed to have fuelled modern Nessie fever, came in May 2, 1933.  

On this date the Inverness Courier carried a story about a local couple who claim to have seen 'an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface'.

Another famous claimed sighting is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson.

It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged.

Other sightings James Gray's picture from 2001 when he and friend Peter Levings were out fishing on the Loch, while namesake Hugh Gray's blurred photo of what appears to be a large sea creature was published in the Daily Express in 1933.

Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London physician, captured arguably the most famous image of the Loch Ness Monster. The surgeon’s photograph was published in the Daily Mail on April 21, 1934 - however it was later proven to be a fake 

The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in AD565 by the Irish missionary St Columba when he came across a giant beast in the River Ness.

But no one has ever come up with a satisfactory explanation for the sightings - although in 2019, 'Nessie expert' Steve Feltham, who has spent 24 years watching the Loch, said he thought it was actually a giant Wels Catfish, native to waters near the Baltic and Caspian seas in Europe.

An online register lists more than 1,000 total Nessie sightings, created by Mr Campbell, the man behind the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club and is available at www.lochnesssightings.com. 

So what could explain these mysterious sightings? 

Many Nessie witnesses have mentioned large, crocodile-like scutes sitting atop the spine of the creature, leading some to believe an escaped amphibian may be to blame.

Native fish sturgeons can also weigh several hundred pounds and have ridged backs, which make them look almost reptilian.

Some believe Nessie is a long-necked plesiosaur - like an elasmosaur - that survived somehow when all the other dinosaurs were wiped out.

Others say the sightings are down to Scottish pines dying and flopping into the loch, before quickly becoming water-logged and sinking.

While submerged, botanical chemicals start trapping tiny bubbles of air.

Eventually, enough of these are gathered to propel the log upward as deep pressures begin altering its shape, giving the appearance of an animal coming up for air.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Chances of aliens existing in our universe finally revealed by new 'formula for life' calculator

• READ MORE:  NASA likely to release evidence of alien life

By NIKKI MAIN SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Researchers have calculated the chance of intelligent life existing in our universe right now and in the future.

They've developed a new 'formula for life' model they claim is the most comprehensive of its kind.

But the majority of people will likely be disappointed.

That's because the new calculation put the chances of life in universes beyond our galaxy at 27 percent - much lower than the 65 percent of American adults who think there is extraterrestrial life on other planets.

The likelihood that intelligent life exists within our own galaxy is slightly lower, hovering at just 23 percent, researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Genevieve in Switzerland reported.

The research suggested that the star formations and evolution of large-scale planets could quietly combine to 'form the next generation of intelligent life.'

To uncover the mysteries of other lifeforms, the team created a theoretical model based on the Drake Equation that was developed in 1960.

The model calculates the universe's expansion and has previously been used as a framework to research whether advanced civilizations exist in our galaxy.

Researchers found there is a 23 percent chance that alien civilizations have formed in the Milky Way, while there is a 27 percent chance of them forming in other universe's

The team said they did not use their calculations to determine the number of intelligent lifeforms, but instead estimated the likelihood that they exist.

This is due to dark energy which makes up more than two thirds of the universe and drives its expansion, causing galaxies and galaxy clusters to develop.

These clusters can join together to form stars and planets that could host alien life if they remain stable for billions of years.

The research suggested that the star formations and evolution of large-scale planets could quietly combine to 'form the next generation of intelligent life.'

Lead researcher Dr Daniele Sorini, of Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: 'Understanding dark energy and the impact on our Universe is one of the biggest challenges in cosmology and fundamental physics.

'The parameters that govern our Universe, including the density of dark energy, could explain our own existence.'

The study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, also took into account that alien lifeforms that don't currently exist could develop in the future, although it did not state how long that could take. 

The researchers estimated the probability by calculating the amount of ordinary matter that combined to form stars across the history of the universe, dating back 13.8 billion years.

They then separated each star cluster by the amount of dark energy density that contributed to their formation.

The model predicted that the probability of intelligent life developing in universe's outside our own hovers at 27 percent.

'Surprisingly, we found that even a significantly higher dark energy density would still be compatible with life, suggesting we may not live in the most likely of universes,' Dr Sorini said. 

Currently, researchers can't conclusively explain what dark energy is or how much exists in the universe, Dr Sorini told NBC6 News. 

Professor Lucas Lombriser, at the University of Genevieve and co-author of the study, added: 'It will be exciting to employ the model to explore the emergence of life across different universes and see whether some fundamental questions we ask ourselves about our own universe must be reinterpreted.' 

Dr Sorini added: 'I cannot give you a number or a percentage chance of finding intelligent life at this stage as the model is just one step in the process.

The formation of civilizations could be caused by dark matter which forces the universe to grow and create star clusters that combine to create other planets that could harbor life

'We should be able to give a more accurate figure in the future. We are not restricting on when life could emerge past, present or future,' she continued.

'It could be that many lifeforms could emerge much later in the life of the universe.'

The team's findings are in contrast to past research that claimed the likelihood of other advanced technological civilizations existing was 'astonishingly low.'

In 2016, researchers at the University of Rochester in New York also used the Drake Equation to ask if humans on Earth are the only technological species that has ever existed.

They reported that the odds of a civilization developing into a habitable planet is less than one in 10 billion trillion.

Yet, even by those statistics, Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester and co-author of the 2016 study said: 'One chance in a trillion, implies that what has happened here on Earth with humanity has in fact happened about a 10 billion other times over cosmic history.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

By MATTHEW PHELAN IN WASHINGTON DC FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Congress is set to hear testimony from four sworn witnesses on America's weird and troubling UFO problem starting at 11:30am Eastern Time, Wednesday morning — and DailyMail.com is on the ground with live updates from inside the US House of Representatives.

The House Committee On Oversight and Accountability has given Wednesday's open hearings the slightly over-egged, cable TV-ready title 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.' 

But it's no exaggeration to say that the pre-submitted testimony is rife with stark accusations of 'illegal and unethical DoD [Department of Defense] disinformation efforts,' a 'multi-decade, secretive arms race' to reverse-engineer crashed UFO tech and 'even threats.'

21:46

There was massive attendance by public citizens - all eager to see House Oversight's UFO hearing live

There was one anomalous phenomena in Congress that more than a few reporters clocked as it overtook today's House Oversight hearing: rabid public interest.

One civilian visitor to the Capitol building, who hoped to attend the UFO hearing, told DailyMail.com that he'd heard some people were preparing to start loitering outside as early as 4:30am in the hopes of getting one of the coveted 'first come, first serve' seats inside the hearing room.

The line filled at least one entire hallyway of the Rayburn House Office Building, where Wednesday's UFO testimony was sworn to.

'I've covered probaly hundreds of congressional hearings,' as NewsNation Joe Khalil Washington Correspondent put it. 'This doesn't happen.'

20:14

The House Oversight hearing on UFOs is over - spilling out into the halls of Congress

Citizen-scientists, non-profit advocates on the topic of UFOs, and various well-known names in the world of UFO journalism are all keeping the questioning going outside the House Oversight hearing room.

None of what's going on is under oath anymore, but many of the event's spectators and attendees don't appear to be done inquiring about the topic.

UFO documentary filmmaker James Fox, New York Times freelancer investigative reporter Leslie Kean (who helped first bring Lue Elizondo to public reknown), and the man who brought the 'Jellyfish UFO' to the public, Jeremy Corbell, were all observing the hearing, in the room, in person.

For more from the hearing's witnesses, read DailyMail.com's exclusive interview with Luis Elizondo, our coverage of Mike Gold's work with NASA's UFO advisory group and some of Rear Admiral Gallaudet's comments on underwater UFOs.

20:00

Intelligent life may not be green aliens

Government Cybersecurity and Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took a philosophical or metaphysical direction in her final question: 'How would you define non-human intelligence, non-human biologics? What are we actually talking about.'

Gold was the last to provide his answer, to which he asserted that we must re-examine the idea with modest assumptions, but noted that an advanced visiting intelligence may not actually be biological.

When pressed about what 'non-biological intelligence' means,' Gold replied: 'Artificial intelligence, ML, machines.'

'We assume all intelligence would be like us, but when we look out into the universe we are humbled to what we don't know in terms of the form of intelligence.'

'I can't answer your question, but the ultimate answer will surprise us all.'

19:57

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert endorses 'Flat Earth' theory in unusual, self-deprecating grandstanding commentary

Colorado Rep Lauren Boebert — to some degree best known now for her attendence of 'Beetlejuice: The Musical' — spent her time with the witnesses in an extended, apparently satirical bit about her own reputation for conspiracy theories.

'Now that we have all been cautioned in this committee hearing that the mention of the Pentagon's "Immaculate Constellation" program could put us on a list, well I already find myself on many lists I am sure,' the congresswoman began.

'So, I speak my mind often. So why not now just keep going with it,' she said.

'I may just go all out and say it, "The Earth is flat. The birds are government drones. We never stepped on the moon and Joe Biden received 80 million votes in the 2020 presidential election,"' Rep Boebert told the assembled committee, witnesses and public viewers. 'Lets see how many lists we can get on today.'

19:41

Hearing co-lead grills witness on UFO crash retrievals and who has the craft now

South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace has just spent the past several minutes peppering Elizondo with a volley of questions in an effort to induce him to mention the name of the defense contractor who has long held crashed UFO material.

Rep Mace, who is co-leading this hearing, as chair of House Oversight's National Security Subcommittee, then pivoted to asking Elizondo generic questions about defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Elizondo said he'd rather let Lockheed — whose 'Skunkworks' designed several of America's most sensitive stealth aircraft since the Cold War —speak for themselves.

19:32

Former NASA advisor raises national security concerns

Florida Rep Anna Luna — who has been very active on the UFO issues with fellow committee member Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett — raised a question to the witnesses about the sophistication of UAP technology.

'It seems that some aircraft are operating off of energy we don't have. If we did obtain it, would it impact humanity for the better or negative?' she asked.

Gold jokingly responded: 'It would certainly save us [i.e. NASA] some money on funding an Artemis,' referring to America's current race to return astronauts to the moon.

However, he put on a serious face to explain how such technology poses threats to America's national security.

'If there is such technology out there we may not be the only country that has access to it. We don't want to be on the wrong end of technological surprise,' he said.

(Mike Gold, at right, testifying during the during the hearing by the House Oversight)

19:27

Was there a failed, secret effort to change ownership of a crashed UFO?

Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison is pressing Luis Elizondo, effectively, on his recent comments on the late night paranormal radio show Coast-to-Coast AM.

When not under oath, Elizondo discussed failed efforts by defense contractor Lockheed Martin to 'divest' itself of a crashed UFO that it had struggled to reverse engineer for decades.

Under oath, Elizondo has been more reticent to name the company specifically, noting again the strictures of what was approved for release by Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review (DOPSR) for his new memoir, 'Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs.'

Rep Burlinson appears to be a fan of sometime DailyMail.com contributor Chris Sharp, referencing his reporting on this failed effort to move the alleged UFO crash parts to Budget Suites billionaire Robert Bigelow's Bigelow Aerospace.

This unsuccessful effort — made public by the Pentagon's AARO in the office's historic UFO report last March — was code named 'Kona Blue.'

(Elizondo, center, during his testimony on Wednesday)

18:55

Louisiana congressman presses reporter for details on anonymous author of 'Immaculate Constellation' report

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has been pressing Michael Shellenberger on any details he can provide on his anonymous source: the author of this report on 'Immaculate Constellation.'

'The person is a current or former US government employee,' Shellenberger said cautiously.

When pressed to get into more details, he declined.

Then, when asked by Rep Higgins if he 'can't say or won't say,' Shellenberger replied 'I won't say because I protect my sources.'

By MATTHEW PHELAN IN WASHINGTON DC FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Congress is set to hear testimony from four sworn witnesses on America's weird and troubling UFO problem starting at 11:30am Eastern Time, Wednesday morning — and DailyMail.com is on the ground with live updates from inside the US House of Representatives.

The House Committee On Oversight and Accountability has given Wednesday's open hearings the slightly over-egged, cable TV-ready title 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.' 

But it's no exaggeration to say that the pre-submitted testimony is rife with stark accusations of 'illegal and unethical DoD [Department of Defense] disinformation efforts,' a 'multi-decade, secretive arms race' to reverse-engineer crashed UFO tech and 'even threats.'

18:25

Michael Shellenberger has brought his anonymous whistleblower's classified report on the secret 'Immaculate Constellation' UFO program with him

I think many who read Shellenberger's investigative report on 'Immaculate Constellation' — or who heard him speak about it on Joe Rogan — might have assumed he was shown this classified congressional briefing at the heart of his story, but not allowed to hold on to a copy.

Apparently, there's no need to speculate on that now: Shellenberger's oral presentation of his pre-written testimony has now included the journalist and academic waving before the committee a copy of that report and a promise to share it with House Oversight.

Like a lot of what happens within Capitol Hill hearing rooms, there's a bit of theatrics to this, but nevertheless it was done under oath and carries weight.

18:02

Pentagon's former UFO boss, Dr Sean Kirkpatrick defends his record - and accuses Navy witness of being 'conspiracist'

Fresh controversy has already arrived before a word has been spoken at the hearing.

Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, former director of the Pentagon's current UFO investigations at the new All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), has accused the committee's first witness of being a 'still bitter' prospective hire.

Responding to Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet's prewritten testimony, Dr Kirkpatrick accused the retired government official of harboring 'predisposed tendencies for conspiracies without evidence' which made him 'unsuitable for a job' at AARO that 'required objectivity and evidence-based reason.'

Rear Adm. Gallaudet's testimony accused AARO of targeting him for 'an hours-long influence operation' which attempted to convince him of 'the validity of [AARO's] severely flawed historical records report' as part of a 'disinformation' effort.

Unfortunately for Dr Kirkpatrick, the suspect quality of AARO's March 8, 2024 'Historical Records Report' on UFOs speaks for itself: the 45-page document cites a 'fandom.com' wiki on military history; misidentifies the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as a 'New Mexico' legislator (He represented Nevada.); and incorrectly named a 1955 Air Force-contracted study of UFOs 'Project BEAR' instead of its true name 'Project STORK' — apparently because AARO had relied on a mass-market paperback for its reference material, instead of declassified government files.

Further errors and omissions in AARO's short, unclassified report were documented by The Debrief and former Department of Defense official Christopher Mellon.

As Elizondo put it in his written testimony today: 'Most Americans would be shocked to learn that the Pentagon’s very own Public Affairs Office openly employs a professional psychological operations officer [Susan Gough] as the singular point of contact for any UAP-related inquiries from citizens and the media.'

(Dr Kirkpatrick, at right below, during a past public speaking event, accompanied by Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough, at left.)

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

How Life Could Live Under the Ice on Mars

Mars has been a fascination to us for centuries. Early observations falsely gave impressions of an intelligent civilisation but early visiting probes revealed a stark, desolate world. Underneath the surface is a few metres of water ice and a recent study by NASA suggests sunlight could reach the layer. If it does, it may allow photosynthesis in the meltwater. On Earth this actually happened and biologists have found similar pools teeming with life. 

The exploration of Mars by space probes began in the 1960’s. It began with the Soviet Union Mars 1 and NASA’s Mariner mission and was soon followed by the well known Viking landers in 1976. They were the first missions to test surface material for signs of life. The Mars Pathfinder mission took along the Sojourner rover and was followed by Spirit and Opportunity rovers after the turn of the century. Curiosity rover was among the latest of the visitors along with Perseverance and China’s Tianwen-1. The focus of later missions has been the hunt for water and analysis of the climate and geology of the planet. This was not only to understand the conditions as the planet evolved but to pave the way for human exploration. 

The Viking 1 lander was the first to capture a real selfie. This is a mosaic of high-resolution images of Viking 1 at Chryse Planitia. Image Credit: NASA/JPL.

To date, there has been no evidence of life on Mars. The question has intrigued us for decades though. Of all the planets in the Solar System, Mars is the most likely place to have once harboured primitive life, chiefly due to the discovery of liquid water in the distant past. Evidence of ancient dried river beds has been found across the planet with mineral deposits indicating that Mars was once warmer, wetter and potentially far more habitable. Even organic molecules have been discovered by the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers but researchers continue to hunt for evidence (past or present) of microbial life. 

A team of researchers from NASA have published a paper articulating their use of computer modelling to help the search. They have shown that sunlight can shine through the Martian water ice, perhaps even enough for photosynthesis to occur in shallow pools of meltwater. 

There are two types of ice on Mars, frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide. The study explored water ice which had mostly formed as snow had fallen on the surface during a Martian ice age millions of years ago. The team believe that the key to the study are the dust particles that obscure light reaching the deeper layers of ice. They suggest that sunlight will warm the dark dust more than surrounding ice and then cause ice to warm and melt. Some scientists believe that ice at the surface cannot melt due to the thin dry atmosphere causing it to turn straight to a gas. This won’t apply to the ice deeper in the surface layer. 

Such a process has been observed on Earth where dust heats ice, melts and allows the dust to sink. Over time, the dust particles will stop sinking through the ice but still generate enough heat to melt the ice and create tiny voids. It is here that thriving ecosystems have been found hosting simple forms of life. 

The paper published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, suggests the dusty ice can produce enough light at depths up to 3 metres to allow photosynthesis to occur. The subsurface pools of meltwater are protected from evaporating by the ice above. It also provides some protection from radiation too providing a possibly habitable environment for simple forms of life. The authors suggest the areas would likely form in the Martian tropics between 30 and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres. 

Source : 

• Could Life Exist Below Mars Ice? NASA Study Proposes Possibilities

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

An Otherworldly Cloud Over New Zealand

When the wind is forced to move up and over an obstacle, it creates a lower-pressure zone on the leeward side. As the wind moves, it creates standing waves. If conditions are right, these waves become visible when the moisture condenses.

The Taieri Pet forms over New Zealand’s Rock and Pillar Range in the Strath-Taieri region of Otago on New Zealand’s South Island.

The Otago region on New Zealand’s South Island is home to the Taieri Pet.

Image Credit: Peetel, (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.)

The cloud is a common feature near the town of Middlemarch. It’s mentioned in newspapers as far back as the 1890s. Locals sometimes took Taieri Pet’s appearance as a signal that a storm was coming.

The Operational Land Image (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this stunning image of the Taieri Pet in September. Landsat 8 follows a polar orbit that allows it to observe the entire surface of the Earth every 16 days.

The Landsat satellites have been monitoring Earth for over 50 years from their orbit 705 km above us. The images and data are widely used by scientists, but they’re also beautiful portraits of our extraordinary, once-in-a-solar-system planet.

Anybody can enjoy the Landsat galleries, found here.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Is intelligent alien life darting around in space — and even in the skies above us here on Earth? Has the U.S. government been covering up unexplained phenomena, and using secret extraterrestrial discoveries to boost its own technology?

Those are among the questions members of Congress discussed Wednesday in a joint hearing by subcommittees of the House Oversight Committee. Its title: "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth."

The Pentagon issued a report in March saying that it has found no evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft.

Four experts testified in Wednesday's public hearing. You can watch the proceeding here.

Extraordinary moments unfolded in a similar hearing last year, most notably when retired Maj. David Grusch, formerly part of the Pentagon's UAP Task Force, alleged that the U.S. government has recovered nonhuman "biologics" from crash sites and has long operated a secret reverse-engineering program to glean advances from recovered vessels.

Grusch isn't among the witnesses for the 2024 hearing.Four experts testified in Wednesday's public hearing. You can watch the proceeding here.

Instead, those testifying include:

Tim Gallaudet, retired rear admiral, U.S. Navy; CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC

"Confirmation that UAPs are interacting with humanity came for me in January 2015," Gallaudet said in his written testimony.

He describes being part of a pre-deployment naval exercise off the U.S. East Coast that culminated in the famous "Go Fast" video, in which a Navy F/A-18 jet's sensors recorded "an unidentified object exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike anything in our arsenal."

He was among a group of commanders involved in the exercise who received an email containing the video, which was sent by the operations officer of Fleet Forces Command, Gallaudet said.

"The very next day, the email disappeared from my account and those of the other recipients without explanation," he said.

Luis Elizondo, author and former Department of Defense official

Elizondo's written testimony was brief and alleged that a secretive arms race is playing out on the global stage.

"Let me be clear: UAP are real," he wrote. "Advanced technologies not made by our Government — or any other government — are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe. Furthermore, the U.S. is in possession of UAP technologies, as are some of our adversaries."

Elizondo is a former intelligence officer who later "managed a highly sensitive Special Access Program on behalf of the White House and the National Security Council," according to his official bio.

"By 2012, [Elizondo] was the senior ranking person of the DOD's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, a secretive Pentagon unit that studied unidentified anomalous phenomena," his bio states, adding that he resigned in 2017.

Michael Gold, former NASA associate administrator of space policy and partnerships; member of NASA UAP Independent Study Team

Gold's written testimony stressed the need for government agencies and academics to "overcome the pernicious stigma that continues to impede scientific dialogue and open discussions" about unexplained phenomena.

"As the saying goes, the truth is out there," Gold said, "we just need to be bold enough and brave enough to face it."

Michael Shellenberger, founder of Public, a news outlet on the Substack platform

Shellenberger's testimony ran to some 214 pages, including a lengthy timeline of UAP reports from 1947 to 2023.

Shellenberger pressed the White House and Congress to act, calling for the adoption of UAP transparency legislation and cutting funds for any related programs that aren't disclosed to lawmakers.

"UAP transparency is bi-partisan and critical to our national security," his written testimony stated.

Here are some key moments from the hearing:

U.S. accused of having UAP crash retrieval programs

An early exchange between Elizondo and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who led the hearing as chairwoman of the subcommittee on cybersecurity, IT and innovation, suggested that whatever UAPs are, the U.S. is intent on learning more about them — including efforts to recover any objects that might crash.

"Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no?" Mace asked.

"Yes," Elizondo said.

"Ok. Were they designed to identify and reverse-engineer alien craft? Yes or no?" the lawmaker asked.

"Yes," Elizondo replied.

"Are you read into secret UAP crash retrieval programs?" Mace later asked.

"We would have to have a conversation in a closed session, ma'am," Elizondo said. "I signed documentation three years ago that restricts my ability to discuss specifically crash retrievals."

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., asked Elizondo about the document he signed with the Defense Department.

"You specifically said the document said you can't talk about crash retrieval," Moskowitz said. "Well, you know, you can't talk about fight club if there's no fight club."

"Correct," Elizondo replied.

Mace noted that in his testimony, Elizondo stated that advanced technologies "not made by our government or any other government are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe."

"If these technologies are not made by any government, who's making them?" Mace asked, adding later, "Are these private companies you're implying, or is this nonhuman intelligence?"

"It may be both," Elizondo replied.

Immaculate Constellation

Shellenberger's Public news site recently published a story alleging that the U.S. government is operating "an active and highly secretive 'Unacknowledged Special Access Program'" intelligence operation through the Department of Defense called Immaculate Constellation.
Shellenberger shared a document with lawmakers that he described as a whistleblower report about the program.

Shellenberger said the program uses high-quality imagery and other sophisticated tools to capture data about UAPs. Quoting from the report, he said that an F-22 plane encountered several orbital objects while on patrol in an unnamed place and at an unnamed date.

"The F-22 broke trajectory and attempted to evade but was intercepted and boxed in by approximately 3-6 UAPs," Shellenberger said in his testimony. He added that a source had warned him of tight secrecy controls around the program — a point also raised by Mace.

"Rep. [Anna Paulina] Luna [of Florida] just told me, if I say, 'Immaculate Constellation,' I'll be on some list, maybe [get] a FISA warrant," she said. "So come at me, bro, I guess."

Experts push for more transparency

Over the years, a number of unusual encounters have been found to have a reasonable explanation after they were reported, from weather balloons and atmospheric phenomena to drones, airborne trash and birds.

"I think probably the vast majority of UAP are drones, experimental aircraft, weather conditions," Gold, the former NASA administrator, said. "But there is a percentage that isn't."

Gold said agencies such as NASA should get funds to develop instruments to study UAP anomalies for potential new discoveries. As things stand, he said, researchers are relying on cellphones and fighter jets' cockpit gun cameras.

Repeatedly, Wednesday's witness panel stressed that the U.S. government — specifically, presidential administrations and the Pentagon — should be more transparent about UAP reports. And they called for ensuring that no one risks being stigmatized or intimidated for trying to report or study UAPs.

Elizondo said he believes many classified materials can be shared with Congress and the public.

When Elizondo was asked how he would characterize UAPs, he replied:

"An enigma, sir, and a frustration. We are talking about technologies that can outperform anything we have in our inventory. And if this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure eclipsing that of 9/11 by an order of magnitude."

Reports of UFOs and UAPs are now more centralized

In 1977, President Carter asked NASA to look into resuming UFO investigations, but the agency and the Air Force believed "nothing would be gained by further investigation."

But in recent years, there have been increased efforts to compile and centralize the reporting of unexplained phenomena.

In July 2022, the U.S. government established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, to standardize reporting methods and data collection. It collects UAP reports from the military and from the Federal Aviation Administration including sightings reported by civilian pilots to air traffic control. The agency doesn't offer a way for the general public to file a UAP report. It does accept "reports from current or former U.S. Government employees, service members, or contractor personnel with direct knowledge of U.S. Government programs or activities related to UAP dating back to 1945."

The agency adds that potential filers should not submit "any information that is potentially CLASSIFIED, or unclassified information that is not publicly releasable (e.g. subject to export control regulations)."

Many historical records are also available

Because of intense public interest, a number of records related to UFO studies are available online, including a "case files" folder related to UAPs on the U.S. Navy's website. The FBI also has an online "vault" of records, covering the period from 1947 to 1954.

As for the famous Project Blue Book run by the U.S. Air Force from 1947 through 1969, documents related to the project are now kept by the National Archives, which holds 37 cubic feet of case files, along with at least 5 other cubic feet of records.

The bulk of the Blue Book investigations into 12,618 reported sightings were resolved, or explained, — but 701 remained "Unidentified," the Air Force has said. The service said that none of the incidents constituted a security threat or indicated abilities beyond modern science. It added, "There was no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as 'unidentified' were extraterrestrial vehicles."

{ https://www.npr.org/ }

Congressional Hearing Fuels Fresh Debate About UFOs

An 11-page document that’s attributed to a Pentagon whistleblower has provided new cases in the controversy over unidentified anomalous phenomena — also known as UAPs, unidentified flying objects or UFOs.

The document, released today in conjunction with a House subcommittee hearing on UAPs, lays out details about what’s said to be a special access program called Immaculate Constellation. It accuses officials in the federal government’s executive branch of a “criminal conspiracy” that has been managing issues surrounding UAPs and evidence for non-human intelligence “without congressional knowledge, oversight or authorization for some time, quite possibly decades.”

Over the past few years, the Department of Defense has become more open to discussing UAP reports publicly, while insisting that there have been no substantiated reports of alien visitations. During today’s hearing, lawmakers called on the Pentagon to be more transparent in its investigations.

“It is clear, from my experience and what I’ve seen, that there is something out there,” said Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn. “The question is, is it ours? Is it someone else’s? Or is it otherworldly? … We must know, and anyone who prevents us from gaining access to that information, I would consider that criminality, because we have U.S. personnel who may very well be in harm’s way.”

The document claims that the Immaculate Constellation program has imagery and other data relating to encounters with a variety of anomalous objects. “From 1991 to 2022, the most common UAP shapes reported in this [U.S. government] dataset were spheres/orbs, discs/saucers, ovals/tic-tacs, triangles, boomerang/arrowhead, and irregular/organic,” it said. The irregular objects were described as having a “floating brain” or “jellyfish” appearance.

Michael Shellenberger, an author and journalist who received the document from the purported whistleblower, said he verified the source’s credentials and assured lawmakers that the document was authentic. He also said he’s continuing to gather reports from other sources.

“Since my reporting on this Immaculate Constellation last month, another source came forward,” Shellenberger said. “He told me that they saw a roughly 13-minute-long, high-definition, full-color video of a white orb UAP coming out of the ocean approximately 20 miles off the coast of Kuwait. It was filmed from a helicopter. Then halfway through the video, the person said, the orb is joined by another orb that briefly comes into the frame from the left before rapidly moving again out of the frame.”

Shellenberger said there may be “hundreds, maybe thousands” of UAP reports in the Immaculate Constellation database.

Mick West, a retired software engineer who specializes in analyzing UAP reports, was generally skeptical of the claims made during the hearing, which was conducted jointly by two subcommittees under the aegis of the House Oversight Committee. Nevertheless, West was intrigued by the purported whistleblower report — and said the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, should follow up.

“The UFO document discussed in congressional testimony today contains descriptions of some interesting-sounding videos,” West said in a posting to the X social-media platform. “If these exist, I urge @DoD_AARO to make as many of these videos public as possible and share their analysis so we can get some clarity ASAP.”

In addition to Shellenberger, the witnesses at today’s hearing included retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, who served as the acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Trump administration; Luis Elizondo, a former intelligence official who is now an advocate for UAP disclosure; and Mike Gold, a former NASA associate administrator who was a member of NASA’s independent UAP study panel and is now chief growth officer at Redwire.

Witnesses at the UAP hearing included, from left, Tim Gallaudet, Luis Elizondo, Michael Shellenberger and Mike Gold. (Credit: House Oversight Committee via YouTube)

In advance of the hearing, Gallaudet came in for some strong criticism from Sean Kirkpatrick, who was in charge of AARO in 2022-2023 and is now chief technology officer for defense and intelligence programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. “Mr. Gallaudet is clearly still bitter that I didn’t hire him into AARO when he came looking for a job,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement distributed on X. “His predisposed tendencies for conspiracies without evidence made him unsuitable for a job that required objectivity and evidence-based reason.”

Kirkpatrick and others involved in the UAP debate have suggested that the likeliest explanations for anomalous aerial sighting have to do with advanced technologies that are being secretly employed by rival nations, including Russia and China. But questions about potential alien intrusions, secret crash retrievals and exotic technologies repeatedly came up during the hearing.

In response to such questions, Gallaudet said he believed some of the reports about UAPs could be attributed to non-human higher intelligence. Elizondo agreed. “Although much of my government work on the UAP subject still remains classified, excessive secrecy has led to grave misdeeds against loyal civil servants, military personnel and the public — all to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos,” Elizondo said.

In contrast, Gold declined to weigh in definitively on questions about extraterrestrials. “I just don’t know,” he said. “I think we must be modest in our assumptions that we’re looking for intelligence that could be biological. It might not.”

For example, Gold said, some UAPs may be controlled by artificial intelligence. “We assume that all intelligence would be like us, and every time we look out in the universe, we are humbled relative to what we don’t know, in terms of the forms of intelligence and what it may take,” he said. “l probably can’t answer your question, but I think the ultimate answer is going to surprise us all.”

The witnesses and the lawmakers seemed unanimous in their support for greater transparency about UAP sightings. Congress is currently considering legislation that would strengthen current requirements for UAP disclosure and whistleblower protection.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., hinted that more information may be forthcoming when Donald Trump returns to the White House. “This has been bipartisan, bicameral,” Moskowitz said. “As we get into a new administration, the president-elect has talked about opportunities to declassify information on UAPs, and I hope he lives up to that promise.”

VIDEOS

Replay! Historic UFO hearing held by US government

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Navy Rear Admiral to give bombshell testimony to Congress about underwater UFOs that have been tailing US nuclear subs

• READ MORE: Mystery Russian radio signal, heard for 40 years, baffles scientists

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A retired rear admiral, who served as the Navy's head oceanographer, will testify to Congress about the risks of UFOs that appear to traverse Earth's seas with impunity.

Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (ret.) has attested publicly in the past to 'an interesting correlation [...] where we see so many potential interactions of UAP [i.e. UFOs] and nuclear ships' — but has never before discussed the issue under oath.  

And increasingly, Rear Adm. Gallaudet has also given voice to growing concern among military officials that these strange apparent craft possess 'capabilities [...] beyond our current understanding of science, technology as well as engineering.'

'We need to research these more, get a better understanding of them,' as he put it this week, 'both for the national security implications, as well as just the science.' 

But despite Rear Adm. Gallaudet's openness on the once-fringe topic of UFOs, the substance of what he plans to reveal on Wednesday before the House Oversight committee's latest public UAP hearing remains a mystery.

The naval oceanographer did, however, reveal two startling UFO encounters on Monday, as reported to him by Navy personnel ahead of his testimony.

One submariner told Rear Adm. Gallaudet of an encounter a US sub had with a bizarre underwater object in the 1980s, which stopped on a dime while speeding deep under the Atlantic Ocean.

'It had all the signatures of a Russian torpedo,' Rear Adm. Gallaudet said, 'because it approached a rapid rate. But then it slowed down, which torpedoes don't do.'

Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (above) has attested publicly in the past to 'an interesting correlation [...] where we see so many potential interactions of UAP ['Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena' or UFOs] and nuclear ships' - but has never before discussed the issue under oath

Rear Adm. Gallaudet explained that this US Navy submarine — which was traveling 'at a deeper depth during a very significant North Atlantic storm' — had conducted evasive maneuvers to escape what its crew thought, at first, was a Russian torpedo.

'Because of its rapid rate of approach, they went to "crush depth." That was their SOP, standard operating procedure,' the retired rear admiral told NewsNation.

Sometimes known as 'collapse depth,' the term 'crush depth' is used to indicate a level of deep ocean where the density and pressure of water is a threat to the structural integrity of a particular submarine's design.

But, the dense water at 'crush depth' can also help a sub evade torpedoes following it, by helping to confuse the weapon's on-board sonar, used for 'acoustic homing.'

The sound waves emitted as sonar 'pings,' in other words, can be slowed, dissipated or otherwise disrupted when passing through dense water at these depths.  

'It was an old sub, too,' Rear Adm. Gallaudet said of the risky defensive gambit, which could have imploded the undersea vessel, killing its crew. 'So, they were not happy doing that and not comfortable.' 

'They really believed it was a Soviet sub,' he told NewsNation correspondent and veteran investigative reporter Ross Coulthart, 'launching an attack on them.' 

'And then, of course, this object, it stopped, and it went around to their stern and followed them,' he continued. 'Then it rapidly accelerated out of the scene.'

'Back in the '80s, we know of no technology that could have done that. What was that?' as the rear admiral put it rhetorically to Coulthart. 'I can't explain it either.'

In his appearance on NewsNation, Rear Adm. Gallaudet also discussed 'an extraordinary story from a chief petty officer on the USS Eisenhower' in which an entire carrier strike group of multiple ships witnessed a giant UFO. Above, a fighter jet onboard the Eisenhower

Still images from a leaked video showing a spherical UFO diving into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell says the video shows 'FLIR [forward looking infrared] data' that is complimented by the unreleased US Navy radar footage

Above, Rear Adm. Gallaudet when he was a a deputy administrator to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), touring a National Weather Service office

In his appearance on Coulthart's NewsNation program, Rear Adm. Gallaudet also discussed 'an extraordinary story from a chief petty officer on the USS Eisenhower' in which an entire carrier strike group of multiple ships witnessed a gigantic UFO.

'On an earlier deployment about 20 years ago, the senior leadership, this chief petty officer, all witnessed a UAP in the middle of the strike group,' he said.

 The retired rear admiral, who also spent three years as a deputy administrator to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), also noted that he has begun 'a correspondence with Robert Hastings.' 

Hastings, author of a doorstop book on the subject, titled 'UFOs and Nukes,' has helped bring public many US military witnesses to the similar UFO events in the past.

But, Rear Adm. Gallaudet noted that several of the most persuasive witness accounts, that he has heard about, are tied up with the classified sensitivities of America's nuclear submarine fleet.

'I've heard there's others,' he said, 'but submarine information and operations are so highly classified, with nondisclosure agreements signed by everybody on the force that they're hard to come out and find.'

Rear Adm. Gallaudet will speak Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at the UAP hearing hosted by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is planning to host the hearing on Nov. 13,

According to a committee spokesperson: 'The Cyber Subcommittee and National Security Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing on UAPs on November 13. Cyber Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) will co-chair the hearing,'

VIDEOS

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Congress is revisiting UFOs: Here's what's happened since last hearing on extraterrestrials

UFO testimony via military recounts 'nonhuman' pilots and 'superior tech'

More than a year has passed since elected leaders in Congress last heard from experts about mystifying objects outmaneuvering our military and claims of shadowy government programs to study alien spaceships.

The now-infamous congressional hearing was one filled with sensational claims about UFOs. Despite the government's rebranding of UFOs with a less-stigmatized acronym – unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP – the hearing still captivated a public long obsessed with ideas of flying saucers and little green men.

So, when military officers spent hours providing compelling testimony about not just strange craft whizzing unchecked through U.S. air space, but about a concerted effort of our government to capture and study those craft, the public was hooked.

The hearing served to reignite long-held public suspicions that the U.S. military and other high levels of government are suppressing information about extraterrestrial activity and galvanized a movement for transparency. Now that a little more than a year has gone by, the government has signaled that after years of secrecy, it's slowly coming around to the idea of sharing more information publicly.

But some lawmakers and advocates say it hasn't been enough. And now, they're on the verge of delving into the topic of UAP once again Wednesday.

Ahead of the next congressional hearing, here's what has happened since Congress' last foray into UFOs.

UFO hearing: 

• US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing

Watch Wednesday's hearing

USA TODAY is providing a livestream of Wednesday hearing at the embed below:

July 2023: Military officials testify about UFOs at last congressional hearing

David Grusch, a former National Reconnaissance Officer, testifies July 26, 2023 before Congress about an alleged Pentagon program to retrieve and study downed UFOS. The … Show more   

Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

In the July 2023 hearing, House members heard testimony from two former Navy pilots who came forward with information about objects routinely violating U.S. airspace.

Lt. Ryan Graves and Cmdr. David Fravor each provided accounts of specific incidents they had either witnessed over the years or heard about from other pilots they deemed credible. Some of the accounts they described were of aircrafts displaying capabilities they believed were beyond any known human technology.

Fravor himself was among Navy pilots who spotted the now-famous Tic Tac-shaped object that was captured in 2004 on video during a flight off the coast of Southern California. In testifying about the well-known sighting, Fravor described the oval object as "perfectly white, smooth, no windows," and displaying flight capabilities that were unheard of.

But the most sensational part of the hearing came when former Pentagon intelligence official David Grusch offered testimony about an alleged shadowy "multi-decade" Pentagon program to retrieve and study not only downed spacecraft, but extraterrestrial pilots. Without offering hard evidence, Grusch accused the Pentagon under oath of being aware of extraterrestrial activity since the 1930s and hiding the program from Congress while misappropriating funds to operate it.

The Pentagon has repeatedly denied that such a program exists.

August 2023: Pentagon unveils UFO website with declassified info

Within about two months of the hearing, the Pentagon's office to investigate UFOs revealed a new website for the public to access declassified information about reported sightings.

The site, operated by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) – a relatively new Pentagon program established to analyze UAP reports – also has a mechanism for military pilots to report sightings.

More than a year after launching, the site includes a handful of videos, some of which have been explained as commercial craft and some of which have been labeled as "unresolved." Each video contains a short description with an explanation by AARO of where it was captured and what characteristics the object was exhibiting.

Those who visit the site can also access an assortment of laws, memos, congressional briefings and press releases related to UAP.

But if you're going to the site to look for evidence of aliens, you'll be disappointed. In January, outgoing AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick – since replaced by Jon T. Kosloski – appeared on a podcast and made one thing clear:

"There is no evidence of aliens and there's no evidence of the government conspiracy," he said.

September 2023: NASA releases UAP report, appoints research head

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson reveals the space agency's report on UAPs, the government's new term for UFOs, during a press conference Sept. 14, 2023 in … Show more   

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Weeks later, NASA released a long-awaited UFO report affirming that no evidence existed to confirm that alien spaceships have visited Earth.

However, in what Administrator Bill Nelson described as a signal of the agency's transparency, NASA appointed a director of UAP research.

Because of the potential threat posed to national security and air safety, NASA embarked in 2022 on the space agency's first-ever study of UFOs, For the report, experts commissioned by the the space agency outlined ways in which NASA can partner with the U.S. government and private commercial organizations to better study and understand unidentified flying objects.

Legislation aims to declassify records, make reporting easier

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-TN) attend a news conference on Nov. 30, 2023 calling for more transparency … Show more   

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In the wake of the hearing, Congress has sought to take action in the form of bipartisan legislation to demystify UFOs for the public.

Last December, President Joe Biden signed into law a watered-down version of a bill seeking the release of the executive branch's UFO records, which was included in an annual defense policy bill.

However, lawmakers like Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and many UFO transparency advocates derided the legislation as disappointment. While the measure directs the government to disclose to the public at least some records about UAP, it grants various agencies wide latitude in concealing certain information.

Did America get 'ripped off'? 

• UFO disclosure bill derided for lack of transparency

Then, under a House bill introduced in January, commercial airline pilots who witness crafts flying through the skies in unexplainable ways would be able to report the UFO sightings to the federal government. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wisconsin) both sponsored the bill, which would create a mechanism for civilian pilots and other airline workers to report sightings to the the Federal Aviation Administration.

However, the bill appears to have since stagnated since its introduction.

Alien renaissance in pop culture

The fiery Congressional hearing served to reignite a public obsession with UFOs that first came to focus after the infamous 1947 Roswell incident.

In the past year, Netflix released a docuseries. Brands like MoonPie jumped on the bandwagon. And conspiracy theories flourished. Even the tourism bureau in Lexington, Kentucky, capitalized on the craze with a tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign to encourage extraterrestrials to vacation in the city.

The idea that, absent any immediate logical explanation, strange crafts sighted whizzing through our skies must surely be alien visitors seems to only continue gaining momentum – even as astrophysicists caution that the absence of obvious natural explanations for UFOs doesn't make extraterrestrial ones likely.

Some experts even see the UFO hoopla as "a widespread societal problem."

• Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

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UFO whistleblowers tell Congress 'we are not alone in the cosmos' (video)

UFOs came to Washington again today.

Like previous congressional UFO hearings, today's event featured testimony from current U.S. military personnel who claim the American government has for decades hidden evidence of advanced technologies and otherworldly visitors from the public. A multitude of anecdotes were presented about flying orbs coming out of the ocean, disc-shaped objects, and craft "exhibiting flight and structural characteristics unlike anything in our arsenal." While such claims are nothing new, what is noteworthy about today's hearing are the pedigrees of some of the whistleblowers who testified, including a former U.S. counterintelligence officer, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and a former NASA associate administrator. All of them stressed the need for more government transparency, less stigma about the UFO topic and new policies to bring UAP data out of the "black" classified world and into the public domain.  

This isn't the U.S. government's first attempt to investigate the recent wave of UFO claims that began in 2017. A similar hearing was held last year, in which a whistleblower told Congress the U.S. government is hiding evidence of 'non-human intelligence.' 

The Pentagon also created the All-Doman Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in 2022 to investigate UAP reports and government data about UFOs, but critics, including some government officials, are skeptical of the office's aims and methods. 

Related: 

• UFO whistleblower tells Congress the US government is hiding evidence of 'non-human intelligence'

"AARO is unable, or perhaps unwilling, to bring forward the truth about the government's activities concerning UAPs," Representative Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) said during the hearing's opening remarks today. "I'm disturbed that AARO itself lacks transparency; even its budget is kept from the public. So if there is no 'there' there, then why are we spending money on it? And by how much? Why the secrecy?"

Other representatives stressed the need for transparency and data analysis today, a common theme of other recent UAP studies. "We have evidence that what we are detecting things, and we know that we don't understand them, and this is worth investigating," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said. "I believe we can always be more transparent. To me, this hearing and others are simply about the truth and getting to the facts of what these UAPs actually are."

Luis Elizondo, a former U.S. counterintelligence officer who has been vocal about such claims in recent years, told the assembled representatives at the hearing that "excessive secrecy has led to grave misdeeds against loyal civil servants, military personnel and the public — all to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos." 

We are "in the midst of a multi-decade, secretive arms race  — one funded by misallocated taxpayer dollars and hidden from our elected representatives and oversight bodies," Elizondo stated during his testimony. 

Elizondo, who claims to have previously investigated UFOs as part of a secret Pentagon program, suggested that the U.S. government create a "whole-of-government" approach to studying UAP, create a national UAP strategy and offer protections so that whistleblowers who are "desperate to do the right thing can come forward without fear."

During questioning, Elizondo was asked if some of the "advanced technologies" that have been seen monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe could be operated by aliens or private companies. "Maybe both," Elizondo replied.

Elizondo also stated point-blank to Rep. Mace's questioning that the U.S. government has programs to retrieve crashed UAP and reverse-engineer them, but avoided giving any specifics in an unclassified public setting such as the hearing.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) then questioned Elizondo, asking the former counterintelligence agent about a document he signed that limits him from speaking publicly about crash retrieval programs. "The document said you can't talk about crash retrieval. Well, you know, you can't talk about Fight Club if there's no Fight Club, correct?"

Like other witnesses, Elizondo stated that the alleged excessive government secrecy around UFOs harms national security. In response to questioning from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Elizondo stated that, if UAP sightings turned out to be technologies operated by adversarial nations, it would be "an intelligence failure eclipsing 9/11 in order of magnitude."

Retired U.S. Navy rear admiral Tim Gallaudet offered similar testimony as Elizondo. "We know from last year's UAP hearing and recent statements and publications by credible whistleblowers that UAP, NHI [non-human intelligence], and their technology of unknown origin (TUO) represent a new realization that we are not the only advanced intelligence in the universe," Gallaudet said on Wednesday, according to his published remarks. 

"Unelected officials in the U.S. government do not have an exclusive right to this knowledge about the nature of reality. The American people have a right to that knowledge," Gallaudet said. The retired rear admiral also stressed the national security and airspace safety concerns related with UAP sightings, calling them "extensive."

When Rep. Garcia asked Gallaudet and other witnesses what UAP might represent, the retired rear admiral said he believes they are evidence of a "non-human higher intelligence."

Former NASA Associate Administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships Michael Gold also testified at today's hearing, and previously served on NASA's UAP study team. Gold's testimony was more grounded; for example, he stressed the need for NASA to contribute its authority and expertise toward analyzing what UAP data it might already possess and helping dispel the stigma associated with the UFO topic. 

"Our best tool for unlocking the mystery of UAP is science, but we cannot conduct a proper inquiry if the stigma is so overwhelming that just daring to be part of a NASA search team elicits such a vitriolic response," Gold said during today's hearing. "Therefore, one of the most important actions that can be taken, relative to exposing the truth of UAP, is to combat the stigma, and this is where I believe that NASA can be eminently helpful."

Gold added that NASA has a massive archive of data that could possibly contain evidence of UAP, and suggested that artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms could help sort through the agency's trove of data to help shine light on the UFO phenomenon. In addition, the former NASA associate administrator said the agency should develop specialized instruments that might be able to gather useful data about UAP.

Related:

• NASA UFO report finds no evidence of 'extraterrestrial origin' for UAP sightings

Journalist Michael Shellenberger also testified today, telling the representatives that there's a "growing body of evidence that the government is not being transparent about what it knows about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), formerly called UFOs, and that elements within the military and IC [intelligence community] are in violation of their Constitutional duty to notify Congress of their operations." 

Shellenberger stated that there is a secret program within the U.S. government known as "Immaculate Constellation" whose sole purpose is to collect UFO and UAP reports from military personnel and sensor data and quarantine them away from the rest of the government and military. While he noted that a Pentagon spokesperson has stated no such program exists, Shellenberger recounted prior examples in which the Department of Defense has initially denied knowledge of UAP-related information only to later change its stance and either admit the information exists or release it to the public. 

"The U.S. government appears to know significantly more about UAPs than it is revealing," Shellenberger said at the hearing. "But even those who believe the U.S. government has revealed all that it knows should have no objection to Congressional demands for greater transparency."

To conclude the meeting, Rep. Mace asked each of the witnesses to define what non-human biologics or non-human intelligence mean to each of them.

"I don't think it's a stretch, when you look at the diversity of life on this planet and the size of this universe, to think that there will be more diverse, higher-order, non-human intelligence throughout the universe, and that's probably what's visiting us," Gallaudet said.

Elizondo stated he would take a scientific approach: "The definition would be the ability to react to a stimulus in a manner that requires an intellectual thought process."

Gold, meanwhile, questioned whether non-human intelligence necessarily implies life, suggesting sophisticated artificial intelligence might be responsible for some UAP encounters. Shellenberger simply stated he did not know what they might be.

Related: 

• The search for alien life

In today's hearing, as in other UFO hearings, there was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. One of the core tenets of these whistleblower testimonies is that much of the credible UFO data is classified and can't be revealed to the public based on the military capabilities that some of that data could reveal. 

Whistleblowers have attested for years that, because advanced or classified sensors and satellites sometimes capture footage or photos of unexplained phenomena or advanced craft, those photos or videos are likewise classified by the U.S. government in order to not reveal America's full surveillance or sensing capabilities. 

Such was the case in 2023 when U.S. military aircraft shot down a mysterious object off the coast of Alaska. The American government has yet to release any imagery from the event, but a Canadian freedom of information request unveiled a photograph earlier this year of a balloon-like object.

Those incidents and others like it, such as a weeks-long drone incursion above Langley Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., were discussed in today's hearing. "The origin of these drones and their operators remains a mystery," Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said. "This incident and other sightings near sensitive military installations highlights the complexity of the UAP challenge facing our intelligence, defense and homeland security committees."

{ https://www.space.com/ }

Read the chilling testimony of Navy veteran due to testify on UFO cover up: 'We're being visited'

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

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Expert witnesses plan to testify before Congress about a 'constitutional crisis' posed by government secrecy on UFOs — and even 'threats' to scientists investigating these mysterious phenomena.

One, Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, will also speak about secret 'satellite imagery' from a 2017 UFO case that has been illegally hidden from congressional oversight.

'Elements of the government are engaging in a disinformation campaign,' the rear admiral stated in his prepared written testimony submitted ahead of this Wedneday's hearing, '[including] personal attacks designed to discredit UAP whistleblowers.'

Scientists, policymakers and others have adopted 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena' (UAP) to more precisely describe UFOs and better incorporate all cases, including startling undersea encounters with apparent 'transmedium' craft.

Another witness, former NASA legal advisor Mike Gold, plans to speak on behalf of scientists, pilots and others who have faced 'negative consequences to their career' for openly pursuing answers to these enigmatic and unusual incidents.

'It's disconcerting when members of the academic community are vilified for even having the temerity to attempt to study UAP,' Gold wrote in his own testimony.

Also slated to testify: Decorated ex-counterintelligence officer Luis Elizondo, who investigated UFO cases while at the Pentagon, and Michael Shellenberger, a reporter who went viral last month with claims from a new UFO whistleblower.

Above, eerie UFO footage captured by hurricane remediation worker William Guy in September 2019 - documenting strange lights off North Carolina's Outer Banks, not too far from the Atlantic Ocean training areas where US Navy pilots reported UFOs in 2014 and 2015

Rear Adm. Gallaudet, who also served as deputy administrator to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), offered to help Congress obtain the wrongfully withheld UFO satellite data in a classified briefing. 

'I would be happy in a closed setting to provide the dates involved if that would help the committee to formulate a specific request for access,' he stated in his testimony.

The rear admiral has become a prominent voice calling for wider transparency on the topic of UFOs over the past three years, as well as a defender of once senior US intelligence officers, like David Grusch, who have come forward on the issue.

Late last year, Rear Adm. Gallaudet said he found Grusch's account of a decades-old, highly classified UFO crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to be credible.

'We're being visited by non-human intelligence with technology we really don't understand,' Gallaudet confirmed, 'and with intentions we don't understand either.'

In his prepared testimony to Congress, expected to be followed by detailed questions from House Oversight, the retired Navy and NOAA official explained that he has witnessed the dangers of government UFO secrecy firsthand.

In January 2015, according to Gallaudet, he received an 'URGENT SAFETY OF FLIGHT ISSUE' inquiry on the Navy's secure internet network from the operations officer of the Navy's Fleet Forces Command — only to have that message just disappear.

'The text of the email was brief but alarming,' he testified, 'with words to the effect [of] "We are having multiple near-midair collisions, and if we do not resolve it soon, we will have to shut down the exercise."' 

'This incident disturbed me,' he added, 'for the remainder of my government service, including my time as an Under Secretary of Commerce and NOAA Administrator.'

Retired Rear Admiral Gallaudet (left), a PhD oceanographer who also served as deputy administrator to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will testify on UFOs this Wednesday in Congress. Joining him will be ex-NASA legal advisor Mike Gold (right)

According to a committee spokesperson, Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace (above), chair of House Oversight's Cybersecurity Subcommittee will co-chair the new UFO hearing

'Attached to the email was what is now known as the "Go Fast" video, captured on the forward-looking infrared sensor onboard one of the Navy F/A-18 aircraft participating in the exercise,' he added. 

What the rear admiral found most disturbing about this disappearing Navy email was that clear implication that the need for secrecy surrounding these UFOs — whatever they were — had trumped the very lives of America's fighter pilots. 

'It highlighted a dangerous culture of over-classification, where even pressing safety-of-flight issues could be swept aside under the pretense of secrecy,' he noted.

Based on his own naval experience, the rear admiral inferred that the absence of answers on these life-threatening UFOs meant that the explanation was unlikely to be a 'classified technology demonstrations' by the US Department of Defense (DoD). 

'Because DoD policy is to rigorously deconflict such demonstrations with live exercises,' Rear Adm. Gallaudet wrote, 'I was confident this was not the case.' 

'I concluded that the UAP information must have been classified within a special access program managed by an intelligence agency,' he continued, 'that even senior officials, including myself, were not read into.'

Gallaudet plans to describe these and other episodes of UFO secrecy as 'an absolute outrage' during his upcoming, in-person testimony. 

The retired senior-level official also plans to call out former leadership of the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) for what he characterizes as 'illegal and unethical DoD disinformation efforts.'

Above, a still from the 'Go Fast' UFO video - captured by Navy Pilots off the coast of Florida in 2015. Rear Adm. Gallaudet plans to testify about receiving a 'brief but alarming' official email regarding the 'Go Fast' incident that mysteriously disappeared from secured Navy servers

Republican congressman Glenn Grothman (above), chair of House Oversight's National Security Subcommittee, is expected to co-lead the UFO hearing Wednesday with Rep. Mace. Above, Rep. Grothman seen entering a secured room for a classified UFO briefing last year 

His assessment will join public comments by ex-NASA scientists, US Air Force personnel, and other UFO whistleblowers who have criticized AARO's performance of its duty to create a historical records report on past UFO cases.

'AARO needs to explain the inaccuracies and incompleteness of AARO's first historical records report,' according to Rear Adm. Gallaudet.

Submitted testimony from former NASA legal advisor Mike Gold praised House Oversight's 'devotion to truth and scientific openness regardless of the ridicule and even spite that the discussion of UAP can engender.'

Gold also served on the US space agency's UFO advisory council last year in a volunteer capacity alongside his official duties as Chief Growth Officer for RedwireSpace a private aerospace company.

'Stigmatization of UAP prevents the gathering of invaluable data that represents our best and only chance to understand the phenomena,' Gold wrote in his testimony.

NASA legal advisor Mike Gold (top right) - who also served on the US space agency's UFO advisory council last year - praised House Oversight's 'devotion to truth and scientific openness regardless of the ridicule and even spite that the discussion of UAP can engender'

This stigma issue, he noted, has resulted in malformed and maladapted official policies that are slowing down the quest for answers on these increasingly controversial debates of these seemingly otherworldly phenomena. 

The ex-NASA official cited decades of poor reporting standards for private pilots who see UFOs.

For years civilian and commercial aviators were told not to report UFOs to federal flight safety regulators but to private citizen UFO hunters, including the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) in Washington state. 

'Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instructions on the matter are difficult to find, provide obsolete advice (e.g., referencing organizations that no longer exist), and are not generally known or understood by the civilian pilot community,' he said.

Based on his submitted testimony, Gold plans to also credit the efforts of NASA's UFO advisory panel, 'particularly those who encountered ridicule and even threats due to their participation.'  

'The stigma prevents scientific inquiry,' Gold warned in his statement, 'the best tool that we have to understand anomalies, from being fully applied.'

'Moreover, science is driven by anomalies,' he noted. 'The Theory of General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, virtually all of our scientific progress has been based on discovering and studying anomalies.'

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• READ MORE: Doctors raise concerns about Sunita Williams' health on the ISS

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The stranded NASA astronaut at the center of growing health fears has finally broken her silence in a video recorded from space.

Health experts and NASA insiders had raised concerns that Sunita Williams, 59, was rapidly losing weight after photos appeared to show her looking 'gaunt' earlier this month, after spending over 150 days stuck on the International Space Station. 

But Williams hit back at the 'rumors' in a live video published by NASA today, claiming that she has actually put on muscle. 

'My thighs are a little bit bigger, my butt is a little bit bigger. We do a lot of squats,' she said.

She added that she is the same weight as when she launched to the ISS in June, and bizarrely claimed the apparent change in her appearance was due to 'fluid shift.'

'I think things shift around quite a bit, you probably heard of a fluid shift,' Williams said.

'Folks in space you know, their heads look a little bit bigger because the fluid evens out along the body.'

During spaceflight, weightlessness instantly shifts blood and fluids from the lower portion of the body to the upper areas, which can sometimes result in a puffy pace and thinner legs.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has broken her silence about fears that her health has deteriorated since becoming stranded on the International Space Station (ISS)

The health concerns surface when a photo from September appeared to she her with 'sunken' cheeks and a thinner frame 

Williams and her crewmate Barry Wilmore, 61, have been living on the ISS for five months after Boeing's faulty Starliner spacecraft was deemed unsafe to return them to Earth.

The mission was initially only supposed to be eight days but the astronauts won't return until February 2025. 

Williams spoke with the New England Sports Network Clubhouse Kids Show Tuesday while more than 250 miles above Earth's surface. 

During the interview, she addressed health concerns, calling them 'rumors,' and discussed her food intake, such as dining on a Turkish fish stew with olives and rice.

Williams did not provide details about her caloric intake while aboard the ISS.

A photo taken September 24 initially sparked health fears. A doctor told DailyMail.com at the time her cheeks looked 'sunken', possibly as a result of rapid weight loss.

Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and veteran in Seattle, told DailyMail.com at the time that although she did not seem at a place where her life was in danger, 'I don't think you can look at that photo and say she has sort of healthy body weight.' 

More recently, a NASA source told the New York Post that NASA has been scrambling to 'stabilize the weight loss and hopefully reverse it.'

The unnamed employee who is 'directly involved with the mission' said that Williams has been 'unable to keep up with the high-caloric diets that astronauts must consume' while on the ISS. 

'The pounds have melted off her and she's now skin and bones. So it's a priority to help her stabilize the weight loss and hopefully reverse it,' the NASA source told the New York Post.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore before their mission on June 5. Williams said that she is the same weight now as she was at launch

Williams did not touch on her caloric intake while on the ISS, but alluded that she was eating well 

Williams and Wilmore still have to wait about three to four months until they can return to Earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that Williams' alleged health decline will impact this timeline.

But the female body suffers more in space than their male counterparts.

A study assembled by NASA in 2014 found that women have greater loss of blood plasma volume than men during spaceflight, and women’s stress response characteristically includes a heart rate increase while men respond with an increase in vascular resistance.

Read More

• The frightening amount of radiation NASA's stranded astronauts have endured because of Boeing's faulty spaceship 

The loss of blood plasma causes your metabolic rate to temporarily increase while your body mobilizes resources to adjust to the loss of plasma.

And this response can slightly elevate your calorie burn, resulting in weight loss similar to what Williams may be experiencing.

Another study released by Ball University in 2023 also found that women lose more muscle than men in a microgravity environment such as spaceflight.

'The amount of oxygen in the air is lower than it is at baseline, their nutritional intake is not going to be as robust as can be on the ground,' said Dr Gupta.

'Their ability to work out is going to be limited. So every every sort of physiologic variable that defines our well being is going to be suboptimal, especially even in a pressurized cabin, but in, you know, in outer space in their case, right?

'So what you're seeing there in that picture, especially with Sunita, is somebody that I think is experiencing the natural stresses of living at very high altitude, even in a pressurized cabin, for extended periods.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech).

The new findings could improve the chances of life having once existed on Mars, as well as the likelihood that additional evidence for it may be uncovered during current investigations at promising sites like Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently conducting studies.

Harsh Living Conditions

The cold, dry conditions on Mars right now make it an unlikely place for organisms to be able to thrive, and a demanding place for humans who may undertake extended missions there in future decades.

Yet geological evidence suggests that this might not have been the case in the distant past. Around 3.7 million years ago, Mars may have possessed liquid water and an environment in which at least simple organisms could have thrived.

According to the Tohoku University team, formaldehyde might have also formed during this period of relative habitability on Mars. This is significant because formaldehyde is an important precursor in the formation of biomolecules through abiotic processes.

Modeling Early Mars

The Tohoku University team employed a computer model that allowed them to simulate conditions on the Red Planet long ago and see whether the formation of formaldehyde seemed likely based on the premise that the atmosphere then would have had an abundance of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

Based on their simulations, Mars would have had an atmosphere 3.6 to 2.8 billion years ago that could have provided enough formaldehyde to allow several different organic compounds to form. This is significant since it means there is a chance that organic materials found on Mars could have had atmospheric origins during the earliest geological periods on the planet.

Shungo Koyama, the lead author of a new study outlining the team’s research, says their findings offer potentially groundbreaking insights into what chemical processes might have been occurring on Mars in the past, which provide a clearer picture of the conditions there that might have been conducive to life long ago.

Building Blocks of Life

“Our results show that a continuous supply of atmospheric [formaldehyde] can be used to form various organic compounds, including amino acids and sugars,” the team writes in the paper, offering a potential origin for its presence on the Martian surface.

With formaldehyde’s conversion into ribose, the team reports that “a continuous supply of bio-important sugars on early Mars, particularly during the Noachian and early Hesperian periods,” seems plausible.

Future studies by the team aim to explore geological data NASA’s rovers have collected to find additional clues about the presence of organic molecules on ancient Mars, and compare their models with samples obtained from the planet.

The team’s recent study, “Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio-important molecules,” was published in Scientific Reports.

VIDEOS

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.

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Lue Elizondo’s Attorney Discloses We Have Working Teleportation & Anti-Gravity Technology

In the recent episode of “The UFO Podcast,” Sheehan said 40 witnesses have come forward with compelling evidence supporting the existence of UFO crafts. These witnesses, he claims, are aware not only of the existence of such crafts but also of the aerospace industry’s involvement in reverse engineering them for weapon development purposes. Sheehan stressed the gravity of the situation, labeling it an “extraordinarily serious problem.”

On “New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove,” Sheehan discussed the information on UFO reverse engineering. He said, “They (the US government) haven’t hit a home run but probably are on first base.” Sheehan discussed his chats with astronaut Edgar Mitchell, spilled details on anti-gravity experiments, and talked about possible advancements in UFO-related tech.

According to Sheehan, the U.S. has known about UFO-related technology since at least 1947. He mentioned conversations with Mitchell, who spilled the beans about experiments in labs trying to figure out anti-gravity. Mitchell revealed they made basic tech that could make objects weigh only half as much. Sheehan also shared a cool story about teleportation experiments, hinting at a possible connection to how UFOs travel without moving conventionally.

Daniel Sheehan: “He’s [Edgar Mitchell] also been at a place, he said that this is a big one that they actually were in one room and they put a coke bottle—I don’t know why they picked a coke bottle for the example other than the fact that it’s kind of archetypal—but they had a coke bottle and they put it on the table and had him put a little tag on it, writing his signature on it. Then had him go into this other room, and he waited there and he heard this kind of weird noise, and this light started to appear on the table, and the coke bottle manifested in the other room with his signature and stuff on the bottle. So, they’re experimenting with this kind of teleportation thing that may have something to do with the way that the UFO vehicles move from one star system to another without having to just travel super fast.”

Sheehan talked about a big change in the 1950s when magazines stopped talking about anti-gravity experiments. He thinks this tech went underground, with the military taking control of the research. It seems like they wanted to keep these discoveries hidden from the public.

About Sheehan’s Anti-gravity comment

In 1989, Bob Lazar explained the UFO propulsion system. He publicly told KLAS-5 TV that “The power source is an antimatter reactor that runs gravity amplifiers. There are actually two parts to the drive mechanism. It’s a bizarre technology with no physical hookup between any of the systems inside. They use gravity as a wave, employing wave guides, almost like microwaves.”

Lazar’s claims seem to be true after a 2020 New York story, “No Longer in Shadows, Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit Will Make Some Findings Public,” that included some information about how astrophysicist and the Pentagon contractor Eric W. Davis gave a classified briefing to government officials in March 2020 about retrieved “off-world vehicles not made on this earth.” (Click here to read the full article)

At the 29th annual SSE Conference in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado, USA, Dr. Davis responded to the question of UFOs as they pertain to potential physics for traversable wormholes, warp drives, and anti-gravity. During a question and answer session, one questioner asked whether “…properties of UFOs had guided the thinking and research of that initiative.” Dr. Davis answered: “Secretly yes and overtly no.”

Giving a reason for the secrecy, he stated that “UFOs don’t have credibility with mainstream academic researchers,” and that “… policymakers and decision-makers in charge of funding and programmatic… don’t want to hear the topic of UFOs. So, for the purpose of doing this officially, [we didn’t bring in UFOs], but we did consider it under the table.”

Read also:

• This Woman Saw a UFO Landing & Three Aliens Abducted Calvin Parker & Charles Hickson
• David Grusch Reveals Disturbing UFO Secrets to Tucker Carlson: Claims of Death & Physical Harm in Cover-Up

Giving a reason for the secrecy, he stated that “UFOs don’t have credibility with mainstream academic researchers,” and that “… policymakers and decision-makers in charge of funding and programmatic… don’t want to hear the topic of UFOs. So, for the purpose of doing this officially, [we didn’t bring in UFOs], but we did consider it under the table.”

Dr. Davis stated: “We haven’t seen performances that adhere to the warp drive because… basically it’s just between stars and we don’t see UFOs warping anywhere. We see them doing ninety-degree turns and rapid motions. They disappear and reappear. That is undetermined yet.”

He commented on the matter of anti-gravity: “…We have anti-gravity in Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity… There are aspects of anti-gravity, the properties of negative vacuum energy, that would create a repulsive force that allows something to levitate up. And UFOs do exhibit that.”

In 2007, Lockheed Martin scientist Boyd Bushman was featured in a UFO documentary by David Sereda titled “From Here to Andromeda.” Bushman discussed his ideas about UFOs and antigravity. He talked about his antigravity experiments and he referred to Bob Lazar, the original Area 51 whistleblower who claimed to have worked on a project “Reverse Engineering” a UFO.

About Sheehan’s comment on teleportation

According to the July 2020 NewYork Times article by Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, Dr. Davis claimed that “he gave a classified briefing to a Defense Department agency as recently as March about retrievals from ‘off-world vehicles not made on this earth.’” Dr. Davis appears frequently in stories regarding strange Pentagon investigations. He was given $7.5 million by the Air Force in 2004 to research “psychic teleportation,” or the capacity to move between places by using only your mind.

In 2022, a massive database of U.S. government reports was made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The database of documents includes more than 1,500 pages of UFO-related material from the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) — a secretive U.S. Department of Defense program that ran from 2007 to 2012.

The report also includes a list of alleged biological effects of UFO sightings on human observers between 1873 and 1994, compiled by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) — a civilian non-profit group that studies reported UFO sightings. The reported effects of UFO encounters include “unaccounted for pregnancy,” “apparent abduction,” paralysis, and experiences of perceived telepathy, teleportation and levitation.

In 2004 Eric Davis wrote a paper for the U.S. Air Force arguing that teleportation is not just a fantasy but an achievable technology and legitimate science. His paper stirred controversy, with critics labeling it as crackpot science and a waste of Air Force funds. Despite the criticism, Davis, with the Air Force’s permission, discusses his study publicly for the first time in an interview with George Knapp.

David said, “When most of us think of teleportation, images of Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise come to mind—a convenient transit system depicted in science fiction. However, teleportation is not a form of dematerialization, as portrayed in Star Trek. Instead, it involves moving animated or inanimate objects instantaneously across space, time, or dimensions.”

Dr. Davis discussed research into psychic teleportation, citing declassified documents about Chinese advancements in this field. U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly acknowledge significant progress, envisioning potential military applications such as moving troops behind enemy lines without traditional transport, inserting spies into inaccessible locations, and conducting surprise operations.

While teleportation of matter has been achieved at top research labs, teleporting people remains a considerable challenge due to ethical and practical concerns. Dr. Davis acknowledges that in some teleportation schemes, the original person may need to be destroyed, giving rise to a new individual elsewhere.

While teleporting matter has been achieved in top research labs, teleporting humans remains a more complex challenge. In the interview, Dr. Davis acknowledged the potential risks, including the destruction of the original person and the emergence of a new individual elsewhere. The ethical and philosophical implications, such as the preservation of memories and experiences, remain unanswered due to the absence of a physics or biology of consciousness.

VIDEOS

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

Watch this private Varda Space capsule's blistering return to Earth in amazing onboard video

Wat zijn de verschillen tussen Neanderthalers en Sapiens? Weinig, maar fundamenteel voor de evolutie.

door Janine

Neanderthal-Museum, Mettmann/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0 / Matteo De Stefano/MUSE/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0

Jarenlang werden Neanderthalers als een inferieure soort beschouwd: gedrongen, dommer, minder complex, wat allemaal tot hun uitsterving zou hebben geleid.

Met de Neanderthaler delen we echter meer dan 99,5% van de genetische erfenis, en sinds enkele jaren zijn experts begonnen zijn figuur opnieuw te evalueren, zozeer zelfs dat ze van mening zijn dat hij veel meer op ons lijkt dan we dachten.

Kortom, de verschillen tussen Neanderthaler en Sapiens zijn niet zo groot, maar hebben toch tot zijn uitsterven geleid. Hoe is dit mogelijk? Laten we dat samen uitzoeken!

De evolutie: twee soorten met elkaar vergeleken

Om te begrijpen wat de echte verschillen tussen Neanderthalers en Sapiens zijn, moeten we, zoals vaak het geval is, beginnen bij hun oorsprong, dat wil zeggen hun evolutie. Beide soorten stammen in feite af van de Homo heidelbergensis, oorspronkelijk afkomstig uit Afrika.

Tegenwoordig weten we dat Neanderthalers afstammen van populaties Homo heidelbergensis die naar Europa en het Midden-Oosten trokken en ongeveer 400.000 jaar geleden verschenen. Sapiens daarentegen stammen af van populaties die in Afrika zijn gebleven en ongeveer 300.000 jaar geleden verschenen.

Hier zijn de eerste overeenkomsten en de eerste verschillen: Homo neanderthalensis en Homo sapiens delen meer dan 99,5% van hun DNA. Sterker nog, wij dragen genen van onze prehistorische verwanten in ons genoom, en andersom: sommige van onze genen werden aan hen doorgegeven en kwamen duizenden jaren later weer bij ons terug.

Kortom, Sapiens en Neanderthalers verschillen niet zo veel van elkaar, zozeer zelfs dat sommige experts zich hebben afgevraagd of het twee verschillende soorten zijn. Toch bestaan ​​er enkele verschillen, en die zijn van cruciaal belang.

Cognitie: twee breinen vergeleken

Paul Hudson/Flickr - CC BY 2.0

Ondanks het gedeelde genoom komen de verschillen tussen Neanderthalers en Sapiens naar voren op fysiek en vooral mentaal niveau.

Neanderthalers hadden een gedrongen bouw, aangepast aan het koude klimaat van het glaciale Europa, en grotere hersenen.

Sapiens daarentegen waren leniger, slanker en hadden iets kleinere hersenen dan hun verwanten, ongeveer 1300-1400 kubieke centimeter groot.

Recent onderzoek, gepubliceerd in Science, heeft aangetoond dat de ontwikkeling van de hersenen wordt beïnvloed door het TKTL1-gen en dat dit bij beide soorten slechts één aminozuur verschilt. Dit verschil leidde ertoe dat Homo sapiens meer neuronen had, ondanks hun kleinere hersenen.

Bijgevolg zou onze soort een complexere neuronale organisatie hebben gehad, een groter vermogen tot innovatie en zelfs een meer gesofisticeerde sociale organisatie. Allemaal elementen van een succesvol evolutionair pad.

Toch zijn zelfs vandaag de dag sommige van onze kenmerken terug te voeren op de genetische erfenis van de Neanderthaler, zoals:

• steil, dik haar;
• een hogere neus, die zich beter aanpast aan lage temperaturen;
• een lagere pijngrens;
• de neiging om 's ochtends vroeg wakker te worden.

De uitsterving: het echte verschil tussen Neanderthalers en Sapiens?

Zoals we al zeiden, gelooft niet iedereen dat de Neanderthalers echt zijn uitgestorven. Natuurlijk is er tegenwoordig niemand meer die tot deze soort behoort, maar de aanwezigheid van hun genoom in het onze staat buiten kijf.

Zelfs vandaag de dag bestaan ​​er nog steeds veel twijfels over het uitsterven van de Neanderthaler. Tot voor kort werd gedacht dat de komst van Sapiens een aanzienlijke impact had op het voortbestaan ​​van onze verwanten. Maar de werkelijkheid is wellicht complexer.

De twee soorten moderne mensen vermengen zich al duizenden jaren en op verschillende momenten in hun evolutionaire geschiedenis. Bovendien zijn directe conflicten tussen menselijke groepen die tot de twee soorten behoren niet gedocumenteerd.

Toch moeten er verschillen zijn tussen Neanderthalers en Sapiens die de verdwijning van de eerste zo'n 30.000 jaar geleden en het voortbestaan van de tweede verklaren. Enkele van de meest recente hypotheses hebben betrekking op

• de evolutie van de hersenen en de functie van sociale samenwerking;
• een grotere genetische variabiliteit en dus een grotere weerstand tegen ziekten;
• een welbespraakte taal en een grotere neiging tot complexe communicatie.

Neanderthalers waren in werkelijkheid niet dom en onbekwaam, maar meer ontwikkeld dan we dachten. Toch zijn de verschillen met onze soort anders en kunnen ze hebben bijgedragen aan hun verdwijning.

Of misschien ook niet, omdat een deel van hen in ons voortleeft en omgekeerd.

VIDEOS

Throughout the years, reports of alien abductions have emerged from all corners of the globe. 

An alien abduction is generally described as an event in which individuals report being taken against their will by extraterrestrial beings, often undergoing various forms of physical and psychological experimentation. 

Some argue that these experiences could simply reflect the subconscious mind at work or suggest that the abductees may have unknowingly been subjects of classified military experiments. Nonetheless, many abductees share accounts with such remarkable detail and consistency that some researchers feel the phenomenon deserves serious consideration. 

Over time, I’ve shared numerous articles on cases of alleged alien abductions, which you can explore under the "alien abduction" tag below the article. 

Here are two more intriguing cases in which abductees recount their experiences in vivid detail, prompting us to seriously consider the possibility that people may actually be taken by aliens. 

The Betty Andreasson Alien Abduction: A Strange Encounter in 1967 

One of the most detailed and haunting accounts of alien abduction began on January 25, 1967, in South Ashburnham, Massachusetts. That evening, Betty Andreasson’s family experienced a power outage, followed by an eerie red light outside. Peering out, Betty’s father saw five strange beings approaching who soon entered the house, seemingly passing through solid walls. They communicated telepathically and temporarily froze the family in place. 

These beings had distinctive appearances, with pear-shaped heads, wide eyes, and a calm, almost friendly aura. Betty was led to a spacecraft in her backyard and taken aboard, where she underwent strange tests and experienced an otherworldly vision. Hours later, she was returned home, and the aliens left her family unharmed. Initially, Betty viewed her experience through a religious lens, but over time, she came to see it as an alien encounter. 

Years later, her story caught the attention of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a leading UFO researcher. Under hypnosis, Betty’s fragmented memories resurfaced, revealing consistent details corroborated by her daughter, who had also been briefly unfrozen by the beings. After extensive testing and interviews, investigators concluded that Betty was credible and sincerely believed in what she described. The Betty Andreasson abduction remains one of the most compelling cases in UFO lore.

The 1974 Medicine Bow National Forest Abduction: Carl Higdon's Astonishing Encounter 

Carl Higdon's hunting trip to Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest in October 1974 took a surreal turn when he experienced one of the most bizarre UFO abduction cases on record. Aiming at an elk, Higdon was stunned to see his bullet slow mid-air and drop, seemingly defying physics. Moments later, he noticed an unusual figure—a tall being in a black jumpsuit with rod-like appendages instead of hands—who offered him pills, claiming that one would sustain him for days. 

Higdon, inexplicably compliant, swallowed a pill and suddenly found himself in a transparent structure with two more beings and five frozen elk. He was told they were traveling 163,000 light-years away to the aliens' home planet, which he described as filled with towering structures and an intensely bright sun. 

Two and a half hours later, Higdon was back in Medicine Bow, disoriented and missing his elk. Later medical tests revealed inexplicably high vitamin levels and the disappearance of old lung scars. Adding credibility to his story, other witnesses reported seeing strange lights in the area. Higdon’s experience remains a mysterious case. 

 

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

By NIKKI MAIN SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Mysterious objects were spotted falling from the sky and breaking apart over several states, leaving thousands baffled by the cosmic display.

Streaks of glowing lights appeared over parts of Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, leaving people questioned were a possible fireball or part of a series of meteor showers.

Dozens of people reported the phenomenon at about 9pm ET, saying the lights streaked through the sky for up to 60 seconds before disappearing.

Witnesses captured the show, revealing what appeared to be a red and orange meteor shower shining bright as it broke up into several parts before it slowly dimmed and disappeared from the night sky.

A Texas resident reported that it 'first seemed like it was going straight up toward the sky then went directly over our head and we could see it breaking up as it traveled directly over us.'

Another person in the Lone Star State described it as 'by far the brightest meteor event I have ever witnessed.'

However, astronomer and orbital debris expert Jonathan McDowell confirmed the light show was caused by a SpaceX Starlink satellite breaking up as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. 

A Starlink satellite set off a fiery display as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on Saturday night

People across Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Texas speculated whether the lights in the night sky (pictured) were caused by fireworks

SpaceX has thousands of its Starlink satellites orbiting Earth to provide internet access to remote areas around the world, launching 98 this year as of mid-October.

At the end of their mission, internet satellites are designed to re-enter the atmosphere to avoid cluttering Earth's orbit with space debris. 

McDowell told Space.com that these satellites 'are dominating' the clutter in Earth's atmosphere, adding that 'there is now a Starlink reentry almost every day, sometimes multiple.'

The satellite re-entered over Washington state and continued southeast before disappearing over northern Texas.

An Oklahoma resident described the satellite as a 'bright fire ball heading southeast, slow moving, looked like it split into 3 parts,' while another called it 'the coolest thing I've seen.'

Some people speculated that the satellite was part of a series of three meteor showers - the Leonids and Southern and Northern Taurids - that reached peak activity this month.

The number of Starlink satellites that have reentered the atmosphere has drastically increased over the last fiver years, jumping from between 50 and 100 per year to around 300 annually. 

'We are seeing a similar increase in the number of satellites now that hundreds of Starlink satellites are starting to come down,' McDowell told Space.com.

The satellite entered over Washington state and flew southeast across the US before fizzling out over northern Texas

Researchers have found that burning up satellites in the atmosphere could destroy the ozone. Pictured: Starlink satellite burning up as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere

Although satellites burning up as they re-enter the atmosphere has become standard practice, researchers have questioned whether the metal particles could destroy the ozone over time.

This is because the satellites are so large and burn up slowly, releasing aerosol particles that are less than one micrometer in size.

A 2023 study found that satellite re-entries have already begun to change the stratosphere's composition.

A NASA WB-57 aircraft found 500,000 single aerosol particles that contained 20 different elements including lithium, aluminum, copper and lead.

Out of all the elements found, aluminum was the most concerning because it could react with the hydrogen chloride - a pre-existing component in the stratosphere - causing it to split apart and destroy the ozone.

Pierre Lionnet, the managing director of ASD Eurospace, a space industry trade association told Science.org that the number of satellites returning to Earth does matter.

SpaceX accounts for more than 6,000 satellites in orbit and the company has already applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to launch another 30,000 in low orbit.

Because of the mass volume of Starlink satellites, Lionnet said: 'You have to wonder whether [SpaceX] is creating a major problem 30 years from now.'

Astronomer and orbital debris expert Jonathan McDowell revealed that the mysterious light show was the result of the breaking up of a SpaceX Starlink satellite when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

Scientists propose a shocking new theory for the origin of the moon - and claim the popular 'collision theory' is WRONG

• READ MORE: Our moon went through physical changes during Covid 

By WILIAM HUNTER

Despite being our planet's closest neighbour, scientists have been grappling with the mystery of our moon's origin for hundreds of years. 

Since the 1980s, experts have assumed that our lunar satellite was formed in the aftermath of an explosive impact with the protoplanetTheia early in Earth's history.

But now, a study suggests that this so-called 'collision' theory may not be correct after all.

Instead, researchers from Penn State University say that the Earth might have neatly nabbed the moon as it drifted by in a process called binary-exchange capture.

This radical theory suggests that the moon might have started life as one part of a 'terrestrial binary', a pair of rocky objects orbiting one another.

As this pair passed within Earth's pull, the moon was yanked into orbit while the second body was catapulted out into space.

Lead researcher Professor Darren Williams says: 'No one knows how the moon was formed.

'For the last four decades, we have had one possibility for how it got there. Now, we have two.'

A new theory suggests that the moon might not have been formed by a collision with  an ancient protoplanet but through a process called 'binary-exchange capture'  

Researchers suggest that the moon might have started out as one part of a planetary binary, two large rocky bodies which orbit each other as they drift through space (file photo)

In 1984, scientists gathered for the Kona Conference in Hawaii to come to a consensus on how the moon had formed.

Using the 800lbs (363kg) of lunar material taken back by NASA's Apollo missions, the scientists found that the moon had a similar but not entirely identical chemical composition to Earth.

From this evidence, they came to the conclusion that the moon must have been formed out of debris knocked loose when a celestial body slammed into the young Earth.

This theory was popular because it fits well with much of what we now know about the chemical composition of the moon - but it doesn't explain all the details.

For example, Professor Williams and his co-author point out that, if the moon were formed from a ring of debris slowly condensing into a sphere, we should expect to find it orbiting above the equator.

However, the moon's orbit is actually tilted onto a totally different plane about seven degrees away from the equatorial plane. 

To find an alternative explanation for why this might be the case, the researchers looked at a phenomenon called binary-exchange capture.

This suggests that Earth might have snagged one of a pair of passing rocky bodies and made it into its satellite.

Earlier theories suggest that the moon was formed when a protoplanet called Theia collided with the young Earth. Scientists believe the moon was formed as the resultant ring of debris collected into a sphere 

The binary-exchange capture theory

The moon may have started out as one part of a 'planetary binary', two rocky bodies orbiting each other as they drift through space.

As this binary entered Earth's gravitational pull, the moon might have been yanked out of the binary pair.

The moon would then become the Earth's satellite while the other part of the pair was catapulted into space.

This would explain why the moon doesn't orbit over the equator as we would expect from a collision.

It also provides a reason why the moon is chemically similar to, but not identical to Earth.

In support of this idea, Professor Williams points to the example of Triton, Neptune's largest moon.

Current theories suggest that Triton was pulled into Neptune from the Kuiper Belt where one in 10 objects are thought to be a binary.

Just like our moon, Triton orbits at a significantly tilted angle, leaning 67 degrees away from the planet's equator.

And, according to mathematical models, it is quite plausible that the same thing could have happened to our moon.

In their paper, published in The Planetary Science Journal, the researchers calculate that Earth could have captured an object between one and 10 per cent of its total mass.

At just 1.2 per cent of the Earth's mass, the moon falls comfortably within this range.

The only caveat is that the planetary binary would have had to have passed within just 80,000 miles (128,750km) of Earth at a speed below 6,700 miles per hour (10,800km).

While that might seem incredibly fast, in the scale of the solar system that is the equivalent of a leisurely stroll.

Researchers point out that if the moon were formed from a collision we should expect it to orbit Earth around the equator. But the moon's orbital plane is angled at about 7 degrees from the equator 

Using a mathematical model (pictured), the scientists calculated that the Earth could capture an object between one and 10 times its mass if it was travelling at the right speed and the other part of the binary had a large enough mass. As this graph shows, the Earth is easily capable of capturing something as large as the moon at speeds of up to 3km per second 

The problem is that, even at these sedate speeds, when it first arrived, the moon's orbit would have been massively elliptical much like that of a comet around the sun.

However, the researchers also show how this orbit would have evolved under the influence of tidal forces.

As the moon races around the Earth, the tides would have slightly lagged behind its orbit, exerting a gravitational pull which would have slowly tamed its wild orbit.

Over thousands of years, that constant tug would have made the orbit more regular and circular until it settled into the close orbit it currently has.

Professor Williams says: 'Today, the Earth tide is ahead of the Moon, high tide accelerates the orbit.

'It gives it a pulse, a little bit of boost. Over time, the Moon drifts a bit farther away.'

Now the moon is so far out that both the Sun and Earth pull on it, leading it to drift about 3cm further away every year.

This theory has some key advantages in that it explains why the moon's orbit is so tilted and accounts for the presence of certain chemical isotopes found on the moon and not on Earth.

Scientists believe that Triton (pictured), the largest moon of Neptune, was originally a planetary binary in the Keuper belt before being captured 

As this graph shows, when the moon first arrived, its orbit would be shaped like an oval rather than the circle we are more familiar with 

The researchers admit that their theory would be hard to prove and relies on several 'implausible events' happening at once.

However, Professor Williams maintains that binary-exchange capture is a viable alternative to the standard collision theory and one that merits further consideration.

The researchers argue that planetary binaries may have been more common in the early solar system and could have plausibly gone on to create the moon. 

Professor Williams adds: 'This opens a treasure trove of new questions and opportunities for further study.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

NASA's ice-hunting VIPER moon rover getting ready to slither to the launch pad

Moon-orbiting satellite missions have collected data regarding water on the moon before, but VIPER will get "up close and personal" with the lunar surface, scanning with its scientific tools and investigating soil at varying depths with its 3.3-foot (1 meter) drill. Some of the regions VIPER will explore are permanently shadowed craters that are some of the coldest places in the solar system. It is believed that the bottoms of these craters harbor ice that has been undisturbed for billions of years.

As it conducts its mission, VIPER will be exposed to the extreme environment of the moon and the incredibly cold temperatures of these permanently shadowed areas while having to overcome complex terrain.

Testing of VIPER's systems is a crucial stage for the mission. Andrews explained that, as the team assembles and installs various subsystems onto the rover, they perform "channelization" tests. These trials enable the team to confirm that pieces and parts like cable harnesses and connectors between systems are working. 

"Now, you might think, 'Of course what we installed should work!' But it’s important to remember how complicated these space systems, and planetary rover systems in particular, are," Andrews said. "Sometimes we will perform even more complex tests, like sending a command to the Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer Subsystem (NIRVSS) instrument to take an image: Is the image taken successful? Is the field of view of the image correct? Did the image make its way into the rover’s avionics for downlink?"

This "test as we go" approach ensures that the NASA team doesn't discover issues that could impact VIPER later in its development or, even worse, when it is unreachable on the lunar surface. 

"So we test as we go to decrease risk later when we’re performing whole-rover environmental tests. This way, if the rover doesn’t work as expected after one of VIPER’s environmental tests, we know it once worked fine, and that can help us more quickly problem-solve what might have gone wrong," Andrews concluded. "The pace in which we’ve been working through the build and subsystem checkouts has been blistering lately, and we’ve had a good run of successes.

"Go VIPER!"

VIDEOS

{ https://www.space.com/ }

UAP Disclosure Event Following House Oversight Hearing Announced by MUFON and New Paradigm Institute

• The post-hearing event on Capitol Hill will bring together disclosure advocacy groups and activists in the interest of full government transparency on UAP.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, November 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In a unified call for government transparency and disclosure on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and the New Paradigm Institute (NPI) today announced an event set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Wednesday, November 13, 2024, “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth” hearing at 11:30 AM EST. This hearing, held jointly by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Subcommittees on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation and National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, will feature key testimony on the topic of UAP.

New Paradigm Institute

MUFON

The hearing will be chaired by Representatives Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Glenn Grothman (R-WI), with Ranking Members Gerald Connolly (D-VA) and Robert Garcia (D-CA). Notable witnesses include Dr. Tim Gallaudet, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (RET.); Luis Elizondo, author and former Department of Defense official; Michael Gold, Chief Growth Officer, Redwire Corporation, and former National Aeronautics and Space Administration Associate Administrator; and Michael Shellenberger, Founder of Public.

The UAP disclosure event will provide media representatives and the public an invaluable opportunity to hear directly from representatives of MUFON and NPI, two of the most influential civilian organizations committed to advancing UAP disclosure and the need to provide continued support for Congressional disclosure efforts. MUFON and NPI aim to increase public awareness and demand for accountability, urging Executive Branch agencies to reveal information about nonhuman intelligence and technologies of unknown origin to Congress and the public.

Danny Sheehan, Chief Counsel, NPI: “We thank Representatives Nancy Mace and Glenn Grothman for holding this crucial hearing and the witnesses for their upcoming testimony. It is essential that we work together to uncover the truth that has been hidden from Congress and the American people.”

Ron James, Media Relations Director, MUFON: “MUFON has been collecting evidence on the reality of the UAP phenomenon for 55 years. In 2023, we released the film Accidental Truth, featuring some of the hearing’s witnesses. We have actively shared data with Congress and the public as we push for official acknowledgment of nonhuman intelligence among us.”

Confirmed speakers at the UAP disclosure event include:

• Daniel Sheehan, President and General Counsel, New Paradigm Institute (NPI)
• Ron James, Media Relations Director, Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)
• David MacDonald, Executive Director, Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)
• Stephen Bassett, Executive Director, Paradigm Research Group
• Robert Salas, Captain, U.S. Air Force (RET), author of several UFO books
• Jim Garrison, Director, NPI Washington, DC Office, who will moderate

MUFON and NPI invite media representatives and the public interested in UAP transparency to attend the event, which promises expert insights and a compelling discussion on the importance of government accountability in the disclosure era.

Details:

• Time: 30 minutes after the conclusion of the hearing.
• Location: The Spirit of Justice Park (House Lower D Park), South Capitol Street and C Street SW, directly south of the Rayburn House Office Building.
• Livestream: https://mufontelevision.com/hearings/

About the Mutual UFO Network:

Started in 1969, the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) is currently the world’s oldest and largest organization studying the subject. They are dedicated to “the scientific understanding of UFOs for the benefit of humanity.” MUFON deploys active investigators worldwide and has amassed over 155,000 case reports. MUFON has actively participated in the political disclosure process and has provided information to the public.

For more information, please visit https://mufon.com.

About the New Paradigm Institute:

The New Paradigm Institute, a project of the Romero Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit interfaith law and policy center, is dedicated to advocating for the public release of information held by the government surrounding the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), or what has commonly been known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

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UK’s Clearest UFO Photo Is Revealed, It Was Set To Be Released In 2072, 100% Authentic

Nick Pope worked for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 21 years. From 1991 to 1994, he was the head of the MoD’s UFO project. He said that during his time in the MoD, he came across several credible UFO cases. One such case involves the photograph from the Calvine Incident.

The story of how the photograph reached the MoD’s office is phenomenal. Mr. Pope said that when he began his investigation into UFOs in 1991, it led him to a poster, hanging on the wall near his desk. The poster was an enlarged-colored photograph of the UFO from the Calvine Incident.

“The X-Files first aired in the UK in 1994 and I acquired the same nickname (Spooky) as Fox Mulder, for obvious reasons,” Nick said. “Mulder famously had his ‘I want to believe’ UFO poster on his office wall and though uncaptioned, I suppose this was my equivalent.”

Most of the UFO photos are either fake, blurry, or just a small dot in the sky, but this particular photo was clear and taken in broad daylight. According to Mr. Pope, the photograph contained an 80-foot diamond-shaped craft with a military jet in the background.

Two unnamed hikers from the Perthshire region allegedly took the photo of a large UFO while walking near the village of Calvine on August 4, 1990. “The photos were then sent to the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) who then sent them on to imagery analysts at JARIC (Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre). Yet at the time, the MoD hadn’t even publicly acknowledged that there was any intelligence interest in UFOs at all,” Mr. Pope explained.

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Interestingly, the photo disappeared without any trace when the UFO investigators questioned the MoD whether Americans were testing secret prototype aircraft in the area. Mr. Pope asked the US if the craft belonged to them but they refused to admit it.

According to a 30-year rule in the UK, the MoD was supposed to release the secret UFO dossier on January 1, 2021, but the UK government banned the release for another 50 years. This secret file is said to contain the infamous UFO photo from the Calvine incident. Now, it is set to be released on January 1, 2072.

Photo found after 32 years

UAP Media UK is working hard to bring a serious resource to the British media outlets on the discussion of UFOs. One of the members of this project named Vinnie Adams has been working with Dr. David Clarke and a small team of researchers on the Calvine case from 1990 in Scotland for the last 11 months. (Source)

This led him to discover an original print of the Calvine “UFO,” taken directly from the negatives that were sent by the witnesses to the Scottish Daily Record back in 1990, just after the event occurred.

He also found the original envelope which was sent from the Scottish Daily Record to Craig Lindsay who was the MOD Press Officer that dealt with the case at the time.

Mr. Adams wrote: “According to the copy of the hand-written sighting report that was released by The National Archives (TNA) in October 2008, the witnesses gave an account of their sighting plus the color photographs to what was the joint RAF/Royal Navy Headquarters at Pitreavie, near Dunfermline (which closed in 1996).”

Nick Pope mentioned the details of the Scottish sighting in his 1996 book “Open Skies, Closed Minds,” which prompted a British Parliamentary Question in July 1996 from Martin Redmond, Former Member of Parliament for Doncaster, about the incident:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department made of the photograph of an unidentified craft at Calvine on 4 August 1990; who removed it from an office in Secretariat (Air Staff) 2a; for what reasons; and if he will make a statement.”

Nicholas Soames, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, gave a written reply to the MP’s question:

“A number of negatives associated with the sighting were examined by staff responsible for air defence matters. Since it was judged they contained nothing of defence significance the negatives were not retained and we have no record of any photographs being taken from them.” (Hansard HC Deb., 24 July 1996, vol.282, col 39248W)

Journalist Dr David Clarke, who is also a member of UAP Media UK, was put in touch with retired RAF press officer Craig Lindsay. Craig was involved in the Calvine case back in 1990 as the go-between for the Daily Record and the MOD.

During his involvement in the case, Craig acquired an original print of the elusive photograph. Along with the photo, Craig also kept the original envelope containing the photograph sent by the Daily Record to the MOD.

In May 2022, David interviewed Craig in Scotland and was shown the original print. In June, Craig agreed to donate the photograph to the Sheffield Hallam University Archives, handing it to Dr. Dravid Clarke and Vinnie Adams. The image now resides in its new home at the Sheffield Hallam University folklore archives.

Authenticity of Calvine UFO Photo

Andrew Robinson, a senior lecturer in Photography at Sheffield Hallam University claims the authenticity of the 1990 Scottish highlands UFO photo. In his detailed analysis, he found the image showing no evidence of negative or print-based manipulation, and all visible signs suggest this is a genuine photograph of the scene before the camera. (Source)

Robinson concluded in his study:

• The photograph is a color print from XP-1 or XP-2 chromogenic Black and White C41 film printed on a standard.
• It is not possible to identify the object in the center of the frame. However, the evidence present suggests that this object was in front of the camera in the position shown when the photograph was captured;
• Thus it follows that this is either a genuine unidentified flying object in the sky OR that any construction or manipulation used to create this effect occurred in front of the camera and not in the capturing of the scene on film nor in the subsequent processing and printing of the image;
• The results of this analysis are consistent with, and support the claimed heritage of the print.

UFO image lost for 30 years uncovered

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

'Otherworldly' crash site discovered on surface of Mars by NASA helicopter

Sinead Butler

An "otherwordly" crash site of another spacecraft was photographed by a NASA helicopter.

Back in 2020, the Perseverance Rover was sent up to the Red Planet with the Mars Helicopter called Ingenuity strapped to the bottom of it.

The initial plan was for Ingenuity - otherwise known as Ginny - to make no more than five test flights within 30 days but in the end, the aircraft surpassed expectations when it completed 72 flights between April 2021 and January 2024.

It's more impressive when you consider the fact that the helicopter was just half a meter (1.6 feet) tall and weighed less than two kilograms (four pounds).

As the first aircraft to successfully complete a powered, controlled flight on another planet, the purpose of the flights was to explore parts of Mars that couldn't be reached by the Perseverance rover.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

One of the notable aerial images was captured in 2022 when the helicopter took photos of debris on the dusty, cold, desert.

"There's definitely a sci-fi element to it. It exudes otherworldly, doesn't it?" Ian Clark, a Perseverance parachute system engineer, told The New York Times.

“They say a picture's worth 1,000 words, but it's also worth an infinite amount of engineering understanding.”

But before you go and make assumptions that Martians or alien life were responsible for the wreckage, this wasn't the case but rather was the result of us humans.

So what was the debris?

Basically, it was landing equipment used to help Ingenuity and the Peersererance Rover land on the surface of Mars in 2021.

In the photos, you can see the upright backshell and the debris which is thought to have impacted the surface at about 78 mph (126 kph).

“The backshell’s protective coating appears to have remained intact during Mars atmospheric entry. Many of the 80 high-strength suspension lines connecting the backshell to the parachute are visible and also appear intact," the space agency said.

“Spread out and covered in dust, only about a third of the orange-and-white parachute - at 70.5 feet (21.5 meters) wide, it was the biggest ever deployed on Mars - can be seen, but the canopy shows no signs of damage from the supersonic airflow during inflation.”

{ https://www.indy100.com/ }

Project Hyperion is Seeking Ideas for Building Humanity’s First Generation Ship

While concepts for an interstellar spacecraft go back to the early Space Age, interest in the field has grown considerably in the past two decades. This is largely due to the recent explosion in the number of known exoplanets in our galaxy, which currently stands at 5,787 confirmed planets in 4,325 star systems. This is illustrated by concepts like Breakthrough Starshot, Swarming Proxima Centauri, and the Genesis Project. These concepts leverage gram-scale spacecraft, directed energy (lasers), and lightsails to achieve speeds of up to 20% of the speed of light, allowing them to make the journey in decades rather than centuries or millennia.

However, sending crewed spacecraft to other star systems with enough passengers to settle on another planet is far more challenging. As addressed in a previous article, a spacecraft relying on known or technically feasible propulsion methods would take between 1,000 and 81,000 years to reach even the nearest star (Proxima Centauri). While some advanced concepts like Project Orion, Daedalus, and Icarus could theoretically reach Proxima Centauri in 36 to 85 years, the costs and amount of propellant needed are prohibitive.

The alternative to these “go fast” concepts is to settle in for the long ride, which may last centuries or even millennia. This necessitates a spacecraft of sufficient size capable of accommodating hundreds (or thousands) of human beings over multiple generations. To save room and reduce the mass of cargo space, the crews will need to grow much of their food and rely on life support systems that are bioregenerative in nature. In short, the ship would need to be self-sustaining so the passengers could live comfortable, healthy lives until they reached their destination.

Andreas Hein, an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Luxembourg and the Chief Scientist at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, is part of the Hyperion Project’s Organizing Committee. As he told Universe Today via email:

“Think about the difference between a drone and an ocean liner. Previous designs for interstellar spacecraft, such as Orion, Daedalus, and Icarus, focused on uncrewed probes with the primary objective of gathering scientific data from target star systems, including searching for signs of life. In contrast, generation ships are designed to transport a crew, with the primary goal of settling an exoplanet or other celestial body in the target star system. They also tend to be much larger than interstellar probes, though they would likely use similar propulsion systems, such as fusion-based propulsion.”

Generation Ships

The first known description of a generation ship was made by rocketry engineer Robert H. Goddard, one of the “forefathers of modern rocketry,” for whom NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is named. In his 1918 essay, “The Ultimate Migration,” he described an “interstellar ark” leaving the Solar System in the distant future after the Sun reached the end of its life cycle. The passengers would cryogenically frozen or in a state of induced torpor for much of the journey except for the pilot, who would be awakened periodically to steer the ship.

Goddard recommended that the ship be powered by atomic energy if the technology were realized. If not, a combination of hydrogen, oxygen, and solar energy would suffice. Goddard calculated that these power sources would allow the vessel to achieve velocities of 4.8 to 16 km/s (3 to 10 mi/s), or roughly 57,936 km/h (36,000 mph). This was followed by famed Russian rocket scientist and cosmologist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, also recognized as one of the “forefathers of modern rocketry.” In 1928, he wrote an essay titled “The Future of Earth and Mankind” that described an interstellar “Noah’s Ark.”

In Tsiolkovsky’s version, the spaceship would be self-sufficient, and the crew would be awake for the journey, which would last for thousands of years. In 1964, NASA scientist Dr. Robert Enzmann proposed the most detailed concept to date for a generation ship, known as an “Enzmann Starship.“ The proposal called for a ship measuring 600 meters (2,000 feet) in length powered by a fusion thruster that uses deuterium as a propellant. According to Enzmann, this ship would house an initial crew of 200 people with room for expansion along the way.

In recent years, the concept has been explored from various angles, from biological and psychological to ethical. This included a series of studies (2017-2019) conducted by Dr. Frederic Marin of the Astronomical Observatory of Strasbourg using tailor-made numerical software (called HERITAGE). In the first two studies, Dr. Marin and colleagues conducted simulations that showed that a minimum crew of 98 (max. 500) would need to be coupled with a cryogenic bank of sperm, eggs, and embryos to ensure genetic diversity and good health upon arrival.

In the third study, Dr. Marin and another group of scientists determined that the ship carrying them would need to measure 320 meters (1050 feet) in length, 224 meters (735 feet) in radius, and contain 450 m² (~4,850 ft²) of artificial land to grow enough food to sustain them. In short, these proposals and studies establish that a generation ship and its crew must bring “Earth with them” and rely on bioregenerative systems to replenish their food, water, and air throughout generations.

As noted, most studies regarding interstellar exploration have focused on probes or ships and tended to emphasize speed over ensuring passengers could make the journey. As Hein explained, this makes the Hyperion Project the first competition to focus on generation ships and ensuring the interstellar voyagers remain healthy and safe until they arrive in a nearby star system:

“This competition is unprecedented—a true first. To our knowledge, it marks the first time a design competition specifically focused on generation ships has been launched. It builds on our team’s prior research, conducted since 2011, which addresses fundamental questions such as the required population size. This competition uniquely explores the complex interplay between generation ship technologies and the dynamics of a highly resource-constrained society.

“Most studies have focused on the technological aspects, such as propulsion and life support, while often treating the ship’s technology and onboard society as separate issues. This approach is understandable given the challenge of analyzing these interdependencies. We even got the advice to stay away. Our goal is to take an initial step toward exploring and envisioning these interdependencies. We aim to be Cayley instead of Da Vinci. Da Vinci imagined aircraft, but Cayley conceived their basic design principles, which paved the way for the Wright Brothers.”

The Competition

Registration for the competition will remain open until December 15th, 2024, and all participating teams must pay a $20 registration fee. The top three winning entries will be announced on June 2nd, 2025, and awarded $5000 for first place, $3000 for second, and $2000 for third. In addition, ten teams will receive honorary mentions for creative and innovative ideas. For more information, check out Project Hyperion’s website and the Mission Brief.

Per their mission statement, Project Hyperion is a preliminary study and feasibility assessment for crewed interstellar flight using current and near-future technologies. The goal is to inform the public about the future possibility of interstellar space travel and to guide future research and technology development. As they state on their website, the competition has the following theme:

“Humanity has overcome the great sustainability crisis in the 21st century and has transitioned into an era of sustainable abundance, both on Earth and in space. Humanity has now reached the capacity to develop a generation ship without major sacrifices. An Interstellar Starship flies by an icy planet in a nearby solar system. Going beyond the classical examination of the problem of Interstellar propulsion and structural design for a voyage lasting multiple centuries, what might be the ideal type of habitat architecture and society in order to ensure a successful trip?”

Credit: Maciej Rebisz/Michel Lamontagne

Participants will be tasked with designing the ship, its habitat, and its subsystems, including details on its architecture and society. The Project Brief describes other important Boundary Conditions, including the duration of the mission, its destination, and other important considerations. The mission duration is 250 years from launch to arrival at the target star system, consistent with the ship having advanced propulsion capable of achieving a fraction of the speed of light.

To ensure the health and safety of the crew, the ship’s habitat must have atmospheric conditions similar to Earth, protection from galactic rays, micrometeorites, and interstellar dust (necessary for relativistic space travel). The ship must also provide artificial gravity via rotating sections, but “parts of the habitat can have reduced gravity.” The habitat must also provide accommodation and decent living conditions for 1000 plus or minus 500 people throughout the trip. The habitat will also need to be designed in such a way that it can be modified to meet changing needs.

The society’s structure must allow for cultural variations, including language, ethics, family structure, beliefs, aesthetics, family structure, and other social factors. The competition also considers knowledge retention and loss relative to Earth, which they describe as “almost inevitable.” Cameron Smith, an anthropologist at Portland State University and the University of Arizona’s Center for Human Space Exploration (CHaSE), is also a member of Project Hyperion’s Organizing Committee. As he explained to Universe Today:

“[T]he situation of a population, let’s say thousands or even 1500 people, traveling in isolation for centuries would be unique to the human experience. So just as we plan for the health of the architecture and the hardware, maintaining them to keep them in a good state over this time span, we can plan for the health and maintenance of both biology and culture. And we have an excellent guide which is evolution.

“Evolution is at the heart of all life sciences, and it also, in many ways, applies to cultural change through time. Biology evolves, and cultures evolve. And we have learned how to manage our cultures on Earth to fit a wide variety of situations.”

“The idea, however, is to get people thinking about how culture might be adjusted for the unusual conditions I’ve outlined. Separation from Earth, separation from other populations of humans, except by radio or video communication – which will become less and less as they get farther from Earth – what could change through time of the voyage that would require cultural adjustment?”

Credit: Maciej Rebisz/Michel Lamontagne

Throughout the trip, the population must also have access to basic products (clothing, shelter, etc.). The mass of the habitat is to be as low as possible, reliable over the entire duration of the journey, and include redundant systems. The generation ship’s target destination is a rocky planet in a nearby star system (like Proxima b). In an interesting twist, the competition stresses that this planet will have an artificial ecosystem created by a precursor probe, à la Project Genesis. As a result, the crews will not require any significant genetic or biological adaptations to survive in that ecosystem. As Hein explained:

“250 years in a tin can and staying happy, aka. can a society thrive in a severely resource-constrained environment? Answering this question is essential for designing a generation ship and may also offer insights into sustainable futures on Earth. From my perspective, there has been a significant lack of imaginative solutions to this challenge.’250 years in a tin can and staying happy, aka, can a society thrive in a severely resource-constrained environment?’

“Answering this question is essential for designing a generation ship and may also offer insights into sustainable futures on Earth. From my perspective, there has been a significant lack of imaginative solutions to this challenge.”

“We also hope to raise awareness of the complexities underlying today’s technologies. Which technologies could or should be preserved on a generation ship, and which may be lost? Research shows that a society’s population size affects the diversity and complexity of its technologies. Most modern technologies require intricate supply chains involving numerous companies, infrastructure, and regulatory systems. Therefore, a generation ship will likely rely on low-tech solutions unless disruptive technologies, like molecular manufacturing or Standard Template Constructs (as depicted in Warhammer 40k), become feasible.”

An Interdisciplinary Approach

A major focus of the competition is interdisciplinary research, reflective of the organizing committee itself. This has become a trend in space research, thanks in large part to the rise of the commercial space industry. For many companies and non-profits today, traditional research is expanding beyond aerospace engineering and incorporating architecture and interior design, biology, sociology, psychology, agriculture, and other disciplines to create concepts that will allow for healthy and sustainable living in space.

Credit: Maciej Rebisz/Michel Lamontagne

Per the rules, teams must consist of at least one architectural designer, engineer, and social scientist (a sociologist, anthropologist, etc.). As Yazgi Demirbas Pech, an architect and designer with the Organizing Committee, explained:

“We hope this competition will inspire greater interdisciplinary collaboration, emphasizing the value of fields such as architecture and social sciences—especially critical in planning for long-duration, long-distance missions. A holistic approach that integrates these diverse fields can contribute to more sustainable and human-centered solutions for space exploration.

“Unlike traditional architectural practices on Earth, space architecture requires a delicate balance between strict technical constraints—such as limited physical space, extreme environmental conditions, and restricted resources—and the essential human needs for comfort, safety, and psychological well-being. Here, architecture becomes a life-sustaining element, enabling people to live, work, and thrive across vast distances and timescales.

“Through this competition, we invite teams to challenge conventional design principles and redefine what “home” means among the stars. Including architects or architecture students on teams will undoubtedly add fresh perspectives to this thought-provoking competition.”

Solving for Space Solves for Earth

Another important aspect of the competition is the desire to inspire ideas that will also have applications and benefits here on Earth. This is another crucial aspect of the future of space exploration, which includes plans for creating outposts on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Like a generation ship, missions operating farther from Earth cannot rely on regular resupply missions sent from Earth. This means that habitats must be as self-sufficient as possible and ensure that inhabitants have enough air, water, and food to live comfortably.

For decades, scientists and planners have looked to Earth’s natural environment for inspiration. This was the purpose of the Biosphere 2 project, which conducted two experiments between 1991 and 1994 in which volunteers lived in a sealed biome that mimics Earth’s many environments. Since 2007, the University of Arizona has used the facility to conduct research through its CHaSE program while remaining open to the public.

Credit: Maciej Rebisz/Michel Lamontagne

“Since the 1990s, [Biosphere 2] has been a research center for closed ecosystems as though on a starship, and the research here continues. [I am] actually residing at the biosphere until January, and I am looking at the stars and engaged in all of this right now,” said Smith, who wrote to Universe Today from the facility. As he went on to note, research from this experiment and similar studies have significant applications for life here on Earth, mainly because there is no margin for error in space:

“[T]he planning and preparation going into the starship in terms of its culture and biological protections for the offspring would be very carefully designed to give the greatest protections to them, perhaps in ways more specifically tailored to their survival and good health than in any culture ever on Earth. On the interstellar voyage, things must go just right to survive over multiple generations in the closed ecosystem, so planning and preparation would have to be very thorough.”

Since failure in space often means death, especially when people are stationed far from Earth where rescue missions would take too long to reach them, the technologies future explorers and settlers rely on must be regenerative, fail-proof, and sustainable over time. This research and development will have direct benefits when it comes to the most pressing problems we face here on Earth: climate change, overpopulation, poverty and hunger, and the need for sustainable living. As Pech emphasized:

“I believe that thinking beyond Earth can offer valuable insights into how we might improve life here on ‘spaceship Earth.’ Just as in space, where we face numerous challenges, our planet requires innovative approaches to foster harmony and resilience amidst current global conflicts and challenges.”

There’s also the added benefit of stimulating questions about life in the Universe and where extraterrestrial civilizations (ETCs) could already be traveling among the stars. For decades, scientists have explored these questions as part of the Fermi Paradox. As Hein explained:

“Finally, just as Project Daedalus demonstrated the theoretical feasibility of interstellar travel, we aim to establish a similar ‘existence proof’ for human travel to the stars. Achieving this will add new perspectives to the Fermi Paradox: if we can envision crewed interstellar travel today, a more advanced civilization should have achieved it already. So, where are they?”

Those interested in the competition or have more questions are encouraged to contact the Initiative for Interstellar Studies at info@i4is.org. The i4is will remain open to Q&A until December 1st, 2024.

Further Reading: 

• Project Hyperion

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Alien Wars on Earth? Exploring Evidence of Extraterrestrial Battles

Throughout history, humanity has looked to the skies with wonder and curiosity, pondering whether we are truly alone in the universe. Among various stories and mysteries surrounding extraterrestrial life, one captivating idea stands out: did alien civilizations engage in battles on Earth long ago? Though it may sound like science fiction, there are ancient accounts and unusual events that hint at this possibility, inviting us to look deeper and consider what might have happened in our skies centuries ago.

The Mysterious Battle Over Nuremberg

One of the most intriguing pieces of evidence suggesting extraterrestrial activity is the reported celestial event over Nuremberg, Germany, on April 4, 1561. On that morning, residents claimed to witness an intense “battle” in the skies, involving strange, orb-like objects and large cross-shaped figures seemingly engaged in combat. Some of these mysterious objects allegedly crashed, leaving observers in awe of what appeared to be an interstellar conflict.

This astonishing event was captured in a woodcut illustration by artist Hans Glaser, who depicted these objects in a scene of cosmic warfare. The woodcut’s authenticity is supported by its creation date and the fact that Glaser was a recognized artist of the time. However, while many are inclined to interpret this as evidence of an alien encounter, skeptics have proposed a more conventional explanation.

Scientists suggest that what the people of Nuremberg saw might have been a natural atmospheric phenomenon called a “sundog” or “parhelion.” This occurs when sunlight interacts with ice crystals in the atmosphere, producing bright spots or “halos” around the sun, which can take on various shapes and colors. Under specific conditions, these halos may appear as multiple suns or unusual shapes, leading the people of Nuremberg to believe they were witnessing a battle in the heavens. Whether a sundog or an extraterrestrial skirmish, the event remains one of the most compelling and widely discussed historical reports of unusual celestial activity.

Ancient Sites and Mysterious Structures

Beyond historical accounts, many point to the massive and seemingly impossible-to-build ancient structures as evidence of advanced knowledge — possibly shared by extraterrestrial beings. Among these marvels are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the giant stones of Sacsayhuamán in Peru, and the vast layout of Teotihuacan in Mexico. While each of these sites is often attributed to impressive feats of human engineering, some believe their precision, scale, and alignment with celestial bodies hint at alien assistance or influence.

For instance, the Great Pyramid’s alignment with the stars in Orion’s Belt, the precise interlocking stones at Sacsayhuamán, and Teotihuacan’s advanced architectural layout continue to puzzle archaeologists. Skeptics argue that these achievements were within the realm of human capability, utilizing tools, basic engineering principles, and a substantial labor force. Still, the fact that many of these structures have defied traditional explanations for centuries fuels the fascination and theories around possible extraterrestrial aid.

Unexplained Accounts of Alien Encounters

In addition to ancient structures, history has documented strange occurrences that sound like alien encounters. For instance, in 1957, Brazilian farmer Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials and subjected to bizarre experiments, even describing his captors in detail. Stories like these are often dismissed as either fantasies or the result of misinterpreted natural phenomena, such as sleep paralysis, which can cause vivid, immobilizing hallucinations.

Additionally, the Apollo 10 astronauts reported hearing mysterious “outer-space music” while flying over the moon’s far side, a sound that puzzled NASA. Ultimately, scientists determined that this “music” was likely radio interference between the spacecrafts’ VHF radios. However, such occurrences persist in sparking speculation about alien contact and whether NASA has shared all it knows.

Ancient Beliefs in Cosmic Battles

Many cultures have myths and stories of cosmic battles involving powerful beings descending from the heavens. These narratives, found in texts from ancient Sumeria to Hindu scriptures, describe wars in the skies that are often depicted as clashes between gods. For those intrigued by the alien theory, these accounts serve as tantalizing “evidence” that humanity may have witnessed battles between extraterrestrial beings, interpreted as divine encounters at the time.

The Scientific Verdict

While theories of alien wars and extraterrestrial influences capture our imagination, science offers more grounded explanations. Phenomena like sundogs, advanced but traditional engineering techniques, and the psychological effects of sleep paralysis and hallucinations provide reasonable accounts for much of what might otherwise be classified as alien evidence. Moreover, most scientists agree that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, which means current theories remain speculative without concrete proof.

VIDEO:

• Do We Have Evidence of Alien Wars on Earth?

• https://youtu.be/QbHl1GKMqzU

Whether one believes in ancient alien wars or not, the possibility of extraterrestrial influence on Earth’s past is fascinating. Stories of celestial battles, complex ancient structures, and strange encounters remind us that there is much we still do not understand about our own history and the universe. As we continue exploring space and uncovering Earth’s mysteries, we may eventually learn whether these stories are relics of human imagination or signs of something truly beyond this world.

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

• READ MORE: First image released of 'cylindrical' UFO shot down by US fighter jet

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE 

Augmented reality (AR) has already been used in everything from gaming to retail and tourism. 

But the technology has been given its most important role yet, in the new Striker II fighter pilot helmet.

The 4.4lbs (2kg) device has been developed by British defence firm BAE Systems, and presents 'mission-critical' data in front of a pilot's eyes, giving them 'unparalleled situational awareness' as they patrol the air.

From hundreds of miles away, it can discern between another RAF fighter pilot and a hostile enemy aircraft – such as a Chinese spy drone. 

In a real life defence setting, the technology could help fighter pilots shoot down such a threat, helping to protect British skies. 

The RAF has paid £40 million to fit its personnel with the Striker II helmet, of which fewer than 100 currently exist. 

BAE Systems calls it 'the world's most advanced helmet-mounted display' that 'immediately calculates the pilot's exact head position and angle'. 

At BAE Systems' offices in Rochester, Kent, MailOnline's Jonathan Chadwick was given exclusive access to try Striker II during a simulated flight from RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales. 

Augmented reality (AR) has already been used in everything from gaming to retail and tourism. But the technology has been given its most important role yet in the new Striker II fighter pilot helmet

At BAE Systems' offices in Rochester, Kent, MailOnline's Jonathan Chadwick was given exclusive access to try Striker II during a simulated flight from RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales 

Nigel Kidd, director of head mounted displays at BAE Systems, worked on the original Striker helmet, developed in the late 1990s. 

This new iteration presents 'more information in a crisper format' including coloured symbols – beyond the typical monochrome green – and integrated night vision, all in a 40-degree field of view. 

'First and foremost, Striker II is a helmet – it keeps pilots safe,' Kidd told me as I step into the flight simulator, modelled on a cockpit of a Typhoon aircraft. 

'But it's not just a helmet – it's a very high performance augmented reality display system.' 

While Kidd wouldn't reveal the exact price of manufacturing Striker II, he admitted each individual helmet 'has a high price'.

'The average person would probably buy a small home for what this would cost,' he told MailOnline.  

Striker II, which is tethered to the inside of the cockpit, is made of carbon fibre and weighs around 4.4lbs (2kg), so it feels quite heavy as I place it over my head.

I can't imagine wearing it for several hours, especially during a high speed flights – although I'm informed it's light compared to other fighter helmets. 

A simulator shows the Typhoon aircraft stationed at RAF Valley prior to take-off. This system is used for pilot training 

BAE Systems was awarded £40 million to develop Striker II for RAF pilots - although the firm wouldn't reveal the cost of each individual helmet. There are currently fewer than 100 in existence

Pictured is the view while wearing the helmet, with speed displayed on the left and altitude on the right. Note the coloured shapes, which denote objects in the air and on the ground 

Striker II: Key features

Inside BAE’s Striker II fighter pilot helmet

Integrated Night Vision

Striker II features a high-performance, digital night vision camera in the helmet, creating a 24/7 capable HMD with no need for heavy, obtrusive night vision goggles. 

Colour symbology

Striker II offers the use of daylight readable color symbology with a binocular 40⁰ field of view. 

Picture-in-picture technology

Striker II supports picture-in-picture technology that displays imagery in a small offset window separate from that of the main display. 

3D audio and active noise reduction

3D audio gives the pilot 360-degree directional audio, so they hear a threat relevant to their position while also seeing it in color symbology. 

Using optical sensors embedded in the aircraft, Striker II immediately calculates the position and angle of the pilot's head. 

This means no matter where the pilot is looking – left, right, up or down – the display is always presented right in front of their eyes. 

I pull the visor down and see a collection of green lines, numbers and symbols, including a target crosshair in the centre and long horizon line through the middle. 

As I take off from RAF Valley, a stack of changing numbers on the left shows my speed, while another stack on the right shows altitude.

But apart from the green markings, there's also a load of shapes in a variety of additional colours – red, blue and yellow. 

These shapes indicate relevant objects in the air and on the ground, which are constantly being detected by a vast network of devices, including drones and radar towers, with signals fed back to my aircraft. 

On the display, different colours correspond to the nature of the object – so threats are presented in red, while 'friendlies' are blue and unknowns are yellow. 

Amazingly, when I move my head and focus on one of these coloured shapes, a small pop-up video clip appears, showing more about what the object actually is. 

Striker II comes embedded with digital night vision (pictured), meaning pilots no longer need to strap night vision goggles in front of the helmet when flying in the small hours 

Using optical sensors embedded in the aircraft, Striker II immediately calculates the pilot's exact head position and angle

For example, I see a short clip that plays on a loop of 'friendly' trucks moving along the ground – a clip which in real life would've likely been filmed by a nearby drone. 

What's amazing is the AR display is being projected onto the visor and then reflected into my eyeballs. 

If I were to stick my smartphone in between my face and the visor, all my camera app would show would be a blank visor – because the reflection is going into my eyes, not my phone's camera lens!

It's probably as close as the RAF will ever get to fitting their pilots with eye implants.  

Striker II also comes embedded with digital night vision, meaning pilots no longer need to strap night vision goggles in front of the helmet as they did with Striker I. 

This was an experience Kidd describes as like a 'sack of potatoes hanging off the front of your head' – making neck ache a real possibility. 

I had expected Striker II's AR display to be a distracting rather than helpful, by presenting the pilot with a barrage of information that could divert attention from the flight path. 

Striker II supports picture-in-picture technology that displays imagery in a small offset window separate from that of the main display

Inside the simulator cockpit, the pilot is presented with additional metrics including a map of the flight path 

RAF pilots will be wearing Striker II while operating Typhoon (pictured), the aircraft manufactured by German firm Eurofighter 

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But in actual fact, Striker II shows a pilot only the most important metrics that they'll need to operate the plane. 

This is augmented reality in its purest form – helpful yet subtle and unobtrusive. 

Overall, a main benefit of this technology is it means pilots are spending more time with their head up and looking out of the cockpit, not down at the controls. 

This gives them 'a vital advantage' when it comes to split-second decision-making, according to BAE Systems.  

Last year, the firm was awarded £40 million to develop Striker II for RAF pilots who operate Typhoon, the aircraft manufactured by German firm Eurofighter. 

Striker II is still undergoing flight trials with the RAF before it will be used by frontline Typhoon pilots. 

Kidd told me the helmet is also being made available to other Typhoon users in Europe – namely Spain, Italy and Germany – but he admitted 'there is interest from other nations'. 

The Eurofighter Typhoon frontline fleet delivers air security over the UK and its allies 24/7, 365 days a year.

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